The latest on www.elvisinfonet.com:

Lisa Marie Presley's World Marty's Musings ELVIS WEEK 2012

Best of Elvis on YouTube Over 250 ELVIS Clips Elvis FTD /SONY News 2012 Elvis - All the CD News 2012

Never before seen Elvis video from Knoxville concerts: Elvis fan John Stansberry shot film of Elvis when he visited Stokely Athletic Center, Knoxville in 1972, 1974, and 10 months before Elvis died in 1977. And it's what he captured with his camera 40 years ago that he's most proud of. The film is a little grainy, a little fuzzy but clear enough to know it's Elvis Presley. Only the family has known about the secret film until now. John told Local 8 News, "I got stopped coming out, I didn't get stopped going in. They asked if I had a movie camera, I said yes, they wanted to know where the film was and they took the camera and opened it up and there was no film in it. It was in my daughter's pocket book." "That was a time before you had Ipods, You tube, MTV, and VH1 if you got to see an entertainer, that was big stuff." Elvis is still king in the hearts and minds of millions of fans. John Stansberry has proof. Go HERE for the story & footage (News, Source;BrianQuinn/ElvisInfoNet)

Elvis UK Auction: British Auction House 'Omega Auctions' has over 60 Elvis items up for sale on Saturday, September 8, in Stockport, England. Being auctioned is Elvis’ personal Bible, which features handwritten notes, musings and underlined passages from the rock legend.  This Bible with Elvis Presley and Holy Bible, embossed in gold on a leather cover, was given to Elvis by his uncle Vester and Aunt Clettes Presley as a Christmas gift on December 25th, 1957 at Graceland The bible is expected to sell for as much as 25,000 pounds, or $40,000.  Other Presley items going on the block include home movies of Elvis and his family, signed contracts and jewellery items. Also for sale is a hand-written and signed/initialled note to his friend Joan Schmidt-Powell. The note reads "Give this to Jo-Jo if she comes by - E.P." It was hand written by Elvis in the 1970`s. Elvis knew Jo since 1956, their first meeting being at Paramount Pictures and they stayed in touch until Elvis` Death. Elvis` nickname for her was Jo, Jo-Jo and in the seventies Jo Go-Go. Also included is a copy of a letter from Vernon Presley written to Joan about Elvis`s funeral. Go HERE for more Auction Info. (News, Source;Omega/ElvisInfoNet)

'Bright Light City' New Import CD: The third release from the new Convair label is a rare recording of a great live performance Elvis did at the Las Vegas International Hotel on August 12, 1969 (Dinner Show). An Audience recording by a fan this release is for the collectors. Accompanied by a 20 page booklet telling interesting facts about Elvis´ return to live performances after almost nine years in words and pictures it´s a very nice collectors-package. Go and get it while you can, this release is – as usual for CONVAIR products - limited to 300 copies only. You know what to expect from Elvis in Vegas in 69 – pure magic! Tracklisting: 1. Orchestra Intro 2. Opening Vamp / Blue Suede Shoes 3. I Got A Woman 4. All Shook Up 5. Love Me Tender 6. Jailhouse Rock / Don´t Be Cruel 7. Heartbreak Hotel 8. Hound Dog 9. Memories 10. Mystery Train / Tiger Man 11. Monologue 12. Baby What You Want Me to Do 13. Runaway 14. Are You Lonesome Tonight 15. Yesterday / Hey Jude 16. Band Introductions 17. In The Ghetto 18. Suspicious Minds 19. What'd I Say 20. Can´t Help Falling In Love 21. Bonus Track: Ronnie Tutt talks about how he became Elvis´ Drummer in 1969 Go here to EIN's 'All the Elvis CD News 2012' for more release info. (News, Source;FECC/ElvisInfoNet)

“After meeting David Stanley, reading his book and listening to his stories, I realized there is another side to the Elvis phenomenon, a bigger story, and one that has never been told," Kirkwood said. "If Elvis was alive today, in this time of revolution in mass communication, I believe he would be one of the most inspirational individuals in the world.

Two views on Elvis' death:

View #1. More from coroner, Joseph H. Davis about Elvis' death: On Saturday 25 August we published an email sent by Dr Joseph H. Davis about the circumstances of Elvis' death. Dr Davis was the coroner engaged to investigate the circumstances of Elvis' death when his case was reopened in 1994. While the other party in the exchange of correspondence with Dr Davis wishes to remain anonymous they have provided EIN with a further message from Dr Davis. In this message Dr Davis makes cogent observations about due process around Elvis' autopsy in 1977. Dr Davis indicated his messages could be made public. Dr Davis said in his message:

Watch video interview with the author

Elvis in Asia: Elvis is hugely popular throughout Asia. A good way of keeping across Elvis related things in Asia is to visit the HT Long Facebook page. HT is one of Asia's most popular fan club presidents and Elvis tribute artists (having released many great albums). HT is also a member of the influential Elvis Presley Alliance of Asia (a grouping of Asia's biggest Elvis fan clubs). His Facebook page is jam packed with photos and information.

Update on health of "French Elvis", Johnny Hallyday - insurers take 30 million Euro hit: French rocker Johnny Hallyday on Tuesday played down the health problems that led to him being hospitalised in the Caribbean, complaining that "the media exaggerate everything." Writing on the Instagram website, the 69-year-old singer (shown opposite with wife Laeticia) thanked fans for their concern but added: "As usual the media exaggerates everything. I have only had a severe bout of bronchitis which I've had since my summer tour dates."

Hallyday, a heavy smoker who was initially reported to be suffering from heart problems, is undergoing tests in a hospital in Fort-de-France on the French Caribbean island of Martinique.

He was transferred there after being released from a clinic on the nearby island of Guadeloupe on Monday, having first being taken ill on Saturday during a holiday on the millionaires playground of Saint Barthelemy, where he owns a house.

The singer is currently in the middle of a marathon tour he started in May and which he is due to resume on October 11 with a total of 22 dates scheduled between then and December 22.

Hallyday nearly died in 2009 as a result of complications following a hernia operation and was forced to cancel the end of that year's tour.

Insurers who took a reported 30 million euro hit on that insisted on him undergoing rigorous medical tests before this year's tour and will be keeping their fingers crossed that the singer will recover sufficiently to complete it.

Hallyday has sold more than 100 million albums in a career that began in the 1960s. (News, Source: AFP)

EIN Off Review Note #1: The popular film and TV site, IMDB describes Chris as ".... one of a myriad of beautiful, statuesque, bikini-clad blondes who pranced and romped about the sand and surf of the California shores in all those nostalgic beach party movies of the "swinging '60s".  

EIN Off Review Note #2: Chris also appeared as a guest star in various TV series including My Three Sons, Perry Mason, Bewitched, The Smothers Brothers Show, Burkes Law and CHiPS.

EIN Off Review Note #3: Girl Happy, released in 1965, was Elvis' film (sandwiched between Roustabout and Tickle Me) and the first to co-star Shelley Fabares, who would go on to become Elvis' #1 leading lady by co-starring in two more Elvis films, Spinout (aka California Holiday) in 1966 and Clambake in 1967.

EIN Off Review Note #4: Elvis currently has 373 lisings (how greedy can you get?) on IMDB

The majority of the visuals are in full color and the color shots are at times let down by being fuzzy or out of focus.  Despite this, they are curiously intriguing and certainly very colorful and expressive!

Chris Noel and Shelley Fabares in Girl Happy

Various film posters and picture cover ‘singles’ record releases for Girl Happy from around the world are also featured and there is a fantastic full page publicity shot of Chris and Elvis.

And be prepared, because during the chronological visual-narrative record of filming we are told to “Get with it!  Learn the latest dance craze…..THE CLAM” (are your toes tapping yet?)

All in all Filming Girl Happy Behind the Scenes with Elvis is a nicely told ’insiders’ record of the film.  Scandal free (this is not a tell-all release), it is different from many other Elvis books which, with its light, funny and engaging tone, will be deservedly welcomed by many fans.

Read A Date with Chris Noel

Another one of those ubiquitous pin up photos that Hollywood hopefuls had to endure. Chris Noel' first film was in 1963 with Steve McQueen in Soldier In The Rain. She was also cast with Annette Funicello in Beach Ball in 1965. Chris' movie career abruptly ended because of her Vietnam service. Hollywood would not hire her because she was too closely identified with that unpopular war.

Comment on this review

'Amore Elvis' CD release: The Straight Arrow import label released the double CD-set "Amore Elvis" in their Special Products series. The set contains the Saturday, March 29, 1975 Dinner and Midnight Shows as recorded from the audience at the Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, NV. From the press release: Straight Arrow is continuing their collector's series of 2 shows from one evening, released in a single package. This time the producers have chosen two excellent performances from Saturday, March 29, 1975 at the Las Vegas Hilton.

On this collection there are worthy performances of "And I Love You So", "It's Midnight", "Big Boss Man", "Burning Love" and the powerful "My Boy". There are also some rarities, like a one-liner of "Rip It Up", "Tiger Man" not performed as a medley with "Mystery Train," and "Hawaiian Wedding Song" sung exclusively by Sherrill Nielsen.
As fans have come to expect, the tapes are of very good quality, sourced from early generation copies of original cassettes recorded by the same fan. The double digipak contains liner notes and is filled with photos from the March-April 1975 engagement. As usual, these recordings have been carefully engineered to be presented in the best possible sound.

Tracklisting: CD 1 / Saturday, March 29, 1975 Dinner Show: 01. Introduction: Also Sprach Zarathustra - 02. C. C. Rider - 03. I Got A Woman / Amen - 04. Love Me - 05. If You Love Me (Let Me Know) - 06. And I Love You So - 07. Big Boss Man - 08. It's Midnight - 09. Burning Love / That's Amore (excerpt) - 10. Introduction of vocalists, musicians - 11. What'd I Say (James Burton) - 12. Drum Solo (Ronnie Tutt) - 13. Bass Solo (Duke Bardwell) - 14. Piano Solo (Glen D. Hardin) - 15. Electric Piano Solo (David Briggs) - 16. School Day - 17. My Boy (with break) - 18. I'll Remember You - 19. When It's My Time (J.D. Sumner & the Stamps) - 20. Let Me Be There (with reprise) - 21. Hawaiian Wedding Song (Sherrill Nielsen) - 22. Hound Dog - 23. Can't Help Falling In Love - 24. Closing Vamp.

CD 2 / Saturday, March 29, 1975 Midnight Show: 01. Introduction: Also Sprach Zarathustra - 02. C. C. Rider - 03. Rip It Up (one-liner) - 04. I Got A Woman / Amen / Promised Land (one liner) - 05. Love Me - 06. If You Love Me (Let Me Know) - 07. And I Love You So - 08. Big Boss Man (with false start) - 09. It's Midnight - 10. Burning Love - 11. Introduction of vocalists, musicians - 12. What'd I Say (James Burton) - 13. Drum Solo (Ronnie Tutt) - 14. Bass Solo (Duke Bardwell) - 15. Piano Solo (Glen D. Hardin) - 16. Electric Piano Solo (David Briggs) - 17. School Day - 18. Introduction of Billy Swan / I Can Help (one-liner) - 19. My Boy - 20. I'll Remember You - 21. My Heavenly Father Watches Over Me (Kathy Westmoreland) - 22. Let Me Be There (with reprise) - 23. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - 24. Tiger Man - 25. Can't Help Falling In Love - 26. Closing Vamp / Announcements / Fan comments. (News, Source: Elvis News/elv75)

Do you know how to text "Elvis Presley" on your mobile?: Thanks to Grace for letting EIN know about the Text Symbols SMS Dictionary. In case our social media, tech heavy and very tech savvy readers aren't aware, here are the two SMS 'shorthand' options for indicating "Elvis Presley": 5:-) @:-)

'French Elvis' Johnny Hallyday in intensive care: French rocker Johnny Hallyday is being treated in a Caribbean hospital's intensive care unit Monday after being rushed there by helicopter, officials said. The "French Elvis" was holidaying on the Caribbean island of Saint Barthelemy, a millionaires' playground where he owns a house, when he was taken ill and flown to a hospital on the nearby island of Guadeloupe. The clinic in the French island's capital Pointe-a-Pitre gave no details about his illness but said in a statement he was stable in its intensive care unit and that a transfer to an unstated destination was being organised.

French radio reports said he was holidaying on Saint Barthelemy when on Saturday he had a bout of tachycardia -- an abnormally fast heartbeat that is sometimes caused by excessive alcohol or drugs intake.

Hallyday was taken to Pointe-a-Pitre, where his young wife Laeticia was with him.

The latest incident came two and a half years after a health scare in Los Angeles that nearly killed France's top rocker, who is currently on his fifth marriage.

Hallyday, who last year had his artificial hip replaced, had emergency surgery and was put into an induced coma in late 2009 after falling ill on a flight to Los Angeles from Paris, where he had a hernia operation days before.

He attempted suicide in 1966, and collapsed on stage in 1986. In a 1998 interview he admitted taking cocaine and suffering a difficult childhood with an alcoholic father.

Though little known and sometimes ridiculed abroad, Hallyday has sold more than 100 million albums and played 45 major tours in a career that began in the 1960s. He is currently in the middle of another major tour.

Despite being a French national icon, Hallyday moved to Switzerland in 2007, becoming a symbol of an exodus of high-earners fleeing France's relatively high tax rates to neighbouring jurisdictions. (News, Source: france24.com)

'Elvis BY REQUEST' debuts at #4 on ARIA Album chart in Australia: The latest ARIA Album Chart will be released later today with the new Australian 'Greatest Hits' at #4! This is the same highest Elvis chart entry position since 'ELVIS: 30 #1 Hits' in 2002. Of course this time fans had to pre-purchase to receive their free "named" poster, which would create some excellent first week sales. Apparently all Sony USA sold of the "I Am An Elvis Fan" 35th Anniversary release was 3,330 copies despite all the multi-media promotion. Congratulations to Tim McLean of Sony Australia Marketing. Well done Aussies! This excellent 40 track CD costs only $22 from Sanity on line - Click HERE and keep the momentum going...... (News, Source;ElvisInfoNet/SonyAustralia)

'Unedited Masters - Hollywood To Nashville 1972-1980' New Import CD: The new volume in the "Unedited Masters" series sub-titled "Hollywood To Nashville 1972-1980" is out now. According to their flyer this is the best of that series with several "firsts" such as the overdubbed version of "It's A Matter Of Time" taken directly from studio tape instead of a scratchy acetate, an X-rated ending of "the first take" of "Fool", first release of the 1980 re-recording of "For Ol' Times Sake" which is one of their best re-recording but still unreleased to this day. See the flyer HERE for all the details concerning this new release from Venus Productions.   (News. Source;FECC)

Elvis Awesome Karaoke Releases: Fed-up with those awful cheap Elvis Karaoke CDs? Just Awesome Karaoke, the professional performance track company headed by award-winning singer/songwriter/actor Jamie Aaron Kelley, is starting pre-orders on the first new CD from the label in 8 years! With songs largely based on Elvis Presley's first album for RCA, these music tracks have been worked on painstakingly to achieve as close a sound as possible to the original recordings, even using the same model reverbs, compressions, and more for further accuracy (with a big thank you to Sebastian Jeansson for his vital equipment information!). Tracklisting: Album Songs: Blue Suede Shoes / I'm Counting On You / I Got A Woman / One-Sided Love Affair / Tutti Frutti / I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You) / Money Honey '56 Singles Selections: I Was The One / Lawdy Miss Clawdy / My Baby Left Me / I Want You, I Need You, I Love You / Don't Be Cruel. Special Features: - Detailed instrumental recreations of the original recordings - Liner notes featuring observations on the discoveries made during the recreation process - Competitive pricing and special pre-order deals - Artwork that lovingly parodies the original album For more info please visit 'Elvis Awesome Karaoke' Releases HERE (News, Source;JAK/ElvisInfoNet)

Lisa Marie Presley reclaims her Southern Voice: On Tuesday night (Aug. 21), Lisa Marie Presley made her Grand Ole Opry debut, putting her in a tie with her late father, Elvis Presley, in terms of the number of times -- exactly once -- that they both performed on stage at the venerable institution. When asked about the impending Opry appearance while in Memphis for Elvis Week last week (Aug. 16 marking the 35th anniversary of Elvis' death at age 42), Lisa says she told fans that she hoped to break with family tradition. "I'm hoping that I'm not told to take up truck driving," she said, reopening the history books to Oct. 2, 1954.

One of the inescapable ironies of Storm & Grace is that while it is steeped in Americana, it was crafted across the pond in Britain, where she is living now. The writing of the record paired the singer with British tunesmiths such as Richard Hawley and Ed Harcourt. Lisa notes that her husband (and father of their twin girls, Harper and Finley), guitarist Michael Lockwood, was much more knowledgeable about the London music scene when they relocated there from Los Angeles, but that she quickly found writers with whom she developed a kinship. "I think it's a natural progression of how much the English love Americana and the rootsy music that America has to offer," she says of the collaborations. "I know that Robert Plant loves Nashville. So, a really natural thing happened, which had kind of been pushed on me a long time ago. I didn't want to sing 'country' or do something contrived. They had an appreciation for it and I naturally just went there.

Read EIN's review of "Storm & Grace"

New audiobook - This is Elvis Presley Vol. 1: THIS IS ELVIS PRESLEY Vol.1 is part of the 2012 Anniversary tribute, created by Newbury Press for Elvis fans that would like to learn more about their hero Elvis Presley. Taking three years to create, the tribute series audiobook encompasses areas of Elvis' life that have been rarely explored or written about. Carefully researched, and verified by Elvis' right hand man and road manager Diamond Joe Esposito, the information contained in the set will meet the approval of most discerning fans. This Tribute comes in a box set consisting of 6 Compact Discs that include stories on:

Mystery of San Angelo’s “Elvis” mural solved: I'm writing today and Sunday about the Mysteries of San Angelo, like why there was a mural of Elvis above the marquee of the Angelo Civic Theatre. That's today's mystery: Why Elvis? Why was the mural created? Why did it disappear?

Thanks to former San Angeloan Jack Morgan, who is now director of production for KLRN-TV in San Antonio, for solving the mystery. How did he do it? By posting a query on Facebook's"You Know You're From San Angelo" page, of course.

Jack posted the Elvis question last year, and, for a time, had no responses from anyone who could solve the mystery.

"And then, a month ago, bingo!" he wrote. The daughter of the mural painter responded.

"I am Elise Poilpre," she began, "and I am typing this for my father who doesn't have a Facebook. He is delighted that San Angeloans remember his mural on the Angelo Civic Theatre."

Her father, Marc Poilpre, is a 1973 graduate of Central High School. He was born in France but moved with his family to Texas in 1969 after his parents divorced and his mother married a Concho Valley rancher.

After school he moved to the Chicken Farm Art Center as a resident artist. Marc volunteered to create a mural on the Angelo Civic Theatre depicting "the Harlequin character from Commedia del'Arte." (And, no, I didn't know what that meant, either. Wikipedia defines it "as a form of theater characterized by masked 'types' which began in Italy in the 16th century and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios." Now we know.

The mural, which Marc painted at no charge, was a way to celebrate the introduction of live theater to what had been a movie house, Elise explained.

"It was an experiment," Marc told me Thursday morning when he called from his home in Ohio. He said he wanted to test a new painting technique using a brown undercoat with glazes on the top instead of thick, heavy paint.

"What you saw was color, but it was thin and subject to disappearing with exposure to ultraviolet," he explained. A Chicken Farm artist posed for the reclining Harlequin character on the left side of the mural. San Angeloan Vicki Lynn Jackson, the younger sister of Dallas actor Richard Lee Jackson, posed for the face of the pretty young woman reclining on the right side of the mural.

