The journey begins with all the masters, sorted according to release date. I more or less copied the information from the singles and album reviews to give you an overview of the records and their commercial performance. Because just the b-side of "Do The Clam" was recorded during "The POT LUCK Sessions" I limit the review to this very song. The same applies to the album "Elvis For Everyone", which features just two songs from these sessions.

On August 11, 1961 RCA Victor released "His Latest Flame" / "Little Sister". On the 21st of the month Billboard listed "Little Sister" at number 61 of their "Hot 100". The song stayed on the chart for 13 weeks and peaked at number 5. The following week "His Latest Flame" appeared on the hitparade, too. Within its run of 11 weeks the song climbed from number 66 to number 4. On the "Adult Contemporary Chart" the track was even more successful. Here it also stayed for 11 weeks, but peaked at number 2. In 1992 the RIAA honored the domestic sales with a Gold Award. The single also sold well in Europe and Australia, in total the label was able to retail 3.25 million copies, which translates to 487.5 million paid streams. It proved to be a bad idea to release two strong tracks on a single record. At the time the charts were not just calculated by sales, but also by radio airplay and the opinion of the buyers (some were asked which song made them buy the single). Because both tracks were often played on the radio and the audience didn't name a clear favorite, both songs charted high, but none became a number one hit. On Spotify "His Latest Flame" was streamed around 50 million times. "Little Sister" is less popular, but still accumulates 30 million streams.

On June 25, 1961 Elvis recorded 12 takes at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee. Finally he selected the 8th attempt for release. A friend tells the narrator of his latest flame, a girl named Marie. Suddenly he realizes, that the lady is his own girlfriend and obviously isn't as faithful as expected. Even though the story is quite sad, the melody is happy and also Elvis' performance doesn't display even the slightest bit of anger or hurt. But that's the charme of "His Latest Flame". In 1963 the track was also released on "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 3", in 1971 it was part of the boxed set "The Other Sides - Worldwide Gold Award Hits Volume 2". By the way: The song was written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman.

The duo also wrote "Little Sister" and it was recorded on June 25, 1961, too. Elvis taped 11 takes and approved the 4th one for release. The song is dominated by a (for the time) hard played electric guitar, but I still regard "Little Sister" to be a popsong rather than rock'n'roll or r&b. The studio recording later also appeared on the longplayer "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 3" (1963) and the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1". A live version can be found on "Elvis In Concert" (1977).

In February 1962 RCA Victor released another single of the king. "Good Luck Charm" entered the "Hot 100" on March 17th at number 51, had a run of 13 weeks and became a number 1 hit. On the same day Billboard also listed "Anything That's Part Of You". The b-side stayed for eight weeks and climbed from number 70 to number 31. The ballad also entered the "Easy Listening Chart". Beginning on March 17th it was listed for eight weeks and peaked at number 6. In the US the single sold two million copies, which was honored by the RIAA with a Platinum Award in 1992. In Europe "Good Luck Charm" was also popular, especially in Norway. Here it stayed at the number one for eleven consecutive weeks. In Great Britain the song also became a number one hit. When BMG released the single again in 2005 (this time in the by then popular cd format), it once more became a hit and peaked at number 2 of the UK Charts. Worldwide "Good Luck Charm" / "Anything That's Part Of You" sold 4.5 million copies, which translates to 675 million paid streams. Commercially the king was at the top of his game. "Good Luck Charm" still is a popular item of the Presley catalogue since it accumulates more than 35 million streams on Spotify. Unfortunately "Anything That's Part Of You" appears to be almost forgotten since it was streamed just 2 million times.

Elvis begs his loved one to be his talisman and I am pretty sure no ardent aficionado would have refused his plea. Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold created this great piece of radio pop, which stays with you from the first second. I especially like the harmonies of Elvis and The Jordanaires. It's quite astonishing that they just needed four takes to record the song. They did so on October 15, 1961 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee. RCA Victor released the track on "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 3" (1963) and "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970).

