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January 22 / 23 1969
(+ means you need both    ~ means same material    °° means stereo or binaural    ° means mono)
(SFS = Short False Start | FS = False Start | LFS or BD (Breakdown) = Long False Start | PB (Playback) or Complete = Complete Take)

American Sound Studio - Memphis, Tennessee
Producers : Felton Jarvis / Chips Moman
Engineer: Al Pachucki
Technician: Roy Shockley

Musicians:   Harmony Vocal:
Guitar: Elvis Presley Elvis Presley ('Suspicious Minds')
Guitar: Reggie Young  
Drums: Gene Chrisman  
Organ: Bobby Emmons  
Bass: Tommy Cogbill  
Bass: Mike Leech  
Piano: Bobby Wood  
Piano: Elvis Presley ('I'll Hold You In My Heart')  

No Selections Recorded
  January 22 1969 (Wed: 8.00pm - 12.00am)
         

Without Love (There Is Nothing)
XPA5 1159
  January 23 1969 (Thur: 12.30am - 3.30am)
Take 1 PB 3:17 Alternate master American Sound 1969 3°°~Back In Memphis (FTD)°° (additional dialogue)
~Suspicious Minds - The Memphis '69 Anthology°°~Let It Roll°° (listed as
Take 5)~The American Way Volume 5° ~Finding The Way Home° (2-7-1
- listed as Take 4)~Draft Mix Tape° (track 11)~American Rejects°
Take 2 FS 0:31   American Sound 1969 3°°~Back In Memphis (FTD)°°+Let It Roll°°~The
American Way Volume 5°
Take 3 FS 0:42   American Sound 1969 3°°~Back In Memphis (FTD)°°~Let It Roll°°
~Memphis Sessions (FTD)°+The American Way Volume 5° (additional
dialogue)~Finding The Way Home° (1-8-1 - listed as Take 1)
Take 4 PB 3:09   American Sound 1969 3°°~Back In Memphis (FTD)°°~Memphis Sessions
(FTD)° ~The American Way Volume 5°~Finding The Way Home° (1-8-2
- listed as Take 2)+Let It Roll°°
Take 5 (M) 2:56 Undubbed master American Sound 1969 3°°~Back In Memphis (FTD)°°~Let It Roll°° (listed
as Take 1)~The American Way Vol. 5°~American Crown Jewels° (listed
as Take 3)+Memphis 2°° (remixed)
         
Overdub (M)   String overdubs on May 7 (aft)  
Overdub (M)   Brass overdubs on May 7 (eve)  
Overdub M 4:31 Backup v.o's on May 8 (aft)
(SPA1 4141)
Complete Elvis Presley Masters 17 (Sony)°°~The Memphis Sessions
(Franklin Mint Comp. Masters Collection 33)°°~From Elvis In Memphis
(Legacy)°°~Back In Memphis (FTD)°°~(24 Bit)°°~Suspicious Minds -
The Memphis 1969 Anthology°°~60s Box 4°°+The Memphis Record°°

I'll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms)
XPA5 1160
  January 23 1969 (Thur: 12.30am - 3.30am)
Take 1 2xFS+M 4:35 Master includes 2 x false starts and
is without overdubs (SPA1 4127)
From Elvis In Memphis (FTD)°°~Comp. Elvis Presley Masters 17 (Sony)°°
~Country Roots (Franklin Mint Complete Masters Collection 8)°°~From
Elvis In Memphis (Legacy)°°~Great Country Songs (DSD)°°~Suspicious
Minds - The Memphis 1969 Anthology°°~60s Box 4°°+The Memphis
Record°°+Draft Mix Tape° (track 10)+Country (1999)°° (intro edited)
+The Other Side Of Memphis°°+From Elvis At American Sound (FTD)°°
~American Sound 1969 3°°+Memphis 2°° (remixed)

