Billboard’s first cover, ever, in honor of our 117th birthday today!
We’ve come a long, long way since 1984, when a yearly subscription to Billboard cost 99 cents. We used to cover advertising, then the “amusement business” (carnivals and circuses), then motion pictures, and finally, with the advent of the jukebox, the music industry. It wasn’t until 1940 that we launched our first chart, the 10-position “National List of Best Selling Retail Records.” Think we found our niche.
Huzzah!
Some of the first mentions of Elvis Presley in Billboard Magazine. At the top, from the Feb. 19, 1955 issue, a radio guy from Arkansas calls Elvis “just about the hottest thing around these parts. His style really pleases the teen-agers.” I also dredged up the review of his first single, “That’s All Right” / “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” from the Aug. 7, 1954 issue. I believe this was the first time he made it into the magazine. (I may be wrong; look for yourself here.)
Bonus: He whooped Faron Young!
