CLAMBAKE encyclopedia topics

CLAMBAKE - 2 reference results

Plot

Scott Heyward is the son of a rich oilman. He decides to leave so he can discover life for himself. He runs into Tom Wilson, a water skiing instructor, who has no luck with the women. Tom offers to switch places with Scott so they can have a taste of what life is like in each other's shoes. Scott works as a ski instructor for a Miami hotel, while Tom has fun pretending he is rich. Scott is taken by Dianne, who is searching for a rich guy to snag. She decides to make a play for James J. Jamison III, owner of a pajama company and boat racing champion. Scott agrees to help her get Jamison, but in the process falls for her.

Primary cast

Elvis Presley : Scott Heyward/'Tom Wilson'
Shelley Fabares (in the third of three Elvis movies she co-starred in) : Dianne Carter
Will Hutchins : Tom Wilson/'Scott Heyward'
Bill Bixby : James J. Jamison III
Gary Merrill : Sam Burton
James Gregory : Duster Heyward
Teri Garr : dancer

Soundtrack

The soundtrack songs were released as a music album in November 1967 to coincide with the film. The film songs were augmented by several non-film recordings, including the recent hit singles "Guitar Man" and "Big Boss Man". RCA took the unusual move of programming the Guitar Man single to lead off the album, rather than the usual pattern of leading off with the film title track.

Recording musicians

Elvis Presley - vocals
Jordanaires - background vocals
Millie Kirkham - background vocals
Scotty Moore, Chip Young, Harold Bradley - guitar
Charlie McCoy - guitar & harmonica
Pete Drake - steel guitar
Bob Moore - bass
Floyd Cramer, Hoyt Hawkins - piano
D.J. Fontana, Buddy Harman - drums
Norman Ray - saxophone

Tracks (songwriter)

Side 1:

Guitar Man - (Jerry Reed)
Clambake - (Ben Weisman & Sid Wayne)
Who Needs Money - (Randy Starr)
House That Has Everything - (Sid Tepper & Roy C. Bennett)
Confidence - (Sid Tepper & Roy C. Bennett)
Hey Hey Hey - (Joe Byers)

Side 2:

You Don't Know Me - (Cindy Walker - Eddy Arnold)
The Girl I Never Loved - (Randy Starr)
How Can You Lose What You Never Had - (Ben Weisman & Sid Wayne)
Big Boss Man - (Al Smith - Luther Dixon)
Singing Tree - (A. Owens - A. Solberg)
Just Call Me Lonesome - (Rex Griffin)

Trivia

In her 1985 book, Elvis and Me, Priscilla Presley writes that by the time filming was to begin on Clambake, Elvis's growing distress with the quality of his films led to a despondency accompanied by overeating that saw his weight balloon from his normal 170 lb (77 kg) to 200 lb (91 kg). A movie studio executive ordered him to lose the weight in a hurry, marking the introduction of diet pills to his already excessive regimen of medications. Possibly due to this, Elvis appears overweight, tired and looks sick.