Saturday, July 11, 2026

July 11 - Rockin' at the Movies

The French V.P.I. record label announced the August 28, 2026 release of the Danish and the German EP's titled 'Rockin' Presley'.

Description Danish EP
: With its exclusive sleeve - unique to the Danish pressing - 'Rockin' Presley' is one of Elvis Presley's most sought-after European 45s. Released in the late 1950s, it also stands out for having a tracklist that differs from other editions of the era, making it a must-have for collectors.

This reissue honors the spirit of the now-rare original and is available on gold, silver, black, white and pink colored vinyl, each color limited to 200 copies. 

Side A: Hound Dog - Don't Be Cruel
Side B: When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again - Paralyzed

Description German EP
: The German 45 RPM EP 'Rockin’ Presley' (EPA 9500), released in 1956, is one of Elvis Presley’s most iconic European EPs. With its understated, elegant cover and four essential classics 'Hound Dog', 'Don’t Be Cruel', 'I Want You, I Need You, I Love You' and 'Heartbreak Hotel', it has become a sought-after item for collectors. 

Side A: Hound Dog - Don't Be Cruel
Side B: I Want You, I Need You, I Love You - Heartbreak Hotel

This reissue is available on black silver, red, pink and creme colored vinyl, each color limited to 200 copies. 


Elvis at the Movies

The New Continent record label announced the release of the LP 'Elvis At The Movies' as a limited Edition on red colored vinyl containing a selection of hits from his first movies.

Tracks side A: (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear - Loving You - Got A Lot O´ Livin` To Do - Mean Woman Blues - King Creole - Hard Headed Woman - Love Me Tender - Wooden Heart - Tonight Is So Right For Love - G. I. Blues - Blue Suede Shoes.

Side B - Blue Hawaii - Can't Help Falling In Love - Rock-A-Hula Baby - Follow That Dream - What A Wonderful Life - King Of The Whole Wide World - Flaming Star: - Wild In The Country - Girls! Girls! Girls! - Return To Sender - Jailhouse Rock.


50 Years Under the Spell of the King

Jan Geerling has published a frist Limited Edition print of his book '50 Jaar in de Ban van de King' ('50 Years Under the Spell of the King'). This edition of 50 copies of the 180-page A5 sized Dutch book is available to listeners of his podcast with the same title. The book will go on sale to a wider audience in mid-2026 or early 2027.

Description
: Since the death of Elvis Presley on August 16, 1977 - 50 years ago in August 2027 - Jan Geerling has been under the spell of The King. In this book he tells how his passion arose and how he gave expression to it, including by performing as an Elvis impersonator and by making the podcast 'Elvis - In de ban van The King' ('Elvis - Under the Spell of The King') on Spotify. 

Through anecdotes, special experiences and his search for an original signature of the legend, Jan takes the reader into his world.

He describes the journeys he made to places where Elvis's roots lie: his birthplace Tupelo, the iconic Graceland, and the SUN studio in Memphis. He also visits the residence in Bad Nauheim (Germany), where Presley stayed during his military service.

In short, an appealing and very personal story for anyone who loves music, travel, and of course, The King.

(Source: Elvis My Happiness / Elvis Club Berlin / Jan Geerling)

July 11 - Charts July 2026 - Week 2

Elvis' presence on the U.K. music chart isn't as epic as it used to be ... Fortunately 'EPiC' keeps Elvis in the spotlights.

U.K. charts

Following the exit from the Streaming Album chart last week, the compilation also fell off the Chart Update chart this week. The only album remaining on the music charts if the 'EPiC' soundtrack, climbing from No. 8 to No. 6. 

To be updated over the weekend: The 'Elvis Presley in Concert' movie fell from No. 10 to No. 20 on the U.K. Film chart.

The DVD edition of 'EPiC' dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 on the DVD chart, while the Blu-ray edition won back one place and climbed to No. 16 on the Blu-ray chart. The movie fell from No. 4 to No. 7 on the Music Video chart. 

The movie remained steady at No. 1 on the Official MU.K. Music Video chart.


