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Blue Hawaii (soundtrack)

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Blue Hawaii
Soundtrack album by
Elvis Presley
ReleasedOctober 20, 1961
RecordedMarch 21–23, 1961
StudioRadio Recorders (Hollywood)
Genre
Length32:02
LabelRCA
ProducerSteve Sholes
Elvis Presley chronology
Something for Everybody
(1961) 		Blue Hawaii
(1961) 		Follow That Dream
(1962)
Singles from Blue Hawaii
  1. "Can't Help Falling in Love/Rock-A-Hula Baby"
    Released: November 21, 1961
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
MusicHound[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]
Rough Guides[4]
Uncut[5]

Blue Hawaii is the fourth soundtrack album by the American singer Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor Records in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2426, on October 20, 1961.[6] It is the soundtrack to the 1961 film of the same name starring Presley. In the United States, the album spent 20 weeks at the number one slot and 39 weeks in the Top 10 on Billboard's Top Pop LPs chart. It was certified Gold on December 21, 1961, Platinum and 2× Platinum on March 27, 1992, and 3× Platinum on July 30, 2002, by the Recording Industry Association of America.[7] In the UK, the album spent 18 weeks at no. 1 on the Record Retailers (RR) album chart. On the US Top Pop Albums chart, Blue Hawaii is second only to the soundtrack of West Side Story as the most successful soundtrack album of the 1960s.

Content

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RCA and Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, had initially planned a schedule of one soundtrack and one popular music release per year for Presley, in addition to the requisite four singles.[8] To coincide with the location of the film, touches of Hawaiian music were included, from instrumentation to the traditional song "Aloha 'Oe".[9]

The title song was taken from the 1937 Bing Crosby film Waikiki Wedding, and "Hawaiian Wedding Song" dates from a 1926 operetta.[10]

The song "No More" is based on the melody of the Spanish song "La paloma", "Almost Always True" on the Quebecois song "Alouette", and "Can't Help Falling in Love" on the eighteenth-century French song "Plaisir d'amour".

Recording sessions took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood on March 21, 22, and 23, 1961.[11] The songs "Can't Help Falling in Love" and "Rock-A-Hula Baby" were pulled off the album for two sides of a single released on November 21, 1961.[12] The A-side "Can't Help Falling in Love," which became the standard closer for a Presley concert in the 1970s, went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100, while the b-side charted independently at number 23.[13]

Reception

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The Blue Hawaii soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1961 in the category of Best Sound Track Album or Recording of Original Cast from a Motion Picture or Television.[14]

The success of this soundtrack and its predecessor G. I. Blues, both of which sold in much greater quantity than Presley's recent studio albums of the time, Elvis Is Back! and Something for Everybody, set the pace for the rest of the decade.[15] Parker and Presley would focus almost exclusively on film work for much of the 1960s. This formula, though initially lucrative, soon led to Presley's career becoming stagnant and his cultural relevance declining amidst a changing musical landscape.[citation needed]

Reissues

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Blue Hawaii was reissued on compact disc in 1997 and again in 2008. The latter edition was a deluxe two-disc release on the Follow That Dream label that featured numerous alternate takes. It also corrected the error with the 1997 issue that incorrectly reversed the stereo channels.[16] Five songs from this album appear on the 1995 compendium soundtrack box set Command Performances: The Essential 60s Masters II: "Can't Help Falling in Love", "Rock-a-Hula Baby", "Blue Hawaii," "Hawaiian Wedding Song," and "Beach Boy Blues."[17]

