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Snippets of Elvis tape for auction

 
Published Jan. 28, 2004|Updated Aug. 27, 2005

A New Jersey company is offering Elvis Presley fans a chance to buy what it says is a slice of history.

And it really means a slice _ 2-inch snips of a tape reel featuring some of the King's earliest recordings.

"This is a piece of the history," said Tony Bongiovi, an engineer and record producer involved with trying to authenticate the reel.

At a news conference in Manhattan on Tuesday, Michael Esposito, president of Master Tape Collection, showed reporters and guests the reel of tape, which was purchased at an auction in Tennessee in 1992.

On the reel are recordings of the first songs a then-unknown Presley put together in a studio in the early 1950s. They're known as the "Sun Sessions," a series of songs released by Sun records before Presley moved to a major label.

The reel is in bad condition and could barely be played. Copies have been made of what was recorded on it.

Elvis Presley Enterprises has given a license to the project.

Slimmer Lewis returns home

LAS VEGAS _ Comedian Jerry Lewis has returned home from a rehabilitation center several weeks early, after overcoming a steroid dependence and shedding more than 50 pounds, his publicist said Tuesday.

"He looks fabulous. His face is back to being the regular Jerry Lewis," said Candi Cazau, spokeswoman for Lewis and the Orleans hotel-casino in Las Vegas.

Lewis, who turns 78 in March, was focusing on a strict diet and exercise program and was planning a March 3 performance at the Orleans, Cazau said.