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Welcome to the "Elvis Information Network", home to the best news, reviews, interviews, Elvis photos & in-depth articles about the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Aaron Presley...
The latest on www.elvisinfonet.com:
UPDATED - ‘Elvis At Stax’ [Deluxe] Reviews: More new sensational reviews of the new STAX release... the Herald-Review has posted yet another great review of the new STAX set.
... The dichotomy of Presley's career and life was the split between the R&B-loving revolutionary and the Southern gentleman who sang gospel, between the hip-swivelling rocker and the charming ballad singer. There was no interest by anyone - not his people, not his record company - of building a career for Elvis Presley. So there was never a concern about helping him release and market a fantastic album. RCA would sell its Elvis singles, and they could probably predict within 1,000 how many copies each album would sell, such would be the consistency of Presley's audience.
So Presley was never really an album artist in his lifetime. It was the concert recordings - especially from the 1970s - that exploded on the charts.
But of 28 songs recorded at Stax in 1973, six made the Billboard singles charts...
Exhibit one: "Promised Land." This song alone gives a person enough evidence that Presley was the greatest Chuck Berry cover artist ever. If you've heard "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man" or
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(especially) "Too much Money Business," you've heard Presley doing Berry great. But to hear "Promised Land" is to hear transcendence.
Exhibit two: "Raised on Rock." Written by Mark James, who also wrote "Suspicious Minds," Presley/RCA thought highly enough of the song to make it the title cut of a batch of the songs released on album.
Exhibit three: "If You Talk In Your Sleep." This is the revelation of the Stax set. Presley's final released was drenched in horns and strings, and made the Billboard top 20. But another version included on the new set is "take 5" of the song. It's filthy in a brilliant way. The band is slinky as it works around its arrangement, and Presley smolders in a way that's almost embarrassing in its intensity and intimacy. It's fantastic, at once reminding the listener what Presley was, and what he could almost be seemingly at will later in his life. If only he'd wanted to more often.....
Go HERE to EIN's overview of the STAX media reviews and Cool Photos of the new box-set.
(CD Reviews, Source;HeraldR/ElvisInfoNet) |
Australian readers note that the DELUXE STAX set is selling at your local JB.HiFi store for only $27.
Or Australian & Kiwi fans CLICK to AMAZON U.S. below left and buy this great Deluxe set for only $34 delivered directly to your door - including postage.
EIN says.. Please don't be ripped off by other Elvis sites charging more. |
| Cheapest ex Amazon US |
Double Vinyl ex USA |
Deluxe ex Amazon UK |
Single CD 'Best of' ex UK |
Betty Harper's "50 + Years with Elvis" New Exhibit: Nashville's Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum is proud to announce the opening of an exhibit by Elvis fan-favorite artist Betty Harper. "50 + Years with Elvis" gathers some of Betty’s 10,000 portraits of the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Learn more about this new exhibit by visiting MusiciansHallOfFame.com.
Harper's careful attention to detail and her uncanny ability to probe the character of her subject is more apparent than in her world-renowned Elvis portraits. With thousands of prints, these works document every period of Elvis' life and captures many of his subtle moods and unconscious gestures.
Betty’s subjects include statesman and heroes, recording artists and movie stars. Her work graces the homes of several governors and scores of entertainment world celebrities.
The "50 + Years with Elvis" Exhibit will be on display from August 29 until the end of 2013.
Go HERE for EIN's interview with
and CLICK HERE to go to BettyHarper.com.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
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Rex Martin Elvis Items Stolen - Buyers Beware: After Tuesday's note regarding the collection owned by super-fan Rex Martin (below) there is the terrible news from his family that the core of Rex Martin's collection may have been stolen while he lay dead on the floor. They note...
"It has now become clear that between the time that the police locked up Rex's home and the family collecting the keys from the police and gaining access, someone had entered Rex's home and removed some personal items (wallet, passport, and other significant items of particular interest to Rex's family) as well as the core of Rex's Elvis Collection. Since there was no sign of a break-in, it is believed that this person or persons had access to a key to the property. It is also evident that whoever did this had inside knowledge as to what Rex's rare Elvis Collection consisted of, where it was stored and where he kept his personal belongings. Since we know that Rex was very protective about his Collection and showed it to very few people, the list of possible candidates who could have committed this theft is small. This has been reported to the police.
... Furthermore, the family had decided to offer Rex's rare Super 8 (with
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sound) cine film collection (some 60+ films made in person by Rex at actual Elvis concerts) to Sony in exchange for them making a donation to charity. Only 1 of these films has been recovered, so it must be assumed that the rest have all been stolen.
We would ask anyone who is considering purchasing Elvis items currently being offered on Internet sites to consider whether or not they may be about to purchase something that was stolen from Rex's home before it was decontaminated. Also, people who have already purchased items may wish to consider whether it may have been stolen and, if they believe it may have been, to consider reporting this fact to the police."
Anyone seeing Rex Martin items offered especially SUPER 8 for sale PLEASE contact Rex Martin's family via his website Moments In Time.
