"If Dogs Have A Heaven, There's One Thing I Know ..."

[drjohncarpenter]

Old Shep kind of kills the flow of his second album, one of my top Elvis LPs, it just doesnt seem to fit, but when I hear it alone, I like it. When he sings the line, 'I remember the time at the old swimming hole', the feel of his 21 yr old voice still amazes me. The flow is natural, and its not an overbearing vibrato which was to come on later on. I think he was a better ballad singer in the 50' and certainly the early 60's than at any time in his career. The soul and inspiration came naturally. Powerful outbursts doesnt equate to good singing, but the ease of execution does. I will always feel that way.

And that execution is why so many were touched by the recording released in 1956. It is astonishing to think of the number of future musicians who specifically cite Elvis' "Old Shep" as a MAJOR influence in their life. Several are noted on this topic.

And to see that fans in the 1970s did not forget about the song, as evidenced by the 1974 photo in St. Paul I just found, is just more evidence to the magic Presley delivered on that recording. How many damn banners did fans bring for any song, let alone one that read "OLD SHEP"?

It may be that his 1956 master was the only one we know of where you could feel the sense of loss from the perspective of a younger boy. Elvis was just 21 at the time, but his memory of his own dog, Tex, from when he was a kid, is palpable. He was a "heart" singer, and this recording was all heart. Only the heartless fail to notice that.

I agree the track arrangement on his second LP is a little counter-intuitive when it comes to "Old Shep."

Elvis (RCA Victor LPM-1382)
Side 2
So Glad, You're Mine
Old Shep
Ready Teddy
Anyplace Is Paradise
How's The World Treating You?
How Do You Think I Feel?

A better move would have been to kick off the side with the Red Foley ballad. The songs waxed for the album are kind of a varied lot, though. And some of the styles you hear on it would never again be approached in the studio, like the jazzy "Anyplace Is Paradise."

"Old Shep" worked a lot better on the EP released by the record company at the same time. As I mentioned in my opening post, despite not being a 45, it CHARTED from that very EP, reaching #47 in the December 29, 1956 Billboard "Top 100."

Elvis, Volume 2 (RCA Victor EPA 993)
Side 1
So Glad You're Mine / Old Shep
Side 2
Ready Teddy / Anyplace Is Paradise

What a song, so unlikely, yet it STILL became a hit. That was Elvis.

[drjohncarpenter]

Interestingly, on the new live FTD release, one of the credited shows is from 10-02-1974 (St. Paul), although there is a suggestion the tape comes from the next day's show in the same city.

190108_St. Paul to Wichita_FTD.jpg

In any event, on the recording we learn Elvis sees the "OLD SHEP" banner brought to the concert, as he makes a direct reference to it!

How about ... "Old Shep." Wanna hear "Old Shep"? You never will!

So sad. Oh well, give them some credit ... they tried.

The deeply involving recording of "Old Shep" was not forgotten in the 1970s, as I have established. Sometimes Elvis brought it up, sometimes it was a request from the audience. Today I uncovered a concert photo where a group of devotees created a HUGE banner to request the number.





Fans with "OLD SHEP" banner in St. Paul, MN - Wednesday, October 2, 1974
Source: http://www.mnhs.org/



Sadly, their wish did not come true. But at least they tried!

[ericthevid]

I have the alternate version on my 2nd album, had it for over 40 years,

[drjohncarpenter]

This promo 45 may well have been meant to help "Old Shep" remain on the "Hot 100" beyond December 1956.

561215_RCA Victor CR-15_Old Shep.JPG

Elvis Presley "Old Shep" White Label Promo 45 (RCA 15, 1956). Rare, single-sided promotional copy of the Red Foley-penned sentimental ode to his very devoted dog. Elvis famously sang the song as a youngster in one of his earliest documented performances, then included it on his second LP Elvis. Although never commercially released as a single, the LP track was so popular that RCA produced this special disc for dee jays, making it more convenient for them to play "Old Shep" on 45 rpm rather than off the 12" album. Having the identification numbers mechanically stamped into the vinyl trail-off ensures this to be an authentic original.

https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/entertainment-and-music/elvis-presley-old-shep-white-label-promo-45-rca-15-1956-/a/7026-46245.s

And here's the special mailing envelope, with art by the legendary Will Eisner.