"I kind of messed up the Harlequin's head as I was painting it," Marc said. "I needed a head."

He found one in a book full of Elvis pictures from the 1960s. "I found a nice head that perfectly fit," he told me.

And so the Elvis mural was born. Marc admitted he had second thoughts about including the King of Rock 'n' Roll in a 16th century-era painting.

"It bothered me a little bit that it was so discernibly Elvis," he said. "It looked like there had to be a reason for Elvis to be there." The reason, he added, was "it was an easy head to shove onto the body."

Marc left for Austin not long after that. He painted portraits "and got pretty good at it," he said. "But I was too slow," he added. "I didn't make enough to support a family. My wife sort of tolerated it until the first child. Children have a tendency to tell you what you should do. When my daughter was born I pretty much stopped painting and worked full time." He now works for a printing company doing computer stuff too complicated for me to understand.

When he learned the mural had been painted over several years ago "it didn't bother me a bit," Marc told me. "It wasn't the Sistine Chapel."

Because the sun hit the mural's south-facing wall "it began to fade pretty quickly," he said. "It wasn't meant to be a permanent thing. Painting over it was the right thing to do."

Several of Marc's outdoor murals still are on walls around San Angelo, including one on the east wall of an office building at 430 W. Beauregard (next to Shirley Floral), one on the north wall of the former Ramirez Tortilla Factory at 807 N. Chadbourne and one at the front of the Chicken Farm Art Center, 2505 MLK. A large photo of Marc's Angelo Civic Theatre "Elvis Mural" can be found here. (News, Source: Rick Smith, San Angelo Standard Times)

Dr Joseph Davis opens up about Elvis' death: EIN has been provided with an email between Dr Joseph Davis and a person interested in the circumstances of Elvis' death (and who wishes to remain anonymous). In 1994, the autopsy into the death of Elvis was re-opened. 'There is nothing,' said coroner Dr Joseph Davis, 'in any of the data that supports a death from drugs. In fact, everything points to a sudden, violent heart attack.'

Joseph Tunzi one-on-one with EIN (Interview) - Part 2: The doyen of Elvis books, Joseph A. Tunzi, recently opened up to EIN in a fascinating interview. The Tunzi name or his company, JAT Productions needs little introduction to most fans. For the past 25 years the Tunzi organisation has been producing glorious photo and information books (more than 40!) which invariably are accompanied by the familiar sign "Sold Out". So just who is Joseph Tunzi and what has he in store for fans......?

In the concluding part of his fascinating (and very long) interview, Joseph opens up to EIN about:

• his favorite JAT releases
• the biggest selling JAT book release
• competition in the Elvis book space
• Sony's promotion of Elvis
• FTD
• EPE's promotion of Elvis
• his thoughts on an Elvis On Tour "Special Edition" DVD
• JAT's "Hot Shots and Cool Clips" DVD series
• the Tunzi "Maybelline" remix
• The Pied Piper of Cleveland film!!! .........and a lot more!

Caveat Emptor! (Buyer Beware!): Tim C's recent post on the popular FECC forum is a timely warning to fans to "check out" and "shop around" before buying supposedly rare Elvis items. Tim's post involves the Readers Digest boxset, Elvis Presley Gold & Platinum Collection. Click the links below to see why we should always do our homework and not be taken in by deceptive promotional tactics!

Also, a list of some top items is included, from jewelry to contracts and from memorabilia to guitars. Soon for sale at ShopElvisMatters.com.

Webcam for Elvis' birthplace in Tupelo: Elvis Matters reports that just like Graceland, Elvis' birth place (the Presley family home) in Tupelo, will have its own webcam.

If all goes according to plan, the online cameras will be installed before the end of the year. (News, Source: Elvis News/Elvis Matters)

About Tupelo: Located in the hills of Northeast Mississippi, Tupelo charms visitors the world over with a unique blend of fascinating history, diverse rec reation, a variety of shopping venues and interesting Tupelo tourismattractions. Known as the Birthplace of Elvis Presley, Tupelo is the headquarters to the scenic Natchez Trace Parkway, the incredible Tupelo Automobile Museum exhibiting over 100 antique and classic cars, the family-friendly HealthWorks! Kids Museum, which exposes kids to an outbreak of fun and learning and the Tupelo Buffalo Park & Zoo that showcases exotic animals from around the world. Historic Tupelo tourism attractions promote the region's history, honor our men and women's military dedication and describe Tupelo's involvement in the Civil War and celebrate Tupelo as the birthplace of Elvis Presley.

With quality accommodations, an exciting regional mall and historic downtown district and over 100 restaurants offering a selection of cuisines from down home cooking to ethnic foods to the finest of dining, Tupelo offers visitors the best in service.

So whether you are here for work, with a group or on a relaxing trip, the many Tupelo tourism opportunities will ensure an exciting and memorable experience. (Source: Tupelo.net)

Lisa Marie & Elvis 'I Love You Because' Duet: One of the highlights of the Elvis Week FedEx 35th anniversary concert was Priscilla's rare home movies of Lisa and Elvis, accompanied by their duet on 'I Love You Because' one of Elvis' early SUN songs. Halfway through the video (as you can see HERE) Lisa Marie joined Elvis harmonising and also then showed some home-movies of Elvis' grandchildren. After the song finished a spotlight hit the stage and Lisa Marie walked out to talk with Elvis' fans. Lisa Marie asked "Did you like that?" and honestly told the huge crowd, “Once again there’s nowhere else that I’d rather be. And no one else I’d rather be with on this day and on this special night. We appreciate you and we love you.” Go HERE for the Lisa Marie/Elvis 2012 duet on YouTube along with "That's All Right". (News, Source;YouTube/ElvisInfoNet)

SONY/FTD Elvis Week 2012 Presentation: This year’s presentation unfortunately revealed a few less surprises than in previous years. The discussion was mainly around the upcoming ‘Madison Square Garden’ 40th anniversary release. Ernst however did talk about how he tracked down the rehearsal tape for the FTD ‘From Hawaii To Las Vegas'‘ and how the same fan happened to have the unreleased footage of Elvis at MSG for 'Prince From Another Planet'. The guy was sitting in the 8th row - and the footage is very good. Ernst Jorgensen still proved himself as the Elvis treasure hunter. (See EIN interview here) Ernst Jorgensen also confirmed, "There is no decision that anything that exists of Elvis shouldn’t be available. Whether it be in documentaries or smaller projects - or a full scale production like ‘YMWTBB’ or projects like MSG." Jamie Aron Kelley appeared to show the crowd the "Tupelo" box-set to much amusement and you hear the explanation of

'Elvis Presley dies at 42': That was how the L.A. Times covered Elvis' death 35 years ago. In recent years, The Times has been out front in its coverage of the deaths of iconic performers, including Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston. But perhaps no artist's death was as big a story as the death of Elvis Presley of a heart attack at Graceland, his mansion in Memphis, Tenn. "Elvis Presley didn't invent rock n' roll, but he was its most important figure and primary symbol," then-Times' critic Bob Hilburn wrote in an appreciation. "His music was wild, defiant, challenging, adventurous. His long hair, sideburns, loud clothes and uncompromising manner offered a symbol for teen-agers desiring to state their own identity." Ted Thackeray's official obituary begins with a strikingly detailed account of Presley's medical issues, and the minute-by-minute account of his heart failure. "(Medical examiner Jerry) Francisco told newsmen after an autopsy that Presley had died of 'cardiac arrythmia,' which he described as a severely irregular heartbeat.... He said Presley had a history of mild hypertension and some coronary artery disease, both of which might have contributed to the arrythmia." The obit notes that Presley was found "fully clothed but unconscious, in a bathroom of his Graceland mansion by his

'ELVIS SINGS THE BLUES' new import CD: As has been often discussed on EIN, Elvis has never been properly represented with a quality BLUES compilation. Now an import release promises in their publicity ... This ultimate blues album was only released in the 1980s in the RCA Club Series in a limited edition of only 1000 copies. It's almost impossible to find a copy these days, and then only if you are willing to pay between 80-100 euro. But now this classic album is finally available in it's original form ( so including the rare electronic stereo version of New Orleans and the mono versions of Mess Of Blues and I Feel So Bad). Released in a stunning digipack with original sleeve notes and great 'bluesy' pics, this release also contains great bonus tracks to create the one and only ELVIS BLUES album! Tracklist: 1. When It Rains, It Really Pours, 2. New Orleans ( Electronic Reprocessed STEREO ) *, 3. It Feels So Right 4. A Mess Of Blues ( MONO Master )*, 5. Like A Baby, 6. Reconsider Baby, 7. I Feel So Bad ( MONO Master )* 8. Give Me The Right, 9. Beach Boy Blues,

Zippin Pippin gets stuck on Presley Anniversary: It’s enough to make you believe in ghosts. On the 35th anniversary of his death, Elvis Presley’s favorite ride, the Zippin Pippin roller coaster, became stuck on a lift hill Thursday with 17 riders on board at Bay Beach Amusement Park. The ride became stuck at about 10:30 a.m. August 16, and all riders were walked off the ride using stairs beside the lift hill, said Jason Arnoldi, assistant manager of Bay Beach. The ride was shut down for about 2½ hours while workers tested the roller coaster. The problem was caused by a malfunctioning sensor, which kept one of the roller coasters trains from getting to its stopping point. That caused safety features to kick in, keeping the other train from moving. Arnoldi said the safety features are designed to keep the trains from colliding. All riders were rescued by firefighters within an hour, said Maggie Hundt, 32, of Pulaski, who said she was riding the coaster for the first time when the malfunction occurred soon after the ride began. Hundt said firefighters responded about 45 minutes after the ride stalled. "I think it’s hilarious. I was laughing the whole time," said Hundt,

ELVIS WEEK 2012, FINAL report: "Maybe it's too late, sometimes I even hate myself for loving you..." Well dear friends all good things come sadly to an end so here is Sanja Meegin's final report from The Promised Land. Yesterday she finally toured the mansion properly to soak up the end-of-the-week loving Elvis vibes. She saw the sensational Shawn Klush/Cody Slaughter concert - as well as experiencing the ETA finals. Was it a great way to end Elvis Week? Click here to see all the photos. -- EIN is the only website with these daily exclusives so click here & don't miss these special reports. (Elvis Week 2012, Source:SanjaMeegin)

'Elvis was not a Racist'- A Spotlight Revisited: Back in 2005 EIN's Piers Beagley wrote an in-depth look at Elvis' background & cultural influences, discovering a man that not only helped the local black community but who was also key figure in the racial integration of popular music. As James Brown said, "I love him and hope to see him in heaven. There’ll never be another like that soul brother" and Muhammad Ali, "Elvis Presley was the sweetest, most humble and nicest man you'd want to know." Now in 2012 EIN's good friend Bernard Tanner, Jr. sent us a wonderful letter explaining his reaction when faced with young adults in his hometown of Altanta Georgia accusing Elvis of being a racist. He says.. "My refusal to back down against their impassioned but wrong-headed and false accusations of Presley's race bigotry shocked them.... .. And (often) lost in these arguments is the fact that Elvis was supernally

Memphis Elvis Week Auction Results: A library card bearing the signature of a 13-year-old Elvis Presley was sold at auction for $7500, doubling estimates. The autograph is believed to be the earliest signature of the King of Rock and Roll. ­The auctioneers did not expect much from the library card signed to borrow a copy of "The Courageous Heart: A Life of Andrew Jackson for Young Readers" from Humes High School in Memphis in 1948. The card was discovered during a library inventory in the book about US President Andrew Jackson, one of the founders of the Democratic Party. The book was sold at auction along with the autograph. A pair of iconic Elvis Presley sunglasses was the top lot Tuesday at the Ultimate Elvis auction presented to an international crowd of collectors at The Peabody hotel. The 1974 pair of "Tiger Man" sunglasses brought $22,500, including 25 percent buyers premium, and was among personal items that were popular with bidders at the sale, presented by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. A dark dress jacket made by Sy Devore from the 1960s brought $12,500, and a gray trench coat from Lansky Brothers of Memphis, $12,188. Fans chattered in a dozen languages before the opening lot — Presley's 1956 signed William Morris contract — sold for $10,625 at 1 p.m. Over the next five hours, the live-streamed auction accepted offers from bidders on the floor, phone, and Internet for over 300 lots intimately connected with the King. Consignment director Garry Shrum, Heritage's music specialist, said before the sale: "There is such a huge fan base for Elvis now, not just older people, but younger generations; you can look around and see them here.

ELVIS WEEK 2012, exclusive report - FEDEX Concert DAY: One of the most anticipated events of Elvis Week 2012, is the 35th Anniversary concert. Well, I heard the news, there's good rockin' tonight - Sanja Meegin, EIN's roving reporter, was there to report back on the SENSATIONAL concert. Again both Lisa Marie and Priscilla were there. EIN is the only website with these daily exclusives so click here & don't miss these special reports. (Elvis Week 2012, Source:SanjaMeegin)

Elvis Presley: An Unlikely ‘Nice Jewish Boy - decoding the King of Rock and Roll’s Jewish roots: Thursday marked the 35th anniversary of the death of rock and roll legend Elvis Presley. Although it may be more appropriate to refer to yesterday as the yahrtzeit, as it is called in Judaism, of the King of Rock and Roll, because new evidence has surfaced which reveals Presley’s Jewish heritage. Opposite: Star of David around Elvis' neck

“... Nancy Burdine was married to Abner Tackett (Elvis’ great great maternal grandmother). Nancy was of particular interest to Gladys for her Jewish heritage, often remembering Nancy's sons for their Jewish names Sidney and Jerome. Nancy and Abner had a daughter Martha who married White Mansell. The daughter which they named Octavia, nick-named Doll, who was Elvis' maternal grandmother.”

According to Jewish halakha, one is Jewish if he or she is born to a Jewish mother. For Elvis, this was technically the case.

“…Doll and Robert had nine children. Gladys Love was the fifth daughter born followed by 3 more brothers and one sister. After his mother died, Elvis personally sought to design his beloved mother’s gravesite which included a Star of David on Gladys Love Presley’s tombstone. The decision was made by him in honor of his Jewish heritage. Something his mother was proud of and acknowledged to Elvis at a very early age.” Although the Star of David was engraved on his mother’s headstone following her passing in 1959, her and Elvis' bodies had to later be moved due to a 1977 break-in attempt to steal Elvis' body. The current grave does not include a Star of David.

“When Charlie Hodge asked Elvis why this particular piece of jewelry was so important, Elvis replied, ‘I don’t want to miss out on goin' to heaven on a technicality.’” (News, Source: Sammy Hudes, Shalom Life)

Elvis Died 35 Years Ago and fans still Can’t Help Falling in Love With Him: Thirty five years ago, Elvis Presley, died of a heart attack at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. He was just 42 years old. In an interview aired on the NBC Today Show, Priscilla and Lisa Marie, his daughter, shared their memories of the tragic day. Priscilla told NBC, "I will never forget that day. I walked outside and I said, my God, something is not right. Lisa was in Memphis at the time and I first thought about her. I wasn’t able to function for awhile without him. Because in my head, I just thought what would I do without him? He was always there for me." Lisa Marie was just 9 years old. "I knew something was wrong. I was in my room, which was right next to his bathroom," she said in the segment. Ginger Alden, Presley’s then fiancée, found the musician unconscious on the bathroom floor. "I knew something was very wrong, all the commotion and everything. I was a wreck," recalled Lisa Marie.

Every year to mark the anniversary of the legend’s death, tens of thousands of Elvis fans gather at Graceland for a candlelight vigil. Last night and into the early hours of the morning, some 75,000 people were in attendance. For the very first time, together, so too were Priscilla and Lisa Marie. "It just seems like it is the right time," said Priscilla. "You should see this from our point of view. It's amazing," Priscilla Presley said. "The candles are lit. It's truly a sight to behold." Lisa Marie Presley told the fans she loved them for their devotion to her father. She also acknowledged she had shied away from making public appearances at past anniversary vigils. "I've always avoided this because I felt that it would be too emotional, but I really felt it was important to come down here tonight," the singer's daughter told the crowd. "I love you very, very, very much." Fans moved up the tree-lined driveway to the right of the mansion, where the gravesite is located near a swimming pool. Heart-shaped wreaths made of red and white flowers lined the entrance to the site. In regards to the outpouring of love from Elvis fans thirty-five years later Priscilla said, "That’s the force of Elvis." (News, Source;Memphis/NBC/ElvisInfoNet)

Lisa Marie Presley to Debut Collaboration With Elvis: Lisa Marie Presley has planned a special treat for fans of her father. In honor of the 35th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, she will debut a new collaboration with the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll at Thursday night’s tribute concert at the FedExForum in downtown Memphis. While the song she chose is being kept under wraps — Presley wants it to be a surprise for fans at the show — the singer did reveal that it was produced by Grammy and Oscar winner T-Bone Burnett. “Every five years, I try to do a special tribute,” Presley told The Hollywood Reporter. (Her last tribute was a “duet” with Elvis of “In the Ghetto,” released in 2007. Proceeds from the single benefited the Presley Place Transitional Housing Campus in New Orleans, where the video was shot.) She added that she sought Burnett’s advice this time around. “He found this sweet, amazing song off [Elvis’] first record, and we went into the studio and harmonized a little bit,” she said. “For me, it was important this year to do something where it wasn’t about me singing or a duet. I just wanted it to be something really sweet.” To accompany the recording, Presley has also created a video that will be shown at the concert.

EIN Note: The song (nice to see a 1950's track) was I Love You Because. Only a small clip of Elvis and Lisa Marie duetting was featured since the second part of the video focused on Lisa and her children. DUET is HERE on YouTube . Go here ELVIS WEEK 2012, exclusive report

Talent thrives among Elvis's grandkids: Lisa Marie Elvis 's grandchildren all have show business in their blood, but their mother Lisa Marie Presley said Friday she hoped they would succeed at whatever they chose to pursue. Presley, 44, discussed her iconic rock 'n' roll father, who died 35 years ago this week, alongside her mother Priscilla during a half-hour talk before Elvis fans at the family's Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. It was the first time the singer-songwriter, whose latest album "Storm and Grace" came out in May, had participated in an open panel discussion at the annual Elvis Week festivities.

Riley, who appears in director Steven Soderbergh's male stripper film "Magic Mike," is doing "incredibly well" in her acting career, while music-loving Benjamin is "swinging back and forth" between bass and guitar, said Presley.

Of "the little ones," she said Finley "is definitely going to sing... that child loves music," while potential thespian Harper can recreate any movie she sees "scene by scene, line by line, exactly as she saw it."

Asked what the twins make of their iconic grandpop, Presley said: "They are very, very, very proud. 'That's my grandfather! I want to see my grandfather!' They have such a sense of pride. It's really cute."

Presley had her older children with her first husband, musician Danny Keough, and the youngest ones with her current spouse, music producer Michael Lockwood. She was also married to the late Michael Jackson and actor Nicolas Cage. (News, Source: AFP)

Elvis the ape escapes zoo enclosure after seeing distressing footage of 35 Elvii on Sydney Harbour Bridge: Elvis the siamang gibbon is safely back in a confined space tonight after a brief getaway from his home at the Honolulu Zoo yesterday afternoon.  The ape had 15 minutes out of his enclosure and now is getting his 15 minutes of fame. Elvis did more than leave the building, he left his enclosure.  The 14 year old siamang ape weighs 30 pounds. He's relatively small but with a long wingspan.  He managed to leap about 12 feet from the feeding platform over the moat and to the outside wall where he climbed out.  It's a feat he's never done in his six years at the zoo.

The public was evacuated from that area.  The zoo veterinarian had a tranquilizer dart ready but didn't need to use it.  Instead staff used CO2 canisters that make noise and shoots cold gas.  That helped coax the ape back into his quarters 15 minutes after the escape.  But he did scratch a zoo volunteer breaking the skin causing a minor injury. 

