"Having Fun" for FIFTY Years . . .

[Elvis2000]

I've figured out a few here.

Piano intro, "I Can't Stop Loving You" (Las Vegas, 1-27-1974)

“Let me just walk around, honey, I’m awfully sweaty . . . lay it on me kid” (Baton Rouge, 6-17-1974)

“My first movie was turn around” (Louisville, 6-26-1974)

“Thank you very much, I'd like to apologize because the band got lost that time” (Louisville, 6-26-1974)

“You know what I can’t do? [Piano intro, "I Can't Stop Loving You"] I forgot.” (Fort Worth, 6-15-1974 ES)

"There are people out here, a whole bunch of folks” (Omaha, 6-30-1974 ES)

"Hello up there” (Columbus, 6-25-1974) I think I can just about hear it on the AR.

“Ain’t it funny (mock laughs) . . .” (Omaha, 6-30-1974 ES)

“I’ve been traveling (laughs), oh, there goes twenty years down the drain, boy . . . been a pleasure laughing with you” (Columbus, 6-25-1974) I can just about hear the false start and "there goes twenty years down the drain, boy" on that poor AR.

“Time out. You know what I can't do? [Piano intro, "I Can't Stop Loving You"] Get my belt tightened up.” (Omaha, 6-30-1974 ES)

“Well, well, well . . . that's it, thank you very much.” (Columbus, 6-25-1974) Again, I think I can just about hear it on the AR.

There's a few more which I think I know but very unsure about.

Already got Baton Rouge, added the rest. Thanks!

Woops, I meant this is also from Baton Rouge.

“Shreveport, Tennessee, just kidding, look I've got my tiger, right next to the eagle”

[drjohncarpenter]

Already got Baton Rouge, added the rest. Thanks!

Woops, I meant this is also from Baton Rouge.

“Shreveport, Tennessee, just kidding, look I've got my tiger, right next to the eagle”

Got it! Thanks again.

There is definitely a lot of June 1974 soundboard usage on this insane LP.

[Elvis2000]

Side A

“Well . . . what?” (Lake Tahoe, 5-19-1974 DS)

“We're gonna sing a lot of songs and whistle . . . enjoy yourselves” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 AS)

Piano intro, "Tryin' to Get to You” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 AS)

“Memphis, Missouri” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 AS)

“Is there people up there?” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 AS)

“He goes down to a low flat . . . Chinese guy” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 AS)

“Well, well, well, WHAT?” (Fort Worth, 6-16-1974 ES)


Side B

“Hope I can get my mouth to work right” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 ES)

“Listen to the crazed bass singer” (Fort Worth, 6-16-1974 4S)

“My belt's falling off, my suit’s getting too big” (Fort Worth, 6-16-1974 ES)

"'Turn around, turn around' . . . I gotta sing two and a half songs, then I'll turn around" (Louisville, 6-26-1974)

"Well . . . if that's all I got to do, I got it made, man" (Louisville, 6-26-1974)

“This twitch I developed, I get 'em all going at once, they'll put me in a straightjacket” (Louisville, 6-26-1974)

“I got a big grapevine that swings . . . my scarf’s got fuzz on it” (Bloomington, 6-27-1974)

“You know what I can’t do? [Piano intro, "I Can't Stop Loving You"] All three of them at once.” (Bloomington, 6-27-1974)

A few more.

[Eggrert]

Oh, to be a fly on the wall when they sequenced this album.

Bonus question: What, if any, outtakes were there?

[Mike C]

Oh, to be a fly on the wall when they sequenced this album.

Bonus question: What, if any, outtakes were there?

We know Joan reviewed some of the January 1971 soundboards. One of the tape boxes has note from her which reads "no suitable talking."

[PetriTCB]

Oh, to be a fly on the wall when they sequenced this album.

Bonus question: What, if any, outtakes were there?

Ed Bonja had all complete soundboard tapes, which were delivered by Bruce Jackson. Later those tapes were released on bootleg albums. Sometimes in the mid '90s Ed Bonja gave 7 or 8 cassettes to German men, who released those tapes on their's Diamond Anniversary Edition label and they also got many Ed Bonja's previously unreleased gorgeous Elvis on stage pictures, which were used on those CD's digi panel packages. Those were really high class releases! Unfortunately those German bastards cheated Ed Bonja, so Ed never got anykind promised payments from them...

