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As for the Elvis Presley business, and before he was around, see this -
In September of 1956, while Elvis was in Hollywood filming "Love Me Tender", RCA Victor booked time at Radio Recorders for the band to go in and record what would become Elvis' second album. After "Love Me Tender" Elvis insisted on doing soundtrack recording with his own band in a regular studio setting as well.
The studio, located at 7000 Santa Monica Boulevard on the corner of Orange Drive in Hollywood was at the time known to be the best recording facility in LA. It contained 3 studios for recording with the band mostly using the largest, Studio B (in 1959 Studio B rented for $32.50 per hour). Finding the facilities, the engineer, Thorne Nogar (Thorny), and his assistants Jim Malloy and Bones Howe much more conducive to the bands productivity than the motion picture soundstages, while in Hollywood, they would score many of the subsequent movies and albums there commencing with "Loving You" in January of 1957.
The studio was built in 1929 by the Victor Talking Machine Company, no doubt in attempts to get into the new sound-on-film business, and completed sometime after the acquisition of Victor by RCA on March 15, 1929. Variety Magazine advertised at the time that at a cost of $250,000 the complex went from Orange Drive to Sycamore Avenue between Santa Monica Blvd. and Romaine St. Though now officially RCA Victor, the company was still being referred to simply as "Victor" and record labels did not carry "RCA Victor" until much later, sometime in the late 1930s or early '40s. One of the first stars on its label to record there was Jimmie Rodgers in July of 1930 accompanied by Louis Armstrong on trumpet.
Radio Recorders itself was founded around 1933 and the 1937 Broadcasting Yearbook lists it as being located at 932 N. Western Ave. By 1949 they had taken over the facilities at 7000 Santa Monica Blvd. and were on the road to becoming one of the largest independent recording studios in Hollywood. Mostly all of the major labels used Radio Recorders' studios because most of them did not have facilities on the West Coast initially. Capitol Records did all their early recordings there and then stole away some of their engineering staff when they built their own studios. In addition to popular music the facilities there were also extensively used to record jingles, commercials and shows for broadcast radio.
Elvis' 1957 Hollywood sessions -
- January 12: "I Believe," "Tell Me Why," "Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do," "All Shook Up" (Radio Recorders, Hollywood, CA)
- January 13: "Mean Woman Blues," "Peace In The Valley," "I Beg Of You," "That's When Your Heartaches Begin," "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" (Radio Recorders, Hollywood, CA)
- January 15: "Lonesome Cowboy" (Paramount Scoring Stage, Hollywood, CA)
- January 16: "Teddy Bear" (Paramount Scoring Stage, Hollywood, CA)
- January 17: "One Night," "That's When Your Heartaches Begin," "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" (Paramount Scoring Stage, Hollywood, CA)
- January 18: "Hot Dog" (Paramount Scoring Stage, Hollywood, CA)
- January 19: "It Is No Secret," "Blueberry Hill," "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You," "Is It So Strange" (Radio Recorders, Hollywood, CA)
- January 21: "Party" (Paramount Scoring Stage, Hollywood, CA)
- February 23: "Don't Leave Me Now," "I Beg Of You," "One Night," "True Love," "I Need You So" (Radio Recorders, Hollywood, CA)
- February 24: "Loving You," "When It Rains, It Really Pours" (Radio Recorders, Hollywood, CA)
- April 30: "Jailhouse Rock," "Young And Beautiful" (Radio Recorders, Hollywood, CA)
- September 5: "Treat Me Nice," "Blue Christmas" (Radio Recorders, Hollywood, CA)
- September 6: "My Wish Came True," "White Christmas," "Here Comes Santa Claus," "Silent Night," "Don't" (Radio Recorders, Hollywood, CA)
- September 7: "O Little Town Of Bethlehem," "Santa, Bring My Baby Back," "Santa Claus Is Back In Town," "I'll Be Home For Christmas" (Radio Recorders, Hollywood, CA)
And here we see the soundtrack for "King Creole" was recorded at Radio Recorders studios and Paramount Studios Scoring Stage in Hollywood, California during January and February of 1958. The album was released to coincide with the film.
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