Elvis Presley
The Originals

Elvis's "Blue Hawaii" was, of course, the title track of one of his first films after leaving the army. The song originally became well known because of another film, "Waikiki Wedding," from 1937, starring Bing Crosby and Shirley Ross, but it was not Crosby who made the original recording. This honour probably goes to Jack Denny and His Orchestra, with vocals by Sonny Schuyler. Denny and his band recorded the number on 19 February 1937, several days before Crosby. It was released on Master 105.
Denny fronted numerous bands in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1931 he moved from Montreal, Canada, to New York City, and the following year started playing at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. He developed a "society" sound, using no brass section, but adding extra pianos and woodwinds. His sweet sound was eventually overtaken when Xavier Cugat's more raucous style was featured as an opening act.
Confusingly, towards the end of the 1920s, another number called "Blue Hawaii" was popular. However, this was a totally different song, both musically and lyrically, written by Baer, Caesar and Schuster.
(Marilyn Monroe fans might like to know that co-writer Leo Robin also wrote "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend.")

Perhaps more associated with Fats Domino, "Blue Monday" was first recorded in 1954 by Smiley Lewis (see "One Night"). Although later versions credit Domino as a co-writer, the number was from the mighty pen of Dave Bartholomew. Elvis sings just the one line (and gets it wrong, singing ,"Blue Monday and my head is bad," instead of, "Sunday morning my head is bad") during a Las Vegas performance.

Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart first wrote the music together with different lyrics in 1933 for use in the film "Hollywood Party" of 1934, where it was to be sung by Jean Harlow as "Prayer," though the song was not used in the film. They then rewrote the lyricsfor use in the 1934 film "Manhattan Melodrama." Those lyrics remained unused, however, and they came up with a third set, titled "The Bad In Every Man," which Shirley Ross used in that same film. After "The Bad In Every Man," Hart wrote the fourth and final set of lyrics, the now familiar "Blue Moon." Since then the song has been recorded by many artists, the first of whom were Glen Gray and Casa Loma with Kenny Sargent on 16 November 1934 for Decca.

Bill Monroe was born William Smith Monroe on 13 September, 1911, near Rosine, Kentucky. Having moved to Indiana in 1929, Monroe and friend Larry Moore formed The Monroe Brothers, first playing local dances, but later moving to radio. The Monroe Brothers were signed by RCA Victor in 1936, with whom they enjoyed success on the Bluebird label. The group disbanded in 1938 and Monroe formed the Blue Grass Boys. This group underwent various incarnations and in 1945 was dubbed "the Original Bluegrass Band." By that time the group was recording for Columbia and its members included the likes of Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt, alongside Monroe's own signature mandolin playing.
It was this lineup that recorded "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" on 16 September, 1946. The track was released in November 1947 on the 78rpm Columbia 37888, with "Goodbye Old Pal" on the B-side. Personnel: Lester Flatt, lead vocal & guitar; Bill Monroe, tenor vocal & mandolin; Chubby Wise, fiddle; Earl Scruggs, banjo; Howard Watts (Cedric Rainwater), string bass.
The original version of this classic was recorded in 3/4 time—waltz tempo, in other words. But Monroe's waltz tempo original was light years away from Elvis's quantum leap into rockabilly. Elvis was worried that Bluegrass giant Bill Monroe would be offended by his tampering with the number, but Monroe soon recorded his own version in Elvis's 4/4 rhythm.
Bill Monroe died on 9 September, 1996.

Elvis covered his own cover of Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes" in 1960, when a new recording was made for the film "G.I. Blues." Carl Perkins wrote the number after hearing a remark made by a boy to his girlfriend at a dance, "Don't step on my suedes." The lyrics were scribbled onto an old sack. Perkins then recorded the original version of "Blue Suede Shoes" on 19 December, 1955, and it was released on 1 January, 1956, on Sun 234. Perkins was just one of the many new Sun recording artists following in Elvis's wake. Another famous Perkins number is "Matchbox," and it is often indicated as also having been written by him. This is not the case, even if he did get his name on the writing credits at a time when the original was generally forgotten: Blind Lemon Jefferson's "Match Box Blues." Despite this sleight of hand, intentional or not, Perkins was one of the great rockabilly singers, even if his on-stage movements looked strangely forced. Carl Perkins died in January 1998.