I'll Be There
XPA5 1161
  January 23 1969 (Thur: 4.00am - 7.00am)
Take 1   0:17 (talk only) American Sound 1969 3°°~From Elvis At American Sound (FTD)°°
Take 2 LFS 1:39   American Sound 1969 3°°~From Elvis At American Sound (FTD)°°
Take 3 (M) 2:42 Undubbed master American Sound 1969 3°°~From Elvis At American Sound (FTD)°°
Take 4 LFS 0:39 (overdone vocal echo) American Sound 1969 3°°~From Elvis At American Sound (FTD)°°
Take 5 FS 0:04 (overdone vocal echo) American Sound 1969 3°°~From Elvis At American Sound (FTD)°°~The
American Way Volume 5°~Draft Mix Tape° (track 9a)
Take 6 PB 2:30 (overdone vocal echo)
Alternate master
American Sound 1969 3°°~From Elvis At American Sound (FTD)°°~Keep
Rollin' On (Venus)°° (intro clipped / not faded)+The American Way Volume
5°~Draft Mix Tape° (track 9b)~Tape°
         
Overdub (M)   String overdubs on May 5  
Overdub M 2:24 Brass overdubs on May 6 (eve) Complete Elvis Presley Masters 17 (Sony)°°~The Memphis Sessions
(Franklin Mint Comp. Masters Collection 33)°°~From Elvis At American
Sound (FTD)°°~From Elvis In Memphis (Legacy)°°+Suspicious Minds -
The Memphis 1969 Anthology°°~60s Box 4°° (different mixes)

Suspicious Minds
XPA5 1227
  January 23 1969 (Thur: 4.00am - 7.00am)
Take 1 LFS
1:46   American Sound 1969 3°°~Back In Memphis (FTD)°° (count-in & extra
dialogue)~The American Way Vol. 1° ~Finding The Way Home° (1-11-1
- faded)
Take 2 LFS 0:40   American Sound 1969 3°°~Back In Memphis (FTD)°° (extra dialogue)
~The American Way Volume 1°~Finding The Way Home° (1-11-2 - faded)
Take 3 FS 0:36 (preceded by rehearsal) American Sound 1969 3°°~Back In Memphis (FTD)°°~The American Way
Volume 1° (rehearsal+FS)~Finding The Way Home° (1-11-3 - rehearsal only)
Take 4 LFS 1:25   American Sound 1969 3°°~Back In Memphis (FTD)°°~The American Way
Volume 1°~Finding The Way Home° (1-11-4 - faded - 1:20)
Take 5 LFS 4:06 (1st rehearsal+LFS+2nd reh'sal) American Sound 1969 3°°~Back In Memphis (FTD)°° (rehearsal+LFS
+rehearsal - complete) +The American Way Vol. 1° (1st rehearsal - edited
but additional dialogue at start+LFS)~Finding The Way Home° (1-11-5
- 1st reh'sal - faded & 2-2-1 - LFS)+Memphis Sessions (FTD)°° (2nd
rehearsal - edited)+Tape
Take 6 2xFS+PB 3:51   American Sound 1969 3°°~Back In Memphis (FTD)°° (additional dialogue
& FS+FS+PB)~Memphis Sessions (FTD)°° (2nd FS+PB only)~The
American Way Volume 1° (FS+FS+PB)~Finding The Way Home° (2-2-2
- FS+FS+PB)~60s Box 5°° (PB only)
Take 7 PB 3:52   American Sound 1969 3°°~Back In Memphis (FTD)°° (count-in & extra
dialogue)~Suspicious Minds - The Memphis 1969 Anthology°°~Platinum
3°° (faded)~The American Way Vol. 1° ~Finding The Way Home° (1-11-6)
Take 8 (M) 4:06 "I'm saving the last take for me"
Undubbed master
The American Way Vol. 1° (count-in - 0:43)+American Sound 1969 3°°
~Back In Memphis (FTD)°°+Memphis 2°° (remixed - 3:26)
         
Overdub (M)   Backup v.o's on January 24  
V.O. (M) 3:23 Harmony vocal overdub by Elvis
on January 24
The American Way Vol. 5°~Draft Mix Tape° (track 8)~Edge Of Reality°
+E1 (30 #1 Hits DVD-A)° (part only - isolated harmony vocal only)
Overdub (M) 3:24 String overdubs on May 7 (aft)
(SPA1 4124)
The Complete Kid Galahad Session Vol. 3°° (LP) (original mix - acatate)
~The Memphis Record°° (remix)
         
