Back in 1956, a promotional poster billed Elvis Presley as a young man with a big beat.  Chances are the ad's designers didn't realize just how big that beat was, and how far it would take the boy from Tupelo, Mississippi.  Freshly poached from the Sun Records roster, Presley was about to embark on a career at RCA Victor, the label with which he'd remain for the rest of his life.  On September 13, celebrating the 55^th anniversary of Presley's RCA debut, Sony Legacy will release a comprehensive look at the singer's seminal year in music.  Young Man with the Big Beat is a 5-disc box set containing all of the 1956 RCA Victor masters including the complete albums Elvis Presley (RCA Victor 1254) and Elvis (RCA Victor 1382).  (These two albums will be available as one Legacy Edition, too.)  A previously-unreleased live show, outtakes and rare interviews with the artist will also be included, along with an 80-page book with a day-by-day chronology plus replicas of memorabilia.  Tracks have been remastered, with many making their debuts outside of the Complete Elvis Presley Masters box set.

Young Man with the Big Beat will be available everywhere on September 13, but those who order from Sony's MyPlay Direct and the official Elvis 1956 site will receive a 7" replica vinyl of Presley's first 45 RPM EP for the label (RCA EPA 747) containing four songs.  Both releases are also currently available for pre-order at finer retailers everywhere, including Amazon.com!

Hit the jump for the press release plus track listing for the box set and pre-order links!

NEW YORK, June 15, 2011 -- The explosion of Elvis Presley's career on RCA Records during the 12 months of 1956 was a wondrous evolution. By the end of that fateful year, the rockabilly singer from Memphis whose audience was rooted in the deep Southern states, would be the most famous person in the world. How did it happen? In one word: music. "...My pelvis had nothin' to do with what I do," Elvis said in 1956. "I just get kinda in rhythm with the music, I jump around to it because I enjoy what I'm doin', I'm not tryin' to be vulgar, I'm not tryin' to sell any sex, I'm not tryin' to look vulgar and nasty. I just enjoy what I'm doin' and tryin' to make the best of it ..." The rest, of course, is history. Ten million singles sold, three million EPs, and 800,000 LPs' worth, in just that first year. 1956.

Young Man with the Big Beat puts the focus on Elvis in 1956. The package includes his RCA studio master recordings and outtakes in New York, Nashville and Memphis; live performances; interviews; and much more. Taking its name from an RCA poster campaign for his debut album, the super deluxe 5-CD, 12-inch square box set (with an amazing 80-page book with timeline) is available now for pre-order at elvis1956.com. Pre-order customers will also receive an exclusive replica vinyl 7" of Elvis' first 45rpm EP for RCA Records. Sharing the same striking cover art as Elvis' debut album, the EP ("extended play") features "Blue Suede Shoes," "Tutti Frutti," "I Got A Woman" and "Just Because." This vinyl single is only available through this special website offer, and it will ship upon payment for the box set.

The actual box set will be available everywhere September 27, 2011, on RCA/Legacy, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.

The five CDs comprise the following, all material originating in 1956: CD One, Studio Recordings: 17 tracks recorded in New York, Nashville, and Hollywood, starting with the 12 songs on the debut LP, Elvis Presley ('1254'), followed by non-LP single A-sides and B-sides, and EP tracks; CD Two, Studio Recordings: 22 tracks recorded in New York, Nashville, and Memphis, starting with the 12 songs on the second LP, Elvis ('1382'), followed by non-LP single A-sides and B-sides, and EP tracks; CD Three, Live Recordings: rare remasters of shows at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas (four songs); Little Rock, Arkansas (seven songs); and a recently discovered, previously unreleased concert in Shreveport, Louisiana, in December (ten songs); CD Four, The Outtakes: Four outtakes from the first historic RCA session in January ("I Got A Woman," "Heartbreak Hotel," "I'm Counting On You," "I Was The One"), segueing into the complete session of February 3rd (11 takes of "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy" and 12 takes of "Shake, Rattle And Roll"); plus the first of the interviews -- the complete Warwick Hotel (NYC) interview by Robert Brown in March; CD Five, the Interviews: The Paul Wilder interview, plus his interviews with Colonel Parker and Oscar Davis; plus two segments of Elvis' rarely heard candid monologue, "The Truth About Me," and two advertisements for RCA Victrolas.

