Loving You
Release Date : July 1957
Color/BW
Color (Technicolor)
Format : VistaVision
Sound : Mono
Production Dates : January 21st - March 8th 1957
Duration (in mins)101-102
Premier was held at the Strand Theatre in Memphis on July 9th 1957^
Premiere Information : New York opening: 17 Jul 1957
Distribution Company : Paramount Pictures Corp.
Production Company : Paramount Pictures Corp. Hal Wallis Productions Company: Joseph H. Hazen Company: Hal B. Wallis
The Recording Sessions
1.
2.Dudley Brooks on piano,Hilmer J "Tiny" Timbrell on guitar,(Tiny was only recorded at being at one Radio Recorders session at this time,hence the date confirmation) as D.J. Fontana chats to Elvis. February 14th 1957. Radio Recorders, Hollywood.
Elvis and Charles O'Curren most likely at the same session.
Loving You (Farm version 3)
Loving You (Main version)
January 12 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California
I Believe
Tell Me Why
Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do
All Shook Up
January 13 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California
Mean Woman Blues
Peace In The Valley H2WB
I Beg Of You (Alternate Master)
That's When Your Heartache begin
Take My Hand Precious Lord
January 19th 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California
It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)
Blueberry Hill
Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
Is It So Strange?
February 14th 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood,California
Loving You(farm)
Loving You (main)
February 23rd 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California
Don't Leave Me Now
I Beg Of You
One Night
True Love
I Need You So
February 24 1957 Radio Recorders - Hollywood, California
Loving You
When It Rains It Really Pours
Photo's from this recording session by Bil Avery
3a/b
These two new images from the Loving You sessions*+ are clearly from the same timeframe as image's 4-12,note the same jacket hooked on the mike stand can be seen images 7 and 8. The back of Hoyt Hawkins can be seen on the left of frame of 3b and also from another angle by the piano in 3 and 4. The lyric sheet that Elvis is holding in these two images are also consistent with images 3 and 4
3.
4.
smaller full frame version of photo 4(Top)Hoyt Hawkins sat on piano stool with unknown,Bill Black on Bass,Elvis,Scotty Moore,unidentified stood (Above) Hoyt Hawkins sat on piano stool with unknown at Piano(hidden behind Bill Black) Bill Black,Elvis,Scotty Moore,unidentified stood (see page 82 Elvis Presley Life In Music for an uncropped version)
(Below)Dudley Brooks at piano,Possibly Hoyt Hawkins behind Dudley Brooks,Bill Black,Elvis,Gene Smith,unidentified(sleeves now rolled up),Hugh Jarrett,Gordon Stoker,?
5
6.
7.Elvis using the back of his guitar for effect(left)and Dudley Brooks on piano in the background.
Charles O'Curren :
He had been trying over the song 'Teddy Bear' before we recorded it. Just before starting to actually record,he said to me,"I want this to be a big hit, To ensure that, I' going to give it my special treatment",whereupon he turned his guitar over and beat the tempo on the back of the instrument,the strings making a different sort of sound as they vibrated.
There! That's a little extra I give only tunes I want to be hits,he admitted with a grin. Fact was,he had done it for only one number before that - his successful 'Don't Be Cruel',he said "Bet that'll be a hit number,better be after I've given it my special hit treatment"
Dudley Brooks and Elvis.(note the jacket hung up on the stand in this image,can be seen in image 7.) With the visual evidence of Elvis using his guitar for the beat,the following tracks used this method at this time
Are the photo's from the January 12th/13th session?for instance - 'All Shook Up' - except that Dudley Brooks can be seen in the background and this number was recorded before Dudley was involved, on the 12th of January 1957,although when asked by Jan-Erik Kejesth in April 1985 if he played on the track,Mr Brooks stated "Yes I did,that was recorded in Hollywood,right after he came out" - It was then suggested that Gordon Stoker had mentioned Hoyt Hawkins played piano on the track "I'll tell you what,He may be right on that,I think one of The Jordanaires did record that,but I was on the session there that day,but I think one of The Jordanaires had asked Elvis if he could play that,and Elvis told him that he could.I didn't play 'All Shook Up',but I think he did record it again later,in another album,that I did play on". That clears that one up then!
