'Elvis: The Man And His Music' - The UK ELVIS magazine

Editor Trevor Cajiao notes - From the very first issue of 'Elvis - The Man And His Music' almost 25 years ago, it's pretty obvious that we were on a mission to bring some kind of relevance back into the Elvis world. Our aim was to produce a magazine that concentrated on documenting and celebrating his musical legacy. This was at a time when all the 'Is Elvis Still Alive?' rumours were rife, impersonators were springing up at an alarming rate and, as far as the general media were concerned, Elvis was little more than a joke.
A lot has happened in the Elvis world in the intervening years to change that. Yes, there's still the tacky side of things which, unfortunately, will always exist (even EPE are now promoting impersonators - God help us!). But ignoring all of the irrelevant garbage, we've all been able to learn so much more about the man and his music thanks to a steady stream of quality projects (both audio and visual) put together by people who care. Cream always rises to the top, and for an entertainer who has been dead for more than 35 years, we've had more than a generous helping of cream via 'new' discoveries to keep us entertained. The unearthing of such treasures has returned the focus to Elvis' music and thankfully won him back some of the respect so blatantly missing beforehand.
I'd like to think that 'Elvis - The Man And His Music' has helped in some small way to redress the balance. We've never been on a crusade to restore Elvis to the charts, to get him back into public awareness or anything like that. Elvis is everywhere as it is! Hardly a day goes by without some form of reference to him in the press or on radio / TV (be it derogatory or otherwise!). His legacy is out there to be enjoyed by anyone who wants to enjoy it. Our aim has always been to talk about that legacy and report upon it in a factual, truthful manner. No sugar-coated crap like other magazines and organisations do; just the facts and the plain truth. Everything else is irrelevant.

'Elvis The Man & His Music' #105 Out Now: The new issue of EIN's favourite Elvis magazine is out now.
In the September Issue:
- Bill Baize Interview
- Collecting Greek 45s
- Jim Colyer - Mystery Solved!
- The Rarest, Most Unique Piece Of Presleyana?
- New TTWII Box-Set Reviewed
- Photos, Your Letters, CD, DVD & Book Reviews
EIN really appreciated the honest review of TTWII Deluxe set by Arjan Deelen as well as Paul Richardson's interview with Bill Baize of The Stamps. The interview includes...
ETMM: How was it like playing before 60,000 fans in Pontiac, on December 31st 1975, ?
Bill Baize: It was the most interesting concert that I was ever a part of. The stage was 35 feet up in the air in the middle of the football field, and it was built on scaffolding. We had to climb three flights of stairs

to get there. Because of the dome structure of that stadium, there were powerful fans running constantly to keep the dome supported. At that height, the breeze from those fans blows about 30 miles an hour. It was very uncomfortable on that stage. There were, as you said, over 60,000 people in the stadium. They were extra loud and happy because it was New Year's Eve. Even though being way up there on that stage was a little awkward and scary, the concert turned out to be a lot of fun. Elvis was singing one of his songs where he'd squat, extending one leg while sitting on the other foot. During this pose, he ripped the seam out of the seat of his jumpsuit. He immediately knew what had happened, so he asked us to sing 'Sweet, Sweet Spirit' while he went to change. He headed down the three flights of stairs - remember, this was in the middle of the stadium - and, when he reached the bottom, Red, Sonny and Joe were there with another jumpsuit. There was no privacy and some

of the people in the crowd could actually see what was going on. Knowing this, Red, Sonny and Joe gathered round him and they all held up long coats around Elvis while he changed. Elvis climbed back up the three flights of stairs and continued the show. Any way, it was a great and memorable night.
ETMM:How was the Jungle Room set-up for the sessions?
Bill Baize: From what I can remember, Elvis was in the area just as you step into the Jungle Room, which put him pretty much in the centre of the action. The Stamps were just to his left, a little in front of him. The band was kind of spread out around that area. I don't recall exactly who was located where in the band. I do remember at one point that Elvis and J.D. were sitting side-byside on the steps that enter the Jungle Room. This happened just before we were getting ready to leave one night. Elvis was having someone hit low notes on the piano and getting J.D. to sing along with them. He finally got all the way down to the end of the piano notes and then J.D. sang a note lower than that. We were all very impressed. Elvis was having the time of his life listening to J.D. sing lower and lower. It was like one good friend doing something to impress the other.
Go HERE to ETM&HM to subscribe or just purchase this issue.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)

