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Playing for Keeps (Elvis Presley song)
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Wikipedia article
"'Playing for Keeps'" is a song originally recorded by Elvis Presley
Its first release on record was on January 4, 1957 on a single with "Too Much" on the other side. "Playing for Keeps" reached number 34 in the United States, while "Too Much" spent 3 weeks at number 1.
In 1959 the song was included on Elvis' album 'For LP Fans Only' (an unusual album for Presley because all the songs on it had been already released one to almost five years prior).
Writing and recording history
The song was written by Sun Studio house band steel guitar and bass player Stan Kesler (words and lyrics), who wrote or co-wrote five songs in total for Elvis Presley during Elvis' early career: "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone". "I Forgot to Remember to Forget", "Thrill of Your Life", "Playing for Keeps", "I'm a Fool (For Loving You)".
Elvis recorded it on September 1, 1956 at the Radio Recorders Studio in Hollywood, California (at the studio sessions for RCA Victor that were held at Radio Recorders on September 1-3). The master recording of "Playing for Keeps" is a splice of two takes: take 7 with the ending from take 18.
Commercial performance and critical reception
Preorders for the single "Too Much" / "Playing For Keeps" reached almost 500,000 copies.
'Billboard' picked the single "Two Much"/"Playing for Keep" for its "Spotlight" section and then (in its January 19, 1957 issue) as one of "This Week's Best Buys":
"Playing For Keeps/Too Much was a "Best Buy" in Billboard. The trade journal said "advance orders put this disk in the best seller class even before it was generally available."
Mike Eder states his opinion of the side "Playing for Keeps" in his book 'Elvis Music FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the King's Recorded Works':
Track listings
'7" single' (RCA 47-6800, 4 January 1957)
# "Too Much"
# "Playing for Keeps"
'7" EP 'Playing for Keeps' ' (RCA EPA 9561, Germany)
# "Playing for Keeps"
# "Too Much"
# "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck"
# "Doncha' Think It's Time"
'7" EP 'All Shook Up' ' (RCA 75.405, France)
# "All Shook Up"
# "That's When Your Heartaches Begin"
# "Too Much"
# "Playing for Keeps"
Charts
See also
* List of Billboard number-one singles of 1957
References
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