Irish charts

The 'EPiC' DVD / Blu-ray remained steady No. 1 on the Irish IRMA Music DVD chart for the fourth week in a row. On the Irish Video chart 'EPiC' lost one spot and landed at No. 9. 


U.S. Billboard charts
 
The 'ELV1S 30 #1 Hits' compilation lost three spots on Billboard's Country Album chart and fell to No. 44 this week.   

(Source: Billboard / Official Chart Company / UK Mix Forum / Irma)

Friday, July 10, 2026

July 10 - Elvis UK 33 ⅓ RPM Gold

Elvis authors and experts John Townson and Gordon Minto published 'Elvis UK 33 ⅓ RPM - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley’s British LPs 1956-1962', the first of the five volume series that revisits and revised the original 1987 'ELVIS UK' book.

The authors stated
For those who have repeatedly requested a major revision to their original book 'Elvis UK', published in 1987, this new series focuses on the biggest section of that book - the UK LP section - though this new series will run to five volumes - an indication of how much detail has gone into each book.  

As you may be aware, the authors have been systematically revising and updating every major part of 'Elvis UK', and over the last few years have published standalone soft-backed books on 78rpm singles, EPs, non-RCA UK LP releases, and compact discs. Their most recent book, 'Cover Story', published in late 2025, focused on every aspect of album covers. Each book has been uniformly acclaimed by collectors.  

This first LP volume covers the period between March 1956 up to mid-1962 and runs for 462 pages. 

So, what can you expect to find in this book? While it is tempting to say ‘everything’, it must be stressed that it is not a discography (i.e. a simple list of releases), as is commonly understood, and nor is it simply a collection of record labels, album covers and other illustrations. It is much more than that. It is an in-depth narrative account of every album and the story behind it. In short, it is the definitive guide to Elvis’s UK album releases. It includes: 
  • Every individual album release (including the three HMV albums) dealt with separately in forensic detail.
  • Details of all the tracks included (titles, writers’ names) plus a swathe of background information, memorabilia and illustrations.
  • Every album is carefully cross-referenced to later re-issues.
  • A full song index, including modes, recording venues, take numbers and writers’ information.
  • Many high-quality illustrations, photographs, plus a fascinating range of relevant memorabilia drawn from a host of sources, including record companies, along with material drawn from contemporaneous newspapers and magazines.
  • Images of both sides of all known label and sleeve variations and a detailed explanation of the rationale behind each of them, along with key feature to aid identification.
  • Details of label combinations, production errors, and other fascinating oddities that delight collectors! 
In short, this is the most comprehensive work ever undertaken on the subject.  If you are familiar with - and liked - previous Elvis UK books, then this should appeal to you also! 

For more details, prices and how to order, visit the author's webshop at >>> www.elvisukbooks.co.uk. The book will be available a week from now. 


Triple Platinum

The single 'American Trilogy' was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industries for selling over 400,000 copies (streams plus digital downloads plus physical sales) respectively since its re-release on November 16, 2004. This marks the fifth certification for 2026.

Thursday, July 09, 2026

July 09 - The Complete Re-releases

The Memphis Recording Service record label announced the September 18, 2026 release of the six CD-set 'The Complete Live and TV Anthology 1954 - 1961'. 

This set contains re-issues of the 'Elvis On Television', 'The Complete 1950's Live Recordings' and 'One Night in Pearl Harbor' sets. Most of this material has seen previously releases on CD, vinyl and book / CD combo packages by the same label. 





Tracks CD 1 The Dorsey Brother - Stage Show (CBS)- 28th Jan 1956
1. Stage Show 1 Introduction & Bill Randle Introduces Elvis Presley
2. Shake Rattle & Roll/Flip Flop & Fly 
3. I Got A Woman
 
4th Feb 1956  
4. Stage Show 2 Introduction
5. Baby Let's Play House 
6. Tutti Frutti
7.
11th Feb 1956
8. Stage Show 3 Introduction
9. Blue Suede Shoes
10. Heartbreak Hotel (with Stage Show Orchestra)