Go here to 'Elvis Moments in Time' website to read more of this awful story.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
MTV awards 2013 'unfit for family viewing' Like Elvis 1956!: It was 30 years ago when Michael Jackson stepped on to the stage for Motown's 25th anniversary and moonwalked his way into superstardom. It was probably the top moment in Jackson's career, one that was filled with plenty of memorable moments.
Jackson was a showman, made from the same mold as Elvis Presley. Elvis was the innovator. In the mid-1950s, Elvis captured the nation's imagination with his singing and dancing. Elvis stirred up controversy in 1956 with an appearance on the "Milton Berle Show" when he shook his hips while singing his hit, "Hound Dog."
Elvis' performance was panned by critics and the most famous talk show host of the time, Ed Sullivan, said that Elvis was "unfit for family viewing." Of course, Sullivan later gave Elvis a ton of money to appear on his show, an appearance that drew 60 million viewers and more than 80 percent of the TV audience that night.
Both Jackson and Presley had their times when they crossed society's line for what stood as good taste. While Elvis shook his hips a little too much for people's liking in the 1950s, Jackson decided to grab his crotch while signing his hits in the 1980s. Quincy Herald |
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commentator Dan O'Brien is as shocked in 2013 as the moral majority were back in 1956.
He suggests that... "Elvis and Jacko's supposed crimes are nowhere near as bad as what passes for entertainment these days. What in the name of Hannah Montana has gotten into Miley Cyrus?
Cyrus, a former Disney Channel star and the singing offspring of country music star Billy Ray Cyrus, put on quite a show during Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards telecast.
Maybe it's a sign that I'm getting too old and out of touch with what's "cool," but I found the performance unwatchable. If Ed Sullivan thought Elvis was "unfit for family viewing," I'd love to get his thoughts on Cyrus' performance and what passes as entertainment these days. It's all pretty much garbage".
EIN notes that the Generation Gap continues and, as they say in French, .. "Plus ça change.."
(News, Source;QuincyHerald/ElvisInfoNet) |
Fourteen Key Elvis Singles: Dave Marsh is a respected rock critic and historian who has written more than 20 books about rock music and popular culture. In 1982 Marsh published his excellent book 'Elvis' where he discarded the prevalent extreme myths about Presley and presented the truth about the contradictory and endlessly fascinating man.
In 1989 Dave Marsh published the exciting book for music aficionados "The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made". It is a fascinating exploration of some of the greatest music of all time and of course ELVIS is heavily featured.
The particular 14 singles that Marsh selected as his Key Elvis songs are a very interesting choice and his essays about each track are well worth reading. - and do you agree?
Go here as EIN's Piers Beagley shines a spotlight on this fascinating book as well as Marsh's selection of classic Elvis tracks...
(Spotlight, Source:ElvisInfoNet)
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Vote For Graceland and keep Elvis #1: The website that lists the "10 Best Reader's Choice" as chosen by readers of USA TODAY and online are asking "What says "America" most?" A few attractions across USA, the great country are both unmistakable and totally memorable, places like the U.S. Capitol, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Grand Canyon and Graceland. We pulled together an expert of very well-traveled editors and contributors for 10Best, and asked them which ones have become iconic US landmarks.
At the moment Elvis' Graceland is romping home as the favourite attraction, let's keep it Number One.
You can vote once a day until NOON on SEPT 9.
Click HERE to VOTE for Graceland.
(News, Source;SM/ElvisInfoNet)
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Rex Martin Collection bought by Essential Elvis: News that Essential Elvis UK has legally obtained Rex Martin’s extensive Elvis collection. An agreement was reached where Essential Elvis UK now have the collection, including over 80 reels of film, 100 audio cassettes and dozens of worldwide movie posters, autographs and Vegas memorabilia.
Rex’s family has requested that no information regarding the financial aspects of the deal be divulged, and that his legacy is treated respectfully.
It will take at least 12 months to go through the extensive collection and to catalogue and Essential Elvis UK are not planning to sell any footage or audio material and we have NO plans to release any material at present.
It was back in the mid 2000s that EIN's Nigel Patterson finally tracked down Rex Martin who had been laying-low for a while. It was great that the two of them got back together after all the years - and Nigel did a long interview with Rex which helped inspired him to get back into the excitement of sharing Elvis stories with friends worldwide.
Please see EIN's extensive Rex Martin Interview and articles here.
(News, Source;EssentialElvis/ElvisInfoNet) |
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Unpublished Photo Of Elvis In Tupelo SOLD: Being offered on Ebay. The Rare Unpublished Photo Of Elvis Presley In Tupelo , Ms 1945 ? On Bicycle: "This is a print ..not the original snapshot the story I was told is that Elvis was leaving the drug store in Tupelo circa 1945
As he was leaving.. a lady that knew Elvis and his family was getting ready to go into the drug store.. and get a roll of film developed
She saw Elvis..and told Elvis to pose for a photo.. because she had one photo left on the roll.. and didn't want it to go to waste."
EIN Notes that it sure looks real, although there has inevitably been a little debate about it possibly being photo-shopped as there seems to be lack of shadow behind Elvis.
Still a fascinating and fabulous find if genuine.
