Mar
Elvis Presley may have died in 1977 but his legend most certainly lives on. No other artist in history has made an impact on popular music in the way that Elvis did. Others may have sold more copies of a particular record, or have played to bigger stadiums, but nobody single handedly changed the path of popular music, and indeed popular culture like Elvis did.
Going back to the 1950's, Elvis was the first white musician to take on black rhythm and blues and make it his own. Due to his amazing stage presence and unique style of performing, he was able to cross over black music to a white mass audience. His timing, it must be said, was also perfectly fortuitous. The post-war baby boom had created a brand new generation of teenagers who felt frustrated at having to live the life of their parents in their teens. World War had been won and while the cold war continued to dominate politics, they perhaps felt that they were entitled to a little more excitement in their lives and thanks to Elvis and the tidal wave of rock and roll artists who followed in his wake, they got it and the rules of engagement for teenagers were changed forever. No more were they expected to be "mini grown ups". Teenagers found themselves encouraged by their peers to rebel against authority and to express their own dreams, desires and styles in a way that they had never been able to do before. Obviously parents at the time were horrified at the development of youth culture, teddy boys, greasers, and unruly disrespectful attitudes and a contempt for the older generation who had won the war for them and who had suffered extreme hardship and loss in order to win their freedom.
Elvis is particularly exciting to collect because of the vast range of rarities on offer. Elvis stated out on the (then) relatively small Sun label and his first recording was a verson of Arthur Crudup's "That's all right". Elvis went on to record several more 45s that were released on Sun before he signed for RCA and most issues came out in vast numbers from then on.
The original Sun 45rpm records are without doubt the holy grail for Elvis collectors. Needless to say, they have been reissued and bootlegged many times over the years and as always when collecting rare records, it is vital to ensure that if you are spending a lot of money on an original, that you make sure you get an original. Early sun records have three "push marks" under the vinyl and these tend to be the main guarantee of authenticity coupled with a close examination of the run out grooves to confirm any pressing marks and numbers. You can see all current original Sun Elvis 45s for sale by checking either our Elvis lpage or our Sun records page. They sell for a lot of money in decent condition (VG+ or better), between $4000- $9000 a piece give or take. The 45s are much more sought after than the 78rpm discs that were also pressed because the 45rpm is synonymous with the creation of the teenager. 45s were fairly new in the 1950s, they had much better sound than 78rpms, they were easier to carry about and they were also a lot more hardwearing and less prone to crack than heavy shellac 78 10" discs. 45rpms were also pressed in relatively small numbers early on, especially at independants like Sun Records.
There are few "regularly released" 45s that command this sort of money, I only know one area of collecting where you might find people shelling out this sort of money for rare records and that's northern soul when you might have 20 top DJ's chasing after a record where there are only one or two known copies in existence.
Due to Elvis signing for RCA relatively early, and being such an enormously succesful artist worldwide, Elvis records from then on tend to be available in reletively high numbers in the main, though any promos or unusual pressings are always going to be hotly in demand. If you ever come across an Elvis demo or acetate then you might get very lucky price wise because the good thing about selling Elvis records is that there is always a large market. Even though Elvis may no longer be dominating the charts, his infuence will never disappear from popular music. For Elvis fans, there is a fantastic wealth of Elvis material to collect. Picture sleeved 45s released all over the world, special promotional records and picture discs, and of course, there is always the dream of picking up a Sun 45.
The Sun records in full are as follows (information from Wikipedia):
Listed are the 25 titles, in order of their recording date. A take means a second (or higher) version; the best take would be used to create a master tape to be published.
1. My Happiness (private - not released)
Recorded: July 18, 1953 (private)
2. That's When Your Heartaches Begin (private - not released)
Recorded: July 18, 1953 (private)
3. I'll Never Stand In Your Way (Demo only)
Recorded: January 4, 1954
4. It Wouldn't Be The Same Without You (Demo)
Recorded: January 4, 1954
5. I Love You Because
Recorded: July 5–6, 1954 (session 1)
6. That's All Right
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. Original: Arthur Crudup|Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (1947, RCA Victor). Crudup's original title is: "That's All Right (Mama)"; on the Sun label, and many later releases, '(Mama)' is omitted: "That's All Right".
Recorded: July 5–6, 1954 (session 1)
Elvis's recording of "That's All Right (Mama)" can be considered to be the beginning of rock and roll, but there are more first rock and roll records.
