a blog about elvis presley's music, movies, and more
ELVIS ON RECORD is a catch-all category for articles that cover a broad expanse of Presley’s career. Here you will find such articles as those that list his hit records from around the world, or reviews of boxed CD sets that collect sides from the 1950s though the ’70, or the latest updates on his RIAA Gold and Platinum Record Awards.
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IN THE YEAR 2000, instead of Y2K we got THE BEATLES 1, an album that collected Beatles’ number one hits around the world. Despite recycling endlessly recycled sides, it sold more than 10,000,000 copies in its first twelve months of release! And then it kept on selling: it is certified by the RIAA for sales of 11,000,000 in the US alone. READ MORE
THE FIRST DELUXE ELVIS boxed compact-disc set was KING OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL – THE COMPLETE 50’s MASTERS, issued in 1992 to great fanfare. It contained five discs that featured the complete studio recordings of Presley from 1954-1958. More than 100 recordings in genuine, honesttagawd mono seemed like a gift from Heaven!
The set also included an informative booklet with an accurate sessionography and an intelligent biographical essay. READ MORE
Lawdymissclawdy, but I accidental like pushed “Publish” instead of “Save Draft” and so I sent this article out onto the worldwide web well before it was completed. So I have to apologize and tell you that I’ll finish it lickety-split and get it back up here where it belongs!
PS: When the finished piece is published, this post here will be linked directly to the new article …
[social_warfare]
ELVIS DIED WITH ONLY 28 GOLD RECORDS. That is, he collected only twenty-eight official RIAA Gold Record Awards during his career. He also moved to that mansion on the hill without a single Platinum Record Award on his wall! Neither he nor Colonel Parker nor RCA Victor showed any real enthusiasm for the awards while he was alive. READ MORE
EVERY FEW YEARS the folks in charge of Elvis Presley’s recordings either get it right or just get lucky with their handling of the archival material. The big one was 30 #1 HITS, which hit #1 on the Billboard LP chart in 2002. It sold over 5,000,000 units in the US and at least that many more worldwide, making it one of the best-selling Elvis Presley albums ever released! READ MORE
IN 1976, the Gold Standard Series was revamped for the fourth and final time with a new ‘retro’ look. Along with the rest of the RCA catalog, the modern look and layout of the previous orange and red labels was jettisoned and the company opted for a retro look: black was back and so was Nipper! But the effect was cheesy: the paper used for the labels seemed of a lesser quality—a dull black rather than the high gloss stock of the past. READ MORE
IN 1969, the Gold Standard Series was changed for the third time: the visually lifeless orange label was replaced by a more attractive bright red label. (The orange label remain as the primary label for RCA’s standard catalog singles and albums.) Otherwise, the layout and the typeface remained the same from the previous to the newest.
In 1968, RCA had switched from its classic black label to a more ‘modern’ orange label for all its records. READ MORE
IN 1969, the Gold Standard Series label was dramatically modified, along with the rest of the RCA Victor catalog (45s, EPs, LPs, and reel-to-reel tapes). Gone was the familiar glossy black background with “RCA Victor” in traditional serif type with the big “V” across the top. Gone, too, was the dog, beloved Nipper, cocking his head to his master’s voice emanating from the horn of an antique phonograph. READ MORE
IN 1965, the Gold Standard Series label was changed for the first time. The labels remained an attractive glossy black, but “RCA Victor” was moved to the right side of the spindle hole while Nipper was placed on the left side. Again, there was no mention of “Gold Standard” anywhere on the label; only the 447 prefix identified these records as reissues. READ MORE