18th Feb 1956
11. Stage Show 4 Introduction
12. Tutti Frutti
13. I Was The One

17th March 1956  
14. Stage Show 5 Introduction
15. Blue Suede Shoes 
16. Heartbreak Hotel

24th March 1956 
17. Stage Show 6 Introduction
18. Money Honey 
19. Heartbreak Hotel

The Milton Berle Show (NBC) - 3rd April 1956

20. Introduction of Milton Berle Show 1 & Shake Rattle And Roll (In Part) 
21. Milton Berle Introduces Elvis Presley 1
22. Heartbreak Hotel 
23. Blue Suede Shoes 
24. Milton Berle & Elvis Presley Comedy Sketch
25. Blue Suede Shoes

NBC Studio – Hollywood, California - 5th June 1956
26. Introduction of Milton Berle Show 2
27. Hound Dog
28. Milton Berle & Elvis Presley & Debra Paget Comedy Sketch
29. Milton Berle Introduces Elvis Presley 2
30. I Want You I Need You I Love You 
31. Milton Berle Presents Elvis Billboard Award

Wink Martindale - Top Ten Dance Party (WHBQ TV) - 16th June 1956
32. Wink Martindale Interviews Elvis Presley & Dewey Phillips singing Money Honey

CD 2 - The Steve Allen Show (NBC) - 1st July 1956
1. Introduction/Dialogue with Steve Allen
2. I Want You I Need You I Love You 
3. Hound Dog 
4. Yippee Yi Yo Yippee Yi Yay - Comedy Routine with Steve Allen, Elvis Presley, Imogene Coca & Andy Griffith 

Hy Gardner (NBC) - 1st July 1956
5. Calling Elvis – Interview

The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS) - 9th September 1956
6. Introduction and Charles Laughton Introduces Elvis
7. Don't Be Cruel 
8. Love Me Tender 
9. Ready Teddy 
10. Hound Dog

The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS) - 28th October 1956
11. Introduction Ed Sullivan
12. Don't Be Cruel 
13. Introduction Ed Sullivan
14. Love Me Tender 
15. Introduction Ed Sullivan
16. Love Me 
17. Hound Dog 
18. Elvis Talks Farewell

The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS) - 6th January 1957
19. Ed Sullivan Introduction
20. Hound Dog 
21. Love Me Tender
22. Heartbreak Hotel
23. Don't Be Cruel
24. Too Much
25. Elvis Talks
26. When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again
27. Ed Sullivan Speaks
28. (There’ll Be) Peace In The Valley
29. Ed Sullivan Farewells Elvis

The Frank Sinatra Show - 26th March 1960

30. It's Very Nice to Travelling - with Frank & Nancy Sinatra, Joey Bishop & Sammy Davis Jnr
31. Fame & Fortune 
32. Stuck On You 
33. Frank Sinatra and Joey Bishop talk to Elvis
34. Medley - Witchcraft/Love Me Tender - with Frank Sinatra
35. Love Me Tender Reprise - with Frank Sinatra) 
36. Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra Farewells Elvis

CD 3 - 16th October 1954 - Louisiana Hayride - Municipal Auditorium, Shreveport, LA
01.  Hayride Begins Jingle
02.  Introduction/ That's All Right
03.  Blue Moon of Kentucky

15th January 1955- Louisiana Hayride - Municipal Auditorium, Shreveport, LA
04. Hearts of Stone
05. That’s All Right 
06. Tweedle Dee

22nd January 1955 - Louisiana Hayride - Municipal Auditorium, Shreveport, LA
07. Money Honey 
08. Blue Moon of Kentucky 
09. I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine10. That’s All Right

11. Radio Spot Commercial for Performance February 23rd 1955 in Pine Bluff AR

5th March 1955 - Louisiana Hayride - Municipal Auditorium, Shreveport, LA
12. Tweedle Dee  
13. Money Honey  
14. Hearts of Stone  
15. Shake, Rattle & Roll 
16. Little Mama 
17. You’re a Heartbreaker 

