First album

[rockinrebel]

“Separate Ways” – I had no idea it was a compilation, and just thought of it as a regular Elvis album. In the UK many of the budget albums had sleeve notes that gave that impression.

I have been critical of the Camden albums as I have read more into Elvis’ career, as I don’t like the way RCA threw away first rate recordings that they could have built a proper album around, but when I was growing up and discovering Elvis’ music, the budget albums did represent an affordable way of collecting Elvis recordings.

“Separate Ways” wasn’t really such a bad place to start. Along with the title track and “Always On My Mind” there were some good early sixties ballads including “In My Way” and “Forget Me Never” which are still favourites, and I also liked the rocker “I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell”. For less than ?1:00 (UK) at the time of buying the album, it was certainly value for money, and despite my criticism of the Camden albums since then, I still had to track down the CD version for sentimental reasons.

The first full price albums I bought were “Loving You” and “Aloha From Hawaii” – two very different sets from different eras of the Presley career, but I enjoyed them both, and wanted to get as many albums as possible from that moment on. I remember buying a US magazine called “The Complete Elvis” which had a discography (but no track listings for the albums) and from that I would draw up wish lists and decide which album to buy next when I had some spare money.

Not having much knowledge of Elvis’ career meant that I would buy an album like “It Happened At The World’s Fair” before I got around to “The Sun Collection” or “From Elvis In Memphis”, but back then it was just a case of picking up as many albums as I could find, and as many of the soundtrack albums were deleted in the UK at the time, and only available as US imports this made them seem like real collectors pieces, and that obviously influenced what I bought.

In my hometown at the time there was a record stall on the local market, and the owner was a big Elvis & rock ‘n’ roll fan, and carried many US albums, picture sleeve singles, and other collectable items. There were even titles like “From The Waist Up” and “Plantation Rock”, which made collecting become addictive pretty quickly. Buying ‘unreleased’ songs before you have heard all the masters, may seem a little strange now, but at the time I thought I might never see these albums again and snapped them up whenever I could afford them.

[paulsweeney]

From Elvis In Memphis was the first - this along with Elvis Is Back are my 2 favourites.

[Lonniebealestreet]

Pure Gold on CD was my first Elvis music purchase. That was in March of '93. I had no idea what I'd been missing out on prior to then!

This wasn't asked, but my most recent purchase is a Canadian LP of From Elvis Presley Boulevard.

[Albert]

I believe the first LP I bought was either "The Aloha From Hawaii" or "Elvis Presley Forever volume 4". Both I enjoyed very much.

The first CD that I've bought was 'The Alternate Aloha'. After that I've bought those first-on-cd original albums like 'Promised Land'. Unfortunately those were imports from the USA, so quite expensive.

[Stefan Kock]

The first casette I got for my 10th birthday in 1989, it was called " 20 Golden Greats" and consisted of 20 movie songs.

The first cd I bought myself was either "Burning Love - Hits from his movies vol II" or "In Concert". I don't remember which one I got first alhough only 12 years have passed since

[EagleUSA]

I was given "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" in '72 when I was 6.

After that, my next two albums were...

"Live At The International"
"Aloha From Hawaii"

...and every 45 I could get my hands on.

[carolynlm]

I remember this like it was yesterday...The very first album I ever bought of Elvis' and my first record I ever bought was GI Blues.....I was only about 8 years old at the time and my family didn't have a lot of money. In fact I think my mother went without meals herself to feed us. The lady a few doors down from us used to give me 3p (that's like 3 cents) to go to the shops to buy her cigarettes for her, she was a bit of a drunk as well, so it took me a good while to save the money. When I think about it now, I was being quite selfish to buy a record instead of giving Mum the money. The lady down the road was also the only person I knew that had a record player, so I couldn't play it as often as I would have liked. Those were the days...... I don't have that original album, my cousins nicked off with it in the early '70's, along with quite a few others, monsters......

[curtis simpkins]

I bet you where p,o was your carolynlm,
i know i would.

[quinn53]

The first album I got was Elvis' Gold Records Vol 1. I was 8 years old, my brother 11. My dad got us a record player for Christmas. he also bought about 100 albums. My brother and I looked thru the albums and put on Elvis. I still remember how we looked at other when the first notes of Hound Dog came on. Changed us forever. We played that album all day, our Dad finally came in the room and he discovered we had put all the other albums next to a heating vent and they all melted. He was not too happy. It didn't matter to us, we had been Elvisfied!

[Rowdy]

International Hotel, bought it in summer of 1974. The purchased Madison square Garden and was blown away!!!!!!!!! Been a long time, but I can still listen to MSG and it STILL blows me away.

[Bona_Fide_Daddy]

elvis golden records-vol. 1

[KPM]

Ditto on Elvis Golden Records Vol. 1 got it in 1962

[poormansgold]

My First LP Is TV Special, It's best of LP in 1977, it was after his death I buy it. It's best buy's series
Tom

[jadedragon61]

I think it was The Sun Sessions, and a few days later I bought the compilation album Kentucky Rain.

[maxiefields]

GI Blues I played it so much I had to put coins on the stylus to stop it jumping I just adored that album at the time, and so my passion for music began !