Would you erase Elvis Presley's original Sun master tapes?

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Multiple choice question:
On January 27 one of the following will happen:
!. An original copy of the Declaration of Independence will be cut into tiny
fragments and attached to a framed portrait of Richard Ashcroft embossed
with an American flag and offered to the public to raise money for law
enforcement programs.
2. King Tut's mummy will be smashed into powder by Builders Emporium and
mixed into millions of "authentic" Egyptian tiles as decorative pieces.
3. The Shroud of Turin will be snipped into little pieces to be offered as
prizes at a St. Jude's Church in Vegas during high stakes Bingo.
4. Elvis Presley's original Sun master tapes will be sliced into 2 inch
segments, mounted on plaques and offered for sale as yet another gaudy
Presley souvenir.

The correct answer is 4. If you think this is as much of a sacrilege as I do
you can send your protests to Gail Parenteau who is doing the publicity for
the event at [email protected]. You can expose this scam via your local
letters to the editor page. If you're a journalist, get hopping on the
story. Maybe this insanity can be stopped. There's only 4 days to go before
the "grand" event. (press release attached below)
-Bill-


Witness the Official First Cut of the Original Sun Sessions Master Recording
Tape of Elvis Presley

Two-Inch Segments from the Original 1954-1955 Studio Recording tape,
beginning with "That's All Right," the Song that Propelled Elvis's Career,
to be Cut, Certified, Numbered and Mounted on Commemorative Plaques and Sold
to the Public
* * *
Music Industry Artists and Veterans will witness this First Ever Cut of a
Certified Elvis Presley Original Master Source Tape Recording
Graceland's Elvis Presley Enterprises to Receive Plaque Number (1)
WHAT: The official first cut of the original 1954-55 Sun Sessions master
recording tape made by Elvis Presley and his band. Master Tape Collection,
which unearthed and preserved this initial original source recording of
Elvis and his band, will officially cut, certify, number and mount each 2"
segment of this Sun Sessions Master Tape. Each segment will comprise an
authenticated collectible limited edition plaque licensed by Elvis Presley
Enterprises.

The master tape has been authenticated by recording industry experts, and
historians Tony Bongiovi and Jim Czak, and is licensed by Graceland's Elvis
Presley Enterprises. Those attending the invitation-only news conference in
New York will bear witness to the very first cut of this master tape and
will hear, first-hand, the off-the-record conversations between Elvis, his
band members and engineers from this historic recording.*
WHEN: Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 11:00 a.m.
WHERE: NOLA RECORDING STUDIOS
111 West 57th Street - 17th Floor Penthouse (bet. 6th & 7th Aves)
WHO: Mike Esposito, President, and Master Tape Collection
Tony Bongiovi, Record Producer, Authenticator
Jim Czak, Owner and engineer, Nola Recording Studios
Joe Franklin, radio personality
Cousin Brucie, CBS FM radio personality
Joey Reynolds, radio personality
Pete Davidson and Todd Morgan, Graceland's Elvis Presley Enterprises
Rock musicians and personalities to be named later
MEDIA RSVPs to: Gail Parenteau, Parenteau Guidance (212) 532-3934
[email protected]
*Segments from a copy of the master tape will be played during the news
conference. While its contents may be noted and reported, they may not be
broadcast or duplicated.

Venus Glow (1411), Monday, 26 January 2004 01:56 (twenty-two years ago)

This is mean!

V

Venus Glow (1411), Monday, 26 January 2004 01:58 (twenty-two years ago)

She's online right now under that AOL account, but isn't responding to IM's....

Mediawhore, Monday, 26 January 2004 02:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Where can I buy one of these? Is Franklin Mint selling them?

Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 26 January 2004 02:16 (twenty-two years ago)

perhaps you mean John Ashcroft?

Henry Jones, Jr, Monday, 26 January 2004 02:24 (twenty-two years ago)

John Ashcroft's master tapes are on sale?!?!? Where?!?!?

Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 26 January 2004 02:33 (twenty-two years ago)

You know the Shroud of Turin is a medieval fake, right?

the river fleet, Monday, 26 January 2004 02:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Made by Franklin Mint, right?

Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 26 January 2004 02:40 (twenty-two years ago)

cut up richard ashcroft

keith m (keithmcl), Monday, 26 January 2004 03:19 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd pay money for tha...

WAIT!!! WHAT AM I SAYING?!?!?!

