The Golden Gate Quartet

[George Smith]

Whilst researching some of the original performances on the "Elvis Is Back!" LP, I came across this pleasant little website:

http://tofuhut.blogspot.com/

Yeah, it contains some errors but it was an interesting read: I didn't know the Jordanaires (albeit an earlier line-up) had also recorded "Swing Down Sweet Chariot", for example.

Whatever happened to the search for the Paris tape?

[drjohncarpenter]

Whilst researching some of the original performances on the "Elvis Is Back!" LP, I came across this pleasant little website:

http://tofuhut.blogspot.com/

Yeah, it contains some errors but it was an interesting read: I didn't know the Jordanaires (albeit an earlier line-up) had also recorded "Swing Down Sweet Chariot", for example.

Whatever happened to the search for the Paris tape?

Oh, what a great find! The mp3 comparisons are a revelation, and the comments are insightful.

One sample:

While it may have been several years before Dad Wilson heard it, Elvis and the Jordanaires recorded "Swing Down Sweet Chariot" about six months after his Paris jam session with the Golden Gate Quartet. Wilson judged their rendition: "very well done… close to the Golden Gate Quartet. If you're not sharp enough, when you hear it you think it's the Gates."

One of Elvis's most endearing artistic qualities was his identification with southern vernacular music and his genuine appreciation of African American musicians. While some of the phrasing and inflection in his renditions of songs originally recorded by black artists sometimes approaches outright mimicry, Elvis's methods seem practically reverential, and never descend into parody or minstrel-mockery. This sensitivity and association-by-sound is evident in Elvis's adaptation of "Swing Down Chariot," including the Jordanaires' quartet backing.

Some of the songs the Golden Gate Quartet released that might ring a bell for the serious Presley fan:

1937
Born Ten Thousand years Ago

1938
John The Revelator
Rock My Soul
Bye And Bye Little Children
When The Saints Go Marching In

1941
Blind Barnabas

1943
Run On

1945
I Will Be Home Again

1947
Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho
Swing Down, Sweet Chariot

1949
John Saw the Wheel

The jam session with the Golden Gate Quartet likely took place late Sunday, January 17, 1960 at the Casino (Cafe) de Paris (although some reports place it to the previous Wednesday evening, January 13).

Any recording would be of poor quality and probably not run any longer than a half hour. But still, it's a shame RCA / BMG cannot get their hands on such a tape though, as Elvis was in superb voice then.

Great topic, George!

[Marko]

The Golden Gate Quartet were a great influence on Elvis. Listen to their version of Motherless Child. I was amazed when I first heard that track years ago. I have played that track to some of my non Elvis-fan friends and they have thought it is Elvis singing lead! The vocal mannerism on that track sounds excatly like Elvis would sound some 15 years later.

[colonel snow]

Elvis recorded more originals of the Golden Gate Qt>>>

So high - recorded 08-04-47 with the title High low and wide (Columbia 37499);

Run on - recorded 05-06-46 with the title God's gonna cut'em down (Columbia 37835).


For the LP Elvis is back all songs were originally recorded before by other artists except Make me know it - Dirty dirty feeling - It feels so right.



colonel snow

[George Smith]

Gentlemen, thank you for your encouraging replies (nice list, Doc).

Somehow, I find that digging through the archives for the stories behind the songs makes the enjoyment of Elvis' work even greater.

It's good to know that I'm not alone in that!

[Monique]

Thanks for the link. Nice to read.

[wwelvis]

Thanks Dr J for that great list!

When Rick Whitesell played me the Elvis portion of the GGQ show on the phone the quality was very good. It reminded me of the '56 Tupelo afternoon and evening shows quality. I was very impressed. It's just a shame that Rick passed away soon after and another shame that the tape of this may never be heard. I'm just glad I heard it!

[drjohncarpenter]

Thanks Dr J for that great list!

When Rick Whitesell played me the Elvis portion of the GGQ show on the phone the quality was very good. It reminded me of the '56 Tupelo afternoon and evening shows quality. I was very impressed. It's just a shame that Rick passed away soon after and another shame that the tape of this may never be heard. I'm just glad I heard it!

Thanks to you as well.

The Paris jam is certainly one of the Elvis "Holy Grail" recordings. I so wish you had obtained a copy; I have no doubt every good fan would have it by now.

Off the top of my head, a few of those "Holy Grail" items:

- 1955 "Hayride" shows (post-June)
- 1957 concert (Mar-Apr, Aug-Sep, Oct-Nov)
- 1960 GG Quartet jam (Paris)
- 1965 Beatles jam (Bel Air)
- 1969 RCA Hollywood rehearsal (Los Angeles)

[colonel snow]

Gentlemen, thank you for your encouraging replies (nice list, Doc).

Somehow, I find that digging through the archives for the stories behind the songs makes the enjoyment of Elvis' work even greater.

It's good to know that I'm not alone in that!

on this site you'll find nearly 500 originals.

http://users.telenet.be/davidneale/elvis/originals/index.html


colonel snow

[drjohncarpenter]

on this site you'll find nearly 500 originals.

http://users.telenet.be/davidneale/elvis/originals/index.html

Nice site, but not always accurate.

[Luuk]

on this site you'll find nearly 500 originals.

http://users.telenet.be/davidneale/elvis/originals/index.html

Nice site, but not always accurate.

The problem with several "originals" is that you find an "original" from 1927, while months later you run into an "original" from 1926 and then months later again an "original" from 1925.
Also it is very difficult to find release and recording dates, especially for gospels and Christmas "originals".
David Neale's site is quite helpful.

[drjohncarpenter]

As far as Elvis "originals," we should only be interested in which recording/s influenced his work.

This is where that site sometimes stumbles.

