Post by erik on Jan 8, 2022 13:22:12 GMT -5
Today, January 8, 2022, would have marked Elvis' 87th birthday; and in honor of The King, the Pop Music Hits Spotlight looks at his own take on a long-standing classic of the Gospel repertoire.
PEACE IN THE VALLEY (Elvis Presley; RCA; 1957)—In all the storm of controversy that surrounded the birth of rock and roll in the 1950’s, as well as the emergence of Elvis Presley as its biggest progenitor, few people realized that the form was a combination of white and black styles of music, styles of which incorporated Gospel into them as well. Elvis, with his rural Mississippi upbringing around both White and African-American music, was always in contact with this, something that continued through the rest of his lamentably short time on earth. One song in the Gospel repertoire that had always attracted him was “Peace In The Valley”, which had been written by Thomas A. Dorsey back in 1939 for the legendary Mahalia Jackson. After Jackson’s landmark interpretation, however, it wasn’t until 1950 that it started achieving widespread notice outside religious circles, when legendary country artist Red Foley and his Sunshine Boys made it a big hit; simultaneously, the R&B group The Soul Stirrers, featuring a young Sam Cooke, made their recording. And while some ultra-conservative Southern preachers railed at the thought of the hip-swiveling Elvis attempting to put his stamp on this Gospel classic, that’s exactly what The King did. He premiered the song publicly on his third and final appearance on Ed Sullivan’s show (the one where his rocking performances could only be seen on TV from his waist up). He dedicated the song to the 250,000 refugees fleeing Hungary following the October 1956 invasion of that country by the Soviet Union, and urged people to donate and help them. The donations eventually ended up totaling a then-astounding $6 million, proving that Elvis was placing his money where his mouth was. He recorded the song at Radio Recorders Studio in Hollywood on January 13, 1957; and although it would only peak at #25 on the Billboard singles chart in March of that year, it became a signature song of his from that point on, warranting its inclusion on his Christmas album that came out in October of that same year.
PEACE IN THE VALLEY (Elvis Presley; RCA; 1957)—In all the storm of controversy that surrounded the birth of rock and roll in the 1950’s, as well as the emergence of Elvis Presley as its biggest progenitor, few people realized that the form was a combination of white and black styles of music, styles of which incorporated Gospel into them as well. Elvis, with his rural Mississippi upbringing around both White and African-American music, was always in contact with this, something that continued through the rest of his lamentably short time on earth. One song in the Gospel repertoire that had always attracted him was “Peace In The Valley”, which had been written by Thomas A. Dorsey back in 1939 for the legendary Mahalia Jackson. After Jackson’s landmark interpretation, however, it wasn’t until 1950 that it started achieving widespread notice outside religious circles, when legendary country artist Red Foley and his Sunshine Boys made it a big hit; simultaneously, the R&B group The Soul Stirrers, featuring a young Sam Cooke, made their recording. And while some ultra-conservative Southern preachers railed at the thought of the hip-swiveling Elvis attempting to put his stamp on this Gospel classic, that’s exactly what The King did. He premiered the song publicly on his third and final appearance on Ed Sullivan’s show (the one where his rocking performances could only be seen on TV from his waist up). He dedicated the song to the 250,000 refugees fleeing Hungary following the October 1956 invasion of that country by the Soviet Union, and urged people to donate and help them. The donations eventually ended up totaling a then-astounding $6 million, proving that Elvis was placing his money where his mouth was. He recorded the song at Radio Recorders Studio in Hollywood on January 13, 1957; and although it would only peak at #25 on the Billboard singles chart in March of that year, it became a signature song of his from that point on, warranting its inclusion on his Christmas album that came out in October of that same year.