Overdub (M) 3:24 Brass overdubs for stereo master
on August 7
 
Extend (M) 4:25 Splice of 0:00-3:03+2:47-3:03
+2:47-3:03+2:47-3:03+2:47-3:24
Worldwide Gold Award Hits Volume 1 (CD)°°
Faded M 4:23 Fade out 3:19-3:34 / fade in
3:34-3:47 of extended master
Complete Elvis Presley Masters 17 (Sony)°°~The Memphis Sessions
(Franklin Mint Complete Masters Collection 33)°°~Elvis 75 - Good
Rockin' Tonight 3 (Legacy)°°~Back In Memphis (FTD)°°~Elvis 75 CD3°°
~Heart & Soul (DSD)°°~From Elvis In Memphis (2000)°°~Comp. Single
Collection 6°°~Suspicious Minds - The Memphis 1969 Anthology°°
~60s Box 4°°~Greatest Hits Volume 1°°~The Sound Of Your Cry°°
+E1 (30 #1 Hits)°°~Elvis' Gold Records Volume 5°°+The Definitive
Country Album°° (faded)
         
Overdub (M) 3:24 Brass overdubs for mono master
on August 7
 
Extend (M) 4:23 Splice of 0:00-3:03+2:47-3:03
+2:47-3:03+2:47-3:03+2:47-3:20
 
Faded M 4:23 Fade out 3:19-3:34 & fade in
3:34-3:47 of extended master
From Elvis In Memphis (Legacy Ed'n)°~The Mono Masters CD3 (Venus)°
~Worldwide Gold Award Hits Volume 1 (LP)°~The Elvis Medley°
         
Re-Recording 3:41 Re-recorded backing track The Wonder Of You°°

Notes

No songs were recorded at this evening's first session, as Elvis went into the studio early to see Roy Hamilton, who is recording another album for Chips Moman. Elvis offers Roy one of the songs he is planning to record himself, 'Angelica' and spends a few hours with him before resuming his own recording session at 12.30am (January 23).

There are two draft mono mix tapes, of which at least one is dated February 28, 1969. A tape log of a later tape copy of both these tapes (except for the last three tracks of the second tape - 'Don't Cry Daddy', 'A Little Bit Of Green' & 'You'll Think Of Me') was shown in the magazine The Man and His Music #13 listed as "Basic + Alt. Vocals". This source is referred to as the "Draft Mix Tape". This mono tape was actually the source of the 1992 bootleg American Rejects (AR 1569), although the notes claimed acetate source for that. The tape contains nothing recorded after January 26 1969.

The tape is a later copy of two draft rough mix tapes of January 1969 recordings (Tape 1: 'I'm Movin' On' - 'Without Love (There Is Nothing)', dated February 28, 1969, and Tape 2: 'From A Jack To A King' - 'You'll Think Of Me'). A breakdown of what the tape contains is as follows:
1. I'm Movin' On - draft composite of Elvis' original and re-recorded vocals (January 22), containing overdubbed backing vocals (January 19 morning) and band and brass overdubs (January 19 evening).
2. Wearin' That Loved On Look - with overdubbed backing vocals (January 19 morning), guitar overdub (January 22) and Elvis' replaced vocals (January 24).
3. Come Out Come Out (Wherever You Are) - fast instrumental track (January 14).
4. Come Out Come Out (Wherever You Are) - slow instrumental track (January 14), with tape cut.
5. This Is The Story - with Elvis' replaced vocals (January 24) and overdubbed backing vocals (January 25).
6. Gentle On My Mind - with track replacement overdubs and Elvis' vocal repair (January 20).
7. Long Black Limousine - with Elvis' vocal repair (January 22), brass and piano overdubs (January 22) and overdubbed backing vocals (January 25).
8. Suspicious Minds - with overdubbed backing vocals (January 24) and Elvis' harmony vocal overdub (January 24).
9. I'll Be There - takes 5 (false start) and 6 (alternate master) with overdone vocal echo (January 23).
10. I'll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms) (January 23).
11. Without Love (There Is Nothing) - take 1 (alternate master) (January 23).
12. From A Jack To A King - with Elvis' original mock voice at end (January 22) and overdubbed backing vocals (January 26).
13. Hey Jude - take 7 (undubbed master) (January 21).
14. Rubberneckin' - with partially overdubbed backing vocals (January 26).
15. In The Ghetto - with Elvis' original take 22 vocals (January 20) and overdubbed backing vocals (January 25).
16. My Little Friend - Elvis' vocal overdub to track (undubbed master) (January 21) with short count-in at start.
17. Mama Liked The Roses - with Elvis' master vocal overdub to track (January 21) and Elvis' harmony vocal overdub (January 24), with short count-in at start.
18. Inherit The Wind - draft composite of vocal overdub takes 1 and 2 (January 21), containing overdubbed backing vocals (January 26).
19. Poor Man's Gold - instrumental track (January 15).
20. Don't Cry Daddy - Elvis' vocal overdub to track (January 22) and Elvis' two harmony vocal overdubs (January 24).
21. A Little Bit Of Green - with Elvis' original take 3 vocals (January 15).
22. You'll Think Of Me - take 23 rhythm track with Elvis' replaced vocals (January 24).