19th March 1955 – Eagles Hall, Houston, Texas
 18. Good Rockin’ Tonight
 19. Baby Let’s Play House
 20. Blue Moon Of Kentucky          
 21. I Got a Woman
 22. That’s All Right

 23. Tweedle Dee (Apr 30th 1955)
 24. That's All Right (May 26th 1955) 
 25. I’m Left You’re Right She’s Gone (July 16th 1955)
 26. Mae Axton Interviews Elvis, July 29th 1955, Jacksonville, Florida 
 27. Radio Spot Commercial August 10th 1955 for Performance in Gladewater Texas 

20th August 1955 - Louisiana Hayride - Municipal Auditorium, Shreveport, LA
28. Baby Let’s Play House 
29. Maybellene  
30. That’s All Right
31. Bob Neal Interviews Elvis, Scotty & Bill, August 31st 1955, Memphis, Tennessee 

? October 1955 - Louisiana Hayride - Municipal Auditorium, Shreveport, LA
32. I' Forgot To Remember to Forget (2023 Remaster) 
33: Hayride End Jingle

CD 4 - 6th May 1956 - New Frontier, Las Vegas
01. Heartbreak Hotel 
02. Long Tall Sally 
03. Blue Suede Shoes 
04. Money Honey
 
16 May 1956 Little Rock, Arkansas
05. Interview at Little Rock Arkansas 
06. Heartbreak Hotel 
07. Long Tall Sally 
08. I Was the One 
09. Money Honey 
10. I Got A Woman 
11. Blue Suede Shoes 
12. Hound Dog 
13. 3rd June 1956 - Radio Spot for Elvis Concert in Oakland, CA
 
26 September 1956 Tupelo, Afternoon Performance
14. Heartbreak Hotel 
15. Long Tall Sally 
16. Presentation Key to the City
17. I Was the One 
18. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You 
19. I Got a Woman 
20. Don’t Be Cruel 
21. Ready Teddy 
22. Love Me Tender
23. Hound Dog 
24. WTUP Interviews Elvis Presley (Sep 26th 1956) 

CD 5 - 26 September 1956 Tupelo, Evening Performance
01. WTUP Interviews Elvis’ Parents, Vernon & Gladys 
02. Love Me Tender 
03. I Was The One 
04. I Got a Woman
05. Don’t Be Cruel 
06. Blue Suede Shoes 
07. Baby Let’s Play House 
08. Hound Dog 
09. Announcement 
15th December 1956, Louisiana Hayride - Municipal Auditorium, Shreveport, LA

10. Heartbreak Hotel 
11. Long Tall Sally 
12. I Was the One 
13. Love Me Tender 
14. Don’t Be Cruel 
15. Love Me 
16. I Got A Woman 
17. When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again 
18. Paralyzed 
19. Hound Dog 
20. Elvis Has Left the Building
 
April and August 1957 - Canadian Fragments 1957
21. Heartbreak Hotel (Toronto Radio Broadcast Fragment Apr 2nd 1957) 
22. Hound Dog (Ottawa Fragment Apr 3rd 1957) 
23. Heartbreak Hotel, I Was the One, I Got a Woman, Thats When You Heartaches Begin (Vancouver Fragments Aug 31st 1957) 
24. Interview at Portland Oregon (02 September 1957)
25. WELO Interviews Elvis Tupleo, Mississippi (27th September 1957)

CD 6 - March 25th 1961 –Bloch Arena Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
01 Introduction
02 Heartbreak Hotel
03 All Shook Up
04 (Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such As I
05 I Got A Woman
06 Love Me
07 Introductions
08 Such A Night
09 Reconsider Baby
10 I Need Your Love Tonight
11 That’s All Right
12 Don’t Be Cruel
13 One Night
14 Are You Lonesome Tonight
15 It’s Now or Never
16 Swing Down Sweet Chariot
17 Hound Dog
18 Hawaiian Press Conference and Awards Ceremony.

(Source: Pastic Head)

Wednesday, July 08, 2026

July 08 - Elvis Matters

The Belgian / Dutch ElvisMatters fan club sent out volume 92 of their Elvis magazine to their members.  