It was a close-run race in 1940 to see who was going to be the first to release "Blueberry Hill." Sammy Kaye won, releasing his recording on the last day of May. The following weeks saw releases by Gene Kruppa, Glenn Miller, and Kay Kyser. Russ Morgan's version was released in July and then came Gene Autry's in August, followed by still others later that same and following years. But the number is undoubtedly most associated with Fats Domino, whose 1956 version made it to the top of the R&B charts. Sammy Kaye, a clarinettist, led his own band in Cleveland and Pittsburgh before moving to the more lucrative hotel engagements of New York in the late 1930s. The critics disliked his simple style, but the patrons loved it. His band became popular on radio in the 1940s and made a successful transition to television in the 1950s.

The original version by the Heavenly Gospel Singers, recorded on 4 August 1937 and released on Bluebird 7177, was called "Rock My Soul." The Trumpeteers released a version called "Bosom Of Abraham" (Score 5031) in 1949. The Jordanaires released a version in 1954 (Decca 29188).
Earlier in 1937, the Heavenly Gospel Singers also recorded what is often regarded as the first modern gospel song, namely "Take My Hand, Precious Lord," which was also to be recorded by Elvis (see below).

The Clovers were formed in 1946 and had enjoyed a successful recording career, including numerous releases for Atlantic, and "Love Potion #9" (another Leiber, Stoller number) for United Artists, when Roosevelt "Tippie" Hubbard joined them as lead singer in 1962, replacing Billy Mitchell. They recorded as both "Tippie and the Clovermen" and "Tippie and The Clovers" for the Tiger label. "Bossa Nova, Baby" was released on Tiger T201.
The Bossa Nova was of Brazilian origin; Fun In Acapulco was a film whose action supposedly took place in Mexico.

The original reached number 1 in the US Hot 100, where it stayed for six weeks, and received Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Contemporary Song in 1970. The LP named after the song won the Grammy for Album of the Year. The number was recorded around Christmas 1969. Although released as a performance by "Simon and Garfunkel," only Art Garfunkel actually sang on the number, but then, it was only Paul Simon who wrote it, so fair's fair! The inspiration for Simon to write the song came from a line in the Swan Silvertones' 1958 song, "Mary Don't You Weep" -- "I'll be a bridge over deep water if you trust in my name.," written by Claude Jeter. Elvis's recording was made in a studio—the "live" applause was overdubbed.

Brenda Lee recorded her version of the song just a couple of months before Elvis, on 22 January 1975, and she had a C&W hit with it that same year, it having been released on MCA 40442 in July. It is possible that an earlier recording was made by The Oak Ridge Boys (though their version was not released until 1981), but this has yet to be confirmed.

Chuck Berry was born Charles Edward Anderson Berry on 18 October, 1926, in St Louis, Missouri. He was introduced to music from a young age at school and church. In the early 1950s he joined Johnnie Johnson's band and in 1955 met Muddy Waters, who suggested he contact Chess Records. As a result, Berry recorded "Maybellene" for that label, the first of a succession of hits that included "School Days," "Rock and Roll Music," "Sweet Little Sixteen," "Johnny B. Goode," "Too Much Monkey Business," and other R&R classics. He recorded "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" on 16 April, 1956, and it was released in the USA the following September as the B-side of "Too Much Monkey Business" on Chess 1635.
Chuck Berry will go down in history as the Bard of rock'n'roll: no other songwriter was quite able to match Berry's masterful ability to summarise in a few verses and with brilliant phrasing the hopes and wishes of youth.
Chuck Berry died on 18 March, 2017.
Elvis covered numerous Berry numbers — see also Johnny B. Goode; Long Live Rock And Roll (School Days); Maybellene; Memphis, Tennessee; Promised Land; Too Much Monkey Business.

Arthur Alexander's original recording of "Burning Love" was first released on his epomynous LP in February 1972. It is therefore very likely that Alexander recorded the track in 1971, but I have been unable to find an exact date for the recording. Author Dennis Linde recorded his own version of this number in 1973. J. D. Sumner and The Stamps to provide backing vocals on Elvis's recording of Burning Love. This was the first time that Elvis used this group in the studio, though he had admired them since before himself becoming a star and had already performed with them on stage. Note that the version on "ELV1S 30 #1 Hits" is indicated as being a "mixed and mastered" version, so presumably it is based on the original single take, despite the fact that it is six seconds longer...

Charles H. Tindley was born in 1851 and died in 1936. He wrote this number in 1905 as "We"ll Understand It Better By and By." He might have recorded the number himself, but this can't be confirmed. Tindley also wrote the song "I'll Overcome Some Day," which later became know as "We Shall Overcome." Furthermore, he wrote the gospel number "Stand By Me." Many sources imply that this is the song with which Ben E. King had a hit in the 1960s, but that was a different number. However, Elvis also recorded Tindley's "Stand By Me" for his own "How Great Thou Art" gospel collection.
Brothers Frank and James McCravy from Laurens, South Carolina, recorded the number as "We'll Understand It Better Bye and Bye" (note the added "e"s on the words "By") in New York in February 1925, for release on Okeh 40319. This was the McCravy's first recording session, but they went on to record hundreds of tracks, often using different names, such as The Lonesome Pine Twins, The Austin Brothers, Al and Joe Blackburn, Cox and Campbell, and The Mack Brothers. They ended their recording career in 1935, by which time they had recorded "We'll Understand It Better Bye and Bye" on at least two more occasions.

