Playing for Keeps (Elvis Presley song) explained

Playing for Keeps
Type:single
Artist:Elvis Presley
Released:January 4, 1957
Recorded:September 1, 1956
Genre:Ballad
Prev Title:Love Me Tender
Prev Title2:Anyway You Want Me
Prev Year:1957
Too Much
Title2:Playing for Keeps
Next Title:All Shook Up
Next Year:1957

"Playing for Keeps" is a song originally recorded by Elvis Presley. Its first release on record was on January 4, 1957, on a single with "Too Much" on the other side.[1] "Playing for Keeps" reached number 34 in the United States, while "Too Much" spent 3 weeks at number 1.[2] [3] In 1959, the song was included on Elvis's album For LP Fans Only (an unusual album for Presley because all the songs on it had been already released one to almost five years prior).[4]

Writing and recording history

The song was written by Sun Studio house band steel guitar and bass player Stan Kesler (words and lyrics), who wrote or co-wrote five songs in total for Elvis Presley during Elvis's early career: "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone". "I Forgot to Remember to Forget", "Thrill of Your Life", "Playing for Keeps", "I'm a Fool (For Loving You)".[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Elvis recorded it on September 1, 1956, at the Radio Recorders Studio in Hollywood, California[11] (at the studio sessions for RCA Victor that were held at Radio Recorders on September 1–3). The master recording of "Playing for Keeps" is a splice of two takes: take 7 with the ending from take 18.[12]

Commercial performance and critical reception

Preorders for the single "Too Much" / "Playing For Keeps" reached almost 500,000 copies.[13] Billboard picked the single "Two Much"/"Playing for Keep" for its "Spotlight" section and then (in its January 19, 1957, issue) as one of "This Week's Best Buys":[14]

Mike Eder states his opinion of the side "Playing for Keeps" in his book Elvis Music FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the King's Recorded Works:

Track listings

7-inch single (RCA 47–6800, 4 January 1957)[15]

  1. "Too Much"
  2. "Playing for Keeps"

7-inch EP Playing for Keeps (RCA EPA 9561, Germany)[16]

  1. "Playing for Keeps"
  2. "Too Much"
  3. "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck"
  4. "Doncha' Think It's Time"

7-inch EP All Shook Up (RCA 75.405, France)[17]

  1. "All Shook Up"
  2. "That's When Your Heartaches Begin"
  3. "Too Much"
  4. "Playing for Keeps"

Charts

Chart (1957)Peak
position
"Playing for Keeps"
U.S. Billboard Most Played by Jockeys[18] 21
U.S. Billboard Top 100[19] [20] 34
U.S. Cash Box Magazine Top Singles[21] 33
"Too Much" / "Playing for Keeps"
U.S. Billboard Most Played C&W in Juke Boxes[22] 8
U.S. Billboard Best Sellers in Stores[23] [24] 1
U.S. Billboard Most Played in Juke Boxes[25] 1

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Neal Umphred. Linda Jones. Walter Piotrowski. Elvis: A Touch of Gold : the American Record Collector's Price Guide to Elvis Presley Records & Memorabilia. 1990. White Dragon Press.
  2. Book: Dafydd Rees. Luke Crampton. Rock Movers & Shakers. 1991. ABC-CLIO. 978-0-87436-661-7.
  3. Book: Joseph Murrells. The Book of Golden Discs. registration. First in Line Elvis Presley Weisman.. 1978. Barrie and Jenkins. 978-0-214-20480-7.
  4. Book: Jerry Hopkins. Elvis: The Biography. 1 July 2014. Plexus Publishing. 978-0-85965-899-7. 168–.
  5. Book: David F. Lonergan. Hit Records, 1950-1975. 2005. Scarecrow Press. 978-0-8108-5129-0. 174–.
  6. Book: Ken Burke. Country Music Changed My Life: Tales of Tough Times and Triumph from Country's Legends. 1 November 2005. Chicago Review Press. 978-1-55652-991-7. 174–.
  7. Book: Ace Collins. Untold Gold: The Stories Behind Elvis's #1 Hits. registration. Playing for Keeps Kesler Elvis Presley.. 1 April 2005. Chicago Review Press. 978-1-56976-507-4. 9–.
  8. Book: Michael Freedland. Elvis Memories: The real Elvis Presley - by those who knew him. 28 March 2013. Biteback Publishing. 978-1-84954-564-8. 62–.
  9. Book: Colin Escott. Colin Escott. Martin Hawkins. Good Rockin' Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll. 1 March 2011. Open Road Media. 978-1-4532-1314-8. 270–.
  10. Book: Pete Daniel. Lost Revolutions: The South in the 1950s. registration. Playing for Keeps Kesler Elvis Presley.. 2000. Univ of North Carolina Press. 978-0-8078-4848-7. 143–.
  11. Web site: Playing for Keeps : by Elvis Presley : Elvis Presley Lyrics : The Elvis SongDataBase. Elvis Australia : Official Elvis Presley Fan Club. 2017-01-14.
  12. Book: Ernst Jorgensen. Elvis Presley: A Life In Music. 22 April 2014. St. Martin's Press. 978-1-4668-6855-7. 98–.
  13. Book: Ernst Jorgensen. Elvis Presley: A Life In Music. 22 April 2014. St. Martin's Press. 978-1-4668-6855-7. 116–.
  14. Book: Lee Cotten. All shook up: Elvis day-by-day, 1954-1977. 1985. Pierian Press. 9780876501726.
    "Playing For Keeps/Too Much was a "Best Buy" in Billboard. The trade journal said "advance orders put this disk in the best seller class even before it was generally available."
  15. Web site: ultratop.be - Elvis Presley - Too Much. . 2017-01-14.
  16. Web site: ultratop.be - Elvis Presley - Playing For Keeps. . 2017-01-14.
  17. Web site: ultratop.be - Elvis Presley - All Shook Up. . 2017-01-14.
  18. Book: Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. Billboard. 23 February 1957. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. 50–. 0006-2510.
  19. Book: Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. Billboard. 16 February 1957. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. 50–. 0006-2510.
  20. Web site: Elvis Presley - Awards. AllMusic. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305213019/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/elvis-presley-mn0000180228/awards. 2016-03-05. 2017-01-15.
  21. Book: Downey . Pat . Albert . George . Hoffman . Frank . Cash Box Pop Singles Charts, 1950-1993 . 1994 . Libraries Unlimited Inc. . Englewood, Colorado . 1563083167 . 272 . March 5, 2023.
  22. Book: Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. Billboard. 2 March 1957. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. 60–. 0006-2510.
  23. Book: Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. Billboard. 9 February 1957. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. 38–. 0006-2510.
  24. Book: Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. Billboard. 18 February 1967. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. 34–. 0006-2510.
  25. Book: Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. Billboard. 9 March 1957. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. 44–. 0006-2510.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Playing for Keeps (Elvis Presley song)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.