This new edition features a mix of articles, special background stories and unique photos. Among other things, you can read about the power of gospel in Elvis' life, the special March of Dimes panda plush toy, an extensive review of the new Elvis In Concert double LP set and interview-article with the man behind the label (by yours truly and Nigel Patterson of the Elvis Information Network), the history of the Red Pinwheel Jumpsuit, music on X-rays photos and much more. Enough to keep you engaged to this weekend. 

The Gold members of the club received an additional CD with content - ranging from Rehearsals in Vegas, studio Outtakes, TV Shows, commercials and live recordings - related to the news and articles featured in the magazine. 

For more information or the magazine, please visit the >>> ElvisMatters website

Tuesday, July 07, 2026

July 07 - The Elvis Presley Cookbook

Harper Celebrate published 'The Elvis Presley Cookbook: Fun Facts and Simple Southern Comfort Recipes Fit for a King' by Elizabeth McKeon, Ralph Gevirtz and July Bandy. 

Publicity for the 160-page hardcover book stated
: Put on your blue suede shoes and shake up your saltshaker, because this cookbook has some hunka-hunka delicious food! The Elvis Presley Cookbook is making a big flavor-filled comeback, with nearly 100 mouthwatering recipes worthy of the King himself. With every bite, travel back in time and relive the classic Southern flavors Elvis adored.

Packed with personal stories, fun facts, family traditions, appetizing full-color food photography, and photos of the King himself,The Elvis Presley Cookbook is a full-access backstage pass to Elvis’ legendary table. Your taste buds are about to be all shook up.

The book is available from >>> Amazon.

(Amazon)

Sunday, July 05, 2026

Review Elvis - The King Collected

The Dutch Vinyl Champ record label released a red colored LP titled 'Elvis - The King Collected' on red colored vinyl in 2025 - exclusively through the Lidl stores - and re-issued that album earlier this year through the usual sales channels. 

Now the label releases a Deluxe Box with the same title, holding five LPs and a hardcover book using the same title. Is this a release worthy of a Champion label?

Design

The cardboard box comes with a classy photo of Elvis on the cover, adding to the Deluxe presentation. On the back is the tracklisting for the five LPs, hardcover book and poster.

The LP-sized 40-page hardcover book covers the first years of Elvis' career - from 1954 to 1962 - and rise to fame, mainly through a neat presentation of a plethora of memorabilia like records, posters, advertisements, toys, newspaper clippings, sheet music and more. Some images show the effect of too many filters trying to polish them a little. Interesting to see a page dedicated to the faces of the people who recorded the originals for the songs featured on the Gospel LP in this set.

Next to that, the themes of the five LPs are explored in greater depth, with one page dedicated to each LP. The ardent fan may spot an occasional error, but the bigger picture presented in this coffee-table style book covers the basics in a positive way.

Each LP comes with its own cover artwork, matching the theme of the album. All the LPs in this set come on black and blue marbled vinyl, with the artwork of the label matching the design of the LPs.

In the back of the book we get the A2-sized poster, replicating the artwork of the aforementioned single LP. If you put this on your wall the message is clear, “Elvis is the King” and “here lives a fan!”. 

Content

How to curate a collection of Elvis Presley’s (early) work? The producers of this set chose five themes: ‘Elvis with the Jordanaires’, ‘Elvis Goes Country’, ‘Elvis The Love Album’, ‘Elvis Sings Gospel’ and ‘Elvis Plays Rhythm and Blues’ with 18 to 20 songs matching the theme of the LP.

By 1962, little over six years into his recording career, Elvis’ body of work was already too diverse to cover with “just” five themes, as there are his soundtrack recordings, the Christmas Classics, the Rockabilly, Rock and Roll and pop hits.

The producers solved this nicely by including all these genres naturally. Rock and Roll came from Country and Rhythm and Blues, so these are covered, although I wouldn’t have added ‘Girls! Girls! Girls!’ in the latter category or include ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ on a Country album. Here I expect a song about some worn-down country boots.

