March 20th 1969

[Matt Ashton]

March 20th 1969
.

March 20th 1969.jpg

[Alan_K]

Do you have a source for this date?
I have a total of 13 images for this ocassion but under March 22nd 1969.
I'm not saying 22nd is correct / incorrect.

[drjohncarpenter]

March 20th 1969

March 20th 1969.jpg

That's Marvin “GeeGee” Gambill to Elvis' left.

Online the date for this fan greet at 1174 Hillcrest Drive is more often listed as March 20th than March 22nd. But unless you have original prints from the fan who took them, which would hopefully have dating information and other details, it's hard to determine which may be correct.

Here are a few more from that evening, plus a close-up look at the UK album (?) Elvis is holding. Anyone know what title it was?


'

[Alan_K]

Here are a few more from that evening, plus a close-up look at the UK album (?) Elvis is holding. Anyone know what title it was?

Stumped.
Intrigued.
I'm convinced it's not a UK release.
Another European country?? (& Maybe Golden Records Vol. 4?)
The track listing down the side for side one has each song title getting longer than the preceeding one.(If they are song titles as opposed to album titles).
For me it's not a cover but an inner sleeve (but full color???).
Full circle - stumped, but still intrigued.

[Wayne]

R-412437-1482944561-8802.jpg

[drjohncarpenter]

How neat. This German compilation, Elvis A Portrait In Music is the LP he's holding.

And that woman fan is the one who brought it there to be signed by him. Maybe she was from Germany.

The first photo in this topic clearly shows Elvis looking at it.

However . . . the copy you share is not quite a match for the back cover we see in the March 1969 candid.

On the Discogs site it gives your version a release date of "1970":

https://www.discogs.com/release/412437-Elvis-Presley-A-Portrait-In-Music

On the 45worlds site it lists "1972":

https://www.45worlds.com/vinyl/album/srs558



So what is Elvis holding there?
Was there a late 1968 or early 1969 pressing?

German collectors we need you.

[Asheville75]

A Portrait In Music was first released in december 1968 so that version is probably the one Elvis holding. Just recently read that the album sold 150 000 copies 1968-69 in Denmark and was for years coming a huge success in Europe.

[Alan_K]

It sold so many as an import into the UK that it made the UK album chart.
28th February 1970 it hit the charts in the UK for one week.

It could well be that's the first Elvis knew of such an album.

Thanks for curing my intrigue.

[Wayne]

The only difference I can see between what Elvis is holding and the Discogs image, is the dark square in place of the 'Stereo' indicator. I wondered if this could just be a sticker...?

For example: RCA SRS 558 ORANGE LABEL 1968 SLEEVE NEAR MINT AT THE BACK TOP LEFT DISCREET STICKER WITH THE NAME OF THE BELGIAN SHOP WHO SOLD THE RECORD ( CAN BE REMOVED )

https://www.popsike.com/ELVIS-1ST-PRESSING-GERMAN-ONLY-LP-A-PORTRAIT-IN-MUSIC-1968-POSelvis-presley-lp/320860552806.html

[Alexander]

The only difference I can see between what Elvis is holding and the Discogs image, is the dark square in place of the 'Stereo' indicator. I wondered if this could just be a sticker...?

For example: RCA SRS 558 ORANGE LABEL 1968 SLEEVE NEAR MINT AT THE BACK TOP LEFT DISCREET STICKER WITH THE NAME OF THE BELGIAN SHOP WHO SOLD THE RECORD ( CAN BE REMOVED )

https://www.popsike.com/ELVIS-1ST-PRESSING-GERMAN-ONLY-LP-A-PORTRAIT-IN-MUSIC-1968-POSelvis-presley-lp/320860552806.html

Could be a dealer sticker indeed. I have quite a few albums which all have a small dealer sticker somewhere on the back (or front) of the album. It's not unusual.

A Portrait in Music as a German compilation by origin was also released in The Netherlands and was rereleased quite a few times throughout the 70s: first with gatefold cover and booklet, later pressings had a single pocket sleeve. In 1978 A Portrait In Music was certified Platinum for selling 100,000 copies since 1968 in The Netherlands. That's is a huge number, considering a population of only 14 million in The Netherlands back then.
The compilation was released in quite a few European countries. I have seen copies from Germany, Denmark, France, The Netherlands and Italy (with different artwork), so it is not certain that the fan who had the LP signed by Elvis was German.

[Markus K.]

I feel like this album is one of the most common Elvis records around. Whenever I visit people who know I'm an Elvis fan and they tell me they also have "his record" they pop out "Portrait in Music" in one of the million different variants. Trying to collect all different versions of this album should be an absolute nightmare

[Alan_K]

Just found out the first release was 1968 in..... Switzerland.
Second pressing was also 1968 in Germany.