Love Letters from Elvis
Love Letters from Elvis is the 14th studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released in 1971. The album was critically panned upon release, and failed to crack the top 20 of the Billboard album charts but did reach No. 12 on the US Top Country Albums chart and No. 7 on the UK best-selling albums chart.
| Love Letters from Elvis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 16, 1971 | |||
| Recorded | June 4–9, 1970 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 32:40 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Felton Jarvis | |||
| Elvis Presley chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Love Letters from Elvis | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Billboard | Favorable[2] |
| MusicHound | [3] |
| Rough Guides | [4] |
Content
The album was made up of leftovers from Elvis' marathon June 1970 recording sessions in Nashville. Most of the other 35 songs recorded during those sessions had been used in Elvis' 1970 albums That's the Way It Is and Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old). Wanting to squeeze out a third album from the sessions, RCA records had producer Felton Jarvis mix, overdub and compile the remaining songs.
The song's title track was a rare instance of Presley re-recording a past hit in the studio, his original version of "Love Letters" having been released as a single in 1966. "Got My Mojo Working" is edited down from an impromptu jam session; Presley's version incorporates lyrics from "Hands Off", a 1955 song by Frankie Castro released on the Wing record label (RCA often mislabelled this song "Keep Your Hands Off of It" when the complete jam was issued on CD years later).
Three songs from this album were released on singles. The single "Life" / "Only Believe" was released in March 1971 and reached only No. 53 on the US Billboard Singles chart. It was Elvis's lowest chart position for a single since "Almost in Love" had reached No. 95 in late 1968. "Heart of Rome" was placed on the B-side of the non-album track "I'm Leavin'" released as a single in August 1971 it reached No. 23 in the UK and No. 83 in Australia.
Track listing
Original release
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love Letters" | Edward Heyman, Victor Young | June 7, 1970 | 2:53 |
| 2. | "When I'm Over You" | Shirl Milete | June 7, 1970 | 2:28 |
| 3. | "If I Were You" | Gerald Nelson | June 8, 1970 | 3:01 |
| 4. | "Got My Mojo Working" | Preston Foster | June 5, 1970 | 4:36 |
| 5. | "Heart of Rome" | Alan Blaikley, Ken Howard, Geoff Stephens | June 6, 1970 | 2:56 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Only Believe" | D. Paul Rader | June 8, 1970 | 2:49 |
| 2. | "This Is Our Dance" | Les Reed, Geoff Stephens | June 6, 1970 | 3:16 |
| 3. | "Cindy, Cindy" | Dolores Fuller, Buddy Kaye, Ben Weisman | June 4, 1970 | 2:33 |
| 4. | "I'll Never Know" | Frederick Karger, Sid Wayne, Ben Weisman | June 5, 1970 | 2:25 |
| 5. | "It Ain't No Big Thing (But It's Growing)" | Shorty Hall, Alice Joy Merritt, Neal Merritt | June 6, 1970 | 2:49 |
| 6. | "Life" | Shirl Milete | June 6, 1970 | 3:10 |
Follow That Dream reissue
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love Letters" | |
| 2. | "When I'm Over You" | |
| 3. | "If I Were You" | |
| 4. | "Got My Mojo Working" / "Keep Your Hands Off of It" | |
| 5. | "Heart of Rome" | |
| 6. | "Only Believe" | |
| 7. | "This Is Our Dance" | |
| 8. | "Cindy, Cindy" | |
| 9. | "I’ll Never Know" | |
| 10. | "It Ain’t No Big Thing (But It’s Growing)" | |
| 11. | "Life" | |
| 12. | "The Sound of Your Cry" | |
| 13. | "Sylvia" | |
| 14. | "Rags to Riches" | |
| 15. | "Something" | |
| 16. | "The Sound of Your Cry" (takes 1, 2, 3) | |
| 17. | "Cindy, Cindy" (take 1) | |
| 18. | "I’ll Never Know" (take 1) | |
| 19. | "It Ain’t No Big Thing (But It’s Growing)" (takes 1, 2) | |
| 20. | "Life" (take 1, 2) | |
| 21. | "Heart of Rome" (take 1) | |
| 22. | "If I Were You" (take 1) | |
| 23. | "Rags to Riches" (rehearsal, take 2) |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Radio Commercial" | |
| 2. | "The Sound of Your Cry" (takes 4, 5, 6) | |
| 3. | "Cindy, Cindy" (takes 2, 3; undubbed master) | |
| 4. | "Got My Mojo Working" / "Keep Your Hands Off Of It" (take 1; undubbed master) | |
| 5. | "I'll Never Know" (takes 2, 3) | |
| 6. | "It Ain't No Big Thing (But It’s Growing)" (takes 3, 4, 5, 6) | |
| 7. | "This Is Our Dance" (takes 6, 7, 9,11; undubbed master) | |
| 8. | "Life" (take10) | |
| 9. | "Heart of Rome" (take 2; undubbed master) | |
| 10. | "Love Letters" (takes 3, 1) | |
| 11. | "If I Were You" (takes 2, 3, 4, 5) | |
| 12. | "Only Believe" (takes 1, 2, 3, 4; undubbed master) | |
| 13. | "Sylvia" (takes 1, 2, 3, 4, 9) | |
| 14. | "Rags to Riches" (take 3) |
Personnel
- Elvis Presley – lead vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar
- James Burton – lead guitar
- Chip Young – rhythm guitar
- Charlie Hodge – harmony vocals on “Heart of Rome” and “This Is Our Dance”, acoustic rhythm guitar
- Norbert Putnam – bass
- David Briggs – piano
- Jerry Carrigan – drums
- Charlie McCoy – harmonica, vibraphone, organ
- The Imperials Quartet – backing vocals
- The Jordanaires – backing vocals on "When I'm Over You"
- The Nashville Edition – backing vocals on "It Ain't No Big Thing (But It's Growing)"
References
- Love Letters from Elvis at AllMusic
- Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (19 June 1971). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 49–. ISSN 0006-2510.
{{cite book}}:|author=has generic name (help) - Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. pp. 892. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
- Simpson, Paul (2004). The Rough Guide to Elvis. London: Rough Guides. p. 146. ISBN 1-84353-417-7.
- "Elvis Presley Albums". Softshoe-slim.com. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
- "Love Letters From Elvis". Elvis Presley Enterprises. 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
External links
- Love Letters from Elvis at Discogs (list of releases)
