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Roustabout

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(Giant / Baum / Kaye)

Information:
Elvis recorded Roustabout, the tile song to his 1964 movie of the same name, in March 1964 at Radio Recorders. Even though the Jordanaires are credited with singing backup, it was actually the Mello Men who did the singing. They gave up their claim to credit and were paid by the hour for their services. The film version of Roustabout had additional instrumentation. Take #1 is on the standard RCA releases. Roustabout was written by Bill Giant, Bernie Baum and Florence Kaye.

Lyrics:

I'm just a roustabout shifting from town to town
No job can hold me down, I'm just a knock-around guy
There's a lot of space beneath that sky
Till I find my place there's no doubt, I'll be a rovin' roustabout

Call me the carefree kind, I wander with the breeze
My mind and heart's at ease doing what pleases me best
Gotta keep-a movin’ east or west
Till I find my place there's no doubt, I'll be a rovin' roustabout

Even if a pretty girl should catch my eye
I'll give her a quick hello and a fast goodbye

I'll go the way I want driftin' just like the sand
Doin' what job I can changing my plans as I choose
Long as I keep happy I can't lose
Till I find my place there's no doubt, I'll be a rovin' roustabout

I'll be a rovin' roustabout... I'll be a rovin' roustabout
I'll be a rovin' roustabout… rovin', rovin' roustabout....
I'll be a rovin' roustabout… rovin', rovin' roustabout....

Where it was released:

Released for the fist time on Roustabout »

Singles:

- Roustabout / One Track Heart (RCA SP-45-139) November 1964. Disc jockey promotional release.

- Roustabout / Roustabout (Paramount Pictures SP-2414) November 1964. Promotional release for theater lobbies only. Paramount distributed copies of this single to select theaters. Side 1 was to be used before Roustabout's release. At the end of the song, the announcer said that Roustabout was "coming soon". Side 2 was to be used during the film's run. The announcer said that Roustabout was "now playing". Both sides featured the same take, but it was an alternate take found on no other release.

LPs/CDs:

- Roustabout (1964) »
– Elvis in Hollywood (1976) »

- Elvis - A Collectors Edition (1976) »

- Collectors Gold (1991) – box set

- Double Features: Roustabout / Viva Las Vegas (1993)

- Command Performances – The Essential 60’s Masters, Volume II (1995)

- Can’t Help Falling in Love (1999)

- Today Tomorrow and Forever (2002) - box set

- Can’t Help Falling in Love: The Hollywood Hits (2003)

- Elvis Movies (2006)
– Roustabout (2017) - FTD »

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