King Creole (Original Soundtrack)

King Creole was Elvis Presley's last movie, and its soundtrack was among the final recordings he made before entering the U.S. Army in the spring of 1958. The title track, "Hard Headed Woman," "Trouble," and "Dixieland Rock" are among Presley's strongest vocal performances and brought his original band face to face with a five-piece horn section that encouraged everyone to play faster, harder, and with great excitement. The original album featured just 11 songs, with the longest track—the midtempo "Young Dreams"—clocking at an epic two minutes, and 25 seconds. Elvis and the label had to struggle for this to reach a minimally acceptable length for an LP, which let more unusual performances, such as "Lover Doll," be included, as well as the spare ballad "Steadfast, Loyal and True," with just The Jordanaires accompanying Elvis. Best of the oddities is the deliciously bizarre duet with jazz vocalist Kitty White on the bongo-led "Crawfish"; it's a hilarious side trip few would expect. It doesn't explain, however, why "Danny," from these sessions, was ignored the first time around and added posthumously.