Sessions III lists 'Without Love' having backup vocals overdubbed on January 23, but the session log shows that as of February 5 (date of the job number) no backup vocals had been overdubbed. According to Mary Holladay Pederson's logbook, 'Without Love (There Is Nothing)' had backup vocals overdubbed on May 8.

On the 1999 Ultimate Collection Series CD Country, the two false starts before 'I'll Hold You In My Arms (Till I Can Hold You In My Heart)' have been edited out.

Remixed versions of 'Without Love (There Is Nothing)' and 'I'll Hold You In My Arms (Till I Can Hold You In My Heart)' can be found on The Memphis Record.

Just before take 7 of 'Suspicious Minds' on Suspicious Minds - The Memphis 1969 Anthology Elvis can be heard singing part of 'Save The Last Dance (Take) For Me', this is actually edited in from before Take 8.

Sessions III lists that 'Suspicious Minds' had backup vocal overdubs done on January 22, but surely this cannot be the case as the song wasn't recorded until the early hours of January 23!

The brass overdubs (August 7) for 'Suspicious Minds' only exist on the final mono and stereo masters, and the mono and stereo masters both have different brass performances. According to Bill Porter, the reason for this procedure was that all the eight tracks were full. Porter also persuaded Felton to do the final stereo and mono mixes at the same time as this overdub session. This is also the reason why both the remastered attempts Memphis Record (1987, missing the brass) and Elvis 30 #1 Hits (E1) (2002, flanging due to mixing stereo master with 8-track) failed. Remastering 'Suspicious Minds' must involve faithful re-recording of the brass section. Maybe that even can be justified now that there is no clear definition of "original" master in the first place.

Remixed versions of 'Suspicious Minds' can be found on Elvis 30 #1 Hits (E1) and Elvis' Gold Records Volume 5.

'Suspicious Minds' on The Sound Of Your Cry which was the first release in the UK of the stereo master, has the left and right channels swapped!

The re-recording of 'Suspicious Minds' can found on the 2016 album The Wonder Of You, which contained Elvis' original vocals but with new backings by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and which actually went to number one in the UK album charts.

By taking out two of the four channels from the rare Japanese Quadraphonic LP of From Elvis In Memphis is how the "previously unreleased versions" were created on the bootleg The Other Side Of Memphis (Bilko).

In March of 2007, Sony decided to go through all of Elvis' masters. They retransferred everything and remastered all tracks including repairing as many clicks, pops, bad edits and dropouts as they could. They have used these newly mastered recordings on their new releases since 2007 including budget soundtracks, Legacy releases, the 30 disc Complete Elvis Presley Masters collection and the Franklin Mint package.

Session Logs
Recording Information
January 23 1969
January 23 1969
Draft Mix Tape
Basic & Alt. Vocals
Draft Mix Tape
From Elvis In Memphis
& Back In Memphis
From Elvis In Memphis

Tape Legends
Overdubs
Tape Legends (Thanks to Follow That Dream)
Tape Legend
January 22-23 1969
Tape Legend - January 22-23 1969 (Thanks to Follow That Dream)
 


Music Sheets
Music Sheet
Without Love (There Is Nothing)
Without Love (There Is Nothing) (Thanks to Christopher Brown)
Music Sheet
I'll Hold You In My Heart
I'll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms) (Thanks to Christopher Brown)
Music Sheet
I'll Be There
I'll Be There (Thanks to Christopher Brown)

 
Music Sheet
Suspicious Minds
Suspicious Minds
 

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