THE HOLY GRAIL OF ELVIS RECORDS——the 5 SUN ORIGINAL 45s. Guide to Elvis 45 rpm Sun records. At least that is how the legend goes. According to the folks at Sun, he came in to hopefully be heard by Sam Phillips. In late 1954 he was invited back by Sam Phillips to record with Scotty Moore and Bill Blac. The first hit was Thats Alright Mama. Who would have known back then to have saved those old Elvis Sun Records? Who could have possible known that they would become the holy grail of record or Elvis collections? Today there seems to be a frenzy to obtain an original piece of what is arguably the most important of rock and roll records. It is no wonder that there are so many counterfeits out there. This guide is designed to help you distinguish the real ones from the bootlegs. For what ever reason, there seems to be a lack of printed material on authenticating Sun records. My expertise has come from many different sources over many years of collecting. The Elvis Sun records were originally, it was thought, pressed in a plant in. And in a plant in. It is rumoured that there was a third release of the originals, pressed in. Which are identical to the. All pressings have serial numbers etched into the trail-off. The records are Sun #209 “That’s All Right” (1954), #210 “Good Rockin’ Tonight” (1954), #215 “Milk Cow Blues Boogie” (1954), #217 “Baby, Let’s Play House” (1955) and #223 “Mystery Train” (1955). The rarest issues are 209 and 215, then 217, while 210 and 223 are considered to be easier. The first four records have engravings in the trail-off that end with the number 72. The fifth, Sun 223, Mystery Train, ends with the number 20. Pressings, except for Mystery Train, have three ¼ inch circular. Push marks around the center hole, forming a perfect triangle, or Greek Delta. Hence, the name Delta pressings. These marks are not found on Mystery Train, nor on the. It is this lack of push marks that may cause original Suns from the other plants to mistakenly be wrongly identified as fakes or bootlegs. Also, misinformed or unscrupulous buyers/sellers have claimed that the 72 denotes the year of issue out of ignorance or to use lower prices. Pressings are identical to the. Pressings, except for the push marks, and the. Pressings, we learn , can be further identified by a tiny MSI stamped into the vinyl, supposedly for Memphis Sun Inc.. Pressings have a small triangle etched into the vinyl near the record label. All 5 records have been verbally guaranteed to me as original by Scotty Moore and D J. When I met them in 1993. Their words to me were these are the real deal. A lot of the information above came from them. The most certain way of distinguishing the original 1950s issues from subsequent re-issues is to look at the last two digits of the serial number in the trail-off———the72 on the first 4 Suns and the 20 on the fifth one. On the originals, the last 2 digits are approximately half an inch from the other digits. On the re-issues, the distance is doubled, to well over an inch. This is the most important factor in distinguishing the original Suns, NOT the push marks. But bear in mind, that not all sellers are crooks. BOUGHT AT DIFFERENT TIMES, UNTIL I HAD ACQUIRED THE SET. The item “THE HOLY GRAIL OF ELVIS RECORDS-the ORIGINAL 5 SUN 45s” is in sale since Tuesday, April 16, 2019. This item is in the category “Music\Records”. The seller is “fca45″ and is located in Boston. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Artist: Elvis Presley
- Modified Item: No
- Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
- Custom Bundle: No
- Style: Rock ‘n’ Roll
- Duration: Rare Set of USA singles
- Decade: 1950’s
- Record Grading: Good (G)
- Speed: 45 RPM
- Record Size: 7″
- Title: USA Music change
- Record Label: Sun Records
- Sub-Genre: 45s
- Non-Domestic Product: Yes
- Release Year: 1955
- Language: English
- Edition: Much sought after
- Genre: Rock
- Sleeve Grading: Very Good (VG)
- Special Attributes: USA 45rpm singles