1950s

Elvis stamp breaks postal records [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 18 when I wrote this article back in 1993 for The Elvis Beat #4, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

A week earlier, the world had counted down the seconds to midnight and the beginning of the new year. Now, they were counting down once again to 12 AM (Central Time) and the official release of the Elvis stamp in Memphis.

At Elvis Presley Plaza, across the street from Graceland, thousands of fans, who were already in line to purchase the stamp, loudly chanted the remaining seconds.

At midnight, a new day had dawned. It was finally January 8, the 58th anniversary of Elvis’ birth and the day that the Elvis stamp would go on sale.

As fans anxiously awaited their turns to purchase the stamp, a ceremony was taking place across the street at Graceland. 800 fans, community leaders, politicians, and the ever-present news media were gathered to watch.

US Postmaster General Marvin Runyon presented Graceland the original artwork of the Elvis stamp, which will go on display. Priscilla Presley then spoke to accept, on Lisa Marie and her children’s behalf, a special sheet of commemoratives the Postal Service traditionally gives to the family of a stamp honoree.

Priscilla said, in part, “Like all of you here tonight, I feel that if ever there was an entertainer who deserved to be honored with a stamp, unquestionably, it would be Elvis Presley. What he contributed to our music and our culture was enormous and is worthy of the greatest respect and appreciation. He was a brilliant artist and he was a good man.”

She continued, “I want to thank all of you loyal fans and, of course, the US Postal Service for making this stamp possible. Thank you, Mr. Runyon, for these beautiful commemoratives for Lisa and her daughter, Danielle, and her new little son, Benjamin. Lisa was going to send a note of acknowledgment but, instead of sending an acknowledgment, I think maybe it might be better if she thanked you in person. So, I’m very happy to introduce to you, Lisa Presley Keough.” Priscilla stepped aside.

There was a moment of stunned silence and then a roar of applause as Lisa Marie appeared for the first time ever to address her father’s fans.

Lisa Marie said, “I’m very honored. Thank you very much. I’m happy to be here to accept this for my father. It’s a great acknowledgment, and I really appreciate it. And I speak on behalf of him, my family, and myself. Thank you.” Although she seemed understandably nervous during her speech, she later appeared more at ease as she posed for pictures for the press, flashing a smile that was very reminiscent of Elvis.

After Lisa Marie’s speech, seven minutes of fireworks choreographed to Elvis’ recordings of “Return To Sender” and “An American Trilogy” lit up the sky over Graceland.

Later that day, Elvis fans who were unable to be in Memphis flocked to their local post offices to buy the stamp. At many post offices, Elvis imitators sang to fans as they waited in lines.

Normally, 150 million stamps are printed for a US commemorative stamp. Half a billion Elvis stamps were printed, easily breaking all previous records. Within a few days, most post offices around the nation were completely sold out of the stamps, making them the most successful in history. The Elvis stamp is to make one last appearance in June at post offices as part of a booklet featuring several other music stars.

Elvis Most Successful Stamp of All Time [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 17 when I wrote this article back in 1992 for a special supplement issue of The Elvis Beat, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

The rumors were beginning to fly. Was the Elvis stamp going to sell out through advance sales before even reaching post offices? No, but they would have if the US Postal Service hadn’t ordered a reprint to meet the unexpected (to them anyway) demand. The Elvis stamp is the most successful in the history of the US Postal Service, a phenomenal feat considering that it has not even been officially released yet.

To top that, for the first time in history a stamp will be released nationwide on its first day of issue, instead of solely at Memphis as originally planned.

Be on the lookout for many products featuring the stamp which are currently or will be available. Graceland stands to make a lot of money on this merchandise (along with money generated from other Elvis products because of new interest in Elvis). At the same time, the US Postal Service stands to make an incredible profit on the stamp, since most people will save them for their collections rather than actually use them.

Elvis: Special Delivery [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 17 when I wrote this article back in 1992 for a special supplement issue of The Elvis Beat, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

Cable’s TNT will air special programming devoted to Elvis to coincide with the 58th anniversary of his birth and the release of the Elvis stamp. A highlight will be a two-part mini-series called Elvis: The Early Years, which is actually a combination of all thirteen episodes of the excellent 1990 ABC television series Elvis (including three previously un-aired episodes).

Along with other Elvis movies, live cut-ins from Graceland to be hosted by George Klein and focusing on the events in Memphis will be aired on the night of January 7.

Review – ELVIS: THE GREAT PERFORMANCES (1992 CBS TV version) [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 17 when I wrote this review back in 1992 for The Elvis Beat #2, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

Elvis: The Great Performances (CBS), hosted by Priscilla Presley, directed by Andrew Solt, aired April 24, 1992.

The TV version of Elvis: The Great Performances is not as good as the two volume video versions from 1990 for several reasons.

First of all, the original narration of Elvis’ friend George Klein has been replaced by the phony-sounding narration of Elvis’ ex-wife, Priscilla Presley.

The other problem is that his version contains fewer songs due to the 30 minutes of boring commercials supplied by JC Penney.

