The King’s catalogue is truly gargantuan, but most early era compilations stick firmly to safer ground – That’s All Right, Heartbreak Hotel, and the like… In this Alternative Elvis Top 20 (1953-1959) we highlight some lesser-spun, yet equally intoxicating, tracks from Presley’s pre-Army days in chronological order.

20 THAT’S WHEN YOUR HEARTACHES BEGIN (SUN DEMO)

If not for Elvis’ first lowly demo recorded with a beaten-up guitar at Memphis Recording Service, we may all have missed out. Aged just 18, Presley rocked up to the Sun studio to cut a double-sided acetate as a birthday gift for his mother. It cost just less than $4, and while this crackling three minutes may be the polar opposite to the glossy summits of his later years, it’s a thing of spellbinding beauty that highlights the potential Sam Phillips clearly observed in the young lad that summer’s day.

19 I’LL NEVER STAND IN YOUR WAY (SUN DEMO)

Another unique opportunity to hear Elvis at the very beginning of his journey, comes via his second Sun acetate, cut at the studios on 4 January 1954. Yet to feel the need to swing his hips, he chose instead to record two more yearning ballads. On one side was Jimmy Wakely’s It Wouldn’t Be the Same Without You, but it’s the delicate treasure on the other – a moderate hit for Joni James in 1953 – that wins by a nose. Hear it on both the Platinum: A Life in Music and Sunrise compilations released in the 1990s.

18 IT WOULDN’T BE THE SAME (WITHOUT YOU) (DEMO)

Recorded by a teenage Elvis in early 1954 alongside I’ll Never Stand In Your Way, this slightly scratchy, yet ultimately stunning, acoustic demo is an early example of Presley’s emotive ability and is yet another unique window into the endless possibilities that the ‘boy with the sideburns’ offered. His trembling tenor simmers gently atop a simple acoustic and it’s jaw-dropping. The track is now available on several compilations including A Boy From Tupelo : The Complete 1953-55 Recordings.

17 HARBOR LIGHTS (SUN – UNISSUED)

A third early item that’s often criminally overlooked, is this gentle swaying melody first imagined by Irishman Jimmy Kennedy and England-dwelling Austrian Hugh Williams. Story goes that Kennedy happened upon a pub called The Harbour Lights while driving around the south coast of England that inspired memories of “tender nights beside the silvery sea”. Mistily romantic yet eerily moving, a 19-year-old Elvis delivers the mesmeric lead line before tracking the sea shanty-esque guitar licks with a plaintive whistle. Elvis’ first commercial recording.

16 TRYING TO GET TO YOU (SUN – UNISSUED)

Originally cut by doo-wop outfit The Eagles in 1954, this peppy side was laid down in the same fruitful July 1955 session that yielded Baby Let’s Play House (and re-recorded one year later), but was shelved until RCA took over, whereupon it was unveiled on his first eponymous album. It was a tune much loved by Elvis, and while he closely apes the original’s ice-cool intonation here, he adds his own unmistakable rock’n’roll slant. Released as a single in August 1956, it was performed live on many occasions including, of course, that killer reworking for the 1968 TV special. Fact fans: It’s Memphis drummer Johnny Bernero, not DJ Fontana who spars with Scotty Moore to exhilarating effect here.

15 I’M LEFT, YOU’RE RIGHT, SHE’S GONE (SUN)

With Arthur Gunter’s Baby Let’s Play House as the main attraction, Stanley Kesler and Bill Taylor penned this flipside to Elvis’ fourth single, supposedly inspired by a Campbell’s soup jingle. Cut in late 1954, this sturdy waxing reveals a startling performance from the young Hillbilly Cat, but it’s nothing without the Blue Moon Boys, who add their share of the magic by engineering this straight-up country ditty into something far more indispensable.

14 BABY LET’S PLAY HOUSE (SUN)

Although it maintained those provocative undertones, a 20-year old Elvis took Arthur Gunter’s Nashville blues and turned it on its head. The tempo went up a notch, thumping bass and wild guitar jumped in, and religion was sidelined for Cadillacs in the lyrics. Beyond that came the instinctive thrill of those hiccupping vocals that underpinned those early sessions. A powerful reminder that Elvis had something incredibly special right from the get-go, even if it now mainly resides on the dancefloors of rockabilly clubs.

13 MYSTERY TRAIN (SUN)

Junior Parker’s bewitching train-riding blues is an all-time classic, issued through Sun Records in 1953 as Little Junior’s Blue Flames. But in the hands of Presley, Scotty and Bill, Mystery Train was completely transformed into an urgent, bustling rockabilly groove a few years later. B-side to I Forgot To Remember To Forget, it fared well in the Billboard country charts. So well, in fact, that when RCA bought Presley’s contract from Sun, they reissued it later the same year. Likely the best-known inclusion here, to Sam Phillips, it was a masterpiece.

12 I FORGOT TO REMEMBER TO FORGET (SUN)

This clever co-write from Stan Kesler and rockabilly guitarist Charlie Feathers helped Elvis properly plant his flag. Scotty and Bill’s infectious, galloping country groove was here augmented by the addition of studio drummer Johnny Bernero behind the kit (who also played on Mystery Train). I Forgot To Remember To Forget made the top spot in the national country chart thanks to heavy nationwide airplay. Elvis was soon to be voted ‘Most Promising C&W Artist’ by Billboard magazine.

11 MY BABY LEFT ME (RCA)

This was the second Elvis item to come from the pen of Delta bluesman Arthur Crudup, the first being his 1954 breakthrough single That’s All Right. Having rocked his national TV debut on The Dorsey Brothers Stage Show, he headed to RCA’s studio two days later for this, his opening session for new corporate stable, RCA. These Big Apple sessions produced Elvis’ hit take on Carl Perkins’ Blue Suede Shoes, and this infectious rocker. Despite the shiny production values, Elvis was in full control of affairs, demanding nine takes before he was happy.

