“Rock And Roll Stars” (Trading Cards, 1959)

By Bob Pakes
 
 

This article is dedicated to the series of TRADING CARDS put out by a company called NU CARDS in 1959. It includes images of all the 64 Cards that formed this collectible series.
 
– The Cards were sold for $ 0,05 a pack, with three Cards in one pack.
– Unlike most other Trading Cards, this series came in a clear cellophane wrapper.
– Up to and including Card No. 49 (Conway Twitty) all Stars are listed alphabetically, after that it gets messy for some reason.
– With the exception of Nos. 58, 59 and 60, all Cards include a short description of the Star.
– Minor grammatical errors are shown on some of the cards: we have Chuck Perry, Rickey Nelson and Frankie Lyman.
– The series is called Rock And Roll Stars, but to call Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra rock and roll seems a bit farfetched.
 
ELVIS PRESLEY, of course, is also present. He is No. 37, and we have some additional information regarding the photo used in this Trading Card collection.
 
Noticeable is also that the name synonymous with Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley, is ‘only’ listed in sixth place on the Counter Display Box below the names who, by 1959, had become the new faces of popular music: Fabian, Bobby Darin, Frankie Avalon, Pat Boone and Paul Anka. The music scene of young America had sure changed since Elvis was shipped overseas in 1958.

 

 
 
 

 
 
 

01. Paul Anka
02. Annette (Funicello)
03. Frankie Avalon

 

04. LaVern Baker
05. The Bell Notes
06. Chuck Berry

 

 

07. Pat Boone
08. Anita Bryant
09. Edward Byrnes

 

10. Teresa Brewer
11. Johnny Cash
12. The Chordettes

 

13. Nat King Cole
14. Perry Como
15. Sam Cooke

 

16. The Crests
17. James Darren
18. Bobby Darin

 

 

19. Dion And The Belmonts
20. The Everly Brothers
21. Duane Eddy

 

 

22. Fabian
23. The Flamingos
24. The Fleetwoods

 

 

25. The Four Lads
26. Connie Francis
27. The Impalas

 

 

28. Joni James
29. Steve Lawrence
30. Peggy Lee

 

31. Dean Martin
32. Johnny Mathis
33. The McGuire Sisters

 

 

34. Johnny Nash
35. Ricky Nelson
36. Patti Page

 

37. Elvis Presley
38. Lloyd Price
39. Louis Prima

 
The image of Elvis was taken during the photoshoot for Jailhouse Rock in 1957.
Below we can see more photos from the same day.
 
This image was also used by RCA Japan in the 50’s for three of their Elvis 45’s/78’s. These singles were released with different colored sleeves (blue, red, brown, yellow, etc.). The blue sleeve shown below is only one example of these many color-variations.
 
Next to the Japanese single we see a movieprop from Jailhouse Rock. The photo used on this rare single is from the same photoshoot.
 
(Click images for an enlargment!)

 
 
 

 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 

40. Santo & Johnny
41. Jack Scott
42. Frank Sinatra

 

43. Skip & Flip
44. The Skyliners
45. Keely Smith

 

46. Connie Stevens
47. The Tassels
48. The Tempos

 

49. Conway Twitty
50. Fats Domino
51. Sarah Vaughan

 

52. Dinah Washington
53. Andy Williams
54. The Platters

 

 

55. The Kingston Trio
56. Dave (Baby) Cortez
57. Billy And Lillie

 

58. Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers
59. Tommy Sands
60. Jimmy Clanton

 

 

61. The Mystics
62. Ray Charles
63. Ruth Brown

 

 

64. Dee Clark

 
 
 

 
 
 

For more vintage Trading Cards, check out these articles by Seth Kaminsky:
 
‘THE STORY OF THE 1956 ELVIS BUBBLEGUM CARD SET’
can be found HERE!
 
‘ELVIS IN OTHER 1950′s AND 60′s CARD SETS’
can be found HERE!