''Speedway'' is the seventeenth soundtrack album by American singer and musician

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

, released by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3989, on June 25, 1968. It serves as the soundtrack album for the 1968 film ''

Speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

'' starring Presley. Recording sessions took place at

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

studios in Hollywood, California, on June 20 and 21, 1967. It peaked at number 82 on the ''Billboard'' 200. ''Speedway'' took over the new low for chart position and album sales by Presley, selling fewer than 100,000 copies, and jeopardizing his recording career.Jorgensen, Ernst. ''Elvis Presley A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998. Much to his relief, it killed the soundtrack formula, this being the final Presley dramatic feature film to have a full soundtrack album. His last five movies of the decade — '' Stay Away, Joe'', '' Live a Little, Love a Little'', '' Charro!'', '' The Trouble with Girls'', and '' Change of Habit'' — concentrated on Presley the actor, not Presley the singer, with minimal song requirements. It is also the last Presley album to be released in both stereo and mono editions as mono was being phased out by the industry, thus making the rare mono pressing of ''Speedway'' (LPM-3989) a sought-after item among collectors

Content

Eight tracks for ''Speedway'' were recorded at the sessions, with "Suppose", the only song that held interest for Elvis, dropped from the movie. Two tracks were pulled for a single, "Your Time Hasn't Come Yet Baby" with " Let Yourself Go" on its flipside, and both sides made the lower reaches of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (respectively numbers 72 and 71) but bombed sales-wise. "There Ain't Nothing Like A Song," rejected from the soundtrack for '' Spinout'', was one of two songs that feature the lead vocals of

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato) and is known for her 1965 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walki ...

, here in duet with Presley. All her vocals, and her "Your Groovy Self," the only time a track without Elvis featured on any of his releases, were recorded at a separate session on June 26, produced by Lee Hazlewood. Three leftover tracks, including one from the May 1963 "lost album" sessions, were unearthed to round out the album.

Reissues

Three songs from this album appear on '' Command Performances: The Essential 60s Masters II'' (1995): the two sides of the single and the title track. In 2016 ''Speedway'' was reissued on the Follow That Dream label in a special 2-disc edition that contained the original album tracks along with numerous alternate takes.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits from Keith Flynn and Ernst Jorgensen's examination of session tapes and RCA and AFM paperwork. *

− vocals *

The Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vo ...

(Gordon Stoker, Neal Matthews, Hoyt Hawkins, Ray Walker) − backing vocals * Millie Kirkham – backing vocals on "Mine" *

Tiny Timbrell Hilmer J. "Tiny" Timbrell (January 15, 1917 – May 7, 1992) was a Canadian-born session musician, session guitarist. Timbrell was born in Canada but moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue his career in music. For a time, he sold guitars at ...

− lead guitar * Chip Young − electric guitar *

Scotty Moore Winfield Scott Moore III (December 27, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American guitarist who formed The Blue Moon Boys in 1954, Elvis Presley's backing band. He was studio and touring guitarist for Presley between 1954 and 1968. Rock critic ...

— rhythm guitar on "Western Union", "Suppose", "Mine", and "Goin' Home" * Jerry Kennedy – lead guitar on "Western Union" * Tommy Tedesco − lead guitar on "He's Your Uncle, Not Your Dad" and "Let Yourself Go" * Harold Bradley – guitar or six-string "tic-tac" electric bass on "Mine" * Larry Muhoberac − piano *

Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "whole-step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signatur ...

– piano on "Mine" * Charlie Hodge − piano (on "Suppose") * Hoyt Hawkins – organ on "Mine" *

Bob Moore Bob Moore may refer to: * Bob Moore (musician) (1932–2021), American session musician * Bob Moore (executive) (1929–2024), co-founder of Bob's Red Mill * Bob Moore (American football) (born 1949), American football tight end * Bob Moore (Au ...

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double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

electric bass The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...

D. J. Fontana Dominic Joseph Fontana (March 15, 1931 – June 13, 2018) was an American musician best known as the drummer for Elvis Presley for 14 years. In 1955, he was hired to play drums for Presley, which marked the beginning of a 15-year relationshi ...

− drums * Buddy Harman − drums *

Boots Randolph Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III (June 3, 1927 – July 3, 2007) was an American musician. His 1963 saxophone hit " Yakety Sax" became the signature tune of ''The Benny Hill Show''. Randolph was a prolific session musician and member of the Nas ...

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saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

Charlie McCoy Charlie McCoy (born Charles Ray McCoy, March 28, 1941) is an American harmonica virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist in country music. He is best known for his harmonica solos on iconic recordings such as " Candy Man" ( Roy Orbison), "He Stoppe ...

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trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

; guitar or harmonica on "Mine" * Tony Terran − trumpet (uncertain) * Pete Drake − pedal steel guitar ;Production staff * Jeffrey Alexander – producer * Felton Jarvis – producer ("Mine") * Aaron Rochin – engineer * Lyle Burbridge – engineer * Jim Malloy – engineer ("Mine") June 26, 1967 session ("Your Groovy Self" by Nancy Sinatra only): *

− vocals * Billy Strange − electric guitar *Donald Owens − electric guitar * Donnie Lanier − electric guitar * Al Casey − electric guitar *

Larry Knechtel Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles–based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Sim ...

− piano * Don Randi − piano * Chuck Berghofer − bass *

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

− drums * Roy Caton − trumpet * Virgil Evans − trumpet * Oliver Mitchell − trumpet * Dick Hyde −

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

Charts

References

External links

*
LPM-3989 Speedway (monaural) Guide
part o
The Elvis Presley Record Research DatabaseLSP-3989 Speedway (stereo) Guide
part o
The Elvis Presley Record Research Database
{{Authority control 1968 soundtrack albums Elvis Presley soundtracks RCA Records soundtracks Musical film soundtracks Action film soundtracks