SPD-19 The Sound of Leadership 

Modified: September 7, 2021

Artist: Various Artists
Release: RCA Victor SPD-19 The Sound of Leadership (EP)
Release Date: 6/1956

599-9113 Side 01: Vesti la gibber (Enrico Caruso) / O sole mio (Enrico Caruso)
599-9114 Side 02: Ramona (Gene Austin) / Marie (Tommy Dorsey)
599-9115 Side 03: Boogie Woogie (Tommy Dorsey) / Jalousie (Boston Pops Orchestra)
599-9116 Side 04: Beer Barrel Polka (Will Glahe’) / Begin the Beguine (Artie Shaw)
599-9117 Side 05: In the Mood (Glenn Miller) / Sunrise Serenade (Glenn Miller)
599-9118 Side 06: Blue Danube Waltz (Leopold Stokowski) / Tuxedo Junction (Glenn Miller)
599-9119 Side 07: Star Dust (Artie Shaw) / Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto (Freddy Martin)
599-9120 Side 08: Chattanooga Choo Choo (Glenn Miller) / Racing with the Moon (Vaughn Monroe)
599-9120 Side 09: Prisoner of Love (Perry Como) / Ballerina (Vaughn Monroe)
599-9119 Side 10: Add to dictionary Song (Robert Merrill) / Bouquet of Roses (Eddy Arnold)
599-9118 Side 11: Be My Love (Mario Lanza) / Anytime (Eddie Fisher)
599-9117 Side 12: The Loveliest Night of the Year (Mario Lanza) / Slow Poke (Pee Wee King)
599-9116 Side 13: Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes (Perry Como) / You You You (The Ames Brothers)
599-9115 Side 14: I Need You Now (Eddie Fisher) / Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White (Parez Prado)
599-9114 Side 15: Naughty Lady from Shady Lane (Ames Brothers) / Rock and Roll Waltz (Kay Starr)
599-9113 Side 16: Hot Diggity (Perry Como) / Heartbreak Hotel (Elvis Presley)

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Cover Front: White background with gold border, gold dog. The Sound of Leadership on top. SPD-19 upper right corner. Souvenir of the Miami Meeting June, 1956 on bottom. Copyright information lower right corner.1
Cover Back: Blank.

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Disc: Grey label, dog on top.1 An image of the set.3 An image of the record inserts.3
Matrix numbers: G2NH-3710-1S / G2NH-3725-1S

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Insert: A four-page brochure folded in half. Almost perfect mockup of the original as demonstrated here Record Mockups.

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Portable Phonograph Player
…… The tiny phonograph you have here [i]s a very unusual souvenir; It needs no electric power to play, It was invented last year by RCA. READY TO PLAY. 5,7, AND 10 INCH 78 R.P.M. RECORDS. MADE OF HIGH IMPACT PLASTIC. SOUVENIR OF MIAMI BEACH MEETING JUNE 1956 … FROM RCA VICTOR, RADIO AND “VICTROLA” DIVISION. Form 6P33693

The story behind this portable player is the following as it was provided on eBay3. Elvis Presley (and others) – The Sound Of Leadership: Souvenir Of The Miami Meeting June, 1956 – RCA Victor SPD-19 … eight (8) 7-inch 4-song EP’s limited promotional-only souvenir boxed set from 1956 with … boxed RCA plastic “Victrola” PHONOGRAPH kit for assembly and hand play, with rare 78-rpm 7-inch record entitled “A New Sensation In Sales” (RCA GS-NS-5403). This historic recording discusses how this portable, light, hand-played Victrola phonograph [that] was designed to be donated to the State Department to be sent to poor “communist” countries so that they could assemble them in secret and experience and share western media! It is made of hard black plastic with a clear red translucent plastic sound diaphragm and a finger crank to be played by hand… [T]he phonograph is one of the rarest collectible Victor machines, as they were never made available commercially and the State Department did not follow up on the offer. These promotional packages were prepared as souvenirs for company distributors attending the June 1956 Miami meeting (RCA sales convention). The records contain the 32 top selling RCA songs for the previous 50 years (1906 – 1956). The records were originally un-sleeved with RCA advertisement paper separators which are included [(the white sleeves were added for protection)] It is estimated that approximately 75 sets of the EP box were distributed at the convention, and about ten (10) of the tiny assemble-able phonograph kits at a side-meeting for new RCA products. Only about a dozen of the RCA SPD-19 box sets have surfaced over the last several years and we’ve NEVER seen the special phonograph for sale anywhere.

This complete package, phonograph, demonstration record, box set with inserts and records in very impressive condition sold on eBay on April 19, 2014 for just over $600.

  1. Images courtesy of Boija, John. “First pressings of US Elvis Presley EPs.” John Boija’s Home Page. 8 September 2011. ↩
  2. Images courtesy of Boija, John. “First pressings of US Elvis Presley EPs.” John Boija’s Home Page. 8 September 2011. ↩
  3. eBay reference 310928622743 (April 19, 2014) ↩
  4. eBay reference 310928622743 (April 19, 2014) ↩
  5. eBay reference 310928622743 (April 19, 2014) ↩
  6. eBay reference 310928622743 (April 19, 2014) ↩