Elvis at Sun

Elvis at Sun
Elvis at Sun
Compilation album by Elvis Presley
Released	June 22, 2004
Recorded	July 1954–November 1955
Genre	Rock and roll, rockabilly
Length	47:40
Label	RCA 61205-2
Producer	Sam Phillips
Elvis Presley chronology

Elvis at Sun is a compact disc compilation of Elvis Presley's studio recordings at Sun Studio from 1954 to 1955, released in June 2004, BMG Heritage 61205. This set features master recordings made by Presley and his accompanists, Scotty Moore and Bill Black, occasionally augmented by other musicians, prior to his arrival on RCA Records in early 1956.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]

The tapes for the Sun versions of "I Got A Woman" and "Satisfied" were lost. The former would be recorded for Presley during his first RCA session. All of the studio recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, the owner of Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. Phillips released Presley's recording contract to RCA for the substantial sum, in 1955 dollars, of $35,000. This gave RCA the rights to all of Presley's masters recorded at Sun.

The disc contains a slightly different track list and running order than previous issues of the Sun material, such as the Sunrise double-disc, with the shorter version of "When It Rains It Really Pours" from the fifties box, and an alternate of "I Love You Because." It still presents all eighteen Sun titles from the singer's stay at the label.

"Elvis At Sun" also was released in the vinyl LP configuration.

Importance

The set includes "That's All Right (Mama)", one of candidates for being "the first rock and roll record". Elvis' entire period at Sun is one of the seminal events in the birth of rock and roll, specifically also the beginning of the subgenre known as rockabilly. In 2001, VH1 named its parent album the 21st greatest album of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 11 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Two tracks from the Presley's Sun sessions were included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll: "Mystery Train," and "That's All Right."

In 2002, given their importance in the development of American popular music, The Sun Sessions were chosen, by the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, to be kept as a bequeathal to posterity.

For more detailed information on the recording sessions, see Elvis Presley's Sun recordings.

Personnel

Elvis Presley – vocals, guitar
Scotty Moore – guitar
Bill Black – bass
Jimmie Lott – drums on track 8
Johnny Bernero – drums on tracks 9, 18, 19

Track listing

Chart positions for LPs and EPs from Billboard Top Pop Albums chart; positions for singles from Billboard Pop Singles chart except as indicated.

Track	Song Title	Writer(s)	Time	Recorded	Release Date	Original LP Issue	Catalogue	Chart Peak
1.	"Harbor Lights"	Jimmy Kennedy and Hugh Williams	2:37	1954-07-05	1959-07-24	A Date With Elvis	LPM 2011	#46
2.	"I Love You Because" alternate	Leon Payne	3:29	1954-07-05	1987	The Complete Sun Sessions	RCA 6414-2
3.	"That's All Right"	Arthur Crudup	1:57	1954-07-05	1954-07-19	For LP Fans Only	Sun 209
4.	"Blue Moon Of Kentucky"	Bill Monroe	2:04	1954-07-05	1954-07-19	A Date With Elvis	Sun 209b
5.	"Blue Moon"	Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart	2:44	1954-08-19	1956-03-23	Elvis Presley	LPM 1254	#1
6.	"Tomorrow Night"	Sam Coslow and Will Grocz	3:00	1954-09-10	1965-08-10	Elvis for Everyone	LSP 3450	#10
7.	"I'll Never Let You Go (Lil' Darlin')"	Jimmy Wakely	2:25	1954-09-10	1956-03-23	Elvis Presley	LPM 1254	#1
8.	"Just Because"	Sydney Robin, Bob Shelton, Joe Shelton	2:33	1954-09-10	1956-03-23	Elvis Presley	LPM 1254	#1
9.	"Good Rockin' Tonight"	Roy Brown	2:13	1954-09-10	1954-09-25	A Date With Elvis	Sun 210
10.	"I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine"	Mack David	2:20	1954-09-10	1954-09-25	The Sun Sessions	Sun 210b
11.	"Milkcow Blues Boogie"	Kokomo Arnold	2:37	1954-11/12?	1954-12-28	A Date With Elvis	Sun 215
12.	"You're a Heartbreaker"	Jack Sallee	2:12	1954-11/12?	1954-12-28	For LP Fans Only	Sun 215b	#74
13.	"I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" (slow version)	Stan Kesler and William E. Taylor	2:41	1955-03-05	1987	The Complete Sun Sessions	RCA 6414-2
14.	"I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone"	Stan Kesler and William E. Taylor	2:37	1955-03-05	1955-04-10	For LP Fans Only	Sun 217b
15.	"Baby Let's Play House"	Arthur Gunter	2:17	1955-02-05	1955-04-10	A Date With Elvis	Sun 217	C&W #5
16.	"I Forgot to Remember to Forget"	Stan Kesler and Charlie Feathers	2:30	1955-07-11	1955-08-06	A Date With Elvis	Sun 223	C&W #1
17.	"Mystery Train"	Junior Parker and Sam Phillips	2:29	1955-07-11	1955-08-06	For LP Fans Only	Sun 223b
18.	"Trying to Get to You"	Rose Marie McCoy and Charles Singleton	2:33	1955-07-11	1956-03-23	Elvis Presley	LPM 1254	#1
19.	"When It Rains It Really Pours"	William Emerson	2:00	1955-11-20	1992-06-23	The Complete 50s Masters	RCA 66050-2	#159

Charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[2]	69
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[3]	88
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[4]	37

References

^ Allmusic review
^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 223.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Elvis Presley – Elvis at Sun" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Elvis Presley Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

External links

[1] Allmusic review

[2] Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 223.

[ac_Netherlands_Elvis_Presley-3] "Dutchcharts.nl – Elvis Presley – Elvis at Sun" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[ac_BillboardCountry_Elvis_Presley-4] "Elvis Presley Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]