This is Widely Considered Elvis’ Worst Album
Fans who lined up to see Elvis live in Vegas in August of 1974 probably thought that they had gotten an amazing break — right there, alongside the T-shirts and other concert merchandise, was a new, never-before-seen album, Having Fun On Stage With Elvis. But when they got home and excitedly plopped it onto their turntable, they discovered not new songs or live renditions of old hits, but 37 minutes of Elvis’ context-free stage banter, pieced together from multiple live concerts. Having Fun On Stage With Elvis was perhaps Colonel Tom Parker’s strangest cash grab (and that’s really saying something). It is also widely regarded as the worst album to ever have Elvis’ name attached to it.
How did such a bizarre album even come into existence? One word: royalties. By 1974, Colonel Tom Parker’s Boxcar Enterprises had licensed Elvis’ likeness, meaning that it was the primary beneficiary of any and all merchandise bearing Elvis’ likeness. He controlled every Elvis product on the market — except Elvis’ albums, which were controlled by RCA.
Tom Wargacki/WireImage; Heritage Auctions, HA.com
How to get around that pesky RCA contract? Colonel Tom reasoned that RCA only owned Elvis’ music, but he didn’t have to cut them in for an album that didn’t include any music. And so he got to work, pulling random snippets of Elvis talking from live recordings, with no regard for whether they made any sense outside of the particular concert in which they were originally recorded. Numerous anecdotes end with Elvis clearly preparing to sing and then cut off abruptly, moving on to the next moment of banter. RCA agreed to manufacture the records, and take a small cut of the profits.
>> Elvis Presley’s Manager Believed Gospel Music Could Cure His Addictions
The haphazardly assembled album was sold at concerts throughout the summer and early fall, seemingly realizing Colonel Tom’s dream of having a hit Elvis album that almost exclusively benefited Boxcar Enterprises. But by October 1974, Elvis was behind on his contract with RCA, which required him to record three albums a year. After piecing together two albums from previous recording sessions and live material, the record label made the surprising move of commercially releasing Having Fun On Stage With Elvis. The album arrived at record stores across the nation that had standing orders for any new Elvis album, and went on to shockingly sell over 100,000 copies.
In the years since, its reputation as Elvis’ worst album has been burnished by publications like Rolling Stone Record Guide (“the worst by far”) and The Worst Rock And Roll Records Of All Time, which voted it not just the worst Elvis album, but the worst rock ‘n’ roll album ever.
The album slowly fell out of print, and was never officially reissued on CD; take a listen and see if you can imagine why.
Remind 