Ed Bonja also attended to Elvis' studio session on August 16th, 1974 at RCA's Studios in Hollywood, California and there Ed got a cassette of studio recordinds, which included song The Twelfth of Never and that song was firstly released on Diamond Anniversary Edition's From Sunset Boulevard to Paradise Road CD. Later BMG bought this tape from Ed Bonja.

[sweetangeline]

Ed Bonja had all complete soundboard tapes, which were delivered by Bruce Jackson. Later those tapes were released on bootleg albums. Sometimes in the mid '90s Ed Bonja gave 7 or 8 cassettes to German men, who released those tapes on their's Diamond Anniversary Edition label and they also got many Ed Bonja's previously unreleased gorgeous Elvis on stage pictures, which were used on those CD's digi panel packages. Those were really high class releases! Unfortunately those German bastards cheated Ed Bonja, so Ed never got anykind promised payments from them...

considering who he was dealing with Ed Bonja should have been much more cautious...sadly he learned a very hard lesson.

[drjohncarpenter]

Side A

“Well . . . what?” (Lake Tahoe, 5-19-1974 DS)

“We're gonna sing a lot of songs and whistle . . . enjoy yourselves” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 AS)

Piano intro, "Tryin' to Get to You” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 AS)

“Memphis, Missouri” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 AS)

“Is there people up there?” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 AS)

“He goes down to a low flat . . . Chinese guy” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 AS)

“Well, well, well, WHAT?” (Fort Worth, 6-16-1974 ES)


Side B

“Hope I can get my mouth to work right” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 ES)

“Listen to the crazed bass singer” (Fort Worth, 6-16-1974 4S)

“My belt's falling off, my suit’s getting too big” (Fort Worth, 6-16-1974 ES)

"'Turn around, turn around' . . . I gotta sing two and a half songs, then I'll turn around" (Louisville, 6-26-1974)

"Well . . . if that's all I got to do, I got it made, man" (Louisville, 6-26-1974)

“This twitch I developed, I get 'em all going at once, they'll put me in a straightjacket” (Louisville, 6-26-1974)

“I got a big grapevine that swings . . . my scarf’s got fuzz on it” (Bloomington, 6-27-1974)

“You know what I can’t do? [Piano intro, "I Can't Stop Loving You"] All three of them at once.” (Bloomington, 6-27-1974)

A few more.

Phew! Added and thanks.

It's amazing this topic has identified all but about eleven segments.

It only took fifty years and a whole lot of FTD soundboards.

[drjohncarpenter]

Oh, to be a fly on the wall when they sequenced this album.

Bonus question: What, if any, outtakes were there?

It's far more likely Joan Deary listened and dubbed off the selected segments, then edited them together for Side A and Side B.

She received the materials from management. It was a thankless task, really, and the final result was evidence of that.

After Elvis' death, as she took over posthumous production of Presley titles in 1978, she further reviewed live concert tapes, including January and March 1970, and January and February 1971. But in this case her effort was in regards to the songs performed, not in-between banter.

[Gamma Master]

A bizarre idea for an 'album' really. However, somewhat interesting for identifying soundboard tapes that were recorded but haven't (yet?) seen the light of day. And now I think about it, makes it all the more likely (not that it was particularly ever that unlikely) that no tour shows from 70-73 (Boston '71 excluded) were recorded on soundboard.

[drjohncarpenter]

A bizarre idea for an 'album' really. However, somewhat interesting for identifying soundboard tapes that were recorded but haven't (yet?) seen the light of day. And now I think about it, makes it all the more likely (not that it was particularly ever that unlikely) that no tour shows from 70-73 (Boston '71 excluded) were recorded on soundboard.

Or perhaps management just sent what was in the office that July:

Jun 1974 tour (a lot)
May 1974 Tahoe, Inglewood
Mar 1974 Memphis
a handful of Vegas tapes

[Mike C]

Oh, to be a fly on the wall when they sequenced this album.

Bonus question: What, if any, outtakes were there?

We know Joan reviewed some of the January 1971 soundboards. One of the tape boxes has note from her which "no suitable talking."

Here's the 1971 tape box I was referring to.



Note the notation by Joan at the top of the box: "No Usable Talking 7/30/74".

