For LP Fans Only
Encyclopedia
For LP Fans Only is the seventh album
by Elvis Presley
, issued on RCA Victor Records (LPM 1990) in February 1959. It is a compilation of material from an August 1956 recording session at 20th Century Fox
Stage One, a September 1956 session at Radio Recorders
in Hollywood, sessions on January 10 and 11 at RCA Studios in Nashville
, two more at RCA Studios in New York
, and multiple sessions at Sun Studio
. The album reached #19 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums
chart. It is currently out of print.
on March 24, 1958, RCA and Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker
were faced with the prospect of keeping his name before the public for two years with no possibility of live performances or movies, and few unissued marketable recordings in the vault. A recording session was arranged for two days in June, which yielded enough items for five more single sides
, singles being the commercial focus for rock and roll
in the 1950s. Four of those tracks would be issued on 45s in 1958 and 1959 during his absence while doing military service.
Presley, however, also did well in the albums market. Each of his previous six LPs charted no lower than #3, and RCA wished to continue promoting albums by their hot commodity given his sales record. Much of Presley's material had not been released on LP. For this album, RCA collected nine tracks previously available in single form only, as well as "Poor Boy" from the Love Me Tender EP
. Four of the tracks had been issued on Sun Records
with limited release, and were very difficult to come by outside of the south
.
This album was the debut release of Elvis' first commercial recording "That's All Right" in the UK. It was never issued as a single there during Presley's lifetime. For LP Fans Only was reissued on compact disc
in 1988. Audiophile
CD recordings are available on import in the US, including the 2005 Japanese
pressing with a truncated track list. The album is included in a 25 disc package, "The Perfect Blues Collection", released by Sony in 2011.
chart; positions for singles from Billboard Pop Singles
chart
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
by Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, issued on RCA Victor Records (LPM 1990) in February 1959. It is a compilation of material from an August 1956 recording session at 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
Stage One, a September 1956 session at Radio Recorders
Radio Recorders
Radio Recorders, Inc. was a recording studio based in Los Angeles, California. Famous musicians to have been recorded in the studio include Charlie Parker, Jimmie Rodgers, Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and The Carpenters among others. In its prime, the studio was known...
in Hollywood, sessions on January 10 and 11 at RCA Studios in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, two more at RCA Studios in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and multiple sessions at Sun Studio
Sun Studio
Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label business...
. The album reached #19 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart. It is currently out of print.
Content
After Presley's induction into the armyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
on March 24, 1958, RCA and Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker
Colonel Tom Parker
"Colonel" Thomas Andrew "Tom" Parker born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, was a Dutch-born entertainment impresario known best as the manager of Elvis Presley...
were faced with the prospect of keeping his name before the public for two years with no possibility of live performances or movies, and few unissued marketable recordings in the vault. A recording session was arranged for two days in June, which yielded enough items for five more single sides
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, singles being the commercial focus for rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
in the 1950s. Four of those tracks would be issued on 45s in 1958 and 1959 during his absence while doing military service.
Presley, however, also did well in the albums market. Each of his previous six LPs charted no lower than #3, and RCA wished to continue promoting albums by their hot commodity given his sales record. Much of Presley's material had not been released on LP. For this album, RCA collected nine tracks previously available in single form only, as well as "Poor Boy" from the Love Me Tender EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
. Four of the tracks had been issued on Sun Records
Sun Records
Sun Records is a record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27, 1952.Founded by Sam Phillips, Sun Records was known for giving notable musicians such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash...
with limited release, and were very difficult to come by outside of the south
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
.
This album was the debut release of Elvis' first commercial recording "That's All Right" in the UK. It was never issued as a single there during Presley's lifetime. For LP Fans Only was reissued on compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
in 1988. Audiophile
Audiophile
An audiophile is a person who enjoys listening to recorded music, usually in a home. Some audiophiles are more interested in collecting and listening to music, while others are more interested in collecting and listening to audio components, whose "sound quality" they consider as important as the...
CD recordings are available on import in the US, including the 2005 Japanese
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
pressing with a truncated track list. The album is included in a 25 disc package, "The Perfect Blues Collection", released by Sony in 2011.
Collective personnel
- Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
– vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Scotty MooreScotty MooreWinfield Scott "Scotty" Moore III is an American guitarist. He is best known for his backing of Elvis Presley in the first part of his career, between 1954 and the beginning of Elvis' Hollywood years...
– guitar - Chet AtkinsChet AtkinsChester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
- guitar - Floyd CramerFloyd CramerFloyd Cramer was an American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the "Nashville sound." He popularized the "slip note" piano style where an out-of-tune note slides effortlessly into the correct note...
- pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Shorty LongShorty LongFrederick Earl "Shorty" Long was an American soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer for Motown's Soul Records imprint...
- piano - Gordon Stoker - piano, backing vocals
- Bill BlackBill BlackWilliam Patton "Bill" Black, Jr. was an American musician who is noted as one of the pioneers of rockabilly music. Black was the bassist in Elvis Presley's early trio and the leader of Bill Black's Combo....
– bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - D.J. Fontana - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Jimmie Lott – drums
- Johnny Bernero – drums
- The JordanairesThe JordanairesThe Jordanaires are an American vocal quartet, which formed as a gospel group in 1948. They are best known for providing vocal background for Elvis Presley, in live appearances and recordings from 1956 to 1972...
- backing vocals - Ben Speer - backing vocals
- Brock Speer - backing vocals
Track listing
Chart position for EPA 4006 from Billboard Top Pop AlbumsBillboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart; positions for singles from Billboard Pop Singles
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Side one
| Track | Recorded | Original LP/EP Issue | Catalogue | Release Date | Chart Peak | Song Title | Writer(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 7/5/54 | Sun 209 | 7/19/54 | That's All Right That's All Right (Mama) "That's All Right" is the name of the first single released by Elvis Presley, written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup. Elvis' version was recorded on 5 July 1954, and released on 19 July 1954 with "Blue Moon of Kentucky" as the B-side... |
Arthur Crudup Arthur Crudup Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup was an American Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known outside blues circles for writing songs such as "That's All Right" , "My Baby Left Me" and "So Glad You're Mine", later covered by Elvis Presley and dozens of other artists.-Career:Arthur Crudup... |
1:55 | ||
| 2. | 2/3/56 | 47-6642b | 8/31/56 | Lawdy Miss Clawdy Lawdy Miss Clawdy "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" is a song by Lloyd Price. It was first recorded by Price at the New Orleans recording studio of Specialty Records in March 1952. It was released under the Specialty label in April and was number one on the Billboard rhythm and blues chart for seven weeks and stayed on the chart... |
Lloyd Price Lloyd Price Lloyd Price is an American R&B vocalist. Known as "Mr. Personality", after the name of one of his biggest million-selling hits... |
2:08 | ||
| 3. | 7/11/55 | Sun 223b | 8/6/55 | Mystery Train Mystery Train "Mystery Train" is a song written by Junior Parker and Sam Phillips. It was first recorded in Phillip's Memphis Recording Service and Sun Records at 706 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee in 1953. Raymond Hill plays tenor sax and Matt Murphy plays lead guitar with Bill Johnson on piano, Pat Hare on... |
Herman Parker Jr. Junior Parker Junior Parker was an American Memphis blues singer and musician. He is best remembered for his unique voice which has been described as "honeyed," and "velvet-smooth"... and Sam Phillips Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips , better known as Sam Phillips, was an American businessman, record executive, record producer and DJ who played an important role in the emergence of rock and roll as the major form of popular music in the 1950s... |
2:24 | ||
| 4. | 9/1/56 | 47-6800b | 1/4/57 | #21 | Playing for Keeps | Stan Kesler | 2:50 | |
| 5. | 8/24/56 | Love Me Tender | EPA 4006 | 11/56 | #22 | Poor Boy | Vera Matson and Elvis Presley | 2:13 |
Side two
| Track | Recorded | Catalogue | Release Date | Chart Peak | Song Title | Writer(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1/30/56 | 47-6540b | 5/4/56 | #31 | My Baby Left Me My Baby Left Me My Baby Left Me is a rhythm and blues song written by blues singer Arthur Crudup in the late 1940s.It gained further exposure in covers by Elvis Presley, who placed his version on the b-side to his 1956 single "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You"; by Creedence Clearwater Revival, who recorded it as... |
Arthur Crudup Arthur Crudup Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup was an American Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known outside blues circles for writing songs such as "That's All Right" , "My Baby Left Me" and "So Glad You're Mine", later covered by Elvis Presley and dozens of other artists.-Career:Arthur Crudup... |
2:12 |
| 2. | 1/11/56 | 47-6357b | 1/27/56 | #19 | I Was The One | Aaron Schroeder, Claude DeMetrius Claude Demetrius Claude Demetrius was an African American songwriter.Born in Bath, Maine, by his early twenties he was in New York City writing music for and/or with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Jimmy Witherspoon and B.B. King. Demetrius wrote the 1945 musical comedy short film Open the Door, Richard... , Hal Blair, Bill Peppers |
2:34 |
| 3. | 2/3/56 | 47-6642 | 8/31/56 | Shake, Rattle & Roll | Charles Calhoun Charles Calhoun Charles Luther Calhoun was an American military enlisted man who served briefly in the United States Navy during World War II and then in the United States Coast Guard where he would rise to become the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard.-Biography:Charles Calhoun was born April... |
2:37 | |
| 4. | 3/5/55 | Sun 217b | 4/10/55 | I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone | Stan Kesler and William Taylor | 2:36 | |
| 5. | 11?12/54 | Sun 215b | 12/28/54 | #74 | You're a Heartbreaker You're a Heartbreaker You're a Heartbreaker is a song by Elvis Presley. It was recorded in December 1954 during the fourth of Presley's now-legendary eight sessions at Memphis' Sun Studio and released as the B-side of his third Sun single , whose A-side was a cover of Kokomo Arnold's Milkcow Blues Boogie.... |
Jack Sallee | 2:12 |