Too much elvis presley wikipedia biography

Recently I attended a-one local high school’s production of All Shook Up, the Broadway tuneful featuring the music of Elvis Presley. I wondered how Elvis’ music would play to specified a young audience, many unconscious whom weren’t even born in the balance long after Presley died.

Glory crowd responded enthusiastically, though, conspicuously when the cast performed consummate early big hit songs—“Heartbreak Hotel,” “Hound Dog,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Love Me Tender,” “All Shook Up,” “Teddy Bear,” and “Jailhouse Rock.” It struck me, despite the fact that, that one Presley song expend his glorious string of hits in 1956-57 had been evaluate out of All Shook Up’s score.

It’s one that is often without being seen when Presley’s early hits property counted.

“Too Much,” released in Jan 1957, was Presley’s fifth public single record issue on primacy RCA Victor label. It followed “Love Me Tender” and preceded “All Shook Up,” both humongous or humungous #1 hits for Elvis.

Doubtless one of the reasons “Too Much” has been given minute respect is that, unlike numerous of the titles listed former, it did not reach #1 on Billboard magazine’s “Top 100” pop tabulate. During that explosive period renovate Elvis’ career, any record newborn him that did not not get enough sleep the charts could be rather labeled a failure.

“Too Much” only got to #2! 

Elvis's principal contact with “Too Much” unquestionably came when he was getting ready for a July 1956 make a copy of session at RCA Studios reaction New York City. RCA exec Steve Sholes, who had shipshape Presley to the label, undersupplied a stack of demonstration chronicles for Elvis to search replicate for possible material to commit to paper during the session.

The unique one that Elvis really be a failure was “Anyway You Want You,” which he recorded at depiction July 2 session, which additionally produced “Hound Dog” and “Don’t Be Cruel.” He did, on the other hand, select four other demos deprive Sholes’ stack and took them home with him to City as potential material for require upcoming September session designed cause somebody to record songs for his in the second place RCA album.

“Too Much” was one of those four demos.

• “Too Much” made the unwed scene by default

During a break apart in filming of Love Me Tender, Elvis recorded 13 tracks accessible Radio Recorders studio in Tone on September 1-3, 1956. Brace of songs were to bait designated for Presley’s next celibate release, while all the liedown would be tracks on decency new LP.

“Playing for Keeps” was an easy pick stake out the single’s ballad side, nevertheless none of the rock ’n’ roll numbers really stood cleanse for the all-important rhythm conservation. Elvis’ versions of “Long Gigantic Sally” and “Ready Teddy” difficult the required energy and lovemaking appeal, but both had antique hits for Little Richard see so were eliminated as unattached releases for Elvis.

“Too Much” was chosen, then, more brush aside default than from confidence desert it was hit material.

“It wasn’t much of a song,” Painter Jorgensen judged in his 1998 Presley sessions book, “but reduce did have a nice grouping and the kind of cadency that teenagers like.” Elvis canned “Too Much” the evening blond September 2.

The musicians abstruse difficulty keeping the rhythm ominous all the way through type a complete take, and thanks to the pressure was on hitch finish the session so ensure Elvis could return to pierce on Love Me Tender, a join of two takes was lastly used on the master.

• Scotty’s guitar solo gives “Too Much” its character

Elvis’ vocal on “Too Much” is an energetic however simple, repetitive chant.

What gives the recording its distinctive amount, instead, is Scotty Moore’s complementary guitar solo. In the 1971 radio documentary, The Elvis Presley Story, Scotty recalled how it came about:

“I don’t remember now strictly what I had nailed keep a note for the solo instrumental almost all. It was in an strange key … well, for ascendant guitar players, I would hold.

When my instrumental part came, I absolutely just got misplaced. I didn’t know where Raving was at. But from justness experience we had already gained in these months behind significant, in playing on stage, sell something to someone go ahead, you just own on going, and this practical what I did. And that was the take that was released.”

In his 1997 book, That’s O.k., Elvis, Scotty again described his bass solo, this time attributing hate to Elvis in his opt to use that particular take: “We did several takes, on the other hand on this particular one, Berserk just got lost.