"(The volunteer) was one of the people that was close to the animal. I guess the animal was panicked or something.

People were really responding to try and get the animal back in there," said Mollinedo.

Mollinedo says the zoo staff conducts drills four times a year on how to respond to animal escapes. He's thankful this incident wasn't worse.

"I don't know if he would go out of his way to attack people. Our biggest concern is had it gotten out of here we have a number of trees around here. It would have climbed up a tree it would have taken a monumental effort to get him back down. Then we probably would to have darted him," said Mollinedo. "As someone coming to the zoo you don't expect to come here and hear oh they got out yesterday, but I think it's a neat story at the same time," said Jen Manasco, a visitor from Great Falls, Montana. 

Now Elvis and his fellow siamang Mahina, the older and presumably wiser female, must stay in a cage until the zoo can figure out what changes need to be made.

"We're looking at the enclosure. We're examining it to see what modifications we would have to do if we reintroduce him into this exhibit. We're also looking at a couple other exhibits that might provide additional security from the standpoint of creating a larger moated area," said Mollinedo.

Too much monkey business means Elvis will have a little less conversation with guests and instead sing the jailhouse rock until at least next week.

It's unknown what prompted the escape but one theory, yesterday was the 35th anniversary of the real Elvis Presley's death.  Perhaps Elvis the ape was all shook up over the news. (News, Source: Hawaii News Now)

Note: EIN took journalistic licence in suggesting Elvis escaped after seeing distressing video footage. Imagine how bad it would have been had he actually seen the footage!

Joseph Tunzi one-on-one with EIN (Interview): The doyen of Elvis books, Joseph A. Tunzi, recently opened up to EIN in a fascinating interview. The Tunzi name or his company, JAT Productions needs little introduction to most fans. For the past 25 years the Tunzi organisation has been producing glorious photo and information books (more than 40!) which invariably are accompanied by the familiar sign "Sold Out". So just who is Joseph Tunzi and what has he in store for fans......?

• how it all started for Joe Tunzi
• meeting Elvis
• publishing Elvis books
• the price of Elvis photobooks
• color vs black & white visuals
• moving to hardcover publishing
• his latest release, "Elvis '69" - the GREATEST BOOK ever published by JAT
• what we can expect in "Sessions IV" and when it is scheduled for release
• collaborating with Joseph Pirzada and Paul Lichter
• Elvis soundboards
• unreleased, rare Elvis recordings...........and a lot more

Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley spoke for little more than a minute at the gates of the mansion on Wednesday at the start of an all-night candlelight vigil in memory of the king of rock 'n' roll's sudden death in 1977, at the age of 42.

"Lisa and myself want to thank you so very much for being here and supporting Elvis. You come every year and this is our appreciation to you for making this happen," said Priscilla, 67.

Lisa Marie, 44, said: "I've always avoided this because I thought it would be too emotional but I really felt it was important to come down here tonight and be with you.

"We love you. I love you very, very much and I am honoured to see you here and we're grateful that you are in our lives and we're really happy to be part of this tonight with you."

Priscilla, looking over a sea of candles across the six-lane Elvis Presley Boulevard, added: "I know this is something Elvis would never ever would have believed would have taken place here."

The gates of Graceland, where Elvis is buried alongside his parents in a meditation garden, remained open all night to a steady stream of well-wishers.

Elvis and Priscilla Presley divorced in 1973 after six years of marriage, but they remained close until his death. She played a key role in turning Graceland into a major tourist attraction.

Their daughter, Lisa Marie, whose four husbands notably included Michael Jackson from 1994 to 1996, is a singer-songwriter who released her first album in seven years, Storm and Grace, earlier this year. (News, Source: ninemsn.com.au)

2012 Candlelight Vigil (Photo by Mark Humphrey)

Media coverage of the 35th Anniversary: Media coverage yesterday was generally mixed. The print media offered a range of news items and articles ranging from the thoughtful to the inane. "Golden Oldies" radio stations around the world had their Elvis specials and TV stations ran the obligatory 30 seconds to 1-2 minute news item.

The "Huge Promotion for: Elvis By Request" in Australia fell flat, airing almost 30 minutes earlier than promoted ("Sorry about that, Chief") and coming across as a tacky item reinforcing the negative aspects of the Elvis legend. We're not sure why they thought this would sell CDs!

One of the best comments on the "Event" was:

"They may as well have flown a large flag at half mast and said Elvis has left the bridge"

Meanwhile, Melbourne's Herald-Sun newspaper enquired, 'What do we call them....a flock?, a gaggle?'

Thankfully, there is no truth to the rumor that Sydney Harbour Bridge climbs are being discontinued because the pylons supporting the structure had got "all shook up".

At least the Sydney Opera House looks good!

We wait with interest for official word on crowd numbers in Memphis this year. "On the ground" reports suggest there are not as many there as in 2007.

EIN may be wrong but overall, online media coverage appears to be lower this year than for the 30th anniversary (which itself was less than for the 20th anniversary).

In EIN's opinion, the peak year for media coverage was 1987 (10th anniversary) when Memphis hotels were "sold out" and than 100 media teams from over 20 countries were camped across from Graceland! There were so many media people there and the demand for stories so great that reporters were filing reports on the media teams covering Elvis Week! And newspapers like USA Today had daily Elvis articles throughout the week.

Doctor's wife tells tale of Elvis, drugs: From his deathbed 11 years ago, Elvis Presley's longtime Las Vegas physician Dr. Elias Ghanem shared a secret with his wife. It involved a safe deposit box. "I want you to know I have a bag of medicine," he said. "You're a smart lady. You'll know what to do with it one day." Jody Ghanem is breaking her silence today on the 35th anniversary of Elvis' death, in defense of her late husband, one of the city's most famous celebrity doctors. Opposite: Elvis pill bottles put up for auction

She agreed to show the Review-Journal the cache of pills under the condition that the names of three of the four doctors on the 17 pill containers not be published. It is no secret that Elvis' personal physician, Dr. George Nichopoulos, came under the heaviest scrutiny after Elvis' death at Graceland. The entertainment icon, who was 42 when he died, had a record 837 consecutive performances at The International (later the Las Vegas Hilton and now known as LVH) from 1969 to 1976.

The pills, now back in the safe deposit box, include Dilaudid, a restricted and highly addictive opiate that had the nickname "drug store heroin." Others included Valium, Percodan, Demerol, Quaaludes and Sanilert, one of six prescribed by Nichopolous. On the label, dated Sept. 18, 1974, was the notation: "to keep sanity."

Her husband, the house physician at The International and former chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission, kept taking away Elvis' pills. "That's why I have them," she said during an interview at Radio City Pizzeria at Tivoli Village.

Nichopolous was one of two Memphis doctors listed on the containers. One was from Palm Springs and another from Hollywood. She said the amount of drugs indicated Elvis was doctor-shopping a la Michael Jackson.

"Elvis did exactly what Michael Jackson was doing. The parallels are so similar," she said. Over the years, she said, Dr. Ghanem was unfairly lumped in with doctors who provided prescription drugs to Elvis. "

That stigma has always stayed with my husband. He truly tried to help Elvis but I think he was so far into his medication that it was difficult. One thing I know is Elias would never jeopardize his medical license or being a doctor. He loved his (medical career)," she added.

Elvis stayed weeks at a time at Dr. Ghanem's home at 2981 Bel Air Drive, his first residence in Las Vegas Country Club before moving to Augusta Drive, she said.

"I think they were trying to get him off medication - what you would call detox - and lose some weight," Jody Ghanem said. "Elias tried to get him in shape to perform."

Dr. Ghanem's brother, Nasser, a Las Vegas resident since 1976, on Wednesday confirmed he was at the Bel Air residence a half-dozen times helping Elias replace drugs in capsules with sugar powder to create placebos. When Elvis' bodyguards learned about the placebos, they snitched to Elvis, Nasser Ghanem said. "He got very upset but Elias calmed him down."

Elvis often suffered from "Vegas Throat," which threatened to keep him from performing, Nasser Ghanem said. His brother set up a humidifier to counter the dry throat condition. To show his appreciation after Dr. Ghanem brought him through a nasty case of pneumonia, Elvis surprised him with a Stutz Bearcat sports car.

Before marrying Ghanem in 1983, four years after Liberace introduced them, Jody was a member of the Radio City Rockettes who performed with Liberace for about eight months. Her dance partner is back in the news. A 1988 book written by Scott Thorson, Liberace's five-year partner, is being turned into an HBO movie "Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace," starring Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damon as Thorson.

Jody Ghanem named the family pizza business after Radio City because she performed there with the Rockettes. Also, it was the last venue where Liberace performed, one of his last wishes before the legendary showman died in 1987. (News, Source: Norm Clarke, Las Vegas Review Journal)

THE REBEL & THE KING by Nick Adams (upcoming book): Elvis Presley had just exploded on the American scene and was filming his first movie, Love Me Tender, when he introduced himself to Nick Adams on the backlot of 20th Century Fox. Nick was a struggling actor, part of the Rebel Without A Cause gang and showed Elvis the town, introducing him to Natalie Wood.  Nick was infamous for writing about his famous friends and now the POSTHUMOUS PUBLICATION of Nick Adams raw, unedited manuscript, The Rebel & The King, details his close friendship and whirlwind eight days in Memphis during the famous singer’s Tupelo Homecoming the summer of 56. (News, Source: Amber Smith) For more information email Nick's daughter:  allysonadams@mac.com

Agent "Elvis" the Avatar assists border authorities in securing the USA: A lie-detecting virtual border official nicknamed "Elvis" is the latest high-tech approach to securing borders in the United States. Developed by University of Arizona researchers in collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the computer is known as the Automated Virtual Agent for Truth Assessments in Real-Time -- or AVATAR -- kiosk. It uses sensors to screen passengers for unusual physiological responses to questioning -- which can indicate a subject is lying.

"We've had great success in reliably detecting these anomalies -- things that people can't really detect."The kiosk is being trialled at Dennis DeConcini Port in Nogales, Arizona -- a checkpoint on the U.S.-Mexico border -- as a way of processing passengers looking to sign up to CBP's "Trusted Traveler" program. The program allows travelers pre-approved as "low-risk" to be fast-tracked through security processes.

Applicants for the program must undergo an interview and biometric fingerprinting to be eligible for the program -- both of which can be performed by the AVATAR kiosk. Derrick said the kiosk could process travelers in five minutes.Travelers simply stand in front of the unit -- which "looks like an ATM on steroids," according to Derrick -- and respond to yes/no questions asked in Spanish or English.

"You speak to it like you speak to a person," he said. "People are accurate about 54% of the time at detecting deception... We have got our machine as high as 90% in the lab. Their answers are monitored, with any unusual physiological responses passed on to "a human field agent" who then subjects them to "a more careful interview process," said CBP spokesman Bill Brooks. Unusual responses were not a sure sign of a lie, said Derrick.

"There might be valid reasons for it beyond deception."

The computer uses three sensors to assess physiological responses:

• a microphone, which monitors vocal quality, pitch and frequency
• an infrared camera, which looks at pupil dilation and where the eyes focus; and
• a high-definition camera recording facial expressions.

Some of the involuntary cues that betray whether a speaker is lying could be controlled, but not all of them at once.

Lab testing had indicated the machine was much more successful than humans at detecting these cues, according to Derrick."People have a hard time detecting small changes in the frequency of the human voice, that a computer is much better at," he said.

"People are accurate about 54% of the time at detecting deception ... We have got our machine as high as 90% in the lab."Brooks said the project was still in the early phase of field testing, and participating in the AVATAR interview process was entirely voluntary at this stage. But if successful, the initiative could be rolled out in other parts of CBP's operations.

Derrick said it was hoped that, as well as providing better detection of suspicious behavior, the AVATAR kiosk would prove to be "a really important time and money saving tool.

"Initially, the kiosk did not have the avatar feature, but it was added after its developers found that without it, people would tend to speak to the machine in a robotic, unnatural manner. It even got a name among the team developing the project.

"We call him Elvis, or Pat," said Derrick. "But when he's in the field he's just the AVATAR agent." (News, Source: CNN)

The king is dead: a classic Elvis Presley tribute from the vaults: As the world commemorates the 35th anniversary of the King's passing, this thoughtful tribute by NME's Mick Farren in 1977 reminds us of just how great Elvis was. 'It was one of the worst storms to hit London since God knows when. The thunder rolled, lightning flashed and the rain hammered into the roof. There's something about a storm that brings a sense of doom. It fitted so perfectly. When the ITV news flash sign came on the TV screen everyone looked up. When the flash sign was immediately followed by a still of Elvis Presley, a quiet voice breathed, "Oh, my God."

We all looked at each other in disbelief.

"Elvis is dead!"

It didn't seem quite credible. And yet it wasn't the kind of shock that followed the news of J.F.K. being cut down. There had been so much speculation about Presley's mental and physical health that his death was unpleasantly predictable.

It was almost impossible to know what to think. My first impulse was to pick up the phone and call a couple of people. I tried two numbers, but they were both busy. Obviously other people had reacted the same way. It was the kind of news that demanded to be passed on. Elvis had always been there. For more than two decades he'd maintained a unique position in too many people's lives. Despite all the depressing rumours it scarcely seemed possible that he'd gone, that Elvis Presley was dead at 42.

I guess the only word I can use is numb. Numb, and just very slightly embarrassed at the way I was reacting. It wasn't the ordinary kind of grief that you feel for a personal friend. There was no voice telling me that I'd never see Elvis Presley again. Jesus Christ, I'd never seen him, ever. I didn't even regret that I'd never get the chance to see him. The Elvis Presley I'd have given my right arm to watch was the wild hoodlum in the gold jacket who vanished into the US Army and never returned. I'd mourned his passing many years ago.

I think, to be absolutely truthful, any grief for Elvis Presley has to be bound up with a grief for my own early youth. It's grief for that long vanished innocence, that virgin state in which it was possible to discover rock and roll for the very first time.

The moment when I first heard Heartbreak Hotel coming out of the radio was an experience that's impossible to reproduce. It was a time when the radio didn't add up to much more than The Archers, Journey into Space and The Goon Show. The readily available music was all Que Sera Sera, Love And Marriage and How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?

After Heartbreak Hotel, all that changed. Music had the power. It may have taken another six or seven years for Bob Dylan to articulate it, but right from the start it was obvious that the times were changing. If it needed a confirmation, it was right there in the way Elvis was condemned out of hand by parents and pulpit.

Elvis Presley was far more than just an entertainer. He was something different to Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby. He'd picked up the teenage banner that had been dropped by James Dean. He not only picked it up, but he picked it up and ran with it. From the way he combed his hair to the sneer and the snapping knee, he was the beginning of the rebellion. You stopped thinking about being a chartered accountant and began to wonder if, just maybe, you could be Elvis.

Of course, the passing years brought disappointments. He came back from the army to make all those awful films and often equally awful records. The greatest white R&B singer the world had ever seen decayed before our eyes into a Hollywood clown who appeared to have no respect for his work, his audience or himself.

If it had been anybody but Elvis Presley he probably would have been quietly forgotten, but he was just too big for that. If it was only in the middle of the night, when listening to the old records, the magnetism still came alive in those attempts to recapture the first careless rush. It was a haven of simplicity in a world of Visions Of Johanna and Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby.

Presley had racked up so much affection in the '50s that it was even hard to blame him for his dire output. More often than not the blame was laid at the door of Colonel Tom Parker. It may not have been logical, but even when he did his worst, it was hard to believe that it was Presley's fault.

Elvis-worship lay dormant in a lot of us during the '60s. Just how many of us became noticeable by those who sat up and took notice when, at the end of the decade, it suddenly seemed as though our man was going to make a comeback with records like Promised Land, Burning Love, his TV special and his return to the live stage at the Las Vegas Hilton. As it turned out, Presley didn't come back to us. His return was for the blue rinse and double-knit set. He was fated never to return to rock and rollers and overgrown juvenile delinquents who had sweated out their adolescence with him.

Once again the decay started. His public behaviour became erratic. It looked as though – instead of coming back – Elvis Presley had dipped his toe into the real world but quickly withdrawn it again. The rumours flowed out from behind the high walls of his guarded mansions. They talked about his custom-built blondes, his drugs, his neurotic eating and violent temper tantrums. His marriage came and went, and the figure who was once a hero turned, bit by bit, into a petulant, overweight pampered child.

It was sad. It was like watching an old friend, whom you hadn't seen in a long time, slowly going to pieces. That may have been sad, but it was only a fraction as sad as the thought of Elvis Presley, maybe the biggest idol the world's seen yet, dying alone and disturbed in his luxury prison. There's just no way that you can help an idol. Maybe, in the final analysis, the world can't support an Elvis Presley all the way to a fulfilled and peaceful old age.

The clichés come thick and fast at a time like this. Some of them are even true. Without Elvis Presley, history would certainly have been different. Jagger might have become an estate agent, Dylan a rabbi, Lennon a bricklayer or Johnny Rotten a judge. He probably was one of the tiny handful of artists who actually affected the course of human affairs. Maybe the load was too much for him to carry. I don't know. None of us can really imagine how it feels to walk around being Elvis Presley every day of your life.

All this isn't what's really important. All I know is that the death of Presley has produced a kind of dull hurt that's hard to pin down. I can't exactly define why or how it hurts. All I know is something that used to be important to me has gone.

I guess that's the measure of the man and what he meant. At least, what he meant to me.' (Tribute, Source: Mick Farren, NME/The Guardian)

ELVIS WEEK 2012 - EIN exclusive report DAY 5: ‘A little less conversation, a little more action please' so watch out Memphis because Sanja Meegin, is back in the Promised Land once again to give us all the inside scoops on Elvis Week 2012. Today Sanja checks out the Fan Club Presidents gathering, meets the TCB Band and Billy Stanley, Joe Petruccio and shares the great Elvis week feeling. EIN is the only website with these exclusives & daily photo specials - so click here & don't miss these special reports. (Elvis Week 2012, Source:ElvisInfoNet)

Candlelight Vigil LiveCam: You can watch the Elvis Week Candlelight Vigil Live worldwide. Experience the ultimate pilgrimage for Elvis fans from around the world with a live broadcast of the 2012 Elvis Week Candlelight Vigil. Starting at 8:00 p.m. on August 15, tune in to hear the opening ceremony and see tens of thousands of fans pay tribute to the king by walking up to meditation garden at Graceland with a candle in quiet remembrance. The live broadcast is from 8:00pm – 10:30pm. CST, USA. No matter where you live in the world, you can take part in the celebration of Elvis’ life and legacy. London (UK), Thursday, 16 Aug 2012 at 2:00AM Paris (France), Thursday, 16 Aug at 3:00AM Sydney (Australia), Thursday, 16 Aug at 11:00AM GO HERE to View via EPE. (News, Source;EPE/ElvisInfoNet)

Fans flock to Graceland: Fans of Elvis Presley are flocking to his Graceland estate for Thursday's 35th anniversary of his death, and their enthusiasm for the king of rock 'n' roll is undiminished by the years. Organizers of the annual Elvis Week expect this year's edition to be the largest ever, with his widow Priscilla and daughter Lisa Marie Presley participating. "Elvis is fan-driven," said Joe Guercio, Presley's musical director from 1970 until the star's sudden death on August 16, 1977 at the age of 42, "and there are not a lot of people (in show business) who are fan-driven." Actually nine days long, Elvis Week started in Memphis last Friday, centered around a 1,200-seat air conditioned tent across Elvis Presley Boulevard from Graceland and next to the preserved remains of the singer's private jet. Highlights include an all-night candlelight vigil Wednesday at Graceland's gates, where fans this year will have the option of lighting real wax candles or switching on virtual candles on a special Elvis Week smartphone app.

