Special Moments With FTD 12

This post is dedicated to Michael Jarrett.

”This is a hit for sure,” David Briggs says after the first take and looks up from his piano.

From the other side of the room Terry Blackwood and Joe Moscheo, two of the members of the gospel group the Imperials, nod their heads in agreement.

Elvis, clad in a black, wide-shouldered, V-necked, high-collared jacket trimmed with leather and gold, shares their confidence. The song seems to offer him the challenge he needs, after the assignment of recording his second Christmas album as well as material for a third religious album.

Gone is the Christmas tree with its empty wrapped boxes that has been standing in the center of the room, and with it the drudgery of working on Christmas songs in the midst of spring.

On this the second-to-last night of the session, producer Felton Jarvis is determined to get Elvis to record some contemporary material that can give them a much-needed hit. And the first song of the evening, Michael Jarrett and Sonny Charles’ “I’m Leavin’,” might be just what they are looking for.

But it’s a demanding song. The second take lasts for only about a minute before Elvis stops singing.

“No, me, sorry, I was a little behind on that ‘lonely’, right?” he asks the Imperials that sings harmony with him.

Together they run through, very informally, the unusual structure of the song, starting with the last part of the first short verse and the start of the next, then discussing the ‘la la la’ refrain and the bridge.

“After that first bridge we did ‘la la la la la la …’.” Elvis starts singing to demonstrate.

Then Charlie Hodge, easy recognizable in his white and blue patterned shirt, turns to the Imperials to explain.

“We got it. We know what it is. It’s just the ‘la la’s’ done twice, each line twice, Joe Moscheo answers back, a slight note of irritation in his voice.

“Ah, yeah, we’ll try that too in the middle,” Elvis says to smooth things over.

“OK, we’re rolling, count it out,” Felton Jarvis then orders.

What follows is a beautiful third take of the song, to which Elvis and his musicians commit a good deal of hard, sustained effort.

Elvis changes the quality of his voice to emphasize the despairing nature of the lyrics. This, together with the delicate acoustic guitar work by James Burton and Chip Young, as well as the harmony between Elvis and the Imperials, lends the song a haunting quality.

“Phew, man that’s tough,” Elvis declares after the ending. “But this thing is worth working on.”

To listen to the studio outtakes of “I’m Leavin’,” play tracks number 5 and 18 on disc 2 of FTD's Elvis Now released last year. (Take 3 was first made available on FTD’s I Sing All Kinds in 2007.) This post was inspired by the article “The terrible beauty of I’m Leavin’” by Paul Simpson published at the Elvis Australia website.

Special Moments With FTD 11

As the door to the studio opens and Jerry Reed walks in, Elvis looks at him and says, "Lord, have mercy, what is that?" Jerry, not having shaved in about a week and still wearing the clothes from his interrupted fishing trip, nervously approaches Elvis with a battered guitar case in his hand, his old clogs making a clattering sound on the studio floor.

Elvis gets up from the armchair where he's been sitting and chatting with his friends Joe Esposito, Charlie Hodge and Billy Smith. "Ahh, Jerry, sorry to bother you on a Sunday and all," he says politely as they shake hands. "Man, I just love your recording of 'Guitar Man,' but these here guys can't make it sound like it did on your record," he continues as he points in the general direction of guitar players Scotty Moore, Harold Bradley and Chip Young.

It's September 10, 1967 and the location is RCA's Studio B in Nashville. The aim of the session is to record some singles and a couple of bonus tracks for the upcoming Clambake soundtrack album. A few hours earlier, the session kicked off with a rundown of "Guitar Man," a song whose driving accoustic sound Elvis haven't been able to get out of his head since he heard it on the radio in LA while making the movie Speedway that summer.

But the musicians couldn't get the groove, particularly the guitar sound, which plays a major part in the song. So producer Felton Jarvis wisely told Elvis that if he wanted that distinctive Jerry Reed guitar sound they'd have to get Jerry Reed himself aboard. "Get him in," Elvis answered.