Based on "Plaisir d'Amour" (Pleasure of Love), a song dating from 1785, with original words by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian and music by Johann Paul Aegidius Martini (Schwarzendorf). The words first appeared in de Florian's novel "Célestine" and, because of its context there, the song was also known as "Romance du chevrier" (Romance of the goatherd). It was later adapted in English as "The Joy of Love." Recorded innumerable times by everyone and his mother, the very earliest recording seems to have been made by Emilio de Gogorza. Gogorza was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1872 to Spanish parents. He was a baritone who sang in numerous languages and under various names, including E. Francisco, Carlos Francisco, Edward Franklin, Herbert Goddard and Monsieur Fernand, as well as his real name. His original recording was made in May 1902 and released on Victor 1405, as a single-sided disc in both 7" and 10" format. Gogorza died in 1949.
(But could a French recording have preceded Gogorza's? It is possible that Albert Piccaluga recorded a version of Plaisir d'Amour on the Pathé label in 1902 or earlier. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any further information about his recording, not even if it was released.)
"Can't Help..." is an adaption of the original tune with new words, written for "Blue Hawaii," by George Weiss, together with Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore.

Originally titled "Carry Me Back To Old Virginny," the number was written in 1875 by the African American minstrel James Bland (1854-1911), who wrote over 700 songs, including "Oh Dem Golden Slippers." It became the state song of Virginia in 1940, but was given the status of "state song emeritus" in 1997 when the Virginia Senate decided that a new song was required. Len Spencer's recording was probably made for Columbia and then regionally distributed by companies such as the New Jersey Phonograph Company and the Ohio Phonograph Company. Spencer was born in 1867 in Washington DC. He was one of the USA's first recording stars and is considered to have made the first million-selling record, namely "Arkansas Traveler." Elvis included the number in several concerts in 1972, though always only singing very brief extracts.

"Cattle Call" was written in 1934 by country artist Tex Owens and recorded by him on 28 August of that year. The recording was released originally on Decca 5015 and later again on Decca 46133. The number became a number one country hit for Eddy Arnold with Hugo Winterhalter And His Orchestra in 1955. It is believed that Elvis sang "The Cattle Call" at some of his concerts in the 1950s. Two recordings of Elvis rehearsing the number are available: the first dates from 29 July 1970 and is included in the "Platinum, A Life In Music" (but it is just a 25 second snippet); the second at 1m.16s is considerably longer and can be found on the Follow That Dream release, "One Night In Vegas."

The number is based loosely on an earlier folk song called variously "Get Along Home Cindy," "Whoop 'Em Up, Cindy, "Get On Board, Little Children," along with many other titles.
In April 1924, two Appalachian ladies, Samantha Bumgarner and Eva Davis, became one of the first Country acts to be recorded. The session was held in New York for the Columbia Phonograph Company and consisted of 12 tracks (other sources say ten). The second of these tracks was "Cindy In The Meadows" and it is a clear ancestor of what we know today as "Cindy, Cindy."
(I choose to ignore Ernest Hare & Al Bernard's 1923 recording of "Cindy," which is often cited as an early version of the song, as it bears no resemblance to the song as we know it.)
Various other versions of this traditional number have been recorded, most with different lyrics to those supplied to Elvis. Amongst these: Ricky Nelson (with same title as Elvis's, in 1959) and Trini Lopez (1968 as "I'm Coming Home Cindy).

There can be little doubt that the chorus of this number is a simple rewrite of the traditional "Shortnin' Bread". Whitter recorded for the OKeh and Victor labels. The original title, "Shortnin' Bread" appears in numerous forms, including "Shortenin'" and "Shortening" and "Saltin'"; one recording lists it as "Salt Rising Bread". Indeed, there seems to be utter confusion about the origins of the song.
In any case, Henry Whitter's harmonica solo version of "Shortenin' Bread" was issued as a medley with "Hop Out Ladies" on the B-side of OKeh 40064, with "Tippy Two Step Blues" as the A-side. The numbers were recorded on 26 February, 1924. "Shortenin' Bread" makes up just the last few seconds of the track and its similarity to the tune generally known by that name is vague at best.

