The book is divided in several sections 'Part 1 - The EPs', 'Part 2 - The Army EPs' and as the last section'Singles (re-releases)'.
From the press release: The fully illustrated guide lists and describes the differences between the covers and labels with additional information.
In addition, the guide contains a table showing the dates of publication of the covers and the records, so that it is easy to see whether a record can belong to the cover in which it is located.
"Part 1 - the EPs" will contain all EPs known at the time of going to press. For Germany, that's 46 EPs. While in the U.S.A. the EPs were published in chronological order, starting in 1956 with EPA-747, the German editions unfortunately do not have a clear order. The first EP appeared in 1956, for example, the EPA-821 "Heartbreak Hotel", then the EPA-747, then the EPA-9500, followed by the two EPB-1254-1 and EPB-1254-2.
We try to reproduce the records as authentically as possible and depict them as they were sold in stores at the time, which means that the covers are shown with the corresponding record. Other combinations cannot be ruled out as long as the year of publication of the cover and the record roughly match. However, there were no more for the book.
The penultimate "Part 2 - the" Army "EPs" contains several of the 46 records made in Germany that were sold from the PX department stores. A special feature is the "PX stamp" that each plate received. This stamp contained the date, the item number and the price (see pages 415 and 418 for description). From the beginning of the 1960s, a sticker was used instead of the stamp.
While the first EPs were produced specifically for sale in the “PX” department stores (hardcover as well as the records with the so-called “Nipper-Dog Label”), the EPs that are common in German retailers were also sent to the PX sell - the only difference was the PX stamp on the back of the case or, in the 1960s, the PX sticker on the front or back of the case.
The same order (and numbering) was chosen for the "Army EPs" as for the EPs in Part 1, even if not all EPs were apparently available in the PX. But here too, only those who were known at the time of going to press could be considered. It is quite possible that there are further EPs. Too little is known about it for that.
In the appendix "Singles (re-releases)", the picture sleeves of the singles that were re-released in the 70s / 80s are shown (“Devil”, “Gospel” and “Year” covers) and explained in detail.
Fred Segal Died
Fred Segal, a notable Los Angeles-based celebrity fashion retailer, died. He was 87. He tailored Elvis Presley in the sixties and seventies.
(Source: Elvis Club Berlin / USA Today)