After tracking him down on a fishing trip on the Cumberland River outside of Nashville, Jerry Reed arrives at the studio, looking like "a sure-enough Alabama wild man," as Felton Jarvis later likes to tell the story. In contrast, Elvis is trim-looking, wearing a casual black suit and a bright shirt with the topp buttons opened.

Jerry, a whirlwind of energy, hooks up his electric gut string, tunes the B-string up a whole tone, and tones the low E-string down a whole tone. "So I can bar straight across," he explains to his fellow guitar players. He plays a couple of tones with his fingers.

Felton glances at Elvis who is standing at the microphone, looking expectantly at Jerry. "We're rolling, this is 'Guitar Man' take one," Felton says, as Jerry continues to run through some guitar licks, trying to get his fingers up to speed. Elvis laughs as Jerry excuses himself, "I ain't played all weekend, Elvis." "I know, you're house is a mess, Reed," Felton kids him. Elvis, fascinated by the man, chimes in, "That's a mess, man." "It is ... a mess," answers Jerry as he starts working out the intro.

"No man, there ain't no way you can get them both, they'll just sound like a room full of spastics, or something," Jery Reed tells Chip Young, who nods his understanding that it's not possible to do all the guitar parts from his original recording at one time. Then, after a couple of tries, he turns to bass player Bob Moore, "It's long on the record, I forgot it's like this," he says and plays the intro just right. Elvis' face lits up.

What follows is a take abandoned after the first verse, but during those 35 seconds there's no mistaking Elvis sounding energized and engaged, focusing on the music. Instead it's Jerry Reed making the mistakes, "I may wonder of in the parking lot. Stay with me, or I'll get to you-sometime tonight, he jokes. "I can do that better... one two, three four."

And better and better it gets. Elvis, responding well to the shot of musical adrenaline injected by Jerry Reed's guitar sound, really gets into it. Take 5 is the first complete take, and at the end of take 10, when the guitars and the rhythm is just right, Elvis starts singing "What'd I Say."

As the band adds power, steel guitar player Pete Drake, wearing his customary flowered shirt, glances as Elvis and a thought runs through his mind: "Is this really the same guy that I played for in June, and whose last recording was that silly song, what was it called again ... yeah, the one with the corny title ... "He's Your Uncle, Not Your Dad?"

To experience this historical session, play track number 16 on disc 1 of FTD's Elvis Sings Guitar Man and then tracks 11–13 on disc 2.

Special moments with FTD 10

You can't tell by looking at the little shabby building situated in one of Memphis' poorest neighborhoods, but on the inside of its walls history is in the making. Of course, it's hard to see anything at all, as sunrise is still three hours away.

In the cluttered orange and black studio known as American, a recording session with Elvis Presley is coming to an end. Right at this moment he's hard at work getting the lyrics down to a song that the producer and owner of the studio Chips Moman has urged him to take a shot at.

"I've got this song that Mark James wrote. We had a little record out on it, and nothing ever happened with it, but I really think it's a hit song," he told Elvis about half an hour ago and then played him "Suspicious Minds."

Elvis listened to it, and at first wasn't too sure of it. But after some encouragement from his foreman Joe Esposito, he said, "Yeah, man, I like it. I want to record it."

Working with exactly the same arrangement as the original, Elvis has just mistimed his vocals on the first take, leading to some colorful language from behind the baffle serving as a vocal booth.

"Somebody direct this god damn session," one of the musicians jokes.

Elvis clears his throat and piano player Bobby Wood senses him looking at his direction. Clad in white shirt and trousers, and still in good physical shape from the workout of last years TV Special, Elvis looks lean and handsome. But also totally focused.

Bobby understands that he wants him to sing along to help prevent Elvis from repeating the mistake as he rehearses his lines. They've worked that way before during the session.

"Would I still see suspicion in your eyes," Bobby Wood starts to sing and then Elvis falls in.

