Review The SUN Singles of Elvis

Elvis collector Warren Schubert turned the learnings of his years of collecting Elvis' SUN records into a book, presenting the first coherent overview for fellow collectors.

 
Design
 
The book was published by Memphis Mansion Publishing, so Søren Karstensen provided the design for the book. And he did a great job. With the first glance you know the book can only cover Elvis at SUN thanks to the yellow and brown color scheme of the cover with the first official promotional picture of our man. 

Now who came up with the idea to dress that Memphis rebel in a tuxedo? All of a sudden Elvis's performance of ‘Hound Dog’ on the Ed Sullivan Show a few years later doesn't look as odd …
 

The nice thing Karstensen did was update the SUN elements - the rooster in particular - to a 21st century design, matching the various chapters of the book. 

The combination of Schubert's first person storytelling, the singles, relevant memorabilia and paperwork look great and make easy reading. 

 
Content
 
The title of the book is 'The Sun Singles of Elvis - An Illustrated Guide' and that is exactly what it is. To give the illustrations, with the SUN single variations as the main topic, Schubert provides the historical context of the record label and its most famous artist and the world of producing records in the fifties before we get to Elvis' five SUN singles.
 

As there is very little paperwork left, Schubert had to create a timeline of events and products based on the snippets of information available. But this isn't a problem for the author, as he has owned well over 50 SUN singles over the years.
 
In an interview with Piers Beagley for the Elvis Information Network he said: "I spent nights and weekends comparing photos of labels to determine any differences, well over a thousand photos. Zooming in on details, or using a magnifying glass to examine closely any records on hand. I made visits to the Memphis library and other collectors homes.
 

I could possibly have one of the largest private collections of Elvis Sun singles, with many of the photos from the book either currently or having been part of my collection. I own some letters and invoices from the Sun files, the earliest from 1953. I have some checks signed by both Marion Keisker and Sam Phillips, as well as original labels from the east coast Paramount pressing plant. A few of them also came from Marion's personal collection. I also have a couple of early acetates in my collection, one a Sun and the other was made by RCA using the original Sun tapes." My conclusion: Warren Schubert knows his SUN records.
 
He takes his readers by the hand as he organizes his thoughts and builds a credible argument and timeline. It is up to the reader to come up with something better, but to me, his story feels well-thought-out and well-substantiated.

Example from the book on 'That's All Right': "This 78 rpm copy of 209 had labels that had the word ‘with’ above Scotty and Bill. The record number 209 was also placed at the bottom under the title, which seemed to have been the position Sam set on all of his previous releases. The upside down labeled 45 rpm did not have this word. Since there are releases of the 45 rpm that match this layout and it was the way Sam preferred it, then it would stand to reason the matching 45 rpm would have been released at the same time and in the same configuration as the 78 rpm. 

If this is the case then the copies containing the word ‘with’ would be the first pressings for both the 78 rpm and the 45 rpm records. ... Once again this is just a theory, since it can’t be verified by anyone who was actually there at the time. But given the evidence of the Elvis signed 78 rpm copy, there is a strong argument that the evidence greatly supports the theory."

Each single gets its own chapter that starts with the songs, the recording and the business-side behind each release. But to me, his story feels well-thought-out and well-substantiated. Most of it is known to collectors, but as this book is also sold at SUN records in Memphis, it is needed to present the complete story to the casual music fan, SUN or Elvis collector. There is some repetition in the facts, but this isn't a problem while reading the book.
 
Reading the book we learn that each single release was a project on its own for Phillips: it was either getting the song on tape in a version that would sell, getting the copyrights, putting up the finances, dealing with the pressing plants, dealers and so on. Added to this groundwork are the details on the different labels and pressings before we get all SUN singles in all their glory on 45 and 78 RPM.
 
The proof of the eating is of course in the pudding; the SUN singles, and the book worked for me. Comparing my singles with Schubert's overview I was able to identify my singles from the images shown. A second pressing is as close as I came to the birth of Rock and Roll.
 

The book does have two big omissions for me; a complete list identifying all variations presented in this book, so as a collector, you can easily identify the version you have. As far as I can remember Schubert's book is the first book covering these historical singles in this much detail, that gives him the right to create the list of all variations and their specific characteristics. That would have completed this book as the definitive reference on these landmark singles. 

The other big one is the absence of the two 78 rpm versions of SUN 223, 'Mystery Train,' but that was an error during the production I understood. 
 
Minor omissions are the research by John Heath on the SUN labels, he has also created a time-line, and of course Graceland's acetate debacle, buying as forgery instead of the original SUN promotional acetate that Phillips brought to his partner in crime and radio DJ Dewey Phillips on that legendary night when 'That's All Right' premiered. It would have fitted well into the personal acetates and forgeries chapters.
 
Conclusion
 
I have to compliment Warren Schubert on his research, and Søren Karstensen on the presentation of that research. Even with the omissions mentioned, this is an insightful and attractive book, that fills a gap in the Elvis discography book library.
 
The foreword of the book was written by Mack Stevens, who described himself as a "SUN records collector and obsessionist", and that is a good description of the people who will probably buy the book, but it deserves a far wider audience.

Additional information

The book will be published during the Elvis Presley Weekend at the Danish Memphis Mansion from October 3 to 5, 2025 during which Warren Schubert will do a session. 

If you want a signed copy from the author, you can contact him by >>> mail. 

You can read an interview with Warren Schubert on the >>> Elvis Information Network.