Elvis Reading (about Elvis)

By Bob Pakes

 

Every now and then you run into a photo of Elvis checking out a magazine. ‘Teeny-mags’ were published by the truckload in the late 50’s, and since Presley had become the hottest thing in showbusiness, he appeared in nearly all of them in one way or another. And Elvis apparently enjoyed reading the articles about himself!
 
Most of these vintage magazines are very collectible nowadays, especially the ones that have Elvis on the frontcover. In this topic you’ll find a chronological collection of photographs of Elvis reading (or in another way connected to) magazines that could be identified. Where possible, an image of the magazine in question accompanies each entry.

 

 

 

August 10, 1956 |
Jacksonville, Florida

ELVIS PRESLEY
(1956)
 
When Elvis came to town, juvenile court Judge Gooding did his best to control Elvis’ uncontrollable movements on stage. He even attended one of his shows that day. So Elvis couldn’t move, he had to stand still, the only thing he could move was his little finger …

 

Unknown | Humes High School, Memphis

Humes High’s history teacher Mildred Scrivener did not think Elvis was a bad influence at all. In a March 1957 article in TV Radio Mirror (that this image appeared in) she states she saw him as a “decent-thinking, right-living, generous and kind person.”

 

August 18, 1956 |
Knickerbocker Hotel, Hollywood

HEAR the Voice of Hollywood
(November, 1956)

 

September, 1956 |
The set of Love Me Tender

DIG
(November 1956)
 
Check below the awesome photo of Gene Vincent And The Blue Caps going through this magazine!
 
The magazine can be found HERE!

 

 

January 6, 1957 |
Warwick Hotel,
New York City

PLAYBOY
(January 1957)

 

Elvis is checking out some magazines in the lobby of the Warwick Hotel.
In the photo to the right we can see him going through an article titled What Presley Really Wants.
 
The titles of these two magazines are, as of yet, unknown.

 

January 7, 1957 |
Greeneville Station

ELVIS Photo Album
(1956)

 

1957 |
The set of Loving You

BRAVO
(Germany. February 17, 1957)
 
BRAVO reporter Thomas Beyl visited Elvis on the set of Loving You and showed him an earlier edition of the magazine that had Elvis on the cover.
Thomas visited Elvis again when he lived in Bad Nauheim.

 

March, 1958 |
The set of King Creole

TEEN
(April, 1958)

 

October 23, 1958 | Wiesbaden, Germany

BILDJOURNALEN, No. 20 (Sweden. May, 1958)

Swedish singer Little Gerhard met Elvis at a Bill Haley concert,
and he brought along a magazine that had an Elvis-article in it.

 

November, 1958 |
Hotel Grunewald,
Bad Nauheim

THE ELVIS PRESLEY ALBUM No 2
(UK, 1958)

 

PICTUREGOER
(UK. October, 1956)
 
It’s interesting to note that the magazine Elvis is reading here, is actually over 2 years old.

 

BRAVO
(Germany.
October 26, 1958)
 
BRAVO
(Germany.
November 30, 1958)

 

January, 1959 |
The PX Store

MOVIE LIFE
(February 1959)

 

August 19, 1959 |
Goethestrasse, Bad Nauheim

BRAVO
(Germany. August 22, 1959)
 
The second time that Thomas Beyl interviewed Elvis was in Bad Nauheim.

 

1959 | Germany

DIE TONENDE STORY
(Germany. November 1959)
 
This is actually one of the first books about Elvis Presley, and the first in the German language.

 

March, 1960 | Germany

FILM Revue
(Germany. March 1, 1960)

 

March, 1960 | Germany

Photo Folio
(1957)

 

March 25, 1961 | Hawaii

Hawaiian Life
(March, 1961)

 

December, 1961 |
On the set of Kid Galahad

FILM Revue
(Germany. December 5, 1961)

 

February 14, 1964 |
Long Beach, California

Muziek Expres
(Holland. January, 1964)
 
This magazine can be found HERE!

 

 

PHOTO CREDITS:
Lloyd Shearer
Ed Braslaff
Alfred Wertheimer
Thomas Beyl
Jan Storm
and the many unknown photographers!
 
THANKS:
Jans (for the Elvis Presley 1956 magazine)
Kari Paju (for the Radio TV Mirror article)
Josep Rulló Guàrdia (for the upgrade-photo of Gene Vincent)
Roger Ersson (for identifying the Swedish magazine)