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Wertheimer On RCA, PARTS 1 & 2

 

By Bob Pakes

 

Wertheimer And Heartbreak HotelThe words Alfred Wertheimer and Elvis Presley have become synonymous with each other. Nowadays when we look at a 1956 photo of Elvis, more often than we realise, we are actually looking through the lens of Alfred Wertheimer. Of course, Wertheimer was not the only photographer who brought us iconic images of the young Elvis. But he has certainly set the standard with his amazing work.

Elvis was on the verge of becoming a cultural icon when RCA Victor asked a 26 year old Alfred Wertheimer to fill their empty files with pictures of this kid from Tupelo. Alfred had never heard of Elvis before but he took the job and travelled to New York where Elvis was to appear on The Dorsey Brothers’ Stage Show (in March 1956). This is where Wertheimer met Elvis for the first time. Wertheimer described Elvis as “a quiet guy who permitted closeness” while he described himself as “a quiet fly on Elvis’ wall”. Two quiet guys who got along just fine.

 

In this article we will take a look at the classic RCA RECORD COVERS THAT FEATURED A WERTHEIMER PHOTO. We will start our chronological travels with Alfred Wertheimer on the date of his first assignment for RCA Victor: March 17, 1956.
 
(Wertheimer’s reflection can be seen in the award Elvis received for his first RCA Victor gold record)

 

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Wertheimer On RCA, PART 1

 

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Wertheimer (Dorsey, March 17, 1956) 01DATE MARCH 17, 1956
LOCATION CBS STUDIO 50, NEW YORK

Here we have the first Wertheimer photo that was used by RCA, and what an iconic shot this is! Elvis, with both feet off the ground, launching himself into stardom.

USA EPA-830
Elvis Presley (1956)

EPA-830 Elvis Presley (USA) seal

Note that on the uncropped photo, Scotty and Bill are fully in the frame and we can also see their faces. Yet, on the EP cover they have become shadow-like figures partly cut from the image. All focus was on Elvis, of course.

For the back-cover of this EP, another Wertheimer photo from the same day was used. This photo will come up in PART 2 of this article.

This (cropped) photo was used on a wide variety of very cool EP releases from around the globe. Most countries simply copied the USA artwork (in one way or another), but there were some interesting exceptions.

 

EP-1177 Elvis Presley Volume 2 (Japan) 3-20162 El Ritmo De Elvis Presley (Spain)SPAIN 3-20162
El Ritmo De Elvis Presley (1958)

JAPAN EP-1177
Elvis Presley, vol. 2 (1956)

RCA Spain’s art department went an extra mile to emphasise the explosive style of Elvis Presley by painting in what appear to be fireworks or shooting stars.

RCA Japan used the exact same cover as in the USA. However, this is a totally different EP with the combination of songs (including one track by Janis Martin) being unique to this release.

 

75.525 Belgium 75.524 (Belgium)BELGIUM 75.524
Rockin’ With Elvis, Volume I (1956)

BELGIUM 75.525
Rockin’ With Elvis, Volume II (1956)

RCA Belgium treated the fans to a two-volume release entitled Rockin’ With Elvis, both EP’s bearing the same coverphoto but the first in blue colours and the second in yellow.
This nowadays extremely rare EP set is the only release that shows all four musicians (including DJ Fontana).

 

EPA 30-091 Rip It Up (Italy) 51,009 Love Me Tender (South Africa)SOUTH-AFRICA 51,009
Love Me Tender (1957)

ITALY EPA 30-091
Rip It Up (1957)

The most interesting thing about the South-African release is that this is actually their version of the Love Me Tender EP. It was re-released in 1962 with a new cat. number (EPC 052) and a purple instead of red frontcover.

In Italy, the USA artwork was chosen for an EP entitled Rip It Up, but as can be seen to the right there was no room for Scotty and Bill on this cover.

 

BKL-60 Elvis Presley (Brazil) CML-3009 Elvis Presley Y Su Conjunto (Chile 10inch LP)Next to the many EP’s, this legendary Wertheimer shot was also used as the coverphoto for Elvis’ first LP in two South-American countries.

