Monday, February 24, 2014

February 24 - 60 Years of Elvis

Elvis Presley's Graceland Celebrates the 60th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll with New Exhibit Titled "60 Years of Elvis".

From the EPE site:
On July 5, 1954, a delivery truck driver named Elvis Presley walked into Sun Studio in Memphis and recorded “That’s All Right” with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black. Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips played the song on July 8 on WHBQ radio and the switchboard lit up. Rock ‘n’ roll was born and the music world changed forever.

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of Elvis' first recordings at Sun Studio, Elvis Presley’s Graceland is planning a variety of activities, starting with a new exhibit at Graceland entitled “60 Years of Elvis.” The new “60 Years of Elvis” exhibit will be open from now until February of 2015.

This exciting, new exhibit is now open as part of the VIP tour experience. Guests will explore the birth of rock ‘n’ roll music in July of 1954 and journey through the transformation of the would-be King of Rock ‘n’ Roll from delivery truck driver to world-wide singing sensation and star of the silver screen. 

Rare artifacts displayed in the new “60 Years of Elvis” exhibit include: Elvis’ personal “That’s All Right” 45 rpm record; a pay stub from his early days as a driver for Crown Electric; telegrams home to his parents during his first few days on tour; an original script from “Jailhouse Rock”; his 1955 RCA Records contract; Elvis’ last GRAMMY® Award for his Gospel hit “How Great Thou Art,” along with the jumpsuit he wore on stage that night; Elvis’ wardrobe from “Viva Las Vegas”; and the award presented to Graceland and the Presley family upon Elvis’ induction into the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.  

Return To Sender?

Elvis Presley postage stamp to be reissued along with James Brown, Jim Morrison, Sam Cooke & many more. Sometimes, when things leak out from the U.S. government, the news isn't good. In the case of the recent leak of future postage stamps, the result is a celebration of the music icons who will be saluted in the coming years.

The Washington Post linked to a document that they received that includes the current plans from the "Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee." On that list are numerous upcoming commemorative stamps saluting music icons from pop, rock, R&B and country.


There is a bit of confusion over the status of an upcoming Elvis Presley release. According to the article in the Post, the post office will be reissuing the Presley stamp from 1993 which is the best selling stamp in the country's history; however, the leaked list shows it as a new issue and not in the reprint column. We'll have to wait until next year to see whether we get 50's Elvis, 70's Elvis or something in-between.

(Source: EPE / ElvisMatters)