His Hand In Mine

During his lifetime, Elvis Presley recorded three gospel albums and a four-song gospel EP. Presley's first full-length gospel album, HIS HAND IN MINE, sticks close to the quartet-style gospel singing Elvis loved as a youngster in Memphis. In fact, most of the arrangements on HIS HAND IN MINE mimic arrangements used by two of Elvis' favorite groups, the Statesmen and the Memphis-based Blackwood Brothers.

The influence of such black gospel quartets as the Swan Silvertones and the Golden Gate Quartet, whom Elvis would have known through radio broadcasts, can also be heard on many numbers. As on all recordings inspired by the musical enthusiasm of his youth, Elvis shines on HIS HAND IN MINE, singing with breathtaking passion and dexterity. The first twelve songs on this disc, all classics of the genre, constitute the album as it was originally released in 1960. RCA subsequently added three tracks to the CD: "It is No Secret," originally released on Elvis' 1957 PEACE IN THE VALLEY EP; a 1967 recording of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone"; and "Who Am I," recorded in 1969.