SOLD FOR US$362 after 37 bids. Let's hope someone such as Erik Lorentzen bought the rare print.
G0 HERE to Ebay to view and bid
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
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'Growing Up Graceland' New Director: Oscar-nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (The Right Stuff, The Natural, Passion of the Christ) has directed just two features to date. Now 25 years after his last helming effort, Deschanel is eyeing his third trip to the director’s chair with the Elvis Presley biopic Growing Up Graceland, for upstart studio BiteSize Entertainment. The based-on-a-true-story pic is told through the eyes of Elvis’s younger stepbrother David Stanley, who moves with his family into Elvis’s famed Graceland estate after the singer’s return from the Army in the fall of 1960. Graceland will chronicle the bond between Elvis and his little brother as both siblings deal with the loss of their parents amid Elvis’s growing success.
Robert Boris (Blood Feud, Marilyn and Me) is adapting the script from Stanley and Dr. David Gruder’s bestseller 'Conversations with the King'. Stanley is producing through his own Impello Entertainment banner through which he previously wrote and directed his own 2007 Elvis film Protecting the King, also based on his life with his famous sibling. Financing is still coming together on the project as Oscar-winning producer and BiteSize cofounder Gene Kirkwood (Rocky, Gorky Park, etc) launches a search for an unknown to play the young Elvis. While Graceland is not a musical, Kirkwood plans on tapping Broadway and other talent sources looking for an actor with singing chops who can handle gospel tunes because Elvis "only sang gospel at Graceland."
Go HERE to EIN's 2012 interview with David Stanley.
(News, Source;SM/ElvisInfoNet) |
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Lisa Marie "I was pretty insulated": Surprisingly down-to-earth after a lifetime in the public eye, Lisa Marie Presley is a platinum recording artist in her own right. But she still wishes she had time to learn to knit.
Lisa Marie Presley, 45, will be in Seattle on Aug. 28 to perform at The Triple Door in support of her latest album, "Storm & Grace." The stop is part of the third leg of a tour that started last year and that has not worn her down a bit.
"I love it, I personally love it," Presley said the other day of life on the road. "I find it challenging and stimulating and exciting. The relationship with the fans, the reactions.
Presley spends most of her time in Tunbridge Wells, England, where she lives with her husband, the guitarist and producer Michael Lockwood, and their twin daughters, Harper and Finley, now four. Presley has two older children — the model and actress Riley Keough, 24, and musician Benjamin Keough, 20 — by her first husband, Danny Keough.
And yet, she still couldn’t get away from her father’s legacy.
"There’s a little shrine to him right near my house," she said. "He’s very much alive and well in England. I just like to have a life, different places to go, away from other things. I need to have options."
"Storm & Grace," released last year, partnered Presley with award-winning producer T-Bone Burnett, known for his work with everyone from Elvis Costello to jazz singer Cassandra Wilson to Washington state’s Brandi Carlile.
"It has all |
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different things," Presley said. "It’s organic, more rootsy."
The video for one song, "Weary," was shot at Memphis’ Sun Studios, where Elvis Presley made some of his first records; where Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and U2 recorded; and where Bob Dylan famously kissed the floor.
"I didn’t kiss the floor," she said with a chuckle. "But it was really great, and we recorded three songs there."
Despite her father’s history with the place, Presley had never set foot inside Sun Studios before she and her band loaded in to perform three songs for a television show.
"I was pretty insulated," Presley explained. "My father was no longer recording there when I was around."
At home with twins, her two other grown children off in Los Angeles and the Elvis business that never seems to slow, Presley has little time for quieter activities like reading or knitting.
She has partnered with World Vision and is allowing the nonprofit to set up a booth at each show, where fans can choose to sponsor — and correspond — with a child in need.
The child of Graceland clearly knows how lucky she was.
"I like helping children," she said. "I have a big thing with children. You can correspond with the child, send something to them as a gift. You know it’s actually getting there and you are doing something to help. I just thought it was a good thing to do. I want to help them because they are helpless.
"But they are also the future. They are going to run the world."
Go here to EIN's Lisa Marie Presley World for more..
(News, Source;SM/ElvisInfoNet) |
| Saturday 24 August 2013 ... 2nd News Update ... |
'SOLD OUT' FTD CD Review: This FTD release features two previously unknown reel-to-reel recordings of
Elvis on tour in 1974.
March 1974 was Elvis' ninth tour of the USA and was his first tour since July 1973. Freed from the constraints of the Las Vegas Hilton casino crowd, Elvis was in fine form and putting on great shows getting fabulous on-stage feedback from his enthusiastic audiences from the Southern states. Every concert sold out in a few hours and extra concerts had to be added to meet the demand.
Elvis would play 154 concerts in 1974 and Tulsa March 1st would be his first outside the Las Vegas casino crowd, Cleveland June 21st would also be a fine summer performance to an enthusiastic audience.
Go here as EIN's Piers Beagley along with David Tinson provide an in-depth review of this fabulous new FTD release....
