TCBCast 411: Elvis’ ”Secret” Germany Home Recordings, Part 2

Bec & Justin continue their exploration through Elvis' creative journey during his military service. The piano-driven tracks on Elvis' 1958-59 home recordings from Germany notably feature much heavier distortion due to the tape recorder likely having been set either on or directly next to the piano, which Elvis plays heavy-handedly, but they remaing intriguing listens. 

While Elvis backs off from gospel, we instead hear him now exploring further ideas for his upcoming albums and singles, such as the operatic "There's No Tomorrow," the underlying public domain melody of which would become "It's Now or Never," "Soldier Boy," and "Such A Night." Elvis also sings songs that would not surface again until many years later in his recording career such as "I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen," "I Will Be True" and "The Fool." 

But perhaps most fascinating are, as usual, the songs that Elvis never revisited professionally: "Apron Strings," a song originally demoed for him but later recorded by Cliff Richard, the mysterious "The Titles Tell," long known merely as "Number Eight," and of course, Elvis' poignant version of "Earth Angel" by doo-wop group The Penguins, among others. Finally - after having investigated for ourselves, do the recordings align with the widely-discussed insinuation that Elvis' time in the military was what turned him from dangerous rocker to smooth pop star... or is the story more complicated?

Also, Justin sneaks a mini-Song of the Week midway into the episode, discussing briefly a little about Danny & The Juniors' iconic 1950s party song "At the Hop," which Elvis references during these home recordings.