7. Harbor Lights
Recorded: July 5–6, 1954 (session 1)
8. Blue Moon of Kentucky
Recorded: July, 5-6, 1954 (session 1)
9. Blue Moon
Recorded: August 19, 1954 (session 2)
10. Tomorrow Night
Recorded: September 1954 (session 3)
11. I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')
Recorded: September 10, 1954 (session 3)
12. Satisfied
Recorded: September 1954 (session 3) (tape lost)
13. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
Recorded: September 10, 1954 (session 3) The Dean Martin version was probably Elvis' inspiration.
14. Just Because
The song was also recorded by Frank Yankovic. "When Johnny came out of the Seabees, he brought with him a tune the Shelton Brothers had written entitled "Just Because". Frankie really liked it and felt it had a lot of potential, but it needed a second part. So Frankie called in Pecon and Trolli and together created the second part.
On December 31, 1947, Frankie and the boys had a recording session with Columbia. Frankie suggested "Just Because", but Columbia didn't want anything to do with it because the Sheldon brothers recorded it years before without success. Frankie argued with them, kicking chairs, and throwing sheet music around the room, but Columbia would not budge. Finally Frankie said, "Okay, I'll make you a deal, I'll buy the first 10,000 records myself. I know I can sell them." So, Frankie and his Yanks recorded "Just Because" without a rehearsal featuring Pecon and Frank harmonizing on the vocals.
Undoubtedly, that was the beginning of a craze we know of today that has benefited generations of audiences and musicians alike.
In 1948, Columbia Records released "Just Because" and the song broke off breaking the barrier between Polka music and popular music and skyrocketed the Yankovic to National fame. It wasn't long before "Just Because" sold a million copies."
Recorded: September 10, 1954 (session 3)
15. Good Rockin' Tonight
Recorded: September 11, 1954 (session 3)
16.Milkcow Blues Boogie
Recorded: December 8, 1954 (session 4)
17. You're a Heartbreaker
Recorded: December 8, 1954 (session 4)
18. Baby Let's Play House
Recorded: February 11, 1955 (session 5)
19. I Got a Woman
Recorded: February 5, 1955 (session 5) (tape lost)
20. Trying To Get To You
McCoy - Singleton. Original: The Eagles (1954, Mercury)
Recorded: February 11, 1955 (session 5, not published) and July 11, 1955 (session 7, published). In 2002, RCA included information in the liner notes of Sunrise as to Presley recording this song whilst simultaneously playing the piano, and not aided by his rhythm guitar, as previously believed. Because his piano playing was not up to the expected standards, producer Sam Phillips erased the sound of the piano on the master take so, in addition to Elvis' tantalizing vocals, all one hears is the lead guitar, the bass and the drums.
21. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone
Recorded: March 10, 1955 (session 6)
22. I Forgot To Remember To Forget
Recorded: July 11, 1955 (session 7)
23. Mystery Train
Recorded: July 11, 1955 (session 7)
24. When It Rains It Really Pours
Recorded: August or October 1955 (session 
25. The Million Dollar Quartet (session recordings)
On December 4, 1956, a year after Elvis had left Sun for RCA, he revisited Sun Studio. The afternoon became a jam session with Carl Perkins (then already famous for his "Blue Suede Shoes"), Jerry Lee Lewis (relatively unknown at the time), and Johnny Cash (not heard on the tapes, although he does appear on the cover photo). The taping was largely unintended by the quartet; they were just singing the songs they had in mind. About 40 titles are recorded, most of them incomplete. Elvis is caught telling about a singer he saw in Las Vegas, doing his version of "Don't Be Cruel", and they're enjoying "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" from Chuck Berry.
Recorded: December 4, 1956.
Not a lot of recordings really when you consider the impact they had on the world whilst also creating rock and roll! In terms of the actual Elvis Sun 45s that are out there waiting for you to find them, here are the details of those:
There were only five Elvis sun 45s released and here are their details:
1.Sun 209
a.That's All Right
b.Blue Moon Of Kentucky
2.Sun 210
a.Good Rockin Tonight
b.I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
3.Sun 215
a.Milkcow Blues Boogie
b.You're A Heartbreaker
4.Sun 217
a.Baby,Let's Play House
b.I'm Left,You're Right, She's Gone
5.Sun 223
a.Mystery Train
b.I Forgot To Remember To Forget
Don't forget, you can see original Elvis sun 45s for sale on the Elvis page, and check out rare Sun label vinyl records for sale on the Sun page. We're making collecting rare Elvis Preslely records a little bit easier we hope.
