CR-15 Old Shep 

Modified: July 5, 2015

Artist: Elvis Presley
Release: RCA Victor CR-15 Old Shep (45)
Release Date: 2/28/1957

Side 1: Old Shep (Elvis Presley)
Side 2: n/a

SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT! This record has been misidentified so many times over. Let’s start with the catalog/matrix number which is H7OW. This can be decoded to be H = 1957, 7 = Custom (Recorded at RCA studios), O = Phonograph, and W= 7 inch Mono 45 RPM.1 This means that the record was pressed in 1957, not 1956 as many sources would indicate. This decoding of the matrix is verified and substantiated by the official RCA Listing notice provided by Paul Dowling of World Wide Records where it states the ship date of February 28, 1957.2 The Album No. CR-15 (Custom Record – 15) with the Album Title: COLE CORPORATION.2 Further research into M.M. Cole Publishing reveals that the “Old Shep” title was part of it’s catalog of song copyrights until purchased by ABC-Paramount in 1965.4 With these facts in place, the sleeve that was once identified with this title cannot be.

cr15-side1cr15-side2cr15-listingnoticesm

Disc: White label. NOT FOR SALE.5

The original release did not contain a label on the back. It is black vinyl.6 The counterfeit may have a white label on the back.

Matrix numbers
Side 1: H7-0W-3721-1A (machine stamped) / Side 2: B1 (machine stamped) (Rockaway pressing)789
Side 1: H7-0W-3721-1A (machine stamped) / Side 2: 45 Spiral 1 (hand etched) (Rockaway pressing)10111213
Side 1: H7-0W-3721-1A / Side 2: 45-BLANK-2 (machine stamped) (unknown pressing)??? (need to re-verify)

cr-15-side1

Disc: White label. NOT FOR SALE. Counterfeit.

Matrix numbers
Side 1: H7-02-3721-1A / Side 2: (hand etched) (1978 counterfeit pressing)

Inner Sleeve
Generic RCA sleeve.

  1. http://www.keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/matrix-numbers/matrixnumbersexplained.html
  2. RCA Listing Notice provided by Paul Dowling of World Wide Records
  3. RCA Listing Notice provided by Paul Dowling of World Wide Records
  4. Kingsbury, Paul, Michael McCall, John Woodruff. Rumble, Michael Gray, and Jay Orr. The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music. New York: Oxford UP, 2012. Print. p. 305.
  5. Second and third image from eBay reference 171840609743 (July 5, 2015)
  6. eBay reference 290951909270 (December 16, 2011)
  7. eBay reference 171840609743 (June 29, 2015)
  8. eBay reference 261941004154 (June 29, 2015)
  9. Thanks to Howard B. for the correct matrix numbers.
  10. Jerry Osborne, Presleyana VI (Port Townsend: Osborne Enterprises, 2007), p. 58.
  11. eBay reference 120994063667 (October 9, 2012)
  12. eBay reference 271104376986 (November 15, 2012)
  13. eBay reference 221529165649 (August 21, 2014)