Harum Scarum is the eleventh soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3468, in November 1965. It is the soundtrack to the 1965 film of the same name starring Presley. It peaked at number eight on the Top LP's chart.[2]
Although 1965 had seen the release of Elvis for Everyone!, a studio album which was actually recorded over a ten-year period dating back to Presley's first recordings from Sun Studios in Memphis, and a surprising worldwide hit with a five-year-old Gospel track, "Crying in the Chapel", it was back to the grind of making soundtracks. Elvis continued to grumble about the material and the continued pressure put on the stable of songwriters corralled by Freddy Bienstock — the writing team of Giant, Baum, and Kaye alone had provided 17 of 47 songs on the past four soundtracks in an eighteen-month period – but he soldiered on with as much grace as possible.[3] In reality, almost any song could have been squeezed into the story lines, including old classics. But as long as sales continued, the formula required guaranteed control of publishing and new songs by the same songwriters.[4] However, Presley's sales were plummeting in music stores as well as ticket sales at the box office.
Eleven songs were recorded for the companion film Harum Scarum, and all were used and issued on the soundtrack with two of the tracks omitted in the film. As with Roustabout, no singles were issued in conjunction with the album. A single was issued a month later, using the leftover 1957 track "Tell Me Why" backed with "Blue River" from aborted album sessions in May 1963. In an ominous sign of things to come, it only made it to number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100, the lowest charting single of Presley's career to date.[5]
"Wisdom of the Ages" was recorded on February 24, 1965.[6] It's featured as a bonus track along with "Animal Instinct", but are not featured in the film itself.[7][8]The Jordanaires sang backing vocals.[9] The song progresses from F major to B flat major, to D minor to E flat major to F major.
The film and its soundtrack are widely considered one of the lowest points of Presley's career.[10] In 2003, Harum Scarum was reissued on Follow That Dream Records in a special edition that contained the original album tracks along with numerous alternate takes.[11]
^"Pop Albums". Elvis Presley: Official Site of the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. 2013. Archived from the original on May 20, 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
^Jorgensen, Ernst. Elvis Presley A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998; p. 201.
^Jorgensen, Ernst. Elvis Presley A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998; p. 198.
^Jorgensen, Ernst. Elvis Presley A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998; p. 417.
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