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Way Down
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Way Down
| cover = Elvis Presley Way Down Single Cover.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Elvis Presley
| album = Moody Blue
| B-side = Pledging My Love
| released = June 6, 1977
| recorded = October 29, 1976
| studio = Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee
| genre = Rock
| length = 2:39
| label = RCA
| writer = Layng Martine Jr.
| producer = Felton Jarvis
| prev_title = Moody Blue
| prev_year = 1976
| next_title = My Way
| next_year = 1977
| misc =
}}
"'Way Down'" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley. Recorded in October 1976, it was his last single released before his death on August 16, 1977. The song was written by Layng Martine Jr. and was later covered by Status Quo and Cliffhanger. Presley recorded the song at his home studio in Graceland on 29 October 1976.
Released as a single (with "Pledging My Love" on the B-side) on June 6, 1977, it was his latest single at the time of his death. It initially peaked at No. 31 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 chart dated August 6, 1977 and had fallen to No. 53 on the chart for the week ending August 27, 1977. Thereafter, it reversed direction and reached an even higher peak at No. 18 on 24 September 1 October 1977. "Way Down" reached No. 1 on the American Country chart the week he died. The single was certified Platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA in 1999. Overseas, the song hit the number one in the UK Singles Chart week ending 3 September for five weeks, just over seven years after his previous 16th UK number one single, "The Wonder of You", in August 1970. His previous single, "Moody Blue", had been a number one hit on the US Country Charts earlier in 1977. "Way Down" was reissued in April 2005 and reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart.
The recording also featured J.D. Sumner singing the words "way on down" at the end of each chorus down to the note low C (C2). At the end of the song, this phrase is octaved, reaching a double low C (C1, three octaves below middle C). This note was first accomplished by Sumner in a 1966 recording of the hymn "Blessed Assurance."
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
See also
*List of posthumous number-one singles (UK)
References
Category:1977 songs
Category:Elvis Presley songs
Category:1977 singles
Category:European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:RCA Records singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Felton Jarvis
Category:Songs written by Layng Martine Jr.
Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles
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