On Thursday, a concert at a downtown stadium -- featuring Priscilla and Lisa Marie, as well as surviving members of Presley's band -- will review the legend's roots in blues, gospel and country music.

Folded into Elvis Week is the sixth annual Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest -- never, ever call them impersonators -- with contestants from as far afield as Australia and Japan.

"I always look like this, minus some of the make up -- but the hair is always the same, sideburns and everything," immaculately coifed Rick Huntress, an award-winning Elvis tribute artist from New England, said.

Tuesday saw hundreds of Elvis fan club presidents get the lowdown from Elvis Presley Enterprises, which closely oversees the rights to Presley's posthumous image, on his enduring legacy in film, commercials and merchandising.

Good-humored boos filled the Elvis Week Main Stage tent when Carol Butler, vice president for international licensing, revealed a Mr Potato Head character resembling Presley in his "Aloha from Hawaii" period.

Much more of a crowd-pleaser -- it was greeted with cheers -- was a Canadian-made suitcase emblazoned with an airbrushed portrait of Presley. "It's really nice," said Butler, who listed its price at $100.

And in a cross-cultural fusion of pop culture icons, Butler lifted the wraps off a forthcoming Elvis version of Japan's Hello Kitty doll. "We just love it," she said. "She's just cute in her little Elvis duds."

In another part of Memphis, Presley artifacts went under an auctioneer's hammer, including -- of all things -- an empty plastic bottle of tetracycline, an antibiotic, prescribed to Presley in 1974. It sold for $5,500.

A pair of yellow-tinted sunglasses, custom-made in Germany for the singer, sold for $22,500 while a gold Longines watch -- a gift from his manager Colonel Tom Parker -- realized $16,250, Heritage Auctions said.

But the auction's marquee item, a concert poster from 1954 estimated at $30,000, failed to find a buyer.

It had been hand-made for a gig that Presley gave near Memphis just a few months after he released his first hit single "That's All Right." (News, Source: AFP)

Elvis By Request (Aussie track listing): Sony Music Australia have released the track listing for the new 2CD which is available today around Australia. (News, Source: Bob Hayden) Watch the video trailer here (and buy the album)

EIN Comment: Most of the Top 40 could have been predicted.  It’s great to see the fondly remembered pop song, Judy, in the list, the 70s Vegas power ballad, Just Pretend, and similarly, the fantastic mid 70s rocker, Promised Land.  We do find it surprising that these made the list as Judy will really only be known by older fans (who are more unlikely to have voted online), Just Pretend was an album cut although admittedly visible in the Elvis: That's The Way It Is DVD, and Promised Land hardly made a ripple “downunder” on its release as a single, failing to hit the National Top 40.  As for the even more surprising inclusion, the ”uninspired” (as not unreasonably assessed by musicologist, Robert Matthew-Walker), I Miss You…….surely questions will be asked about the veracity of the list!

The unusual inclusions are possibly explained by the fact that only around 5,000 votes were cast in selecting the Top 40. The track listing is:

Bootleg Elvis (Book Review): Illicit Elvis recordings released by underground labels on pristine black or colored vinyl! For many fans the thought and memories of that important part of the Elvis music scene still resonates in 2012. And now one of the year's greatest book releases has been published, Bootleg Elvis.......a high quality, incredibly well researched narrative and visual history of the 900+ Elvis bootlegs released on vinyl. EIN recently delved deep inside this formidable book to sample its veritable treasure trove of Elvis delights! Old and new fans take note!! Read EIN's detailed review

ELVIS WEEK 2012 - EIN exclusive report DAY 4: ‘Some people like to rock, Some people like to roll' so watch out Memphis because Sanja Meegin, is back in the Promised Land once again to give us all the inside scoops on Elvis Week 2012. Today Sanja checks out the first Elvis Insiders Conference, meets Jamie Aron Kelley and feels the warmth of Graceland and the Meditation Garden on a lovely summer's evening. EIN is the only website with these exclusives & daily photo specials - so click here & don't miss these special reports. (Elvis Week 2012, Source:ElvisInfoNet)

Musicians remember Elvis' talent, character: Elvis Presley left behind hit songs, epic performances, some so-so movies and an image as a handsome, rebellious, talented and sometimes-troubled artist that remains indelibly marked in America's pop culture psyche 35 years after his death. Presley also left behind memories held closely and deeply by the songwriters and musicians who not only helped him work his magic in the studio and onstage, but also worked hard to keep his music alive today. Many described him as intelligent, humble and generous. DJ Fontana (shown opposite), Elvis' longtime drummer, met Presley during the popular "Louisiana Hayride" shows in the early 1950s. Fontana, who still tours and plays Elvis songs, said Presley rarely rehearsed and always appeared cool. "He never did prepare for nothing, early on," Fontana said. "Every time he came onstage he was ready. He never did get really nervous, you know."

Elvis Week will draw about 75,000 fans. Ex-wife Priscilla Presley and daughter Lisa Marie Presley are expected to attend the concert, which will include live musicians playing along with video footage of Elvis singing.

Also in attendance will be songwriter Mike Stoller, who teamed with the late Jerry Leiber to form a songwriting duo that today is enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Stoller appeared at a songwriter's forum at Graceland on Saturday.

Leiber and Stoller wrote an impressive roster of pop, country, R&B and rock 'n' roll classics, including Elvis recordings "Hound Dog," ''Jailhouse Rock," ''Don't" and "Loving You."

Stoller recalls being impressed with Presley's hard work and his manners. When they met, Stoller had to tell Elvis to refer to the songwriters — who were only two years older — as Jerry and Mike, not sir. During the recording of "Jailhouse Rock," Stoller was sure they had nailed it on the ninth take.

"He was already up to take 25, 26, and he kept saying, 'I think I can do it better,'" Stoller said. "Finally he said, 'Where's that one that you liked?' We went back and played it and he said, 'Yeah, that's it, that's cool........When Big Mama Thornton first released "Hound Dog" in 1953, it was a woman's song about a low-class man who was "cryin' all the time."

Her recording was a hit in black communities but hardly known among whites, Stoller said. When Presley sang it, it changed. On the record and in his gyrating performances, the young Elvis portrayed a masculine sexuality that helped turn "Hound Dog" from a woman's song into a man's. He also brought the song to a worldwide audience.

"It still had the same attitude," Stoller said. "I think that's what Elvis liked, that kind of snarly attitude."

The way Stoller found out that "Hound Dog" was a hit is quite remarkable. Stoller was returning from a three-month stay in Europe on the ocean liner Andrea Doria when it collided with the Stockholm and sank near Nantucket, Massachusetts, on July 25, 1956. About 50 people died and more than 1,600 were rescued. Stoller was picked up by a freighter that brought rescued passengers to New York. Leiber met Stoller at the dock. "When I came in and went down the gangplank onto solid ground, he was there at the dock running up and the first thing he said to me was, ' Mike, we got a smash hit,'" Stoller said. "I said, 'You're kidding.' He said, 'Hound Dog.' I said, 'Big Mama Thornton?' He said, 'No, some white kid named Elvis Presley.'"

He then went back to Memphis, teaming up with The Memphis Boys, an accomplished and highly respected band at American Sound Studios, on the albums "From Elvis in Memphis" and "Elvis: Back in Memphis." The Memphis Boys backed Presley on the hits "In the Ghetto" and "Suspicious Minds."

Keyboardist Bobby Wood bonded with Elvis because they were both from Mississippi, were from spiritual families and were lovers of gospel music. Presley was born in Tupelo and Wood grew up in nearby New Albany.

Wood recalls one day when they were sitting in the control room and he complimented Elvis on a diamond and ruby ring he was wearing.

"He just pulled it off and handed it to me. I looked and his name was on the inside of it," Wood said. "I just handed it back to him and he said, 'No, that's yours.'"

Wood refused to take the ring: "I said, 'I'm just here for you, man, I just want to be your friend. You don't need to give me anything.'" (Below: Elvis and the American Sound Studio "The Memphis Boys")

Stories about Presley's generosity abound in his beloved Memphis. Singer-songwriter Andy Childs, a Memphis native, remembers going to Graceland as a child with his father and brother in 1969. There was Elvis, sitting on a horse near the front gate, holding court.

"He smiled a lot, he looked terrific," Childs said. "When I shook his hand, he looked right at me. He made eye contact with people a lot."

When Presley died, Childs said the phone lines in Memphis suddenly became jammed. Residents needed to tell the world that, after struggling with prescription drug abuse, the King was dead.

"You just thought that Elvis Presley was invincible, that he would always be there," Childs said. "It was just a surreal moment. Passing away at 42 is way too darn young to be checking out." (News, Source: Adrian Sainz, Associated Press)

Never mind that it was a Saturday, and Kortz, whose family business is in its 118th year, had no idea of where to find such a stone. Elvis sent word to Kortz through his DPD pal that he had two airplanes waiting for the jeweler at Stapleton Airport, ready to fly to Vail once he procured the black diamond.

After a few phone calls, Kortz finally located the gem through another local jeweler and collector of unusual stones. Nowadays they are made synthetically, but, back then, Kortz notes, black diamonds were not so easy to track down. Tinted dark gray due to inclusions of other minerals, the diamonds are only found naturally in Brazil and the Central African Republic.

Kortz picked up the stone and a gold ring, keeping them separate in case the King didn't like the way the two looked together. He forewent the plane and instead drove to Vail, thinking he would spend a couple days up there skiing anyway and watching the Super Bowl on television. He arrived at Elvis' rental house near Golden Peak and was escorted into The King's bedroom by four or five off-duty officers. Elvis was eating a frozen, Lean Cuisine-type Mexican dinner.

By this time, it was well after midnight. Elvis liked the ring, said he wanted it and instructed Kortz to have the gem set. Another late-night phone call to another jeweler later (this time in Vail) lead to a visit to that jeweler's shop at some ungodly hour to have the stone set, and, finally, The King was satisfied.

"At first, he liked it... and then he didn't... and then he did again," Kortz remembers. "One of the police guys said he liked the ring, so Elvis gave it to him. Then, about an hour later, Elvis decided he liked the ring after all, so he traded it for something else with the cop." The King had a stash of jewelry in his room. No big deal.

But that's not the end of the story. Kortz and the cops returned to the rental house where Elvis was vacationing around 3 a.m., but the singer was hardly ready for bed. "His entertainment for the middle of the night was to go snowmobiling down Vail Mountain," Kortz told a small crowd gathered for Jonny Barber's Memphis kickoff at Nick's Cafe last week. "He had like ten snowmobiles parked in front of his house. So the last view I had of Elvis is him walking right past me in a one-piece snowmobile outfit with a solid gold police badge on it, a face mask, a cigar sticking out of his mouth and his pistol."

Kortz recalls the diamond cost the singer maybe $13,000. When Kortz returned to Denver, he gave each of his employees a few hundred dollars. "I didn't want to be greedy," Kortz says modestly. So where's the ring now? Lost, in all probability, says Kortz. He heard that the gem later fell out of the ring, and that was the end of it.

"Don't blame me though!" he concludes, laughing. "I'm not the guy who set it." (News, Source: Mark Sanders, Denver Westword Blogs)

Concert to benefit Elvis' right-hand man, Joe Esposito, with late wife's medical bills: When Joe Esposito went to work for Elvis Presley in 1960, the two were already friends. They met in the Army, and in the years to come, Esposito would serve as Elvis' road manager, bodyguard and go-to guy. He was the King's best man when the entertainer married Priscilla Beaulieu, and it was Esposito who administered CPR to Elvis on Aug. 16, 1977. He later was a spokesman for the entourage, and remained with the estate, helping catalog the inventory. Since then, he has been a champion of the Elvis legacy, including having written the 2006 memoir, "Remember Elvis." On Tuesday during the 35th anniversary of Elvis Week, friends of the King and Esposito gather in concert to help the person known as Elvis' right-hand man.

In March, Esposito lost his wife of 31 years, Martha, to a particularly brutal form of cancer, and the family's health insurance didn't cover all the expenses of the treatment.

"We did all we could," Esposito said. "And she hung in as much as she could over a year fighting it." But on March 16, with her family present, she died from neoplastic meningitis.

In doing all he could for his wife, Esposito ran through their savings, spending up to $12,000 a month to send her to New York for treatment.

To help get back some of those expenses, friends of Esposito have organized a benefit concert for 3-6 p.m. Tuesday at Handy Park on Beale Street, featuring Tony Orlando, T G Sheppard, Jimi Jamison and Kelly Lang. Several of Elvis' associates are also expected to attend.

The event will be hosted by George Klein, another longtime friend of Elvis and a radio personality from the early days of Memphis rock and roll.

"When Martha passed, Joe told me about his situation," Klein said. "Some of his friends came up with the idea for the fundraiser and he asked me to emcee it. I said sure, and that the fans would be here during Elvis Week and I certainly wanted to help."

Esposito has long been friends with Tony Orlando who agreed to come. Klein contacted Sheppard and Lang, and someone got in touch with Jamison and the talent was soon in place.

"Herb O'Mell, Jerry Williams and I worked to put the show together," Klein said. "Herbie had all these clubs in town and he knows all this stuff, and Jerry managed Paul Revere and the Raiders and the Guilloteens. Esposito, who is 74, met Martha Gallub in New York in 1981. The actress and model was featured in some film and TV shows in the 1980s. They soon married and had a son, Anthony, born in 1985. She died at 66. (News, Source: Jon W. Sparks, Commercial Appeal)

Stella Patchouli outlines her incredible story: Born in Iran, I spent my childhood living exiled in Switzerland with my sister, her Swiss husband and their four children. Instead of attending school, I became their live-in babysitter, cleaning person, and subject to verbal and physical abuse.

Rock ‘n’ roll music, considered a sin by all my closest family members, gave me the courage to break away from the bondage of my cultural heritage and callous living situation, and at age 13, with an Elvis Presley album clenched in one hand, a tiny suitcase in the other, I runs away on a midnight train to Munich. 

Not having enough cash to buy a sandwich, I followed my cabby’s advice and got a job as a nude dancer at the House of Lola Montez, a nightclub. By that time, the Interpol was on the lookout for me, so I managed to leave Munich and get a job at the American embassy in Bad Godesberg…Shortly after, I got laid-off. Terrified, with nowhere to go and no one to turn to, I considered myself lucky when an 'entertainment' agent booked me on a tour in Europe - as a nude dancer in nightclubs –the only way to obtain work permits on a daily, weekly, monthly, whatever basis in some strange country, living alone in scary motels and cheap hotels.

At age 18, the ‘ugly duckling’ finds the courage to audition for the most famous nightclub of the era, the ‘Mecca of the most beautiful women in the world’, the Crazy Horse, Paris. I got lucky again since I was too short to be a chorus girl, but tall enough to be a star! To me, my glass slippers I wore on stage symbolized deliverance from my life as a misfit teenager and a Cinderella on the run...and I became a celebrated star and the darling of the international, high-society nightingales.

On a vacation in Las Vegas I met my childhood Idol, Elvis Presley, and witnessed his tragic demise...

Back in France, the French refused to renew my work-permit. With nowhere to go, I took a plane to destination unknown, woke up in New York, and then LA, California, where all wanderers end up, eventually...
The Iranian revolution ensued, and I applied for a US Green-Card, but not as a refugee…It was approved 20 years later…add another 5 years, and I finally became a very proud US citizen.

My journey here is also a glimpse into various cultures and pop cultures, the Middle-East, Europe, and America as we knew it…

As an Iranian-born woman living in the nude and being ousted by my entire family, I turned shame into pride of a liberated woman. It’s not my love-affairs, or jet-setting with super stars that’s the amazing part of my life. Seeking my independence from men, and ignoring greed by putting honor and freedom FIRST is the gratifying piece of the puzzle that has shown me the way to a happy destiny.. It’s been a long, winding road, and if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a “thang”!

The moral of my story: Life’s journey is amazing if you believe it to be, and most of all – let it be.

Read EIN's review of Tears of A Shadow

(Tears of A Shadow is included as part of Stella's revised memoir, The Runaway Doll.........which is now available from Amazon - see above link)

“Blue Hawaii” Elvis coffee-cup mosaic in Waikiki gets Guinness world record: Staffers at DFS Hawaii  set a new world record last week with a heavily caffeinated creation:  a portrait of Elvis Presley consisting of 5,642 cups of coffee in 10 different shades. The portrait (16 feet wide, 25 feet long) was crafted at DFS Galleria Waikiki on Friday afternoon to celebrate the store’s upcoming Art of Hawaiian Coffee  event, which gets under way next week.    The image of Presley is from his movie star days, during the filming  Blue Hawaii  (1961). At that time, the icon was 25 years old and looking his handsome, alluring best. DFS Hawaii staffers used a digital printout of the image as a guide for the placement of varying shades of coffee. An official adjudicator from GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS observed the mosaic’s construction and verified its status as the world's largest coffee-cup mosaic. The previous record holder in the coffee mosaic category was the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority for The Rocks Aroma Festival in Sydney, Australia in 2009 with 3,604 cups of depicting the Mona Lisa.