(FTD Reviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork) |
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Rare Unpublished Photo Of Elvis In Tupelo: Being offered on Ebay today. Rare Unpublished Photo Of Elvis Presley In Tupelo , Ms 1945 ? On Bicycle: "This is a print ..not the original snapshot
the story I was told is that Elvis was leaving the drug store in Tupelo circa 1945
As he was leaving.. a lady that knew Elvis and his family was getting ready to go into the drug store..
and get a roll of film developed
She saw Elvis..and told Elvis to pose for a photo.. because she had one photo left on the roll.. and didn't want it to go to waste.
She took Elvis' photo.. and then walked inside, and dropped off the film to be developed."
EIN Notes that it sure looks real, although there has inevitably been a little debate about it possibly being photo-shopped as there seems to be lack of shadow behind Elvis.
Still a fascinating and fabulous find if genuine.
On Ebay now for $108 with plenty of bids.
G0 HERE to Ebay to view and bid
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
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Jerry Weintraub Still Selling the Stars: Jerry Weintraub is 75, but he has no interest in retiring to the golf course. For him, that’s work. He’d rather be making movies.
The legendary Hollywood producer has spent the past 55 years managing talent. He took Elvis and Sinatra on the road. He has Nashville, The Karate Kid and the Ocean’s Eleven films on his résumé. And after 55 years in the business, he has struck gold yet again as producer of the recent HBO hit Behind the Candelabra. The biopic of Liberace scored 15 Emmy nominations and has been sold to markets worldwide.
"It’s nice to be 75 and have success, and still be relevant, which happens to be the title of my new book, 76 and Still Relevant. I’m still selling."
Mr. Weintraub runs with a pretty exclusive crowd, counting as friends the likes of Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Matt Damon, but he’s more businessman than celebrity.
.. "When I was 26, I started with $500, and $500 was a stretch at the time. I had Elvis and we started a tour in Miami Beach and we |
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ended in San Diego. When I got to San Diego, I walked into the venue and my accountants came over and said: ‘Do you know how much money you’ve made on this tour?’ I said, ‘No, I have no idea, I just know we’ve been sold out of all the sessions we’re doing and everything’s great.’ And they said, ‘Well, you have $3-million in the bank.’ I said, ‘I have what? ... That’s not possible.’
I remember pulling back the curtain from backstage and I looked at all the people in the arena, 20,000 people, and it hit me. I said to myself, ‘My God, my life is never going to be the same. It’s changed. I got it. I did it.’
Elvis was a total original. I grew up on his music and I loved him and it was like a bolt from heaven and I knew my life would never be the same. It was that moment, it was that defining moment. In most successful peoples lives, there is a moment that just happens and I knew it was gonna be like that.
In 1972 I booked Elvis in New York. It was 4 shows - four shows, that's 80,000 people for a music star. They came and slept outside Madison Square Garden for two weeks to get tickets. They slept. They brought beds. They brought cots. They brought bed roles. It was amazing. And that had never been done before. Nobody had done it - but I did it with Elvis."
(News, Source;GlobeMail/ElvisInfoNet) |
Elvis Presley's gold-leaf piano to leave CM Hall of Fame?: Unloading a $3.5 million piece of rock and roll history ain't easy. Terri Fenn has tried Sony, BMI, Graceland and wealthy private investors. And still Elvis Presley's famed 24-carat-gold-painted grand piano, a first-anniversary gift from Priscilla, sits in the Country Music Hall of Fame - for now.
Fenn, a Smyrna Middle School family and consumer science teacher, has until Sept. 3 to fulfill her contract to sell it, one she landed by being the friend of a friend and enjoying ties to Nashville's music and real estate industries.
After that, it goes to a major auction house and, presumably, someplace other than the Country Music Hall of Fame.
"It could go to a Japanese investor. They love Elvis," Fenn said. "Japanese are the number one collectors of Elvis stuff. I obviously have to sell it. But I think we could all agree that it should be at the Country Music Hall of Fame."
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She's already been contacted by A&E "Shipping Wars," wanting a heads-up when it leaves the hall.
The family of Russ Kemppel, an Akron, Ohio, businessman who died in January 2012, owns the piano. Kemppel bought the piano for $2 million. He moved it out of Graceland, Presley's Memphis estate, 22 years ago and leased it to the hall for $1.
Now the family would like to sell. Ferrell said he connected with Fenn in an effort to keep the piano in Nashville. Museum director Kyle Young issued a statement this morning:
"Though it wasn't considered a key piece in the collection from an historical perspective -along the lines of Bill Monroe's Loar, Maybelle Carter's L-5, Earl Scruggs' Granada or countless other instruments we display - nevertheless it is a marvelous piece of popular culture and our visitors enjoyed seeing it.
"We are grateful to the piano's owners for loaning it to the museum for so many years and, if it does indeed sell, we will be sorry to see it go."
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
Remembering the Day Elvis Died: A thoughtful post that will bring back similar memories for many Elvis fans.
TV reporter Steve Newvine writes ... I was twenty years old the night I heard that Elvis Presley had died at his home in Memphis. The date was August 16, 1977.