'Elvis The Man & His Music' #104 Out Now: The new issue of EIN's favourite Elvis magazine is out now.
In the June Issue:
- The Sun 45s - Original Pressings & Variations
- Remembering Madison - Working Security in ‘76 & ‘77
- The Denver Connection Part 3 - Ron Pietrafeso interview
- Talkin’ ‘bout Rock n Roll - The Hillbilly Cat Speaks!
- CD & Book Reviews
- Readers’ letters
and lots of other good stuff!
- Click here to purchase this great magazine directly from EMM.

(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)

'Elvis; The Man & His Music' #103: The new issue of EIN's favourite Elvis magazine is out now.
In the March 2014 issue:
- The Ron Pietrafeso interview- Denver Connection Part 2 -
- "Exclusive Photos! Intimate Secrets!" - Vintage magazine covers
- Rick Husky interview
- Your letters
- From The Time - 1957
- CD, DVD & Book Reviews
Denver Officer Ron Pietrafeso discusses his time in the seventies spent with Elvis including what heppened when they sneaked Elvis into a restaurant hidden in a Police Uniform... "There's a couple of ladies sitting there and they kinda stared at him as he walked by. We went into the restroom and, after he was finished, we walked out. We walked back down towards the table and nobody said a word. I mean, nobody said a word. ... Well, it wasn't fifteen minutes later - if it was that long - and he goes, "I gotta use the restroom again." I thought, "That's kinda weird. You just used the restroom." So, we got up, Elvis started walking.. and, as we walked by these same two ladies that were sitting there, he looked down at 'em and he gave 'em that Elvis grin. He heard this one lady say to the other one, "That policeman looks so much like Elvis." And the other lady said, "No, it can't be him." So, Elvis turned around and he goes, "It can't be who?" Well,

when he said that, I mean, these two women went berserk and the whole place knew who it was and... So, all the preparation that we had done to keep this thing under wraps was pretty much gone by then."
- What about the vile accusation that Elvis was racist?
"Here's what I say: the proof is in what you do and not what somebody says about you. First of all, you're right; the staff there were Black Americans, and if you find them and talk to 'em today they'll tell you that they loved Elvis. They were crying so hard at the funeral and, when I was there during the mourning period, these women were crying constantly. They missed him and they were so sad. He had the black backup singers, The Sweet Inspirations, who he just couldn't say enough nice things about. The black lady on the street in Memphis that he bought a Cadillac for - this was something that I'd heard - he could have picked anybody but he picked her. If he was racist and he was anything like that, he wouldn't have even stopped. There was no press around. There was no newspaper there. There was no TV camera there. He did it because it was from his heart. Elvis was not just a great entertainer; he was a good person."

Rick Husky (right) was TKE president at Arkansas State College when he came upwith the idea of presenting Elvis with a 'Man of the Year Award' for his considerable contributions to charity in October 1960. After meeting Elvis, Husky had multiple close-up encounters with The King. In this issue he also shares his memories with EMM, including...
"Several months after my first visit, I was invited by a cousin of Elvis' to visit Graceland during a weekend pool party Elvis was hosting. It was Elvis, with his guys and a number of very pretty Memphis girls, having fun by the pool. What impressed me the most that day was a jukebox playing by the pool. I'd seen swimming pools before, but never saw anyone have a real live jukebox playing music by the pool. That it was Elvis' pool, and that he was standing there, in person, making his own selections on the jukebox, was kind of the icing on the cake.
The pool party fun kept going that night when Elvis took the entire party to a Memphis amusement park, which he often rented after hours. He was like the Pied

Piper, leading us all around the park to ride on the rides, from Ferris wheel, to merry-go-round to refreshment stands. I recall being part of the group who rode the bumper cars with him, and I still remember Elvis wearing a big grin as he chased my car around with his bumper car, happily crashing into me - and then zooming off to zero in on his next target."
- So what were your thoughts on the Elvis movies of the '60s?
"Elvis' early work showed more promise than his later formula musicals. I think he would have risen to the challenge had he been given more serious roles. From my observation, Colonel Tom Parker stood in the way of Elvis graduating from those lightweight musicals to roles that would have stretched him as an actor... I was backstage after Elvis' show in Las Vegas the night Barbra Streisand and her manager arrived to offer Elvis the starring role opposite her in 'A Star Is Born'."
Click here to purchase this great magazine directly from EMM.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)

