Brett Schewitz Brett Schewitz

#322 Elvis Presley, 'From Elvis in Memphis' (1969)

“I had to leave town for a little while/You said you'd be good while I'm gone,” belts out Elvis in the first line of ‘From Elvis in Memphis.’ Following a stint in the army, in 1960 Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’s manager, shifted Elvis’s focus from studio albums to films and their respective soundtrack albums. Elvis had become more and more disillusioned with his work and his popularity throughout the ‘60s was waning. Music was changing, The Beatles were dominating. Parker arranged for a Christmas special on NBC in front of a live audience for Presley, but the producer of the show suggested that instead of Christmas songs, Presley sings originals. The show was a success and re-established Presley’s popularity.

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Brett Schewitz Brett Schewitz

#332 Elvis Presley, 'Elvis Presley' (1956)

“Well it’s a one for the money…” This is the album that started it all. The album that changed the course of music history. The first #1 rock ‘n roll record on the Billboard charts, the first rock ‘n roll album to sell more than a million copies and the first record to make more than $1,000,000 for RCA Victor.

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