Over the course of CDs One and Two, Young Man with the Big Beat compiles Elvis Presley's complete 1956 masters. The year was fueled by a run of hits that kept radio well-stocked: "Heartbreak Hotel," "I Was The One," "Blue Suede Shoes," "Money Honey," "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You," "My Baby Left Me," "Don't Be Cruel," "Hound Dog," and "Love Me Tender" topping the list.

In addition to the master takes, outtakes, and live performances heard on CDs One through Four of Young Man with the Big Beat, there is also the most extensive collection of audio spoken word material ever included on an RCA release. These extended and rare interviews are previously unreleased by RCA Records. The first of these segments, at the end of CD Four, is the complete Elvis interview by Robert Brown that took place at the Warwick Hotel in New York City on March 24th. CD Five then presents: The Complete TV Guide Presents Elvis interview (Elvis interviewed by Paul Wilder backstage at the Polk Theater, Lakeland, Florida, on August 10th); Colonel Parker and Oscar Davis (interviewed by Paul Wilder backstage at the Polk Theater, Lakeland, Florida, on August 10th); The Truth About Me (Original spoken word 45 rpm disc included in Teen Parade magazine. Recorded on the set of Love Me Tender, August 22nd); The Truth About Me Interview (Recorded on the set of Love Me Tender, August 22nd); RCA Victrola radio ad 1; RCA Victrola radio ad 2 (both ads never before released commercially).

In tandem with the release of Young Man with the Big Beat, RCA/ Legacy will also release (on the same date) Elvis Presley: Legacy Edition. This special double-CD package will couple, for the first time, the Elvis Presley and Elvis albums of 1956. They will be heard as they are on CD One and CD Two of the Young Man with the Big Beat box set (with the same bonus tracks).

Elvis Presley: Legacy Edition (RCA/Legacy 88697 90795 2) has as its cover image the classic Elvis Presley debut LP design that has been paid homage by the Clash (London Calling), Big Audio Dynamite (F-Punk), k.d. lang (Reintarnation), and many others. The Legacy Edition booklet will contain new liner notes and rare archival photography.

Young Man with the Big Beat will feature one of the most extraordinary books every created at Legacy. The focal point of the book, spread across its 80 pages, will be a unique, meticulously-researched, day-by-day chronology of Elvis' iconic year, including every concert, every recording date, every television appearance, personal events in Elvis' life, and much more. A dazzling photo array of memorabilia will illustrate each day and entry. Concert ticket stubs, RCA memoranda, letters from fans, postcards from Elvis to his family, tour itineraries, magazine covers and articles, trade charts, fan club relics, RCA publicity photos, concert photos, candid photos, and more will be a feast for the eyes and the imagination as 1956 unfolds. The book was assembled by Elvis expert Roger Semon.

Young Man with the Big Beat will also include five rare 8x10 photographs (suitable for framing), five original-size poster replicas, and a replica concert ticket stub.  [The box set] was produced for reissue by Ernst Mikael Jorgensen, the respected director of RCA's Elvis catalog for over two decades. Jorgensen is also the author of the essential research guide, Elvis Presley: A Life In Music (St. Martin's Press, 1998). He recently completed The Complete Elvis Presley Masters, the 27-CD crown jewel in RCA/Legacy's Elvis 75 campaign of 2010-2011.

Elvis Presley, Young Man with the Big Beat (RCA/Legacy 88697 93534 2, 2011)

CD 1 - Elvis Presley and More

1. Blue Suede Shoes
2. I'm Counting On You
3. I Got A Woman
4. One-Sided Love Affair
5. I Love You Because
6. Just Because
7. Tutti Frutti
8. Trying To Get To You
9. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You)
10. I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')
11. Blue Moon
12. Money Honey
13. Heartbreak Hotel
14. I Was The One
15. My Baby Left Me
16. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy
17. Shake, Rattle And Roll