'Elvis The Man And His Music #102': EIN's favourite Elvis music magazine 'Elvis The Man And His Music No. 102' will be out soon.
In the December 2013 Issue:
- Interview With Ron Pietrafeso - The Denver Connection Part 1:
First in-depth interview (it'll run for three parts) with the former Denver narcotics police officer in which he talks about his friendship with Elvis. Includes stories of taking The King out on patrol (!!!), hunting down jewellery for him and so much more!
- Interview With Ron Steele:
This is the first time Ron Steele has been interviewed. He was the engineer of Elvis' January 12th 1964 Nashville session ('It Hurts Me', 'Ask Me' and 'Memphis Tennessee') and although Chet Atkins has always been listed as the producer for this date (and Marty Lacker once claimed Atkins fell asleep at the session), Ron reveals he wasn't even there!
- Two's Company? - The fake Elvis 'duets' fiasco.
– Reviews - CD, DVD and book reviews.
- Stolen! - We name and shame Peter Verbruggen of Elvis Matters who used our Stump Monroe interview without permission and then, when confronted about it, tried to lie his way out of it despite the proof being in his magazine for all the world to see!
DONT MISS THIS ISSUE - Go HERE to order from ETM&HM
(News, Source;ETM&HM/ElvisInfoNet)

'Elvis The Man And His Music' Issue #101: Out Now the new magazine from ETM&HM.
Articles include..
- Vegas Security - Interview with former security sergeant J. Tom Miller
- Rehearsing For Ed - Rare photos from the rehearsals for the third Ed Sullivan appearance
- Double Trouble - Different versions and re-recordings issued during Elvis' lifetime
- Suppose... More Than Just Speculation?
- CD, DVD & Book Reviews

Go HERE to NowDigThis to subscribe

(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)

'Elvis - The Man & His Music'#100 Mini-review:

EIN has been overseas celebrating its own 100th anniversary recently so we've been running late with reviews. However the 100th issue of 'ETM&HM' is well worth your attention. The magazine first appeared in 1988 and was the first to really focus on The King's musical legacy. Over 25 years the magazine has presented exclusive interviews, unpublished photos and fact-filled articles.

The 100th issue is a 60-page bumper edition. What EIN enjoys is a magazine that delivers fascinating reading, new revelations, great reviews as well as some humour, and this issue has it in spades.

Features include...

- Let's Go Back And Touch The Past - A look back at some of the essential releases of the last 25 years.
Luther Moore examines all the excitements that have come to light in the last 25 years both official releases and bootleg. In it he notes..

... Since December '88... it's been a treasure trove

of almost unimaginable discoveries... For those of us who'd believed that RCA had junked or erased all of their '50s session tapes, the past quarter century has brought some very pleasant surprises indeed. Inspired detective work and a thorough scouring of the vaults (both officially and 'otherwise') has seen outtake after outtake, rarity after rarity, finally brought to light.
But rarity, of course, will often triumph over quality, as it did spectacularly with 'My Happiness' (1990's 'The Great Performances'). My God! Who ever would have believed it? Incredibly the second acetate surfaced too, even though - RCA being RCA - it took almost a decade for all four sides to see a collective release (1999's 'Sunrise'). So it wasn't just the bootleggers offering up the surprises. There have been some pretty nifty official releases too... How about a pre-master Take 5 of 'Heartbreak Hotel' no less ('Elvis 56'), Sun outtakes of both 'Blue Moon' and 'Harbor Lights' ('Today. Tomorrow & Forever'), and radio station acetates of the previously unknown 'Fool, Fool, Fool', 'Hearts Of Stone' and, more recently, 'Little Mama'. Of course, any '50s overview simply can't ignore Jorgensen's momentous 'A Boy From Tupelo', and by extension the FTD label itself.

