60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
1/8/65 - OMG ...
Elvis turns 30!!!
(That's right, folks ...
If Elvis were still with us, today would be his 90th Birthday!!!)
Elvis '65
I was talking with our FH Buddy Sam Tallerico the other day, just kind of recapping the 1964 Super Charts we both featured throughout the past year, and he commented that he was surprised by how many hits Elvis was still having in 1964.
(Keep in mind this was also the year of Beatlemania and The British Invasion)
According to Joel Whitburn's Comparison Chart Book, Elvis made The National Top Singles Charts THIRTEEN times in 1964 alone!
Only three of these were movie soundtrack hits ... "Kissin' Cousins" (#9 in Music Vendor, #12 in Billboard), "What'd I Say" (from "Viva Las Vegas"), #13 in Cash Box (but only #21 in Billboard) and the film's title track, "Viva Las Vegas," which peaked BELOW the B-Side at #16 in Cash Box and #29 in Billboard. (Pretty amazing when one considers what a key, signature song of Elvis' it is today.)
One of my favorites of his from that year was the flip side of "Kissin' Cousins," "It Hurts Me," which got as high as #29 in Billboard.
(DIDJAKNOW future rock and country superstar Charlie Daniels cowrote this one???)
(Elvis' version of "Suspicion" also bubbled-under that year at #103 ... its A-Side, "Kiss Me Quick," released on RCA's Gold Standard label, got as high as #29 in Record World and #34 in Billboard.) I have always felt that Terry Stafford's Super Charts #1 Hit version blew Elvis' original away.
Perhaps because the soundtrack material was already so weak at this point, RCA instead dipped into the vaults for some of The King's other single releases.
For example, "Such A Night" (perhaps my all-time favorite Elvis song) came from his 1960 album 'Elvis Is Back." It went to #13 when RCA released it as a single in 1964 in Cash Box (and #16 in Billboard.) "Ain't That Loving You Baby" (#12 in Record World and #16 in Billboard) dates back to 1958, but for whatever reason, RCA held that one back at the time. The intended B-Side (and infinitely inferior) "Ask Me" somehow outshone this one, peaking at #10 in Cash Box and #12 in Billboard. Personally, I think they were trying to recapture some of the youthful spirit of Elvis' earlier hits and keep him relevant in '64, especially in light of this sudden change in music. The new material Elvis was recording was pretty much all movie soundtrack fluff. It would be four more years before he proved he still had it with his 1968 comeback television special.
For Elvis' last single of 1964, they paired a couple more "oldies" to see if they might spark some new interest. "Wooden Heart" (from the 1960 film "G.I. Blues," never released as a single by Elvis, but a #1 hit for Joe Dowell in 1961, sounding an awful lot like Elvis' version) was coupled with "Blue Christmas" as a holiday release ... but neither cracked The Top 100.
And, if you're burned out by now with Elvis' version of "Blue Christmas," perhaps THIS rendering will have you squealing ...
You can listen to Sammy's LAFOS (Lost And Found Oldies Show) here ..
https://www.mixcloud.com/LAFOS/
And get caught up on any you may have missed!
