From Memphis to Taipeh

Memphis From
to
TaiPeh
Volume 1
A Reference Guide
to the Colorful
Magic of
Elvis‘ Asian Vinyl
Ferry van der WErf
Dick dekker

OUT VERY SOON !
We are proud to let you know that our book is in print now,
it will be available for shipping in just a few weeks.
The book will be limited to 500 copies worldwide,
so get your copy now from your local dealer.
Or contact us and we’ll get you in contact with the dealer for your country.
Mail us at
asia@TheElvisCloud.com
We made a small preview of the book to let you see what you can expect
please enjoy!

From Memphis to Taipeh
A Reference Guide to the Colorful Magic of Elvis’ Asian Vinyl
It was in the late 1950s that the first Asian records containing Elvis‘ music were released. Since then, hundreds
of records have followed, many with gorgeous covers in different variations and featuring beautiful colored
vinyl. Still, in all the years since, no collector’s guide on Elvis’ Asian vinyl has ever been published. There’s
never even been a modest, informative booklet about these albums.
Until now!
This new book is the very first reference guide to Elvis‘ Asian vinyl releases.
We decided to limit this volume to 10” and 12” records originating from six major Asian countries: Hong Kong,
Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Inside, you’ll learn where, why and for whom these records
were made. You‘ll discover what hunting for vinyl in these countries meant, and how surviving records
were found. The cover art and label designs are presented to the collector in sizes large enough to read right
off the page. And that’s exactly what you should do! You’ll be sure to chuckle at inadvertent miscues that often
appear on the album covers and labels, they are hilarious.
This hardcover book comes into the ring with 500+ pages, measuring 28x28cm and weighing more than 3 kilos.
Inside the book you’ll find 500+ different records and 2500+ pictures. Limited edition of 500 copies.
Be amazed by the colorful magic of Elvis‘ Asian vinyl releases.
BUKU
HARIMAU

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Introduction
As is the case with all record guides, before you begin here are a few things we’d like to point out.
A bootleg, or not a bootleg, that is the question.
There seems to be some confusion on how to classify Asian records. Although this point doesn’t seem be be all that crucial
for this book, we do want to share our view.
Bootleg: A bootleg is an illegal release not approved by the artist’s record company, containing recordings that are not officially
available. These recordings can be taken from a live performance, studio recordings or private home demos.
We didn’t find any bootlegs made in Asia.
Counterfeit: A counterfeit is also an illegal release not approved by the artist’s record company, but this time it’s an exact
copy of an official title, often one that is extremely rare. Counterfeits are only made to fool a customer into thinking they are
purchasing a hard-to-find original release.
To be fair, we didn’t find any Asian counterfeits either. Yes, some official releases were indeed copied, but either the artwork
was different or the quality of the record so poor that no one could ever be fooled.
Official: RCA was the only company that released official Elvis records in Asia, starting in the mid-1970s.
Unofficial/Pirate: All releases that don’t fall in any of the above categories can be classified as an unofficial or pirate record.
This means they are illegal, or semi-legal, releases. Most of the records you will find in this book fall into this category.
Taiwan - The “Queen Anne’s Revenge” of Asia.
As you will easily conclude from this book, Taiwan was the “Queen” of pirate records in Southeast Asia.
From the 1950s to the mid-1970s, the country produced millions of records for other Southeast Asian countries and also for
their own use. According to a Billboard article from March 14, 1970, pirate pressings (costing about 70 cents) outsold legitimate
ones (costing about $3) about 5 to 1.
Records were pressed by many small pressing plants in the cities of Taipei or Tainan, in batches of just a few hundred. These
outfits did not operate like the professional, well-organized pressing plants in Europe or America. So when a record required
a second pressing, often a new label had to be made, or another pressing plant was hired. The same situation applies for
record sleeves, and there are many examples where different variations of a sleeve exist for one title. They also recycled
unsold records, melting down the vinyl and using it for new pressings, and “Grade C” covers got turned inside out and used
for new titles.
Taiwanese LP covers are found in three grades:
Grade A - thicker, European-style paper, from the mid-1970s on
Grade B - thicker paper than Grade C, from the mid-1960s on
Grade C - thin, flimsy piece of folded paper, placed in a thin plastic bag

Malaysia Malaysia –- History History of of Music Music
Malaysia
Malaysia
is
is
a country
a country
in
in
Southeast
Southeast
Asia,
Asia, including
including
the
the
former
former
nation
nation
of Malaya
of Malaya
on
on
the the Malay Peninsula, and part of of Borneo. It’s It’s sometimes sometimes still referred still referred to as Malaya. to as Malaya.During
the ‘60s, western pop was very influential on the local music scene.
Big record During companies the ‘60s, western like Polydor, pop was very Warner influential Bros., on CBS, the EMI local and music others scene. dominated Big
record companies like Polydor, Warner Bros., CBS, EMI and others dominated the
the scene, although pressing records records only only in in small small numbers. numbers. Other Other companies companies also also
manufactured unofficial releases for distribution around Southeast Asia. Asia.
Elvis Elvis records records were were not not officially released in the early days days due due to a to rock a rock ’n’ roll ’n’ roll
boycott boycott by by the the Malay government. However, towards the the end end of of the the ‘70s ‘70s and and into into
the early the ’80s early RCA ’80s RCA pressed pressed a small a small number number of albums, of albums, likely likely for for distribution around
around Southeast Asia, too.
Southeast Asia, too.