[Jokerlola]

I wonder how many fans bought the album at retail under the same false pretenses that I did? When I found the album sometime in the fall of 74, I thought it was another new live concert album consisting of recordings from 70 to 74. There were stickers and price tags “conveniently” covering the “A Talking Only Album”. The front, right corner had a price tag covering up the writing and the back had a (“That Nice Price”) sticker at the top center. I can’t tell you how shocked I was after racing home and putting it on my turn table! I totally felt cheated but eventually wound up liking the album as a new young fan and played it often in that first year of owning it. I don’t know if it was just coincidence that the stickers covered up the “Talking Album” warning,( The record store placed all their price tags in that same spot but the “Nice Price” sticker was fishy.

[drjohncarpenter]

Here's the 1971 tape box I was referring to.



Note the notation by Joan at the top of the box: "No Usable Talking 7/30/74".

And you're mistaken twice over.

• the transcription reads "No usable talking 7/8/74"

• it's not written by RCA's Joan Deary

Joan's writing is seen on the left and right sides of this box, along with 1978 dating and her initials "JD."

This is why I wrote as I did, as this was what the available facts showed us.

The notation from 1974 must've been by someone from Parker's office, before Deary received any tapes.

Facts are paramount in understanding.

[drjohncarpenter]

I wonder how many fans bought the album at retail under the same false pretenses that I did? When I found the album sometime in the fall of 74, I thought it was another new live concert album consisting of recordings from 70 to 74. There were stickers and price tags “conveniently” covering the “A Talking Only Album”. The front, right corner had a price tag covering up the writing and the back had a (“That Nice Price”) sticker at the top center. I can’t tell you how shocked I was after racing home and putting it on my turn table! I totally felt cheated but eventually wound up liking the album as a new young fan and played it often in that first year of owning it. I don’t know if it was just coincidence that the stickers covered up the “Talking Album” warning,( The record store placed all their price tags in that same spot but the “Nice Price” sticker was fishy.

A shame if A TALKING ALBUM ONLY got covered by a pricing sticker, but that may've been done by the retailer to boost sales.

Yet you didn't notice that not a single song title was printed on either the front or back cover? What did you expect to hear?

[Jokerlola]

I wonder how many fans bought the album at retail under the same false pretenses that I did? When I found the album sometime in the fall of 74, I thought it was another new live concert album consisting of recordings from 70 to 74. There were stickers and price tags “conveniently” covering the “A Talking Only Album”. The front, right corner had a price tag covering up the writing and the back had a (“That Nice Price”) sticker at the top center. I can’t tell you how shocked I was after racing home and putting it on my turn table! I totally felt cheated but eventually wound up liking the album as a new young fan and played it often in that first year of owning it. I don’t know if it was just coincidence that the stickers covered up the “Talking Album” warning,( The record store placed all their price tags in that same spot but the “Nice Price” sticker was fishy.

A shame if A TALKING ALBUM ONLY got covered by a pricing sticker, but that may've been done by the retailer to boost sales.

Yet you didn't notice that not a single song title was printed on either the front or back cover? What did you expect to hear?

Sure, I thought that was strange that it didn’t have a track listing but thought it could either be on the inner sleeve or just on the label. I had only been buying Elvis albums for a year. I was just 13 and excited to find a new Elvis album at my local record shop. Track list or not, it never dawned on me that it would be a talking only album. It was an intriguing mystery that I couldn’t wait to hear what was on it. The fact that it had the series of live pictures on the front and the tour map on the back with the years: “70,71,72,73,74” and said “See Elvis For RCA Record Tours”, made me think it was a live album with selections from those years. I likely bought it the day of or within a couple of days of release since I probably went to that record store at least once or twice a week.

The price tag in the right corner was innocent because that is where the store put all their price stickers. The “Nice Price” sticker on the back was more suspect. That was a RCA sticker. But were they put on before shipment to the stores or did they send the stores those stickers to put on themselves?

[Mike C]

Here's the 1971 tape box I was referring to.



Note the notation by Joan at the top of the box: "No Usable Talking 7/30/74".

And you're mistaken twice over.

• the transcription reads "No usable talking 7/8/74"

• it's not written by RCA's Joan Deary

Joan's writing is seen on the left and right sides of this box, along with 1978 dating and her initials "JD."

This is why I wrote as I did, as this was what the available facts showed us.

The notation from 1974 must've been by someone from Parker's office, before Deary received any tapes.

Facts are paramount in understanding.

Keep dreaming, Doc. Joan wrote in script in 1978 -- that does not mean she didn't write in print using a marker in 1974 when reviewing the tapes. Ever try writing cursive with a marker? The results are not clear as they are when using a ball point pen! Why are you assuming someone in Parker's office made the notation? You know what they say about what happens when you assume.

