ELVIS Lives On Today, Tomorrow & Forever

August 16, 1977... a day that will forever be etched in the minds of millions of people around the world. For it was 25 years ago on this day that the world lost the greatest entertainer of all-time, the passing of the Elvis Presley.

RCA Records remembers Elvis by releasing a special 4 CD box set, aimed to include material from every significant phase of Elvis Presley's career with over 100 previously unreleased tracks spanning the entire spectrum of Elvis' career from Sun Records to 1954, to the Jungle Room Sessions of 1976, this set has it all ! Virtually every recording session throughout Elvis' career is represented in this package by at least 1 recording. And, in the case of long-lost recordings, such as the 1956 recording sessions which yielded "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel", the

producers of "Today, Tomorrow & Forever" got creative and decided to present fans with a previously unheard 1956 LIVE CONCERT recorded by radio disc jockey, Ray Green. RCA Records & Graceland have officially determined that Ray's recording of the May 16th, 1956 Little Rock, Arkansas concert was the FIRST EVER, full length recording of ELVIS PRESLEY, LIVE IN CONCERT ! But, there's more !

WIllie Mae 'Big Mama" Thornton was the first to record "Hound Dog" in 1953 where it stayed at the top of the charts for 7 weeks & sold half a million copies ! Elvis was familiar with the song, but it wasn't until he made his debut in Las Vegas from April 23rd thru May 6th, 1956 that he took a REAL interest in it. During Elvis's 2 week engagement in Vegas, Elvis had ample time to see other shows at some of the other hotels. One of the shows Elvis saw was Freddie & The Bellboys who played in the lounge at 'The Sands'. Freddie Bell had changed some of the lyrics which Elvis liked very much. On May 13th, Elvis went back on the road first to St Paul, Minnesota. But on May 15th at the Memphis Cotton Festival, Elvis performed 'Hound Dog" LIVE for the first time ! The following night, May 16th, 1956 in Little Rock, Arkansas at the Robinson Auditorium, Ray Green recorded Elvis as he performed the new high energy version of 'Hound Dog' with an extra lead in dialogue, "If your not here friends, remember one thing" & then goes into the song. This is the FIRST EVER recording of Elvis singing 'Hound Dog' ! This is the ONLY recording available from the FIRST TOUR that Elvis began performing the song since he heard it live in Vegas. The studio recording of 'Hound Dog', which wasn't until July 1956 with 31 different takes, went on to top the charts for 11 weeks at #1 along with "Don't Be Cruel". And, there's still more !

As hard as it was even in 1956, to get an exclusive interview with Elvis, radio disc jockey Ray Green trumped Col. Parker in an interesting chain of events & got permission to record an exclusive interview with Elvis backstage between shows that May 16th, 1956 in Little Rock, Arkansas. This interview is included on the very first disc of this 5 CD set called "Word For Word", released in March of 2002. This production contains everything available & ever recorded in Elvis' talking voice from 1955 to 1977. But, even that's not all !

Click To Hear Audio Clip

"Windows of the Soul" was released in 1996 by Erika Records. This CD contains the entire uncut May 16th, 1956 Little Rock, Arkansas interview with Elvis, by Little Rock disc jockey Ray Green. It also contains the incredible story of how Ray came to be at the right place at the right time & got Col. Parker to agree to conduct an exclusive interview with Elvis. Ray also reveals some very interesting information about Elvis from their conversation during the trip from the airport to the auditorium where Elvis was to perform that night. Inside the CD is a rare collectible 5 minute Amerivox long distance phone card with a FIRST TIME ever released picture of Elvis on the front. Still there's more !

"Windows of the Soul" was also released on this handsome picture disc which is a playable LP. This is the FIRST EVER APPROVED shaped picture disc of Elvis ! These are limited & considered very rare since there were only about 5000 produced. This item will not go back into re-production. Like the CD, inside the package with the picture disc is also a 5 minute Amerivox long distance phone card with yet a different FIRST TIME ever released picture of Elvis on the front. And, still there is more !

A few years after Elvis's death, Ray discovered the reel to reel tape of the interview & concert of Elvis Presley he had tucked away for over 30 years.
Ray admits he forgot he even had the tape until he happened upon it again.
So in 1988, Ozborne Enterprises & Creative Radio Network produced for the FIRST TIME EVER, the exclusive interview & selected audio clips from the live concert. This recording was NEVER BEFORE HEARD before this release ! Unfortunately, production of these LP's was halted after only producing 100 copies due to legal issues.

But, what is even rarer than that is the first dozen copies produced which contained the exclusive interview & the entire uncut live concert ! These LP's are undoubtedly the rarest Elvis collectibles we know of. Ray still has 5 of these first dozen LP's & about 25-30 of the other 88 ! And finally, we saved the best for last.

Ray Green still has the MASTER TAPE of the interview & live concert from which all of the above productions were produced from. This is not a safety master, but the actual magnetic reel-to-reel master and it is in great condition & still playable ! This tape has been prefectly preserved in a climate controlled environment. Ray has decided to part with it for the right price. For questions & details, please contact Ray at ray@imetelvis.com. Only serious inquiries please !