CD 2 - Elvis and More

1. Rip It Up
2. Love Me
3. When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again
4. Long Tall Sally
5. First In Line
6. Paralyzed
7. So Glad You're Mine
8. Old Shep
9. Ready Teddy
10. Anyplace Is Paradise
11. How's The World Treating You
12. How Do You Think I Feel
13. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
14. Hound Dog
15. Don't Be Cruel
16. Any Way You Want Me (That's How I Will Be)
17. Too Much
18. Playing For Keeps
19. Love Me Tender
20. Let Me
21. Poor Boy
22. We're Gonna Move

CD 3- Live Performances

1. Heartbreak Hotel
2. Long Tall Sally
3. Blue Suede Shoes
4. Money Honey
5. Heartbreak Hotel
6. Long Tall Sally
7. I Was The One
8. Money Honey
9. I Got A Woman
10. Blue Suede Shoes
11. Hound Dog
12. Heartbreak Hotel
13. Long Tall Sally
14. I Was The One
15. Love Me Tender
16. Don't Be Cruel
17. Love Me
18. I Got A Woman
19. When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again
20. Paralyzed
21. Hound Dog

CD 4 - The Outtakes: First RCA Session Outtakes

1. I Got A Woman - take unknown
2. Heartbreak Hotel - take 06
3. I'm Counting On You - take 13
4. I Was The One - take 02
5. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy - take 01
6. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy - take 03
7. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy - take 04
8. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy - take 05
9. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy - take 06
10. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy - takes 07, 08, 09
11. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy - take 10 (master)
12. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy - takes 11, 12
13. Shake, Rattle And Roll - takes 01, 02
14. Shake, Rattle And Roll - takes 03, 05, 06, 07
15. Shake, Rattle And Roll - take 08
16. Shake, Rattle And Roll - takes 09, 10, 11, 12, 12 (undubbed master)
17. The Complete Warwick Hotel Interview          

CD 5 - The Interviews

1. The Complete TV Guide Presents Elvis interview (Elvis interviewed by Paul Wilder backstage at the Polk Theater, Lakeland, Florida, on August 10th)
2. Colonel Parker Interview  Davis (interviewed by Paul Wilder backstage at the Polk Theater, Lakeland, Florida, on August 10th)
3. The Truth About Me (Original spoken word 45 rpm disc included in Teen Parade magazine. Recorded on the set of Love Me Tender, August 22nd)
4. The Truth About Me Interview (Recorded on the set of Love Me Tender, August 22nd)
5. Victrola Radio ad 1
6. Victrola Radio ad 2

Disc 1, Tracks 1-12 from Elvis Presley, RCA Victor 1254, 1956
Disc 1, Tracks 13-14 from RCA Victor single 47-6420, 1956
Disc 1, Track 15 and Disc 2, Track 13 from RCA Victor single 47-6540, 1956
Disc 1, Tracks 16-17 from RCA Victor single 47-6642, 1956
Disc 2, Tracks 1-12 from Elvis, RCA Victor 1382, 1956
Disc 2 Tracks 14-15 from RCA Victor single 47-6604, 1956
Disc 2, Track 16 from RCA Victor single 47-6643, 1956
Disc 2, Tracks 17-18 from RCA Victor single 47-6800, 1956
Disc 2, Tracks 19-22 from Love Me Tender, RCA Victor EP EPA-4006, 1956
Disc 3, Tracks 1-4 recorded live at the Venus Room, Frontier Hotel, Las Vegas, May 6, 1956
Disc 3, Tracks 5-11 recorded live at the Robinson Memorial Auditorium, Little Rock, Arkansas, May 16, 1956
Disc 3, Tracks 12-21 recorded live at the Hirsch Youth Center, Louisiana Fairgrounds, Shreveport, Louisiana, December 15, 1956, previously unreleased
Disc 4, Tracks 1-4: First RCA Session Outtakes, January 10-11, 1956.
Disc 4, Tracks 5-16: The Complete February 3, 1956 Sessions.
Disc 4, Track 17: Extended and rare interview previously unreleased by RCA Records
Disc 5, Tracks 1-4: Extended and rare interviews previously unreleased by RCA Records
Disc 5, Tracks 5-6: Victrola Radio ads previously unreleased commercially