[George Smith]

on this site you'll find nearly 500 originals.

http://users.telenet.be/davidneale/elvi ... index.html

Thanks, CS, I'm familiar with that site and it's often a good starting point.

Trying to figure out which versions of which songs Elvis knew and drew upon is a challenging but rewarding hobby!

[drjohncarpenter]

Trying to figure out which versions of which songs Elvis knew and drew upon is a challenging but rewarding hobby!

Name your best discovery!

This was my most recent revelation -- though few here cared:

NEW Elvis Recording: The Titles Will Tell
http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=48455

[George Smith]

Name your best discovery!

I was delighted to pick up on the 1963 Glen Campbell take of "Tomorrow Never Comes" in the distinctive bolero arrangement which features much of the phrasing that Elvis went on to use.

The Slim Whitman single of early-mid 1970 was maybe also influential, if only in jogging Elvis' memory pre-Nashville 1970 sessions.

[drjohncarpenter]

Name your best discovery!

I was delighted to pick up on the 1963 Glen Campbell take of "Tomorrow Never Comes" in the distinctive bolero arrangement which features much of the phrasing that Elvis went on to use.

The Slim Whitman single of early-mid 1970 was maybe also influential, if only in jogging Elvis' memory pre-Nashville 1970 sessions.

Coolness -- I will have to track down this album, correct? Or might you post an mp3 of the Tubb cover?

Elvis' version always felt like he was channeling Roy Orbison.

630511_Capitol ST-1881_01.jpg

630511_Capitol ST-1881_02.jpg

Glen Campbell Too Late To Worry, Too Blue To Cry (Capitol ST-1881, May 11, 1963)



Glen was far from a star in 1963 -- although he would work an Elvis session in August that year. Besides "Tomorrow Never Comes," Glen's release also includes these Elvis-related tracks:

I'll Hold You In My Heart
It's Been So Long Darling
Long Black Limousine


In any case, thanks for the information, George!

[likethebike]

On a sidenote, if you listen to the Gate's recording of "Leave That Liar Alone" you will see where Ray Charles got the tune and rhyme scheme for his "Leave My Woman Alone," a song Elvis reportedly considered for Easy Come, Easy Go. It would have been wasted there.

[ekenee]

On a sidenote, if you listen to the Gate's recording of "Leave That Liar Alone" you will see where Ray Charles got the tune and rhyme scheme for his "Leave My Woman Alone," a song Elvis reportedly considered for Easy Come, Easy Go. It would have been wasted there.

Reportedly? It was considered and nearly fully recorded at that soundtrack sessions available on FTD.

I used to own that Glen Campbell LP years ago. It was in the cutout bins in the 70's.

[colonel snow]

Most people think that Ray Charles wrote the song I got a woman and recorded it on 18-11-54 (Atlanctic 1050) but in fact he re-wrote the lyrics to the song "It must be Jesus" as recorded in 1954 by The Southern Tones for Duke records.
The same happened with the song Folsum prison blues as recorded by Johnny Cash. He re-wrote the lyrics to the song Crescent city blues as recorded by Beverly Mahr & with Gordon Jenkins Orchestra in 1952 for an album released on Decca.
This list can made very long and it's impossible to mention here all the songs based on other tunes.

colonel snow

[Yvosus]

Hello,

I met Clyde Wright the now band leader of the Golden. He is a wonderful gentleman and very modest also. I had the privilege to chat with him for about 15 minutes. I asked about the meeting with Elvis in Paris. He was there and said they jammed with Elvis until early in the morning. He said Elvis told them he loved their music. Later on Elvis asked them permission to record some of their songs. In fact he asked the Golden to join him on this record because he love their sound. He wanted them for "How great thou Art." They happily agreed but Wright said Parker turned down the offer because they were black. This is why instead Elvis recorded it with a white gospel group. He said their copied their arrangements but they did a fine job he admited. He said Elvis was very kind to them and Wright has a lot of respect for him. Elvis send him his gospel record "how gret thou Art" autographed afterwards. Wright still has it: he showed it to me. He really enjoyed their meeting said Elvis was not racist at all. He said Elvis was a (in french) " "un Monsieur!" meaning a Real Gentleman! and he respected him a lot. Though it told me not long ago he went and have a drink in a cafe next to where he lives in Paris. He actually married a french girl years ago. They were playing "Joshua fit the battle of Jericho" on the radio. At the end of the song he heard the speaker said this was an Elvis song and was a little bitter about it: the fact some peole dont't know that this is a Golden song first. Wright is now the only one remaining from the early years and golden age of the Quartet. Since Orlandus Wilson died this is no longer the same. Tey were fantastic at the time. I have attending several of their concerts as I have been following them since the beginning of the eighties and they often came to France.

[Yvosus]

Sorry for the mistake it is of course not the "How great thou Art" album which was concerned but "his hand in mine" In fact Wright show me both records.

[Christopher]

Sorry for the mistake it is of course not the "How great thou Art" album which was concerned but "his hand in mine" In fact Wright show me both records.

since you are the author, you can still edit your original (first) text via the "edit"-button. you find him right under your post, to the right.

[kkn]

The Golden Gate Quartet were a great influence on Elvis. Listen to their version of Motherless Child. I was amazed when I first heard that track years ago. I have played that track to some of my non Elvis-fan friends and they have thought it is Elvis singing lead! The vocal mannerism on that track sounds excatly like Elvis would sound some 15 years later.

Isit this version you are reffering to?

[tcb4]

Whatever happened to the search for the Paris tape?

people who believe in the Loch ness monster, can believe in the Paris tape

[George Smith]

Whatever happened to the search for the Paris tape?

people who believe in the Loch ness monster, can believe in the Paris tape

I'm not proud: I'll stand by Nessie, Bigfoot and the Tooth Fairy if I can hear that tape.