Over the years, I had bought each new Presley single. I saw the songs shift from rock-and-roll to more of a country-rock sound in the mid-1970s. It didn’t matter to me. I was a fan right on through to college where I studied to be a radio announcer and ended up being a television reporter. I even had a part time job at a radio station where I could play his records even as his popularity flattened in the last two years of his life.
And that leads to that night in August when I heard that Elvis had died. The disc jockeys I listened to that evening were paying tribute to the man who popularized the music of a generation. Radio was hosting a wake. Those of us who enjoyed the music took part by simply tuning in.
At 11:30 that evening, I moved from the radio to the television set in the living room. NBC was airing a half hour Presley retrospective with David Brinkley as the anchor. A friend of mine recorded the audio from that broadcast and gave me a copy. I have probably played that tape hundreds of times. I’ll never forget how David Brinkley kicked off the broadcast with what amounted to a reason why America cared about the loss of the rock-and-roll icon:
“It didn’t matter a great deal whether you liked Elvis or not. He changed our lives. So did a lot of other people change parts of our lives. Montovani played Charmagne. We heard it a thousand times on the radio, in
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elevators and at the dentist office. But it didn’t change anything. Elvis Presley did. He changed the way that teenage America thought about things: public entertainment, popular attitudes, toward behavior and attitudes about dressing and sex. And so when he died today from a heart ailment at the age of forty-two, people felt a sense of loss whether they ever liked his singing or not.”
I got through that night thanks to the community of broadcasters who wouldn’t let this death go unnoticed. The fans kept up the outpouring of sympathy on through the funeral a few days later. That affection for Elvis has kept on going ever since.
Soon, we would read of allegations of drug abuse, physical decline, and just plain weird things that went on during those final years. The image of a slick rock-and-roll icon was tarnished for a long time.
But the music endured. And with time, the entertainment industry has found a place for the man who, as David Brinkley said so eloquently some thirty-six years ago, changed things.
We have Elvis Presley to thank for that as well.
Go HERE to the Merced County Event for his full article.
(News, Source;Merced/ElvisInfoNet) |
'Merry Christmas...Love, Elvis' New Sony CD: Colonel Parker is alive and well as SONY once again flood the market with yet more Elvis product! Is it really necessary to release yet another Elvis Christmas compilation just 2 weeks after the major STAX release? This is how the impact of Elvis' original album releases was stuffed up by Parker and RCA when he was alive and 36 years later they still haven't learnt. Surely a Christmas compilation can wait until November?
For less than US$5 you can buy all the regular Christmas songs once again.
Release date August 27, 2013.
Track List -
1. If Every Day Was Like Christmas,
2. Santa Claus Is Back In Town,
3. Winter Wonderland,
4. Silver Bells,
5. Blue Christmas,
6. It Won't Seem Like Christmas (Without You),
7. Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me),
8. O Come, All Ye Faithful,
9. I'll Be Home On Christmas Day,
10. Holly Leaves And Christmas Trees,
11. Merry Christmas Baby
12. If I Get Home On Christmas Day
(News, Source;Sony/ElvisInfoNet) |
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'The Creeping Crud Express' New Import CD: Right after the release of the very controversial Houston, August 28th, 1976 show ('Houston We Have A Problem' - see details below), Audionics is back with another remarkable release with more previously unreleased soundboard material. This time, Audionics presents Elvis in solid form during his memorable May/June ’75 tour.
Elvis often wore different Phoenix jumpsuits in May/June ’75, and in a way that’s entirely appropriate. Compared with the fall of ’74, he looked fresh and rejuvenated, sounded great, and seemed genuinly happy about being on the road again. He was like a phoenix rising from its ashes.
Fortunately, the June ’75 tour is well-documented, and most of the shows have been released on soundboard. In this deluxe package, Audionics presents for the first time the unreleased afternoon show in Shreveport, Louisiana on June 7th, 1975 – a real killer show. Even though most of the shows on this tour have a similar setlist, it’s always a treat to hear a new show from this remarkable tour and to
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hear unique moments - like different dialogue, fun interplay with the audience and of course small variations in the way he performs the songs or especially good versions. The audio quality of this soundboard is topnotch.
The Dallas show has been out before, first by RCA in 1980, and then more complete on import as ‘Dallas Seventyfive Uncensored’ a couple of years ago. We were able to obtain a superior and even more complete tape source, and it’s a joy to hear this fantastic show in excellent sound.
Presented in a deluxe double digipak with rare photos (some are published in color for the first time here) and relevant liner notes, this is another winner that every die-hard fan must own.
The Shreveport Evening show of the same day was issued by FTD last year - see detailed review here. |
'The Nations Favourite Elvis Songs' UK COVER ART: Annouced today was the cover art for both versions of the new UK single and double CD versions of the album entitled 'The Nations Favourite Elvis Songs' out on 11th November, 2013. The single disc (cover right) will retail at £10.94 and the double CD (cover below) will retail at £11.74.
The Nation’s Favourite Elvis Song will be a 90 minute special to air later this year on ITV telling the stories behind the 20 greatest songs ever recorded by the King of Rock’n'Roll.
EIN contributor Brian Quinn has checked with the UK Official Charts Company
today and they confirmed sales of both versions of the album will be added
together for the charts.
