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U.S. Postal Service

USPS to release new Elvis Presley stamp

Jennifer Calfas
USA TODAY
This image of Elvis Presley will be used on stamps released Aug. 12.

The King of Rock and Roll is back.

Fans of Elvis Presley can post his likeness on letters sent across the country starting Aug. 12 when the U.S. Postal Service debuts the King's new stamp.

Postmaster General Megan Brennan and Elvis' former wife Priscilla Presley will dedicate the stamp that morning at Graceland, Elvis' former mansion turned museum, during the annual Elvis Week celebration.

The stamps, which feature a 1955 black-and-white shot by photographer William Speer, cost 49 cents. As a "forever" stamp, the product will be usable for letters in the future, even if stamp prices increase.

The stamp will be available for purchase for at least three months, Postal Service spokesman Mark Saunders told USA TODAY. He said the Postal Service typically prints three months' worth of postage stamps for each new product sold in post offices and on the USPS website.

Saunders said Elvis was added to the collection due to widespread public demand.

The stamp is also a new milestone for the rock and rock legend. With the issuance of the stamp, Elvis becomes the first artist to be featured in two different collections of stamps, Saunders said.

Elvis was featured on postal service stamps in 1993, which Saunders said was the most popular edition of stamps in the Postal Service's history. He added that he expects the 2015 stamps to be received with the same excitement.

"To be immortalized on a stamp is quite rare," Saunders said. "And to be immortalized twice is even more special."

In collaboration with Sony Music's RCA/Legacy Recordings, the Postal Service will also release a CD called "Elvis Forever," which includes 18 of Presley's songs. The CD features a previously unreleased version of "If I Can Dream," Saunders said. The CD will also be available Aug. 12 in post offices around the country and on USPS' website, the postal service said.

The stamp is the most recent addition to the U.S. Post Office's Music Icons series, which includes Mexican-American music star Lydia Mendoza, country legend Johnny Cash, soul music pioneer Ray Charles, rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix and singer-songwriter Janis Joplin. The series was launched in 2013.

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