The week that Elvis Presley died, the Chattanooga News Free Press (so-called before it merged with the rival Chattanooga Times) did a special pull-out section dedicated to the late King of Rock and Roll. A week after, they printed another pull-out, this one twice as long. A year later, they did another. My parents received these souvenir editions as they arrived in 1977 and 1978, part of their regular subscription to the local newspaper. Ever since, they’ve been kept in an organ bench.
Last month, just in time for the 30th anniversary of Presley’s passing, I retrieved these issues, brought them home and photographed them. The papers aren’t in pristine condition, the pages are faded and the ink is a bit blurry, but the photos (not scans, mind you) ought to be clear enough to be understood.
What you’ll see is not only the typical collection of reminiscences from people who knew Elvis, even tangentially, but also accounts from the average everyday fan. These papers document promises that were probably never kept. One person from Fort Payne pledges the rest of her life to promoting Elvis. Another group says they will never rest until Presley’s birthday is made a national holiday.
There are also some curiosities, like the photo of Marc Salem, a self-proclaimed seer who predicted Presley’s death. He was so convinced of his accuracy that he sealed his prediction in an aspirin box and sent it to (at the time) Philadelphia District Attorney Arlen Spector.
The ads are great as well. For some reason, the Quasar ads are my favorite, but make sure you keep an eye out for all of the wanna-be disco clothing stores.
2 responses to “Elvis Souvenir Editions”
it actually was called the “chattanooga news-free press,” with unfortunate hyphen and all. the name was not a misnomer, however. it remains, to this day, in the hyphen section of strunk and white’s “the elements of style” as an example of how NOT to use a hyphen.
I clicked through mainly to see the ads because I absolutely love reading/watching old advertising. But I was struck by how few and far between the ads are. It’s quite a different scene in last month’s issue of Vogue, which my wife happened to pick up. A full 727 pages of ads.