The original recording of "Columbus Stockade Blues" was made by the writers themselves, Thomas Darby and Jimmie Tarlton, on 10 November, 1927. It was released, together with "Birmingham Jail" on Columbia 15212-D.
Thomas Darby and Jimmie Tarlton's recordings for Columbia, Victor, and A.R.C. from 1927 to 1933 made them among the most popular of the traditional country acts recording at that time, and their influence since then has been immense. Jimmie Tarlton is credited with introducing the steel guitar to country music and was a great yodeler. Tom Darby was rhythm guitarist and singer. Despite their success, they left the music business in 1935.
The Columbus Stockade was two brick buildings which served as a jail and police headquarters from the 1850s to 1906. The property was listed on the US National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Elvis can be heard singing just a few lines of the number prior to take 4 of "Promised Land"—the title is not indicated on the playlist of "Essential Elvis Vol.5." Strangely, the same track is used on the later FTD release, "Promised Land," but is there shown as being take 6. The take call just prior to Elvis's impromptu "Columbus Stockade Blues" indicates that the correct number is, indeed, 6.

This number was used in Elvis's film Frankie and Johnny, with composing credits going to David Hess (?1936-2011). It was the first track recorded for the film. However, the tune seems to be the same as an older number called "Gonna Raise A Ruckus Tonight," or "Gonna Raise Rukus Tonight," or some other similar phrase involving a ruckus (with or without a "c"). The earliest recording of a variation of this number was made by the Norfolk Jazz Quartette, titled "Raise R-U-K-U-S Tonight" was released on Paramount 12032 in 1923. The melody is probably still older, however, and can only be indicated as "traditional." Robert Emmett Dolan arranged the tune and Johnny Mercer provided the words to create "We'll Raise A Ruckus Tonight" which was finally published in 1934 (this is getting complicated!). How similar the words in Elvis's version are to the "original," I have no idea, but the phrase "gonna raise a ruckus tonight" is still there!
David Hess? Well, he wrote several numbers for Elvis, including "I Got Stung" and "Sand Castles." Using the name David Hill, he also recorded the original version of "All Shook Up."

It is often reported that Etta James recorded this number first, even before Clyde McPhatter. However, James's recording was made on 22 April, 1957 (McPhatter's from February 1958), while a review of Al Casey's recording of "Come What May" on Dot 15563 appeared on 29 April, 1957, in Billboard and so must surely have been recorded earlier. A nice touch: the other side of Casey's release was titled "Guitar Man," though it had nothing to do with Elvis's later recording, of course.

The Sons Of The Pioneers have been active since 1933, though, of course, with many personnel changes. Early members of the group included Leonard Slye (later to become famous as Roy Rogers) and Bob Nolan. Nolan performed with the group until the 1970s. In addition to fronting them, he also wrote several of their most successful numbers, including "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" and "Cool Water." The Sons Of The Pioneers recorded the original version of "Cool Water" on 27 March, 1941, releasing it as a single that same year on Decca 5939.
Elvis's recording of "Oh Lonesome Me" is an informal one, made on a domestic tape recorder during his military service, when he was staying at the Hotel Grunewald, in Bad Nauheim, Germany. The exact date of the recording is not known.
Bob Nolan died on 16 June, 1980.

Huddie Leadbetter, or Lead Belly, was born on or about 20 January, 1888, probably in Mooringsport, Louisiana. When he was 16, he started roaming the Deep South if the USA, supporting himself by singing and accompanying himself on guitar. Leadbetter was arrested and charged with murder in December 1917; he was found guilty and given a 20-years sentence. However, in 1924, Lead Belly (the nickname he picked up in prison) sang a song for Texas governor Pat Neff and a year later, Neff pardoned him. He was again sentenced to prison in 1930, charged with "assault with attempt to murder," but once again obtained early release in 1934. Whilst in prison, he was discovered by folklorists Alan and John Lomax. He moved to New York and tried to establish himself as a professional musician, appealing particularly to left-wing political elements. He was arrested again in March 1939, this time for a stabbing, and received an eight month sentence. Upon his release, he appeared in two radio series and also presented his own weekly show. A few years later, he moved to Los Angeles, where he signed with Capitol Records. Lead Belly died in December 1949.
Lead Belly recorded the original version of his own composition "Cotton Song" in 1947 and it was released in the early 1950s the Folkways LP "Huddie Leadbetter Memorial, Vol. 2: Rock Island Line," number FP 14. As far as is known, this was his only recording of the number, which went on to become better known as "Cotton Fields."
This song is referred to in "Go, Cat, Go!" (the biography of Carl Perkins, by Carl Perkins and David McGee) as being part of Elvis's repertoire during a performance in 1954 at a high school gymnasium in Bethel Springs, Tennessee, some fifteen miles from Jackson. A recording was made in July 1970 during the filming for "That's The Way It Is"—this has, however, not been released officially.

