| Love Letters from Elvis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 16, 1971 (1971-06-16) | |||
| Recorded | June 4–9, 1970 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 32:40 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Felton Jarvis | |||
| Elvis Presley chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Love Letters from Elvis | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Billboard | Favorable[2] |
| MusicHound | [3] |
| Rough Guides | [4] |
Love Letters from Elvis is the fourteenthstudio album by American singer and musicianElvis Presley, released in 1971. The album was critically panned upon release, and failed to crack the top 20 of the Billboard album charts, but did reach No. 12 on the US Top Country Albums chart and No. 7 on the UK best-selling albums chart.
The album was made up of leftovers from Elvis' marathon June 1970 recording sessions in Nashville. Most of the other 35 songs recorded during those sessions had been used in Elvis' 1970 albumsThat's the Way It Is andElvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old). Wanting to squeeze out a third album from the sessions,RCA records had producerFelton Jarvis mix, overdub, and compile the remaining songs.
The song's title track was a rare instance of Presley re-recording a past hit in the studio, his original version of "Love Letters" having been released as a single in 1966. "Got My Mojo Working" is edited down from an impromptujam session; Presley's version incorporates lyrics from "Hands Off", a 1955 song by Frankie Castro released on the Wing record label (RCA often mislabelled this song "Keep Your Hands Off of It" when the complete jam was issued on CD years later).
Three songs from this album were released on singles. The single "Life" / "Only Believe" was released in March 1971 and reached only No. 53 on the US Billboard Singles chart. It was Elvis's lowest chart position for a single since "Almost in Love" had reached No. 95 in late 1968. "Heart of Rome" was placed on the B-side of the non-album track "I'm Leavin'" released as a single in August 1971. It reached No. 23 in the UK and No. 83 in Australia.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love Letters" | Edward Heyman andVictor Young | June 7, 1970 | 2:53 |
| 2. | "When I'm Over You" | Shirl Milete | June 7, 1970 | 2:28 |
| 3. | "If I Were You" | Gerald Nelson | June 8, 1970 | 3:01 |
| 4. | "Got My Mojo Working" | Preston Foster | June 5, 1970 | 4:36 |
| 5. | "Heart of Rome" | Alan Blaikley,Ken Howard,Geoff Stephens | June 6, 1970 | 2:56 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Only Believe" | D. Paul Rader | June 8, 1970 | 2:49 |
| 2. | "This Is Our Dance" | Les Reed, Geoff Stephens | June 6, 1970 | 3:16 |
| 3. | "Cindy, Cindy" | Fred Wise,Buddy Kaye,Dolores Fuller,Ben Weisman | June 4, 1970 | 2:33 |
| 4. | "I'll Never Know" | Fred Karger,Sid Wayne,Ben Weisman | June 5, 1970 | 2:25 |
| 5. | "It Ain't No Big Thing (But It's Growing)" | Shorty Hall, Neal Merritt, Alice Joy Merritt | June 6, 1970 | 2:49 |
| 6. | "Life" | Shirl Milete | June 6, 1970 | 3:10 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love Letters" | |
| 2. | "When I'm Over You" | |
| 3. | "If I Were You" | |
| 4. | "Got My Mojo Working" / "Keep Your Hands Off of It" | |
| 5. | "Heart of Rome" | |
| 6. | "Only Believe" | |
| 7. | "This Is Our Dance" | |
| 8. | "Cindy, Cindy" | |
| 9. | "I’ll Never Know" | |
| 10. | "It Ain’t No Big Thing (But It’s Growing)" | |
| 11. | "Life" | |
| 12. | "The Sound of Your Cry" | |
| 13. | "Sylvia" | |
| 14. | "Rags to Riches" | |
| 15. | "Something" | |
| 16. | "The Sound of Your Cry" (takes 1, 2, 3) | |
| 17. | "Cindy, Cindy" (take 1) | |
| 18. | "I’ll Never Know" (take 1) | |
| 19. | "It Ain’t No Big Thing (But It’s Growing)" (takes 1, 2) | |
| 20. | "Life" (take 1, 2) | |
| 21. | "Heart of Rome" (take 1) | |
| 22. | "If I Were You" (take 1) | |
| 23. | "Rags to Riches" (rehearsal, take 2) |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Radio Commercial" | |
| 2. | "The Sound of Your Cry" (takes 4, 5, 6) | |
| 3. | "Cindy, Cindy" (takes 2, 3; undubbed master) | |
| 4. | "Got My Mojo Working" / "Keep Your Hands Off Of It" (take 1; undubbed master) | |
| 5. | "I'll Never Know" (takes 2, 3) | |
| 6. | "It Ain't No Big Thing (But It’s Growing)" (takes 3, 4, 5, 6) | |
| 7. | "This Is Our Dance" (takes 6, 7, 9,11; undubbed master) | |
| 8. | "Life" (take10) | |
| 9. | "Heart of Rome" (take 2; undubbed master) | |
| 10. | "Love Letters" (takes 3, 1) | |
| 11. | "If I Were You" (takes 2, 3, 4, 5) | |
| 12. | "Only Believe" (takes 1, 2, 3, 4; undubbed master) | |
| 13. | "Sylvia" (takes 1, 2, 3, 4, 9) | |
| 14. | "Rags to Riches" (take 3) |
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