10 WHEN MY BLUE MOON TURNS TO GOLD AGAIN (RCA)

This much-covered country standard was written by Gene Sullivan and Wiley Walker and released by the duo (as ‘Wiley and Gene’) in 1941. Dreamt up by Sullivan whilst driving across Texas to Oklahoma under the light of a full moon, their dual-harmony, steel-flecked outing found regional success, but was shifted up a gear by Elvis and crew, whose vivacious pop remake made the Top 20 as part of the Elvis – Volume 1 EP. It was also recorded by Hank Snow, Cindy Walker and Eddy Arnold, amongst others.

09 PARALYZED (RCA)

All reports suggest it was Elvis himself, not the RCA bigwigs, that ran the almost entirely unrehearsed Hollywood recording session that brought forth this quirky pop-rocker. Paralyzed came from talented Brooklynite Otis Blackwell, one of Elvis’ go-to songwriters, but was never released as a single in the US. “The story I got was that, because of the word ‘paralyzed’ a lot of organisations got down on the thing, so they wouldn’t release it as a single,” Blackwell remembered. It features both on the Elvis Vol. 1 EP and on the Elvis album.

08 SO GLAD YOU’RE MINE (RCA)

Cut in the same session that turned out Blue Suede Shoes, this vibrant rock’n’roller helped acclimatise the world to the more mainstream ambitions of Presley’s RCA tenure – even though the intention was likely to try and recreate his bare-bones Sun sound. The unprocessed, visceral blues of the South played a huge part in Elvis’ early sound and this cut was another to come from ‘Big Boy’ Crudup. Note yet another masterclass from guitarist Scotty Moore.

07 I WAS THE ONE (RCA)

It’s little wonder this excellent B-side is often neglected considering it sits on the underside of Presley’s colossal smash hit Heartbreak Hotel. Penned by a four-man songwriting team (Aaron Schroeder, Bill Peppers, Claude Demetrius and Hal Blair), I Was The One was recorded during Elvis’ first RCA session at their Nashville studios shortly after he turned 21. Aside from Presley and his usual band, this climatic ballad also featured vocal backing from the Jordanaires, guitar from Chet Atkins and wonderfully loose, mournful piano from Floyd Kramer throughout.

06 ANYPLACE IS PARADISE (RCA)

Recorded in September ’56 with his usual intrepid cast of the Blue Moon Boys and the Jordanaires, this track formed part of Elvis’ inaugural sessions at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. From the pen of New Orleans jazzer Joe ‘Cornbread’ Thomas, the track is enlivened thanks to Scotty Moore’s pioneering riffery and a vibrant piano (supposedly from Jordanaire Gordon Stoker). 1956 was an stratospheric year for the young Memphisian. January brought immediate regional success, and international fame had arrived by the end of the year.

05 YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL (RCA)

Taken from Elvis’ first MGM film, Jailhouse Rock, and released on the film’s companion EP, this soothing croon is a work of simmering wonder committed to tape in April 1957. Gifted New Yorkers Abner Silver and Aaron Schroeder were the men behind the magic, and Schroeder, in particular, would go on to pen a long list of Presley numbers including A Big Hunk O’ Love, Stuck On You and It’s Now Or Never. This stunning showstopper appears in the               closing scene of the film.

04 I NEED YOU SO (RCA)

In 1950, ‘Baron Of The Boogie’ Ivory Joe Hunter held the summit of the R&B charts for two weeks with this, his own rousing creation. Hunter was a prolific writer – said to have written over 7,000 songs – and Elvis held his work in high regard. In fact, Ivory Joe was invited to Graceland shortly after the recording, where the pair spent the day swapping stories and singing together. “He is very spiritually minded,” said Joe of his host. “He showed me every courtesy, and I think he’s one of the greatest.” Hunter provided several tunes for the King including My Wish Came True and Ain’t That Lovin’ You, Baby. Both went Top 20 in the 60s.

03 DONTCHA’ THINK ITS TIME (RCA)

Shortly after Presley arrived in Hollywood to begin filming King Creole, he also began work on the film’s soundtrack at Radio Recorders under the direction of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. This cut, written by Clyde Otis and Willie Dixon, was chosen as a possibility, but after two sessions and numerous takes, it failed to make the final cut. Released in April 1958 on the flipside to single Wear My Ring Around Your Neck, this raunchy number also made the US Billboard Top 20 in its own right. The song also features on Elvis’ 1959 compilation LP 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong: Elvis’ Gold Records Volume 2.

02 I GOT STUNG (RCA)

Issued as a snappy counterpoint to the more melodramatic One Night, this radiant rock’n’roller is two minutes of pure refined energy that has since gone AWOL. Another to come from Aaron Schroeder – and occasional partner David Hill – I Got Stung was laid down during one last two-day sojourn to Nashville before Presley departed for army duty in Germany. This double A-sided waxing peaked at No.4 in the US, but managed the top spot in the UK twice, when it became the UK’s 1,000th No.1 single with its second release in 2005.

01 A FOOL SUCH AS I (RCA)

Recorded at the same June session sneaked in before that stint in the army, this Bill Trader-penned gem had already found chart success via two versions: one straight-up country take from Hank Snow and the other, a polite yet brassy take from Jo Stafford issued in 1953. Elvis pushed the tempo north a little and rocked it up some for his version, made with the Jordanaires a few years later. The track was consigned to the flipside of I Need Your Love Tonight, but became the bigger hit of the two, finding the No.2 spot in the US and No.1 in the UK.

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