Charles "Kenny" Brown, part Choctaw indian, was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1928. He moved to California with his mother at the age of thirteen. Following his discharge from the army, he started his own group, Kenny Brown and the Arkannsas Ramblers. In 1955 he was signed to Pep, who issued several singles by the group, including the original version of "Crazy Arms."
Probably best known from Ray Price and Jerry Lee Lewis's 1956 recordings, this number was first recorded the previous year (exact date unknown) by Kenny Brown and Marylin Kaye and The Arkansas Ramblers for the Pep label of Rivera, California (PEP 102). Elvis's version was recorded during the jam session at the Sun Studios, known as "The Million Dollar Quartet." Jerry Lee Lewis (The Killer) was at the session, along with Carl Perkins and Elvis (Johnny Cash was there for at least some time, but it is not certain that he was actually caught on tape) and he recorded "Crazy Arms" too.

Darrell Glenn was born on 7 December, 1935. Darrell's father, Artie Glenn wrote "Crying In The Chapel" and Darrell recorded it on the Valley Records label with Artie's group, the Rhythm Riders. Elvis's version was recorded in 1960 during the His Hand In Mine sessions, but was not released until 1965, when it reached the number one spot in several national charts, including the UK. Why the delay? Well, the publishing rights of Crying In The Chapel were held by Artie Glenn, who refused to share the rights with Hill & Range. Release was therefore held back until Hill & Range were able to acquire full rights to the number. Later, Darrell Glenn would write "Indescribably Blue," which Elvis recorded in 1966. Darrel Glenn died on 9 April, 1990.

The B-side of Buck Owens' hit "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail," "Crying Time" is sung by Elvis during a studio rehearsal in the film "That's The Way It Is." The song has never been officially released.

Fred Weatherly provided the words of Danny Boy, but the melody was first published in George Petrie's The Petrie Collection Of The Ancient Music Of Ireland in 1855. The nameless piece bore the annotation that it originated in Londonderry and so became known as The Londonderry Air.
Ernestine Schumann-Heink was a German contralto with the New York Metropolitan Opera. She first attempted to record "Danny Boy" in September 1915 for Victor, but was apparently unsuccessful, as the recording is indicated with the status "Destroy" in Victor's own discography. Two years later, on 26 September 1917, in Camden, New Jersey, Schumann-Henk produced the first master, which was released as a 12" disc on a number of Victor labels.

"Dark Moon" was written by Ned Miller (see also "From A Jack To A King") in 1957. Several artists recorded the number that year, but Bonnie Guitar's version seems to have been the first. She was beaten in the charts, however, by Gale Storm, who reached number 4 in Billboard's Top 100, Bonnie only getting as far as number 6.
Elvis's version is an informal recording, probably made in 1966. It was discovered by the late Joan Deary of RCA records when she searched Graceland after Elvis's death, in the hope of finding some overlooked recordings.

Quite a number of Elvis's "recordings" are little more than just a few lines of a song. This is an example. Elvis sings just one line after having tried out "Make The World Go Away" (Brightest Star on Sunset Boulevard) and there is no mention of the song on the CD itself. On the Elvis Among Friends release Elvis didn't even sing enough for the compiler of the CD to get the title correct! The CD lists "I Saw The Light," so you'd expect to hear Elvis singing another Hank Williams song (he had quite a penchant for them); instead he sings just the opening lines of Welsh singer Tom Jones's more raucous number (which, admittedly, begins with the words, "I saw the light..."). To be absolutely correct and perhaps just a little pernickety, there is a case for listing P.J. Proby as the original recording artist. In an interview with British Rock journalist in 2009, songwriter Les Reed revealed that P.J. recorded the number in November 1967, but that his recording remained unreleased until 2008. Welsh Warbler Jones's recording was made in January 1968 and released on 23 February, initially selling half a million copies, but going on to sell in excess of 5 million. The story goes that Elvis used to warm up his voice with this number. Nothing at all official about either the release or the recording, which was made during a Lake Tahoe concert in May 1976 and sounds as if the mike was held under the table!

