Back in the heyday of vinyl LP albums, the picture disc was a unique variation highly sought by some collectors. Instead of a plain old black disc, you get a record with a picture of the singer in vibrant color.   more »

I started collecting record albums back in the 80s when CDs took over as the dominant music format. When people bought CD players and started building CD libraries, their old LPs and 45s languished in disinterest. Ultimately, many people sold their record collections at garage sales. For years, I was a regular Saturday morning scavenger, hitting as many garage sales as possible, looking for records.   more »

I was mulling over possibilities for a good year-end review to write about, and for a second, I thought of reviewing the year’s music. But, that would be ridiculous. I have no idea what’s going on in popular music today.   more »

You’ve probably been listening to Elvis Christmas songs for the past three weeks or so. Do you know how many he recorded? The answer is twenty.   more »

A while back I checked in with Darwin Lamm, Publisher of Elvis…The Magazine, to see what the theme would be for the next issue. It was “Back To Vegas” - the 40th anniversary of Elvis’ return to live performances in 1969."   more »

I ran into a few things about Elvis on the Internet that tickled me. One was a UPI story from Stockholm. Recently the National Tax Board of Sweden ruled: Elvis is the first name of a masculine type.    more »

The Follow That Dream label produces CDs in several themes. Previously unreleased Elvis concert recordings make up much of the catalog. Another big part of the series is original album re-releases (with much improved digital sound), enhanced by the addition of alternate takes and outtakes. And surprisingly, there are also collections of nothing but alternate takes and outtakes from groups of recording sessions.   more »

The ElvisNews.com FTD Top 40 list is compiled from reader responses. You will note that Elvis Is Back is the most popular FTD CD this month. It was released in 2005 and contains studio recordings from the March and April 1960 sessions at Nashville’s famous Studio B. I was particularly happy to see it on top, because the original Elvis album of that name has always been my favorite.   more »

About fifteen years ago, I went into a record store in Memphis and asked what they had in Elvis bootleg albums. The guy behind the counter gave me a skeptical look and sort-of danced around the question. I should have expected this, because bootlegs are illegal, and he could get in trouble for selling them. He finally reached under the counter and brought out a cardboard box full of bootlegs.   more »

About ten years ago, I decided I wasn’t buying any more Elvis music. I had over fifty albums, around a hundred 45s, nearly twenty EPs, several dozen cassettes, and a handful of CDs. Now I am starting to waver.   more »

In the early 60s, Elvis got into a routine of going to Nashville every spring to do recording sessions at RCA’s famed Studio B. These would be considered non-soundtrack sessions, because almost all other recording Elvis did during those years was for movie soundtracks. These annual spring recording sessions in Nashville in ’60, ’61, and ’62 produced a cache of songs to be released as singles. That is also the way it went after the recording sessions at Studio B on May 26-27, 1963.    more »

A few weeks ago we looked at a scathing review of Elvis’ second appearance on the Milton Berle Show by the Times’ TV critic, Jack Gould. In another Elvisblog article, we noted the disdain shown by the Times’ movie critic for Elvis’ first few movies. So, it may come as a surprise that the Times music critic, John S. Wilson, actually had some good things to say about Elvis’ second album, Elvis.   more »

2006 is the 50th anniversary of many things in Elvis’ history: his first hit song, his first TV appearance, his first album, his first movie. It’s also the 30th anniversary of his best album, at least in the opinion of most music critics. Can you name it?   more »

Most fans are aware Elvis won only three Grammy Awards, and that they were all for Gospel recordings. There’s a lot more to the story. How could the King of Rock & Roll not win any Grammys for his rock & roll records? One big reason is that the Grammy awards did not start until 1958.    more »