Elvis' '60s catalogue has been pretty extensively mined too with an array of simply stunning releases that would have been dismissed as sheer fantasy back in '88. Standouts include Bilko's jaw-dropping 'American Crown Jewels', 'Finding The Way Home' (Southern Style), and 2006's incredible five-volume 'American Way' anthology (Southern Comfort)...."

- Elvis And The Racquetball Racket - This is a fascinating in-depth account revealing an amazing amount we never knew. Author Paul Richardson provides some incredible insights over 11 pages including...

... "Vernon Presley's reply, as reported by Associated Press, was that he had no knowledge of any lawsuit and that Elvis was away from home. In both respects, Vernon was telling the truth. Elvis was coming to the end of his third tour of 1977 - that very night he performed for 19,600 fans in Chicago - and would not return to Memphis for another day or so. As for receiving confirmation of any legal action, that didn't arrive at Graceland until mid-afternoon on May 6th when Drayton Beecher Smith it was handed a copy of the complaint to deliver upstairs to his famous client. The King responded to the news that, like Dave Hebler and the Wests, 'Diamond' Joe and 'Needle' Nick had turned against him by - as near-neighbour,

Donna Lewis, recorded in her diary -blasting out his bedroom window with a shotgun in a short, sharp, violent outburst. Indeed, so strong and frightening was Elvis' anger, and such was the concern for his health and well-being, that a sedative had to be administered.

For the next two weeks, Elvis spent much of his time alone in his room, most likely stewing on all his problems, which now included this lawsuit, and regretting being so naive as to involve himself with people who were, he had told Red West, "cold-hearted businessmen"."

- The Dirty Dozen - 12 of the worst Elvis cover versions.

Another fabulous article by Luther Moore that had me laughing out loud!....
... "Of course if it's unintentional comedy you're looking for, then search no further than Peter & Gordon's 'A Mess Of Blues' ('In Touch With Peter & Gordon', Columbia) which has it in spades. I can now understand why people took so many drugs back in the 1960s. You'd need to be heavily sedated to endure a horror like this. And sadly, this wasn't the hapless duo's first offence either. They'd already tortured both 'All Shook Up' and 'Young And Beautiful' (equally ghastly, as expected) before loosening their tonsils on this solid-gold Elvis classic, in what can only be described as an act of musical terrorism. Just what

happened here, musically, during the 1960s? A whole rash of white middle-class art students suddenly thought they could pass for black Mississippi bluesmen with monstrosities like this as the result. What made Elvis' waxing such a milestone recording was his instinctive command of the blues medium, born of his surroundings and moulded by his southern upbringing. Two hapless halfwits from suburbia were always going to be clueless, and so it proved."

Not to forget the other ETM&HM exclusives...

- Carol Montgomery Interview - The former backing singer recalls working with The King.
- Elvis On Super 8 - The golden age of home cinema.
- David English Interview - Behind-the-scenes stories from the author of 'Welcome Home Elvis', 'From Memphis To Hollywood' and 'Summer Of '61'.

Plus 8 pages of reviews by Gordon Minto and Trevor Cajiao, letters, rare photos and more...
CONGRATULATIONS from EIN to all the gang at 'ETM&HM'.

EIN's favourite Elvis music magazine. - For these FASCINATING ARTICLES in full - GO HERE and order your copy - (News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)

'Elvis The Man and His Music' Issue 99: The new issue of EIN's favourite Elvis magazine is out now.
In the March issue:
- Vintage Chet Atkins Interview
- An Introduction to Ken Moore
- Contemporary Reviews of the pre-Army films
- AMMO for Elvis
- It Takes One To Know (Take) One - Take 2!
- From The Time: 1961 - Is Elvis No Longer The King Of Rock?
- Readers' letters, News, rare pix - the works!
- Heaps of CD reviews!

Go HERE for more info and to subscribe

(News, Source;ETM&HM/ElvisInfoNet)

Elvis The Man & His Music Christmas Issue: Our favourite magazine 'Elvis The Man & His Music' # 98 is out this week and heading to subscribers.

The almost as cool as Elvis December issue features:
- Ed Bonja Interview (and great photos)
- Whirlwind In Louisville - The Cat in Kentucky, 1956
- Downloading The King - Elvis and the E-book minefield
- Too Much Monkey Business? - The murky world of PD releases
- Shout It Out! - Readers' letters
- News 'n' Views
- Rare Photos
- CD & Book Reviews

For more info and to subscribe click here.

