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| Elvis at Sun | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | June 22, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | July 1954–November 1955 | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll,rockabilly | |||
| Length | 47:40 | |||
| Label | RCA 61205-2 | |||
| Producer | Sam Phillips | |||
| Elvis Presley chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Elvis at Sun is acompact disc compilation ofElvis Presley's studio recordings atSun Studio from 1954 to 1955, released in June 2004, BMG Heritage 61205. This set featuresmaster recordings made by Presley and his accompanists,Scotty Moore andBill Black, occasionally augmented by other musicians, prior to his arrival onRCA Records in early 1956.
The tapes for the Sun versions of "I Got A Woman" and "Satisfied" were lost. The former would be recorded for Presley during his first RCA session. All of the studio recordings were produced bySam Phillips, the owner ofSun Studio inMemphis,Tennessee. Phillips released Presley's recording contract to RCA for the substantial sum, in 1955dollars, of $35,000. This gave RCA the rights to all of Presley'smasters recorded at Sun.
The disc contains a slightly different track list and running order than previous issues of the Sun material, such as theSunrise double-disc, with the shorter version of "When It Rains It Really Pours" from thefifties box, and analternate of "I Love You Because." It still presents all eighteen Sun titles from the singer's stay at the label.
"Elvis At Sun" also was released in the vinyl LP configuration.
The set includes "That's All Right (Mama)", one of candidates for being "thefirst rock and roll record". Elvis' entire period at Sun is one of the seminal events in the birth ofrock and roll, specifically also the beginning of the subgenre known asrockabilly. In 2001,VH1 named its parent album -The Sun Sessions - the 21st greatest album of all time; on 2003,Rolling Stone listed it #11 on itsthe 500 greatest albums of all time. Two tracks from the Presley's Sun sessions were included inThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll: "Mystery Train," and "That's All Right."
In 2002, given their importance in the development of American popular music,The Sun Sessions were chosen, by theNational Recording Registry of theLibrary of Congress, to be kept as a bequeathal to posterity.
For more detailed information on the recording sessions, seeElvis Presley's Sun recordings.
Chart positions for LPs and EPs fromBillboard Top Pop Albums chart; positions for singles fromBillboard Pop Singles chart except as indicated.
| Track | Song title | Writer(s) | Time | Recorded | Release date | Original LP Issue | Catalogue | Chart peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Harbor Lights" | Jimmy Kennedy andHugh Williams | 2:37 | 1954-07-05 | 1959-07-24 | A Date With Elvis | LPM 2011 | #46 |
| 2. | "I Love You Because"alternate | Leon Payne | 3:29 | 1954-07-05 | 1987 | The Complete Sun Sessions | RCA 6414-2 | |
| 3. | "That's All Right" | Arthur Crudup | 1:57 | 1954-07-05 | 1954-07-19 | For LP Fans Only | Sun 209 | |
| 4. | "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" | Bill Monroe | 2:04 | 1954-07-05 | 1954-07-19 | A Date With Elvis | Sun 209b | |
| 5. | "Blue Moon" | Richard Rodgers andLorenz Hart | 2:44 | 1954-08-19 | 1956-03-23 | Elvis Presley | LPM 1254 | #1 |
| 6. | "Tomorrow Night" | Sam Coslow andWill Grocz | 3:00 | 1954-09-10 | 1965-08-10 | Elvis for Everyone | LSP 3450 | #10 |
| 7. | "I'll Never Let You Go (Lil' Darlin')" | Jimmy Wakely | 2:25 | 1954-09-10 | 1956-03-23 | Elvis Presley | LPM 1254 | #1 |
| 8. | "Just Because" | Sydney Robin, Bob Shelton, Joe Shelton | 2:33 | 1954-09-10 | 1956-03-23 | Elvis Presley | LPM 1254 | #1 |
| 9. | "Good Rockin' Tonight" | Roy Brown | 2:13 | 1954-09-10 | 1954-09-25 | A Date With Elvis | Sun 210 | |
| 10. | "I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine" | Mack David | 2:20 | 1954-09-10 | 1954-09-25 | The Sun Sessions | Sun 210b | |
| 11. | "Milkcow Blues Boogie" | Kokomo Arnold | 2:37 | 1954-11/12? | 1954-12-28 | A Date With Elvis | Sun 215 | |
| 12. | "You're a Heartbreaker" | Jack Sallee | 2:12 | 1954-11/12? | 1954-12-28 | For LP Fans Only | Sun 215b | #74 |
| 13. | "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone"(slow version) | Stan Kesler and William E. Taylor | 2:41 | 1955-03-05 | 1987 | The Complete Sun Sessions | RCA 6414-2 | |
| 14. | "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" | Stan Kesler and William E. Taylor | 2:37 | 1955-03-05 | 1955-04-10 | For LP Fans Only | Sun 217b | |
| 15. | "Baby Let's Play House" | Arthur Gunter | 2:17 | 1955-02-05 | 1955-04-10 | A Date With Elvis | Sun 217 | C&W #5 |
| 16. | "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" | Stan Kesler andCharlie Feathers | 2:30 | 1955-07-11 | 1955-08-06 | A Date With Elvis | Sun 223 | C&W #1 |
| 17. | "Mystery Train" | Junior Parker andSam Phillips | 2:29 | 1955-07-11 | 1955-08-06 | For LP Fans Only | Sun 223b | |
| 18. | "Trying to Get to You" | Rose Marie McCoy andCharles Singleton | 2:33 | 1955-07-11 | 1956-03-23 | Elvis Presley | LPM 1254 | #1 |
| 19. | "When It Rains It Really Pours" | William Emerson | 2:00 | 1955-11-20 | 1992-06-23 | The Complete 50s Masters | RCA 66050-2 | #159 |
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[2] | 69 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[3] | 88 |
| USTop Country Albums (Billboard)[4] | 37 |
