The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50's Masters

The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50s Masters
Box set by Elvis Presley
Released	June 23, 1992
Recorded	July 1953-September 1958
Genre	Rock and roll, rockabilly, country
Length	5:39:26
Label	RCA Records
Producer	Ernst Mikael Jorgensen Roger Semon
Elvis Presley chronology
The Lost Album (1990) The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50s Masters (1992) From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential 60s Masters (1993)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
MusicHound	[2]
Q	[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]
Rough Guides	[5]

The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50's Masters is a box set five-disc compilation of the complete known studio master recordings by Elvis Presley during the decade of the 1950s, issued in 1992 by RCA Records, 66050-2. It peaked at #159 on the album chart. In its initial format as a long box issue, it included a set of collectible stamps duplicating the record jackets from every LP, every single that had a picture sleeve, and most of the EP releases, on RCA Victor. It also includes a booklet with an extensive sessionography, discography, and lengthy essay by Peter Guralnick. It was certified a gold record on August 7, 1992, by the RIAA; further certifications were for platinum on November 20, 1992, and for double platinum on July 30, 2002.

Contents

The first four discs present the Elvis masters in chronological session order. Disc one commences with "My Happiness," a private test demo from the summer of 1953 at Sun Studio and the first recording ever made by Presley, and continues with the complete Sun Records masters through track 19. The remainder of disc one, and discs two through four, comprise the entirety of his output for RCA Victor during the decade. Disc four ends with an interview by Presley prior to his departure overseas to serve in the army in 1958, released on the EP Elvis Sails. Included as well are the officially released recordings on RCA Victor for each one of Elvis' four feature films of the 1950s: Love Me Tender, Loving You, Jailhouse Rock, and King Creole.

The fifth disc compiles rare outtakes and unreleased recordings, starting off with the companion acetate to "My Happiness" in an early version of "That's When Your Heartaches Begin." Tracks two and five are more acetates recorded by the standard Presley trio of Elvis, Scotty Moore on guitar, and Bill Black on bass, at an unknown location in Lubbock, Texas, during January 1955, presumably around the time when Buddy Holly converted to rock and roll after seeing Presley in concert. Tracks three and four present live recordings from the Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1955, again with the trio. Tracks thirteen through sixteen present live recordings from the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1956, with the trio plus drummer D.J. Fontana. An outtake from the Million Dollar Quartet sessions appears on track nine, with the following personnel: Presley, Carl Perkins on guitar, his brother Clayton on bass, Jerry Lee Lewis on piano, and W.S. Holland on drums. Although Johnny Cash is billed as the fourth of the headlining quartet and his presence is corroborated by anecdotal evidence, aural evidence of his participation on record is difficult to discern. The remainder of disc five contains alternate takes of released masters.

Collecting every master recording made in the 1950s, The King of Rock 'n' Roll encapsulates the era for which Presley remains most revered, that of the young international phenomenon at the forefront of the rock and roll explosion. RCA issued two similarly configured box set companions, one for the 1970s, and another for the 1960s, bypassing his film soundtrack work for his secular recordings made to be issued commercially.

Professional recordings made at Sun Studio, RCA Studios in New York and Nashville, Radio Recorders in Hollywood, and at the studio soundstages of 20th Century Fox, Paramount, and MGM in Hollywood. The furlough recording session of June 10, 1958, took place in RCA's newly constructed studio in Nashville, where Presley would continue to record through 1971. Original recordings produced by Sam Phillips or Steve Sholes.

This compilation received a 1992 Grammy nomination for Best Historical Album, only to lose that award to the boxed set The Complete Capitol Recordings of The Nat 'King' Cole Trio.

Collective personnel

• Elvis Presley – vocals, guitar, piano, bass (on (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care)
• Scotty Moore – guitar
• Chet Atkins - guitar
• Hank Garland - guitar
• Tiny Timbrell - guitar
• Floyd Cramer - piano
• Shorty Long - piano
• Gordon Stoker - piano, backing vocals
• Dudley Brooks - piano
• Mike Stoller - piano
• Marvin Hughes - piano
• Hoyt Hawkins - organ
• Bill Black – bass
• Bob Moore - bass
• D.J. Fontana - drums
• Jimmie Lott – drums
• Johnny Bernero – drums
• The Jordanaires - backing vocals
• Millie Kirkham - backing vocals
• Ben Speer - backing vocals
• Brock Speer - backing vocals

Track listing

Chart positions for LPs and EPs from Billboard Top Pop Albums chart; peak positions for EPA 4114 and EPA 4325 from EP chart commenced October 1957; positions for singles from Billboard Pop Singles chart. Certain recordings derive from acetates or from primitive recording equipment, and are not of professional sound quality; these are marked with an asterisk.

Disc one

+ overdubs added prior to release on LSP 3450

Disc two

Disc three

Disc four

Disc five: Rare and Rockin'

References