“I’m crazy about these albums. They’re really Perfect for Parties.” says RCA Victor’s Elvis Presley. Among the other songs and artists on this Extended Play (EP) 45 RPM, Elvis Presley sings Love Me. In between the tracks, Elvis introduces the other artists. It was once believed that the only way to get the EP was to purchase an Elvis Presley RCA 45 RPM record player. This was reported in the Paul Lichter book, The Boy Who Dared to Rock: The Definitive Elvis , 1977.
A one page advertisement from a 1956 magazine however dispels this belief. Another advertisment and details around this promotional programming is highlighted in an article of an issue of Billboard.
Mfg: RCA Victor Records
Catalog: SPA-7-37
Title: Perfect For Parties Highlight Album
Artist(s): Elvis Presley, Tony Cabot, Tito Puente, Tony Scott, The Three Suns, Dave Pell
Release: 11/1956
Book Value: $150
DISC: Black label, dog on top, with or without horizontal silver line. NOT FOR SALE on one or two lines.
COVER: Paper, red, black and white. Front: RCA Victor logo and number at upper right. Black and white photo of Elvis and of LPM-1382. Back: Text, no photo. Has number, “SPA 7-37” at upper right. An alternate cover will make no reference to the selection number on the back.
Advertisement
It is generally been the contention that the Elvis Presley “Perfect for Parties” Highlight Album was a give away with the purchase of a RCA Records record player of a specific model.
This one page advertisement offers the Perfect for Parties record (SPA-7-37) for only 25 cents (a special $1.49 value). This will be a visual confirmation that this record was “offered through mail order coupon ads” as listed in Preleyana V.
Along with that offer is an extra special offer for $1.00 to buy 7×7 color prints of all 20 album covers shown. The offer expired on December 31, 1956. These may or may not be the ones offered in the advertisement, however, Presleyana V describes a set of 15 EP front cover slicks offered to juke box operators for display behind the glass on juke boxes. Those slics are valued at $500.
The following promotional material is obtained from an October 1956 issue of Billboard. Ironically, it is a promotion for the promotion.
The Perfect for Parties EP highlights the RCA Victor November album release schedule at a promotional campaign cost of nearly $165,000 (est as high as $5,447,000 in 2008 dollars). The disk with a limited press run that was not to exceed 500,000 units was mainly offered through consumer ads and not thru dealers.