The songs it does contain are “great performances,” but they are ruined by being edited and chopped up. However, this is a problem that exists on the videos, too, and all of Andrew Solt’s other Elvis productions. It should be a crime to cut Elvis songs. I would much rather see 10 complete performances instead of 25 bits and pieces.

My advice: See the original video versions of The Great Performances (Volume One: Center Stage and Volume Two: The Man And The Music), or, even better, see a real Elvis video like Elvis: That’s The Way It Is or Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii.

Songs include:

  • “Shake, Rattle, and Roll/Flip, Flop, and Fly”
  • “Heartbreak Hotel”
  • “Blue Suede Shoes”
  • “Hound Dog”
  • “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You”
  • “Ready Teddy”
  • “Love Me Tender”
  • “Don’t Be Cruel”
  • “Got A Lot Of Livin’ To Do”
  • “Teddy Bear”
  • “Jailhouse Rock”
  • “Trouble”
  • “Fame And Fortune”
  • “Return To Sender”
  • “All Shook Up”
  • “If I Can Dream”
  • “Suspicious Minds”
  • “Always On My Mind”
  • “An American Trilogy”
  • “Unchained Melody”
  • “Money Honey”

Rating: 6 out of 10

Elvis lives on in the 90s [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 17 when I wrote this article back in 1992 for The Elvis Beat #2, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

1992 is a revolutionary year for Elvis on CD. With the release of ELVIS: The King Of Rock ‘n’ Roll – The Complete 50s Masters, a 5-CD set containing 140 songs, and the new “Elvis In The 90s” series, RCA seems to have finally made a commitment to release quality Elvis recordings in the CD format.

The “Elvis In The 90s” series is dedicated to bringing back all of the key albums yet to be released on CD or which have been deleted from the RCA catalog completely. Also planned for the future are boxed sets for this 1960s and 1970s material. Work on this massive project is expected to be finished by 1996.

Below is an incomplete list of Elvis CDs released within the last year. Due to the large number of discs currently being released, the list is not up-to-date.

Elvis’ New CDs

  • ELVIS: The King Of Rock ‘n’ Roll – The Complete 50s Masters (5 CDs)
  • Collectors Gold (3 CDs)
  • The Lost Album
  • ELVIS – NBC TV Special
  • On Stage
  • He Touched Me
  • As Recorded At Madison Square Garden
  • Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite
  • Elvis Today
  • Elvis In Concert

New releases examine two phases of Elvis’ career [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 17 when I wrote this article back in 1992 for The Elvis Beat #2, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

Wednesday, June 24, was, perhaps, the best day for Elvis fans in the past 15 years. It marked the debut of two long-awaited releases.

The first new release is RCA’s ELVIS: The King Of Rock ‘n’ Roll – The Complete 50s Masters (List Price: $79.98), a five-CD set which contains every master studio take recorded in the 1950s, several alternate takes, live tracks, and previously unreleased material (140 songs in all). 500,000 units were pre-shipped to record stores.

Included are “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin,” the songs an 18-year-old Elvis paid to record for his mother in 1953.

The other release is even more monumental. The Turner Entertainment video Elvis: The Lost Performances (List Price: $19.98) contains an hour’s worth of never-before-seen outtakes from the 1970s concert movies Elvis: That’s The Way It Is and Elvis On Tour. 25 songs are performed on this video. See review on page 6.

[The Elvis Beat newsletter] And the winner is. . .

/ TY

I was 17 when I wrote this article back in 1992 for The Elvis Beat #2, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

“Here are the results. . . . It is the ‘young Elvis’ by a mile,” former US Postmaster General Anthony Frank announced on June 4 at Graceland in front of a huge crowd of Elvis fans.

In the month of April, over one million people voted for their “favorite” Elvis. The 50s Elvis defeated the 70s version by a wide 3-to-1 margin. The winning artwork was painted by Mark Stutzman of Maryland.

Also present at the ceremony was Priscilla Presley, who said, “I think that of all the awards and honors that he has received, and he has received many during his lifetime, I’m confident to say this would probably be the most special award for him. Elvis loved his fans very, very much, and I think that he would have just been totally overwhelmed by all of your support. And I think that having you celebrate here at Graceland would have been very special for him, too.”

The “Elvis Presley Postage Stamp Campaign” began in 1983 and was spearheaded by Ms. Pat Geiger of Vermont. She says that she voted for the 70s Elvis. “As Elvis grew older he got better looking and became a more polished performer. That’s the way I remember him,” she said. Nevertheless, she said she was “delirious” over the Elvis stamp anyway.

She also defended Elvis against critics who feel he doesn’t deserve a stamp. “They don’t honor people for their private lives,” she said. “If they did, a lot of them would never have gotten stamps – Ernest Hemingway and WC Fields are two examples. You honor these people for their accomplishments and the impact they made on the world. Elvis known by his first name all over the world. Only the name ‘Elvis’ appears on the stamp. It doesn’t say ‘Elvis Presley.'”

The stamp’s first day of issue will be January 8, the 58th anniversary of his birth. It will be available in single sheets of 40 stampes each for $11.60.

(Quotes obtained from ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC news.)

Election Results

50s Elvis: 851,200 (75.4%)

70s Elvis: 277,723 (24.6%)

The winner is: ELVIS (100%)