It's not everyday that new Elvis audio from the 1950s surfaces, but this past week that very thing did happen, as European label Memphis Recording Service released newly discovered audio from Elvis's November 22, 1956, concert in Toledo, Ohio, recorded originally by local radio DJ Ron Ross. Subsequently, the original mono audio was also uploaded to YouTube by another fan who had sourced the audio himself as well.

Gurdip and Justin break down the content itself, and contrast the YouTube upload and the MRS audio, the latter of which is a flawed restoration that clearly prioritizes general listening experience over historical accuracy. Some will appreciate it, others may take issue. But aside from the minor quibbles there - what new insights does the audio tell us? That's what we aim to find out.

The fan upload of the audio is available here, presumably worldwide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm6HJKJCGmo

Memphis Recording Service's restoration is available in numerous other regions around the world also on YouTube, though it is region-locked, American listeners will have to import the audio, but others including Canada, Australia and European countries as well as elsewhere should be able to hear the tracks at this link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kgzE2ikYXBylwLjyysg2NfIq5h4lg4vvU

Alan Hanson's write-up on the Toledo concert is highly recommended, since we didn't have a chance to do our own deep-dive during the short time between the announcement/release and us recording this mini-sode, and as usual, Alan's work is impeccably researched, written and insightful: http://www.elvis-history-blog.com/elvis-toledo-56.html

This week Justin and Olivia are exploring the recordings (both final masters and alternate dubs that were considered) where Elvis sang with himself, starting from "I'm Yours" in the early 60s, working their way up through the very dense 1969 recordings, and well into the 1970s. There's both more than you'd think, and not enough! They ponder what sort of creative choices were made to lead Elvis to lay down these special vocals. It's a very unique angle (and frequently exquisite listening) from which to examine Elvis' music!

For Song of the Week, Olivia digs into the absolutely massive treasure trove of outtakes from the multiple different versions Elvis recorded of the title track from 1957's "Loving You" plus a few minor later live versions and covers, while Justin puts on my detective hat to try to solve some mysteries about the obscure home recording "Apron Strings," made while Elvis was in the Army.

Special thanks to David "Ghosty" Wills of the "We Say Yeah" podcast for some additional info on Cliff Richard's recordings of "Apron Strings"!

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Gurdip and Justin put their heads together for an interesting and provocative thought experiment: what Elvis songs would they pick if they had to remove 5 songs from each decade of his career? Would they just pick our least favorites - or consider the historical, social and cultural ramifications of each decision? Plus, are some periods of Elvis' career easier to prune than others?

And then in the second part of the episode, Justin's joined by Olivia as they look at streaming data from a popular digital music platform to examine what the least listened-to Elvis songs (of ones originally released during his lifetime) are in modern times - the ones that at least one contingent of Elvis fans themselves seem to have inadvertently given away that they'd prefer not going out of their way to listen to.

For Song of the Week, Justin knocks out "This is Living" from the soundtrack of Elvis's 1962 boxing-musical-drama Kid Galahad, while Olivia similarly picks an early 60s movie song, the sweetly-sung lullaby "Big Boots" from 1960's G.I. Blues.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.