Late in the summer of 1960, a project that everyone seemed enthusiastic about had begun taking shape. Nearly every successful country singer on RCA cut a gospel album at one time or another in his or her career, and in Elvis's case there was plenty of reason to follow up 1957's highly successful Peace In The Valley EP with a full-fledged sacred album. Elvis was always eager to promote religious music, and this was an opportunity he relished; for the Colonel, it was a perfect vehicle for his new image of the mature, family-friendly Elvis Presley. While preparing to make the album, the Colonel arranged for his favorite photographer, Don Cravens, to take pictures of Elvis on August 25 during a break in the filming of Flaming Star. Hill & Range, meanwhile, went over material with the singer and arranged for deals on many of the songs, including "If We Never Meet Again."
The date of the session kept being pushed back as filmimg ran over schedule, and it wasn't until October 30 that Elvis and his boys, plus Scotty, D.J., and Freddy Bienstock, drove into the parking lot behind RCA's Studio B in Nashville, once again in a Greyhound bus chartered by the Colonel. Elvis wore black pants, a shiny silk shirt, and the sailor's cap he fancied at the time. He arrived with his left hand in bandages---he'd broken a finger during a game of touch football---but otherwise he was in great spirits and more than ready to record. "If We Never Meet Again" was a one-take master, recorded October,30, 1960, first released on His Hand In Mine 1960.
(The Complete Recording Sessions by Ernst Jorgensen)
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