From Elvis in Memphis
In January 1969, Elvis Presley was still mighty fired up from the success of his legendary NBC-TV "comeback" special, which had aired only a little over a month before. Eager to record some relevant music after a decade of, for the most part, horrible movie soundtracks, Presley entered Chip Loman's famous (122 chart hits in three years at the time) American Studio in Memphis to jam with the also famous house band. Several hit singles would come from these sessions, including "Suspicious Minds," "Don't Cry Daddy," "In the Ghetto," and "Kentucky Rain."From Elvis in Memphisis the first of two albums that came from the American recordings--and it's slightly better thanBack in Memphis, including as it does "Long Black Limousine" (about a huge star returning to a small hometown in a hearse, and a song many Presley obituaries would late quote) and a cover ofChuck Willis's "Any Day Now" that actually tops the original. It's worth noting that all the tracks from the American Sessions are available on the box setFrom Nashville to Memphis: The Essential '60s Masters.--Bill Holdship