‘Hound Dog’ on the Rhythm and Blues is a natural fit, knowing where Big Mama Thornton came from, and the two Christmas songs fit in nicely on the Gospel LP. But we get ‘Hound Dog’ also on the album with the Jordanaires. ‘Don’t’, ‘One Night’, ‘Return To Sender’ and ‘Have I Told You Lately’ are featured twice on the five discs too. No reason to grab a box and write ‘Return To Sender’ on it, but these duplications are a little sloppy.

I did like the fact that the producers put the spotlight on The Jordanaires. They were an essential part of Elvis’ sound, and therefore his career, playing that opening disc made me appreciate that once more.

Conclusion

The set offers an entertaining introduction to the world of Elvis Presley as the producers curated a good overview of his first years. The design and presentation with the colorful coffee-table book and colored vinyl more than outweigh the errors a more experienced fan will spot. 

This is a great set to give to a new fan, I'm sure he will feel like a King receiving it.

Buy the set

This Deluxe 5-LP-set is available from the >>> Bennies Fifties webshop

Saturday, July 04, 2026

July 04 - An Exclusive Book

The VV import record label announced the release of various Deluxe "Test" Pressing Editions of their recent 'Free Bird' release, limited to six sets. Th LP features Elvis' December 14, 1975 10.00 PM Cocktail Show performance at the Las Vegas Hilton and a 7-inch single containing recordings from the December 13, 1975 Midnight Show performance.

Publicity stated
: We have produced three different sets with two different layouts. Each set consists of three gatefold sleeves, and by joining the spines you get the VV logo or a photo of Elvis on stage. Each gatefold contains one of the 18 color variations created during the production of the original first edition. Added to that is an OBI and an exclusive cardboard panel.




Accompanying the LPs are singles housed in an 8-inch Deluxe Sleeve; these are limited to six sets too. Each set consists of five digipack variations, and when you join the spines of the digipacks you get the words 'Free Bird' or 'Elvis'. The digipack further contains a forex panel, a poster, the vinyl single, and, as an extra bonus, a vinyl-CDR.

And since we also received eight spare vinyl copies in blue, yellow, and white colored vinyl without a sleeve, we decided to create something unique, a Limited Edition Poster Sleeve Edition! 

We designed a 180 by 62 cm poster sleeve that holds two LPs, the single, and the bonus CD, featuring a cover design created especially for this Exclusive Hand-Numbered Edition. A classic protective plastic sleeve protects the contents.


An Army Trilogy Vol. 1

German author Andreas Roth announced that his third book, titled 'An Army Trilogy Vol. 1' has been released. 

The hardcover book covers the period from Elvis' pre-induction physical to the end of his first month in Germany On circa 240 pages with the text in German and English, illustrated with over 300 black and white and several color photographs.

The author previously published the books 'The Ultimate Elvis in Munich Book' and 'An Army Trilogy Vol. 2' in 2004 and 2015 respectively.

(Source: Pascal Matteo / Andreas Roth)

July 04 - Charts July 2026 - Week 1

Elvis fans in the U.K. appear to have streamed less Elvis music than previous weeks, and the charts reflect that! Fortunately 'EPiC' keeps Elvis in the spotlight.

U.K. charts

Despite winning a few spots on the Official U.K. Album  chart, climbing to No 72, the '30 No. 1 Hits' compilation exited the chart this week. It has been 85 weeks since the album wasn't featured on the Top 100 bestsellers list. In November 2024 the album was missing from the chart for two weeks after another 80-week stint on the Album Top 100. 

The album also exited the Streaming Album chart from last week's No. 62 position. Oddly enough, the album climbed from No. 72 to No. 63 on the nation's Chart Update chart, 

The 'EPiC' soundtrack lost three places on the Soundtrack Album chart and fell from No. 5 to No. 8 this week. 

The 'Elvis Presley in Concert' movie fell from No. 3 to No. 10 on the U.K. Film chart and re-entered the Movie Download chart at No. 36 this week.

The DVD edition of 'EPiC' remained steady at No. 3 on the DVD chart, while the Blu-ray edition dropped from No. 11 to No. 17 on the Blu-ray chart. The movie fell from No. 4 to No. 7 on the Music Video chart.

