Various Artists: The King's Record Collection, Volume 1
Genre: Various	Dates: 1940's - 1950's

A great concept: the original versions of the songs the young Elvis Presley made famous during his mid-'50s explosion. Lesson: from country to vocal group pop, from hard blues to bluegrass, from rockabilly to boogie woogie, the Big E loved the whole of American music-you might be well advised to do the same. Amazingly, he held his own with or topped the first versions…except Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog," which makes him sound like a little boy. Check out Alice (The Color Purple) Walker's short story "1955" for some fascinating commentary on that.

Playlist:
1. That's All Right - Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
2. Blue Moon Of Kentucky - Bill Monroe
3. I Love You Because - Leon Payne
4. Good Rockin' Tonight - Wynonie Harris
5. Just Because - Shelton Brothers
6. Baby, Let's Play House - Arthur Gunter
7. Mystery Train - Junior Parker
8. Money Honey - The Drifters
9. Lawdy Miss Clawdy - Lloyd Price
10. Shake, Rattle And Roll - Joe Turner
11. Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins
12. Hound Dog - Big Mama Thornton
13. That's When Your Heartaches Begin - The Ink Spots
14. One Night - Smiley Lewis