Probably best known in the version by Bobby Bare, who recorded his version on 18 April 1963 (later covered by Welsh singer Tom Jones). However, the original was recorded on 12 September 1962 for the Decca label by Billy Grammer, but with the title, "I Wanna Go Home." It was released in January 1963 on the Decca 31449 single. Grammer was brn the oldest of thirteen children in Benton, Illinois, in 1925. He died in that same town just 17 days before his 85th birthday in August 2011.
Elvis sang three lines in a concert in the Olympia Arena, Detroit, in 1970, before a crowd of 16,000. Perhaps his friend Tom Jones was in the audience!

"What, what, what?" I hear British readers shout, "Where's Lonnie Donegan?" Well, yes, British skiffle giant Donegan did release a single of "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On The Bedpost Overnight)?" in 1959 in the UK and in 1961 in the USA, and it was a hit in both countries. However, many years before that, The Happiness Boys, otherwise known as Ernie Hare and Billy Jones, released their original version, which had the slightly different title of, "Does The Spearmint Lose Its Flavor On The Bedpost Overnight?" (Donegan couldn't use the original words, as "Spearmint" was a registered trademark in the UK.) Elvis sings just the title line (and gets it wrong) during a Las Vegas performance.

Recorded during the jam session at the Sun Studios, known as "The Million Dollar Quartet." Jerry Lee Lewis (The Killer) was at the session, along with Carl Perkins and Elvis (Johnny Cash was there for at least some time, but it is not certain that he was actually caught on tape). During the chat preceding his informal performance of "Don't Forbid Me," Elvis mentions that the number was written for him and sent to him, but that he "never even seen it."
Pat Boone was born Charles Eugene Boone in Jacksonville, Florida, on 1 June, 1934. He was called Pat because his mother wanted a girl who she was going to name Patricia. He began his recording career in 1954 with Republic Records, but his breakthrough came in 1955 when he moved to the Dot label under the guidance of Randy Wood.

Elvis never recorded a full version of this number, which, given its lyrics, is a great shame, as it could almost have been written for him. An official release, "That's The Way It Is Special Edition" also has Elvis singing four lines of the song, following the "Little Sister/Get Back" medley on CD 3, but this is not indicated in the track list. Joe South's self-penned original reached #27 in the US charts in 1969. It was released on Capitol 2592 and with the more correct title, "Don't It Make You Want To Go Home," and was taken from the album of the same name.

Dylan's number was probably based on the Appalachian traditional "Who'll Buy Your Chickens When I'm Gone," first recorded by Paul Clayton. Robert Shelton, however, points to "Scarlet Ribbons For Her Hair" as the source for "Don't Think Twice." Dylan made his recording on 14 November, 1962, at the Columbia Recording Studio, New York City. Like "Blowin' In The Wind," this track would appear on the LP "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" in May 1963.

Antoine Domino, better known as "Fats," was born on 26 February, 1928, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He started his career in entertainment in 1947 with the Solid Senders band. His first recording, "The Fat Man," made in 1949, was a million-seller, perhaps the first rock-and-roll record to be so. He continued making hits into the 1960s. Fats Domino recorded the original version of "Don't You Know I Love You," his own composition, on 28 January, 1958, and released it as a single on Imperial X5492 the following month.
Elvis's informal version was recorded during a gathering at Eddie Fadal's house in Waco, Texas, in May, 1958, probably on the 27th. Domino's recording is heard playing in the background as Elvis "sings" along with it, but only by sounding the bass part ("Doomba doomba doomba doomba") close to the mike. (Elvis was a useful bass guitarist and played the intro to "Baby I Don't Care" when bassist Bil Black was unable to do so.)

"Down By The Riverside" is just one of the titles used for this numbers. Others include "Ain' Go'n' To Study War No Mo," "Ain't Gonna Grieve My Lord No More," "Ain't Gwine To Study War No More," "Down By De Ribberside," "Down By The River," "Going To Pull My War-Clothes" and "Study War No More." The original recording by the Fisk University Jubilee Quartet, made on 29 December, 1920, was titled "I Ain't Gonna Study War No More" and was released on Columbia A3596 in 1922.
Elvis sung along on this traditional gospel number with Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis during the Million Dollar Quartet jam session at the Sun Studios in December 1956.
It would be almost 10 years, however, before he recorded a more secular version of the number for the soundtrack of the film "Frankie and Johnny," where it was coupled with "When The Saints Go Marchin' In."

The Clovers recorded "Down In The Alley" first on 21 December 1953 for Atlantic, but the number remained unreleased. They recorded the song again for Atlantic on 26 July 1957. It was released as a single, coupled with "There's No Tomorrow," in August 1957. Jesse Stone wrote the number. Stone was a very talented writer who often used the pseudonym Chales Calhoun — this is the name he used for "Shake, Rattle and Roll," for example. Elvis also recorded Stone's "Flip, Flop and Fly" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll" in 1956 and "Like A Baby" in 1960.

