Elvis Presley on 78 rpm records
German RCA 78 rpm record sleeve 1956-58
20-6357 'I forgot to remember to forget' / 'Mystery train' was the
first RCA release from the
'Teldec' pressing plant in Hamburg, Germany which covered the central European
market
including Sweden. The copyright notice was filed on July 3, 1956 which oddly
indicates
that the 78 rpm version was pressed 3 months after the 45 rpm release.
Originally
released by SUN records as SUN 223 in August 1955 and re-released by RCA
in
November. Both these releases were only sold on the US market, however.
20-6540 'I want you, I need you, I love you' / 'My baby left me' has
a copyright notice
dated July 26, 1956 or a mere three weeks after 'Mystery train'. In the US, this
was
Elvis' follow-up to his first smash-hit 'Heartbreak hotel', but the latter would
not be considered for a German 78 rpm release for another three weeks.
20-6604 'Hound dog' / 'Don't be cruel' was the first German Elvis
record that hit the
manufacturing presses just about the same time as it did in the US. And a hot
wax
it was indeed. Soon both sides of the single would compete for the number one
spot on the record charts all over the world. Having been recorded on July 2,
it is almost amazing to note that the Teldec copyright notice was filed as
early as August 4, this time both for 45 and 78 rpm records at once.
20-7000 'Loving you' / 'Teddy bear' hit the presses at a time when
Elvis was a household
name globally. The copyright notice says July 27 1957, or little more than a year
after the
first release. It can be noted that 78 rpm records were not selling well any
longer.
The 45's had taken over the market almost totally by now. Only three more of
Elvis' singles would be pressed on this format, the last one being 'Jailhouse
rock' which went to the German pressing plant in late October.
British HMV 78 rpm record sleeve 1956-57
HMV POP 182 'Heartbreak hotel' / 'I was the one'. Released in March
1956, this was the
first Elvis record in the UK and it would be remain alone until June. One year
later
RCA began to press Elvis' singles on their own lable. All in all, a total of 11
Elvis
singles were released on HMV, each of them also available on 45 rpm records.
All of Elvis' HMV releases are highly sought-after by collectors today.