Elvis Presley : Baby Let's Play House
By March 21 of 1976, Elvis Presley was literally bigger than ever. He had gained so much weight that in Cincinnati, he split the inseam of his blue studded jumpsuit during an afternoon show ( at 23:00 in the video below) and had to change into a less interesting white one. That show was reviewed by the Cincinnati Post under the headline "Elvis : F-A-T but Fun". The evening show wasn't even fun. A concert-goer wrote the Post complaining that The King of Rock and Roll "looked pale, his eyes were puffy, and he had difficulty talking" and remembering the lyrics. In 17 months he'd be dead.
The next day RCA Records released The Sun Sessions, an album that reminded its listeners that before he ever became a star Elvis Presley was a young revolutionary with more charisma than anyone who would follow. Here is a compilation of singles Presley had recorded in Memphis for Sam Phillips in 1954-55. Today they are almost all considered classics: "That's All Right (Mama)", "Good Rockin' Tonight", "Mystery Train", "Blue Moon" and "Baby Let's Play House" which contained the line John Lennon stole for "Run For Your Life": "I'd rather see you dead little girl than to be with another man".
To listen to The Sun Sessions is to hear the birth of rock'n'roll.
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