| His Hand in Mine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 23, 1960 | |||
| Recorded | October 30 and 31, 1960 | |||
| Studio | RCA Studio B (Nashville) | |||
| Genre | Gospel | |||
| Length | 28:08 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Steve Sholes | |||
| Elvis Presley chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C[2] |
| MusicHound |  [3] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
| Rough Guides | [5] |
His Hand in Mine is the fifth studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released on November 23, 1960 by RCA Victorinmono and stereo, catalog number LPM/LSP 2328. It was the first of three gospel albums that Presley would issue during his lifetime. Recording sessions took place on October 30 and 31, 1960, at RCA Studio BinNashville, Tennessee. It peaked at #13 on the Top Pop Albums chart. It was certified Gold on April 9, 1969 and Platinum on March 27, 1992 by the Recording Industry Association of America.[6]
Presley had a lifelong, fundamental love of church music, and often used it to rehearse and loosen up before concerts and at the beginning of recording sessions.[7] Presley had earlier devoted an extended play single, Peace in the Valley, to his love for gospel songs, and was eager to record a full album of this music. This fit well with the plans of Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, to steer his client into a family-friendly image as he switched Presley's career concentration toward movie stardom in Hollywood.[8]
All the selections for His Hand In Mine were completed in one fourteen-hour session. The songs "Surrender" and "Crying in the Chapel" were recorded during the session, but were withheld for later issue as singles. "Surrender" would be his first single of 1961 and top the chart, but "Crying in the Chapel" would wait until April 1965 to be issued, going to #3 on the chart. The song "In My Father's House" was arranged and adapted by Elvis Presley which was published by Elvis Presley Music.
Presley later re-recorded "Swing Down Sweet Chariot" (not to be confused with the popular "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot") for the soundtrack of his 1969 film, The Trouble with Girls.[9]
"His Hand In Mine" is a gospel song written by Mosie Lister and first recorded by the Statesmen Quartet in 1953.[10] Elvis Presley's version was recorded on October 30, 1960[11] and was the title track of his 1960 gospel album.[12] The song was released 9 years later as an Easter single on March 25, 1969.[13] The B-side was a more recent recording of How Great Thou Art.[14] Neither side charted and the record sold poorly.[15]
In 1976, RCA reissued the album in its lower priced "Pure Gold" series, with new cover art under a new catalog number, ANL1-1319. This reissue contains the same tracks as the original release. In 1981, the album was reissued in RCA's "Best Buy" series, with the 1976 cover art and catalog number changed to AYL1-3935.[16] RCA first reissued the album on compact disc in 1990 with three bonus tracks ("It Is No Secret", "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Who Am I"). This CD reissue utilized the revised cover art from the "Pure Gold" and "Best Buy" series LP reissues.
On March 11, 2008, RCA released a remastered version of this album on CD, adding as bonus tracks the four songs which had originally appeared on that 1957 EP single Peace in the Valley, its contents later incorporated into Elvis' Christmas Album. Follow That Dream, the Presley fan-club reissue label, released an extended two-disc version of the His Hand in Mine album the same year.
Credits sourced from Keith Flynn’s research of AFM contracts and RCA paperwork.[17]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "His Hand in Mine" | Mosie Lister | October 30, 1960 | 3:15 |
| 2. | "I'm Gonna Walk Dem Golden Stairs" | Culley Holt | October 31, 1960 | 1:50 |
| 3. | "In My Father's House" | Aileene Hanks (Arranged and adapted by Elvis Presley) | October 31, 1960 | 2:03 |
| 4. | "Milky White Way" | Lander Coleman (Arranged and adapted by Elvis Presley) | October 30, 1960 | 2:12 |
| 5. | "Known Only to Him" | Stuart Hamblen | October 31, 1960 | 2:07 |
| 6. | "I Believe in the Man in the Sky" | Richard Howard | October 30, 1960 | 2:11 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Joshua Fit the Battle" | Traditional (Arranged and adapted by Elvis Presley) | October 31, 1960 | 2:39 |
| 2. | "He Knows Just What I Need" | Mosie Lister | October 30, 1960 | 2:12 |
| 3. | "Swing Down Sweet Chariot" | Traditional (Arranged and adapted by Elvis Presley) | October 31, 1960 | 2:32 |
| 4. | "Mansion Over the Hilltop" | Ira Stanphill | October 31, 1960 | 2:55 |
| 5. | "If We Never Meet Again" | Albert E. Brumley | October 31, 1960 | 1:58 |
| 6. | "Working on the Building" | Winifred O. Hoyle, Lillian Bowles | October 31, 1960 | 1:52 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "(There'll Be) Peace in the Valley (For Me)" | Thomas A. Dorsey | January 13, 1957 | 3:22 |
| 14. | "It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)" | Stuart Hamblen | January 19, 1957 | 3:53 |
| 15. | "I Believe" | Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl, Al Stillman | January 12, 1957 | 2:05 |
| 16. | "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" | Thomas A. Dorsey | January 13, 1957 | 3:16 |
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