Evidence appears to show that RCA's Joan Deary was tasked in July 1974 with editing together the "Elvis talking" segments into a thirty-seven and a half minute album. She used mostly tour soundboards from 1974, and some bits from Las Vegas.

Given that she edited the album, it is only elementary, my dear Doc, that she likely wrote the notation on the tape in July of 1974!!

And, I am not the only one who thinks it is Joan's notion from 1974. The folks who manage the Memorabilia page on this website believe that as well.

Please note the remark by Joan Deary at the top: NO USABLE TALKING 7/30/74. This means she heard through the tape to find some funny talking of Elvis to be included in the HAVING FUN WITH ELVIS LP. Obviously she didn't find any, therefore the remark.

https://www.elvis-collectors.com/memorabilia/mem_vegasbox71.html

Those are the FACTS.

Given the anniversary of the LP, I wonder if FTD is thinking of including it as a bonus disc in a future FTD soundboard release. That would be a nice freebie for the uber Elvis fans.

[drjohncarpenter]

Keep . . .

You're wrong, don't derail this topic.

It has a lot of NEW information and many here are enjoying it.

[Ciscoking]

Side A

“Well . . . what?” (Lake Tahoe, 5-19-1974 DS)

“We're gonna sing a lot of songs and whistle . . . enjoy yourselves” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 AS)

Piano intro, "Tryin' to Get to You” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 AS)

“Memphis, Missouri” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 AS)

“Is there people up there?” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 AS)

“He goes down to a low flat . . . Chinese guy” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 AS)

“Well, well, well, WHAT?” (Fort Worth, 6-16-1974 ES)


Side B

“Hope I can get my mouth to work right” (Kansas City, 6-29-1974 ES)

“Listen to the crazed bass singer” (Fort Worth, 6-16-1974 4S)

“My belt's falling off, my suit’s getting too big” (Fort Worth, 6-16-1974 ES)

"'Turn around, turn around' . . . I gotta sing two and a half songs, then I'll turn around" (Louisville, 6-26-1974)

"Well . . . if that's all I got to do, I got it made, man" (Louisville, 6-26-1974)

“This twitch I developed, I get 'em all going at once, they'll put me in a straightjacket” (Louisville, 6-26-1974)

“I got a big grapevine that swings . . . my scarf’s got fuzz on it” (Bloomington, 6-27-1974)

“You know what I can’t do? [Piano intro, "I Can't Stop Loving You"] All three of them at once.” (Bloomington, 6-27-1974)

A few more.

Phew! Added and thanks.

It's amazing this topic has identified all but about eleven segments.

It only took fifty years and a whole lot of FTD soundboards.

Phew..John!
Ever cared to cross check ? Thats what I do when it comes
to such research. My ears are accustomed to every breath
Elvis takes when it comes to audience recordings.
Yours too...?...take the chance please..before you take anything
for granted..it might be wrong..John..

[AndrewJ]

The main question is when will this be re-released by FTD??? )

Maybe with a CD worth of outtakes of Elvis' well, well, well routine from unreleased soundboards ...

[Ciscoking]

Create a thread and it surely will be discussed...phew!

[moonandback]

I wasn't born after Elvis' death so my question to first generation fans is: when you bought this album, did you realize that those concerts were recorded professionally/semi-professionally in complete form? Didn't you find it strange in the 80's that RCA didn't release them?

[jetblack]

For the fans who must have everything:-

R-5705848-1400443043-4926.jpg

⁹

R-5705884-1400443548-9854.jpg

R-12432338-1535185101-1480.jpg

cd_havingfunonstage5.jpg

Andy

[sweetangeline]

For the fans who must have everything:-

anybody that bought those must be...

[drjohncarpenter]

Phew..John!
Ever cared to cross check ? Thats what I do when it comes
to such research. My ears are accustomed to every breath
Elvis takes when it comes to audience recordings.
Yours too...?...take the chance please..before you take anything
for granted..it might be wrong..John..

You sure you wouldn't rather call me "doc crap" or "mad medic prick," Joachim?

No one vets their posts more than I do, my many contributions here are proof of that. Sometimes I spend hours before I upload something.

In this case I listened to the entire album first, making sure each segment was given its own space. Many clips along the way I personally recognized, so I added the correct city and date.


Otherwise:

• The 1974 album is a travesty, a curio, in essence a blip on the Presley radar.

• I don't have time to review hundreds of boring SB or audience recordings.

• I'm trusting others because, unlike you, they are willing to share.