The ballad was recorded on the same day, but this time Elvis needed ten takes to get it right. The singer was just left by his loved one and now each and everyting reminds him of her. The king performs this song (written by the great Don Robertson) with so much sadness, that this feeling instantly transfers to the listener. I regard "Anything That's Part Of You" as one of the greatest tracks in the Presley catalogue. RCA Victor also released the song on "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 3" (1963) and "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970).

On June 5, 1962 RCA Victor distributed "Pot Luck With Elvis", which was quite astonishing because the soundtrack album "Blue Hawaii" was still in the top 20 of Billboards "Top LPs Chart". The new longplayer entered the hitparade on July 14th, had a run of 31 weeks and peaked at number 4. In West-Germany (at the time the country was devided) "Pot Luck With Elvis" reached number 7 of the charts and in Great Britain it even became a number one hit. In its initial sales period the album sold 300,000 units, in total RCA Victor was able to retail 2.75 million copies. This translates to 412.5 million paid streams of the complete album or 4.13 billion paid streams of individual tracks. The comparably low sales obviously were homemade, because a lot of fans had to decide to buy either "Blue Hawaii" or "Pot Luck With Elvis". Nowadays one can stream every album one wants to hear, but in the days of physical media the fan had to buy a product and often just had money to purchase one at a time. Speaking about streaming: On Spotify "Pot Luck With Elvis" was requested 26 million times.

Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman had written "Kiss Me Quick" for The Flamingos, who rejected the song. Mort Shuman once said, that "Kiss Me Quick" was his worst song and he wondered why Elvis recorded it. In contrast to the writer I like the song very much. It's fluffy, dancable radio-popmusic. The people at RCA thought similarly and released it on singles in serveral countries. In Great Britain "Kiss Me Quick" / "Something Blue" peaked at number 14, in West-Germany "Kiss Me Quick" / "Night Rider" made it to number 3 of the charts. In Belgium, Norway and Denmark "Kiss Me Quick" became a top 5 hit. In the US it took RCA until 1965 to release the track on a single, but by now the music taste had changed, the song stagnated at number 34 of the "Hot 100" and sold just 500,000 copies. By the way: "Kiss Me Quick" was recorded on June 25, 1961. The 12th take became the master.

With this ballad the singer begs his ex-girlfriend to take him back. Elvis performs the song with much emotion and in a very believable way. He recorded "Just For Old Times Sake" on March 18, 1962 within 5 takes. In 1969 NBC/Universal considered the composition of Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennet for "Change Of Habit", but finally decided to record a new, contemporary soundtrack.

According to Mort Shuman, who wrote the song together with Doc Pomus, "Gonna Get Back Home Somehow" was influenced by Hank Williams' "Ramblin' Man". Elvis recorded the fast popsong on March 18, 1962 and approved the 7th attempt for release. He performed the tune with a touch of blues in his voice, which I like very much.

The singer asks a girl if she was in love with him and regards it an easy question. On March 18, 1962 five takes were enough to record the felicitous popsong by Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott. In 1965 Allied Artists used "(Such An) Easy Question" in the movie "Tickle Me", which lead RCA Victor to release the track on a single. Even though the song was available for 3 years at the time, the record made it up to number 11 on the "Hot 100" and even became a number 1 hit on the "Easy Listening Chart". Worldwide the single sold a million copies, which translates to 150 million paid streams.

The name fits well, because this is the only song that wasn't recorded at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee. Besides that there is some minor distortion audible. Elvis taped "Steppin' Out Of Line" on March 22, 1961 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood/California for the movie "Blue Hawaii". He recorded 19 takes and selected the 17th one for release. Because the song was neither used in the movie, nor on the soundtrack album it was decided to put it on "Pot Luck With Elvis". Colonel Parker hated to file away a recording, because it had costed money to make and wasn't able to earn anything back if it stayed in the vaults. His client either thought in a similar way or simply didn't care, because otherwise he wouldn't have approved the release.

