From vinyl to tapes to optical media: The long and varied history of Speedway-related releases is a testament to Nancy and Elvis’s charisma as recording artists and actors, as well as their on-screen chemistry. The following retrospective traces the numerous Speedway soundtrack and video incarnations from the 1960s to the 2010s.
The June 15, 1968 issue of Billboard reported the soundtrack LP’s contents and then-imminent release. With “Your Groovy Self,” Nancy holds the distinction of being the only singer to have had her own solo recording on an original Elvis album.
The RCA Victor LP was initially released in dual formats: mono (LPM-3989) and stereo (LSP-3989). Now commanding astronomical prices, the mono version is arguably the most sought-after Speedway release among collectors. The 5th edition of The Goldmine Standard Catalog Of American Records lists its value at $2,000. Pictured below, the mono release features the “Nipper” logo.
Side 1:
1. Speedway
2. There Ain’t Nothing Like A Song
(performed by Elvis and Nancy)
3. Your Time Hasn’t Come Yet, Baby
4. Who Are You? (Who Am I?)
5. He’s Your Uncle Not Your Dad
6. Let Yourself Go
Side 2:
1. Your Groovy Self
(performed by Nancy)
2. Five Sleepy Heads
3. Western Union
4. Mine
5. Goin’ Home
6. Suppose
As mentioned, the black “Nipper” label appears on the 1968 mono release.
For stereo releases from the late 1960s through the mid 1970s, the orange label with block lettering is employed.
On the mid 1970s version, the tan label is featured.
With its obi strip, this is the Japanese stereo release, RCA Victor SHP-5725.
Early pressings of the U.S. version included this insert photo of Elvis and the related shrink-wrap sticker.
In Italy, as with Speedway promotional posters, the soundtrack LP appeared as A Tutto Gas (RCA YL-43227).
The U.S. 45 release of Let Yourself Go / Your Time Hasn’t Come Yet, Baby was accompanied by earlier and later versions of its picture sleeve: “Coming Soon” (pictured left) and “Now” b/w “Ask For” (pictured center and right).
Although Nancy does not sing on the single, the Japanese release of “Let Yourself Go” (RCA Victor SS-1818) boasts a striking picture sleeve image of Nancy and Elvis.
Also from Japan, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Elvis’s birth, RCA issued a promotional picture sleeve single, Speedway / There Ain’t Nothing Like A Song (RCA AX-56), in January of 1985.
In 7 and 1/2 i.p.s. format, the album was issued on reel to reel tape as RCA Victor FTO-1892.
On 8-Track cartridge, Speedway is designated as P8S-1335.
RCA issued Speedway numerous times on cassette: PK-1335, CK-3989 (left) and Dolby PK-42365 (right), as well as RCA/BMG 66558-4 in the form of Easy Come, Easy Go / Speedway (CD version and details are listed in the Speedway Optical Media section below).
In 1989, distributed by Pair Records, RCA/BMG Special Products offered a budget, hybrid version (PDK2-1250) which combined tracks from Speedway and Elvis’s 1967 film Clambake. See Optical Media for the CD release and track list. Apparently, the photo of Elvis on the cassette and CD artwork is derived from his 1973 Aloha From Hawaii concert / television special.
Multiple releases of the motion picture have appeared on the VHS videotape format. In 1987 MGM/UA released Speedway as catalog number 60476, with a cover image derived from the “There Ain’t Nothing Like A Song” finale (left). The 1988 package design (with the same catalog number) employs an image of Nancy from her performance of “Your Groovy Self” (right). From the notes on the back of the orange box version:
“With Elvis burning up the soundtrack singing six great songs including the smash title tune, and Nancy letting it wail with a hot rendition of ‘Your Groovy Self,’ Speedway gets the checkered flag. It’s a definite winner!”
The film was also issued on VHS as part of the “Elvis Commemorative Collection.” Pictured below the VHS set and the Speedway cover is an image from the back of the Speedway box: “Back to work on the sound stage with Nancy Sinatra.”