(News, Source;ElvisInfoNetwork)

‘Elvis The Man & His Music’ September 2012: Issue #97 of this fabulous magazine is out now.
The content of this 44 page issue includes....
- In The Beginning... A fantastic in-depth review of 'A Boy From Tupelo'
- 78s Around The World - Rare shellac from around the globe
- Saluting the Sgt! - 'Just Pretend' the classic Sgt Bilko bootleg at 21
- UK Only Albums - Six key albums instigated in the UK
- In-Depth book reviews
- Plus 7 pages of CD reviews, latest news, Rare pics etc
The BEST Elvis magazine around if you want to know about our man and his music.
- Go here for more info.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNetwork)

‘Elvis The Man & His Music’ June 2012: Issue #96 of this very fine magazine is out now.
The content of this 44 page issue includes....
- New York '72 Revisited - the last major press conference
- Michael A. Hoey (Hollywood screenwriter) Interview
- Book Reviews: 'Way Down - Jerry Scheff and detailed review of 'Jaihouse Rock: Frame By Frame'.
- Massive CD review section - 15 CDs reviewed
- Mary and Ginger Holladay Interview
- Readers Letters & some cool photos (right)
Arjan Deelen talks to Mary & Ginger Hollaway over a fascinating 6-page interview.
In it Ginger Holladay (shown right below with Elvis) has a lovely story about recording the unreleased 'First Time I Ever Saw Your Face' duet.
Gonger H - "I'm a lot shorter than Elvis, so they had to get a wooden box for me to stand on. I think we used the same mike, I don't remember. But we did the recording and everything, and Elvis being the actor that

he is, got very romantic about his part, and I being the shy 19-year old I was at the time, I was really excited about singing the harmony with him. But with Elvis you never rehearsed really. You just started doing it. And then hopefully one of the takes would be good. So we just started doing it. I was trying to make up my part, and Elvis was getting more and more emotionally involved in the song. Let's put it that way. So several times he would kind of put his arms around me and draw me in, and I would duck under his arm and step off of the wooden box, and then get back up there in time to sing my lines. It was a little bit like a comedy, I think. But we did it, and it was OK."
- The BEST Elvis magazine around if you want to know about our man and his music.
DON'T MISS OUT on this great issue - Go here for more info.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNetwork)

FTD Good News, Bad News - How many years to go?: In the EXCELLENT new issue of 'Elvis The Man & His Music' (see article below) editor Trevor Cajiao catches up for a long and interesting interview with Ernst Jorgensen.
In it Ernst answers questions about the new FTD releases 'Promised Land' and 'Wonderful World Of Christmas' (why the true undubbed 'Merry Christmas Baby' was not included), the odd idea behind the splicing of 'Stage Rehearsal', Legacy releases, FTD books (the fiasco of 'Fashion For A King' "I think the book is important but the mistakes are very annoying") as well as a long discussion on Public Domain releases and the MRS label.
Bad News is the decline in sales for FTD and all CD releases -
Ernst - "There is a steady decline on sales of all product, but that's happening in the record business generally. To some extent it's also the same with FTD - no more so on 5" than on 7" - at least only marginally. In the beginning we couldn't see that PD releases and bootlegs affected the sales of our product, but we certainly can now. There is a LOT of product available to the fans, and obviously almost everybody is struggling to keep up.
We sell less than half of what we did a few years ago.
On how long FTD will be able to keep releasing live concert soundboards - "A shot from the hip - two to three years? Ask me again then."
Good News is Ernst's comments on future releases -

On the 1969 Memphis sessions outtakes "of course the material will be made available at some point"
On Classic Albums - "We will release all the original albums in the 'Classic Albums' format, if we have something to include that makes it worthwhile."
He also notes that "Elvis In Concert" is in FTD's release plan, although not anywhere in the near future.
On the Legacy Series - "They sell very well in America - on a completely different level than FTD. The decision on how many more and how much longer is entirely up to the Legacy people. Roger and I just come up with proposals."
Go here for EIN's collected Ernst Jorgensen & Roger Semon Interviews.
And please purchase this issue of 'Elvis The Man and His Music' for the whole, very interesting interview.
(News, Source;ETM&HM/ElvisInfoNetwork)

