Trystan Casey
Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, was an American singer and actor who rose to fame in the 1950s. He is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century, known for his provocative performance style and fusion of musical influences. While Presley played the guitar from a young age and it was an essential part of his image, there is some debate about his skill level and the extent of his playing on recordings. So, did his first record include electric guitars?
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What You'll Learn
Elvis' first record
Elvis Presley recorded his first single, "That's All Right", on July 5, 1954. The song, written by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, is considered one of the beginnings of rock and roll, although the first rock and roll records predate it.
The recording session that launched Elvis' career took place at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he recorded at least 24 songs between 1953 and 1955. The recordings reflected the diverse musical genres prevalent in Memphis at the time, including blues, rhythm and blues, gospel, country and western, hillbilly, rockabilly, and bluegrass.
During this inaugural session, Elvis played the guitar and sang, accompanied by Scotty Moore on guitar and Bill Black on bass. Despite his limited guitar skills, Elvis' passion and energy shone through, and his guitar work was integral to the recording's success. The iconic image of Elvis immersed in a rock 'n' roll moment, with his guitar taking centre stage, graced the cover of his first self-titled album, "Elvis Presley", released on March 23, 1956.
In 1956, Elvis started recording for RCA, and experienced session guitarists were introduced to the mix. This allowed Elvis to focus more on his vocals while still being officially credited with playing the guitar. The addition of professional musicians resulted in a more polished sound for his recordings.
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Electric guitars on the record
Elvis Presley was an American singer and actor known as the "King of Rock and Roll". He is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's provocative performance style, combined with a mix of influences across racial lines during a transformative era in race relations, brought him both great success and initial controversy.
Presley's first recordings were made with Sun Records in 1954. He played the guitar on all eight of the trio's Sun recording sessions in 1954-55. He played rhythm guitar on all the Sun recordings and many RCA recordings. At RCA, he had studio musicians to rely on, such as Chet Atkins, who played rhythm guitar to allow Presley to focus on his vocals. However, Presley still played live on all the shows.
Presley's first album, 'Elvis Presley', was released on March 23, 1956, and featured a photograph of him with a guitar. The album cover, with Presley immersed in a rock 'n' roll moment, holding a guitar, played a crucial role in positioning the guitar as the instrument that best captured the style and spirit of this new music.
While there is some debate about Presley's guitar skills, with some sources claiming he only played rhythm guitar and others stating he played lead guitar, it is clear that he played guitar on his first record. However, it is worth noting that experienced session guitar players, such as Hilmer J. "Tiny" Timbrell, were added to the mix of musicians in the studio when Presley started recording for RCA in 1956. This may have resulted in a more refined sound and allowed Presley to focus on his vocals.
In conclusion, while it is challenging to ascertain the exact electric guitar presence in Presley's first record due to the lack of detailed information, it is evident that he played the guitar in his early recordings and that it was an essential part of his image and performance style.
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Elvis' guitar skills
Elvis Presley is often remembered as a talented singer and performer, but his skills as a guitarist are also noteworthy. While he is not often praised for his guitar playing, he did possess genuine rhythm guitar skills, and his guitar work was a key component in his first recording.
Presley received his first guitar as a birthday gift from his parents when he was eleven years old in 1946. This "little, itty-bitty, Gene Autry-type guitar" became his constant companion, and he began learning fundamental guitar skills with the help of a beginner's book and instruction from family members and friends.
In 1953, Presley used his guitar skills to accompany himself while recording "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" for his mother at Sam Phillips's Memphis Recording Studio. This led to a historic recording session with Scotty Moore and Bill Black, during which Presley's guitar playing and unique vocal style impressed Moore.
Despite his limited ability, Presley's guitar work was an important part of his early recordings with The Blue Moon Boys, which included Moore and Black. He played guitar on all eight of the trio's Sun recording sessions from 1954 to 1955, and they helped him learn how to perform on stage. Presley is known to have played guitar on the 1950s recording "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care" for the Jailhouse Rock soundtrack.
