Elvis's Suitcase Of 78s

ELVIS'S SUITCASE OF 78s (320kbs-m4a/137mb/60mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 16th August 2023

In January 1968 Elvis Presley selected 26 of his favourite old 78 records, which he had owned since he was a teenager, wrapped them in newspaper, packed them in a small suitcase and headed for Nashville, where he asked his friend and guitarist Scotty Moore to dub his treasured records on to reel to reel tape, so he could listen to them at home without running the risk of scratching or breaking them.

Once the 78 singles were copied Elvis asked Scotty to send him the tapes but keep hold of the records, as he didn't want to run the risk of them being damaged - and he said he'd drop by one day and pick them up.

But Elvis never got around to collecting those records and 47 years later, those old 78's are still there in that old suitcase in Scotty's house.

Chris Isaak, a huge fan of both Scotty Moore and Elvis wanted to find out more about the collection of records that meant so much to Elvis, so he visited Scotty at home in Nashville to explore the contents of `Elvis's Suitcase of 78's' - a great collection of the songs that inspired a teenage Elvis Presley, offering a fascinating insight in to the music he treasured.

The records date from 1948 to 1957 and reveal a lot about the type of music Elvis listened to in his formative years – many of them he would subsequently record himself and it's interesting that there is such a variety in the styles of music on those records from rockabilly and pop to gospel and doo wop.