Elvis Presley's first recording to be sold (Update Sells for $300K)

It's the most valuable UK record, but not the most valuable record period.

 

True. Sam Phillips was not even present on the day Elvis recorded the dub of "My Happiness/That's When Your Heartaches Begin." Phillips met Elvis when he came in to do a second acetate.

 

What is more valuable than the original Quarrymen record?

 

The one being discussed in this thread, natch!

 

The only way to truly establish the value of a record is to sell it. No one knows how much McCartney paid for the Quarrymen record, and it's never been auctioned off in an open market, so its true value is unknown. Experts can estimate how much it might sell for, but no one knows for sure.

The same goes for the Elvis record in question on this thread. Until it's sold, its value is unknown. It seems pretty likely though that it will sell for more than anyone has ever paid for a record before, which will establish it as the most valuable record ever.

 

"The other items in the auction will include his driving licence, issued in 1952, a 1955 contract to perform on the Louisiana Hayride radio and TV programmes and a jacket worn in the film Viva Las Vegas."

I read where there were like about 100 personal Elvis items to be auctioned soon and Priscilla has her eye on a few she would like to purchase but she won't say which ones because that would just drive up the price.

 

True, without being actually up for sale value is unknown. I can see the Elvis single being the most paid for record in history. The Quarrymen one, I believe, would go past the Elvis one if it was ever available for purchase. But you never know, and we probably never will. I did not mean to hijack an Elvis thread - I am a huge fan of him and The Beatles.

 

His Friend or Neighbor had an old Victrola, so the disc was kept there. I believe the auction will bring only six figures and it goes to charity.

 

It's hard to say. They both are the first studio recordings by the artists in question, and they both are one-of-a-kind items. The Elvis record has far more historical significance, because it directly led to his being discovered by Sam Phillips and was long a part of Elvis lore before being discovered in the 80s. By contrast, the Quarrymen record is just a footnote in the Beatles' history, scarcely remembered before it turned up. On the other hand, the Beatles are more universally popular than Elvis is at the present time. Whether that means they have more deep-pocketed collector fans or not is unknown, though.

 

For many years "Story Weather" by The Five Sharps was considered the rarest record in the world.

 

I wonder if the engineer who transferred the recordings to digital used glue to clean it.

 

The rarest doo-wop record, but I'm pretty sure there were several prewar blues records of which only one or two copies were known as well.


As for the value of the Presley acetate, I can't help but recall when that test-pressing of "That's All Right Mama" went on the auction block in 1996 with a minimum bid of $250,000...and didn't sell. I wouldn't be shocked if the same thing happens this time, especially since the recording itself is readily available to anyone with $15 or so for the CD.

 

Of course, that's a different type of rarity... a record manufactured and sold in the open market, for which an unknown but very small amount of copies survive. The Elvis record was not manufactured and is a one-of-a-kind item, so it's obviously rarer than any record that was manufactured.

The value of the Elvis record is not the music on it, but its uniqueness as a one-of-a-kind historical artifact that played a significant role in Elvis' history. How valuable that makes it remains to be seen of course. Elvis is not as popular as he once was, and probably some of the rich people that might have bought it 20 years ago are now deceased.

 

Lol......my bet on that is no.....

 

I was not surprised that the test press of That's All Right got bo bids at that insane price. Original 45s and 78s of that record can be had for well under 1,000.

 

I suspect that there are still enough hardcore Elvis collectors to make this an extremely valuable item. Even relatively "common" Elvis records not regarded as his musical peak, like Clambake and Spinout, still fetch three figures in mint condition.

 

A one-of-a-kind artifact, and they play it on a piece of junk "record player" with a plastic ceramic pickup. Way to go.

 

Well it did have a light tone arm.

 

An acetate recording of the ballad "My Happiness," the first song Elvis Presley ever recorded, has sold at auction for a total of $300,000.

An undisclosed buyer placed the winning bid Thursday at Graceland, the museum and tourist attraction that was Presley's former home. Bidding began at $50,000.

http://news.yahoo.com/presleys-1st-record-happiness-auctions-300-000-021148190.html


Ok...which one of you guys is the proud owner?

 

I would have bought it, but I'm not sure if it's the best pressing.

 

Not into Elvis. Never have been, ever.

But I do have the MFSL 24k CD. Never played it. Not into Elvis.

I could make this into a 'for/next loop'.

But... my cousin's love him.

 

This is the one he recorded for his Mamma, I wonder who bid, and bought it??

 

From http://www.rollingstone.com/music/n...st-recording-sells-for-300000-auction-2015010

Elvis Presley's First Recording Sells for $300,000 at Graceland Auction
Acetate disc of "My Happiness," the only of its kind in existence, was recorded in 1953

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Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Elvis Presley, circa 1956. The singer's first recording, "My Happiness," sold at auction for $300,000 on what would have been his 80th birthday this week

BY RYAN REED | January 9, 2015
Elvis Presley's first recording – an acetate disc from 1953 featuring "My Happiness," backed with "That’s When Your Heartaches Begin" – sold for $300,000 at a Graceland auction, The Guardian reports. The auction took place on January 8th, the date that would have marked the singer's 80th birthday. The prized item, the only one of its kind in existence, was recorded by Presley, who was 18 at the time, at Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Service on July 18th, 1953.

While the recording itself has been long-known to Presley fans, since it has appeared on numerous compilations, its origins remain the subject of debate. As previously reported, Presley's friend Ed Leek claimed to have given the singer four dollars to fund the session, subsequently inheriting the disc when Presley – whose family didn't have a record player – left it behind at his home. Another story suggests the rock legend intended to give the recording to his mother as a gift. "My Happiness" – which was previously estimated at $500,000 by Record Collectormagazine – was inherited by Leek's niece, who put it on the auction block. Bidding started at $50,000, and the item was sold to an undisclosed buyer.

The 80th birthday celebration found hundreds of fans flocking to Graceland, Presley's famed Memphis, Tennessee estate, where they joined the singer's former wife Priscilla, their daughter, Lisa Marie, and Elvis' grandchildren. Other listed auction items, all of which were authenticated by the estate, included Presley's first driver's license (from 1952), a custom watch bearing a Star of David design, a jacket worn in the 1964 film Viva Las Vegas and an autographed 78 r.p.m. copy of his debut Sun Records single, "That's All Right." Graceland previously held a memorabilia auction in August that included Presley's Martin D-28 guitar, his 1976 Cadillac Seville and a personal script for his debut film, 1956's Love Me Tender.

The King's 80th birthday also kickstarted a reissue campaign from Legacy Records, which announced a year-long campaign of remastered Presley albums. The first set, The Complete '60s Albums Collection Vol. 1 – which highlights the singer's LPs between 1960 and 1965 – was released this week on iTunes. In addition, Thursday marked the launch of a new website, ElvisTheMusic.com, which features a comprehensive online database.

There are also other – more lavish – Presley items up for grabs in 20115: Julien's Auctions isoffering Presley's private planes, the tricked-out "Lisa Marie" and "Hound Dog II," for sealed bids.

 

I remember being so excited to be able to hear this in 1999 when the "Sunrise" Sun compilation came out.

 

It was first on The Great Performances CD in 1990.