Over the weekend, the shimmering  Blue Hawaii  Elvis mosaic gradually clouded and is now no longer on display. Its assembly, however, was recorded for the records book. (News, Source: Maureen O'Connell, Hawaiimagazine.com)

Interview with Elvis Photographer Dagmar: When EIN contributor Arjan Deelen first heard about the Madison Square Garden 40th Anniversary project, he remembered that renowned rock photographer Dagmar had taken photos of Elvis at MSG and that many of them were still unpublished. He duly put her in touch with Ernst Jørgensen, that was back in October 2011. Now that the 'Prince From Another Planet' project is nearing completion, he decided to catch up with her and have a chat with her about this project as well as her photography at other Elvis concerts. Several of her exclusive photos have been optioned for the new SONY release. Go here for this EIN exclusive Interview by Arjan Deelen along with some great and rare Elvis photos by Dagmar. (Interviews, Source;Arjan Deelen/ElvisInfoNetwork)

ELVIS WEEK 2012 - EIN exclusive report DAY 3: ‘C’mon Everybody’ and watch out Memphis because Sanja Meegin, EIN's roving reporter, is back in the Promised Land once again to give us all the inside scoops on Elvis Week 2012. Today Sanja checks out the Graceland Crossing vibe, meets Keith Alverson and hears rare stories about old Blue Eyes! EIN is the only website with these exclusives & daily photo specials - so click here & don't miss these special reports. (Elvis Week 2012, Source:ElvisInfoNet)

'The Elvis Files Volume 1 (1953-1956)': Due for release December 2012 is Erik Lorentzen's fifth volume 'The Elvis Files Volume 1 (1953-1956)'. The book is well underway and we are confident that it will continue the very high standards that the previous volumes in the series have already set ..... and as always it will contain over 500 pages and include many never before published photos. Lorentzen has released a new poster for his next release shown right. It will, yet again, be one you are not going to want to miss! Go HERE for the review and full details of his last release the essential Elvis Files '1969-1970' - and Elvis Files news.         (News, Source;ElvisInfoNetwork)

Elvis Fan Mosaic Prints nearly Sold Out!: EPE have announced that the Elvis fan mosaics are close to selling out and Elvis fans have little time to snag one of the 100 prints still available. In celebration of Elvis Week, an 11 x 11 foot banner of the mosaic print is hanging on the outside wall of the Graceland Ticket Pavilion. Nearly 8,000 Elvis fans from over 30 countries uploaded their photos to be included in the Elvis fan mosaic. The design is also featured on the cover of the recently released "I AM AN ELVIS FAN" CD. Visit www.FanMosaics.com to purchase your copy of this limited-edition print and use your email address to see where your photo fits into the big picture!   (News, Source;EPE/EIN)

'PRESLEYANA VII' Out Soon: Jerry Osborne's Elvis Presley Record, CD & Memorabilia Price Guide Seventh Edition is due out soon. Presleyana VII documents his music and memorabilia in much greater detail than any other book — including all speeds and formats of records, CDs, Tapes, and Non-Recorded Memorabilia. Presleyana VII is completely revised from cover to cover! Speaking of which, even the cover is upgraded, from trade paperback to beautiful hardcover. Included in its 384 pages are MANY never-before published photos — many of them in print for the first time. The ultimate guide for Elvis collectors. Cover price is $39, plus shipping (determined at checkout). Click here for purchase info and a 57-page slide show. ISBN: 0-932117-71-6   (News, JerryOsborne/ElvisInfoNetwork)

The Memphis Boys, B.J. Thomas and Chips Momans: The impact of producer Chips Moman and the Memphis Boys is still being felt 40 years after the closing of American Sound Studio in Memphis. The team recorded over 120 Billboard hit singles during a four-year period [1967 thru 1971], whether pop, R&B, soul, country, gospel, or rock and roll. These guys are as synonymous and crucial to American as Booker T. & the M.G.'s were to Stax and the Funk Brothers became with Motown - writes EIN contributor Jeremy Roberts. Artists such as Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Neil Diamond, and B.J. Thomas recorded landmark songs at American. Of course, Presley is the most glaring example of an artist who significantly rejuvenated his fading career by cutting at the studio. Without Chips and the Memphis Boys, fans would not have "In the Ghetto," "Suspicious Minds", "Don't Cry Daddy" or "Kentucky Rain." But Thomas had perhaps the longest working relationship with the group, recording hundreds of songs over a 40-year

period. Many of his career-defining singles, such as "Eyes of a New York Woman", "Hooked on a Feeling", "I Just Can't Help Believing", and "Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song," feature Moman and the Memphis Boys. Songwriter Mark James ('Suspicious Minds' etc) actually invited the legendary singer to Memphis in late 1967. From the minute Thomas arrived at American and stepped on the studio floor, he felt like they were his band and he was their singer. In his words, "we just fit together perfectly like hand-in-glove." Marty Lacker has been a key contributor to Memphis music for 45 years. When asked to comment on Thomas, Moman, and the Memphis Boys' cultural impact, the former business manager and vice president of American remarked: "B.J. is a really good artist and unlike many of the young artists of today, he can truly sing and do it without all the new studio technology that helps kids now. He was an exceptional fit with Chips and the Memphis Boys. Their innovativeness and creativity is a significant reason why all those artists they cut had big hit records. I think the politics of NYC and L.A. are keeping them out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The folks that vote on those selections don't have a clue about their importance in the history of the music business and their hit records."

ELVIS WEEK 2012, exclusive report - DAY 2: Sanja Meegin, EIN's roving reporter, is back in MEMPHIS and soaking up the atmosphere! But has all the excitement and Margueritas gone to her head?! Today she jumps on a motorbike to head for a day of sunshine and TUPELO!   EIN is the only website with these daily exclusives so click here & don't miss these special reports. (Elvis Week 2012, Source:SanjaMeegin/EIN)

Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special is represented by two songs here – the longing ballad “Memories” and the gospel-tinged “If I Can Dream.” It was the latter that prompted the King to vow he’d never sing another song he didn’t believe in. Presley’s post-comeback period is represented by some of his strongest singles, including “Kentucky Rain” and “Suspicious Minds.” Curiously, “Suspicious Minds” is on the album twice, once as a studio version and once as a live version from Presley’s Aloha From Hawaii TV special. Other seemingly strange moves include showcasing a live version of “Burning Love” from that same show, rather than the arguably superior studio version and the addition of “Guitar Man,” a fine song, but not at the expense of countless other Presley classics.

Starting with the winter holiday in 1968/1969 and ending with the very first real tour of the USA in years at the end of 1970; all that and in between is shown on this very nice DVD. Using movies, home movies, news reels all is supported by the reel voice and music of Elvis Presley. There is a lot to see on this DVD and even for the most hardcore fan  very rare footage is included. Images not everybody will have on their minds on a daily basis.

The home movies are fantastic: especially the images of Elvis on a horse in the summer of 1970 at Graceland. With patience and thought he gives the many fans surrounding him all the attention and autographs. Quite special and very complete footage. Great and insightful to watch is the February 1970 press conference footage. Also on the DVD the colour home movie at American Sound Studio, 1969, the summer holiday at Hawaii from the same year (very complete!) and fantastic amateur footage from the November tour in 1970. Quality of the used footage varies but this compilation is obviously made with care and attention.

A nice bonus is chapter two: here we get a complete as possible concert from August 1970 – after the MGM crew has left Vegas. Clips shot from the audience, supported by audience recordings to give a complete as possible picture. It really does give you the feeling of what it was like to be there in the showroom, even if sometimes the footage appears a little dark.

The concept of this DVD together with the variation in images/footage used with the real music of Elvis makes this DVD highly enjoyable. Much more then the recent JAT releases of ‘Hot Shots & Cool Clips’. (News, Source: Email)

Elvis through the eyes of a friend: I never would consider myself an Elvis fan, but I have known one or two. Oh, I watched some of his movies when the afternoon Big Show would run a week of them back in the day. And I remember hearing him sing “How Great Thou Art” on a cassette tape my grandmother used to play. My first record — not the first one I bought with my own money, but the first one I remember begin given — was a 45 that had “Saturday Night” on one side and “Hound Dog” on the other. I played it often on my Kenner Close’n Play (which, in case you were wondering, was so named because it would play when you closed it). A few years later, I had a friend in elementary school who idolized Elvis. He used to claim he rode a surfboard from Hawaii to Florida, and he learned to play guitar so he could be in Elvis’ band when he grew up. He claimed he was learning judo, too, so he could spar with the King.

(I think I was more interested in the Partridge Family or maybe Bobby Sherman at the time; I wore zipper shirts; forgive me for being a victim of the insidious marketing machine of the 1970s.)

This friend of mine smuggled a cassette recorder into an Elvis concert once and played it for me upon his return; I think he was trying to save me. All I could hear over the thumps and crackle of noise was the shouting and singing along of people close to him, and a weird drone from the distant stage that sometimes reached a crescendo.

I never had been to a real concert at the time, and I didn’t get it.

This friend was pretty heartbroken in the summer of 1977, when we were both 13 and Elvis no longer would have birthdays. He (or his parents) bought all the newspapers, magazines and commemorative books about Elvis issued that autumn.

(I was by then more often imagining a time “long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away,” rather than the problems of the real world. My purchases were more often sci-fi related. Upon reflection, it’s amazing that we had anything in common.)

He brought some of these books to school, and we poured over them when I would visit his home. He wanted to be a writer at the time. He would send jokes and vignettes to Readers Digest, trying to “break in,” and I remember him writing about Elvis.

I thought I wanted to be a writer, too.

Years passed, and Elvis never really went away. My friend, though — he’s long gone now, and any time I think about Elvis I invariably think of him, too. I hope they are playing guitars together somewhere. I hope they are sparring and surfing and driving race cars and riding horses.

I hope that, wherever they are, my friend is writing all this down, or at least smuggled in a tape recorder so he can play it for me later.  Peace.  (News, Source: Tony Simmons, Panama City, newsherald.com)

Elvis Birthplace to showcase expansion to fans: The Elvis Presley Birthplace officially unveils its $4.3 million expansion today at 10:45 a.m. The ceremony will be on the east side in the new outdoor amphitheater. Workers on Wednesday laid sod on the seating levels and spruced up the area for the hundreds of expected tourists.

The 120-seat theater is a prominent part of the expansion. Guyton anticipates its use for movie screenings and live performances. Currently, Elvis tribute artist performances are not permitted on the grounds, but Guyton hinted that the Elvis Presley Memorial Foundation board may permit some flexibility to the policy. The theater also is available to the public for renting. The theater is housed in a new event building, which includes new bathrooms, display space, a conference room, an exhibit hall, a green room for entertainers, administrative offices and a smaller party area. Outside, it joins up with a 75-seat amphitheater and a patio with picnic space.

The Top 20 Elvis Songs: Dennis Miller is the author of One Woman's Vengeance, featuring the toughest female character in fiction. Dennis said: I grew up in the '50s listening to Elvis. As a musician, I played Elvis songs. On my weekend radio program I had a regular Elvis spotlight. I know Elvis' music. But then, so does everybody, of all ages. On the 35th anniversary of his death I decided to round up the top 10 Elvis songs. I called upon my Graceland Irregulars (okay, Facebook friends) and was overwhelmed. He was so influential in our culture for two decades, that I wound up with the Top 20 Elvis songs.

There are three stages of Elvis, each combines music and image.

There's the '50s Elvis, the rebellious hip-swinging sultry sex symbol, the likes of which no one
had ever seen before. The '60s Elvis starred in cookie-cutter mediocre movies (with a few exceptions). The 1968 black leather Elvis morphed quickly into the '70s, cape-wearing,Vegas showman and uncontested King of Rock 'n' Roll.

From Ed Sullivan to Hollywood to Vegas, Elvis changed his image and his music and created an indelible icon stamp at each stage. No one in the history of music had ever done this and probably won't again.

Here's the Top 10 from his early years:

"Heartbreak Hotel," 1955. He took a good song and made it great, moving from an anguished scream to a cellar low "I get so lonely I could die," creating both musical and visual moods that are still fresh.

"Blue Suede Shoes," 1955. Driven by his energy on stage and in the studio, Elvis turned silly songs into cultural dictates, unleashing the pent-up feelings of '50s teens (and scaring the hell out of adults who smashed his records).

"Don't Be Cruel," 1955. Listed as No. 197 in the Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and again is a masterful play between beseeching apology and masculine declaration. Summary: Sorry I made you mad. Let's get married.

"Hound Dog," 1955. Elvis took Big Mama Thornton's steamy, female sex dictum and turned it into a larynx-ripping call to rock. Children sang it and still do.

"Love Me Tender," 1956. Just Elvis and guitar, displaying an nuanced display of gentle strength and pledge of love. The timeless ballad is a masterpiece in simplicity and, well, tenderness. "All Shook Up," 1956. The phrase entered young society's vocabulary while giving Elvis an overt reason continue honing sexy moves. (A friend told me that her teacher told her class that she experienced her first orgasm at an Elvis concert.)

"Jailhouse Rock," 1957. The driving two-chord slide and solo drum paved the way for power chord songs of the '60s and '70s.

"Are You Lonesome Tonight," 1960. It's a masterwork of desolation, loneliness and rumination and if you truly listen to it and feel it, you will cry, because we've all felt this way at some point in our lives.

"It's Now or Never," 1960.His biggest selling song ever is based on the "Oh Solo Mio" tune. It's the ultimate seduction song. The singer comes on with the statement "It's now or never," and moves from manly determination to a soft plea, ending with a soaring cry of primordial masculinity: "My love won't wait." Elvis' masterful inflections encapsulate a mating game that every man has performed for centuries.

"Viva Las Vegas." Elvis did 31 movies, from mediocre to vacuous, but the 1964 "Viva" captures the energy, abandon and glitz of the city that rejected Elvis, until he came back and took it over. (Note the pre-Michael Jackson moonwalk steps.)

Elvis' Top 20 Songs Part 2: The British Invasion and mediocre movies sucked Elvis into a slump for most of the '60s. His 1968 Comeback Special blasted a path out of the limbo. It was a short step to Las Vegas where, with spectacular costumes and lavish musical arrangements, Elvis became Las Vegas. With the production of Aloha from Hawaii in 1973, he conquered the world and stayed there until his death on August 16, 1977.   Here are my top 10 picks from this period:

"Suspicious Minds" marked the solidification of his return to the masses. Elvis starts the 1969 song about a dysfunctional relationship in a normal tone and gradually whips it into a frenzy, especially in his Vegas stage shows. Love, jealousy and suspicion were never so circular or exhausting. But millions related.

"In The Ghetto," 1969, was a gamble. He didn't need to do a social commentary song. In the hands of lesser voices, "Ghetto" would have been just another protest song. His voice create a mini movie in which you hear and see the unending cycle of poverty and the constant image of "and his mama cries... " Elvis' voice gave voice to the urban impoverished.

"Kentucky Rain," 1970. Ronnie Milsap provided the thunderous piano as Elvis brought to life the bleak desperation of a man searching for his wayward lover.

"Bridge Over Troubled Water," 1970. From Simon and Garfunkle it is a quiet reassurance. From Elvis it's a powerful declaration from the soul.

"American Trilogy," Elvis is in top physical and vocal form. The musical arrangement and his voice work together with subtlety, wistfulness and power as the ultimate Song of the South. It sends chills up my spine even after 50 viewings.

"How Great Thou Art," 1968. Elvis, a musical pioneer on many fronts, only won a Grammy for his gospel songs. He grew up on gospel, felt it, and this was probably his crowning gospel achievement.

"Blue Christmas" 1964 must be on the list because Elvis boldly jams a blues element into this 1948 number, but it's infused the holiday culture to the point where I want to ram a an icicle through my ear. But I'm inserting "It Won't Seem Like Christmas Without You." The loss of his mother in 1958 was a trauma that never healed and one has to believe when he delivers the lines "the holly's so pretty this year" and "I'll see you tonight in my dreams," that he was giving voice to this lifelong ache and loss. Listen close and you will cry, because this thought, this feeling is in everyone's experience.

"Can't Help Falling in Love With You" was part of the 1961 Blue Hawaii soundtrack. Elvis pulled it into the '70s, with a more fully encompassing chorus and orchestra, ending is stage shows with it. Who can resist: "Take my hand, take my whole life, too/for I can't help falling in love with you."? Especially from a guy who spreads his cape at the end.

"Burning Love," 1972. It outdoes Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" for describing the heat of love. "Hunka hunka burnin' love" is part of our musical vocabulary.

"A Little Less Conversation," underscores The King's timelessness. The song first appeared in the 1968 film Live A Little, Love A Little. Junkie XL's remix in 2002 topped the singles charts in nine countries. This demand for less talk and more sexual action, has appeared in eight films and four TV shows.

In 2000, TV Guide named Elvis "Entertainer of the Century."

Like Mark Twain, Elvis, of poor, rural Southern beginnings, combined genius, lifestyle, clothing, and mannerisms to create a voice, image and body of work that are both immortal and uniquely American. (News, Source: Dennis Miller)

Shakespeare meets Elvis: Some people’s idea of a night out is to take in a play by Shakespeare. Others veer more toward rock ’n’ roll. “All Shook Up,” which debuts Tuesday at the North Shore Music Theatre, starring Joyce DeWitt of television’s “Three’s Company,” should make all kinds of audiences happy, as it draws from both types of performance to create a unique evening of musical theater. The story is based loosely on Shakespeare’s comedy “Twelfth Night,” in which all the main characters are in love — just not with each other. At the same time, all the music in the show is by Elvis Presley and includes many of his greatest hits, along with a few lesser-known songs by the King of Rock ’n’ Roll. “It is set to the music of Elvis, but it’s not about Elvis,” said Mark Ceceri, director of marketing at North Shore Music Theatre. “It’s a ’50s, fun, upbeat musical; it plays true to that style of the ’50s and ’60s.” The action begins when a daring, handsome stranger named Chad rides into town on a motorcycle, just like Marlon Brando in “The Wild One,” and sets local hearts aflutter.

The plot he puts in motion may remind audiences of another movie, “Footloose,” in which a town preacher has outlawed dancing and rock ’n’ roll, causing teenagers to rebel.

“It’s very ‘Footloose,’ almost the same exact theme,” said Bill Hanney, owner and producer of the North Shore Music Theatre. “No fun, no dancing, no rock ’n’ roll.”

But instead of a male preacher, this backward town is glared over by a mayor, Matilda Hyde, played by DeWitt.

The actress is best-known for playing the plain but thoughtful roommate to Suzanne Somers’ ditzy blond bombshell in the hit ABC sitcom from the ’70s and ’80s.

But here, rather than a mousy, good-hearted soul, DeWitt puts fire and brimstone into Presley’s song “(You’re the) Devil in Disguise” in the play’s second act.

“She started in theater before ‘Three’s Company,’” Ceceri said, “and recently did an off-Broadway show called ‘Miss Abigail.’ Last year was her first foray back into higher-visibility theater.”

Chad, her nemesis, is played by Ryan Overberg, who will be a senior at The Boston Conservatory this year and has appeared in other local productions, including a recent “Bye Bye Birdie” at the Reagle Music Theatre. If the show gets its plot from the romantic mismatches that drive Shakespeare’s play, it also elaborates on some of his subversive themes. “Twelfth Night” relies heavily on the gender confusion created by women disguised as men, a ruse that is also employed by several women in “All Shook Up.” The musical is also concerned with social boundaries that are erected around racial identities in the play’s mythical, Midwestern town in the 1950s. And just as it creatively tweaks its source in Elizabethan theater, “All Shook Up” also offers some unique takes on the songs of Elvis. “You don’t need to love Elvis to love this show,” Ceceri said. “It’s not like going to an Elvis concert. They’ve rearranged the songs to be more theatrical and move the plot. That was one of the most creative parts of the Broadway show ... the fantastic arrangements.”

“All Shook Up,” which first appeared on Broadway in 2005, was written by Joe DiPietro, whose career in the theater has been diverse as the sources he draws on for material.

“He was the author of the show ‘Memphis’ that premiered at North Shore MusiIn addition, DiPietro wrote the musical comedy “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” which is off-Broadway’s longest-running musical. c Theatre in 2003,” Ceceri said.

“He also wrote the Red Sox version of ‘Damn Yankees’ that we premiered back in 2006,” Ceceri said. “Joe writes a lot of different types of shows.” (Show Review, Source: Will Broaddus, The Salem News)

Ryan Overberg makes his North Shore Music Theatre debut as Chad in "All Shook Up."

'God is Bigger than Elvis' DVD: Here is the DVD cover artwork for the film featuring Dolores Hart. (News, Source: Elvis News / Elvisdaybyday) See EIN's Celluloid Elvis page for more information

In Elvis-esque experiment, economists use ‘Return to Sender’ to gauge government efficiency: A half century after Elvis Presley had a hit with “Return to Sender,” a Dartmouth College professor and three other economists have used the same idea to rate the efficiency of the world’s governments. Rafael LaPorta and three economists at other universities mailed letters to nonexistent businesses in 159 countries — two letters to each country’s five biggest cities — and waited a year to see which were sent back to the college’s Tuck School of Business in Hanover.

“If I tell you the government of Nigeria doesn’t work so well, people will often not be surprised, because we know Nigeria is a fairly corrupt country,” he said. “What we wanted to do is examine the behavior of government in an environment where corruption is not an issue at all. I’m sending a letter from the U.S., and there’s nothing the person in Nigeria can get out of me. So it’s a plain letter, there’s no monetary value, and there’s nothing to be gained by not performing the service.”

After a year, 59 percent of the letters were returned, though only 35 percent came back within three months. Only four countries sent all 10 letters back within 90 days: the United States, El Salvador, Czech Republic and Luxembourg. Sixteen countries returned no letters, including Tajikistan, Cambodia, Russia and several in Africa.

For high-income countries, nearly 85 percent of the letters were returned, while less than a third of the letters sent to low-income countries came back. More letters came back, and faster, from highly educated countries.

The results suggest that governments in developing countries suffer from the same inefficiencies as the private sector, including inferior “inputs” (human and physical capital and technology) and mismanagement, the economists wrote in a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper.

While that finding was not surprising, “it is still important to recognize that not all bad government is caused by politics,” wrote the group, which also included Alberto Chong of the University of Ottawa, Andrei Shleifer of Harvard University and Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes of EDHEC Business School in France.

