ELvis, Elvis
Elvis Presley ELVIS.
Elvis Presley's second album arrived only months after his RCA debut, at the end of a year in which demand for new Elvis records seemed almost impossible for the label to satisfy.
Album artwork shown for commentary and historical reference. Image source: Cover Art Archive / MusicBrainz.
SEVEN THINGS
WORTH KNOWING.
The album sits inside a remarkable 1956 release machine of LPs, singles and EPs, but the official archive also shows Elvis pushing back against pure productivity in favor of getting performances exactly the way he wanted them.
Elvis, Presley's second studio album, was released by RCA Victor on October 19, 1956 and contains 12 tracks.
Producer Steve Sholes had been pushing for a second album since the sessions for Presley's first RCA LP earlier that year.
Sholes originally held back "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll" for the second album, but RCA instead used them on an EP in June when it needed additional material.
Elvis's official archive describes a creative tug of war between Sholes, who wanted more usable recordings, and Presley, who was willing to spend many takes chasing the performance he wanted.
An Elvis Vol. 1 EP containing four songs from the album was released the same day and sold one million copies; "Love Me" reached No. 6 on the singles chart.
A second EP, Elvis Vol. 2, followed on November 1, 1956 and sold 400,000 copies in its initial run.
"Old Shep" was recorded at Radio Recorders in Hollywood on September 2, 1956, with Elvis credited on guitar and piano alongside Scotty Moore, Bill Black, D.J. Fontana, Gordon Stoker and the Jordanaires.
WHY THIS
ALBUM MATTERS.
Elvis captures how quickly Presley's recording career accelerated in 1956. RCA needed constant product, but the official session history shows an artist already concerned with performance details rather than simply feeding the release schedule.
THE
NUMBERS.
TRACKS
The second RCA studio album contains twelve songs.
EP COPIES
Elvis Vol. 1, released the same day with four album tracks, sold one million copies.
SECOND EP
Elvis Vol. 2 sold 400,000 copies in its initial run.
THE
PHYSICAL OBJECT.
The second RCA album uses a very different visual approach from the famous pink-and-green typography of the debut. The cover centers Elvis himself, reinforcing how quickly his image had become as important to the package as the songs.
RESEARCH SOURCES
Facts are checked against artist, label, award, chart and detailed recording-credit sources before publication.
KEEP
DIGGING.
More recording stories, strange credits, cover art, chart numbers and details hiding inside the records.