THEM DAMN BOOTLEGS...!

I have it..I have it...

While talking about these old vinyl releases we shouldn`t forget the key
to them....the fantastic book "Jailhouse Rock" by Cotton/de Witt which came out in 1983 and was a guide through all boot vinyls which were released so far. A real bible..still worthwhile..excellent..!!

Yes i bought that 'bible' of bootlegs in 1986..... best book i ever bought(well...almost!)

My first Bootleg was at the age of 12 when I was given the "Behind Closed Doors" box set for my birthday. This totally got me hooked on "Recording Sessions". Until then I hadn't even thought about how many other takes Elvis would sing until he got a Master right, it was totally beyond comprehension to me. At such a young age I quickly started writing to the right people at RCA expressing my interest, and being inundated with facts about his recording sessions. Since that release I have never looked back, and I thank God for the bootleggers, and now FTD for bringing us such gems!

Ger asked me to put up his old' holiday pics from '76 ... what it has to do with this topic you ask, well nothing actually, but there IS one damn fine boot on the table, "The Dorsey Shows" ... one of my first ...

Ger gives you some info on the pictures; “aw, that’s Elvis in a ah, something that looks like a white suit with matching Gladiator belt or something to hold up his belly” nah, I bet it's more informative than that ...

Last edited by memphisflash on Mon May 15, 2006 8:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

... Flash, smartass!

The guy, with the black curly hair is Vic colonna.

Vic is holding the 12 tickets, for me and my lady [ the other photo] , for

6 Elvis shows in Vegas, dec 76...

I believe, the Vegas on stage shots, are from the 4th...?

Full story on meeting Vic in Vegas, Tomorrow.

So that's Vic Collona, the infamous creator of "Elvis' Greatest ^&*%?

I must say, every time I saw that 1981 bootleg, I quietly ran my fingernails along the grooves, ruining the vinyl. At least three copies were defiled in that manner.

Then, one day, it struck me how wrong I was, and not just because that record belonged to the store I was in.

Somehow, I realized Elvis' Greatest S___ was actually:

- a darkly ironic, yet loving look at our hero
- a big F-U to Albert Goldman and his spurious, mean-spirited biography

It was created out of love for Elvis, and anger at his image being trashed by Goldman's highly-publicised book.

I own a copy, with the "Dr. Nick prescription" insert, although it's not been played in years. Even if you hate the idea of this album, you have to admit the Nipper logo parody (dog vomiting into Victrola, saying "He Makes Me Sick" instead of "His Master's Voice") is pretty funny.

DJC

Thanks for the explanations behind that release and I could almost see where Doc is coming from but,yes, the cover shot is just too far beyond the pale. Given what a further laughing stock Elvis was allowed to become in the years since he died, I really wonder if that record was ever truly funny beyond a five-munute "revenge against RCA." It's a pity young fans like me had to find it some racks.

Otherwise, it's probably the most embittered, least tasteful cover of any major recording artist, far surpassing the Beatles "Butcher" cover and the Stones' original "toilet" LP cover.

Only the vomiting Nipper is gets a snicker out of me. And some of the cringe-worthy track listing:

Elvis' greatest s___

DOG VOMlT SUXOO5 (Released ????)
Old Mac Donald
Ito Eats
There's No Room To Rhumba In A Sports Car
Confidence
Yoga Is & Yoga Does
Songs Of The Shrimp
US Male
The Fort Lauderdale Chamber Of Commerce
Signs Of The Zodiac
The Bullfighter Was A Lady
Wolf Call
Can't Help Falling In Love
He's Your Uncle Not Your Dad
Scratch My Back
The Walls Have Ears
Poison Ivy League
Beach Boy Blues
Dominic The lmpotent Bull
Queenie Wahine's Papaya
Do The Clambake
Datin'
Are You Lonesome Tonight? (live)

Isn`t this one the most valuable...??
The show hasn`t been released yet on import or officially
..23.8.70 DS...Elvis in top form...sound isn`t the best..

This hasn't been issued since in any form? Come on, bootleggers, get with it and re-issue it already

I've noticed we are already seeing upgrades of the first-generation of CD bootlegs (usually 15-20 years old but sometimes even more recent) in upgraded sound and deluxe booklets.

But I wonder how many other vinyl-only bootlegs still have not been reissued at all digitally? Are there others?

... Kempo, that Blue Hawaii pic, youve posted, doesnt ring a bell!?

Did you cut off the title? Anyway, my guess would be : one from the

East Block?... Or maybe the far East? Tell us! Anymore trashy

rarities, you can put on the screen? Thanks.

... Kempo, that Blue Hawaii pic, youve posted, doesnt ring a bell!?

Did you cut off the title? Anyway, my guess would be : one from the

East Block?... Or maybe the far East? Tell us! Anymore trashy

rarities, you can put on the screen? Thanks.

Does the Blue Hawaii box ring a bell??

geez Ger, for i minute, i thought the guy with curly hair and moustache was you! he had tall hair, so i thought it was you. hope i mean no offense

My Elvis vinyl bootleg collection would be a lot, lot slimmer without Vic Colonna's input. God bless him. Hope he's alive and well and living high on the hog!

