I Really Don't Want To Know/There Goes My Everything

I Really Don't Want to Know / There Goes My Everything: Elvis at RCA in 1970

The double-sided single pairing "I Really Don't Want to Know" and "There Goes My Everything" by Elvis Presley was released on RCA Records in late 1970 and represented one of many successful singles the artist placed on the Billboard Hot 100 during his remarkable commercial resurgence following the celebrated NBC television special of 1968. The single entered the chart on December 26, 1970, debuting at number 56, and climbed to a peak of number 21 during the week of February 6, 1971, spending nine weeks on the chart and demonstrating Presley's enduring commercial appeal to pop and country crossover audiences.

"I Really Don't Want to Know" was written by Don Robertson and Howard Barnes, originally recorded by Les Paul and Mary Ford in 1953 and subsequently covered by Eddy Arnold in 1954 to considerable country chart success. Presley's version transformed the older country-pop material into something consistent with the country-soul hybrid sound he was developing during his post-comeback period, adding the emotional weight of his mature baritone to a lyric that had become something of a standard in country circles. "There Goes My Everything" was written by Dallas Frazier and had been a major country hit for Jack Greene in 1966 before Presley recorded his version. Both songs drew from the country songwriting tradition that Presley had always engaged with deeply alongside his more celebrated work in rock and roll, R&B, and mainstream pop.

The recording sessions that produced these tracks were part of a sustained and productive period of studio activity for Presley following the 1968 NBC special and the landmark Memphis sessions at American Sound Studio in 1969 that produced the critically acclaimed From Elvis in Memphis album. RCA Records and Presley's management, led by Colonel Tom Parker, maintained a deliberate strategy of regular single releases to sustain consistent chart presence between album projects, and the pairing of country-influenced ballads on double-sided releases was a standard component of this approach throughout the early 1970s.

The songs were recorded at RCA's Nashville studio with production by Felton Jarvis, who served as Presley's primary studio producer throughout much of the late 1960s and 1970s. Jarvis had developed an exceptionally close working relationship with Presley and understood precisely how to showcase his vocal capabilities within the lush, orchestrated production style that characterized the artist's Nashville recordings of this period. The arrangements featured the string sections and background vocal groups that had become standard components of Presley's studio sound by 1970, providing a rich sonic context for his lead performances.

By the time this single charted in late 1970 and early 1971, Elvis Presley had thoroughly re-established himself as one of the most commercially successful recording artists in America following years during which his chart presence had diminished while he focused on his film career. The 1969 single "Suspicious Minds" had reached number 1 on the Hot 100, ending a seven-year drought at the top of the pop chart, and subsequent singles including "Kentucky Rain," "The Wonder of You," and "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" had all performed strongly. This run of success provided the commercial momentum that carried the double-sided single to number 21.

The dual-sided nature of the release was a deliberate commercial strategy refined across many years of single-market practice. Including two potentially chartable and radio-friendly songs on a single release gave programmers options and doubled the promotional exposure for each session. RCA used this approach consistently with Presley throughout his career, and it contributed to the complexity of tracking individual song performances since airplay and retail sales were sometimes divided between the two sides in ways that complicated straightforward chart tabulation under Billboard's methodology of the period.

Both recordings appeared on the Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old) album released by RCA in January 1971, which reached number 12 on the Billboard 200 and represented one of Presley's most sustained explorations of his country music roots. The album was praised by critics who appreciated its coherent country-soul aesthetic and its sense of personal engagement with the material. The double-sided single preceded the album's release by several weeks, building radio presence and listener anticipation before the full project reached consumers in record stores across the country.