Master and Session http://www.elvisrecordings.com/s570112.htm and Ernst Jorgensen in 'Elvis Presley A Life In Music' list Gordon Stoker as the piano player on the January 12th recording of 'All Shook Up',but Jan-Erik Kejesth was told by Gordon Stoker himself he did not play piano on that track and when Hoyt Hawkins was suggested "He may have played piano on 'ALL Shook Up' because that was me singing the duet with Elvis.I was singing directly across the mike,I was just on the other side of the mike from him". There isn't any evidence from the photo's of Hoyt Hawkins singing close to Elvis,so we can probably rule out these photo's being of the weekend of the 12th/13th January.As for Dudley Brooks comments about playing on the track,and that it was tried out more than one attempt,it's possible such as the case of 'One Night Of Sin' and 'One Night'****
10.
10a.
11.
Scotty Moore,Dudley Brooks and Elvis.
Scotty Moore : We worked a couple of days on the soundstage at Paramount for the movie Loving You.Elvis wasn't comfortable with it.He went to the motion picture director,Mr Hal Wallis(Producer) and said,"I'm just not comfortable here",somebody mentioned Radio Recorders and there we were.
Elvis finds amusement(below) during a break,whilst D.J. Fontana can be seen sat down in the background.
12.
13.
Hoyt Hawkins(note same shirt as P4) and Elvis,with Composer - conductor Walter Scharf in the background
13a
A new image*+ with Hilmer J "Tiny" Timbrell on guitar,unknown,Elvis,unknown(background) and Charles O'Curren foreground right of frame. The temptation is to put this with image with image 1,due to the inclusion of Mr Timbrell-who has a different guitar to the one seen in image 1, (which is by his side)It also appears Elvis has an alternative jacket in this image,plus the fact that an upright piano can be seen in the background makes it all inconclusive at present.
Composer - conductor Walter Scharf,Elvis,Charles O Curran
Note 1. P4 unknown at piano is not Dudley Brooks,and it dosn't look like Gordon Stoker that much either ?
Note 2. It is not conclusive if Charles O'Curran is the chap 'unidentified' in p3/4/5,and is more of a suggestion at this stage,slight frustration in not finding a date for these photo's - anyone with some thoughts?
Elvis at the Paramount Scoring Stage January 1957
14.
There is a good chance that this collection of photographs are from the first day that Elvis attended the Paramount Scoring Stage-Tuesday 15th January 1957,but for now that is only speculation.
Mike Stoller : "Loving You" was a love ballad. It was our attempt to write a song as simple and direct as an Irving Berlin song.
I think we took a glance at it (script). Elvis liked "Loving You" and recorded it. *
"Hot Dog" was a song we had which we rewrote for Elvis to do in the film. We had originally recorded a different version of that song with a guy named Young Jessie. His real name was Obie Jessie - very good singer and good all-around musician. He had been with a rhythm-and-blues group called The Flairs. Later he subbed on The Coasters' dates for "Searchin"' and "Young Blood," when one of the fellas was unavailable. We submitted "Hot Dog" and "Loving You" through the proper channels, which meant Freddy Bienstock, who worked for his cousins, the Aberbach brothers. That was the system that had been established. No one was supposed to approach Elvis directly.*
Possible dates for the following images which took place at Paramount Scoring Stage,Paramount Studios are:
January 15 1957
(Let's Have A) Party (Alternate Master - Movie Version)
Lonesome Cowboy
January 16 1957
Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do (Alternate Master)
Detour (Instrumental)
Teddy Bear
Peter Cottontail (Instrumental)
January 17 1957
Loving You (Farm Version 1)
Loving You (End Version)
Loving You (Main Version 1)
Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do (Alternate Intro Version)
Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do (Movie Version Composite)
Dancing On A Dare (Dolores Hart)
Detour (Dolores Hart in the movie,although not her voice on the recording)
January 18 1957
One Night Of Sin
Blueberry Hill
Hot Dog
Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do (Finale)
January 21 1957
(Let's Have A) Party
Mean Woman Blues (Alternate Intro Version)
Mean Woman Blues (Movie Version Composite)
Detour (Instrumental - End Version)
Production starts on the movie.
January 22 1957
Loving You (Farm Version 2)
Elvis reports for filming in the afternoon.
15.
Hal Wallis : "I was fascinated by the way Elvis recorded,never bothering with arrangements,he and his boys noodled , improved,ad-libbed,and worked out numbers for hours.Finally,he would rehearse a number straight through.Night after long night I watched and listened,fascinated..I never said a word,just observed"
16.
(++)"SONGWRITER BEN WEISMAN" GOT A LOT O' LIVIN' TO DO"
"In 1957, I flew to Hollywood to finally meet Elvis. Our meeting was at Paramount Studios where he was recording the soundtrack for his film, Loving You. It was late in the day, and Elvis had already recorded quite a few songs.
"During a break in the session, I noticed Elvis sitting alone in the corner of this big studio with nobody around him, ad libbing some blues on the guitar. I wandered over to the piano next to him, sat down and joined in. He didn't look up, kept on playing and even changed keys on me, but I followed along. Then he looked up with that smile he was famous for, and asked who I was and what I was doing in the studio? I told him I was invited to the session and that I composed one of the songs he was about to record called 'Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do.' He immediately called out to his musicians,"Guys,get out out here ' and on the spot they all got together again,and I was there watching,and I went back in the control room and they did the tune. '."My friendship with Elvis developed during the studio sessions in Hollywood, to which I was always invited to attend. Since they copied my demos note-for-note, Elvis liked to have me around in case there were any problems. He had a great sense of humor, and used to call me the 'Mad Professor.' He made the sessions fun.Elvis was usally in control of his own recording sessions,and he usally didn't have much trouble getting a good vocal performance,but once in agreat while he would have trouble hooking it-like on the 'Loving You' session.I remember he sang that song 'Loving You' over and over.Freddy Bienstock was in the control room watching,and Elvis just couldn't seem to get it good enough to satisfy himself.He must have had thirty two takes before he finally accepted one of them.**
Note, Ben Weisman would have most likely visited the Paramount Scoring Stage in the afternoon of the 17th of January 1957. Peter Guralnick in his book 'Last Train To Memphis' writes " On the afternoon that Weisman and Schroeder arrived,Elvis was struggling with the movie's title cut,and it didn't seem like he would ever get to their song.he had already recorded the track ('Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do') at Radio Recorders (on 12 January 1957),but Weisman was getting increasingly worried that the number wouldn't make it into the movie.Otis Blackwell sang on the demo record for this track.
"During the early period of those sessions, he would get so carried away, he would forget to sing directly into the mike. His close friends, the studio musicians, would start dancing around him, creating a great deal of excitement. It made a tremendous impression on me, and the feeling is still with me today. Little did I know that because of that meeting, I would end up writing fifty-seven songs for Elvis - more than any other songwriter. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined the impact he was about to make on the world."
17.
Scotty Moore,Elvis and Dudley Brooks on piano at Paramount Scoring Stage, Hollywood,from the same time frame as the other images (above and below),with Elvis having removed his tie.
18.
Elvis (with the guitar he uses at the start of the movie) and Hal Kanter.
Dudley Brooks : I had a lot to do with a song called 'Teddy Bear',you know,the song was unfinished,it had no bridge,you know he had the first part -" I just want to be your loving teddy bear,put a chain around my neck and lead me anywhere,oh let me be your teddy bear".Now the next part "I don't want to be a lion,cause lions play too rough,I don't want to be your tiger,cause tigers ain't the kind who loves enough"..I had a lot to do with that part,I should have got a writer's credit on that,he was gonna straighten that out with me,but he never got the chance to I don't think.***
Paramount Scoring Stage.
19.
Elvis sings, as Charles O Curran in tuxedo conducts Dudley Brooks on piano(note p.17 Dudley Brooks can be seen with the same shirt on as this image),Paramount Scoring Stage January 1957.
Hal Kanter ; I went in and saw maybe one or two sessions when he was recording the music.I had other things to do that were more pressing for me at the time.We had a musical director,Charlie O'Curran,and he was there most of the time.
(Below)Elvis with co-star Lizabeth Scott,and sat behind Wendell Corey and Hal Kanter
20.
20a.(Above)Hal Kanter,Elvis,Wendell Corey and Lizabeth Scott.
20B.
Elvis holding a L5 Guitar owned by Tiny Timbrell(+)(see p 1.)
20C.
20D.
21.
22.
(Above)Hal Wallis,Elvis and Hal Kanter in discussion with unknown on the Paramount Scoring Stage January 15th 1957.
23.
23A.(Left)A short time later Elvis is seen leaving the stage with Hal Wallis behind him.(sunglasses in hand). Gene Smith,Cliff Gleaves,Hal Wallis,unknown and Elvis take a trip around Paramount studios. January 15th 1957
Charles O'Curran : He would drive to the studio in a Cadillac,but once told me he got more fun pedalling around on the bicycle he was given for travelling around the Paramount lot. It was certainly no unusual sight to see him racing against some junior member of the staff or trying to do some trick cycling.
(Below)Elvis and Hal Wallis,wth Cliff Gleaves on the right of frame.The temporary dressing rooms can be seen in the background.(see p 45)
24.
24a.Hal Wallis talks to unknown,Elvis and Gene Smith gather outside the projection rooms at Paramount Studios.
Dated as February 1957 -
see here for Loving You the movie in the making http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=46709&p=646119#p646119
Another awesome posting Davide, thank you so much.