The movie remained steady at No. 1 on the Music Video chart, but the ''68 Comeback Special' exited the chart after last week's re-entry at No. 37. 


Irish charts

The 'EPiC' DVD / Blu-ray remained steady No. 1 on the Irish IRMA Music DVD chart for the third week in a row. On the Irish Video chart 'EPiC' remained steady at No. 8.


U.S. Billboard charts
 
The 'ELV1S 30 #1 Hits' compilation won one spot on Billboard's Country Album chart and climbed to No. 41 this week.     

(Source: Billboard / Official Chart Company / UK Mix Forum / Irma)

Friday, July 03, 2026

July 03 - Memories That Linger on CD

The new Panther records import record label announced the release of the double CD set 'Memories That Linger In My Heart', featuring the December 10, 1975 performance as recorded from the audience in Las Vegas.

Publicity stated
: December in Las Vegas in the 1970´s has not really been a time where it would be easy to sell out concert venues. Unless you were considering bringing a musical phenomenon to town for the holiday season. Exactly this happened in 1975. When Elvis played Vegas in August of this year, it was a short-lived engagement as the “King” gave up after just 5 appearances because of pure exhaustion. Fans who eagerly awaited his iconic presence were disappointed, yet hope remained alive that Elvis would be back soon. And the contract had to be fulfilled anyway, so the Colonel and the Hilton management decided to bring Elvis back in December of the same year.

To make it short, the whole engagement in December of 1975 was nothing less than a rescheduled triumph! What you will hear on our new double CD set is (for the first time) the complete show of December 10 (there was only 1 show that day, at 10.00 PM). On previous releases of this concert the producers were not willing to invest in a second CD so they simply cut out some dialogue – which is a shame of course.

There are many highlights in the very good sounding audience recording of this evening. A more loose show with Elvis seemingly having a good time interacting with the audience. Plus the one or the other surprise, such as Elvis obviously playing a prank on people at the beginning of the show by going from 'See See Rider' into 'Can't Help Falling In Love' (including the so-called 'Closing Vamp'!) – as if the show would already be over after just 2 songs! And then, when you could have expected that he would go straight into 'I Got A Woman' after the usual “Wells” he presented another surprise: a spontaneous, nice version of 'When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again'. A hilarious moment indeed! 

The song 'Just Pretend', a musical pearl from 1970 was brought back this season as a regular in the setlist after not having been performed since November 72 in Hawaii. A seemingly spontaneous request shortly before the end of the show, the “dramatic” tune 'My Way' became a duet between Sherill Nielsen and Elvis because Elvis did not remember the lyrics and made Sherill sing for him in certain parts. 

And regarding the quality of our new CD: needless to say that the recording of this show is newly remastered and speed-corrected. Enjoy this show with its very entertaining nature, and make sure early to get your copy of this new Panther Records release from your favorite dealer!

Tracks CD 1: Also Sprach Zarathustra - See See Rider - Can’t Help Falling In Love (#1)- Closing Vamp (#1) - When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again - I Got A Woman / Amen - Love Me - Fairytale - And I Love You So - Trying To Get To You - All Shook Up - Teddy Bear / Don’t Be Cruel - You Gave Me A Mountain - Polk Salad Annie

Disc 2: Introductions / Johnny B. Goode -  Drum Solo (Ronnie Tutt) - Bass Solo (Jerry Scheff) - Piano Solo (Glen D. Hardin) - School Day - School Day (Reprise) - Just Pretend - How Great Thou Art (With Reprise) - Softly As I Leave You - America The Beautiful - Mystery Train / Tiger Man - My Way - Blue Christmas - Can’t Help Falling In Love (#2) -  Closing Vamp (#2)


Triple Platinum

The single 'Suspicious Minds' was certified Triple Platinum by the British Phonographic Industries for selling over 1,800,000 copies (streams plus digital downloads plus physical sales) respectively since its re-release on November 14, 2004. This marks the fourth certification for 2026.

(Source: Various / Phoenix Elvis Presley Forum / BPI)