Commemorating the 50th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s first RCA recording session, Sony BMG Strategic Marketing Group is readying the U.S. version of the “Elvis #1 Singles” box set for a January release. Additionally, the label is planning a reissue of “Heartbreak Hotel,” the King’s first single for the label.
Due Jan. 24, the limited edition, numbered collection will feature all 21 No. 1 U.S. hits and their b-sides on 20 individual CD singles (one disc features the double A-sided “Hound Dog” and “Don’t Be Cruel” single). Each single will be individually packaged in a sleeve that replicates the original single artwork, while the discs will be pressed on black plastic with grooves to mimic the vinyl 45 rpm singles.
Presley recorded “Heartbreak Hotel” Jan. 10-11, 1956, and RCA released it as his first single for the label a few week’s later. The single spent eight weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers In Stores chart, the precursor to the Hot 100. On Jan. 10, 2006, a CD version with artwork emulating an April 1956 Presley EP and the single’s original generic RCA paper sleeve will be released.
Early 2005 saw the individual reissue of each of Presley’s U.K. singles, with fans there building their collection from week-to-week to fill a box that included just one reissued single, “All Shook Up.” The stunt resulted in Presley netting the 999th and 1,000th titles to rank at No. 1 on the official U.K. singles chart with “Jailhouse Rock” and “One Night,” respectively.
Here is the “Elvis #1 Singles” box track list:
“Heartbreak Hotel” / “I Was the One”
“I Want You, I Need You, I Love You” / “My Baby Left Me”
“Hound Dog” / “Don’t Be Cruel”
“Love Me Tender” / “Any Way You Want Me”
“Too Much” / “Playing for Keeps”
“All Shook Up” / “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin”
“Teddy Bear” / “Loving You”
“Jailhouse Rock” / “Treat Me Nice”
“Don’t” / “I Beg Of You”
“Hard Headed Woman” / “Don’t Ask Me Why”
“A Big Hunk O’ Love” / “My Wish Came True”
“Stuck on You” / “Fame and Fortune”
“It’s Now or Never” / “A Mess of Blues”
“Are You Lonesome Tonight” / “I Gotta Know”
“Surrender” / “Lonely Man”
“Good Luck Charm” / “Anything That’s Part of You”
“Return To Sender” / “Where Do You Come From”
“In the Ghetto” / “Any Day Now”
“Suspicious Minds” / “You’ll Think of Me”
“Burning Love” / “A Matter of Time”
