Charro (song)

"Charro" is a song first recorded by Elvis Presley as part of the soundtrack for his 1969 motion picture Charro!, a western directed by Charles Marquis Warren.^[1] It is the film's title song and the only song featured,^[2][3][4] as Charro! was Presley's first film in which he didn't sing in character.^[5]

"Charro"
Single by Elvis Presley
from the album Almost in Love
Released	February 25, 1969
Recorded	October 15, 1968
Studio	Samuel Goldwyn Studio, Hollywood
Genre	Western, Baroque pop
Length	2:42
Label	RCA Records
Songwriter(s)	Billy Strange Mac Davis
Elvis Presley singles chronology
"If I Can Dream" / "Edge of Reality" (1968) "Charro" / "Memories'" (1969) "His Hand in Mine" (1969)

Writing and recording

The song was written by Billy Strange and Mac Davis specially for the movie Charro!.^{[2][3][6][7][8] [9]}

The recordings took place at the Samuel Goldwyn Studio in Hollywood in October–November 1968. Presley probably overdubbed his vocals on October 15. Takes 5 and 9 were spliced together to form the vocal master.^[2][10]

Release

The song was first released on a single (in March 1969) with "Memories", a song from Elvis' 1968 NBC TV comeback special, on the opposite side.^{[4][6][1][11][12][13][14][15][16]} "Charro!" didn't chart on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Memories" charted, peaking at number 35.

"Charro"'s first LP release was on the album Almost in Love in late 1970.^[4][1]

On December 1, 1970, the single was re-released as part of RCA Victor's Gold Standard Series (together with 9 other Presley's singles).^[17]

Musical style and lyrics

It is a western-style song.^[18]

Track listing

7" single RCA 47-9731 (March 1969)^[19]

1. "Memories"
2. "Charro"

References

1. George Batista Da Silva (24 August 2015). Sobre Filmes E Atores. Clube de Autores. pp. 19–. PKEY:90192097.
2. "Charro! : National General 1969 : Elvis' Movies : : 'For Elvis Fans Only' Official Elvis Presley Fan Club". Archived from the original on 2018-03-16. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
3. Boris Zmijewsky (1997). Elvis Presley. Gremese Editore. pp. 150–. ISBN 978-88-7742-106-7.
4. George Batista Da Silva (11 October 2006). Música E Ecran. Clube de Autores. pp. 41–. PKEY:99031787.
5. Alanna Nash (9 September 2008). The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley. Simon and Schuster. pp. 232–. ISBN 978-1-4391-3695-9.
6. Harris M. Lentz III (24 April 2013). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2012. McFarland. pp. 276–. ISBN 978-1-4766-0385-8.
7. Jerry Osborne; Bruce Hamilton (1980). Presleyana. O'Sullivan Woodside. ISBN 978-0-89019-073-9.
8. Neal Umphred; Linda Jones; Walter Piotrowski (1990). Elvis: A Touch of Gold : the American Record Collector's Price Guide to Elvis Presley Records & Memorabilia. White Dragon Press.
9. Albert Hand (1973). Elvis Special. World Distributors.
10. Boris Zmijewsky (1997). Elvis Presley. Gremese Editore. pp. 150–. ISBN 978-88-7742-106-7.
11. Tim Neely; Martin Popoff (28 July 2009). Goldmine Price Guide to 45 RPM Records. Krause Publications. pp. 532–. ISBN 978-0-89689-958-2.
12. Martin Popoff (5 August 2010). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records 1948–1991. Krause Publications. pp. 932–. ISBN 978-1-4402-1621-3.
13. Jerry Osborne (1983). Presleyana: Elvis Presley record price guide. O'Sullivan Woodside. ISBN 978-0-89019-083-8.
14. Jerry Osborne (1 July 2007). Presleyana VI - the Elvis Presley Record, CD, and Memorabilia Price Guide. Jerry Osborne Enterprises. pp. 55–. ISBN 978-0-932117-49-6.
15. Dave Thompson (8 April 2016). Standard Catalog of American Records. Penguin Publishing. pp. 1014–. ISBN 978-1-4402-4628-9. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
16. Ron Barry (1976). The Elvis Presley American discography. Spectator Service, Maxigraphics. Elvis Presley Charro Memories.
17. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 9 January 1971. pp. 36–. ISSN 0006-2510. Elvis Presley Charro Memories.
18. Kathryn Kalinak (22 May 2012). Music in the Western: Notes From the Frontier. Taylor & Francis. pp. 30–. ISBN 978-1-136-62056-0.
19. "australian-charts.com - Elvis Presley - Memories". Retrieved 2017-01-07.

External links

• Elvis Presley – Charro / Memories at Discogs