TOO MUCH MONKEY BUSINESS: The Elvis Forum

I want to make a worthy contribution to I Gotta Know.
I want to organize the rare records threads.
I want to make you proud and your mouths water.

And I’m gonna do that without a scanner at hand;)


German vinyl collectors –and I think most European ones- know the German Yearcovers.
Few variations in covers, well known song selections. All marked with a year of release.
All highly collectible.




Although the yearcovers suggest differently, most were released between 1968 and 1970.
Only for the German marked (we get to some exceptions).
The series starts with the great year 1956




7 different covers were issued, with 6 different song selections. You can see Hound Dog / Don’t Be Cruel exits in two cover variations. The only one in the series. Why? Export? Your guess is as good as mine!

All yearcover singles were issued on either the new black label (v1/v2/v3) or the orange (O1/O2) variations.


(Left showing a V2 label, Right an O1 label)

1957




1957 knows 3 releases. Jailhouse Rock is the best known and shows up for sale regularly.
You can get one for a nice price!



1958



1958 knows 6 releases.

“Doncha Think it’s Time / Wear My Ring Around Your Neck” was issued for the Netherlands aswell as for Germany. But in the Netherlands they reversed the titles on the cover, showing “Wear My Ring” as lead track.

1959

1959 (Don’t you just love that cover) knows 3 releases. “That’s all Right” seems to be out of place.
But it’s not. Untill 1959 “That’s All Right” didn’t know a single release in Germany!



Although no export is mentioned in literature, my copy of “Big Hunk” was obviously sold in Scandiavia:



I believe that to be Swedish?

To be continued...

1960

The 1960 yearcovers only know two titles:
Are you Lonesome Tonight and O Sole Mio

Are You Lonesome Tonight is easy to add to your collection.
I bet if there are any yearcovers in your record collection, “Lonesome Tonight”
Is among them. O Sole Mio however is very hard to come by!




1961

5 titels show up on a 1961 sleeve. Are You Lonesome Tonight is a surprise, since we know that from the 1960 release aswell. Both variations are very hard to come by.
And why does “I Need Your Love Tonight” show up again if it was just released in a 1959 yearcover?




1962

With 6 titles 1962 releases again “Are You Lonesome Tonight”
Good selling title I suppose?
“King Of The Whole Wide World / Home Is Where The Heart Is” is the ultimate rarity, although all ’62 yearcovers are extremely hard to come by.




1964

Now I hear you thinking… What happened to 1963?
No speculation ever resulted in a decent clarification. (As far as I know).
There are no 1963 yearcovers released.
4 titles for 1964 did see light of day. “I Forgot to Remember To Forget” being the rarity as it is strange to match it to 1964. “Viva Las Vegas” the rarity as it is hardly even seen.



These are my treasures from the German Yearcovers.
A nice thing to know: for each year a 'blanco' cover exits: the picture and the year, but no titles.
These have shown up in the past. Are they valuable? Yes. Are they real?
These guys: http://www.elvisforever.de/ believe they are and have a great German
discography online.
Wanna know more on yearcovers? Go there or better still: find a copy of the Rillen Revue or
Peter Baumann books.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I hope it is a decent contribution to our Libary!
All feedback is welcome, all additions are!

And for my next effort if appreciated:
Please select A or B:


This is your option A


This is your option B

Thanks,
Best Whises,

Niels

Thanks for those, niels !

You've been to a lot of trouble there !

Thanks niels. Very interesting.

Options? You mean choices?
I don't get it, Niels.
A choice between 50s pressings made in Germany for the American Forces,
and Stay Away : US pressing and German/ Dutch pressing...?
A few words of explaination please.

Thanks Colin and John, glad you like it!

I mean choices Ger! My mistake.
Between some pictures and stories on Army Labels indeed,
or funny German releases: Both Stay Away singles pictured are
original German. Think of the two diffrent 'Rock A Hula' singles,
the three "On Night With Elvis" Ep's and such collectibles.

Like to hear all your thougths!

Best whises,
Niels

here you'll find all these german rarities

colonel snow



http://www.elvisonvinyl.de/

Thanks Colonel. I think that's the same as the www.elvisforever.de site I reffered to!

Hi Niels, with regards to the 'Stay Away' BLUE sleeve :
I remember buying it the week it came out, here in Holland.
When returning home I was somewhat surprised when I took
off the plastic protection bag to find out the sleeve opened
up! NO glued left and right sides of the sleeve...!
I always wondered if , for the earliest pressings of Stay Away,
a different printing company was used? Elvis singles NEVER
had been printed like this before, and NEVER came with a
plastic protection bag. Other artists ( Dutch so called 'Beat'
groups, for one, were to be found that way in record shops...
But not Elvis! I do remember the label being the standard
black with silver RCA Victor one.

Your Blue copy opens up, on its own, as well??

It wasn't a misprint. I know too much about the ways of printing,
folding, cutting and glueing record sleeves.

Like to hear back from you on this matter.

Hi Ger,

Yes, mine opens up aswell. It was my first ever purchase on Ebay and I remember
I thought someone fabricated the sleeve himself! But obviously he didn't.
The sleeve is way to good!

I always assumed it was one of the first sleeve printings in the Netherlands,
but they still used the German Vinyl. Which could fit with your story of the Beat Groups!
The dutch sleeve also has the new RCA logo, the German one, released around the
same day, has the old RCA logo. The singles and labels are the same, I've never seen
a Stay Away copy with the orange label.



I think starting with "Suspicious Minds" both vinyl and sleeve were Dutch made.
Only exeption is the great Teddy Bear / Too Much (?)
I'm not sure, I know and have found so little on Dutch vinyl...
I'm working on a topic on that... hold on tight!

Niels

You have a lot of these Niels.
I also have the yearcover of 47-8400 Such A Night - Never Ending from 1964
The single inside was on the O1 label.

I'm still looking for a lot of these yearcovers. If the price is right .....

Hi Jans,
Beautiful 'Such A Night'.... Yes, Them yearcovers are beautiful



If you mean to ask if you can make an offer... that's okay!
I'm to be married next spring and I can use some cash
PM me if you want to.

Best Whises,
Niels

Thanks for the new information Niels
I never knew the existence of 'year covers'.

Greetz,

mrsongman

I recently added this one to my collection.

Congratulations Jans!!!

Will have this one up on eBay tomorrow or sunday

Well done! Congratulations!

Any chance sharing were you got it and what you paid for it?

Curious what they go for these days... they remain expensive i think!

Niels, I put mine up on eBay with a starting price of € 1,00 each. Plus several other rarities starting at the same price. And there's more coming!