Viva Las Vegas is an EP by American singer Elvis Presley, containing four songs from the 1964 motion picture, Viva Las Vegas. It was released by RCA Victor in May 1964 to coincide with the film's premiere. The soundtrack EP made the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 92, the lowest-charting release of Presley's career to this point.[1] RCA had not released a Presley EP single in two years; given the format's decreasing popularity in the United States and the disappointing chart performance of Viva Las Vegas, the company would only issue two more for the remainder of Presley's career.[2]
Recording and release history
Recording sessions took place on July 9, 10 and 11, 1963, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California. By then, film and soundtrack obligations were starting to back up on each other, and six weeks after the aborted "lost album" sessions of May 1963, the stable of Presley songwriters was required to come up with another dozen songs for yet another new picture.[3] Song quality took a back seat to the need for quantity, and Presley's filming schedule made it difficult for song publishers to live up to obligations.[4]Memphis Mafia pal Red West had written a "Ray Charles-styled" number, but so little good material had surfaced that an extra session was scheduled on August 30 for an actual Ray Charles song to be recorded, "What'd I Say".[4]
Fifteen songs were recorded of which eleven were used in the film. For debated reasons, the idea of a full-length soundtrack long-playing album was not considered, which has attracted much criticism from various accounts, including Elvis: The Illustrated Record.[citation needed] Instead, to coincide with the film's release, RCA chose four songs for a Viva Las Vegas EP. In addition, the title song, along with "What'd I Say", were released as a single, catalogue 47-8360 on April 28. The strength of both sides caused it to split the difference on the chart, with "What'd I Say" peaking at disappointing No. 21 and "Viva Las Vegas" faring even worse at No. 29.
Presley recorded three duets with co-star Ann-Margret for the film; only one, "The Lady Loves Me", was used in the movie and it would not be officially issued by RCA until the posthumous collection, Elvis: A Legendary Performer Volume 4 in 1983. Of the other two, "You're the Boss" debuted on Elvis Sings Leiber & Stoller in 1991.[3], while a duet version of the ballad "Today, Tomorrow and Forever" (sung by Elvis alone in the film), was first released as the title track of a four-CD box set issued by RCA in 2002.
One track, a rhythm and blues dance number called "The Climb", performed by George MacFadden of the Jubilee Four backed by the Jordanaires and an uncredited Presley, would not be officially released until 2018 (see "Reissues", below).
Ann-Margret recorded two solo numbers for the film, neither of which were released for years, either, with "My Rival" first appearing on the 1984 Australian album The Many Moods of Ann-Margret on Raven Records (with the label noting "by arrangement with RCA Records), and "Appreciation" first officially appearing in 1996 on the Rhino Records compilation, Bachelor in Paradise: Cocktail Classics from M-G-M Films.
Released during Beatlemania and the beginning of the British invasion, North American box office receipts of $9,442,967 were markedly higher than The Beatles' first motion picture, A Hard Day's Night, which was released two months later worldwide, earning $1,626,784 in worldwide receipts.
Reissues
In 1993, Viva Las Vegas was released as part of the RCA 'Double Features' remastered collection. This edition had all the twelve songs and 11 of the Roustabout soundtrack.
In 2003 the complete soundtrack was reissued on the Follow That Dream collectors label in a special edition that contained the original album tracks along with a selection of alternate takes.
In January 2010, as part of the 75th anniversary of Presley's birth, Sony Music finally released an official almost-complete soundtrack album which included all twelve songs recorded for the film. The front cover of the CD insert reproduces the images used for the original EP release, and also adds the words "...AND MORE" as part of the text. The release was not a complete soundtrack, as it omitted the film version of "C'mon Everybody" (which featured whistling as well as backing vocals by Ann-Margret), the duet version of "Today, Tomorrow and Forever" and "The Climb" featuring Presley on backing vocals. It also excludes the songs with Ann-Margret on lead vocals, "My Rival" and "Appreciation". The original film version of "What'd I Say" also featured backing vocals by Ann-Margret and has yet to be officially released.
In August 2018 the Follow That Dream label released The Viva Las Vegas Sessions as a Special 3–CD Deluxe Edition, which made the film version of "C'mon Everybody" and "The Climb" officially available for the first time. According to the track listing, a version of "The Climb" was recorded for record release.[6]
Track listing
Original release side one
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Length
1.
"If You Think I Don't Need You" (recorded 1963-07-09)
