Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Singer was the sponsor and I am sure they made a few bucks attracting customers to their stores. Heck maybe one or two bought a sewing machine while looking for the LP. And, maybe some bought the LP while shopping for a sewing machine. If I recall it was only $1.49 for the LP. The Camden was a buck more when it came out. (relying on memory here so forgive me if I am wrong). But the "subpar" outtakes are generally better than the movie soundtrack LPs that we were used to by then.

And remember the Colonel's policy was generally ALL songs would be used eventually and that there would be little or no duplication of songs on LPs. Economic efficiency was the strategy.

 

My take on the LP was that it was one of many tools used to promote the upcoming Special, not the other way around. And I do think side one of the album is pretty good.

 

Do you recall what the relatively current Elvis albums at the time (like Speedway, How Great Thou Art, etc.) sold for? I know there was something like a $1 premium for stereo vs. mono.

 

Oh and a LOT of regular Elvis LPs are of 20 minute to 25 minute length, not just the Camdens (mostly the soundtracks in general).

 

$3.98 list for mono and $4.98 for stereo and if it was a premium album like LOC-1035, add a buck (in that case it would be $4.98 as there was no stereo version of LOC-1035, if there were it would have been $5.98). But by the late 60s the mono price had equaled the stereo price at $4.98. In my small town's two drugstores a $4.98 LP was sold at $4.29. At Target it would me anywhere from $2.49-$3.99 depending if it was on sale or not.

I do not recall when LPs went to $5.98 in general, but the first one I bought that was had been Let It Be, while Abbey Road was still $4.98. But I think that was a special case. It seems to me that the price of $5.98 for LPs in general came a bit later. Buy the time CDs came out at $18.98, LPs were $8.98 to $9.98.

 

Interesting. Rockaway must have retooled their presses sometime during the press run, as I've seen pressings with both the large 2.8" "deep groove" indent, and the smaller 1" circular indent.

 

I think the only LP (as released in Elvis' lifetime) that had a shorter running time than Flaming Star was Roustabout.

 

I'm not sure, but I think the first time the Camdens were mentioned in Elvis' catalogs, was in '72.

RCA and/or Parker wanted it both ways... lets tell everyone through the catalogs which album sold a $ million $, but not submit to get an RIAA award for it till years later for auditing/accounting purposes.

 

Ha, I used to buy and sell my LPs and CD at used record stores. In the 80s you could pretty much automatically get $5 cash for your used CD. They sold for about $10 used, about 1/2 of new prices. Now you're lucky if you can get a dime for them.

 

$3.79 mono, $4.79 stereo through How Great Thou Art.

Clambake, Gold Records Vol. 4, and Speedway all listed at $4.79 for both mono and stereo.

 

Yeah, those with the 2.8" deep groove seem to be on very unflexible vinyl, while the 1" are on slightly thinner (but still firm) vinyl.

 

To be fair, not many companies bothered to submit for RIAA awards until it was realized it would be a good marketing tool.

 

The first Camden catalog I ever saw was one of the 4 inner sleeves from WWGAH Vol 1. It also had Cassette, LP, R to R and Stereo 8 catalogs on the 8 faces of the 4 inner sleeves.

 

Full retail being $3.98 and $4.98. Discount prices were all over the place. When the retail price for LP was $7.98 the stores in Tucson would discount them to $5.99.

 

True, but in Elvis' case, it was more $ for RCA & Parker and less for Elvis. Who was going to figure out how much $ Elvis didn't get, Vernon?

 

Not sure I follow. Elvis got paid his record royalties based on RCA's accounting not the RIAA's. Elvis got a LOT of gold record awards internally from RCA. They were not stingy on that account. It is not like anyone got more royalties based on an RIAA award.

 

Sorry, not for RIAA awards, but who did any check and balances with RCA's accounting for Elvis?

 

Well Elvis would have surely benefitted if he had fired his dad and hired a competent personal accountant!

 

Elvis Presley's US RIAA album certifications - ChartMasters

 

What were the financial roles carried out by the different people around Elvis? I know Parker was the manger/agent. What exactly did his dad do? What role did Joe Esposito have? I have read that he was Elvis' road manager during the concert years but was this true during the movie years?

 

Okay here we go:
I will round up to the next nearest minute.
Loving You 27
King Creole 23
GI Blues 27
Blue Hawaii 33
GGG 30
World's Fair 22
Acapulco 30
K Cousins 27
Roustabout 21
Girl Happy 25
Harum Scarum 25
F & J 27
PHS 23
Spinout 30
Double Trouble 24
Clambake 31
Speedway 29

So only 5 meet my 20-25 minute statement.

Here are few others I chose because I thought they were suspect:
For LP Fans Only 24
A Date With Elvis 23
Gold Vol 2 23

 

Great questions! What I heard from friends that met Marty and Lamar, they both said Vernon was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and he relied on Parker. What I heard from Esposito on different talk shows, he didn't have anything to do with the financial side, that was handled by Parker.

 

I doubt if Parker would have allowed RCA to under account for sales. His skin was in the game on all sales. He DID make side deals (such as the Camdens) but they were a 50/50 spit with Elvis. Now as for promotions, I am sure Parker cheated Elvis on the actual revenues.

 

I know where not at the Vegas years, but I'd say Parker got a whole lot more out of the Hilton deal, than Elvis.

 

Don't forget that Elvis was represented by the William Morris Agency (one of the top, powerhouse agencies in Hollywood), so it wasn't all just a bunch of rubes calling the shots.