ISIS Productions - Classic Albums Elvis Presley (2001) Part 1

This film tells the story that lies behind the making of Elvis Presley's first album for RCA Records in 1956, and his meteoric rise to Superstardom when he was just 20 years old. In Memphis, Sam Phillips, founder of Sun records, gives the inside story of those ground breaking days when he auditioned, produced and befriended Elvis. He explains the poverty that surrounded Elvis' childhood and how black music was his inspiration along with a desire for inter-racial tensions to improve. Scotty Moore (guitar) and D.J Fontana (drums), describe how they helped Elvis record the album in Nashville and New York, aiming for “feel, not perfection”. They recall, with home movie footage, how they toured 400 miles a day in Elvis' Pink Cadillac, rehearsing the songs that Elvis would immortalise in that first album. Rare footage illustrates Elvis' seamless stylistic delivery and the simple techniques of the day where musicians were very much on the spot. Dixie Locke, then Elvis' steady girlfriend, describes how shy, mercurial and glamorous the young Elvis appeared, and how he coped with his new found stardom when his self-titled album at RCA, far from being the flop expected by Joe Carlton (pop A and R at RCA) became their biggest seller ever with 300,000 album sales and 2 million single sales for the first single Heartbreak Hotel. Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana describe how they helped with recording. DJ Perryman recalls Elvis' first meeting with Colonel Parker, hinting at the mysterious relationship they were to have, and DJ Fontana describes how Elvis searched for a “feeling” rather than technical perfection and reveals the dubious nature of some of the lyrics. Record producer/historian Ernst Jorgensen and biographer Peter Guralnick describe the shock impact of 20 year old Elvis and the astonishing simplicity of this album's execution. Musicians B.B. King and Keith Richards tell us what made Elvis the King of Rock 'n' Roll. The film is filled with performances from '55 and 56', interviews with Elvis and rare home footage of him at play and work, offering fresh insights into his life an his recordings. Featured songs include Blue Suede Shoes, Shake Rattle and Roll, Tutti Frutti, Money Honey and Elvis' first million dollar seller Heartbreak Hotel, and songs from his early Sun sessions Mystery Train, Baby Let's Play House and That's All Right. ELVIS PRESLEY is a record that changed forever the look and sound of popular music, a truly Classic Album.

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