April 09 - My Digital Happiness

In June of 1953, Elvis Presley made his first ever recording directly to acetate at Sun Studios in Memphis, TN. This one-of-a-kind piece of music history was recently purchased by Jack White at auction. On February 26th, 2015, Jack White met with legendary music archivist Alan Stoker at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN to have this "holy grail of rock n roll" digitally transferred, so Third Man Records could repress it for the masses. A facsimile of this record, using this transfer without alteration, will be available on Record Store Day, April 18th, 2015. A cleaned-up and re-mastered version of this recording will be available in the near future as a 7" on Third Man Records.




State approved new Tourism Zone for Graceland
 
The state approved Memphis's request for a tourism development zone for the 120-acre Graceland campus a few moments ago, and the construction of a new hotel and entertainment center will start soon.

The next and final public step in the process is Memphis City Council approval of a 5 percent tax surcharge on purchases within the zone to help pay for the planned improvements.

Graceland plans to build a $95 million, 450-room hotel on the mansion side of Elvis Presley Boulevard and a $30 million to $40 million entertainment complex on the other side of the street. The city and the state are spending $43 million in various projects to improve Elvis Presley Boulevard between Interstate 55 and the Mississippi state line.

Thursday's approval by the state Building Commission was unanimous, after a brief presentation on the project by the lawyer for the project and Elvis Presley Enterprises President and CEO Jack Soden. The entire project should be completed and ready for visitors by the fall of 2016.

Charts

• The "Heart And Soul" compilation drops from #18 to #20 on the Billboard Country Catalog Album Chart for the week ending April 18, 2015.
• The "Elvis: Ultimate Gospel" CD is a re-entry at 23 on the Billboard Country Catalog Album Chart.
• On the Dutch Mid-price Album chart "The Essential Elvis Presley" jumps from #45 to #16 this week. 
• The "Return To Sender" budget compilation drops from #54 to #97 on the UK Physical Album Chart.
• The "Elvis Love Songs" CD rises from 66 to 57 on the Official Scottish Album Chart Top 100.

(Source: FECC / OfficialTMR / ElvisMatters / Brian Quinn / Dutchcharts)