Viva Las Vegas

Viva Las Vegas is an EP by American singer Elvis Presley, containing four songs from the 1964 motion picture, Viva Las Vegas. It was released by RCA Victor in May 1964 to coincide with the film's premiere. The soundtrack EP made the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 92, the lowest-charting release of Presley's career to this point. RCA had not released a Presley EP single in two years; given the format's decreasing popularity in the United States and the disappointing chart performance of Viva Las Vegas, the company would only issue two more for the remainder of Presley's career. Recording and release history Recording sessions took place on July 9, 10 and 11, 1963, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California. By then, film and soundtrack obligations were starting to back up on each other, and six weeks after the aborted "lost album" sessions of May 1963, the stable of Presley songwriters was required to come up with another dozen songs for yet another new picture. Song quality took a back seat to the need for quantity, and Presley's filming schedule made it difficult for song publishers to live up to obligations. Memphis Mafia pal Red West had written a "Ray Charles-styled" number, but so little good material had surfaced that an extra session was scheduled on August 30 for an actual Ray Charles song to be recorded, "What'd I Say". Fifteen songs were recorded of which eleven were used in the film. For debated reasons, the idea of a full-length soundtrack long-playing album was not considered, which has attracted much criticism from various accounts, including Elvis: The Illustrated Record. Instead, to coincide with the film's release, RCA chose four songs for a Viva Las Vegas EP. In addition, the title song, along with "What'd I Say", were released as a single, catalogue 47-8360 on April 28. The strength of both sides caused it to split the difference on the chart, with "What'd I Say" peaking at disappointing No. 21 and "Viva Las Vegas" faring even worse at No. 29. The remaining songs from the film were released sporadically over the ensuing decades. The Neapolitan song, "Santa Lucia", was placed on the compilation, Elvis for Everyone, in 1965. Later, "Night Life" and "Do the Vega" (neither of which were used in the film) and a medley of "The Yellow Rose of Texas"/"The Eyes of Texas" were released on the RCA Camden release, Elvis Sings Flaming Star, in 1969.