Artist Elvis Presley Label RCA Records | Release date 14 October 1969 Genre Rock music | |
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Similar Elvis Presley albums, Rock music albums | ||
From Memphis to Vegas / From Vegas to Memphis is the 36th studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released in October 1969 by RCA Records, catalogue LSP 6020. Recording sessions took place at American Sound Studio in Memphis, on January 13–15 and 21–22, and February 17–18, 1969, and at the International Hotel in Paradise, Nevada on August 24–26, 1969. It peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 200, and has been certified Gold on December 13, 1969, by the Recording Industry Association of America.
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Issued to capitalize upon the response to From Elvis in Memphis and its hit singles, and his newfound success as a headliner in Las Vegas, Vegas/Memphis is Presley's first double album and his first official live album. Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, secured a month-long engagement at the International Hotel, and in keeping with the "clear-the-decks" philosophy of the previous album, Presley jettisoned his long-serving 1960s sidemen in favor of musicians who would become his Taking Care of Business band. The musicians used on the second lp were assembled by Chips Moman dating back from early 1969 at the American Sound Studios sessions in Memphis.
The first album consisted of recordings from those shows, Elvis' first live performances since his March 1961 benefit concert in Hawaii. Signature hits from his 1950s and early 1960s repertoire appeared alongside a cover of "Words" by The Bee Gees, his recent hit single "In The Ghetto" and an extended version of "Suspicious Minds", the single of which had only just been released during the engagement.
The second album consisted of ten recordings from the winter of 1969 sessions at American Sound not used for From Elvis in Memphis. Although drawn from what were basically leftovers, still "Stranger in My Hometown" equaled the intensity of the already issued songs. Of these remainders, "The Fair's Moving On" and "You'll Think of Me" had previously appeared as b-sides respectively to "Clean Up Your Own Backyard" and "Suspicious Minds" earlier in the year.
Reissues
In November 1970, RCA reissued the set as individual albums identified by the subtitles that appeared on the original double LP, Elvis in Person at the International Hotel as LSP 4428, and Back in Memphis as LSP 4429. They have been issued separately ever since. However the double LP LSP 6020 was also available concurrently through the 1970s. The entirety of Back in Memphis can be found on the box set From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential 60s Masters, and on the double-disc compilation of recordings at American Sound Studio, Suspicious Minds.
On July 28, 2009, Sony Music Entertainment issued Back in Memphis on the second disc of its Legacy Edition of From Elvis In Memphis. A similar Legacy Edition of On Stage released on March 23, 2010, features the entirety of Elvis in Person at the International Hotel on its second disc.
The collectors' label Follow That Dream has released several of the full performances from Presley's August 1969 season in Las Vegas. The full August 22 performance was included on a reissue of the live album, titled In Person. The full midnight show from August 23 was released under the title Elvis At The International, while the midnight show from August 26 was released as All Shook Up. The August 24 show is available on the first disc of the 2001 box set Live in Las Vegas. In 2013, FTD released the complete midnight show from August 25.
Track listing
Sides one and two shown as Elvis In Person at the International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada; sides three and four as Elvis Back In Memphis.
Personnel
Elvis in Person at the International Hotel
Back in Memphis
Songs
1Inherit the Wind2:59
2This Is the Story2:31
3Stranger in My Own Home Town4:24