CHILE CML-3009 (10 inch LP)
Elvis Presley Y Su Conjunto (1956)

BRAZIL BKL-60 (LP)
Elvis Presley (1956)

The Chilean cover is actually a very nice drawing (though it would have been even nicer if the drawing had resembled Elvis!) and while Scotty and Bill are not in the picture, their instruments are there, which is a nice touch.

 


 

Wertheimer (Dorsey, March 17, 1956) 02

 

EPA-5120 (USA) EPA-940 The Real Elvis A (USA)DATE MARCH 17, 1956
LOCATION CBS STUDIO 50, NEW YORK

USA EPA-940
The Real Elvis (1956)

Only two months after EPA-830, RCA released EPA-940, and also this EP sported a Wertheimer photo from the same Dorsey Brothers Show.
In between the release of these EP’s, the single Hound Dog / Don’t Be Cruel (coming up later in ths article) was presented to the public, and once again a classic Wertheimer photo graced the cover.

 

SS-1297 A EP-1206 Good Rockin Elvis (Japan)USA EPA-5120
The Real Elvis (Gold Standard Series) (1959)

JAPAN EP-1206
Good Rockin’ Elvis (1957)

JAPAN SS-1297
Hound Dog / Don’t Be Cruel (1962)

RCA Japan used a straight copy of the USA artwork for one of their Elvis EP’s, but as was the case with many Japanese pressings, different songs were used and a new title was given to the EP. A few years later the cover showed up once again for their Hound Dog re-release.

 


 

Wertheimer (Dorsey Bros. Stage Show, CBS Studio 50, March 17, 1956, NY) 04 a

 

MKE-173 3-20163 A1DATE MARCH 17, 1956
LOCATION CBS STUDIO 50, NEW YORK

This Wertheimer photo (from the same Dorsey show) was used on a handful releases from around the world.

SPAIN 3-20163
El Rock And Roll De Elvis Presley (1958)

MEXICO MKE-173
Heartbreak Hotel (1956)

 

45N 0612 1a (08-57) CME-91CHILE CME-91
Elvis Presley (1956)
(2 songs by Elvis, 2 by Julius La Rosa)

ITALY 45N-0612
All Shook Up / That’s When Your Heartaches Begin (1957)

The Italian sleeve design was a standard cover for Italian 45’s and used for a whole bunch of the Elvis releases.

 


 

Wertheimer (Dorsey Bros. Stage Show, CBS Studio 50, March 17, 1956, NY) 05

 

3-10052-C1-1958 3-10052 A1 (1957) JosepDATE MARCH 17, 1956
LOCATION CBS STUDIO 50, NEW YORK

For the fourth and last Wertheimer-Dorsey cover, we have to travel to Spain. The style of artwork used for Elvis’ first Spanish single was common in those years, and it is clear the Spanish artist let himself be inspired by this photo.

SPAIN 3-10052
Hound Dog / Don’t Be Cruel (1957)

 

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Wertheimer On RCA, PART 2

 

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Wertheimer, New York (June 29, 1956) 01DATE JUNE 29, 1956
LOCATION MANHATTAN STUDIO, NY

The second time Wertheimer met with Elvis was on June 29 in New York City. Wertheimer would accompany Elvis on his travels (to Richmond, back to NY, and then to Memphis) for the next 6 days.

Before the comedy rehearsals for the upcoming Steve Allen Show started, Elvis sang gospels behind the piano. This is when the pic to the right was taken. Elvis cut Any Way You Want Me 3 days later.

USA EPA-965
Any Way You Want Me (1956)

EPA-965 1

 

RA-5020 Japan (1961) CME-117 Chile (1957)CHILE CME-117
Elvis Presley (1957)

The same artwork was also used for (one of) Chile’s Loving You EP’s (CME-130).

JAPAN RA-5020
Something For Everybody (1961)

Five years after Wertheimer had shot it, RCA Japan preferred this photo over the commonly used one.

 


 

Wertheimer, Steve Allen, NY (July 1, 1956) 1DATE JULY 1, 1956
LOCATION NBC HUDSON THEATER, NY

As part of a hectic schedule, Elvis did two shows in Richmond on June 30, before his group (including Wertheimer) headed back to New York in order to prepare for the infamous Steve Allen Show.

