Peace in the Valley (EP)

By the 1950s, Presley's hometown of Memphis, Tennessee had become a center for gospel music in the United States.^[2] Presley grew up listening to this music, and maintained an abiding love for gospel singing his entire life. This EP initiated Presley's commercial presentation of this interest. Presley would go on to make many more recordings of spiritual music, including the issue of the gospel albums His Hand In Mine, How Great Thou Art, and He Touched Me, the latter two earning him Grammy Awards. A live recording of "How Great Thou Art" from the 1974 live album Elvis Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis would win Elvis a third Grammy.

The recordings included on the EP were taken from sessions on January 12, 13, and 19 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California. All four selections are gospel classics, including two by Thomas A. Dorsey "the Father of Black Gospel". The four songs are all reverential in spirit, rather than celebratory, uptempo gospel songs.^[3] Six months later, they were included in Presley's third studio album, Elvis' Christmas Album.