''Elvis' Golden Records'' is a compilation album by American

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

singer

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, issued by RCA Victor in March 1958. It compiled his hit singles released in 1956 and 1957, and is widely believed to be the first

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

in rock and roll history. It is the first of five RCA Victor ''Elvis' Golden/Gold Records'' compilations, the first four of which were issued during Presley's lifetime. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart and was certified 6× platinum on August 17, 1999, by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Songs

''Elvis' Golden Records'' collects nine number one

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

s along with four B-sides, " Loving You", " That's When Your Heartaches Begin", "

Treat Me Nice "Treat Me Nice" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley. The song was included in the musical revue '' Smokey Joe's Cafe''. The song was featured prominently in the film '' Jailhouse Rock''. Chart performance Personnel *Elvis Presley – lead ...

" and "Anyway You Want Me", and one album track, " Love Me", originally issued on the 1956 LP ''

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

''. Every flip-side also hit the chart separately from its parent hit side, with four making the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

; chart positions noted for those tracks individually. "Love Me" was also included on the ''Elvis Vol. 1'' EP single which made the top ten on the singles chart. In the 1950s, a gold record awarded for a single referred to sales of one million units, different from the definition in use by the late 1970s for albums, where a gold record came to mean album sales of 500,000 units. Exact figures from the RIAA are difficult to confirm, but in the

press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...

from September 22, 1958, originally released on the RCA Victor EP ''Elvis Sails'' in 1958 and included on disc four of the RCA CD boxed set '' The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50s Masters'', the interviewer asked Presley for a tally of his gold records. Presley responded, "I have 25 million sellers, and two albums that have sold a million each."''The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50s Masters'', disc 4, track 24 Most of the songs in the compilation were recorded at

Radio Recorders Radio Recorders, Inc. was an American recording studio located in Los Angeles, California. During the 1940s and 1950s, Radio Recorders was one of the largest independent recording studios in the world. Notable musicians recorded at Radio Recorder ...

in Hollywood, with other sessions at the RCA Victor studios in New York City, at 20th Century-Fox's Stage One in Hollywood, and the RCA Victor studios in Nashville, Tennessee. Although RCA Victor executive

Steve Sholes Stephen Henry Sholes (February 12, 1911 – April 22, 1968) was a prominent American recording executive with RCA Victor. Career Sholes was born in Washington, D.C. and moved with his family to Merchantville, New Jersey, at the age of nin ...

was the in-house A&R man for Presley, and nominally in charge of his recording sessions at RCA Victor, accounts by Presley historian

Peter Guralnick Peter Guralnick (born December 15, 1943, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American music critic, author, and screenwriter. He specializes in the history of early rock and roll and has written on Elvis Presley, Sam Phillips, and Sam Cooke. Caree ...

and Presley discographer Ernst Mikael Jorgensen indicate that Presley himself acted as the producer for his RCA Victor sessions in the 1950s. The unified ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart was not created until August 1958, after the release of this compilation, and of course after the release of all of these singles. Chart positions referenced were taken from the "Best Sellers in Stores" chart, although early statistics for rock and roll records also came from the "Most Played in Jukeboxes" chart.

Critical reception

In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, Bruce Eder commented:

Reissues

''Elvis' Golden Records'' is one of Presley's most popular albums and has remained consistently available since its original 1958 issue. RCA first reissued the original 14 track album on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...

in 1984. This release, in reprocessed (simulated) stereo sound, was quickly withdrawn and the album was reissued in original monophonic. RCA reissued the album on CD again in 1997 and added six bonus tracks, with "

Blue Suede Shoes "Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard (music), standard written and first recorded by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Carl Perkins in 1955. It is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating elements of blues ...

" an unusual track in that it was issued simultaneously in conjunction with every track from Elvis' debut LP ''

'' in singles form, more than five months after the release of the album on March 23. Two more charting B-sides, " I Was the One" and "

My Baby Left Me "My Baby Left Me" is a rhythm and blues song written by blues singer Arthur Crudup. Original recording It was first recorded by Crudup in Chicago on November 8, 1950, with Ransom Knowling on bass and Judge Riley on drums, and was released as a ...

", and three

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny ...

tracks rounded out the

. RCA Victor had purchased the rights to reissue Sun material when buying Elvis' contract from

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, ...

in 1955, using Sun recordings to fill out album tracks throughout the decade.

Vinyl rerelease

In the 2020s, the vinyl version of the album rereleased. But instead of black, the record is gold-colored.

Track listing

Details are taken from the 1958 and 1997

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

albums liner notes and may differ from other sources. See singles discography and song list for additional information. Original LP 1997 CD reissue Original UK LP

Chart performance

Certifications

References

External links

*
LPM-1707 Elvis Presley Guide
part o
The Elvis Presley Record Research Database
{{Authority control Albums produced by Steve Sholes Elvis Presley compilation albums 1958 greatest hits albums RCA Victor compilation albums