- As EIN contributor Brian Quinn notes, there are some fantastic tracks chosen though nothing out of the ordinary, and I am sure it will chart well. However Sony have yet again lost the opportunity of introducing the general public to some ‘relatively’ unheard of gems.
(News, Source;BrianQuinn/ElvisInfoNet)
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See detailed tracklisting below.
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Elvis Presley to Rock in India: Elvis Presley Enterprises is planning to introduce the Elvis brand to India. The merchandise options will range from apparels to accessories, stationery, collectibles, personal care and other segments. EPE will enter India in partnership with Bradford License India, which will identify licensing opportunities for EPE in India.
Consumers would soon get an opportunity to flaunt sweatshirts with classic song titles of Elvis Presley such as ‘Suspicious Minds’ and ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, or signature portraits of Elvis Presley on sweaters and tees, and denim jackets with the phrase ‘Love Me Tender’ printed on the back, at company’s Indian outlet.
India's news outlet nicely notes.. "Presley is considered among the most significant names from the world of music with some of his greatest hits that include ‘Heartbreak Hotel, Don't be Cruel, Love Me Tender and All Shook Up’, which created a rage among his fans. He was considered a cult hero of the 70s who single handedly changed the world of music for ever."
(News, Source;IndiaAP/ElvisInfoNet) |
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'Viva Las Vegas - 50th Anniv Tour' in Australia: Various news sites are incorrectly reporting that The Sweet Inspirations will perform in Australia for the first time in 2014 and as part of the "Elvis In Concert" Australian tour! This is ridiculous as they have performed here many times over the last 25 years and they are actually here as part of the 'Viva Las Vegas - 50th Anniversary Tour' with Elvis tribute artists Cody Slaughter and Shawn Klush.
Both Shawn Klush and Cody Slaughter have been voted as two of the World’s Best Elvis Tribute Artists as well as performing sold out concerts in Las Vegas, Chile and Europe with Cody currently also touring America
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with the ‘Million Dollar quartet’ tour. -
Their Australian tour will depict Elvis Presley at his prime backed by the Sweet Inspirations and a special tribute to ‘Viva Las Vegas’.
Tour dates so far confirmed are:
April 3 & 4 - Crown Casino, Melbourne
April 5 - State Theatre, Sydney
April 6- Jupiters Casino, Gold Coast
Go HERE to Almost Elvis for more info
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
Elvis at Palm Springs Honeymoon Hideaway: The house which brought the Elvis and his bride to Palm Springs will be open for public tours THIS WEEKEND Aug. 24 as part of a celebration the 36th anniversary.
Presley and his wife, Priscilla, made the desert their home from 1966-67 when they leased the Robert Alexander estate at 1350 Landera Circle.
Tours of Elvis’ house will be given at 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The day would not be complete without music, and Elvis impersonator Travis Powell will perform at the house from 4-6 p.m.
Unlike many museum or star tours, visitors are invited to make themselves at home for a personal experience. Guests can get feel for the “King of Rock-n-Roll’s” lifestyle immortalized at this retreat while seated on the original large sofa banquette, one of the most recognized pieces in the famed living room.
Go here to Honeymoon Hideway for more info and tickets.
(News, Source;HoneymoonN/ElvisInfoNet) |
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UPDATED - Remembering ELVIS in 2013: Thirty Six years ago, at 3.30 in the afternoon of 16 August 1977, Elvis Presley was pronounced dead at the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis. His girlfriend, Ginger Alden, had found his body a little more than an hour earlier, collapsed on the floor of his Graceland bathroom. He had had heart failure while siting down and reading a book entitled 'The Scientific Search for the Face of Jesus'. Elvis was only 42 years old.
However back at the start in 1956 within months of his arrival on the national stage, the godlike Elvis had destroyed the old showbiz order, rewritten the rules on young desire and initiated the era of the teenager.
BEFORE Elvis, there were no teenagers - older children were just adults in training, apprentices to the past; AFTER Elvis, there was youth culture, the most powerful commercial force in the history of the world.
Go here as on the thirty-sixth anniversary of Elvis' passing EIN looks back at the legend and the legacy...
(Spotight, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
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Pre-Sale Tickets for "ELVIS PRESLEY – ON STAGE" in UK: While EIN broke the news that the upcoming "Elvis Presley - On Stage" 2014 European tour would not feature any of the TCB Band or Elvis' musicians (see below) EPE has now offered Pre-sale tickets for keen UK fans. EPE note..
.. In celebration of Elvis’ recording of “That’s All Right” in 1954 and the 60th Anniversary of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Graceland and Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. will proudly present "Elvis Presley - On Stage" in 2014.
The all new "Elvis Presley - On Stage" music experience will kick off a 23-date-tour of the United Kingdom starting in April 2014 and continue through the end of May. Featuring a hot studio band and backup singers, the 60th Anniversary of Rock ‘n’ Roll celebration will go on the road to Europe. Following the worldwide success of the stage production,
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Elvis Presley In Concert, which featured Elvis’ original band and singers, this new show is designed for all Elvis fans past, present and future.
