Elvis left for Nashville at 1:00 am on a chartered Greyhound bus for his first non - soundtrack recording session for two and a half years. 

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RECORDING SESSION: - (RCA)

RCA Victor Studio B, 30 Music Square, Nashville, Tennessee. (6:30 pm - 9:30 am) (10:00 pm - 1:00 am) (1:30 am - 4:00 am)

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Producer(s): Felton Jarvis.

Engineer: Jim Malloy.

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Musicians: Vocals: Elvis Presley - Electric Guitar: Scotty Moore - Electric Guitar: Jerry Stembridge (Chip Young)  - Bass

Guitar: Charlie McCoy - Electric/Upright Bass: Bob Moore - Drums: D.J. Fontana - Drums/Timpani: Murrey "Buddy"

Harman - Piano: Floyd Cramer - Piano/Organ: Henry Slaughter (The Imperials) - Saxophone: Homer "Boots" Randolph - Saxophone: Rufus Long - Steel Guitar: Peter Drake - Trumpet: Ray Stevens

Backup Vocals: The Jordanaires: 1st Tenor: Gordon Stoker  - 2nd Tenor: Neal Matthews - Baritone: Hoyt Hawkins - Bass: Ray Walker.

Backup Vocals: The Imperials: Lead: Jake Hess - Tenor: Sherrill Nielsen - Baritone: Gary McSpadden - Bass: Armond Morales.

Backup Vocals: Soprano: Mildred "Millie" Kirkham - Dolores Dinning Edgin - June Page.

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At Studio B Elvis met his new producer, thirty-year-old Felton Jarvis. Chet Atkins, never a night owl, brought in Felton, who had recently joined the RCA staff, because he thought Felton had a temperament better suited to Elvis' and to staying up for all-night sessions. Felton, a huge fan of Elvis', recorded an Elvis tribute / imitation, "Don't Knock Elvis", before going on to a career as an R&B producer in his native Atlanta. Elvis' task, as spelled out by RCA under the terms of the new contract, was to deliver two singles, a Christmas single, and a religious album. The musicians appeared on time, but Elvis arrived a couple of hours late and they worked from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am on the first night and continued through the four-day session, Elvis showed a greater degree of musical focus than he had done in years, concentrating primarily on the gospel numbers that would make up the album, but also completed a handful of pop tunes, that included Bob Dylan's "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" learned from the "Odetta Sings Dylan" album. 

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Songs recorded: "Run On", "How Great Thou Art", "Stand By Me", "Where No One Stands Alone", "Down in the Alley", "Tomorrow Is A Long Time" (audio)