An acetate recording of the first song Elvis Presley ever recorded has been auctioned on what would have been his 80th birthday.

The ballad My Happiness was bought for $300,000 by an undisclosed internet buyer at Graceland, the museum and tourist attraction that was Presley’s former home, in Memphis, Tennessee.

The 78 rpm record, with its tattered yellow label, sold for $240,000. But the total buyer’s price includes a premium of 25 per cent, or $60,000 that goes to the auction house, Graceland Auctions. Bidding for the record started at $50,000.

Other items in the auction included scarves worn by Presley at concerts, gold necklaces with the initials TCB (short for the slogan ‘Taking Care of Business’), prescription sunglasses made for Presley, and his first driver’s licence. But the big prize was the My Happiness record, which is highly valued because of its place in the career of Presley, who died in Memphis in 1977. The acetate is in original condition and the record is playable.

Flowers and birthday wishes from around the world lying beside the grave of Elvis Presley at his home at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. Photos: Karen Pulfer/ReutersFlowers and birthday wishes from around the world lying beside the grave of Elvis Presley at his home at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. Photos: Karen Pulfer/Reuters

Fans of Presley gathered outside Graceland in sub-freezing temperatures for a cake-cutting ceremony

Presley recorded the song in 1953 at Sun Records, the Memphis studio operated by Sam Phillips. Presley, then 18, paid $4 for the recording.

As the story goes, Presley − whose family did not have a record player − left Sun and went to the home of friend Ed Leek to listen to it. But Presley left the record at Leek’s house. Leek kept the record in a safe for six decades. After he and his wife died, their niece Lorisa Hilburn inherited it. Hilburn, of Rockledge, Florida, contacted Graceland, and it was offered for auction.

She said after the auction that she did not expect the record to sell for such a large amount. She has already ‘splurged’ on an iPad, but plans to invest the rest of the money, with some going to pay for college for her two sons.

“I’m very happy,” she said. “There was adrenaline beforehand ... but when it was over, I was numb.”

Priscilla Ann Presley, ex-wife of the late singer, cutting a birthday cake during a proclamation of Elvis Presley Day.Priscilla Ann Presley, ex-wife of the late singer, cutting a birthday cake during a proclamation of Elvis Presley Day.

He liked to sing and one day summoned up the courage to walk into Sun Records. Phillips was not there that day, so Presley was helped by his assistant, Marion Keisker.

Presley sang the ballads My Happiness, which was the A-side of the record, and That’s When Your Heartaches Begin, which became side B.

Both are slow-moving and stop short of suggesting a singer ready to help open the way for the emergence of rock ‘n’ roll. After the record was cut, Keisker wrote down Presley’s name and phone number and jotted a note that said he was a good ballad singer.

In 1954, Presley recorded the more uptempo That’s All Right at Sun Records. That song became Presley’s first hit, and it catapulted him to a successful career that included hit songs such as Hound Dog and Suspicious Minds, and to making popular films such as Jailhouse Rock.

The story about the My Happiness recording is told to visitors who take the tour of Sun Records, now a museum. Along with Presley, Phillips also recorded music legends Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins at Sun.

Before the auction, fans of Presley gathered outside Graceland in sub-freezing temperatures for a cake-cutting ceremony.

Priscilla Ann Presley, who was married to the singer, and their daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, attended the morning event.

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