The melody this number is based on an old Tongan chant "Bula Lai," or "Bula Malaya," or "Bula Maleya," or… (different dialects, different transcriptions…), so the rhythm pattern for this song dates from before the colonisation of the islands and is therefore of Pacific origin. The melody is copyrighted by The Polynesian Culture Center, who are therefore credited for the song together with Tepper and Bennett. The lyrics most often associated with the melody seem to be "Bula Maleya," or "Welcome Malayans," and were written during the Malayan Campaign of the Second World War, when both Fijians and Malayans fought as part of the British Commonwealth forces against the Japanese.

Although Gordon Lightfoot's own version was not released until 1966, the year following the releases of versions of the song by Ian & Sylvia and then Peter, Paul and Mary, he had recorded the track in 1964. The delay is explained by his search for an acceptable recording contract. Gordon Lightfoot was born on 17 November 1938 in Orillia, Ontario (Canada). He made several recordings in 1960 as a member of the Two Tones.
See also "(That's What You Get) For Lovin' Me."

Jesse & Marvin recorded a number called "Dream Girl" in 1952. The Jesse of the group was one of the writers of both "Dream Girl" and "Earth Angel"—Jesse Belvin. "Earth Angel" is clearly based heavily on "Dream Girl." The Penguins scored a number one in the R&B charts with this "Earth Angel." Co-author Curtis Williams was leader of The Penguins. Elvis's recording is a home recording, made in Goethestrasse, Bad Nauheim, Germany, during his army service.

Marty Robbins is something of a legend in the world of Country and Western: he was the last performer to sing at the Grand Ole Opry's Ryman Auditorium and the first to perform at the new Opryland. He wrote "El Paso" in 1959, but Columbia Records were initially reluctant to release it as a single because of its length. Public demand was so great following its LP appearance on Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, however, that the single was released in late 1959 and became an international best seller.
In 1960 the song received a Grammy Award for "Best Country and Western Performance." Elvis is not known to have officially recorded "El Paso," but he did sing a line or two occasionally during some of his 1970's concerts.

Originally titled "Waiting At The End Of The Road" and used as the theme for the King Vidor film "Hallelujah" in 1929, in which Daniel Haynes and Dixie Jubilee Singers appeared. That same year saw recordings by the Colonial Club Orchestra, the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and Fats Wallers. Quite a heritage! Elvis does not actually sing on the recording made during the Million Dollar Quartet session, though he is heard speaking briefly at the start of the track. Jerry Lee Lewis, however, performs a great rock 'n' roll version of the number, accompanying himself, as only he could, on the piano.

Elvis sang about 4 lines of "Everybody..." during the closing show of one of his stints in Las Vegas. Dean Martin was in the audience at the time, and it was he who had a huge hit with the song in 1964. Perhaps Elvis thought that Deano had made the original recording, but then, Elvis didn't have the benefit of this site! It seems that Norma Deloris Egstrom was the first to record the number, but under her far better-known professional name of Peggy Lee. Her recording was made on 20 November 1947. Frank Sinatra soon followed, with a recording made on 4 December.

Bob Wills was born on 6 March, 1905, near Kosse, in Texas. He formed the Texas Playboys in 1934 in Oklahoma and radio exposure made him a star in the southwestern states of the USA. His big success with "Faded Love" came in 1950, but he first recorded the number on his own Tiffany label four years earlier.
Wills became acquainted with the tune of "Faded Love" when it was playedat home as a fiddle tune by John Wills, Bob Wills's father. The melody might be derived from the 1856 ballad, "Darling Nelly Gray," composed by Benjamin Hanby and possibly first recorded by John W. Myers and released on Columbia cylinder 4615 in 1904.
Bob Wills's 1946 recording for Tiffany was an instrumental version, not intended for commercial release: the Tiffany label produced "transcriptions" or prepackaged radio shows, which were recorded onto 16-inch discs. Later, however, Bob provided the words together with his bother, Billy Jack, and on 27 April, 1950, he recorded the vocal version that stands as the original commercial version and which was released on MGM K10786. Bob Wills died on 13 May, 1975.

The Pointer Sisters' original version was awarded a Grammy in the category Best Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. The number first appeared on their LP, "That's A Plenty," (Blue Thumb Records, BTS 6009), released in February 1974, before being issued as a single in September 1974 on Blue Thumb BTA 254.
The Pointer Sisters began in 1969 as a duo, consisting of real-life sisters June and Bonnie Pointer. At the time of the recording of "Fairytale," the group had expanded to four members, June and Bonnie, together with two more sisters, Anita, and Ruth. Anita and Bonnie Pointer wrote "Fairytale" and the number attracted so much interest that the Pinter Sisters were invited to Nashville, where they became the first black female singers to appear at the Grand Ole Opry.

