It was March, 1956, and life was moving fast for Elvis Presley. His recording contract with tiny Sun Records had been bought out by giant RCA/Victor, and the perfectly coiffed guitar player from Memphis was poised to take over the world. Presley’s co-manager, Colonel Tom Parker, could see the future and wanted to make sure his knots were tightly tied to the kid’s rising star. Back in 1955, when the young singer’s career began to take off, Memphis radio personality Bob Neal became his manager. But the Elvis phenomenon, even on the local level, proved to be too big for Neal so he joined forces with entertainment veteran Colonel Parker to help. Because he was underage, the original contract was signed by Presley along with his mother and father. And now with Elvis a 21 year-old adult, Parker had a new contract drawn up, cutting out Neal and naming The Colonel “sole and exclusive Advisor, Personal Representative and Manager in any and all fields of public entertainment”. This very legally binding contract bound both men together for the rest of Elvis’ life as both became household names and cultural icons.

The 8 1/2” x 13” letter is signed on the bottom by both Elvis Presley and Colonel Tom Parker. Elvis’ signature is in blue ballpoint (9/10) and Parker’s is in blue fountain pen (10/10). The document shows three folds but none affect the signatures. The top left side of the page shows impression of a paper clip. No tears or pieces missing. An historical document from the most pivotal moment of Elvis Presley’s career. Full Letter of Authenticity from James Spence Authentication (cert number X26631) and LOA from PSA/DNA (cert number U04311).

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