Blue Hawaii is the fourth soundtrack album by the American singer Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor Records in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2426, on October 20, 1961.[6] It is the soundtrack to the 1961 film of the same name starring Presley. In the United States, the album spent 20 weeks at the number one slot and 39 weeks in the Top 10 on Billboard's Top Pop LPs chart. It was certified Gold on December 21, 1961, Platinum and 2x Platinum on March 27, 1992 and 3x Platinum on July 30, 2002 by the Recording Industry Association of America.[7] On the US Top Pop Albums chart, Blue Hawaii is second only to the soundtrack of West Side Story as the most successful soundtrack album of the 1960s.
Recording sessions took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood on March 21, 22, and 23, 1961.[11] The songs "Can't Help Falling in Love" and "Rock-A-Hula Baby" were pulled off the album for two sides of a single released on November 21, 1961.[12] The A-side "Can't Help Falling in Love," which became the standard closer for a Presley concert in the 1970s, went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100, while the b-side charted independently at number 23.[13]
The success of this soundtrack and its predecessor G. I. Blues, both of which sold in much greater quantity than Presley's two regular releases of the time, Elvis Is Back! and Something for Everybody set the pace for the rest of the decade.[14] Parker and Presley would focus on Elvis' film career, non-soundtrack albums taking a back seat with only six during the 1960s against 16 soundtrack albums among 27 movies and the comeback special. This formula proved disastrous for Presley's career. Popular music was on the threshold of complete renewal and change and Presley became 'lost in Hollywood'.[citation needed]
Critical reception[]
The Blue Hawaii soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1961 in the category of Best Sound Track Album or Recording of Original Cast from a Motion Picture or Television.[15]
Reissues[]
Blue Hawaii was reissued on compact disc in 1997 and again in 2008. The latter edition was a deluxe 2-disc release on the Follow That Dream label that featured numerous alternate takes. It also corrected the error with the 1997 issue that incorrectly reversed the stereo channels.[16]
Five songs from this album appear on the 1995 compendium soundtrack box set Command Performances: The Essential 60s Masters II: "Can't Help Falling in Love", "Rock-a-Hula Baby", "Blue Hawaii," "Hawaiian Wedding Song," and "Beach Boy Blues."[17]
On April 29, 1997, RCA released a remastered and expanded version for compact disc. Tracks 1-7 were the seven songs from side one of the original LP and tracks 8-14 were from side two. Tracks 15-22 are bonus tracks, all of which had been recorded during the original album sessions and were previously unreleased except for "Steppin' Out of Line" which had originally appeared on the LP Pot Luck with Elvis (1962).
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Recording date
Length
15.
"Steppin' Out of Line" (originally issued on the Pot Luck With Elvis LP)
^Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 891. ISBN1-57859-061-2.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
"Follow That Dream releases". Elvispresleyshop. Elvis Fans Only / Elvis Australia. 2014. Archived from the original on March 13, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
"Blue Hawaii". Elvispresleyshop. Elvis Fans Only / Elvis Australia. 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
