Viva Las Vegas (EP)
Lowest-charting Elvis Presley EP release.
In May 1964, RCA Victor issued an EP by Elvis Presley featuring four songs from his film Viva Las Vegas. It was timed to the movie’s premiere. The EP reached number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100, the poorest chart showing of Presley’s career up to that point.
Quick Facts
- Longtype
- (soundtrack)
- Artist
- Elvis Presley
- Released
- May 1964
- Recorded
- July 9–11, 1963
- Studio
- Radio Recorders (Hollywood)
- Genre
- Pop
- Label
- RCA Victor
- Producer
- George Stoll
Facts from the source article.
Track listing
Original release side one
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | If You Think I Don't Need You (recorded 1963-07-09) | Red West, Joe Cooper | 2:07 |
| 2 | I Need Somebody to Lean On (recorded 1963-07-10) | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | 3:03 |
Original release side two
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C'mon Everybody (recorded 1963-07-09) | Joy Byers | 2:21 |
| 2 | Today, Tomorrow and Forever (recorded 1963-07-11) | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye | 3:27 |
2010 expanded reissue
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viva Las Vegas | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | 2:27 |
| 2 | What'd I Say | Ray Charles | 3:06 |
| 3 | If You Think I Don't Need You | Red West, Joe Cooper | 2:07 |
| 4 | I Need Somebody to Lean On | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | 3:03 |
| 5 | C'mon Everybody | Joy Byers | 2:21 |
| 6 | Today, Tomorrow and Forever | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye | 3:27 |
| 7 | Night Life | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye | 1:52 |
| 8 | Santa Lucia | Traditional | 1:14 |
| 9 | Do the Vega | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye | 2:26 |
| 10 | You're the Boss (with Ann-Margret) | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | 2:47 |
| 11 | The Yellow Rose of Texas" / "The Eyes of Texas | Fred Wise, Randy Starr, John Sinclair | 2:58 |
| 12 | The Lady Loves Me (with Ann-Margret) | Sid Tepper, Roy C. Bennett | 3:43 |
Track listing from the source article.
Recording and release history
Recording for the Viva Las Vegas soundtrack happened over three days in July 1963 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. By that point, Elvis Presley’s film and soundtrack commitments were piling up, and just six weeks after the abandoned “lost album” sessions from May, his regular songwriters were asked to produce another dozen tracks for a new movie. Quantity mattered more than quality, and Presley’s tight filming schedule made it hard for publishers to keep up. Red West, a member of the Memphis Mafia, contributed a number in a Ray Charles style, but because decent material was scarce, an extra session was added on August 30 to record an actual Ray Charles song, “What’d I Say.” In total, fifteen songs were cut, with eleven making it into the film. For reasons that remain debated, no full-length soundtrack album was released—a decision that drew criticism from sources like Elvis: The Illustrated Record. Instead, RCA put out a four-song EP to coincide with the movie’s release. The title track and “What’d I Say” were also issued as a single (catalogue 47-8360) on April 28. Both sides were strong enough to split the chart performance, with “What’d I Say” reaching only number 21 and “Viva Las Vegas” doing even worse at number 29. The other film songs trickled out over the years. The Neapolitan tune “Santa Lucia” appeared on the 1965 compilation Elvis for Everyone. In 1969, the RCA Camden release Elvis Sings Flaming Star included “Night Life” and “Do the Vega” (neither used in the film) along with a medley of “The Yellow Rose of Texas” and “The Eyes of Texas.” Presley recorded three duets with his co-star Ann-Margret; only one, “The Lady Loves Me,” was used in the movie, and RCA didn’t officially release it until the posthumous collection Elvis: A Legendary Performer Volume 4 in 1983. The other two duets surfaced later: “You’re the Boss” debuted on Elvis Sings Leiber & Stoller in 1991, and a duet version of the ballad “Today, Tomorrow and Forever” (sung solo by Presley in the film) was first issued as the title track of a four-CD box set from RCA in 2002. One more track, a rhythm and blues dance number called “The Climb,” performed by George MacFadden of the Jubilee Four with backing from the Jordanaires and an uncredited Presley, didn’t get an official release until 2018.
Reissues
The soundtrack for Viva Las Vegas first appeared in 1993 as part of RCA’s Double Features remastered series, pairing all twelve of its songs with eleven tracks from the Roustabout soundtrack. A decade later, in 2003, the Follow That Dream collector’s label issued a special edition that included the original album tracks plus a selection of alternate takes. Then, in January 2010, to mark the 75th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s birth, Sony Music put out an official but nearly complete soundtrack album containing all twelve songs recorded for the film. Its CD insert cover reused the images from the original EP and added the phrase “…AND MORE” to the text. This release was not fully complete: it left out the film version of “C’mon Everybody” (which featured whistling and backing vocals by Ann-Margret), the duet version of “Today, Tomorrow and Forever,” and “The Climb” with Presley on backing vocals. It also omitted the Ann-Margret lead vocal tracks “My Rival” and “Appreciation.” Additionally, the original film version of “What’d I Say,” which had backing vocals by Ann-Margret, remained officially unreleased. In August 2018, the Follow That Dream label released The Viva Las Vegas Sessions as a special three-CD deluxe edition. This set made the film version of “C’mon Everybody” and “The Climb” available officially for the first time. According to its track listing, a version of “The Climb” had been recorded with the intention of a record release.
More in Songs & Singles
Elsewhere in Elvis Presley
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced