The Flip side of Heartbreak Hotel.

[Domino]

I Was The One - Written by Aaron Schroeder, Bill Peppers, Claude Demetrius and Hal Blair.
The flip side of "Heartbreak Hotel" and released January 27th, 1956. It was recorded on January 11th, 1956 at RCA's Studios in Nashville.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Was_the_One

It was the 5th song recorded at RCA and the first Pop ballad at his new label .The first song recorded at this session was a Country ballad called "I'm Counting On You" by Kitty Wells on the Decca label and was a #9 Country hit later in 1956.

This was where Elvis showed the world his other side.
After the Rock'a'Billy Sun Years ,he stepped out of Hillbilly and into Pop.

The single stayed for 16 weeks on the Billboard 100 chart ,peaking at #23 and reached #11 on the Country Disc Jockey chart .

elvis_presley_rca_ep_epa_821_ic003_547.jpg

Elvis performed "I Was The One" on his fourth Stage Show appearance ,February 18th,1956 and his last appearance on the Louisiana Hayride December 16th,1956.

I think it's one of the best ballads Elvis ever recorded and one of those songs that a great recording could be achieved at any time in his career ,whether it be 50's,60's or 70's.

What does the FECC cast think of "I Was The One ?"


The Record.

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Stage Show - February 18th,1956.

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The Hayride.

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Tupelo - September 26th,1956.

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July 29th, 1970 - The Rehearsal.

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The Swedish band Streaplers has also recorded the song. It was released on the LP "Speed" (Bohus Bglp 5010) in 1978

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streaplers

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My brother .
He had some left over time in the studio in 1991 so he put down one of his favorite Big E songs.
He said he recorded it on a 1950's mic and it was never made for release,just for himself and as a Christmas gift to his family.

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[SteamrollerBlues]

I really enjoy I Was The One. It's a beautiful song, and Elvis sings it to perfection. What a shame it wasn't part of his live set-list. Based on the rehearsal, though Elvis obviously isn't 100% committed to the song, it still would have been a great addition to the "sit-down" portions of the 1969/1970 shows. Your brother's rendition is very nice as well. Thank you for posting!

[drjohncarpenter]

What a tremendous post to a fantastic doo-wop ballad. Elvis' vocal is just so perfect, and it was a lovely complement to the A-side. One imagines it wasn't terribly hard to take a break from multiple repeats of "Heartbreak Hotel" to flip the single over and give "I Was The One" a bunch of spins. Yes, it's up there in the list of memorable Presley ballads. I still remember how cool it was to hear outtakes of the song on Totally Stung (Madison), and of course the live 1957 snippet from Vancouver that popped out on bootleg LP before that. Good, good times.

[Davelee]

Great topic! Thanks Domino.

I like I Was The One very much - nicely sung with a good melody. Having said that, i do prefer the other ballad you mention in your initial post I'm Counting on You - this is just a beautiful song and especially when he comes to the bit "as only you can do hold my hands down beside me"

[r&b]

Great ballad. One of several doo-wop styled records from Elvis. Its as good as it gets vocally. I will stick to my guns in saying I prefer Elvis the balladeer in the 50's to the one that eventually emerged in the 70's. His voice may not have been as powerful but it was better in many other ways.

[Domino]

What a tremendous post to a fantastic doo-wop ballad. Elvis' vocal is just so perfect, and it was a lovely complement to the A-side. One imagines it wasn't terribly hard to take a break from multiple repeats of "Heartbreak Hotel" to flip the single over and give "I Was The One" a bunch of spins. Yes, it's up there in the list of memorable Presley ballads. I still remember how cool it was to hear outtakes of the song on Totally Stung (Madison), and of course the live 1957 snippet from Vancouver that popped out on bootleg LP before that. Good, good times.

It must have been a favorite of Elvis's to try it in rehearsal and then put it in a sit down segment for the TTWII shows.Too bad he didn't try and make a serious effort and possibly remake it in 70.On the other hand the 56 recording is really as good as it gets.Forgot about the snippet from the "Got A Lot Of Livin To Do" bootleg.Wish there were a few better recorded 50's recordings.

[Juan Luis]

Thanks for the post. The fact that Elvis mentioned it was his favorite recording at one point, shows his first love since day one. Ballad singing.