The photo to the right was taken during rehearsals and ended up on the cover of Hound Dog / Don’t Be Cruel. This single, rushed into the stores within 14 days of Elvis cutting the songs and Wertheimer shooting the photo, became Elvis’ biggest hit record.

Wertheimer was not the only photographer present during rehearsals and some of the photos that are circulating have been falsely credited to him. To the right in the photo, we can actually spot another photographer.

Wertheimer, Steve Allen, NY (July 1, 1956) 1 crop

 

47-6604 (USA) - Don't Be Cruel 47-6604 (USA) - Hound DogUSA 47-6604
Hound Dog / Don’t Be Cruel (1956)
and
Don’t Be Cruel / Hound Dog (1956)

When first released on July 13th, Hound Dog was the leading song. But since both titles enjoyed a tremendous run on the charts, RCA decided to update the sleeve and make Don’t Be Cruel the leading tune.

BELOW: Two official letters from RCA to Colonel Parker.
The first letter mentions the cover change. The second deals with the commercial success of the single.

 


 

July 1, 1956 AllenDATE JULY 1, 1956
LOCATION NBC HUDSON THEATER, NY

Elvis fans were not amused by what Steve Allen had done to their hero. The next day they gathered outside the RCA Studio (were Elvis was recording) armed with “We want the real Elvis!” signs. A month later RCA released The Real Elvis.

Next to the RCA record releases that showed a photo by Wertheimer, his work was also used for other purposes, such as magazine advertisements, record catalogues, and the sheet music for Hound Dog we see below to the right.

 

Letter August 20, 1956 Letter February 1, 1957 1956 - Hound Dog (USA sheet music)

 


 

Wertheimer, RCA Victor Studio 1, NY (July 2, 1956) 03DATE JULY 2, 1956
LOCATION RCA VICTOR STUDIO 1, NY

On this day a legendary recording session took place. The photos taken by Wertheimer have played a huge part in building this piece of rock ‘n roll history.

Not one single outtake from this session still exists today. But Wertheimer was there when Elvis went through 31 takes of Hound Dog, 28 takes of Don’t Be Cruel and 12 takes of Any Way You Want Me.

The mindblowing photos from this day (in color and b&w) show us exactly how Elvis At 21 worked: he was in control. A perfectionist. A rocker. An icon.

The photo to the right was used for the backcover of The Real Elvis.

USA EPA-940
The Real Elvis (1956)

EPA-940 The Real Elvis (USA)

 

31A-0529 (Argentina) A10V 0109 (Italy, 1957, 10 inch)ITALY A10V 0109
Cocktail Di Successi N. 5 (1957)

Two songs by each of the five artists on this nowadays rare compilation album series (in the 10″ format) from Italy.

ARGENTINA 31A-0529
Kissin’ Cousins (1964)

This Wertheimer photo was used by RCA Argentina as the cover for four of their 45’s during the 1960’s. The borders of the three other titles were brown, green and grey.
(Please see Chris Giles’ comment below for more info)

 


 

Wertheimer, RCA Studio 1, NY (July 2, 1956) 02DATE JULY 2, 1956
LOCATION RCA VICTOR STUDIO 1, NY

Here we have another classic photo from the same session, taken while Elvis was listening to a playback of Hound Dog.

JAPAN SS-1006
Love Me Tender / Anyway You Want Me (1957)

SS-1006 (Japan) A

Any Way You Want Me (EPA-965) from September 1956, was the 3rd EP to sport a Wertheimer cover. It was also the last record that brought Wertheimer and Elvis together during Elvis’ lifetime. The fans had to wait until Rocker (in 1984) for another Wertheimer Elvis cover. In 1996 the photo to the right was used for the cover of the Heartbreak Hotel single that was released to promote the magnificent (and Wertheimer loaded!) ELVIS 56 LP.

 

SS-1009 (Japan) A SS-1009 (Japan) BJAPAN SS-1009
Too Much / Paralyzed (1957)

In 1957, four Japanese 45’s were released with this photo on the cover. These covers came in two color variations.

Other titles released in this series:
SS-1001 Love Me / When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold
SS-1007 Don’t Be Cruel / I’ll Never Let You Go

 

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Stay tuned for more WERTHEIMER ON RCA
SOON ON ECHOES!