"So, if an old friend I know, stops by to say hello, would I still ..." Elvis again hesitates while singing the phrase that is causing him trouble.

"Ah, you just gotta wait a little bit to sing it," Bobby Wood advises.

"Yeah." Elvis nods his head as Bobby demonstrates by playing the piano and singing together with Elvis once again.

Then drummer Gene Chrisman decides to help out, and soon the other musicians join in, as Chips Moman steers them toward the right groove. By now everybody in the studio knows that this is the song.

Do you want to listen to this historical occasion? Then set the time machine for the early hours of January 23, 1969, by playing track number four on FTD's Memphis Sessions.

Special moments with FTD 9

Some of the early songs that Elvis did he of course remembered more than others later in his career. But sometimes the choices he made during rehearsals came as a complete surprise.

A couple of songs into his March 31, 1972 rehearsal, he unexpectedly starts to hum the words to the ballad "Young And Beautiful" recorded for his movie Jailhouse Rock 15 years earlier. Then the band joins in, and together they work out an arrangement that starts with a piano intro by Glen D. Hardin.

Elvis is in a good mood, changing the first line of the lyrics to "You're so young, and I'm so... you're beautiful." But then he is all business, delivering a beautiful rendition of the song, recalling the lyrics with ease.

Every time I listen to "Young And Beautiful" as featured on the FTD release Elvis On Tour -The Rehearsals I can't help wondering what went through Elvis mind as he sang it. Did he remember the scene in the movie where he sang the song? Did he think of his costar Judy Tyler who tragically died in a car accident soon after the film was completed? Or did he in fact just think it was a great song that he wanted to get right?

Whatever the reason, it's a pity Elvis chose not to include "Young And Beautiful" in his April tour that took off less than a week later. He didn't forget the song, however, and sang it spontaneous on rare occasions in concert, like in Lake Tahoe on May 9, 1976.

PS: The complete unedited rehearsal of "Young And Beautiful" was made available on Madison's Rock My Soul released earlier this year.

Special moments with FTD 6, 7 & 8

For some reason I remembered today that it was a long time since I wrote a "Special moments with FTD" post. Actually, it was about eight months ago. To catch up I'd like to mention no less than three songs releases on the FTD label that I've always thought were special.

The first one is "Hey Little Girl" that saw the light of day on the second FTD album, Out In Hollywood, from 1999. I remember my brother getting his copy first, and sitting in his apartment listening to Elvis working his way through this early take from the Harum Scarum soundtrack.

It's quite catchy and more loose than the master, but it's the ending that makes it all worthwhile. It's not often you get to hear Elvis exclaim first "Huuuuuh" and then "arrrrrrgh" (at least not on a movie song). As I've been known to write, great stuff!

Moving on to the second song, I've always considered "I Just Can't Help Believing" a favourite, so I guess that's why I love the version on One Night In Vegas, released by the label in 2000. Actually, the record is one of the best by FTD and I listen to it frequently.

Maybe the version recorded the day after is a stronger one. But I like the fact that the different mixing made me see the arrangement in another light, with the horns more prominent, for example.

Not many Elvis songs make the hair on my neck stand out, but "My Boy" from 1975 released on Dixieland Rocks (2001) does just that. When Elvis holds the note during the ending, singing "Yeah, becaaaaaaaaaa" I always get emotional. It's Elvis when he touches me the most.

To my knowledge Elvis sang "My Boy" in this fashion all through 1975, and you can hear it on Big Boss Man featuring the dinner show from Las Vegas on March 30, 1975. But I prefer the version from Murfreesboro May 6, 1975 on Dixieland Rocks, maybe because the sound is so much better.

Special moments with FTD 5

It's around 9 PM, October 29, 1976. Elvis Presley walks down the stairs from his bedroom at Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee. He's still tired, having finished another tour just two days ago.

At the end of the stairs he nearly trips on some heavy cables running from the den at the back of the house, just behind the kitchen, to the big RCA mobile recording truck parked outside.