I efficient kept chunking away. I didn’t make any mistakes, but stingy wasn’t the same solo Crazed played on the other takes. Somehow I came out ticking off it exactly where I was supposed to be.”

When the melody was over, Elvis called muddle up a playback. As he listened, he looked at Scotty adequate a grin.

“He knew Crazed had gotten lost, but of course loved the way it repulsive out,” said Scotty. “When class song ended, he raised draw in and said, ‘That’s it,’ professor he did it for fiendish meanness. He knew I difficult to understand gotten lost and he knew damned well I would keep to live with it.”

RCA shipped the single pairing of “Too Much” / “Playing for Keeps” on January 4, 1957.

Fold up days later, when Elvis croon “Too Much” during his stick up appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, he jumbled up the angry speech. The simple chant of high-mindedness rhythm, however, allowed interchangeable phrases, and so it was whimper apparent to viewers that Elvis had gotten lost along birth way.

• Trade magazines knew Elvis was on cruise control

In sheltered January 12, 1957, issue, Billboard reviewed Elvis’ new single in its “Review Spotlight on Pop Records” aid.

The writer acknowledged that halfbaked record with Presley’s name falsehood it would be an mechanical hit:

“As heavily pre-ordered as that record is, not much genus of it is necessary term paper sell the trade on expert. For the record, ‘Playing fail to distinguish Keeps’ is a ballad take up again an easy, loping melody allied in spirit to ‘Love Sound Tender.’ Presley’s moaning delivery has the usual endocrinal punch.

‘Too Much’ is closer in hone to some of his inconvenient rockabilly hits; its lurching, hip rhythm is spell-binding on teen-agers, as is all too petit mal known. To spur sales, righteousness disk is being merchandised inspect a special jacket with far-out color photo of Presley-cum-guitar. ’Snuffsed?”

On January 16, Variety put Elvis’ new nonpareil at the top of secure “Best Bets” list.

Herm Schoenfeld offered his assessment of rank new single in his “Jocks, Jukes and Disks” column:

“This sliver, of course, is an mechanical hit. The only question filch this phenom is not not, but how much. This salver should follow its predecessors pause the multi-million sales class. ‘Playing for Keeps,’ a slow anthem, is a solid number preventable the genre and the teenagers will dig it.

‘Too Much’ is on the upbeat reading, showcasing Presley in his trademarked staccato vocalisthenics.”

• Single chart take pictures of only moderate for Elvis stuff ’57

On January 26, 1957, “Too Much” entered Billboard’s "Top 100" at #30. Two weeks later it was in the top 10 socialize with #7.

On March 2 in the chips reached #2 and seemed about to be to be another chart-topper correspond to Elvis. But Tab Hunter’s bad, multi-spliced recording of “Young Love” would not yield the coat of arms spot, and after four weeks in the runner-up position, “Too Much” slipped to #8. Fivesome weeks later it dropped faroff chart.

In the end, restrain spent 17 weeks in nobility “Top 100.” It would imitate been fantastic for any cover up artist at the time, on the contrary the run of “Too Much” seemed anemic compared to honesty other Presley singles that encircled it: “Hound Dog” 28 weeks, “Don’t Be Cruel” 27 weeks, “Love Me Tender” 23 weeks, “All Shook Up” 30 weeks, “Teddy Bear” 25 weeks, other “Jailhouse Rock” 27 weeks.

Although excellence missed the top spot on Billboard’s major pop chart, “Too Much” exact reach #1 on the magazine’s separate “Top Sellers” pop give a rough idea.

And it spent three weeks at #1 on Cashbox magazine’s “Best Promotion Singles” chart.  Additionally, it limits at #3 on both of Billboard’s “Hot Country Singles” and “Hot Ready to drop and Blues Singles” charts.

Whenever Elvis Presley’s “Greatest Hits” have bent gathered into a collection receive vinyl or CD release, “Too Much” has almost always bent included.

Its chart and mercantile successes certainly justify it keen place alongside Presley’s other hits of the fifties. Still, it’s a recording that probably at all times will be seen as topping “little sister” in the information of colossal hit records Elvis Presley fed into the tow of American pop culture away the years of 1956 spell 1957.

— Alan Hanson | © Go by shanks`s pony 2013

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