How Great Thou Art is the ninth studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo in February 1967. Recording sessions took place at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 25, 26, 27, and 28, 1966.[5] It peaked at No. 18 on the Top Pop Albums chart.[6] It was certified Gold on February 16, 1968, Platinum and 2x Platinum on March 27, 1992 and 3x Platinum on October 13, 2010 by the RIAA.[7] The title song won the 1967 Grammy Award for Best Sacred Performance.[6]
His previous gospel album His Hand in Mine had been a solid catalog seller for RCA.[8] While Presley faced difficulty getting radio airplay in the mid-1960s, during that decade radio stations played Christmas music at Christmas-time and religious music at Easter, and Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, was convinced Presley could break through in these niche markets.[8] So, recording sessions were arranged with the purpose of producing a Christmas single and a follow-up LP to His Hand in Mine.
How Great Thou Art would in fact be Presley's first non-soundtrack album recording of new material since Pot Luck with Elvis in 1962, and his first album release not to include any soundtrack recordings since the previous gospel album in 1960.[8] It also introduced producerFelton Jarvis to Presley on the singer's second non-soundtrack sessions since May 1963.[8] Jarvis would continue to work with Presley for the remainder of his career.
As the sessions for the album progressed, Elvis rejected many of the planned songs for which Freddy Bienstock had obtained publishing deals, and began picking favorites of his own and those of the musicians.[8] The five songs in the public domain were credited as "arranged by Elvis Presley" and published by Elvis Presley Music allowing Bienstock to secure the royalties for those selections.[8] In fact, it is likely that an engaged and enthusiastic Presley indeed did the arrangements, as he certainly did with the title song, his months of practice at home on his beloved gospel songs paying off.[8]
Twelve tracks were completed for the album, including the standards "In the Garden" from 1912 popularized by Billy Sunday and "Run On" from the jubilee tradition.[8] The 13th track, "Crying in the Chapel," had been recorded during the sessions for His Hand in Mine and released as a single in 1965.[8] The sessions also produced the single "Love Letters", two B-sides, and two additional songs that would be added to the Spinout album.[8] The Christmas single would be completed, a composition by Memphis Mafia mainstay Red West "If Every Day Was Like Christmas", at the next session on June 10.[8]
"Crying in the Chapel" was released as a single (RCA 47-0643) on April 6, 1965 and reached number 3 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. "You'll Never Walk Alone" was released as a single (RCA 47-9600) in March 1968 and reached position 90. Its B-side is "We Call On Him".
2010 Follow That Dream reissue[]
Disc One
Original album
No.
Title
Length
1.
"How Great Thou Art"
3:02
2.
"In the Garden"
3:11
3.
"Somebody Bigger Than You and I"
2:27
4.
"Farther Along"
4:06
5.
"Stand by Me"
2:29
6.
"Without Him"
2:32
7.
"So High"
1:59
8.
"By and By"
3:38
9.
"Where Could I Go but To the Lord"
1:52
10.
"If the Lord Wasn't Walking by My Side"
1:38
11.
"Run On"
2:23
12.
"Where No One Stands Alone"
2:44
13.
"Crying in The Chapel"
2:28
Bonus songs
No.
Title
Length
14.
"You'll Never Walk Alone"
2:46
15.
"We Call on Him"
2:34
16.
"If Everyday Was Like Christmas"
2:57
First takes
No.
Title
Length
17.
"How Great Thou Art" (takes 1 & 2)
3:31
18.
"Somebody Bigger Than You and I" (takes 1,3,11)
4:31
19.
"Stand by Me" (takes 1 & 2)
2:55
20.
"Without Him" (take 1)
3:04
21.
"So High" (take 1)
2:16
22.
"By and By" (take 4)
1:53
23.
"If the Lord Wasn't Walking by My Side" (take 1)
1:53
24.
"Run On" (takes 1 & 2)
4:51
25.
"Where No One Stands Alone" (takes 1 & 4 spliced)
3:07
26.
"You'll Never Walk Alone" (take 1)
5:35
27.
"We Call on Him" (takes 1 & 2)
2:55
Disc two
May 1966 sessions
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Run On" (takes 3-6)
5:01
2.
"Stand by Me" (takes 5-7)
3:43
3.
"Stand by Me" (takes 9 & 10)
4:19
4.
"Where No One Stands Alone" (takes 2, 3 & wp 1)
4:42
5.
"Where No One Stands Alone" (wp takes 2, 3 & 5)
2:22
6.
"So High" (takes 2 & 3)
2:21
7.
"Farther Along" (takes 1& 2)
3:57
8.
"By and By" (takes1, 2, 3, 4 (fs), 5 & 7)
4:28
9.
"By and By" (takes 8 & 9)
2:33
10.
"In the Garden" (takes 1-3)
5:03
11.
"Somebody Bigger Than You and I" (take 12)
2:42
12.
"Somebody Bigger Than You and I" (takes14 (fs), 15 & wp 5)
4:39
13.
"Without Him" (takes 4 & 8)
2:49
14.
"Without Him" (takes 11, 13 & 14)
4:35
15.
"If the Lord Wasn't Walking by My Side" (takes 2-4)
3:04
16.
"If the Lord Wasn't Walking by My Side" (take 6)
1:49
June 1966 sessions
No.
Title
Length
17.
"If Every Day Was Like Christmas" (takes 1 & 2, undubbed master)
3:27
September 1966 sessions
No.
Title
Length
18.
"We Call on Him" (takes 4 & 5)
3:11
19.
"We Call on Him" (take 7)
2:48
20.
"We Call on Him" (take 8)
2:36
21.
"You'll Never Walk Alone" (take 2)
3:54
22.
"You'll Never Walk Alone" (takes 3, 4, 6 & 8)
4:47
Personnel[]
Elvis Presley – vocals; piano on 2008 reissue bonus track "You'll Never Walk Alone"
^Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. pp. 892. ISBN1-57859-061-2.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
^"Searchable database". RIAA. 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2015. Note: Go to advanced search and enter "Presley, Elvis" (artist) and "How Great Thou Art" (album name)
^ Jump up to: abcdefghijklJorgensen, Ernst. Elvis Presley A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998; pp. 203-420.