This ballad is the most complex production on "Pot Luck With Elvis". On June 26, 1961 Elvis recorded six takes of the song, two workpart-takes as well as six takes of his harmony voice and the spoken part. The master was a splice of take 6 and workpart-take 2 as well as take 5 (spoken part) and take 6 (harmony vocal). Elvis promises eternal love and does it in dazzling romantic style. The song itself is very good, which isn't a surprise, because it was written by Don Robertson. "I'm Yours" was also used for the movie "Tickle Me" and re-released by RCA Victor on a single, too. The 45 also peaked at number 11 on the "Hot 100", became a number one hit on the "Easy Listening Chart" and sold a million copies (which translates to 150 million paid streams). The version in the movie and on the single neither featured the harmony vocal, nor the spoken part. It's not clear if this was done on purpose or by mistake.

To me "Something Blue" is the highlight of the album. The singer has to witness his loved one marrying someone else and alludes in several variations to the saying "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue". Elvis performs extremely well, his sadness and disappointment are almost tangible. "Something Blue" was written by Paul Evans and Al Byron. On March 18, 1962 the king needed seven takes to record this beauty. .

Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman wrote this popsong in Mediterranean sytle, in which the narrator voices his jealousy to his girlfriend. On March 19, 1962 Elvis recorded five takes and three workpart-takes, the master is a splice of take 5 and workpart-take 3. Two years after the release of "Pot Luck With Elvis" Terry Stafford covered the song and scored a top 5 hit. RCA Victor tried to jump on the bandwagon and released the king's version, too. At the time the strategy didn't work out at all, but in 1976 Elvis' recording was released on a single in Great Britain and peaked at number 9 of the UK Charts.

Elvis recorded the song on March 19, 1962 within five takes. To me this is one of the highlights of this album, because the king almost seems to loose himself in his performance. "I Feel That I've Known You Forever" was written by Doc Pomus and Alan Jeffreys. This song was also used in "Tickle Me" and was re-released by RCA Victor, even though this time just on the soundtrack ep. It is said that just the music of take 5 was used and Elvis recorded a new vocal track on October 6, 1964 at the Paramount Sound Stage.

This one was also used for "Tickle Me" and therefore re-released by RCA Victor on the accordant soundtrack. The king recorded "Night Rider" on October 15, 1961 and approved take 3 for release. Later he revoked his decision, recorded the song again on March 18, 1962 and selected the 5th attempt as master. Finally he made up his mind once more and went for the first version.  The writers are Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. It's a good, uptempo popsong.

This great piece of easy listening was written by Bill Giant and Jeff Lewis and recorded by Elvis on March 18, 1962 within 10 takes. Today "Fountain Of Love" is often overlooked, but to me it's 2:13 minutes of pure relaxation.

Because Elvis came up with the title, he is credited as one of the authors. However, nevertheless the song was written by Red West. It can be regarded a love song, but in fact the king was commemorating his mother. Elvis sings with a lot of emotion and it's obvious, that the song means something to him. He taped "That's Someone You'll Never Forget" on July 25, 1961 and needed eight takes to get it right. Surprisingly RCA Victor re-released the track in 1967 on the b-side of "Long Legged Girl (With The Short Dress On)".

On July 17, 1962 RCA Victor released "She's Not You" / "Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello". With 800,000 copies sold "She's Not You" entered the "Hot 100" on August 4th at number 57, had a run of 10 weeks and peaked at number 5. "Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello" followed on August 11th at number 80, stayed for five weeks and made it to number 55. Both songs were also listed on the "Easy Listening Chart". Here "She's Not You" became a number 2 hit, "Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello" peaked at number 14. In 1992 the RIAA honored the domestic sales with a Gold Award. In Great Britain "She's Not You" became a number one hit and when BMG re-released the track 43 years later it was successful again and peaked at number 3 of the UK Charts. In general the single was quite successful in Europe. In Norway, Sweden, Belgium and The Netherlands it entered the top 5, in Germany it peaked at number 15. In total RCA Victor sold 3.5 million copies of "She's Not You" / "Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello", which equals 525 million paid streams.Therefore Elvis delivered another hit record, but didn't reach the level of his previous releases. Currently "She's Not You" accumulates 25 million streams on Spotify, while "Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello" clocks in at no more than a million streams.