Presley continued to play guitar throughout his career, although he also worked with experienced session guitarists on his recordings. He is often seen with a guitar in photos, album covers, and films, such as "Aloha from Hawaii," where he brandished an acoustic guitar as a prop. However, fellow musicians like Johnny Cash have acknowledged Presley's rhythm guitar chops, and he played guitar during many concerts and performances.
In conclusion, while Elvis Presley may be better known for his vocal talents, his guitar skills were an important part of his musical career and contributed to his iconic status in the world of rock 'n' roll.
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The role of guitars in rock 'n' roll
Rock and roll evolved from rhythm and blues, jazz, and country music. In its earliest form, rock and roll featured the piano or saxophone as the lead instrument. However, in the mid-1950s, the electric guitar began to replace and supplement these instruments, and its popularity escalated in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The electric guitar's modern design and ability to produce new distorted sounds through electronic manipulation made it a coveted object, particularly for teenagers who were a key target market.
The electric guitar played a significant role in the development of rock and roll, almost from the start, with guitarists such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, and Carl Perkins becoming leading personalities of this new style. The distorted guitar would come to play a central role in rock music, with artists like Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin using distortion and unusual playing techniques to create new sounds.
Scotty Moore, Elvis Presley's guitarist, was also a pivotal figure in the evolution of rock and roll. Moore's style, known as rockabilly, combined elements of hillbilly and bluegrass music with rock and roll. He is credited with creating iconic riffs and solos for some of Presley's best-known songs, such as "Jailhouse Rock" and "Hound Dog".
Presley himself was often photographed and depicted with a guitar, and it was a key part of his rock 'n' roll image. There is some debate about whether Presley could actually play the guitar, as session guitarists were often used in his recordings. However, there are accounts of Presley playing the guitar during recording sessions, and he is known to have played on at least one recording: "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care" from the "Jailhouse Rock" soundtrack. Additionally, Presley played guitar in a trio called The Blue Moon Boys from 1954 to 1955, and he is credited with playing the guitar at almost all of his recording sessions from 1956 to 1958.
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The guitars Elvis owned
Elvis Presley is known to have played the guitar, and it was a key component in his first recording. He received his first guitar at the age of 11, and for many years, that was his only guitar. However, as he grew older and became the King of Rock 'n' Roll, he started collecting them, and many of them have become part of pop culture history.
One of the most famous photos of Presley is on the cover of his first album, "Elvis Presley", released on 23 March 1956. The photo shows him immersed in a rock 'n' roll moment, with a guitar at its centre. The guitar in the photo is a 1955 Martin D-28, which he had purchased in 1954. Soon after, he received a custom-made tooled leather cover with his name across the front, made by Marcus Van Story.
Presley also played guitar on all eight of The Blue Moon Boys' Sun recording sessions in 1954-55. After accumulating some money in 1954, he bought a new guitar, trading in his old one for a 1942 Martin D-18, which cost $175. He had his first name spelled out in black metallic letters across the blond wood, just as he had on his old guitar.
In 1956, Presley purchased a Gibson J-200, which was identical to the one he used in the films "Loving You", "King Creole", and "G.I. Blues". This guitar was used in many of his 1957 concerts and appearances. In 1960, he acquired another J200, which looked almost identical to the 1956 model. The 1960 model was used in publicity shots for "Wild in the Country" and can be seen in "Elvis: That's The Way It Is".
In addition to the above, Presley also owned a Gibson Ebony Dove, which he played on his "'Aloha' from Hawaii" special. This guitar was put up for auction at Graceland in 2020, along with many other items from a third-party collector. The auction also included a Gibson Dove Custom, which was purportedly owned by Presley and was given by his aunt Delta Mae Biggs to Don Wilson in 1977.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Elvis Presley played the electric guitar. He was a rhythm guitarist and played on all the tracks recorded at Sun. He also played on many RCA recordings, although he played less frequently as he became more of a movie star.
Elvis's first record was with the Presley trio in 1954. The record, "That's All Right", featured a guitar solo by Scotty Moore, so it is likely that Elvis played the rhythm guitar.
Yes, Elvis played the electric guitar in his later career. In the 1968 Comeback Special, he played a 1960 Gibson J200 acoustic and then borrowed Scotty Moore's 1963 Gibson Super 400 CES electric guitar.
