Girls! Girls! Girls!
Soundtrack album by
Elvis Presley
ReleasedNovember 9, 1962
RecordedMarch 26–28, and May 23, 1962
StudioRadio Recorders (Hollywood)
GenrePop, rock and roll
Length29:04
LabelRCA Victor
ProducerJoseph J. Lilley
Elvis Presley chronology
Kid Galahad
(1962) 		Girls! Girls! Girls!
(1962) 		It Happened at the World's Fair
(1963)
Singles from Girls! Girls! Girls!
  1. "Return to Sender"
    Released: October 2, 1962
  2. "Girls! Girls! Girls!"
    Released: 1963[1]
  3. "Because of Love"
    Released: June 1963 (Greece)[2]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
New Record Mirror[4]

Girls! Girls! Girls! is the fifth soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor Records in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2426, in November 1962. It accompanied the 1962 film of the same name starring Presley. Recording sessions took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood on March 26, 27, and 28, and May 23, 1962.[5] It peaked at number three on the Top LPs chart. It was certified Gold on August 13, 1963, by the Recording Industry Association of America.[6]

Content

As soundtrack album sales far outstripped his regular album sales (Blue Hawaii outselling Pot Luck with Elvis by ten to one) Presley found himself firmly entrenched in songs designed for a light-entertainment formula of beautiful scenery and girls galore.[7] With this discrepancy in sales, the formula of the soundtrack music became the focus. This formula for success would prove disastrous for Presley's career. Elvis continued recording non-movie singles and was never "entrenched" in only "movie music". Popular music was on the threshold of complete renewal and change and Presley would become 'lost in Hollywood'. Yet he was the no.2 most charted act on Billboard's pop chart of the '60s.

Sixteen songs were recorded at the sessions in March, of which thirteen were used for the soundtrack album.[8] Banished from the kingdom after running afoul of the Colonel, songs from favored writers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller could only be those already written for someone else, in this case the title track being a hit for The Coasters in 1961 before being adapted for the Presley film.[9]

The tracks "Return to Sender" and "Where Do You Come From" were issued as both sides of a single in October 1962, one month before the release of the soundtrack LP. "Return to Sender" became a substantial hit for Presley, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the B-side "Where Do You Come From" peaked at only number 99 independently of the hit side.[10]

The songs performed by Stella Stevens in the film—"Never Let Me Go", "The Nearness of You" and "Baby, Baby, Baby"—were in fact mimed to the singing voice of Gilda Maiken and have yet to be commercially released.[11]

Reissues

"Girls! Girls! Girls!", "Return to Sender" and "Because of Love" made an appearance on the 1995 soundtrack compilation Command Performances: The Essential 60's Masters II. The Presley fan-club label Follow That Dream released an expanded version of the album in 2007, including alternate takes and songs recorded but not used for the soundtrack.[12]

Legacy

The outtake "Plantation Rock" saw a performance by actor Rob Schneider (a self-proclaimed Elvis fan) on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 1996.

Track listing

Original release

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."Girls! Girls! Girls!"Jerry Leiber and Mike StollerMarch 27, 19622:34
2."I Don't Wanna Be Tied"Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence KayeMarch 28, 19622:08
3."Where Do You Come From?"Ruth Batchelor and Bob RobertsMarch 27, 19622:08
4."I Don't Want To"Janice Torre and Fred SpielmanMarch 26, 19622:42
5."We'll Be Together"Charles O'Curran and Dudley BrooksMay 23, 19622:17
6."A Boy Like Me, A Girl Like You"Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettMarch 27, 19622:20
7."Earth Boy"Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettMarch 28, 19622:24
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."Return to Sender"Otis Blackwell and Winfield ScottMarch 27, 19622:09
2."Because of Love"Ruth Batchelor and Bob RobertsMarch 27, 19622:34
3."Thanks to the Rolling Sea"Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence KayeMarch 26, 19621:31
4."Song of the Shrimp"Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettMarch 27, 19622:21
5."The Walls Have Ears"Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettMarch 27, 19622:32
6."We're Comin' In Loaded"Otis Blackwell and Winfield ScottMarch 26, 19621:24

Follow That Dream reissue version

Original Soundtrack Album
No.TitleLength
1."Girls! Girls! Girls!"2:34
2."I Don't Wanna Be Tied"2:08
3."Where Do You Come From"2:08
4."I Don't Want To"2:42
5."We'll Be Together"2:17
6."A Boy Like Me, A Girl Like You"2:20
7."Earth Boy"2:24
8."Return to Sender"2:09
9."Because Of Love"2:34
10."Thanks to the Rolling Sea"1:31
11."Song of the Shrimp"2:21
12."The Walls Have Ears"2:32
13."We're Coming in Loaded"1:24
New Bonus Songs
No.TitleLength
14."Mama"1:00
15."Plantation Rock" (cut from film)1:57
16."Dainty Little Moonbeams" / "Girls! Girls! Girls" (end title)1:57
Outtakes
No.TitleLength
17."A Boy Like Me, A Girl Like You" (takes 1,2)4:50
18."Mama" (takes 1, 2, 3, 4)3:21
19."Thanks to the Rolling Sea" (take 3)1:36
20."Where Do You Come From" (take 13)2:09
21."Earth Boy" (movie version takes 2, 4)3:31
22."We'll Be Together" (takes 8,10)3:36
23."Mama" (takes 5, 6, 7, 8)4:04
24."I Don't Wanna Be Tied" (movie version take 8 & 10 intro)2:26
25."A Boy Like Me, A Girl Like You" (takes 3, 4)3:37
26."Thanks to the Rolling Sea" (take 10)1:26
27."Plantation Rock" (take 17, insert)2:30
28."Mama" (take 9)1:20
29."Mama" (The Amigos, take 10)2:19
30."Mama" (instrumental, take 3)0:44
31."Mama" (1970 Let's Be Friends album version)2:20

Personnel

References

  1. ^ "Elvis Presley With The Jordanaires – Girls! Girls! Girls!". Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Elvis Presley With The Jordanaires – Because Of Love". Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  3. ^ Allmusic review
  4. ^ Watson, Jimmy (9 February 1963). "Elvis Presley: Girls! Girls! Girls!" (PDF). New Record Mirror. No. 100. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  5. ^ Flynn, Keith. "May 23 1962". Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages.
  6. ^ "Searchable database". RIAA. Recording Industry Association of America. 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2013. Note: Enter advanced search for "Girls, Girls, Girls"
  7. ^ Jorgensen, Ernst. Elvis Presley A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998; pp. 164–165, 172.
  8. ^ Jorgensen, op. cit., pp. 169–170.
  9. ^ Jorgensen, op. cit., p. 173.
  10. ^ Jorgensen, op. cit., p. 415.
  11. ^ Kid Galahad / Girls! Girls! Girls! BMG Music 1993 CD Liner notes by Ernst Mikael Jorgensen & Roger Semon.
  12. ^ "Girls! Girls! Girls!". Elvis Presley: Official Site of the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. 2013. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2013.

External links

Elvis Presley
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