Back in the day, 1997
Elvis Presley
From Elvis At Sun vinyl
(Memphis Mansion)
The acrid odor of the Crown Electric pickup's gasoline surely lingered in shy young Elvis's memory when he cut the earliest of these historic sides. With Blue Moon Boys Scotty Moore and Bill Black at his elbow, and legendary Sun impresssario Sam Phillips at the board, the soon-to-be-King let fly an electrifying, embryonic union of Country and Blues stylings.
Without that world-transformative act, I wouldn't write these words, nor would you read them.
Elvis's germinal waxings may sound subdued by the standards of his current and audacious progeny. But in their era's context, they were revolutionary, sent popular-culture reeling, and (it must be stressed) constituted a sublime model that has never been equaled - much less improved upon.
Top-drawer spark-plugs Scotty and Bill poured into their spirited performances all the experience they'd absorbed in juke-joints and dance halls. (Later, drummer D.J. Fontana was added; he stayed with Presley for some 15 years.)
The bucolic swayings of Scotty's assured, elegantly toned picking and Bill's robust, hustling double-bass navigations were vital to the gestation. As is music's way, their influences breathe in innumerable followers' efforts; such will probably ever be the case.
An Elvis Information Network observation notes that From Elvis At Sun includes "five classic Sun singles plus the other nine alternative cuts that RCA would purchase from Sam Phillips."
(In 2003, this Memphis Mansion vinyl was reissued by the Danish label in CD format. The new version featured a different cover, enlarged track listing, and accompanying booklet.)
Even in his youth, Elvis was possessed of a distinctive and commanding voice, one capable of tremendous range. Throughout ensuing decades, it not only maintained early quality but augmented it with deep seasoning. (The same was true of icon Robert Gordon, who sometimes drew from Presley's repertoire with magnificent results.)
Regardless of this world's duration, there will never be a day on which Elvis is not dominant.
Recommended, side A: "That's All Right," "Blue Moon of Kentucky," "Good Rockin' Tonight," "I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine," "Milkcow Blues Boogie," "You're a Heartbreaker," "Baby Let's Play House," "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone"
Recommended, side B: "I Forgot To Remember To Forget," "Mystery Train," "I Love You Because" (RCA original master edit), "Blue Moon," "I'll Never Let You Go," "Just Because," "Trying To Get To You," "That's All Right" (live, October 16, 1954)
Video (amateur 8mm footage of 1955 performance)
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