561215_RCA Victor CR-15_Old Shep envelope.JPG

Elvis Presley Rare "Old Shep" Promo Mailing Envelope (1956). The tears-inducing song about the life and death of a boy's dog had appeared on Presley's second LP, Elvis, and was the 'B' side of a late 1956 single, "Paralyzed." "Old Shep" was also significant as the first song Elvis performed in public as a 10-year old in 1945. In December, 1956 RCA issued a one-sided promo copy of the song. It's a rare record, but even rarer is this mailing envelope for the promo, with artwork by one of the most esteemed comic artists of all-time - Will Eisner, best known for his work on The Spirit. This example was addressed to Radio Station KVSO in Ardmore, Oklahoma and has a postmark of December 21, 1956. It has a horizontal crease in the middle from folding, but is otherwise in Very Good condition. We've offered the associated promo record on only two previous occasions, but had never seen the mailing envelope before.

https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/entertainment-and-music/elvis-presley-rare-old-shep-promo-mailing-envelope-1956-/a/7092-89342.s

See also:
https://www.elvisrecords.com/cr-15-old-shep/

[r&b]

This 1957 promo 45 may well have been meant to help "Old Shep" remain on the "Hot 100" beyond December 1956.

570214_RCA Victor CR-15_Old Shep.JPG

Elvis Presley "Old Shep" White Label Promo 45 (RCA 15, 1956). Rare, single-sided promotional copy of the Red Foley-penned sentimental ode to his very devoted dog. Elvis famously sang the song as a youngster in one of his earliest documented performances, then included it on his second LP Elvis. Although never commercially released as a single, the LP track was so popular that RCA produced this special disc for dee jays, making it more convenient for them to play "Old Shep" on 45 rpm rather than off the 12" album. Having the identification numbers mechanically stamped into the vinyl trail-off ensures this to be an authentic original.

https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/entertainment-and-music/elvis-presley-old-shep-white-label-promo-45-rca-15-1956-/a/7026-46245.s

See also:
https://www.elvisrecords.com/cr-15-old-shep/

I have one of those. Beware of bootlegs!!

[drjohncarpenter]

Thanks to member DarkShade, an interview with Duke Bardwell in February 1975 makes explicitly clear how much Elvis' recording of "Old Shep" blew his mind. Duke is seen with his good friend, Mr. Bear.

750206_LA Times_View_p01.jpg

750206_LA Times_View_p13.jpg

Los Angeles Times "View" - Thursday, February 6, 1975
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/385662798/
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/385662906/

"I'm a big fan from way back," he grinned. In fact, Duke has a much-played tape of "Old Shep," an early Presley song about a dog.

"I was in the eighth grade when the song was out," Duke recalled.

Jackie grimaced. "He still plays it. Often."

[drjohncarpenter]

My father and I are long time collectors of Elvis memorabilia, and about five years ago while I was working at a newspaper in West Memphis, Arkansas (that also publishes a Germantown, TN newspaper), I got a lead on a lady named Margaret Garland who was a classmate of Elvis's at Humes High School who also allegedly had a collection of Elvis memorabilia. My Dad and I set up a meeting with her so we could interview her about her memories of Elvis and see the stuff that she had.

Mrs. Garland was a very nice lady who was excited to have someone who was interested to listen to her stories about Humes and her few memories of Elvis. She remembered him (like many Humes alums) as a weird kid whom the popular kids at Humes wanted little to do with and who was really not on anyone's radar -- until a certain talent show. She then opened a box and pulled out her original Mimeographed program and printed ticket (which she'd laminated many years ago) from the Humes High Variety show on March 27, 1953. This is one of the handful of times in my many years of Elvis collecting that I had been stunned -- because I simply was not aware that such a show had taken place. But sure enough, Elvis was listed as performing with a guitar along with many other Humes students, including Mrs. Garland's then boyfriend (whose name escapes me at the moment -- but who is also the only reason she kept the ticket and program in her scrapbook all these years).

She remembered Elvis as wearing a red shirt and propping his foot up on a chair to balance his guitar on his leg because he was too poor to afford a guitar strap. She vividly recalled that as Elvis began to sing -- "Old Shep" -- that a hush fell over the crowd. She said it became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I asked her why that was and I distinctly remember her reaction because it left an impression on me. She started to say "because he was so good", and then she stopped herself and grew reflective. "There was just something about him -- an earnestness that you couldn't help but be moved by." (You really couldn't describe Elvis better, could you?). She said that after he finished the auditorium just erupted in applause -- it was like nothing she'd seen at the high school before. She remembered Elvis won the talent show and was brought back at the end to sing another song (which she didn't know the title of and didn't remember much about other than to describe it as a pop type song), and she also remembered how the other kids at Humes -- including some of her friends -- made an effort to stop Elvis in the hall and tell them how much they had enjoyed his singing.

I also asked Mrs. Garland about the Minstrel Show, since it had always been assumed that that show was the storied talent show with Old Shep. She said that she didn't go to the minstrel show that year (1953), and that other than being aware of the show (and confirming that some of the students who appeared in that show had worn blackface in previous years) she couldn't tell me anything about it.

[stevelecher]

Elvis mentioning Old Shep on October 3, as heard on the St. Paul FTD, was a reaction from seeing the banner the night before and stating that he hadn't done it in years. Sad that he said we would never hear Old Shep.

Seems to me I've heard requests for Old Shep on other 70's concert tapes and CDs.