The Reverand W. B. Stevens probably wrote the words to this hymn in 1911, following the death of his son. He might have based his lyrics on the much older "Father Alone" poem, which dates back to the 19th century (I have been unable to find any evidence of this poem). In 1937, Jesse Baxter of the Stamps-Baxter Music Company added a melody to Stevens' lyrics. The song was recorded by numerous artists between 1938 and 1940, but the J.H. Howell Carolina Hillbillies' recording, made on 29 January, 1938, seems to have been the first. This was released on Montgomery Ward, number 7757, as the B-side of "My Sweetheart Has Gone And Left Me." The exact name of the artist is something of a mystery, as it appears as both J.H. Howell's Carolina Hillbillies and J.H. Howell Carolina Hillbilly, depending on source.
Elvis originally recorded this number during the jam session at the Sun Studios, known as "The Million Dollar Quartet." He included it in the "How Great Thou Art" sessions, almost ten years later.

Brazilian singer/songwriter Morris Albert scored a big hit in South and Central America with his number "Feelings" before it was released in the USA, where it reached the top ten. It went on to become a worldwide hit. The Paris Appeals Court convicted Albert of plagiarism in 1987, forcing him to pay half a million dollars to French composer Louis Gasté who had accused Albert of using his composition Pour Toi as the basis of Feelings.
Pour Toi was written for the film Le Feu Aux Poudres and was originally recorded in 1957 by Dario Moreno. It is said that "Feelings" was the last song recorded by Elvis during a studio session (October 31-November 1, 1976), but that it was never completed. Elvis's version has never been released.

Talented Little Willie John's career was cut short in 1966 when he was convicted of manslaughter. He died in prison just two years later. The Davenport in the composer credits is a pseudonym for none other than Otis Blackwell. Davenport was the name of Blackwell's stepfather and was used because Little Willie John recorded for one music publisher, while Blackwell was under contract to another. Though Elvis almost certainly knew Little Willie John's version (Elvis's knowledge of black music was extensive), his own version is clearly based on Peggy Lee's (from 1958), which has different lyrics and the same emphasis on the bass-line.

The Spidells were formed in the early 1960s at Tennessee State University. Although based around Nashville, genereally regarded as the home of country music, the Spidells were a central part of the city's R&B scene. They are perhaps best known for their Coral release "Don't You Forget That You're My Baby," in 1967, but earlier had released tracks on the Monza label, including the 1964 original of "Find Out What's Happening," as the B-side of "That'll Make My Heart Break" on Monza 1122.
A British group, The Downliners Sect, soon covered the number. The Sect was one of the many British R&B groups of the early 1960s. The group was formed in 1963 by Mick O'Donnell (AKA Don Craine), after the break-up of his previous group, The Downliners. The original formation of the Sect was Don Craine (vocals and rhythm guitar), Melvin (?) (lead guitar, but soon replaced by Terry Gibson), Keith Grant (bass) and Jonny Sutton (drums). Despite some excellent releases on single, EP and LP, the lack of commercial success led to the end of the The Downliners Sect in 1967.

Tepper and Bennett? Add German classical composer Johannes Brahms, for this song is a sort of pop version of his lullaby, "Guten Abend, Gut' Nacht," or "Wiegenlied" opus 49, no.4. Brahms was born in Hamburg, Germany on 7 May 1833 and died in Vienna, Austria, on 3 April 1897. "The song was written in honor of the birth of a child of Brahms's friends Bertha and Artur Faber in 1868. Years earlier, Brahms had briefly fallen in love with Bertha when she was a young visitor to his female choir in Hamburg, and during the playful courtship she used to sing him a lilting 3/4-time Viennese melody. The romance ended, but the friendship endured, and the melody that Brahms later composed for the private lullaby was a creative counterpoint to the earlier love song that the child's mother would remember singing to the composer. When he presented the gift to the Fabers, Brahms included this note to her husband: "Frau Bertha will realize that I wrote the 'Wiegenlied' for her little one. She will find it quite in order . . . that while she is singing Hans to sleep, a love song is being sung to her." Bertha was the first person to sing Brahms's Lullaby" From "Johannes Brahms: A Biography, by Jan Swafford (1997, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.). Schumann-Heink's recording was made in September 1906 and released on the single-faced Victor/Victrola Red Seal label, VBRS 81085 (VBRS 81083, an earlier take made on the same date, was not issued)..