This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/7/2024
Offered is one of the highest grade copies that we have ever laid eyes on of an Elvis Presley 78 RPM Sun Records 210 “Good Rockin' Tonight” and “I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine.” This "file copy" example emanates from the estate of Marion Keisker--it was purchased by an advanced Elvis collector in Memphis many years ago. Nearly perfectly well-preserved, it may have never been played. The songs were recorded at the Memphis Recording Service studios sometime between September 12 and 16 1954, and the single was released on September 22, 1954. While Elvis’ Sun 45s are highly collectible, the Sun 78s is even more rare and desirable.
Marion Keisker, of course, is the office manager of The Memphis Recording Service and Sun Records for Sam Phillips in the 1950s. She was the very woman who was present the day in 1953 that a young singer named Elvis Presley walked into the Memphis Recording Service and recorded his first song.
Rumors have been told throughout the years that the scarcity of the 78s was due to the fact that Sam Phillip’s brother Tom, who ran the back warehouse where stacks of the 78s were stored, allowed an overseas collector into the space and that collector was so overtaken at the sheer quantity that he fell into the stacks, causing a vast amount of irreplaceable damage. Another anecdote explaining the shortage of 78s was that Tom Phillips would give away enormous quantities to county fairs who would use them as targets in the carnival games, hanging them from strings so customers could toss balls at them in an attempt to break them to smithereens. We may never know the true story, but the fact remains that the Elvis Sun 78s are highly sought after for their rarity and superior sound quality compared to the 45s. The 78 RPM records measure 10 inches in diameter and presents with NO SIGNS OF WEAR to the labels from playing, and any wear to the vinyl is strictly minimal. MINT condition.