Tracks: 1) His Hand In Mine; 2) I’m Gonna Walk Dem Golden Stairs; 3) In My Father’s House (Are Many Mansions); 4) Milky White Way; 5) Known Only To Him; 6) I Believe In The Man In The Sky; 7) Joshua Fit The Battle; 8) Jesus Knows What I Need; 9) Swing Down Sweet Chariot; 10) Mansion Over The Hilltop; 11) If We Never Meet Again; 12) Working On The Building; 13*) Surrender; 14*) Crying In The Chapel.
Elvis Presley seated at a piano, looking thoughtful, on the cover of his 1960 gospel album His Hand In Mine.
REVIEW
To truly appreciate an Elvis gospel album from the early 1960s, one arguably needs to be more of an early 1960s Elvis enthusiast than a pure gospel aficionado. Similar to the gospel songs he covered in the 1950s or his spiritually-themed Christmas recordings, the material on Elvis Presley His Hand In Mine is deliberately not treated with a distinct solemnity simply because it concerns God’s Glory rather than secular topics. There are no vast choirs, grand organs, or overt feelings of church-sanctioned holiness. If any song here borrowed lyrics from ‘Love Me Tender’, the musical treatment might not betray the difference. Despite his purported spirituality and genuine fear of God, Elvis seemed to possess a uniquely intimate, almost bordering on improper, relationship with his Maker. While perhaps not the first to interpret “loving the Lord” quite so literally, he pursued this interpretation with more dedication than many before, or possibly even after him.
An Intimate Approach to Faith
This intimate, romanticized relationship with the divine is viewed by some fans and critics as refreshing, praising the quiet, solitary nature of these recordings. Some even declare His Hand In Mine among the greatest gospel albums ever made. Such claims seem exaggerated, much like calling The Byrds’ Sweetheart Of The Rodeo one of country music’s pinnacles. While both albums are enjoyable and show an intelligent grasp of their respective genres, major accolades in country likely belong to major country artists, and top gospel honors should go to figures like Sister Rosetta Tharpe or Mahalia Jackson. His Hand In Mine is fundamentally an album of ballads. If your tolerance for Elvis’s ballads is limited, the first half might leave you restless, perhaps wishing for a Leiber & Stoller intervention like “everybody on the angels’ block, dance to Judgement Day rock.”
Technical Perfection and Lyrical Nuance
From a technical standpoint, the album is immaculate – perfectly sung, arranged, and produced. The title track showcases Elvis utilizing nearly his entire vocal range, pushing The Jordanaires equally, while Floyd Cramer’s piano adds delicate, silvery waves. This arrangement surpasses the 1953 original by the Statesmen Quartet, which feels almost vaudevillian in comparison to Elvis’s polished serenade. The lyrics, “Till the day he tells me why / He loves me so / I can feel his hand in mine / That’s all I need to know“, highlight how pronouns seem almost interchangeable; substitute “she” for “he” and “her” for “his,” and the sentiment remains largely intact as a love song.
Restrained Energy on Up-Tempo Tracks
However, when the tempo increases and the Nashville team nudges Elvis towards spiritual ecstasy, the result feels somewhat… dated? The Jordanaires were likely pleased to back Elvis on their own song (‘I’m Gonna Walk Dem Golden Stairs’, first recorded by them in 1952). While enjoyable as catchy, fast gospel-pop, Elvis maintains the same vocal restraint as The Jordanaires did originally, prioritizing melody and harmony over raw power and ecstasy. This approach differs significantly from the authentic African-American church atmosphere, though it’s unlikely Elvis aimed to mimic that directly. This subdued, “hush-hush” pattern persists on ‘Joshua Fit The Battle’, ‘Swing Down Sweet Chariot’, and ‘Working On The Building’. These tracks feel like a covert church service in a basement, keeping voices low – Joshua fit the battle ’round Jericho delivered almost as a whisper.
This restrained, “catacomb” style has its own charm. Yet, in 1960, when rock ‘n’ roll faced potential marginalization, it might have seemed that even the traditional fire of gospel performance was being similarly dampened. The underlying message feels like, “Sure weʼd be glad to raise Hell for the Lord, but itʼs getting late… keep the noise level down, please.” In retrospect, knowing rock ‘n’ roll merely took a break, this context is less damaging. We have ample loud, ecstatic gospel recordings, leaving room for quieter, intimate ones.
Missed Opportunities and Production Choices
Still, one wonders how much more potent these tracks might have been if recorded before his Army service, or perhaps in a less inhibited setting like Atlantic Studios. LaVern Baker’s ‘Saved’, for instance, possesses an energy that eclipses everything on this album, despite its slightly comical edge (which wasn’t Elvis’s intent). Had Elvis blurred the lines between gospel and rock ‘n’ roll more forcefully, it might have been preferable to blurring the lines between gospel and the soft country-pop heard here.
Distinguishing individual tracks is challenging, as His Hand In Mine operates on two main settings: slow/sentimental and fast/playful, both using similar arrangements. Key to both is the interplay between Elvis and The Jordanaires. Floyd Cramer’s expressive piano defines the slow setting, acting almost like the Holy Spirit’s presence; arguably, Cramer deserves the spot at the piano on the cover. The fast setting relies on the rhythm section’s steady groove. Notably, the album lacks instrumental solos, reinforcing the idea of collective humility in praise, except perhaps for St. Elvis himself.
Though Scotty Moore (electric guitar) and Boots Randolph (saxophone) are credited, their contributions are barely discernible, likely kept subdued to maintain the album’s reserved tone. Positively, there are no strings. The tasteful combination of drums, bass, acoustic guitar, and Cramer’s dominant piano prevents accusations of cheapening the gospel vibe, even if it undersells the genre’s raw power.
Commercial Reception and Evolving Legacy
The perceived target audience wasn’t overly impressed. His Hand In Mine peaked at #13 on the charts, a significant drop from his 1950s LPs (even the Christmas Album hit #1). This indicated that “gospel Elvis” didn’t fully connect with younger fans or their parents. While retrospectively seen by some as an anti-commercial move, it’s unlikely RCA encouraged such risks. They likely hoped Elvis’s stardom was sufficient to sell anything. The album’s relative commercial failure didn’t deter RCA from releasing two more gospel albums over the next decade, possibly viewing them as ways to bolster Elvis’s musical reputation among those critical of his films.
In recent decades, the critical standing of His Hand In Mine has risen, part of a broader reappraisal of Elvis’s pop years. Critics often highlight him as the era’s greatest white gospel singer. However, they seldom explicitly state that the primary difference between his love ballads and gospel ballads might simply be an added layer of seriousness and belief in the latter. Even this difference can be subtle. Listening to Elvis croon “I believe in the man in the sky“, it can feel more like charming an audience than a deep personal affirmation of faith. It’s smooth and tasteful, but “depth” isn’t the immediate impression.
The same Nashville sessions also yielded ‘Crying In The Chapel’, shelved until 1965 when it became a surprise hit, and the secular smash ‘Surrender’, a reworking of ‘Torna A Surriento’. While the linguistic turn of Surriento into Surrender is clever, the source material (Neapolitan song) might not appeal to all. Nevertheless, ‘Surrender’ undeniably captures Elvis at a technical peak.
