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Elvis' 40 Greatest

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Elvis' 40 Greatest Hits
Compilation album by
ReleasedOctober 1974 (1974-10)[1]
Recorded1956–1970
GenrePop, rock
Length1:37:45
LabelArcade

Elvis' 40 Greatest is a compilation album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley. It was released in 1974 and was the UK's biggest-selling album over the Christmas period of that year, but along with all albums on K-tel, Ronco and Arcade, it was ineligible for the UK Albums Chart until 1975 because it was felt that heavy TV advertising and low pricing distorted the charts. It finally reached number one on the UK Albums Chart in 1977,[2] and became the 10th best-selling album of the 1970s in the UK.[citation needed]

It was originally pressed with a brown cover and doctored image of Elvis, with blue labels, this short lived pressing was replaced by yellow label copies. The 1977 release, which appeared on the new RCA blue "signature" label, credited to "RCA Special Products", was released simultaneously on black vinyl and a more expensive pink vinyl edition. The black vinyl sold a stagger 250'000 copies LESS than the pink vinyl, making it the more collectable item, even though fans are often tricked in to thinking the pink vinyl is "rare". It is in fact one of the most common and best selling Elvis compilation albums of all time.

Track listing

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Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."My Baby Left Me"Arthur Crudup, Elvis PresleyJanuary 30, 19562:11
2."Heartbreak Hotel"Mae Axton, Tommy Durden, Elvis PresleyJanuary 10, 19562:09
3."Blue Suede Shoes"Carl PerkinsJanuary 30, 19562:00
4."Hound Dog"Jerry Leiber and Mike StollerJuly 2, 19562:15
5."Love Me Tender"Vera Matson and Elvis PresleyAugust 24, 19562:41
6."Got a Lot of Livin' to Do"Aaron Schroeder and Ben WeismanJanuary 12, 19572:31
7."(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear"Jerry Leiber and Mike StollerFebruary 24, 19572:12
8."Party"Jessie Mae RobinsonJanuary 22, 19571:27
9."All Shook Up"Otis Blackwell and Elvis PresleyJanuary 12, 19571:57
10."Old Shep"Red FoleySeptember 2, 19564:10
11."Don't"Jerry Leiber and Mike StollerSeptember 6, 19572:48
12."Hard Headed Woman"Claude DemetriusJanuary 15, 19581:53
13."King Creole"Jerry Leiber and Mike StollerJanuary 23, 19582:16
14."Jailhouse Rock"Jerry Leiber and Mike StollerApril 30, 19572:27
15."A Big Hunk o' Love"Aaron Schroeder, Sid WycheJune 10, 19582:12
16."I Got Stung"Aaron Schroeder, David HillJune 10, 19581:50
17."One Night"Dave Bartholomew, Pearl King, Anita SteimanFebruary 23, 19572:29
18."(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I"Bill TraderJune 10, 19582:36
19."I Need Your Love Tonight"Bix Reichner, Sid WayneJune 10, 19582:04
20."Stuck on You"Aaron Schroeder, Leslie McFarlandMarch 20, 19602:16
Total length:46:24


Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."Fever"John Davenport, Eddie CooleyApril 3, 19603:31
2."It's Now or Never"Eduardo di Capua, Aaron Schroeder, Wally GoldApril 3, 19603:15
3."Are You Lonesome Tonight?"Lou Handman, Roy TurkApril 3, 19603:05
4."Wooden Heart"Ben Weisman, Fred Wise, Kathleen Twomey, Bert KaempfertApril 28, 19602:03
5."Surrender"Doc Pomus, Mort ShumanOctober 30, 19601:52
6."(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame"Doc Pomus, Mort ShumanJune 25, 19612:08
7."Wild in the Country"Luigi Creatore, Hugo Peretti, George David WeissNovember 7, 19601:58
8."There's Always Me"Don RobertsonMarch 12, 19612:16
9."Rock-A-Hula Baby"Fred Wise, Ben Weisman, Dolores FullerMarch 23, 19612:24
10."Can't Help Falling in Love"Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, George WeissMarch 23, 19613:01
11."Good Luck Charm"Aaron Schroeder, Wally GoldOctober 15, 19612:24
12."She's Not You"Doc Pomus, Jerry Leiber and Mike StollerMarch 19, 19622:03
13."Return to Sender"Otis Blackwell, Winfield ScottMarch 27, 19622:05
14."(You're the) Devil in Disguise"Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence KayeMay 26, 19632:01
15."Crying in the Chapel"Artie GlennOctober 30, 19602:23
16."Guitar Man"Jerry ReedSeptember 10, 19672:30
17."In the Ghetto"Mac DavisJanuary 20, 19692:48
18."Suspicious Minds"Mark JamesJanuary 22, 19694:22
19."There Goes My Everything"Dallas FrazierJune 8, 19703:10
20."Don't Cry Daddy"Mac DavisJanuary 15, 19693:09
Total length:51:21

Chart performance

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Weekly charts

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Chart (1975–79) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[3] 1

Year-end charts

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Chart (1975) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[4] 6
Chart (1977) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[5] 50

Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[7] Platinum 1,500,000[6]

References

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  1. ^ "1970s UK discography".
  2. ^ "Elvis Presley - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. 17 May 1956. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  3. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  4. ^ "Top Selling Albums For 1975" (PDF). Music Week. December 27, 1975. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 9, 2021 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  5. ^ "Top Albums 1977" (PDF). Music Week. December 24, 1977. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  6. ^ Murrells, Joseph (1985). Million selling records from the 1900s to the 1980s : an illustrated directory. Arco Pub. p. 389. ISBN 0668064595. It was a tremendous seller over the Christmas period, and sold over 1,500,000 in Britain
  7. ^ "British album certifications – Elvis Presley – 40 Greatest Hits". British Phonographic Industry.