As listed in Speedway Tapes, RCA/BMG Special Products (distributed by Pair Records) issued abridged versions of the Speedway and Clambake albums on CD as An Elvis Double Feature: Speedway, Clambake (PDC2-1250), in 1989. The CD contains eight tracks from the Speedway LP (*) and eight tracks from the Clambake LP (**).
*1. Speedway
*2. There Ain’t Nothing Like A Song (performed by Elvis And Nancy)
*3. Who Are You? (Who Am I?)
*4. Let Yourself Go
*5. Your Groovy Self (performed by Nancy)
*6. Western Union
*7. Goin’ Home
*8. Suppose
**9. Guitar Man
**10. Clambake
**11. A House That Has Everything
**12. Hey, Hey, Hey
**13. The Girl I Never Loved
**14. How Can You Lose What You Never Had
**15. Big Boss Man
**16. Just Call Me Lonesome
In 1995, RCA/BMG released another Speedway hybrid CD (66558-2), this time pairing it with tracks from Elvis’s 1967 soundtrack LP Easy Come, Easy Go (*).
*1. Easy Come, Easy Go
*2. The Love Machine
*3. Yoga Is As Yoga Does
*4. You Gotta Stop
*5. Sing You Children
*6. I’ll Take Love
*7. She’s A Machine
*8. The Love Machine (alternate take 11)
*9. Sing You Children (alternate take 1)
*10. She’s A Machine (alternate take 13)
11. Suppose (alternate master)
12. Speedway
13. There Ain’t Nothing Like A Song (performed By Elvis and Nancy)
14. Your Time Hasn’t Come Yet, Baby
15. Who Are You? (Who Am I?)
16. He’s Your Uncle Not Your Dad
17. Let Yourself Go
18. Five Sleepy Heads
19. Suppose
20. Your Groovy Self (performed by Nancy)
The 1995 CD is also included as Disc 26 in The Original Elvis Presley Collection. Compiled and manufactured by BMG Netherlands, this 1996 U.K. mail-order box set contains 50 CDs.
Nancy and Elvis’s duet of “There Ain’t Nothing Like A Song” and the movie’s title track are also contained on the 2007 Sony BMG/Cherry Lane Elvis CD-R music licensing sampler.
In 1992, the Speedway film made its first appearance on an optical medium as a CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) laserdisc. In yet another hybrid release, MGM/UA issued Spinout / Speedway with a gatefold sleeve as part of a two-disc, widescreen edition, 12-inch laserdisc set (ML 102848).
As a DVD-era release, Speedway was issued in 2004 (left), with artwork based on the film’s original one sheet promotional poster. A second edition was released by Warner Bros. in 2007 (right).
As with the hybrid CDs, the movie has also been packaged with other Elvis films as part of box set collections:
The Signature Collection: It Happened at the World’s Fair, Speedway, Spinout, Harum Scarum, Jailhouse Rock, Viva Las Vegas (2004);
Elvis Triple Feature: Harum Scarum, Speedway, The Trouble With Girls (2006);
Elvis 75th Anniversary DVD Collection: Jailhouse Rock, It Happened at the World’s Fair, Kissin’ Cousins, Viva Las Vegas, Girl Happy, Tickle Me, Harum Scarum, Spinout, Double Trouble, Stay Away Joe, Speedway, Live a Little Love a Little, Charro!, The Trouble with Girls, Elvis: That’s The Way It Is Special Edition, Elvis On Tour, This Is Elvis (2010).
Of course, Speedway is only one facet of Elvis’s enduring body of work. In a 2001 Sinatra Family Forum post [source], Nancy reflected on his legacy and the parallels with her dad:
“They were both tremendous personalities
with memorable voices and tons of talent.
“Elvis was known as The King (of Rock and Roll) and Frank was known as
The Voice. Their musical styles were as different as the men themselves,
but they had one giant trait in common: each wanted to entertain and
sing more than anything else in their lives. Each sacrificed much for the
privilege of dedicating themselves to the world and their craft. Each
contributed greatly to the world of music and the huge legacy of American
popular culture.”