 

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Songs Of Innocence The Hottest Thing Thats CoolCREDITS:

All photographs presented in this article are copyrighted by ALFRED WERTHEIMER

Wertheimer’s work has been published in a number of amazing books, including a few publications by Ger Rijff. Wertheimer has set the standard for photographing Elvis, and Rijff has set the standard for presenting these photographs in the best possible way.

 

Elvis And The Birth Of Rock And Roll Elvis 1956 Elvis At 21Only some of the Wertheimer titles are pictured here, but all of the Wertheimer books come highly recommended.

Please check out THIS interview with Wertheimer, especially because of the interaction with 3rd person Norman Reedus (photographer/actor, known for The Walking Dead). Wertheimer goes into meeting Elvis and becomming his ‘shadow’, and he talks in detail about how certain iconic Elvis photos were brought to life.

 

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WertheimerElvis56

17 Comments Post a comment
  1. Juan Luis #

    This is really “when all was kool”!
    Thanks Bob, and a warm hello to Ger.

    September 24, 2015
  2. And a warm “hi” to you, Juan.

    Great job, Bob. That’s the good thing about the lay out possibillities
    on Echoes. It wouldn’t work on Facebook, or other sites/blogs, but
    with your feel for presentation, Bob, this is one helluva winning topic!
    Don’t wait too long with the next part. A bit of real excitement is always welcome!

    September 25, 2015
  3. Jans #

    Thanks Bob.
    Another winner.
    Great topic!

    September 25, 2015
  4. Pink&Black #

    Just simply wow. Thanks!

    September 25, 2015
  5. Alan White #

    Some fantastic record covers and photos. Great work as always Bob.

    September 27, 2015
  6. Nige Grant #

    Albert Wertheimer took some of the finest photographs of Elvis, thanks to Ger & the others who put the books together so the world could see the birth of a Icon.

    September 27, 2015
  7. Pieter #

    Yep, another great and well documented article on this fabulous website.
    Congrats Bob and all who’ve worked with you!

    September 27, 2015
  8. Craig Philo #

    Wertheimer and Elvis as good as it gets…just fantastically atmospheric images, art at its very very best, great topic.

    September 27, 2015
  9. Priscilla Smits #

    Very, VERY, impressive. Great job. I love the background information and gosh … I can not get enough of all those different record covers.

    September 27, 2015
  10. Mike Windgren #

    Simply fantastic!

    January 1, 2016
  11. Brenda-Anne Dymock #

    Hello to Ger,
    My goodness, do you remember me? We met back in around 67 at an Elvis convention in the UK. You stayed at my parents house for a couple of days.
    I travelled On Tour between 71-77 and was around E the whole time. Great memories. Living in the US for many years, but soon going back to the UK.
    Where are you these days, still in Holland?
    Hope all is well.
    Brenda-Anne

    January 1, 2016
  12. FirstSnower #

    Enjoyed this article very very much! Keep up the good work.

    January 3, 2016
  13. Alan White #

    Another hit Bob, thanks for all your hard work.

    January 6, 2016
  14. Rajiv Jacobi #

    Brilliant, wonderful, wonderful research!
    While we have all the AW books and many of the original EP’s pictured, but we never connected the dots.
    Thank you.

    January 11, 2016
  15. The 31A 0529 ‘Primos Queridos’ shown is actually ‘Kissin’ Cousins’.
    Argentina also released this pic on the following 45rpm covers:
    – 31A 0710 Easy Question/It Feels So Right (Green Border)
    – 31A 0772 I’m Yours/Long Lonely Highway (Brown Border)
    – 31A 0922 Love Letters/Come What May (Grey Border)

    The ‘Hound Dog’ USA Sheet Music was also in issued in Brown Tinted cover.

    Absolutely wonderful theme here & so good to see these all put together.
    Well done Bob.

    January 11, 2016
  16. Robert #

    Just can’t get enough of Mr Wertheimer. I spoke with him on several occasions in the 90’s. Needed his artwork for a fanclub CD, great man to talk to and a real preserver of all his pictures.
    May he rest in peace. I keep admiring his work.

    January 16, 2016
  17. Juan Luis Gonzalez Brugal #

    You are missed Bob!

    January 6, 2017

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