First-ever Elvis record to be auctioned

The first record Elvis Presley (above) ever made will be put up for auction next year, along with his first driver's licence, his Graceland estate said Thursday. Presley was 18 in June, 1953 when he paid four dollars at Sun Studios to record the
The first record Elvis Presley (above) ever made will be put up for auction next year, along with his first driver's licence, his Graceland estate said Thursday. Presley was 18 in June, 1953 when he paid four dollars at Sun Studios to record the 1940s chestnut My Happiness on a 78rpm acetate disc as a gift for his mother. -- PHOTO: BMG

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The first record Elvis Presley ever made will be put up for auction next year, along with his first driver's licence, his Graceland estate said Thursday.

They are among 68 Presley collectibles going under the hammer at the second "Auction at Graceland" in Memphis, Tennessee.

The sale takes place on Jan 8, 2015, the day the Elvis would have turned 80

The "King of Rock 'n' Roll" died in 1977, at the age of 42.

Presley was 18 in June, 1953 when he paid four dollars at Sun Studios to record the 1940s chestnut My Happiness on a 78rpm acetate disc as a gift for his mother.

Since his family didn't have a record player, Presley took the disc to a friend, Ed Leek, who did.

He left it there, and in the end his mother never got the present.

"In private hands since it was created, Elvis' first recording is being offered for the first time since Elvis walked into that Memphis studio over 60 years ago," the estate said.

Also up for bidding is Presley's first Tennessee driver's licence, said the estate, which gets its auction items from third-party collectors and ensures they are authentic.

Issued in March 1952 when he was 17, the document identifies Presley as a brown-haired, blue-eyed student residing at a Memphis public housing estate where his family then lived.

Presley's last Cadillac automobile, a maroon and silver 1977 Seville, was among the highlights of the inaugural Auction at Graceland in August, going for US$81,250 (S$104,910).

In New York on Wednesday, two iconic Andy Warhol paintings of Elvis Presley and Marlon Brando sold for more than US$151 million at auction, shattering pre-sale estimates.

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