All the letters went to countries that subscribe to the Universal Postal Union, which requires that incorrectly addressed mail be returned within a month. Each addressee was a common name in the country. A variety of fake business names were used, such as Computer Management Professionals or Inventory Technology Partners, and names of Nobel laureates in Economics and famous composers were used as street names. Under the address was a notation “Please Return to Sender if Undeliverable.”

As for Elvis, La Porta said he did watch “Girls! Girls! Girls!,” the 1962 movie that featured “Return to Sender,” during his experiment.

“A research assistant pointed us towards this piece of Americana,” he said. “It’s a very good video — Elvis at his peak.”  (News, Source: washingtonpost.com/AAP)

1 Jailhouse Rock 2 Blue Suede Shoes 3 All Shook Up 4 Heartbreak Hotel 5 Return To Sender 6 (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear 7 Don’t Be Cruel 8 Love Me Tender 9 (You're The) Devil In Disguise 10 Suspicious Minds 11 In The Ghetto 12 Always On My Mind 13 Can't Help Falling In Love 14 Blue Hawaii 15 Are You Lonesome Tonight? 16 The Wonder Of You 17 Kentucky Rain 18 Don't Cry Daddy 19 Hawaiian Wedding Song (Live) 20 Crying In The Chapel 21 How Great Thou Art 22 An American Trilogy (Live) (artwork shown is US edition)

Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977 and the 35th anniversary of The King’s death arrives this coming week.  GLOBE Print Edition, August 20th gives readers an amazing retrospective on the most important and influential popular entertainer of all time.  But GLOBE doesn’t limit themselves to reminding us about how great Elvis was, they explore in detail how great he would continue to be had he lived.

We learn all about what Elvis would be up to today.  GLOBE presents the insights and opinions of the people who knew Elvis best to develop a convincing portrait of Elvis Presley at 77 years of age – Elvis as a senior citizen!  The King’s stepmom, Dee Presley, gave an exclusive interview to GLOBE in which she reveals never-before-heard secrets about Elvis.  Dee reveals exactly how Elvis was in the process of turning around his life and cleaning up.  She goes into detail on what Elvis would look like today and GLOBE’s skilled technical staff have produced a convincing computer generated portrait of The King at 77.

This GLOBE article was a revelation to me.  As I read all about The King and looked at his very realistic computer generated portrait I could easily imagine that Elvis was alive and thriving today.  GLOBE provides both a wonderfully nostalgic trip down memory lane and a vivid look at what Elvis Presley’s life would be today.  Every Elvis fan needs to read this week’s GLOBE – and any of you too young to remember how great he was can take this opportunity to learn all about why Elvis Presley will forever be called The King. (News, Source: The Globe)

Remembering The King - one fan's 'sole filled' pilgrimage to Elvis Week: Stepping out in Memphis takes a lot of shoes — 15 pairs, including silver, shiny ones and some classic blue suedes. When Anita Bass-White packed for her trip to Elvis Week, she filled one piece of luggage with shoes and another with clothing. The blue suede shoes were too small for her, but she was gifting them to her best friend since kindergarten, and fellow Elvis fan, Denise Lambert.

On Monday afternoon, Bass-White, who is from Gainesville but has lived in the Ocala area for 10 years, had just picked up Lambert, of Gainesville, and the two were driving onto Interstate 75 headed for a two-week vacation filled with all things Elvis — and all things Elvis Tribute Artist.

As a prelude to Elvis Week, from Friday through Aug. 18, the ladies were northbound for the Nashville to Memphis Festival, which took place in the Music City from Tuesday through Thursday with more than 25 Elvis tribute artists from around the world performing at venues such as the historic Ryman Auditorium.

"We're going honky-tonking," said Bass-White with a deep laugh on Monday.

On Friday, she and Lambert planned to meet up with people they had met on Elvis cruises and then head west to Memphis for Elvis Week.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley on Aug. 16, 1977. Even in death, "The King" remains larger than life, with a continual stream of new offerings that attract new fans and give longtime enthusiasts something to look forward to, such as a pair of hour-long performances from Elvis' four sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in June 1972. The title, "Prince From Another Planet: 40th Anniversary Edition," is from a New York Times headline that accompanied its rave review of the shows. The set will be available in late October.

Elvis is even going 4-D. EPE and The Juice Brand Limited debuted the animated film "Elvis Rocks" in June at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions in Hong Kong. The movie combines a 3-D film with synchronized effects in the theatre such as air jets, scents, rain, wind, bubbles, strobe lights and vibrations. Fans at Elvis Week will get a sneak peek of the film.

Famed comic book writer Stan Lee is even getting in on the action. Liquid Comics is releasing a short story about Elvis that was written by Lee, cocreator of superheroes such as Spider-Man and Iron Man. The story was created as part of a collector's anthology, "Graphic Elvis."

Heck, there's even a new "Elvis Blue Hawaii" Mr. Potato Head.

During Elvis Week, thousands of people from all over the world will gather at Presley's beloved Graceland mansion — at the heart of the sprawling Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. complex — for a week of concerts, conversations, sock hops, movie screenings, tours and autograph signings with authors and entertainers at a specially built Main Stage Entertainment Pavilion erected in the shadow of the Lisa Marie and Hound Dog airplanes.

One of those will be Jose Feliciano (shown opposite). The eight-time Grammy winner has a new album, "The King ... by Jose Feliciano," on which he sings 12 hand-picked Elvis songs and plays all the instruments and does background vocals. Also on the list of luminaries are Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie and his former wife Priscilla Presley. They each will talk with fans during "Conversations" sessions on the main stage and will be on stage Thursday at the FedEx Forum for a concert that pairs Elvis doing vocals via video with his longtime band members and backup singers live on stage.

The annual candlelight vigil begins at 9 p.m. Wednesday and can be watched online. Fans bearing lighted candles will make their way through the music note gates and up the driveway at Graceland, wrapping in a shining line into the Meditation Garden where Elvis and other members of his family are buried. All the candles lighted — thousands and thousands by the time the vigil ends in the early morning hours of Aug. 16 — will have been ignited from the eternal flame at the head of Elvis' resting place. And while this event is a tender remembrance of a tender man, the rest of the week is a rollicking good time that Elvis himself would have embraced with enthusiasm.

Included in the extensive event listings are several rounds of the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist contest, which will include David Lee, who won the Fill the Blue Suede Shoes Ultimate ETA Contest held earlier this year at the Circle Square Cultural Center in Ocala.

And being able to cozy up to all those highly approachable Elvis tribute artists is a big reason why Bass-White and Lambert are spending two weeks of vacation time and piles of money on their adventure.

"I am both an Elvis fan and an ETA fan. I grew up knowing of Elvis, but I have loved him more since my first ETA/Elvis cruise. I now appreciate more of his music," Bass-White said. "I appreciate the dedication the ETA entertainers put into keeping it authentic," Lambert added. "This is a fun, girl's trip," Bass-White said. "I'm looking forward to seeing the people I have met through Elvis. We're meeting one couple, sisters, from England. I can't wait." She said what attracted her to Elvis was "his voice and his lips. He was such a special man. He touched a lot of people." When asked why she found Elvis attractive, Lambert responded: "Who wouldn't?" As for remaining a fan long after Elvis died, Lambert said, "His music is classic, spanning many generations." (News, Source: Susan Smiley-Height, Ocala.com)

ELVIS WEEK 2012 - EIN exclusive report: ‘C’mon Everybody’ and watch out Memphis because Sanja Meegin, EIN's roving reporter, is back in the Promised Land once again to give us all the inside scoops on Elvis Week 2012. Sanja arrived hot from LA, warmed up on Beale Street and then checked out the calm-before-the-storm, even seeing Elvis LIVE at the baseball! EIN is the only website with these exclusives & daily photo specials - so click here & don't miss these special reports. (Elvis Week 2012, Source:ElvisInformationNetwork)

Elvis Week 2012 Kicks Off as thousands of Fans arrive: Each August, thousands of Elvis Presley fans make their annual pilgrimage to Graceland to pay homage to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. But this year – being the 35th anniversary of Presley’s death and the 30th anniversary of Graceland being open to the public – will be one for the record books. More than 25 events are scheduled for Elvis Week, an eight-day celebration from Friday, Aug. 10, through Saturday, Aug. 18, that includes concerts, movie screenings, panel discussions, autograph sessions, sporting events and an art exhibition. “It’s just going to be Elvis Week on steroids per say,” said Kevin Kern, director of public relations for EPE. “There’s a lot of folks coming in from around the world who come in on these anniversaries ending with a five or a zero, and 2012, as the 35th, is going to be very big.” Graceland averages 600,000 visitors annually, and this summer expects its 18 millionth guest since opening its doors June 7, 1982. “As far as was it going to be successful, nobody knew the answer,” Kern said. “To be honest, they thought they might have two, three years of tours and that would be it. But here 30 years later, we’ve become a tourism staple and it was the birth of a new industry in the city as tourism.” Graceland is Memphis’ top out-of-town tourist attraction next to the Beale Street Entertainment District. But virtually all of Graceland’s attendees travel from 500 miles away or more, said Regena Bearden, VP of marketing.

“Memphis’ culture is all about music. Anyone that knows about Memphis certainly knows that,” Bearden said. “Graceland and Elvis Presley being the superstar that he was, and actually still is, helped us get a lot of advantages that started that music destination revolution for us.” In 2007, for the 25th anniversary, Graceland saw about 75,000 visitors. EPE expects that same magnitude of people this year, if not more. “We do have repeat customers, but we also have a lot of new folks who do come to Elvis Week each year,” Kern said. “We have a lot of international folks coming in – around 2,000 from the United Kingdom alone is what we’re hearing and expecting based on tour operators out of the U.K.” While every Elvis Week is filled with traditions like the annual Elvis Presley 5K Run and candlelight vigil that winds through Graceland’s Meditation Garden, EPE also promises new events each year to make the experience unique for first-timers and returning fans alike.

Lisa Marie Presley goes from Elvis Week to Grand Ole Opry: Lisa Marie Presley is a very busy woman these days. The only child of Elvis and Priscilla, is busy promoting her new CD "Storm and Grace," but she also will make an appearance in Memphis for Elvis Week 2012. She wil also make her Grand Ole Opry debut on Aug. 21. A daunting task for any performer, but with her pedigree, it takes on a greater meaning, perhaps. Elvis made his only appearance on the Opry stage, Oct. 2, 1954, He performed "Blue Moon of Kentucky," and that appearance has become legendary. Lisa Marie and Priscilla will also make a joint appearance on "The Today Show" and "Entertainment Tonight" on Aug. 16 for an exclusive interview. As for the Graceland appearance. "We are excited to announce Lisa

'G.I.Blues Vol.1' FTD Soundtrack - CD review: The long-awaited first volume of G.I. BLUES material in the FTD expanded soundtrack series. G.I. Blues was Elvis' fifth film and his first after returning from the US Army. Elvis was discharged from active duty in early March 1960 and began work on 'G.I. Blues' soon after on April 21st. Now 52 years later, FTD release 'G.I Blues Volume 1' and with its new sparkling audio it is a veritable smorgasbord of delights. Whether it's Elvis’ swaggering Dean Martin impression on ‘What’s She Really Like’, numerous infectious takes of ‘Shoppin Around’, the thrill-a-minute frenetic train-ride of ‘Frankfort Special’ or the overall Bavarian flavour, this release marches to an altogether different beat. Go here as David Tinson and EIN's Piers Beagley provide an in-depth combined review as to why this classic soundtrack might be worth buying one more time. (FTD REviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)

Elvis Week concert promises to be 'best of the anniversary shows': Producer Stig Edgren never loses his sense of wonder at the power of Elvis. The impresario has staged massive events for popes and presidents, from Yankee Stadium to L.A.'s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to the Royal Albert Hall. But he still gets a huge charge out of producing and watching fan reaction to the Elvis multimedia concerts that have, since 1997, come as close as possible to getting the fabled entertainer back on stage. On Aug. 16, the Elvis 35th Anniversary Concert will be held at FedExForum, the latest in the series of extravaganzas Edgren has produced for EPE. "We're looking to knock it out again," he says. The star of the event is Elvis projected on video screens, but only those images and his voice are recorded. Everything else is live, and that includes a cast of singers and instrumentalists, many of whom worked with the entertainer over the years. Those include drummer D.J. Fontana, music director Joe Guercio, TCB Band members James Burton and Glen Hardin, bassist/producer Norbert Putnam, The Sweet Inspirations, and former members of J.D. Sumner and the Stamps, The Imperials and The Dempseys. Priscilla Presley will narrate and Lisa Marie Presley will be on hand to deliver a surprise to the audience. In the 1997 show, the highlight was a duet with Lisa Marie and her late father on the video montage "Daddy, Please Don't Cry." Ten years later she did a similar duet on "In the Ghetto."

Elvis co-star recalls first kiss & Elvis meeting Brando: As Presley's sister in 1958's "King Creole," actress Jan Shepard said, Elvis "holds my face in his hands and kisses me -- near the mouth, but on the cheek." The peck was chaste, but memorable. Shepard, who appeared in close to 500 movies and TV shows from the 1950s through the 1970s, never got to play Elvis' love interest, on- or offscreen. "I was married, so there was no hanky-panky," she explained. Pretend matrimony also was part of her Presley experience. After playing Presley's sister in "King Creole," Shepard was cast as a married women in her second and final Elvis movie, 1966's "Paradise, Hawaiian Style." Asked if Elvis changed much in the eight years between the purposeful "Creole" (directed by "Casablanca" helmer Michael Curtiz) and the formulaic "Paradise," Shepard answered: "Totally." "When I first worked with him, he was such a kid, and such a teddy bear, and such a sweetheart," she said. "He really loved being around people. On 'King Creole,' he would never be in his dressing room, he would be out with the extras, playing his guitar, and just laughing and scratching. When I saw him again years later, he had changed a lot. He was much more a loner, much more 'go to the dressing room after every shot.' With me he was the same, because I had played his sister before, and we really bonded, but he was different. The boys who were with him on 'Creole' were fun-loving and mischievous, but later they seemed more like bodyguards."

Rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson performs at Elvis Week: On Sunday, August 12, at 7pm Wanda Jackson will be performing at the Hi-Tone Cafe on Poplar Avenue. Singer/songwriter Shane Tutmarc, along with the Sultana, a folk indie rock band from Memphis, will be the opening acts. Tickets are between $20 and $25 and can be purchased online or in-person. If you are a fan of early Elvis, definitely make plans to attend Ms. Jackson's show at the Hi-Tone Cafe, as she performs several Elvis covers. She is one of the final embryonic links to '50s rock and roll. And don't forget to say hello to Earl Poole Ball, Ms. Jackson's pianist. He performed on stage and on record with the legendary Johnny Cash for over 20 years, first joining Cash during the July 1975 album sessions for Look At Them Beans. On the following Monday, August 13, the Rockabilly Queen will be a very special guest during the Elvis Insiders Conference at Graceland. Ms. Jackson will be interviewed by host Tom Brown about her relationship with the late King of Rock and Roll. Look here for more info & to purchase tickets to the concert (News, Source;JeremyRoberts/ElvisInfoNet)

Tupelo Elvis Fest posts $68,000 profit: The organizers of the Tupelo Elvis Presley Festival on Tuesday said the 2012 event made about $68,200. "It's a very good figure," said treasurer Paul Mize Jr. "We stepped it up. We made money on the Elvis Fest and got people downtown." The festival made about $70,000 last year, as well. Past President Jim Goodwin last year campaigned to increase the entertainment budget to get bigger names on the stage. This year, Paul Thorn headlined Friday night in Fairpark and country act Little Big Town headlined Saturday night. The bigger entertainment acts, combined with the unusually mild June weather, paid off. "We increased attendance 80 percent," Goodwin said. "We spent more to get there. We wanted to get people downtown. I think it's mission accomplished." The board plans to continue with bigger entertainment acts. At its board retreat July 27, members voted to increase the Elvis Fest entertainment budget to $90,000. (News, Source;DailyJournal/ElvisInfoNet)

Elvis Week special Heritage Auction: Fans of the late, great Elvis Presley will have a unique chance to acquire a piece of The King, 35 years after his death – including an Elvis Presley 1954 Eagles Nest original hand-painted concert poster, Memphis TN (estimate: $30,000+), from the beginning of his career – when Heritage Auctions’ presents its second Ultimate Elvis Signature® Auction on Tuesday, Aug. 14, at The Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN. "Elvis remains one of the most popular and durable figures in American Pop Culture," said Margaret Barrett, Director of Entertainment & Music Memorabilia at Heritage Auctions. "This auction, our second event totally dedicated to Elvis, is a celebration of his amazing life and legacy. From autographs and signed documents, rare concert posters and photos, personally owned jewelry and clothing, recordings and a variety of memorabilia, fans of Elvis will all have an opportunity to bid on their favorite pieces." Elvis collectors and aficionados alike will have a chance to preview the 300+ Elvis artifacts on display at the famous Peabody Hotel on Sunday (3 p.m. - 9 p.m.), Monday (9 a.m. - 8 p.m.) and Tuesday (9 a.m. to 12 noon), Aug. 12-14, before the auction. Early Elvis promotional material, in the form of concert posters and programs, has already been creating significant buzz amongst collectors with the top of this grouping coming in the form of the aforementioned Elvis Presley 1954 Eagles Nest original hand-painted concert poster, Memphis TN (estimate: $30,000+), rendered on a black poster board and hand-lettered in red and

white gouache paint. It was made for Elvis’ Dec. 10, 1954 gig at the Eagles Nest, the nightclub located on Highway 78, outside of Memphis (though it was likely painted by a local artist). Elvis had been performing at this club since August of that year, with much success. An Elvis Presley concert poster from Feb. 6, 1955 (estimate: $7,000+), is one of the most important and intriguing pieces of Elvis memorabilia to ever come to the auction block. Elvis had just released his third Sun single, "You're A Heartbreaker"/"Milkcow Blues Boogie" and was causing a stir regionally, landing on the bill of this big Country concert. One more important piece of promotional material, and one of the most interesting lots in the entire auction is an Elvis signed Big D Jamboree Program from Dallas’s now-defunct Sportatorium in 1955 (estimate: $5,000+), which took place just as Elvis was starting to become a national phenomenon. This is the only known copy of this program to surface. "Elvis was just one of more than a dozen acts on the bill on Sept. 3, 1955," said Steele. "Elvis, not yet 21, took the stage during three slots. At the time it was a highlight of Elvis' young career – as it turned out, it was a historic event for the venerable Big D Jamboree, which would become a nationally broadcast radio program the following year." Presley’s stage worn gold coin and diamond ring (estimate: $35,000+), an 1853 two & a half dollar gold coin surrounded by tiny diamonds, can be seen on

Elvis' finger in the 1970 documentary film, Elvis: That's the Way it Is and is complemented in the event by several other pieces of Elvis jewelry, including: - Elvis’ personally owned and worn gold and citrine ring (estimate: $8,000+), given to his girlfriend, Linda Thompson, in the 1970s and kept by her until the mid-1980s; Elvis’ Rubellite Ring, 1970s (estimate: $8,000+), also given to Thompson; Elvis’ Turquoise and Silver Bracelet (estimate: $6,000+), consisting of four large pieces of turquoise mounted on a sterling silver bracelet and worn by him on several occasions before giving it to Dennis Roberts, the optician who designed many of the King's distinctive eyeglasses and Elvis’ Tiger Eye Ring (estimate: $5,000+), owned and worn by Presley, and given to Claude Thompson, a choreographer who had worked on Elvis' 1968 Comeback television special. • Elvis Presley Signed Humes High School Library Card (1948): May be the oldest "autograph" of the King Heritage has ever offered. Just months after his family had moved to Memphis from Tupelo, Miss., the 13 year-old Elvis checked out a copy of The Courageous Heart: A Life of Andrew Jackson For Young Readers. The card was discovered years later by a Humes High librarian while clearing some old books from inventory. Offered with a copy of the book. Estimate: $4,000+. • Elvis Presley – Sealed Copy of Elvis' First Album (RCA LPM-1254, 1956): Elvis first single for RCA, The eponymous first album didn't include that classic hit; Estimate: $3,000+. Go HERE to Check out the auction and check out all the goodies! (News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)

Best selling author, W.A. (Allen) Harbinson, talks to EIN: Allen Harbinson is no stranger to the Elvis world. His various books about Elvis have sold well over 1 million copies and are highly regarded by many fans. A best selling author about not only Elvis, but also in the fields of UFOlogy, celebrity biography, war and fiction, Allen's latest book, Iconic Voices, has Elvis as one of five icons who Allen inhabits to provide a thought provoking and very funny record of social events in the second half of the 20th century. In one of the most fascinating interviews EIN has ever conducted, Allen discusses his colorful life from his working class roots in Northern Ireland to his time in the RAAF in Australia; working in a senior position for one of the biggest mens magazine publishing houses in Britain (see warning below); a guy named Elvis including the surprising person who taught him some of his on-stage moves; his period as a best selling author in the field of UFOs and writer of celebrity biographies; the truth about Evita Peron; plus quantum theory and a lot more! Read Allen's interview Warning: This interview contains information, humor and nudity!