‘Elvis The Man & His Music’ March 2012: Issue #95 of this very fine magazine is out now - and in EIN's opinion it is one of their BEST ever!
The content of this 44 page issue includes....
- Catching Up With Ernst: Trevor Cajiao interviews Ernst.
- Book Reviews: 'What Elvis Never Knew', 'Treat Me Nice: Elvis, His Music And The Frankenstein Creature' and and excellent, detailed review of 'King Creole: Frame By Frame' (see sample pics right).
- As Hot As An Erupting Volcano: Ger Rijff casts an eye over the recent book 'A Moment In Time - 4 Days In 56'.
- Spinout Movie Trivia: Facts about Elvis' 22nd film.
- Meeting Elvis by Roy Brown.
- Casting the First Stone: 'Elvis: What Happened?' 35 Years on: Luther Moore examines the history behind the controversial 'bodyguards' book.
In this fascinating and lengthy article, Luther Moore looks at the bad - and the good! - of this often discussed tabloid thrashing of Elvis' legacy.

As Moore writes - So what of the book itself? Re-reading it today, some thirty five years on, it's actually a pretty tame affair, certainly when compared to much of what followed. Sensationalised, for sure. But it's certainly not the malicious, spiteful, hate-filled travesty of Goldman's later effort or the barefaced rubbish from the Stanleys. In truth, it's really little more than a sloppily compiled collection of random stories, lacking theme or context, relying on the shock value of its revelations to hold the reader's attention. As such it very much betrays Dunleavy's roots as a tabloid hack. Timelines are distorted (the book wanders back and forth aimlessly), dates - when given - are hopelessly wrong, and certain well known incidents seem to have been deliberately misconstrued to show Elvis in the least flattering light possible. The Dewey Phillips funeral incident is a perfect example. On page 159 Dunleavy has Red saying "Elvis is at Dewey's funeral and suddenly he gets a fit of the giggles. Just laughed his head off." We know, of course, that that isn't quite the full story, but Dunleavy is happy to let it stand. Worse, and far more insidious in a book that promotes itself as a true story, Dunleavy

seems to have deliberately altered verifiable material, which is an unethical and unforgivable practice...
- Plus of course, the magazine includes the usual great CD reviews and Elvis news round-up.
The BEST Elvis magazine around if you want to know about our man and his music.
DON'T MISS OUT on this great issue - Go here for more info and to purchase.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNetwork)

‘Elvis The Man & His Music’ December 2011: Issue #94 of this very fine magazine is out now, the contents include, some great snaps of Elvis in 1971..
Essential Elvis - 25 Years On
Paradise Bahamas Style - A great article by Tony Stuchbury with Unseen Pix!
Young Man With The Big Beat
'Felton Jarvis Reappraised' is a truly fascinating article about Elvis' producer.
The article includes...
… It's the (overdub) work as much as anything that defines Elvis' '70s sound - brassy Vegas-type horns with twee string sections that Elvis seemed increasingly drawn to, and that Jarvis seemed either unwilling or powerless to deflect.
And it's that acquiescence on Jarvis' part that seems to be the bone of major contention today - that had he been a stronger personality, had he stood up to Elvis, things might have turned out differently. "He and Felton worked real good together", said Gordon Stoker of The Jordanaires.

"Because everything that Elvis came up with, Felton would say 'Yeah man, that's good. That's great" David Briggs said that Jarvis was simply in awe of Elvis, unable to see beyond the image, and Norbert Putnam pretty much agreed: "Felton was careful of Elvis. He didn't ever really criticise him ... a flat or sharp note or anything." But Chips Moman aside, neither had anybody else. And by the early 1970s Elvis was beyond taking advice or direction from anybody anyway....
- Plus a DVD review of ‘Elvis Live Live Live Vol.2 and the usual great CD reviews and news round-up.
The BEST Elvis magazine around if you want to know about our man and his music.

Go here for more info and to purchase this issue.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNetwork)

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'Elvis: The Man & His Music'

Magazine Review & More - By Piers Beagley

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