From 1960/Mid 1960s Elvis’ Reel tapes were originally released with Black Label and later with Red Label. Collectors who have compared titles from the Black Label to the Red Label didn’t experience any notable difference. When RCA changed their label to Red for all their artists, it’s unlikely they wereContinue Reading

Original article from the German Fan Club Magazine “Graceland” #193 May/June 2010 https://www.epg-ev.de/graceland-magazin Translated and updated on March 12, 2026 by Andreas Pendl RCA Sound Tape Cartridge / Cartridge Magazine Loading The “mother” of the audio compact cassette had already been invented at the end of the 50s – anContinue Reading

This is my collection of Las Vegas Now magazines featuring Elvis on the covers. These magazines were given out free, or for 25 cents, at several hotels. They would have one article on a Vegas personality and show all the attractions at the different hotels. It’s great to see allContinue Reading

I got interested in Elvis around 1976 when my parents moved into a new house, I was 10 at the time. Our neighbors were Elvis fans, and one day while I was playing with their sons in their house, they played a record called Elvis sings Flaming Star and otherContinue Reading

My first sheet music was G.I. Blues, which I bought at a Nostalgia show in Ottawa, Canada in the 90s. That’s when I started looking for others at Garage sales, or Elvis conventions either in Memphis, or the one In Montreal. Then came E-Bay, and that’s where I bought mostContinue Reading

I started collecting US sheet music years ago, even though I am not a musician. They’re fun to collect and easy to store. Furthermore, you can find interesting information, and oddities in them. The one ‘I Forgot to Remember to Forget’ is the only US version I’ve seen that indicatesContinue Reading

After Bill Lear and his team developed the new Stereo 8 system for his LearJets, he knew the bigger opportunity would be if he could get the word out to Automobile Consumers. Bill had a long association with Ford’s management and his next move was to persuade the management atContinue Reading

The reel to reel tapes were duped directly from studio masters, bypassing the remastering for vinyl cutting, and going straight to the pure audiophile sound. The 8 Track transfers would naturally be the same as the reels. G.I. Blues – The actual studio is important to the quality of theContinue Reading

Although not on many fans “favorites” lists, even I was scratching my head when this was released in 1973. Hot on the tail of  “As Recorded Live at Madison Square Garden”, this album was confusing for those expecting the excitement and joy of the Elvis experience. The album cover lookedContinue Reading

By 1960, with Elvis’ release from the army, RCA had really improved the recording process. “Living Stereo” was a dramatic improvement over the “High Fidelity” technology of the late 1950’s. With the new studio upgrades the full spectrum of sTeReO was now possible. The engineers were pushing boundaries, delivering theContinue Reading

Culled from the leftover tracks from the magnificent Elvis Country sessions, this album has its own moments and still stands as a pretty good effort from our boy. That said, let’s look at the tape versions and see how they stand up to the vinyl release. First let’s look atContinue Reading

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If you are a fan of the 8 Track Tape, I’m sure you’ve heard all the usual comments… Those silly things? What’s the point? They sound terrible! etc etc etc. Let’s set the way-back machine to 1966… I’m 11 years old and owned one of the little RCA 45 playersContinue Reading

I’ve collected 8-tracks since they came of age in 1969. I bought a player, and my first tape purchase was the TV Special photo box. At the time, the sound was a revelation. My Record player was just a little $9.99 portable – very cool and space-age looking – andContinue Reading

RCA carts: There are two versions of this. One uses a rivet of sorts to keep the top halves of the cart secured. To remove this I like to use a soldering iron to heat up the rivet and pry the cart halves apart. And then once the repairs are doneContinue Reading

I’ve been to just about every major library in Australia digging up material for my Australian discography and the Cadillac book. Unfortunately, a lot of the RCA material is lost but I have collected some bit by bit over many years. It seems RCA Australia stopped producing cartridges by 1977Continue Reading

Photo from Elvis Information Network website Book Review: “Elvis Presley’s GOLD Cadillac Tour of AUSTRALASIA 1968-69” by Nigel Patterson December 2011 click on image to enlarge… Glenn Reimer worked with Bob Hayden on the new Cadillac book and provided details on the photo…” image taken in Australia at Albury, NewContinue Reading

Representing Elvis on tape would not be complete without reflecting on sound quality. The closest in sound to the original RCA master tapes, was the 7½ IPS reel-to-reel format. So it’s safe to say that the 7½ IPS reel-to-reel is superior to all tape formats, including the 3¾ IPS reel-to-reelContinue Reading

When I began my A Touch of Gold book (burdened with the cumbersome subtitle The Elvis Presley Record & Memorabilia Price Guide) back in 1988, I was mostly concerned with vinyl records. While the book eventually embraced a broad spectrum of music-related Elvis collectibles, I focused my energies on 78Continue Reading

The distinct, analog “kerchunk” sound is most famously associated with William Lear (also founder of the Lear Jet Corporation), who invented the 8-track tape cartridge system, a continuous-loop stereo cartridge for cars. Conceived in the mid-1960s, the 8-track tape was designed for automotive use, which was adopted by Ford inContinue Reading