Sand Castles: FIESA is a mega exhibition of sand sculptures held in Portugal in Pêra ( Algarve) every year. Each new edition is dedicated to a different theme. Idols are the theme of this year, a tribute to various characters admired and praised by our society. Carved in sand visitors will find icons of sports, from the movies, from music, fashion, politics and religion. This year visitors can find an Elvis sand sculpture in the exhibition which will be open until October 25th. (News, Source: Elvis News / Burning Love)

Back in the Desert: Showroom's next release will be titled Back In The Desert. This show was recorded live from the audience during the midnight show of February 22, 1973, in the showroom of the Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, NV. The disc will be accompained by a wonderful 12 page booklet. Tracklist:

1 Also sprach Zarathustra 1:01
2 See See Rider 3:15
3 I Got a Woman /Amen 2:52
4 Love Me Tender 2:44
5 You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me 1:55
6 Steamroller Blues 2:33
7 You Gave Me a Mountain 3:08
8 Fever 4:11
9 Love Me 1:46
10 Blue Suede Shoes 1:08
11 I’m Leavin’ 3:17
12 Hound Dog 1:26
13 What Now My Love 3:02
14 Suspicious Minds 4:15
15 Band Introductions 1:59
16 I’ll Remember You 2:38
17 I Can’t Stop Loving You 2:27
18 An American Trilogy 5:20
19 Can’t Help Falling In Love (News, Source: Elvis News)

50+ Years with Elvis.....Betty Harper: Though Memphis has borne many a monarch - Jerry Lawler and B.B. just to name two- the indisputable King will always be Elvis. And in observance of the 35th anniversary of his death, Center for Southern Folklore honors The King of Rock and Roll with 50+ Years With Elvis, an exhibit of the works from ‘Elvis Artist’ Betty Harper from August 1-October 19, 2012. More than 100 pieces of Betty Harper’s original Elvis artwork will be showcased in the Folklore Hall, chronicling the early days of Elvis’ career, his death, and the music that continues to live on. Harper has been recreating his likeness for more than five decades and though her process has evolved, the essence she is able to capture is always the same. “There was something incredibly inspiring about him. He pushed right to the limit of his potential, always himself, always trying to be the best he could be.” “Every face has a story to tell,” says Betty. “Every time I draw him, I see another side, almost another person. Just when I think I've exhausted all the possibilities, have sketched every angle, every expression, I begin to draw and discover another.” Opposite: Betty Harper's Elvis artwork, "I Believe"

When Betty Harper puts pencil to paper, she captures the very spirit of Elvis Presley like no other artist can. The breathtaking, life-like works of art by Betty Harper will be on display from August 1, 2012 – October 19, 2012 at the Center for Southern Folklore. Glimpse into the soul of the man who not only ruled the world of rock 'n' roll, but also ruled the hearts of many. 

From Thursday, August 09 2012 to Friday, October 19 2012.........open every day

Location: 119 S. Main Street
Contact: Judy Peiser 901.525.3655 or info@southernfolklore.com (News, Source: Betty Harper)

Read EIN’s interview with Betty Harper and view some of her world famous Elvis artworks

(Online Animation Review) The Elvis and Jack Nicklaus Mysteries: EIN has long said that the key to Elvis’ enduring popularity and is not so much his musical legacy, but his prolific and widespread socio-cultural impact.  From the global proliferation of ETAs (of variable quality), through 1,000 tribute songs and even more Elvis books, to the many films and daily mention of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll in all forms of our print, audio-visual and online media, Elvis’ impact on the world continues to be evident and perhaps a largely subliminal one.

In the field of animation, The Australian Children’s Foundation produced the entertaining Lil Elvis Jones and the Truckstoppers series and in the US, Jeff Martin has masterminded a sublime 3 episode short animation titled The Elvis and Jack Nicklaus Mysteries.

Released in 2000 this set of 3 short animated features is an absolute delight!  Teaming two of America’s best known icons to form a “Hardy Boys” type duo was a stroke of genius by creator, writer and director, Jeff Martin.

Each episode, developed with production company Icebox, runs for between 4 and 5 minutes.  The visuals are colourfully rich and crisp as is the clear audio track. With great and simple plot lines each episode is a joy to watch with nice balance between its drama and humor.  The online cartoons also feature a great rockabilly theme sung by Chris Anderson over the closing credits.

I’m not going to say anything more about The Elvis and Jack Nicklaus Mysteries except that they are exciting, different and engaging, so WATCH THEM!!!

If only Jeff Martin had produced more for our enjoyment! 

The 3 episodes are:

The Bullet Hole – Elvis goes golfing with the Golden Bear and murder ensues

E Pluribus Murder – who really killed JFK?

Twin Killing - Elvis is framed for a series of crimes and comes face to face with the man he thought was dead

(To watch each episode click the episode title)

Verdict:  Watch ‘The Elvis and Jack Nicklaus Mysteries’ at your own peril. I’m warning you, you will soon be hooked by these sublime, guilty pleasure animations. (5 Sep 2009)

Comment on this revie

Bobby Wood releasing memoir: Bobby Wood, one of the original 'Memphis Boys', finished his book 'Walking Among Giants' detailing his entire career. The book presentation will be during Elvis Week 2012. (News, Source: Email)

Elvis and Marilyn and the Booming Business of Dead Celebrities: Savvy celebrities have never let a little thing like being dead stop them from earning the big bucks, but 2012 is shaping up to be a particularly booming year for the business of deceased stars. This month marks two landmark anniversaries -- the deaths Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley, two of the world's most recognizable pop-culture icons, who also happen to be two of the highest-earning dead celebrities. Monroe died 50 years ago on Sunday, and Presley will mark the 35th anniversary of his death on Aug. 16. For the estates of both celebrities, that means an uptick in special events, promotional campaigns, memorabilia and merchandise licensing.     "We've been preparing for this for a little over two years," said Kevin Kern, director of public relations at Elvis Presley Enterprises."

"We have 30-plus events planned, which is a good deal more than normal. And we're anticipating larger than normal crowds at Graceland."

Presley Enterprises does not share information about the company's finances, and Kern would not say how much revenue a landmark anniversary is expected to generate. But he said the Memphis-based company is ready to handle the rush, with a re-branded "35th Anniversary" Elvis logo and special merchandise from lunch boxes to Zippo lighters. "Whenever an anniversary ends in a five or a zero, there's just more awareness of Elvis in general," Kern said. "People may not even specifically know about the anniversary, but they're hearing more about Elvis, and that puts him in their minds."

Elvis Week, which takes place in mid-August, is the largest event of the year for Graceland -- Presley's Memphis-based home, which has since become a tourist destination for 500,000 to 600,000 Elvis pilgrims every year. While the event centers on the anniversary of Elvis' death, Kern said that Presley Enterprises looks at it as a celebration of his life and legacy. He said it was the fans who dictated when and where the celebrations would take place. "It happened very organically," he said, "from the first gathering in 1978 on the first anniversary of Elvis' death."  

Over in Marilyn Monroe territory, celebrations are probably even more widespread. Aug. 5 marked 50 years since the actress was found dead in her Brentwood, Calif., home at the age of 36, and news outlets have been working overtime on retrospectives, picture slideshows and all around Marilyn mania. Coinciding with the anniversary, the Associated Press attempted under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the confidential files that the FBI had kept on Monroe during her life. The bureau claimed the records were lost.

All of this means big Marilyn business, of course, and the New York-based licensing company Authentic Brands Group is undoubtedly cashing in. In 2010, the company acquired Monroe's name and likeness for $25 million with the hope of cleaning up the Marilyn brand by being more selective about which kinds of merchandise it would permit. Authentic Brands did not return a request for comment, but Jamie Salter, the company's CEO, told "CBS This Morning" that Marilyn would have been "extremely disappointed" with how her likeness has been used over the decades. He vowed to put a stop to cheap Marilyn products such as pens and shot glasses and focus more exclusively on high-end retail items. That tactic seems to have worked. Since the company took over, Monroe has gone from number nine to number three on Forbes magazine's annual list of top 15 highest-earning dead celebrities. In 2011, the Monroe estate took in $27 million. Elvis was number two on the list with $55 million, although Kern said Presley Enterprises does not provide the magazine with official facts or figures. However, both Marilyn and Elvis took a hit in the wake of the 2009 death of Michael Jackson, who has topped the list both years since. In 2011, the gloved one raked in $170.

‘Walk A Mile In My Shoes’ Bonus CD: We’ve had some questions asking about the tracks on the free CD that comes with the ‘Walk A Mile In My Shoes’ book. Now the tracklist and cover artwork are confirmed. ‘I Forgot To Remember To Forget’ is the newly discovered radio broadcast. The Eagles Hall concert was speed-corrected and restored in a renowned Amsterdam studio. We received the CD from the pressing plant yesterday, and are now awaiting delivery of the book later this week. CD tracklisting: 1. I Forgot To Remember To Forget – Louisiana Hayride live broadcast, Probably October 1, 1955 March 19 1955 (Saturday - 10.45pm) Grand Prize Jamboree, Eagles Hall, Houston, Texas: 2. Intro/Good Rockin' Tonight/Band Intros 3. Intro/Baby Let's Play House 4. Intro/Blue Moon Of Kentucky 5. Intro/I Got A Woman 6. Intro/That's All Right 7. Rare Detroit radio promo 1956

8. Hound Dog 9. Brown Eyed Handsome Man 10. Elvis interviewed by Hannelore Krab from ‘Bayerischen Rundfunk’, Munich (Germany), June 18, 1959. Complete interview from mastertape source. 11. I Feel That I’ve Known You Forever (Movie Version) 12. Let Me Be The One – Home recording, Palm Springs, April 1974 13. Spanish Eyes – Home recording, Palm Springs, April 1974 The book features almost 300 rare and unpublished photos of Elvis, in some cases sourced from the original negatives and dias. These photos cover the whole spectrum of Elvis’ career, from 1954 to 1977. The foreword was written by Duke Bardwell, Elvis’ mid-70s bassplayer. Handsomely designed, this is a book that delivers on all levels. See full details below. Order your copy of “ELVIS: WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES” now (hardback, 160 pages, color throughout) email elvisforeveryone@zonnet.nl (News, Source;ArjanDeelen/ElvisInfoNetwork)

'The Memphis Boys' Beale Street Note: The American Studio Band aka The Memphis Boys being honored with a Beale Street Blues Note will take place inside Alfred's Nightclub on Beale St. at Second St in Memphis during Elvis Week at 5:PM, Monday August 13. These are the same six guys who played on Elvis' 1969 recording sessions at American Studios. All Elvis fans are invited to the ceremony and the admission is FREE! Go here to our EIN spotlight 'Bobby Wood and The Memphis Boys' (News, Source;MartyLacker/ElvisInfoNetwork)

'Hub of Rock 'N Roll' dedication at Elvis Week: This Elvis Week there is a dedication of an historical marker for Plastic Products which was the record plant for Sun Studio’s recordings of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins along with artists from Stax and Chess. Four quonset huts in an industrial part of Memphis can be an overlooked landmark of Rock ‘n Roll history, but it’s worth visiting even though they can only be viewed from the outside. By 1956, Plastic Products was pressing records round the clock for more than 49 labels nationwide, including STAX, Chess, Atlantic, ABC, Ace, Hi, Meteor, and Veejay records. In that same year, Williams doubled production, turning out more than 65,000 records a day. Recording artists often would visit the huts to see their records being created. In 1954, a young Elvis Presley showed up to see his early hit “That’s All Right” rolling off the presses. It’s easy to picture Elvis and Sam Phillips watching 'That’s All Right' being pressed! The event is on August 17th and is listed on the EP Week Guide Click here. (News, Source;AndreaShaw/ElvisInfoNet)

Free Single at Elvis Matters Shop during August: August is Elvis Month in the Belgian Elvis Shop, especially in this special "35"-year. During the entire month of August, every customer who orders for 35 euro or more gets this exclusive single FOR FREE, on top of the regular discount stickers! This 7" release on high quality colour vinyl will be a unique collector’s item, not for sale anywhere. The A SIDE contains a rare radio report of the first days after the King’s unexpected passing, August 1977. Among the mourners who comment are Vernon Presley – just hours after the body of his son was found in Graceland’s bathroom. Goose bumps when you hear this, and undoubtedly to be classified under HISTORIC RECORDINGS. The B SIDE is for Elvis, with his version of PEACE IN THE VALLEY – the same song that his fans sang in front of the Gates after the tragic news had spread. Track number 2 is TAKE MY HAND PRECIOUS LORD. This unique single is available in the ElvisMatters Shop in Belgium AND through online orders (www.shopelvismatters.com). Note: offer applies while supply lasts. (News, Source;PeterVerbruggen/ElvisMatters)

'Amore, Elvis!' New Import CD: Straight Arrow is continuing their collector's series of 2 shows from one evening, released in a single package. This time the producers have chosen two excellent performances from Saturday, March 29, 1975 at the Las Vegas Hilton. Elvis returned to Nevada in very good form when compared to his final shows of 1974. He included several cuts from soon-to-be-released "TODAY" album rather than some of his usual oldies. Presley's shows were shorter than his previous Vegas visit in August and September because he kept banter to a minimum. On this collection there are worthy performances of "And I Love You So", "It's Midnight", "Big Boss Man", "Burning Love" and the powerful "My Boy". There are also some rarities, like a one-liner of "Rip It Up", "Tiger Man" not performed as a medley with "Mystery Train," and "Hawaiian Wedding Song" sung exclusively by Sherrill Nielsen. As fans have come to expect, the tapes are of very good quality, sourced from early generation copies of original cassettes recorded by the same fan. The double digipak contains liner notes and is filled with photos from the March-April 1975 engagement. As usual, these recordings have been

Latest Billboard Album Charts & Sales: The following appeared on the Billboard Catalog Album Charts (w/e 11th August, 2012): 'Elvis: The Very Best Of Love' selling some 1656 units. Total sales to date: 285,441 units. 'Heart And Soul' selling some 1186 units. Total sales to date: 572,928 units. 'An Afternoon In The Garden' - 1084 units. Total sales to date: 480,614 units. 'Elvis Country' (Compilation) selling some 986 units. Total sales to date: 122009 units. 'Elvis Lives' (Top DVD Musical Videos) selling some 1100 units. Total sales to date: 163785 units. 'Elvis: He Touched Me' (Vol.1) (Top Music Videos) selling some 1065 units. Total sales to date: 155729 units. (News, Source;BrianQuinn/ElvisInfoNet)

Designer of iconic Sun Records logo dies: Back in early 1952, Jay Parker was working as the art director at the Memphis Engraving Company when he received a visit from an old high school classmate with request to design a logo for his fledgling record label. The old school chum was Sam Phillips and the label was Sun Records. Parker, who would create the now iconic Sun logo, died on Monday at age 87, at his home in Memphis. "He just had a natural God given ability for art," said his son, Jud Parker. Born John G. Parker in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on February 1, 1925, he grew up in Florence, and graduated from Coffee High School where he and Phillips both played sousaphone in the band. After studying at the Harris Advertising Art School in Nashville, Parker arrived in

the Bluff City in 1946. He would serve as art director at both the Memphis Engraving Company and Eastex Packaging Company during a distinguished and award winning 40-plus year career. His commercial work included designing notable packages for Alka-Seltzer and Super Bubble gum, as well and creating the tiger stripe helmet for the Cincinnati Bengals football team. Parker also taught graphic design courses at Memphis State University and was a well-respected watercolor artist. But his lasting contribution to the cultures of rock and roll and design came in 1952, when Parker crossed paths with his old friend Phillips at a Krystal restaurant Downtown. Phillips, an erstwhile radio deejay, had opened his Memphis Recording Service studio a couple years earlier, and was about to launch a blues and R&B label called Sun Records. "Sam was getting started in the record business, and he wanted to know what I did now," recalled Parker in a 2004 interview with the Commercial Appeal. "When I told him, he wanted to know if we could do record labels. I had never done a record label, but I said, 'Sure.'"

X Factor' bosses planning holograms of Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and Elvis Presley: X Factor bosses want the new series of the show to feature holograms of Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and Elvis Presley, according to reports.   The Sun says that producers of the TV behemoth want contestants to be able to duet with a host of star names from beyond the grave so it can "keep getting better". Opposite: Elvis and Celine Dion together - the magic of 'rotoscoping'

Imagine Elvis or Amy Winehouse at the grand final. It would be incredible TV and an amazing experience for contestants. The technology's there and has been used on several big stages.   The X Factor   final is perfect for something like this. It nearly happened last year after show boss Richard Holloway saw the Stevie Wonder hologram at Celine Dion.

Ever since Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg brought a hologram of Tupac onstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April this year, the prospect of digitally resurrecting deceased iconic performers has been a big talking point, with the likes of Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix all mooted as possible candidates to appear as holograms. Most recently, Amy Winehouse's father Mitch revealed that a hologram of the late singer could appear onstage as a way of keeping her musical legacy alive.  

In July, however, James Rock - the man behind Musion Systems, the company that helped create the hologram of Tupac Shakur – claimed that he doesn't believe holograms will ever "replace live performances". (News, Source: nme.com)

Night on the Town CD announced: Touchdown will release the March 29, 1975 M.S. in Vegas on silver disc soon. It is a good quality audience recording.

New MRS release announced - Greatest Live Hits of the 50's: MRS along with JAT Productions will release a budget CD at the end of August 2012 titled ‘Greatest Live Hits of the 50’s’. The 24 track CD will contain only the best performance live tracks of the 50’s and will include 9 new performances that will now be released to the General Public for the first time as a new remaster.

Included in the release is a newly discovered unreleased live version of ‘I Forgot to Remember to Forget’ recorded in October 1955 and a new song by Elvis titled ‘Little Mama’.

More details with full tracklist to follow. (News, Source: Email)

The cover artwork is stunning!

Elvis Memorabilia Lawsuit Resurrected by Appeals Court - heirs of Presley's friend seek proceeds from auctioned items: An appeals court yesterday allowed the heirs of a friend of Elvis Presley's to go forward with a lawsuit over Elvis memorabilia they claimed was stolen and auctioned off, Reuters reports.

