Viva Las Vegas - Soundtrack

Soundtrack

Recording sessions took place on July 9, 10, and 11, 1963, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California. By now film and soundtrack obligations were starting to back up on each other, and six weeks after the aborted "lost album" sessions of May 1963, the stable of Presley songwriters were required to come up with another dozen songs for yet another new picture. Song quality took a back seat to the need for volume, and Presley's filming schedule made it difficult for song publishers to live up to obligations. Memphis Mafia pal Red West had written a "Ray Charles-styled" number, but so little good material had surfaced that an extra session was scheduled on August 30 for an actual Ray Charles song, later released as a single to promote the film with its title song.

Twelve songs were recorded for the film, but only six were issued on records. The idea of a full-length soundtrack long-playing album was not considered, which has garnered much criticism from various accounts, including Elvis: The Illustrated Record. "Night Life", "Do the Vega", and a medley "Yellow Rose of Texas/The Eyes of Texas" would be released on Elvis Sings Flaming Star in 1969, and the Neapolitan song "Santa Lucia" would be placed on Elvis for Everyone. "The Lady Loves Me" would be issued on Elvis: A Legendary Performer Volume 4 in 1983, and the duet between Presley and Ann-Margret "You're the Boss" on Elvis Sings Leiber & Stoller in 1991. The other duets between the pair in the film, along with Ann-Margret's solo numbers, would wait until later retrospectives to appear on record.

Two songs were released as a single, catalogue 47-8360 on April 28, a cover of the Ray Charles rhythm and blues classic from 1959, "What'd I Say", with the film title song "Viva Las Vegas" by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman on the b-side. The strength of both sides caused it to split the difference on the chart, with "What'd I Say" peaking at disappointing #21 and "Viva Las Vegas" faring even worse at #29. The four-song soundtrack appeared as an extended play single in May 1964 to coincide with the film's premiere. The soundtrack EP barely made the Billboard Hot 100 at #92, the lowest-charting release of Presley's career to this point. RCA had not released an Elvis EP single in two years; given that it was a dying format, and given the disastrous chart performance of Viva Las Vegas, the company would only issue two more for the remainder of Presley's career.

Released during Beatlemania and the beginning of the British invasion, none of the music made an impact on the new direction in which popular music was moving. Even the most jazzed-infused song of Presley's illustrious career, I Need Somebody to Lean On went practically unnoticed. However, box office receipts of $9,442,967 were higher than The Beatles' first motion picture, A Hard Day's Night, which was released 2 month's later worldwide, earning $6,165,000 (£2,500,000 U.K).

In January 2010, as part of the 75th anniversary of Elvis' birth, Sony Music finally released an official complete full-length soundtrack album for the first time on CD, which features all twelve songs recorded for the film. The front cover to the CD insert reproduces the images used for the original EP release, and also adds the words "...AND MORE" as part of the text.