How Great Thou Art is the eighth studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in February 1967.

Due to the continued success of his previous gospel recording, His Hand in Mine (1960), and the fact that his 1965 single of "Crying in the Chapel" -- a leftover from the 1960 album sessions -- became an unexpected major hit, RCA accepted Presley's proposal of a follow-up release.

Following its February 1967 release, How Great Thou Art was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

[5] Presley preferred dramatic roles, but after the flop of Flaming Star (1960) and Wild in the Country (1961) the use of his music in films increased.

[11] Concurrent with his box-office earnings decline, Presley was insisting that RCA work on a new gospel album, but his requests were rejected each time.

[12] Meanwhile, the April 1965 release of "Crying in the Chapel," recorded during the His Hand in Mine sessions, reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

[11] Chet Atkins, producer and manager of Nashville's RCA Studio B, assigned Jarvis because of Presley's preference to record at night.

[17] Presley requested that the label hire singer Jimmy Jones to appear on the album, but he could not be located by Parker's assistant nor Hill & Range's representative Freddy Bienstock.

[18] Presley's management then hired the singer's favorite gospel quartet: The Imperials, led by Jake Hess.

[19] Additionally, the Jordanaires and a backing group that consisted of Millie Kirkham and two other female session backup singers completed the vocal section.

[22] Jerry Schilling, a friend of Presley who was present at the session, remarked that after the last take the singer was "drained" and that he "almost fainted."

[27] As Crying in the Chapel had not yet appeared on an album release, the slow-tempo song was included as a bonus track to close the B-side.

The reviewer concluded that How Great Thou Art was "good listening," and that Crying in the Chapel presented Presley in "near his best.

Parker gave three minutes for the sponsoring of local charities to the announcers of each station and a national spot for the Red Cross during the broadcast.

[39] In 2008, Sony Music released a remastered version of How Great Thou Art that included three bonus tracks.

Critic John Bush remarked the "different conceptions" that each side of the record offered: The reviewer considered the opening "very high church" and traditional, while he praised the flipside as "a far more exciting proposition" with the use of "rocking" or "swinging pianos" with "breakneck tempos.