Elvis Presley lives up to
his title of “The King Of Rock & Roll” with this 30 track collection of #1
hits that span the time period of 1956 through his untimely passing in 1977.
They are all here ranging from the breakthrough performance of “Heartbreak
Hotel” & the double-sided smash of “Don't Be Cruel” & “Hound Dog” in
1956 to the up-tempo Country tinged “Way Down” which was released shortly
before his death. Elvis worked with some of the best songwriters of the era such
as Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, Otis Blackwell & Doc Pomus & Mort
Shuman on original material but also reached back into the early days of
R&B & Country for such gems as Smiley Lewis' “One Night”, Sonny Til
& the Orioles “Crying In The Chapel” & Hank Snow's “(Now & Then
There's) A Fool Such As I”. Elvis’ first introduction to Leiber & Stoller
was through “Hound Dog”. It had been an R&B hit for Big Mama Thornton in
1953 but Elvis’ became familiar with it after hearing Freddie Bell & the
Bellboys perform "Hound Dog" as part of their Las Vegas act in 1956. Elvis caught their
show while he was booked at the Frontier Hotel & fell in love with Freddie's novelty arrangement of the song. Leiber & Stoller signed on with Elvis’ publishing company & wrote
new songs for him such as “Don’t”, “Jailhouse Rock” & many others for the
movies as well as his studio sessions. Believe it or not, fellow RCA artist
Mario Lanza was also an influence on Elvis as witnessed by two of his biggest
1960s hits “It’s Now Or Never” & “Surrender”. As the 1970s dawned, his material
took on a more mature sound with songs by Mac Davis, Mark James & Dennis
Linde predominating. “Suspicious Minds” by Mark James was Elvis’ last #1 record
while “In The Ghetto” by Mac Davis brought a new poignancy to his
style. What sets this collection apart is the bonus track “A Little Less
Conversation”, a Mac Davis song from “Live A Little, Love A Little”. It only
went to #69 when released as a single in 1968 but this version is a different
animal entirely. The JXL Remix gives it the full blown House/Dance treatment
& modernizes it to the 21st Century. Great timeless material
with great sound- you can’t go wrong with this 31 track collection!