12 inch malaysia
top hits of elvis
#001
jarguare jelp 113
1 LP set
black vinyl
red label
10

top hits vol. 7
#002
jarguare jelp 122
1 LP set, various artists
black vinyl
light green label
From Memphis to Taipeh
11

12 inch south korea
crying in the chapel
#003
20 SEKI 2L-1308
1 lp set, various artists
Black vinyl
green label
14

From Memphis to Taipeh
elvis
#004
ACADEMY JK 1008
1 lp set, various artists
Black vinyl
black label
15

12 inch south korea
elvis
#005
korean ANGEL HAL-1003
1 lp set, various artists
Black vinyl
green/white label
16

From Memphis to Taipeh
elvis
#006
MS RECORD MS-7775
1 lp set, various artists
Black vinyl
orange/white label
17

12 inch south korea
girl happy
#007
shin jin ML 1110
1 lp set
red, orange, blue vinyl
multicolor label
18

From Memphis to Taipeh
19
#008
#009

12 inch taiwan
asahi record jps-21 / g.i. blues
#010
1 lp set
black vinyl
blue label
22

From Memphis to Taipeh
be be records
#011
cover only
To meet the demand for Elvis picture sleeves, Be Be Records
produced covers for 10” as well as 12” releases. They never
produced a record with an Elvis track, as far as we could
find out.
Several different labels used these covers for their records.
23

12 inch taiwan
v1
song jwu records sl-701
#012
1 lp set, various artists
black/red, red, green vinyl
silver label
24
Any combination of record and cover
is possible
v2
v3

From Memphis to Taipeh
25
#013
#014

12 inch taiwan
v1
wu chow record
v2
26
v3
Records by wu chow record can come in any of these covers, backcovers are
either identical to the frontcover or blank.
v4

From Memphis to Taipeh
v5
27

12 inch taiwan
that’s the way it is
#015
first record fl-2017
1 lp set
black vinyl
red label
28

From Memphis to Taipeh
that’s the way it is
#016
TOWER RECORD COMPANY csj-1034
1 lp set
black vinyl
yellow label
29
V1

AsVee-Design

thailand
Constitutional monarchy
(interim military-government since May 2014)
independant since 1350
Region : Southeast Asia
Area : 513,120 km²
Capital : bangkok

12 inch thailand
20 sentimental hits
#017
dlp-4731
1 lp set
black vinyl
black label
32

From Memphis to Taipeh
best of elvis, the
#018
viva records pv-106
1 lp set
black vinyl
multicolor label
33

12 inch thailand
g.i. blues
#019
lsp-2256
1 lp set
black vinyl
red label
34
On June 21, 1960, while filming G.I. Blues, Elvis was visited by King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara.
Seal of King Bhumibol

From Memphis to Taipeh
35

Soon to be released
From Memphis to Taipeh
vol. 2
Mainly handling 7” records from Asia, plus adding more 10” and 12” records that didn’t
make it into volume 1.
BUKU
HARIMAU

From Memphis to taipeh
A Reference Guide to the Colorful Magic of Elvis‘ Asian Vinyl
Volume 1
It was in the late 1950s that the first Asian records containing Elvis‘ music were released.
Since then, hundreds of records have followed, many with gorgeous covers in different
variations and featuring beautiful colored vinyl. Still, in all the years since, no collector’s
guide on Elvis’ Asian vinyl has ever been published. There’s never even been a modest,
informative booklet about these albums.
Until now!
This new book is the very first reference guide to Elvis‘ Asian vinyl releases.
We decided to limit this volume to 10” and 12” records originating from six major Asian countries: Hong
Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Inside, you’ll learn where, why and for
whom these records were made. You‘ll discover what hunting for vinyl in these countries meant, and
how surviving records were found. The cover art and label designs are presented to the collector in
sizes large enough to read right off the page. And that’s exactly what you should do! You’ll be sure to
chuckle at inadvertent miscues that often appear on the album covers and labels, they are hilarious.
Be amazed by the colorful magic of Elvis‘ Asian vinyl releases
Entire contents of this book Copyright 2021 by Buku Harimau. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the author and publisher,
except where permitted by law.