October 31, 1976
The last studio session by Elvis Presley took place on this Halloween day in 1976, during which he recorded his last known song – a cover version of the country classic He’ll Have To Go.
Authorized Presley catalog director and sessionographer Ernst Jørgensen wrote about that recording in his outstanding book Elvis Presley: A Life in Music, The Complete Recording Sessions (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2014) –
“It was the night before Halloween, and when Elvis and some of his friends returned later they were dressed in gangster outfits and guns that must have alarmed the newer band members. The costume party effectively put an end to the evening’s work.”
“Engineer Mike Moran recalls that Elvis came down on that last day, apologized to everyone for not being up for the recording, and excused himself, saying that he hadn’t known about the session beforehand.”
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Specifically, according to Jorgensen, the instrumental tracks were recorded that evening (October 30th) from 9-midnight, with Presley adding the vocals in the wee hours of the 31st – from 1-4am and 5-8am – in his den-turned-home studio at the back of Graceland, known as the Jungle Room.
[Note] Jorgensen, from Denmark, produced Elvis’ career-spanning box sets of his complete 50’s, 60’s and 70’s recordings known as The King Of Rock ‘n’ Roll, From Nashville To Memphis and Walk A Mile In My Shoes respectively, among many other CD releases. He also co-wrote Elvis – Day By Day with renowned music author Peter Guralnick.
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[Note] Some audio song files may not play on smartphones, tablets or connected devices. A laptop, desktop PC or Mac may be required for optimal enjoyment.
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HE’LL HAVE TO GO
Elvis Presley
[1976]
‘He’ll Have To Go” was co-written by a former West Coast radio-television personality named Joe Allison, along with his wife Audrey.
[Note] Joe Allison had previously written a big Top 40 hit by American teen idol Tommy Sands titled Teen-Age Crush (1957 • #2) and later moved to Nashville to head the Country Music Department of Randy Woods‘ Dot Records.
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DEEP TRAK!
HE’LL HAVE TO GO
Jim Reeves
[1959]
The most well-known version of the 1959 Billy Brown original of ‘He’ll Have To Go’ was by country music legend Jim Reeves, who recorded his cover of the song on October 15th that same year.
Produced by iconic guitarist Chet Atkins, HHTG was released as a single by RCA the following month.
Another industry giant, pianist Floyd Cramer plays on the record, with backup vocals from the famed Anita Kerr Singers.
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The platinum-selling record hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart on February 8, 1960, where it remained for an impressive 14 consecutive weeks.
It reached #2 (for 3 weeks) on their Hot 100 on March 7th of 1960 and #13 on the R&B Singles chart.
[Note] It was denied the number one spot by the 9-week stay at the top by Canadian-born orchestra leader Percy Faith with his massive instrumental hit Theme From A Summer Place.
‘He’ll Have To Go’ was the 22nd biggest song for 1960 on Billboard’s annual pop rankings.
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DEEP(er) TRAK!
HE’LL HAVE TO STAY
Jeanne Black
[1960]
With new lyrics from Charles Grean added to the Joe and Audrey Allison-penned tune, an “answer” song to ‘He’ll Have To Go’ was recorded by Corina Minette in early 1960 and covered by Jeanne Black shortly after. The latter version peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 chart for the week ending June 12, 1960.
And an “answer” version to Black’s “answer” song was further recorded by a country-rockabilly artist named Johnny Scoggins, called I’m Gonna Stay (Fraternity 869). Currently, HouseoftheHits is having a massively difficult time tracking down a copy of this uber hard-to-find recording.
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Songs Source: The Music Vault of HouseoftheHits, Inc.
Billboard® Chart Data: Joel Whitburn’s Record Research (eBook Editions)
Record Sleeve & Label Graphics: Courtesy of 45cat