[Fabbe]

Great song - a mature performance from a young Elvis


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[Elfan]

I love 'I Was The One'.
In fact I prefer it over the A side of that single.

[jeanno]

I love doo wop, ballads and rock'n'roll so I love IWTO. It surely is in my top 10 of 50s ballad, the #1 spot being for Love Me, of course.

[Barbie]

One of the BEST ballads of the 50's for SURE!!! I never get tired of listening to it........................amazing!!!!!!!

[jurasic1968]

Jerry Schilling in his book wrote how much he was impressed with this song. He saw a maturity in Elvis' voice at only 21 years old.

[Domino]

Great topic! Thanks Domino.

I like I Was The One very much - nicely sung with a good melody. Having said that, i do prefer the other ballad you mention in your initial post I'm Counting on You - this is just a beautiful song and especially when he comes to the bit "as only you can do hold my hands down beside me"

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[Mister Moon]

Thanks for starting this fine thread, Domino. "I Was The One" is a huge favourite of mine, from day one, when I heard it on "For LP Fans Only".

Just a couple of minor additions to the initial post :

** We have another live version of "I Was The One" on the Little Rock concert from May 16, 1956.

** Please note that the original version of "I'm Counting On You" was done by Elvis. The Kitty Wells version was recorded exactly eight months later, on September 11, 1956.

Here's a link to an earlier thread on the Don Robertson song :

"I'm Counting On You" - The Wells and Helguera connections
https://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=89544

[Steve Morse]

Great topic! Thanks Domino.

I like I Was The One very much - nicely sung with a good melody. Having said that, i do prefer the other ballad you mention in your initial post I'm Counting on You - this is just a beautiful song and especially when he comes to the bit "as only you can do hold my hands down beside me"

It's, "Hold my hand, stand beside me"

[Domino]

Thanks for starting this fine thread, Domino. "I Was The One" is a huge favourite of mine, from day one, when I heard it on "For LP Fans Only".

Just a couple of minor additions to the initial post :

** We have another live version of "I Was The One" on the Little Rock concert from May 16, 1956.

** Please note that the original version of "I'm Counting On You" was done by Elvis. The Kitty Wells version was recorded exactly eight months later, on September 11, 1956.

Here's a link to an earlier thread on the Don Robertson song :

"I'm Counting On You" - The Wells and Helguera connections
https://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=89544

Thanks for the additional info Mister Moon.Forgot about that live 56 version of I Was The One.

[minkahed]

The song has been, in my honest opinion, a triumph, a pity its not more well known, and it's a God damn shame it didn't make the tracklist of Elvis's debut LP.

[Mister Moon]

The first time I got hear an alternate take of "I Was The One" was through the EP / CD single issued in 1996 as a companion of the "Elvis 56" compilation. We got take 2b, which is markedly different to the master.

Later, we got more outtakes of this song, both officially and unofficially, until all the surviving recordings from this session were included on FTD's deluxe release of Elvis' debut album.

Essential stuff !

https://www.discogs.com/es/Elvis-Presley-Heartbreak-Hotel/release/8088261

[Stvimpe]

'I was the one' is one of Elvis' finest ballads, imo. Greystoke aptly captured the essence of the song. I prefer it above 'I'm counting on you' anytime. Thank you, Domino & Mr. Moon.

[Dan_T]

I love, I Was The One.... Sonny West remembers playing I was The One on repeat on the local Jukebox

For some reason I always wince when I hear parts of I'm Counting On You...Elvis seems very flat on some words, which is rare for him.

[minkahed]

I love, I Was The One.... Sonny West remembers playing I was The One on repeat on the local Jukebox

For some reason I always wince when I hear parts of I'm Counting On You...Elvis seems very flat on some words, which is rare for him.

Yes sir, you are correct.

[ForeverElvis]

If it couldn't be on Elvis' debut LP, it should have been on Elvis' Golden Records instead of That's When Your Heartaches Begin.

[TeddyGirl]

Great topic! Thanks Domino.

I like I Was The One very much - nicely sung with a good melody. Having said that, i do prefer the other ballad you mention in your initial post I'm Counting on You - this is just a beautiful song and especially when he comes to the bit "as only you can do hold my hands down beside me"

It's, "Hold my hand, stand beside me"

"...hold my hands down beside me" - what does that even mean?