Jack White recently sat down with Joe Levy for an in-depth Billboard magazine cover story interview. Jack and Joe discussed the resurgence of vinyl, music preservation and much more, but most importantly, Jack’s recent acquisition of an item many people feel is the holy grail of rock & roll history. Read the interview here. The issue will be on newsstands March 10th.
In the interview, Billboard reveals that Jack was the mystery high bidder on Elvis Presley’s first-ever record. Third Man Records will release this recording for Record Store Day 2015.
Utilizing the actual unrestored audio as it currently exists on the sole original copy of “My Happiness” b/w “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin” Third Man will make a limited facsimile, 10-inch 78rpm disc available on April 18, 2015. From reproducing the typewritten labels (printed on the reverse of extra Prisonaires labels that happened to be laying around Sun Records in July 1953) to being packaged in a plain, nondescript, of-the-era sleeve, the utmost attention to detail has been paid in order to create an object so close to the historic original as to almost be indistinguishable from one other.
Later this year, Third Man will release a widely available 7-inch 45rpm featuring newly restored versions of the two songs. Working from a transfer done by industry expert Alan Stoker at the Country Music Hall of Fame, the audio will be as clean as modern technology can make it without losing the feeling and soul that makes these two songs both haunting and breath-taking.
Listen to a clip of “My Happiness” and get a glimpse of this spinning piece of American musical history in this video.
For more information, go to thirdmanrecords.com.