Track listing

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Original release

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Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."Blue Hawaii"Leo Robin and Ralph RaingerMarch 22, 19612:36
2."Almost Always True"Ben Weisman and Fred WiseMarch 22, 19612:25
3."Aloha ʻOe"Queen LiliʻuokalaniMarch 21, 19611:53
4."No More"Don Robertson, Hal Blair, Sebastián IradierMarch 21, 19612:22
5."Can't Help Falling in Love"George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti and Luigi CreatoreMarch 23, 19613:01
6."Rock-A-Hula Baby"Ben Weisman, Fred Wise, Dolores FullerMarch 23, 19611:59
7."Moonlight Swim"Ben Weisman and Sylvia DeeMarch 22, 19612:20
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."Ku-U-I-Po"George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti, and Luigi CreatoreMarch 21, 19612:23
2."Ito Eats"Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettMarch 22, 19611:23
3."Slicin' Sand"Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettMarch 21, 19611:36
4."Hawaiian Sunset"Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettMarch 21, 19612:32
5."Beach Boy Blues"Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettMarch 23, 19612:03
6."Island of Love"Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettMarch 22, 19612:41
7."Hawaiian Wedding Song"Al Hoffman, Charles E. King, Dick ManningMarch 22, 19612:48

1997 reissue

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On April 29, 1997, RCA released a remastered and expanded version for compact disc. Tracks 1-7 were the seven songs from side one of the original LP and tracks 8-14 were from side two. Tracks 15-22 are bonus tracks, all of which had been recorded during the original album sessions and were previously unreleased except for "Steppin' Out of Line" which had originally appeared on the LP Pot Luck with Elvis (1962).

No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
15."Steppin' Out of Line" (originally issued on the Pot Luck With Elvis LP)Ben Weisman, Fred Wise, Dolores FullerMarch 22, 19611:53
16."Can't Help Falling in Love" (movie version)George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti, Luigi CreatoreMarch 23, 19611:54
17."Slicin' Sand" (alternate take 4)Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettMarch 21, 19611:45
18."No More" (alternate take 7)Don Robertson, Hal Blair and Sebastián IradierMarch 21, 19612:35
19."Rock-A-Hula Baby" (alternate take 1)Ben Weisman, Fred Wise, Dolores FullerMarch 23, 19612:15
20."Beach Boy Blues" (movie version)Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettMarch 23, 19611:58
21."Steppin' Out of Line" (movie version)Ben Weisman, Fred Wise, Dolores FullerMarch 22, 19611:54
22."Blue Hawaii" (alternate take 3)Leo Robin and Ralph RaingerMarch 22, 19612:40

2008 Blue Hawaii CD reissue

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The Original Album
No.TitleLength
1."Blue Hawaii"2:37
2."Almost Always True"2:24
3."Aloha Oe"1:55
4."No More"2:24
5."Can't Help Falling In Love"3:04
6."Rock-A-Hula Baby"2:01
7."Moonlight Swim"2:22
8."Ku-U-I-Po"2:23
9."Ito Eats"1:25
10."Slicin' Sand"1:37
11."Hawaiian Sunset"2:35
12."Beach Boy Blues"2:05
13."Island Of Love"2:41
14."Hawaiian Wedding Song"2:53
New Bonus Tracks
No.TitleLength
15."Steppin' Out Of Line" (movie version)1:56
16."Beach Boy Blues" (movie version)1:59
17."Can't Help Falling In Love" (movie version)1:54
18."Moonlight Swim" (undubbed master)2:25
19."Steppin' Out Of Line" (record version)1:57
First Takes
No.TitleLength
20."Blue Hawaii" (takes 1,2,3)3:54
21."Almost Always True" (take 3)2:33
22."Aloha Oe" ([section 2] take 1)1:20
23."No More" (take 7)2:36
24."Can't Help Falling In Love" (take 13)2:38
25."Rock-A-Hula Baby" (takes 1, 2, 3)3:41
26."Moonlight Swim" (take 2)2:38
27."Ku-U-I-Po" (take 1)2:34
28."Ito Eats" (takes 1, 2)2:36
29."Slicin' Sand" (takes 1, 2, 3)2:59
30."Hawaiian Sunset" (take 1)2:42
31."Island Of Love" (take 8)3:02
32."Hawaiian Wedding Song" (take 1)3:00
Alternate Takes
No.TitleLength
1."Hawaiian Sunset" (take 2)2:46
2."Hawaiian Sunset" (takes 6, 3)3:18
3."Aloha Oe" ([section 2] take 6)1:19
4."Aloha Oe" ([section 2] takes 7/5)0:55
5."Ku-U-I-Po" (takes 2, 4, 5)3:55
6."Ku-U-I-Po" (takes 6, 7)2:51
7."No More" (takes 1, 2, 4, 8)6:15
8."No More" (takes 11, 15 [insert ending])3:16
9."Slicin' Sand" (take 4)1:43
10."Slicin' Sand" (takes 5, 6, 7)3:32
11."Slicin Sand" (takes 8, 13, 15, 16, 14)4:06
12."Blue Hawaii" (takes 4, 5, 6)4:39
13."Ito Eats" (takes 4, 6, 5)2:21
14."Island Of Love" (takes 1, 2, 4, 6)4:31
15."Island Of Love" (takes 7, 9)3:16
16."Steppin' Out Of Line" ([movie version] takes 4, 5, 7/8)3:22
17."Steppin' Out Of Line" ([record version] takes 10, 11, 16, 15)4:08
18."Steppin' Out Of Line" ([tag for movie] takes 18/19)1:15
19."Always Almost True" (takes 2, 4, 5)5:11
20."Almost Always True" (takes 7, 6)2:52
21."Moonlight Swim" (takes 1, 4)3:54
22."Can't Help Falling In Love" (takes 14, 15, 16)3:08
23."Can't Help Falling In Love" (takes 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24)4:27
24."Can't Help Falling In Love" (takes 25, 26)2:15

