For LP Fans Only
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For LP Fans Only is the seventh album by Elvis Presley, issued on RCA Victor Records (LPM 1990) in February 1959. It is a compilation of material from an August 1956 recording session at 20th Century Fox Stage One, a September 1956 session at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, sessions on January 10 and 11 at RCA Studios in Nashville, two more at RCA Studios in New York, and multiple sessions at Sun Studio. The album reached #19 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. It is currently out of print.
Content
After Presley's induction into the army on March 24, 1958, RCA and Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker were faced with the prospect of keeping his name before the public for two years with no possibility of live performances or movies, and few unissued marketable recordings in the vault. A recording session was arranged for two days in June, which yielded enough items for five more single sides, singles being the commercial focus for rock and roll in the 1950s. Four of those tracks would be issued on 45s in 1958 and 1959 during his absence while doing military service.
Presley, however, also did well in the albums market. Each of his previous six LPs charted no lower than #3, and RCA wished to continue promoting albums by their hot commodity given his sales record. Much of Presley's material had not been released on LP. For this album, RCA collected nine tracks previously available in single form only, as well as "Poor Boy" from the Love Me Tender EP. Four of the tracks had been issued on Sun Records with limited release, and were very difficult to come by outside of the south.
This album was the debut release of Elvis' first commercial recording "That's All Right" in the UK. It was never issued as a single there during Presley's lifetime. For LP Fans Only was reissued on compact disc in 1988. Audiophile CD recordings are available on import in the US, including the 2005 Japanese pressing with a truncated track list. The album is included in a 25 disc package, "The Perfect Blues Collection", released by Sony in 2011.
Collective personnel
- Elvis Presley – vocals, guitar
- Scotty Moore – guitar
- Chet Atkins - guitar
- Floyd Cramer - piano
- Shorty Long - piano
- Gordon Stoker - piano, backing vocals
- Bill Black – bass
- D.J. Fontana - drums
- Jimmie Lott – drums
- Johnny Bernero – drums
- The Jordanaires - backing vocals
- Ben Speer - backing vocals
- Brock Speer - backing vocals
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| Allmusic |   link |
Track listing
Chart position for EPA 4006 from Billboard Top Pop Albums chart; positions for singles from Billboard Pop Singles chart
Side one
| Track | Recorded | Original LP/EP Issue | Catalogue | Release Date | Chart Peak | Song Title | Writer(s) | Time |
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| 1. | 7/5/54 | Sun 209 | 7/19/54 | That's All Right | Arthur Crudup | 1:55 | ||
| 2. | 2/3/56 | 47-6642b | 8/31/56 | Lawdy Miss Clawdy | Lloyd Price | 2:08 | ||
| 3. | 7/11/55 | Sun 223b | 8/6/55 | Mystery Train | Herman Parker Jr. and Sam Phillips | 2:24 | ||
| 4. | 9/1/56 | 47-6800b | 1/4/57 | #21 | Playing for Keeps | Stan Kesler | 2:50 | |
| 5. | 8/24/56 | Love Me Tender | EPA 4006 | 11/56 | #22 | Poor Boy | Vera Matson and Elvis Presley | 2:13 |
Side two
| Track | Recorded | Catalogue | Release Date | Chart Peak | Song Title | Writer(s) | Time |
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| 1. | 1/30/56 | 47-6540b | 5/4/56 | #31 | My Baby Left Me | Arthur Crudup | 2:12 |
| 2. | 1/11/56 | 47-6357b | 1/27/56 | #19 | I Was The One | Aaron Schroeder, Claude DeMetrius, Hal Blair, Bill Peppers | 2:34 |
| 3. | 2/3/56 | 47-6642 | 8/31/56 | Shake, Rattle & Roll | Charles Calhoun | 2:37 | |
| 4. | 3/5/55 | Sun 217b | 4/10/55 | I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone | Stan Kesler and William Taylor | 2:36 | |
| 5. | 11?12/54 | Sun 215b | 12/28/54 | #74 | You're a Heartbreaker | Jack Sallee | 2:12 |
References
- Jorgenson, Ernst (1998). Elvis Presley: A Life In Music - The Complete Recording Sessions. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-18572-3