Using the latest technology, Elvis performs via state-of-the art video screens singing lead vocals backed by a live band, singers and an orchestra. Together, this multi-media creation puts the audience inside an Elvis Presley concert presented exactly like one of his classic live performances in a Las Vegas showroom. The contemporary staging and overall production create the illusion that Elvis is on stage for his finest concert performances.
There is a pre-sale for tickets go HERE to Elvis.com. - SEE TOUR DATES BELOW
(News, Source;EPE/ElvisInfoNet) |
Top 10 Elvis Presley-related attractions and days out in Memphis: Continuing Elvis' media interest this week, UK's The Guardian features an article on their Top 10 Elvis Presley-related attractions in Memphis. For some reason Graceland is not mentioned in the list- perhaps that is too obvious. Elvis fans will be in their element in Memphis. From a tour of Sun Studio to a graveside vigil, from eating at his booth in the Arcade restaurant to staying at the apartment he grew up in … it's all hail the King in this city
- Tour Sun Studio
Sun Studio should be the first stop on any Elvis fan's list of things to see in Memphis. The recording studio where Elvis got his start is now a museum with tours led every hour by local musicians. You'll get a history of rock'n'roll's beginnings, get to stand in the room where Elvis cut his early tracks, and get to touch (or pose for pictures with) the studio's legendary microphone. If you have to wait for your tour to start, have a |
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milkshake in the lobby – they're some of the best in town.
- See a concert at Levitt Shell
- Have breakfast at the Arcade Restaurant
- Stay the night in Elvis's apartment Lauderdale Courts
- Pay your respects at the Candlelight Vigil
- Stay at the Heartbreak Hotel
- Shop at Lansky Bros
- Take your picture with the Elvis statue on Beale Street
- Tour Memphis in a vintage Caddy
For the full travel article go HERE to the Guardian.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
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Dean Z Wins the 2013 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest: EPE reports that ten of the top Elvis tribute artists in the world competed saturday night at a packed house at the Cannon Center in downtown Memphis where the 2013 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist was announced.
Dean Z is now the 2013 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist winner.
Dean moved to Las Vegas aged seventeen to reach toward his goal of establishing himself as a well-known Elvis act. He is honored to be a part of the Ultimate ETA Contest and admires all the ETAs who have gone on to win the contest. His favorite Elvis song is “Bossa Nova.”
Adam Fitzpatrick was Second Place
Jay Dupuis was Third Place
EIN says there is ONLY ONE ELVIS but if you want to know more go HERE for the EPE Elvis UETA page
(News, Source;EPE/ElvisInfoNet)
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| Saturday 17 August 2013 .... ELVIS WEEK .... |
When Elvis Presley came to Houston: Another cool article for Elvis' 36th anniversary - this time from 'The Texan'...
Today marks 36 years since Elvis Presley died at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tenn.. The rock idol was only 42 years old when he went to the great gig in the sky on August 16, 1977.
In honor of the anniversary of the King’s passing some great video and pictorial documents of Elvis’ visits to Houston that exist in our archives.
It was reported by Billboard that at an April 2, 1955, stop at City Auditorium for a "Louisiana Hayride" remote broadcast, 2,000 people were turned away. Presley was on the bill with Slim Whitman. The next day his pink Cadillac was stopped for speeding in Shreveport.
Elvis played two shows on October 13, 1956, at the long-gone Sam Houston Coliseum too, which we have a few pics from. Chronicle reviewer Dick De Pugh called Presley "the greasy, side-burned hillbilly," solidifying Presley’s rock and roll street cred for sure for the 8,000 fans there. The writer though, knew the titles to Presley’s songs.
He ended his review succinctly with "No one fainted. No one was injured."
After 1957, he dived into the U.S. Army, the movies, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, chicks, and other kingly pursuits before touring the U.S. again in 1970.
He kicked off that tour with six of those shows — two a day — opening the
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1970 38th Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He would play in front of over 200,000 fans under the Dome, and stay at a $2,500 a night suite at the AstroWorld Hotel, which was claimed to be the most expensive in the world at the time.
Go HERE for the great article - lots of photos from 1970 as well as later visits in 1974 and 1976
(News, Source;Texan/ElvisInfoNet) |
The King ‘had such an importance and a deep impact on the history of music’: If the King of Rock and Roll was still alive, he would be 78 years old.
It’s incredible that nearly four decades after his death, Elvis is still an imposing figure, and it speaks to the impact he and his music, which first shocked a nation, are still making. Las Vegas played host to Elvis during his career as if it was his second home.
Elvis historian Cory Cooper explains..
"Elvis not only revolutionized the way we listen to music and for music to be accepted, but he set off hysteria felt around the globe. When Elvis came on the scene, black artists were not on white radio. Music was segregated; there were ‘race records.’ Elvis opened the doors for people to accept black music. People went back and discovered Little Richard and other fantastic black artists.
"It became so popular that legendary music producer Jerry Wexler changed the phrase from race records to R&B. Rhythm and blues was now accepted, and black artists were being recognized and went from local and regional acts to international stars.
