Release Date: 5/30/2025

It's hard to find a more iconic album. This is Elvis Presley's debut album, and already one of the first albums in the history of rock (before then, the genre was consumed through singles). The cover says everything about Elvis-the beauty, the energy-and would be frequently imitated later on. For the future "King," it marks the turning point between his rockabilly beginnings at Sun Records and his new life as a living legend. The track listing captures this moment: it features songs recorded over the course of a year, first at Sun Records and then for RCA, his new label. There's no real artistic coherence, but genius is everywhere-on the stripped-down ballads ("Blue Moon"), the rock echoing Sun ("Blue Suede Shoes"), the barely sanitized rhythm & blues ("Money Honey")... And as a bonus on this reissue, the masterpiece "Heartbreak Hotel," which wasn't included on the original 1956 album.