Personnel

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Sourced from Keith Flynn's analysis of RCA and AFM paperwork.[18][19][20][21]

Charts

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Chart (1962–1977) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[22] 63
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 17
Italian Albums (HitParadeItalia)[24] 1
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[25] 39
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[26] 46
UK Albums (OCC)[27] 1
US Billboard 200[28] 1

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[29] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[30] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  2. ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 891. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  3. ^ "Elvis Presley: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  4. ^ Simpson, Paul (2004). The Rough Guide to Elvis. London: Rough Guides. p. 123. ISBN 1-84353-417-7.
  5. ^ Stanley, Bob (July 1997). "Viva Elvis!". Uncut. No. 2. p. 109.
  6. ^ "Blue Hawaii". Elvis - The Music. Sony Music Entertainment. 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  7. ^ "Searchable database". RIAA. Recording Industry Association of America. 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2013. Note: Enter search for "Blue Hawaii"
  8. ^ Jorgensen, op. cit. p. 180.
  9. ^ The Queen's Songbook, by Her Majesty Queen Liliʻuokalani, Hui Hanai, Honolulu, 1999, pp. 38-39
  10. ^ Sources:
  11. ^ Blue Hawaii at AllMusic
  12. ^ "Can't Help Falling in Love". Elvis - The Music. Sony Music Entertainment. 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  13. ^ Awards for Blue Hawaii at AllMusic
  14. ^ "King for a Week". The 57th Grammys. The Recording Academy. 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  15. ^ Jorgensen, op. cit. p. 164.
  16. ^ Sources:
  17. ^ Command Performances: The Essential 60s Masters II at AllMusic
  18. ^ "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions".
  19. ^ "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions".
  20. ^ "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions".
  21. ^ "Elvis Presley Recording Sessions".
  22. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 282. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  23. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Elvis Presley – Blue Hawaii" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  24. ^ "HitParadeItalia - Top Album N.37 del 15 Settembre 1962" (in Italian). HitParadeItalia.
  25. ^ "Charts.nz – Soundtrack / Elvis Presley – Blue Hawaii". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  26. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Soundtrack / Elvis Presley – Blue Hawaii". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  27. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  28. ^ "Elvis Presley's Top 5 Billboard Chart Records". Billboard.com. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  29. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Elvis Presley – Blue Hawaii". Music Canada. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  30. ^ "American album certifications – Elvis Presley – Blue Hawaii". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
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