HRH Queen Kate (kate), Monday, 26 January 2004 03:24 (twenty-two years ago)


that's weird. eh who cares though? i wonder who specifically owns those master tapes? (sun records? the estate of sam phillips? or elvis presley? hmm.)

here's hoping the proceeds go to charity.
m.

msp, Monday, 26 January 2004 04:22 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't know much about the technology of such things, but assume that these "masters" have been digitalized. There isn't any music being lost here, right? The "cels" from old Disney movies have been sold off too, I understand. Although there does seem to be a point to buying those. You can hang 'em on the wall as art. I don't quite see the intrinsic value of owning a tiny section of reel-to-reel tape mounted a plaque.

Salmon Pink (Salmon Pink), Monday, 26 January 2004 14:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Elvis souvenirs are the dumbest things ever.

mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 26 January 2004 14:44 (twenty-two years ago)

... by Anal Cunt

mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 26 January 2004 15:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Digital archiving aside, the intrinsic value of the master tape will be destroyed.

V

(1411), Monday, 26 January 2004 16:14 (twenty-two years ago)

When I read this question I thought it was some kind of Tom Baker "two wires..." hypothesis about preventing rock and roll from being created!

But since it was this is crass Golden Egg short-termism - dud.

Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Monday, 26 January 2004 16:17 (twenty-two years ago)

I would attempt to buy several, + a package of splicing tape, but what are the chances the pieces I'd win would be consecutive? *sigh*

jazz odysseus, Monday, 26 January 2004 16:22 (twenty-two years ago)

picture the scene... shop with 1000 mounted bits of tape with a picture, saying "surely someone must want one...?"

mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 26 January 2004 16:24 (twenty-two years ago)

This is one of two test-runs of new business models for the recording industry. In the future, it's possible that all recorded music will be released this way. The other plan, still forthcoming, involves brain-implanted transmitters that cross-reference neuro-electric patterns with a massive database of RIAA-registered songs. It charges a small fee on your credit card every time the software detects a match.

jazz odysseus, Monday, 26 January 2004 18:08 (twenty-two years ago)

dud. this goes for anyone's original master tapes.

M Matos (M Matos), Monday, 26 January 2004 19:12 (twenty-two years ago)

From the sound of it, they're only slicing up tapes of studio banter and what-not -- which is still damned criminal because, really, 'cause a recording of casual studio banter from (one of the) birth(s) of rock & roll is STILL a recording from (one of the) birth(s) of rock & roll, much the way a lousy film of the Kennedy Assassination is STILL a film of the Kennedy Assassination. You know?

Master-tape fuckery is one of my favorite rock subjects. My theory is that while record companies have been around for, oh, about a century, most of them only began seeing themselves as de facto archivists of Important Cultural Traditions relatively recently, and the often sloppy and cavalier attitude record companies have had towards the master tapes of even BIG artists reflects this. My favorite example: Simon & Garfunkel's will remain a cash cow for Sony until our robot masters enslave us, but when Sony started culling together a box set, Roy Halee (either S&G's producer or engineer, I forget) found the master-tapes were (literally) in shreds rotting in some storage facility in New Jersey and that it'd be "better to master from a first-pressing LP." (Some of this is from memory, some from this. Apparently they later found better tapes, but STILL.)

Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Monday, 26 January 2004 19:14 (twenty-two years ago)

At least they're not hacking up the corpse for souvenirs. Not yet, anyway.

Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Monday, 26 January 2004 19:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Which obliquely reminds me, is Lenin's corpse still preserved and regularly washed?

Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 26 January 2004 19:16 (twenty-two years ago)

It was finally buried a few years back, IIRC.

Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Monday, 26 January 2004 19:17 (twenty-two years ago)

If this is true (re Elvis not Lenin), it's a disgrace and I'm shocked his estate is letting this happen.

Sean (Sean), Monday, 26 January 2004 19:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Absolute idiocy, but then nothing surprises me anymore. Reminds me of that scene in "The Magic Christian" in which Peter Sellers buys a rare Rembrandt portrait only to slice out the nose and burn the rest.

Hopefully the invited "rock musicians and personalities" will denounce this farce in a big way (or better, pool their resources & buy the tapes whole & uncut) but I doubt it.

Scott, Monday, 26 January 2004 19:54 (twenty-two years ago)

four months pass...
It might be fake!

http://www.joegratz.net/archives/2004/01/28/bogus-elvis-tape-only-250-an-inch/

TRON FIGHTS FOR THE USERS (ex machina), Tuesday, 1 June 2004 18:33 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...
This is not the original session master tape, the original scotch magnetic master had only three songs on it,this tape has ten songs from several elvis sun sessions .a possible source for this tape could be RCA putting what they may have considered usable sun recordings on one master tape .

david graver, Wednesday, 31 May 2006 18:13 (twenty years ago)

I am not at all an Elvis fan, but speaking as a musicologist, doing something like that would have been unforgivable, about as bad as the Taliban destroying those old Buddha statues.

Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 20:41 (twenty years ago)


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