As always, Elvis warmed up by singing some gospel numbers with the whole group, joking and trading stories, seemly oblivious to the passage of time. This time, though, several hours of unwinding led directly into a rehearsal of the first song, the Golden Gate Quartet's "Run On," an up-tempo number in the jubilee tradition. They began softly with Floyd Cramer's piano run, picked up by the vocal group's low "hummm." Elvis missed his lead-in the first time around, but the second take was full of energy, with the full electric band and eleven singers making a very joyful noise.
The next song, which would become the signature piece of the sessions, and a real high point in Elvis' recording career, suggested that those endless hours of singing at home may well have been the most in-depth rehearsals he had ever undertaken. Charlie Hodge had played Elvis a version of "How Great Thou Art" by the Sons of the Pioneers, a group Charlie knew from his stint with the Foggy River Boys. Elvis also knew the Statesmen's 1964 recording of the same song, done after Jake Hess had left the group; Elvis borrowed from both. (Charlie had avoided playing the best-known version of the song, a rather formal rendering by George Beverly Shea that he knew wouldn't have excited Elvis.) In the studio it became clear that Elvis' months of practice at home had paid off: He knew the song inside and out, instructing the singers on the powerful lead-in during a brief, fifteen-minute rehearsal before the final take. Elvis sang with sincerity and dedication, in a slower tempo than the Statesmen's version that accentuated the spirituality of the material and allowed him to build the song into a powerful anthem. He had crafted for himself an ad-hoc arrangement in which he took every part of the four-part vocal, from Big Chief's bass intro to the soaring heights of the song's operatic climax. In an extraordinary fulfillment of his vocal ambitions, he had become a kind of one-man quartet, making the song both a personal challenge and a tribute to the singing style he'd always loved. "How Great Thou Art" was originally a traditional gospel number from Sweden, translated into English by missionary Stuart K. Hine.
*The Complete Recording Sessions by Ernst Jorgensen*
Recorded May 25, 1966. Singles: "How Great Thou Art/So High," April 1967.
LPs: Elvis - A Legendary Performer, Elvis Aron Presley, Elvis In Concert, Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis, He Walks Beside Me, How Great Thou Art.
*Banner and top picture by Tamara for Anelvisfan2001* |