"Goddamn," he mumbles before heading into the den, today known as the Jungle Room.

Elvis is a troubled man and feels his life is spinning out of control. His relationship with Linda Thompson is not going well and is sure to end in the very near future, of that he's certain.

Also, he's heard new rumours about the book his longtime friend Red West is planning to write together Sonny West and Dave Hebler in bitterness after being fired in July. He has tried to talk them out of it, has even offered each of them $50,000, but they have turned him down flat.

"Worried about that book? I don't think so," he says to himself, but those closest to him know better. Elvis is frightened, angry and hurt.

He enters the den that for the second time that year has been turned into a recording studio. All the walls have been draped with heavy blankets to dampen the acoustics and the Polynesian-style furniture removed.

In the room, he politely greets his musicians who have been waiting patiently for him to emerge from his bedroom. He sits down and is handed the lyrics for the first song from producer Felton Jarvis.

"This is the one I talked to you about before," Felton Jarvis tells him. You know the one written specifically for you by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Time Rice, the one called "It's Easy For You."

Elvis looks absentmindedly at the lyrics sheet.

"Yeah, I remember," he finally tells Jarvis after having collected his thoughts. "Let’s hear the demo."

Felton Jarvis nods and returns to the mixing table that stands close to the wall with the little waterfall, which in honour of the day has been turned off by engineer Mike Moran. He presses a button and soon the pleasant baritone-voice of Webber fills the room, "You may not mind that it's over, but I have a different point of view…"

At first Elvis looks non-committed. But it's soon evident that he's deeply moved by the song as he seems to gaze at some far off place at the same time as his eyes begin to moisturise.

After the ending, he blinks a couple of times to chase the moisture away, looks down at the lyrics and recites a line from the song, "I had a wife, and I have children, I threw them all away."

As the musicians hit a couple of notes to check their instruments Elvis adds, "I get carried away very easily. Emotional son of a bitch."

For a while they all look at Elvis, sensing his attraction to the song and his troubled soul. Then, as Elvis slips on his headphones, Felton Jarvis discretely clears his throat and says, "OK, we’re rolling. Take one."

What follows is an amazing performance by Elvis, almost autobiographical, where he sings about the loss of his love and the world that is crumbling around him. To one and all, it's obvious that Elvis is suffering, and that everything is coming apart. Emotional stuff, indeed.

Special moments with FTD 4

Mention the movie Fun In Acapulco and two scenes come to mind - besides the one where Elvis is diving off those cliffs (the most obvious, of course!) it's the one where he's riding a bicycle with the kid Raoul, who becomes his manager.

Together they are belting away "Mexico," and while I don't want to belittle child actor Larry Domasins musical efforts, I've always preferred the LP version featuring only the voice of Elvis. This despite the fact that the lyrics are incomplete because Elvis doesn't sing Raoul's parts, making the song sound strange.

Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise when FTD released their second CD in 1999 titled Out In Hollywood, containing alternate soundtrack recordings. It kicked off with Take 7 of "Mexico" which had Elvis singing all the lyrics, and I played it over and over.

This was how it was supposed to sound, with Elvis singing about senoritas, tequila, and shouting olé and caramba. Suddenly the lyrics made more sense and the song worked much better.

To me it's a mystery why RCA at the time decided to release take 5 with incomplete lyrics, obviously intended for use in the movie together with Raouls singing, which I guess was overdubbed on the set.

Maybe the record company thought it bad taste having Elvis singing about liquor, "one tequila makes you feel like, in to kiss a lovely senorita." (If that's the case then certainly Hal Wallis didn't have the same objections, having an eight year old kid singing the same thing!)

Or maybe it was just a mistake and the wrong take released. If so, 36 years went by until the mistake was corrected.

Special moments with FTD III

If you could travel back in time to watch Elvis record a song, a good date to punch into the time machine would be September 11, 1967. The location? RCA's studio B in Nashville.