... A LOUD bell, Dick! But... on the front, it had E and Joan, posing,

in that little canoo, and on the back E and the girls. No inner picture

sleeves [ cheapos! ] ... did I overlook something???

... A LOUD bell, Dick! But... on the front, it had E and Joan, posing,

in that little canoo, and on the back E and the girls. No inner picture

sleeves [ cheapos! ] ... did I overlook something???

Correct, Ger.
That was one of the innersleeves for the boxset. Just like this one.

... Scott, them 70s hairstyles [ Afro hair, on white boys...] isnt

exactly cool. I agree! But it was the fashion of the day. Look at Starsky

and Hutch [ the old tv series] or Saturday Night Fever... Like... really

groovy, brother?! No, not really.

... Dick, The original Blue Hawaii lp boxset, didnt contain picture

sleeves. Just plain, white sleeves! My boss, just told me so. And he

should know! It was a Laurel, right? So, if you have the box with

inner picture sleeves, you have a bootleg, of a bootleg!

... Dick, The original Blue Hawaii lp boxset, didnt contain picture

sleeves. Just plain, white sleeves! My boss, just told me so. And he

should know! It was a Laurel, right? So, if you have the box with

inner picture sleeves, you have a bootleg, of a bootleg!

Hi Ger, my boss told me that there were innersleeves made for this boxset, but they were too small for the records. That's why they "all" have been destroyed.
Oh yes, I mean the original Laurel release (a great label by the way). As far as I know this boxset has never been bootlegged, correct me if I'm wrong.

The same thing happened with the 10" release "The Live Sessions" vol. 1&2.

... If... just if... inner picture sleeves were made, it was done by some

outside party! Not by Laurel! Too small! Great! My boss is having a good

laugh, right now.

Hi Ger, just been looking at the RCA CD 'For The Asking' (aka 'The Lost Album') and I see that you designed the cover - the European version. How did that come about?

... You must be a bootleg Tits?! Tits never asks straight forward

questions! Good question though! Have to give it some thought, its been

a while!...

... If... just if... inner picture sleeves were made, it was done by some

outside party! Not by Laurel! Too small! Great! My boss is having a good

laugh, right now.

Sorry, my mistake. The box was too small for these inner sleeves.
I'm pretty sure these sleeves were made by the Laurels

... The outside box too small?

The inner sleeves too big?

My boss, is lying down, right now. He says, he no comprendo

anymore! Lets close the damn box, and open another one!

boss sez, he only made one vinyl box. Okay, boss, what

about them Profile boxes?!

All 4 cds had picture sleeves! Sez boss.

Yep, but the photos didnt correspond, with the concerts.

So frickin what, Tallhair?!!

At least I have a bloody good excuse, to re- release them mothers,

now!

Yes, Colonel!... Ehr...boss.

The original issue of the Blue Hawaii box had plain LP sleeves, but also included a tremendous 12x12 booklet with lots of cool photos (1957-61) and a reproduction of the text from one of Gary Pepper's "Tanker" fan magazines.

It offered great information on Elvis' 1961 benefit performances in Memphis, as Pepper saw both of them. Presley never did "Doin' The Best That I Can" or "Surrender" after those gigs.

DJC

... Thanks, Doc!

I knew all along, something was missing!

Im sure, making the bonus booklet, must have been

more of a thrill, to my boss, than gettin thru listening

to 4 lps, worth of outtakes. He likes the BH material,

and so do I, but books, and other related printing

matter, is more up his alley! So strange, he forgot

about it... Must have to do with his age?

... Tallhair Meets The Glendale Ghost Aka Vic Colonna...


Sometime, around 1975, I received a letter from a certain Vic Colonna.

He explained, he got hold of my name and address, thru a mutual

friend, living in the States. He was wondering, if I was interested in

buying a set of acetates, featuring unreleased songs from the NBC

tv Special? Ofcourse I was! Back in 75, unreleased Elvis material

was pretty scarce. We came to an agreement, quickly. I mailed him

the money, and two weeks later I received the acetates. The rarities

would later turn up on the boot 68 Comeback. I believe this was

Vics very first release... After the deal, we stayed in touch, writing,

and making phone calls regularly. When he found out, I could draw

decent catoons, he ordered one, in ink, for a possible bonus poster

that was to be included with his From the waist up boot. It was

becoming clear, Vic, and his partner, were the good guys, making

a buck, but giving the fans their money worth. A very different

approach, when compared to the Official Record Company wankers.


... The release running order of the albums, I cant remember. There

were so many! But I do remember the excitement I felt, when the

first Rockin Rebel, was handed to me, by our local postman!

A gatefold cover, featuring a full color photo, printed over the full

length of both covers! Brilliant! It must have made the RCA management

turn purple with envy More and more fans started to know

about these releases. Popularity was growing rapidly!

During the summer of 76, Vic, knowing we were going to Vegas, drove

down there, all the way from Glendale, California, to get us 12

reservations, for 6 shows, in december! He knew a relative, from

the boss of The Hilton. That helps!

A while later, he mailed us a polaroid of himself, holding our tickets,

for the 6 Elvis shows! On a seperate piece of Hilton stationary,

he wrote: "See you in Vegas, in december! "

TO BE CONTINUED...