His name is Elvis Presley

There are times in the music world when we lose sight of the brilliance of an artist, an album, or a song due to various circumstances such as saturation of the market/over exposure, fodder for the tabloids, and our own repeated plays of an artist or a song ad infinitum. Sometimes the artists themselves bring this on to themselves by their actions on and, more particularly, off the stage. They've become a caricature or a cartoon of themselves.

Elvis Presley is one of those artists. Sure, we know him as the King, how he died, the way he died, his method of channel surfing, his weight, his drug use. We know he left the building years ago. Look, however, to the picture of his debut record here. This is the real Elvis Presley. A record cover so revered and hallowed even The Clash paid homage to it. This is Elvis.

Recently, at Rediscover Records we were able to procure a few Elvis Presley 78 speed records. These are on the RCA Victor label. We can only wish they had been on the Sun Records label. The 78 rpm record, by the 1950's, was becoming a thing of the past, the 8-track or cassette, or even CD of it's day.

When these 78's came out the ink was probably barely dry from The Colonel signing Elvis from Sun Records to RCA Victor. These are in super condition with some of them in original sleeves. Currently, they are not listed on the website but you can come into Rediscover Records and look through them, and other records. The Jerry Osborne Record Guide (for what it's worth) lists these records from $60 up to $150.00 each. We have them varying from $19.98 to 79.98. Here is what we have:

Mystery Train/I Forgot to Remember to Forget

Heartbreak Hotel/I Was the One

Love Me Tender/Anyway You Want Me

Milkcow Blues Boogie/You're A Heartbreaker

That's All Right/Blue Moon of Kentucky

Too Much/Playing For Keeps

I Want You, I Need You, I Love You/My Baby Left Me

Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog

Good Rockin' Tonight/I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine

Discover all your records and vinyl needs at Rediscover Records! Here is a great video with pictures of Elvis Presley singing "Good Rockin' Tonight". Have you heard the news?

When Rediscover Records was in it's planning stages, the main requirement for the storefront was to be in downtown Elgin. If it wasn't to be in downtown Elgin, it wasn't to be at all.

With the gentrification of the U.S. for several years, downtown businesses gradually dwindled, drifted, wept, and became tumbleweeds while the malls and big box stores were striving as they were strewn all over the country. Downtown Elgin is nothing like that. The tumbleweeds are leaving. Color me impressed with all things Elgin.

Downtown Elgin is historic as it is "cool". It has an urban feel, even though in the suburbs. It very much feels like a city without the suburban sprawl. Sure there are pockets along Randall Road in Elgin that look like "Any Suburb USA" but downtown has a very "Ma & Pa" feel to it. It is the best kept secret in the area.

There are wonderful book shops such as Elgin Books, several great restaurants like Villa Verone, Elgin Public House, Al's Cafe (Pictured at the top. It's an old bank building), El Faro Mexican Restaurant, Ravenheard Coffee, Domani Coffee, Top Notch Tattoos, Hill Top Skate Shop, Toom Toom Thai, Bangkok House, and so much more. I guess "so much more" acts as a qualifier for any businesses I may have overlooked or didn't link.

Also pictured is a image by loco artist Barb Broeske. This is of Medusa's Night Club with Elgin Books in the lower right. In case you were wondering, Rediscover Records is next to the book store.

This isn't your father's downtown Elgin. Sure, it may not be from the hey day of the 1940's and 1950's when it was a thriving downtown but it certainly is not the blighted monstrosity that it was in late 1970's to the early 1990's. To paraphrase an old Elgin slogan, "Elgin, It's Happening Here"

That's the PSA from Rediscover Records for the day. Now, let's go play some records!