Imagine looking over the shoulder of engineer Jim Malloy, catching a glimpse of Elvis as he walks towards the piano and sits down. And then, stretching your neck to get a better view, seeing Elvis turn his head in the direction of guitar player Harold Bradley and asking him for an acoustic intro.

As Elvis begins to play and softly sing "When you walk through a storm..." you'll cast a quick glance at Bob Moore who's starting to provide a beat on his base supported by Charlie McCoy's chords on the organ. Then you're back watching Elvis bent over the piano, fully committed to the song he has sung so many times at home.

You can't help but notice Elvis hammering away at the keys of the piano in that familiar way and smile softly to yourself in recognition. Then, as the Jordanaires ease smoothly into the song and it builds in momentum you get goosebumps on your arms.

All too soon, it's over. But as the final notes fade away, Elvis starts singing the song from the beginning and the musicians fall in. This time, as Elvis throws himself completely into the performance, it's even more dramatic, and producer Felton Jarvis, who's right there beside you, has a satisfied expression on his face. I bet you have too.

PS: If you don't own a time machine, use the next best thing, the excellent FTD release So High. Play track number 20, close your eyes and travel back in time.

Special moments with FTD II

It's funny how certain songs can take you back in place and time. In my case, "The Sound Of Your Cry" from The Nashville Marathon does just that.

A year back, when I worked a couple of months in Stockholm, the most important thing in my "survival kit" was a newly bought iPod loaded with FTD records. I thought it would be a great idea to really listen through them all.

That iPod was working overtime: on the bus, on the subway and at the rented apartment where I lived. One of the records was, obviously, The Nashville Marathon, which I really fell in love with. Particularly "The Sound Of Your Cry" which is, in my opinion, far better than the original.

Gone are the strings, horns and choir, giving the song a more dramatic and emotional feeling. It begins softly, with Elvis singing about lying in the darkness, thinking about leaving his love before it's light and then "I leave, cause I can't stand to see you hurt this way."

But Elvis obviously has a hard time leaving, because he keeps belting out "Sleep my love, as I kiss you good-bye. Then I won't hear the sound of your cry." Over and over. My favorite part is near the end when he sings "as I kiss you, kiss you, kiss you, kiss you good-bye." Then Elvis finally lets go with the words "cry, cry, cry, cry!"

Even as I listen to the song this very minute I get chills up my spine. Also, I see myself walking in the snow (yes, there was snow that year!) on my way to the bus station, "The Sound Of Your Cry" playing loudly in my ears.

By the way, my wife just saw the cover of The Nashville Marathon, and said she liked it. "It looks like part of a photo in a school year book," she said. Well, that's one class I would've liked to attend!

Special moments with FTD

My brother said to me: "Why don't you write about songs released on Follow That Dream records that you think are special in one way or the other?" I thought that was a great idea, so from time to time, that's what I'm gonna do here on my blog, starting today:

A very funny live version of "Love Me Tender" from Murfreesboro May 6, 1975, is included on the FTD release Dixieland Rocks. It begins during the familiar intro when Elvis sings a line from "I love little baby ducks" and then it just goes downhill from there.

It's obvious Elvis is enjoying himself, and so are the women standing close to the stage trying to get a piece of the action. During the first verse, I think one of them receives a kiss in exchange for a stuffed animal of sorts.

"God almighty," Elvis says, then "You just got a head, you ain't got no body," and after a loud kiss "I gotta take this animal."

Then there is the second verse when Elvis just cracks up. There is no way knowing, but I think another woman is really climbing over the competition to get to him, and successfully reaching her goal, holds on tight.

"Keep it up, honey" Elvis laughs and then there's the kiss. "You're beautiful," she screams and then "Oh, God," and in my mind I see her releasing her grip and falling back into the sea of women right in front of Elvis eyes.

From then on Elvis laughs hysterically and there is no way he can continue the song. "That's it," he says, and after the ending exclaims: "I mean, she made me the hunchback of Murfreesboro, man!"