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June 26 1954
(+ means you need both    ~ means same material    °° means stereo or binaural    ° means mono)
(SFS = Short False Start | FS = False Start | LFS or BD (Breakdown) = Long False Start | PB (Playback) or Complete = Complete Take)

SUN Studio - Memphis, Tennessee
Engineer : Sam Phillips

Musician:    
Guitar: Elvis Presley  

Without You
  June 26 1954 (Sat)
Tryout
 

Rag Mop (?)
June 26 1954 (Sat) (?)
Tryout

Notes

In May or June 1954 Sam Phillips received a demo from Peer Records of the song 'Without You', sung by an unknown singer. He failed to locate the singer.

In issue 287 of Mojo magazine (October 2017) the unknown singer of 'Without You' was identified as being Jimmy Bell (aka Jimmy Sweeney).

The day before Sam brought in the demo of 'Without You', Marion Keisker's friend, who was there with her when Elvis walked in to record 'My Happiness' in July 1953 had asked Marion what happened to "the singer with the sideburns who gives you goose bumps", as she thought there was "something special" about him, and Marion replied that nothing had happened! It was then Marion suggested Elvis again ("the guy with the sideburns") to Sam, so he brought him in.

This rehearsal was probably not recorded. Several songs were attempted without success, but no other titles are known. It's not impossible that they tried 'Casual Love' (?), since this much talked about song obviously wasn't the flipside of the second acetate.

The song 'Casual Love Affair' (as well as being listed as 'Casual Love') was actually first mentioned as early as 1956 in magazines. It was then later stated that the song wasn't called 'Casual Love' at all, but rather 'Careless Love'.

Using this analogy, it may be possible that the second acetate ('I'll Never Stand In Your Way' / 'It Wouldn't Be The Same ( Without You)') had been originally incorrectly listed in the first place as being 'I'll Never Stand In Your Way' / 'Casual Love' (or 'Careless Love') by someone hearing the lyrics "I wasted my love on a careless romance" (which is sung twice during the song) while listening to 'It Wouldn't Be The Same (Without You)', and then mis-remembering the title.

Other possibilities regarding the titles of the unknown songs include 'Rag Mop' and 'Tiger Man', among others, as Elvis himself referred to his "Second Record" as being 'Tiger Man' in several live shows in August 1970.

Thanks to Kevan Budd for information regarding Marion's friend.


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