John Tate and Normal Deeble, the heirs to Presley pal and fan club president Sterling Gary Pepper, had filed the lawsuit in 2009 over $218,000 in auction proceeds.

The pair, taking on the suit in place of their late cousin, accused Pepper's former caretaker Nancy Pease White of stealing the memorabilia when Pepper moved to a disabled home.

Above: Elvis' red suede jacket worn on the "Jailhouse Rock" 45 cover on display in New York City

(Photo Source: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

An Iowa district court had ruled Pepper's family took too long to file the lawsuit and did not block the auction, which pulled in $1,400 for two dried white roses from Presley's funeral, $15,000 for hair that was cut when Elvis enlisted in the Army and $28,000 for a red suede shirt worn by Elvis.

Deeble told the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals that her family was unaware of the memorabilia's existence and thus were unable to file the lawsuit earlier, and a three-judge panel revived revived the case and sent back to the lower court. The $218,000 in proceeds, along with a painting of Elvis and wife Priscilla Presley, are being held by a third party while the case proceeds.

Last month, Elvis' original crypt was yanked from the auction block, with bids starting at $100,000. (News, Source: Rolling Stone)

Elvis La Collection - new French 2CD set: Sony Music France released the details of the double CD 'Elvis La Collection RTL', compiled by French fans. The CD is due August 13, 2012. CD 1: 1. Suspicious Mind 2. Always On My Mind 3. In The Ghetto 4. Don't Be Cruel 5. An American Trilogy 6. If I Can Dream 7. My Way 8. It's Now Or Never 9. Are You Lonesome Tonight 10. Jailhouse Rock 11. Fever 12. Can't Help Falling In Love 13. Unchained Melody 14. Moody Blue 15. Mystery Train 16. Devil In Disguise 17. Polk Salad Annie. CD 2: 1. Return To Sender 2. That's All Right 3. Heartbreak Hotel 4. His Latest Flame 5. Crying in The Chapel 6. Love Me Tender 7. Blue Suede Shoes 8. How Great Thou Art 9. All Shook Up 10. My Boy 11. One Night 12. Burning Love 13. A Little Less Conversation 14. Promised Land 15. Hound Dog 16. Guitar Man 17. Teddy Bear 18. The Wonder Of You. (News, Source: Source: Elv75: Elvis Day By Day / ElvisMatters) Order from Elvis Matters

Why some people believe Elvis faked his death: Have you ever wondered why so many people believed (at least for a time) that Elvis faked his death? Well this excerpt (would you believe) from an article about building effective workplace relations, sheds some interesting light on the issue: 'There’s something quite fascinating about conspiracy theories.  Even when people don’t really believe them, there’s a natural curiosity to listen to the stories regardless. One of the most famous is that the American government was behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks as a way of getting support for war.  There are also those who still don’t believe the 1969 moon landing ever took place, amassing a stack of evidence to disprove the video footage.  And then there are the fans who don’t accept that Elvis ever died, insisting instead that he faked his own death. There are many more examples.  The bigger question is: how do these conspiracy theories begin?  The answer can be found in research conducted several years ago at Rutgers University.  Psychology professors discovered three main factors that are present whenever conspiracy theories are formed.  These are alienation, distrust, and insecurity.

There’s another thing that rumour and gossip have in common with conspiracy theories: they all need to be heard – they need an audience.  None of them work when individuals keep them to themselves.  This makes them a contagious social phenomenon.  And that’s why they continue to spread and gather momentum.  That is, until you create the type of workplace environment that gives employees decent alternatives to rumour and gossip. 

Only then will they realise that Elvis really has left the building. (Elvis Conspiracy, Source: JamesAdonis.com)

'Prince from Another Planet' Full Details: SONY have released the full details of the new 'Prince from Another Planet' Madison Square Garden. There are two versions being released, the DELUXE DVD version and also a budget version without the DVD for only $16. Great news is that the DVD will feature ONE HOUR of hand-held footage filmed at the June 10th Afternoon Show as well as 20 minutes of the Press Conference. Release date is now noted as October 30, 2012. Elvis Presley: Prince from Another Planet, As Recorded Live At Madison Square Garden, New York City, June 10, 1972 - Deluxe 40th Anniversary Edition 2-Cd+Dvd Box Set Presents Historic Afternoon And Evening Concerts – Newly Remixed - In One Package For First Time 5,000-word liner notes essay by Lenny Kaye, historian and guitarist for Patti Smith BONUS DVD:1. Afternoon show filmed June 10, 1972 (approx. 1 hour hand-held footage) 2. Afternoon press conference held June 9, 1972 (approx. 20 minutes). The recently discovered footage is set to make its world premiere during Elvis Week in Memphis on Friday, August 17th, at 4:30 p.m. at a free event in the Elvis Week Pavilion. Go HERE to Pre-Order>> Prince From Another Planet (Deluxe 2 CD/1 DVD Box Set) - $37.37 Pre-Order 'Prince From Another Planet Legacy' ONLY $16.33

Of all the live concert recordings released by RCA during Elvis Presley’s lifetime, none carried the historic significance of his long-awaited New York City shows at Madison Square Garden in June 1972. After being roundly excoriated by New York critics after his televised visits of 1956 (on Jackie Gleason’s Stage Show), and 1957 (Ed Sullivan & Steve Allen), Elvis and his manager Tom Parker did not schedule another New York performance for some 15 years. Even after Elvis triumphed on his black leather NBC-TV "comeback" special of December 1968, and returned to public concert touring fulltime in August 1969 (at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, they still waited three years to play New York. Accompanying the two CDs is a bonus DVD that presents unseen footage of the Saturday afternoon show, captured on hand-held camera by a fan, and now acquired by Legacy from that fan decades later for this package.

To EIN's Australian & Kiwi friends - Don't be ripped off by others, Pre-Order the Deluxe set here from Amazon for only AU$44 > Prince From Another Planet (Deluxe 2 CD/1 DVD Box Set) .

Elvis backing-vocalist TEMPLE RISER FOUND! – And On Tour in 2013: "The moment he came into the studio, I was in awe" - For many years, the name Temple Riser was a bit of a mystery in the Elvis world. Not much was known about the dark-haired beauty with the deep, strong voice other than the fact that she had sung backup for Elvis at his early 70s Nashville sessions, and that she got to record a duet with Elvis live in the studio on ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’. Her whereabouts were unknown, and it seemed like she had simply vanished off this planet. Nobody seemed to know where she was located or whether she was still amongst us. Earlier this year, Elvis expert Arjan Deelen decided to try and locate her, and just a few weeks ago, his research paid off when he found her alive and well and even looking pretty much the way she did 40 years ago! Temple Riser, who is now 63, feels that she has been blessed in life, and cites working with Elvis and singing at President Nixon’s inauguration as her (singing) career highlights. About meeting Elvis for the first time, she says: "I was a little stuck up… I didn’t want to give him the impression that I was starstruck. But the moment he came into the studio, I was in awe… He had such a charisma about him, and he was so handsome. And he was very flirtatious!", she says with a smile. When asked about her nicest memories of him, she answers: "There’s several… I remember that he invited me and Ginger & Mary (Holladay) to come to his hotel room in Nashville - and we did. He was just so nice to us. Very easy to talk to, very talkative. He grabbed his guitar and we sang Gospels together. He didn’t sing any of his hits, just Gospel music… he loved that".

'A Boy From Tupelo' FTD Tracklist Announced: FTD have finally announced the tracklisting for upcoming deluxe SUN book set. "A Boy From Tupelo - Complete 53-55 Recordings" includes for the first time in one collection every known Elvis Presley SUN master and outtake, plus two private records Elvis paid for with his own money, as well as thrilling radio and concert performances from the period. This 3 CD package features 10 previously-unreleased cuts. All audio has been re-mastered and restored as best we could, but Disc 3 has pretty rough audio. FTD has noted that the 3 CD package features 10 previously-unreleased cuts. EIN had been informed unofficially that the following songs have been mastered for the project. 'Little Mama', 'Heartbreaker', 'Heart of Stone', 'Blue Moon of Kentucky', 'Shake, Rattle & Roll' plus the already announced by Ernst 'That’s All Right' from Meridian. The studio outtakes feature more of 'When It Rains, It Really Pours’, How Do You Think I Feel' (Sun rehearsal) as well as new versions of 'Harbor Lights'. Surprisingly this is the first official RCA release of Elvis' original 'That's All Right' without the added RCA echo. For FULL Tracklisting & preview of 'A Boy From Tupelo' go here.

New LIVE "Original Album Classics" set: Sony Legacy Music have just announced the release of another "Original Album Classics" box-set. This time the theme is Elvis LIVE. The five albums featured are 'Elvis' Comeback Special', 'That's The Way It Is', 'On Stage', 'Aloha from Hawaii' and 1974's 'As Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis'. As usual the CDs come a small box-set, in cardboard sleeves and at a budget price. Selling for £13.30 - around US$20 with a mid-September release date.   (News, Source;GaryHibbs/ElvisInfoNetwork)

Latest Billboard Album Charts & Sales: The The following appeared on the Billboard Catalog Album Charts (w/e 4th August, 2012): 'Elvis: The Very Best Of Love' selling some 1472 units. Total sales to date: 283,785 units. 'Heart And Soul' selling some 1333 units. Total sales to date: 571,742 units. 'An Afternoon In The Garden' selling some 1223 units. Total sales to date: 479,530 units. 'Elvis Country' (Compilation) selling some 1122 units. Total sales to date: 121023 units. (News, Source;BrianQuinn/ElvisInfoNet)

Now available from Amazon:

'Prince From Another Planet' More Details: A glimpse at the new Madison Square Garden 40th Anniversary release. Looking at a career that had more artistic and commercial triumphs than most in the 20th century, one could be forgiven for thinking that Elvis’ run of four shows at Madison Square Garden on June 9-11, 1972 was just another one of these big events. But for Elvis, it wasn’t. Back in February, in his Las Vegas hotel suite, he took his friend, singer Tom Jones to one side, and shared his concerns. Elvis’ main anxiety stemmed from his legendary appearance on The Milton Berle Show on June 6, 1956 that was deemed ‘scandalous’ by most of the media who voiced outrage over his vulgar gyrating performances.

The New York media was definitely in the forefront of these attacks. However, Any reticence Elvis had would soon be ruled out as he became the first artist ever to sell-out four shows at the 20,000-seat arena. Elvis had never played in NYC before, except for television appearances on the Dorsey Brothers’ Stage Show, The Steve Allen Show and Ed Sullivan’s Toast Of The Town. The stars of the day flocked to see him. George Harrison meets Elvis backstage; John Lennon and Paul Simon are rumored to be there, a young Bruce Springsteen, Art Garfunkel and David Bowie are all in attendance. But for the sold-out Garden, there is only one star that matters. Most fans have been waiting a lifetime to see their Elvis, and, as he enters from stage right, he is greeted with an explosive roar that has been held in check from 1956 until his New York debut. On June 9, A press conference was held at the New York Hilton at 4 p.m. In eager anticipation, photographers, TV crews and newspaper men filled the room. Dressed in a stunning blue outfit and gold belt, Elvis entered the room flanked by his father Vernon and manager Colonel Tom Parker. He opened by stating: "I plead innocent of all charges," setting a humorous and disarming tone during the 20-minute encounter. With boyish charm, he made fun of his past, saying how tame he was compared to present-day performers. With sincerity, he avoided questions of a

‘WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES’ Book Out NEXT WEEK: Out on August 1st is the remarkable new book “ELVIS: WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES”, subtitled “Arjan Deelen talks to the musicians, singers, songwriters and producers who helped create the ‘Presley Sound’”. It’s an essential book that for once focuses on the music and the music-making process in Elvis’ career.  ‘Arjan Deelen's insightful interviews shed compelling new light on the legacy of Elvis Presley. His innate love of his subject and well-spring of knowledge informs his work, ultimately producing a series of captivating, candid and revelatory interviews that offer heretofore new perspective on the artistry of "the King"’ ‘, said Ken Sharp, author of "Writing For The King” and "Vegas: '69".  Some of these interviews were used in the aforementioned book, as well as some of the world’s leading Elvis magazines, like “Elvis – The Man And His Music”, “Flaming Star” and “ElvisMatters”, and you can now read them in their unedited form in this fascinating publication. Several of the interviews in the book, like for instance the ones with Ronnie Tutt, Jerry Scheff and Michael Jarrett, are widely regarded as the best and most revealing interviews ever with these gentlemen. There’s also a strong sense of honesty about the book, because these interviews are presented precisely as they were conducted – so no editing or other manipulation afterwards. ‘Straight from the horses’ mouth’, so to speak. “ELVIS: WALK A MILE IN MY MUSIC” is a must for those who really want to know more about Elvis and the music he created.

Download the Elvis Week 2012 Event Guide: Whether you can make it to Memphis for Elvis Week or not, you can still check out the 2012 Elvis Week Event Guide featuring upcoming Elvis events, products, news and more! "ELVIS: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" - In 1955, Elvis was alive, alive as a young man, a singer from the south singing his way out of poverty, full of ambition and the momentum to take on the world. His story is well-known, well-documented and wellweaved into the fabric of American folklore. Thirty-five years after his passing, there is still only one - and people still seek out this man. Elvis Aaron Presley keeps you coming back; for a performance that has gone beyond his lifetime and bears a repeated encore for more. On the 35th anniversary of his death, Elvis is still here with us now more than ever. His influence still continues to be felt along with the legacy he left behind through his music, movies, photographs and larger-than-life legend. The Elvis of today is many, many things beamed out into the virtual landscape; accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Just as teenagers once dropped a needle on their new Elvis LPs, new fans discover his music everyday. They hear that one-of-a-kind sound coming out of their digital music players, view his image up on their modern-day silver screens and see him swivel, shake, bop and croon up on digital stages. There is no need for a comeback - he’s been here all along. Elvis is alive... alive as his voice booms out of a satellite radio station, alive when someone new hears his songs and sings along, alive every time a young singer emulates him and thinks "I want what Elvis had." Elvis is alive when his songs are part of a personal music mix created for someone special, alive every time someone sees him move for the first time and dances their way across their bedroom. Elvis is alive when a person makes their first pilgrimage to Graceland.... Download the Elvis Week brochure for the full article.. CLICK HERE. (News, Source;ElvisInfoNetwork)

Read EIN's reviews of earlier Elvis books by Darrin Lee:

Elvis Presley Desert Storm: The Shattering of A Myth!/College Park: The Revelation of A Hoax!

Desert Storm: The Shattering of A Myth!

Sony Music Panel Discussion & M.S.Garden footage at Elvis Week: Fans can find out more about upcoming releases from John Jackson, Vice President of A&R and Content Development for Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, and Ernst Jorgensen and Roger Semon, record producers for Sony and the team responsible for the Follow That Dream Record label. In anticipation of the upcoming release of “Prince From Another Planet,” included will be a screening of the never-before-seen footage from Elvis’ performance in Madison Square Garden in June 1972. The panel will also include more about the “I am an Elvis Fan” release, upcoming FTD projects and a chance to get answers to your questions about Elvis’ music. FREE to attend. Elvis Week Main Stage, Graceland.  4:30 p.m. Friday, August 17, 2012 Go HERE to EPE's Elvis Week 2012 schedule of Events See EIN's recent Spotlight on Madison Square Garden 40 Years Ago (News, Source;BrianQuinn/ElvisInfoNetwork)

EIN's Best of Elvis on YouTube' July 2012Update: We're back with a sensational 21 new fabulous Elvis clips. Starting with a great version of 'Trouble' Live at Aloha!, brilliant On Tour version of 'Proud Mary' and the 'A Little Less Conversation' 68 ComeBack version. We also have an emotional 'Pieces of My Life', a hilarious 5 minutes of kissing to 'Kiss Me Quick', 1956's 'We're Gonna Move' in color and stereo, the delightful 'It Is No Secret', the Las Vegas Dinner Show Dec 4 1976, the Houston Astrodome Press Conference and lots more...   As EIN always says "Catch them now before they get taken away" ('EIN's Elvis on YouTube', Source:EIN)

'The Elvis Files Vol. 5 1969-70'  Book Review: While the 1968 TV Special was an amazing comeback, Elvis’ return to the very top of his profession would never have happened without the Memphis 1969 recording sessions along with the live performances that followed. Let’s face it, Elvis’ amazing legacy was only sealed in gold by these two all-important years. 'The Elvis Files Vol. 5' contains over 1,500 stunning photos in its 580 pages all from the fabulous return-to-splendour years of 1969 -1970. It includes every public ELVIS event in his life from 1969 to 1970, every Working Moment, with hundreds of newly discovered photos. There is no doubt that this is a labour of love for Norwegian Erik Lorentzen, author and long time Elvis fan, who has found a ton of images and information never before published. Sometimes a series of Elvis books can disappoint with one magnificent volume being let down by a poor follow-up  but so far The Elvis Files have proved the opposite with every volume actually being better than its brilliant predecessor. No other series of Elvis photo-books comes close. Click here to find out what it includes with lots of example pages and great Elvis photos. (Book Reviews, Source;EIN)

Brand New Elvis Recording found!: An incredible out-of-the-blue youtube of Elvis singing  'I Forgot To Remember To Forget' Live on the Louisiana Hayride radio show has all Elvis fans gobsmacked! - CLICK HERE TO LISTEN. (was removed, but is now back) An INCREDIBLE find and in BEAUTIFUL quality. This is discovering pure Elvis gold.   Recorded on an early silvertone "wire" recording machine we initially hear Buzz Busby and the Bayou Boys before Horace Logan introduces Elvis, Scotty and Bill and their "modern-day type" new single, 'I Forgot To Remember To Forget' . It has to be from either October 1, 1955 (picture right) which was 6 weeks after the release of Elvis' Sun single # 223 or perhaps October 29th. No one, not even Ernst Jorgensen had heard of this undiscovered gold until yesterday. The bad news is that it isn't included on the new 'A Boy From Tupelo' boxset. (News, Source;BrianQuinn/ElvisInfoNetwork)

Newly UPDATED - 'From Hawaii to Las Vegas' CD Review: 'From Hawaii To Las Vegas’ is from a previously unreleased cassette recording of Elvis’ January 25 1973 dress rehearsal for his January/February Las Vegas Hilton season. The rough audio quality is more than compensated for by the fascinating insight into how Elvis worked in order to create his shows. With little talk, and a lot of music, we are invited to a first row presentation of what Elvis had in mind, and yet he decided to change the repertoire the next day. Among the many songs is "Separate Ways" a song that Elvis chose to never perform in public - as well as a stunning "Steamroller Blues" and the fabulously rare 'I’m Leavin’ It All Up To You' Go here as EIN contributor David Tinson checks out this new FTD and discovers if it is a good as hoped for. (FTD Reviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)

Elvis 35th Anniversary Concert Special Details Revealed: Watch this exclusive interview with the Elvis 35th Anniversary Concert producer Stig Edgren as he talks with Elvis Radio about the many additions to the once-in-a-lifetime concert event. Edgren says a big opening surprise, entirely new segments and featured guests, including special appearances by Lisa Marie Presley and Priscilla Presley, are just a few of the bonuses Elvis fans will get to enjoy. "For those who have seen previous anniversary concerts, I think this one will take the cake," said Edgren. "It's bigger and completely different from past shows." Elvis returns to Memphis for this spectacular show on August 16, 2012 at the FedExForum. Accompanied by a cast of singers and musicians who worked with him and members of the Memphis

EIN also has a local Australian national Elvis Fan Club for paid up members featuring quarterly newsletters and an annual EIN Elvis Mega Quiz with special prizes.
The printed newsletters have extra content, articles and reviews to this website along with the popular Elvis EIN Mega Quiz.
If you need to know more about the fan club, newsletters, Elvis EIN quiz or EIN membership click here.

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