Elvis recorded "She's Not You" on March 19, 1962 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee. The master is a splice of the takes number 3 and 5 (workpart). Even though his new girlfriend formally equals the woman of his dreams, he always has to think about his ex. That's why the king performs the song with a tad of melancholy, which thwarts the happy melody. "She's Not You" was written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Doc Pomus. RCA Victor re-released the track on the album "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 3" (1963) and the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970).

When the narrator spots his former girlfriend, he feels the urge to confess that he still loves her, but decides to have greetings conveyed to her instead. The song was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Elvis recorded it on March 19, 1962 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee and needed 6 takes to get it right. It is said that he regarded "Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello" to be the stronger track, but finally was convinced that "She's Not You" had the greater appeal for the radio stations. It took RCA Victor until 1968 to release the song on an album. Because Elvis didn't produce hits anymore, the label allocated a million units to the b-side of the single and put it on "Elvis' Gold Records - Volume 4". In 1971 "Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello" was also re-released on the boxed set "The Other Sides - Worldwide Gold Award Hits - Volume 2".

To promote the forthcoming album "Girl Happy" RCA Victor issued "Do The Clam" / "You'll Be Gone" on February 9, 1965. Three weeks later the record entered Billboard's "Hot 100" at number 68. It stayed on the hitparade for eight weeks and peaked at number 21. Outside the US the release was more successful. In Great Britain it became a top 20 hit, in Canada, Australia and Belgium it entered the top 10. In Malaysia "Do The Clam" even made it to the top of the charts. Worldwide the record sold 1.1 million units, which translates to 165 million paid streams according to the RIAA. Therefore the 45 established a new low point. Never before had a Presley single with new songs sold so badly. As a result both tracks are more or less forgotten. On Spotify "Do The Clam" accumulates not even 800,000 steams, "You'll Be Gone" didn't even generate half as much.

Elvis had recorded "You'll Be Gone" on March 18, 1962 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee and needed three takes to do so. The song was written by Red West, who was supported by Charlie Hodge and Elvis himself. The dramatic ballad was the better composition and superior produced, but didn't sound like the current music at all.

With "Elvis For Everyone!" RCA Victor released the first Presley album in three years that wasn't neither a soundtrack, nor a compilation of hits. On August 20, 1965 the record entered the "Top LPs Chart", stayed for 27 weeks and peaked at number 10. In Great Britain the album was released with a different cover and the Stereo version included a remake of "Wild In The Country". This edition was more successful and made it to number 8 of the UK Charts. In it's initial sales period "Elvis For Everyone!" sold 200,000 copies, in total the record went over the sales counters three million times. According to the RIAA this figure translates to 450 million paid streams of the complete album or 4.5 billion paid streams of individual tracks. Commercially "Elvis For Everyone!" was on a par with the king's studio albums of the early 1960s and did better than the recent "Girl Happy" soundtrack. With more than 12 million Streams on Spotify the album still is more popular than "Girl Happy" (5 million streams), but it's not nearly as popular as other longplayers that sold in comparable numbers.

Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett wrote the song about a man, who is so much in love that he cannot say goodbye to his girl for the evening. I would say it's nice, fluffy teenage popmusic with a southern touch, which is executed very well. At the time Elvis thought it was too lightweight and decided to leave it in the vaults. However, when material was needed to fill the album he changed his mind. "For The Millionth And The Last Time" was recorded at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee on October 15, 1961 within 12 takes.

The singer tells his (presumably) unfaithful girlsfriend that he will finally leave her, after he had warned her serveral times. Elvis sounds very emotional, almost fragile. I like this ballad very much and to me it's somewhat of a mystery why it was left at the vaults for so long. The king had recorded this song by Don Robertson on October 15, 1961 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee. He worked hard on the ballad and recorded 18 takes before the result met his idea. In 1972 CAMDEN re-released "I Met Her Today" on the budget album "Separate Ways".