Maps of Music

Back In Memphis (1969)

Where the lyrics of Back In Memphis take you, and where it was really made.

Back In Memphis is a ten-track reissue taken from a double album that was mostly live recordings from Las Vegas, and its own studio tracks were recorded in Memphis.

Key places

Recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis (1969)

Recording site American Sound Studio — The studio tracks on this album were recorded at American Sound Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and were later issued on the 1969 double album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Back In Memphis, also titled Elvis Back In Memphis: album by Elvis Presley released by RCA
• Separate reissue of part of the 1969 double album From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis
• Contains 10 tracks from that double album
• Recorded at American Sound Studios in Memphis, Tennessee
• Sits beside Elvis In Person At The International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, the other album that came from the double LP

Background

• The double LP combined studio recordings with live recordings from the International Hotel in Las Vegas
• Back In Memphis collected the studio side of that double album
• During these years RCA aimed to release as many singles and albums as possible so that Elvis records were always available in stores

Recording

• Recorded at American Sound Studios in Memphis, Tennessee
• Among the best tracks cut at American Sound Studios: Do You Know Who I Am, You'll Think Of Me, Without Love (There Is Nothing), and And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind
• Musicians: Mike Leech and Tommy Cogbill on bass, Gene Chrisman on drums, Reggie Young on guitar, Bobby Emmons on organ, Bobby Wood on piano, John Hughey on steel guitar, Ed Kollis on harmonica, and The Memphis Horns

Cover

• Unlike the cover of the International Hotel album, this one shows Elvis performing live at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in August 1969
• Elvis wears a black outfit with an acoustic guitar hung around his neck
• Around that time Elvis gave about 57 shows in 29 days

Sources: es.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi; family moved to Memphis, Tennessee when he was 13.
• Began his career in 1954 at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring African-American music to a wider audience.
• Recorded "That's All Right" with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black in July 1954.
• A pioneer of rockabilly, a fusion of country music and rhythm and blues.

Members

• Classic quartet: Presley (vocals, guitar), Scotty Moore (lead guitar), Bill Black (bass), and D. J. Fontana (drums), who joined in 1955.

Career

• RCA Victor acquired his contract in 1955 for $40,000; "Heartbreak Hotel" hit number one in the US in 1956.
• Became a leading figure of rock and roll, though his style was considered a threat to white American youth by some.
• Made his film debut in Love Me Tender (1956) and devoted much of the 1960s to Hollywood films.
• Returned to the stage with the 1968 NBC special Elvis, followed by a Las Vegas residency and tours.
• Gave the first solo-artist concert broadcast worldwide, Aloha from Hawaii, in 1973.
• Died August 16, 1977 at Graceland, aged 42.
• Estimated to have sold 500 million records worldwide; won three Grammy Awards.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Sales of around 100,000 units
• Entered the Billboard 200 at number 183 and stayed there for three consecutive weeks
• Released as a separate album from the 1969 double LP, with ten tracks taken from it

Reappraisal

• RCA also released The Fair Is Moving On as a single, paired with Clean Up Your Own Backyard
• That single reached several chart lists
• The RIAA later certified the single as gold
• Because each new album and compilation started its RIAA count from zero, sales of Elvis records were not added up in the RIAA's figures

Records

• Billboard 200: number 183, three consecutive weeks
• Sales of around 100,000 units
• The Fair Is Moving On: RIAA gold certification for the single

Sources: es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Back In Memphis contains several of the best tracks recorded at American Sound Studios.
• RCA's policy of releasing many singles and albums at once later caused problems when the RIAA counted total Elvis sales, because each new album started from zero.
• Each album from the double LP, and each compilation built from earlier singles, was counted separately, so many Elvis releases sold hundreds of thousands of copies that the RIAA did not include in its totals.
• The album cover shows Elvis in Las Vegas in August 1969, during a period when he gave about 57 shows in 29 days.
• The album was issued alongside Elvis In Person At The International Hotel, which reused the cover of the previous year's album.

Sources: es.wikipedia.org

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