From Paul McCartney and John Lennon to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, to Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, all were all influenced by Elvis. There was truly nobody like him. Elvis was a unique performer, and he was the American dream. He came from humble beginnings and became the biggest superstar in the world and sold more records than anyone else in the history of music.
All the while maintaining his gracious ways and manners and always
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appreciating his fans. This is part of what endeared himself to the world along with his tremendous talent, charisma and showmanship. Younger generations are becoming Elvis fans because they enjoy what he was all about and realize his importance and iconic status in the history of music.
That is why Elvis continues to be so relevant and influential today. So, sit back, put on some Elvis music and enjoy your day."
Please go here to the Las Vegas Sun for the full tribute.
(News, Source;CoryCooper/ElvisInfoNet) |
'The Nations Favourite Elvis Songs' UK New CD: To coincide with the ITV Programme (date not yet set) SONY UK will release single and double CD versions of the album entitled 'The Nations Favourite Elvis Songs' on 11th November, 2013 as follows. The single disc will retail at £10.94 and the double CD will retail at £11.74.
The Nation’s Favourite Elvis Song will be a 90 minute special to air later this year on ITV telling the stories behind the 20 greatest songs ever recorded by the King of Rock’n'Roll from Heartbreak Hotel to In The Ghetto, It’s Now or Never to An American Trilogy.
As well as hearing from Priscilla Presley and different generations of pop stars and musicians influenced by Elvis, the show will also feature those who worked with Elvis from the 50s through to the 70s – from songwriters to backing singers, producers to session musicians.
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As EIN contributor Brian Quinn notes, there are some fantastic tracks chosen though nothing out of the ordinary, and I am sure it will chart well. However Sony have yet again lost the opportunity of introducing the general public to some ‘relatively’ unheard of gems.
(News, Source;BrianQuinn/ElvisInfoNet)
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Here's the track listing for the single disc edition
MAIN DISC
1. Suspicious Minds
2. Always on My Mind
3. Love Me Tender
4. In the Ghetto
5. Viva Las Vegas
6. Jailhouse Rock
7. Hound Dog
8. Blue Suede Shoes
9. All Shook Up
10. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
11. The Wonder of You
12. It's Now or Never
13. Don't Be Cruel
14. Heartbreak Hotel
15. If I Can Dream
16. An American Trilogy
17. King Creole
18. Return to Sender
19. A Little Less Conversation - Elvis vs JXL
20. Can't Help Falling in Love
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The two CD set also features the next twenty favourites
1. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
2. (Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I
3. Hard Headed Woman
4. Burning Love
5. She's Not You
6. (You're The) Devil in Disguise
7. Good Luck Charm
8. (Marie's the Name of) His Latest Flame
9. Wooden Heart
10. Way Down
11. Surrender
12. Stuck on You
13. A Big Hunk O' Love
14. One Night
15. Crying in the Chapel
16. Don't
17. I Just Can't Help Believin'
18. Too Much
19. Promised Land
20. Guitar Man
21. Rubberneckin'
22. Suspicious Minds (Live)
23. Are You Lonesome Tonight? (Presume laughing version). |
UPDATED - ‘Elvis At Stax’ [Deluxe] Reviews: More new sensational reviews of the new STAX release... Jerrick Adams from Pop Matters notes... ..
... My God, how do you begin to talk about Elvis? He’s as familiar to us as Washington or Lincoln, perhaps more so in some circles. And still he remains impenetrable, no matter how much ink has been spilled over him. The more we talk about him, the more we seem to talk around him, ever broadening the distance that separates us from him, further obscuring him with the shroud of legend and history.
.. Elvis at Stax constitutes a rather gutsy move on Legacy’s part. There’s simply no ignoring the fact that this is Elvis at his most widely ridiculed Las Vegas White-jumpsuit period.
That’s a shame, because there’s some top notch music here. The alternate versions, outtakes, and master cuts that make up the set’s three discs are a testament not only to Presley’s gifts but to the talents of the players he surrounded himself with. What’s more, the material collected here is some of the best he recorded in what turned out to be Presley’s most prolific period. You may not be familiar with Presley’s takes on "You Asked Me To", "Promised Land", or "There’s a Honky Tonk Angel (Who Will Take Me Back In)", but you probably |
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recognize the songs themselves as classics. ... it packs quite a punch, and if you care a thing about Presley and American music in general, you owe it to yourself to check this set out. Take one of the great vocalists of the past century, give him material like this to lay into, and you’re bound to come out with something not just eminently listenable, but occasionally revelatory.
Go HERE to EIN's overview of the STAX media reviews and Cool Photos of the new box-set.
(CD Reviews, Source;BlogCritics/ElvisInfoNet) |
Latest Billboard Album Charts: Billboard Top 200 Album Chart for w/e 17th August, 2013.
'Heart And Soul' rises from 185 to 182 selling some 2,329 units. Total sales to
date: 667,626 units. It also rises from 44 to 37 on the Catalog Album
Chart.
The following albums appeared on the Catalog Album Chart:
'An Afternoon In The Garden' rises from 93 to 80 selling some 1,804 units. Total sales to date: 573,365 units.
'The Essential Elvis' (Double Album) appeared at 96 selling some 1,666 units. Total sales to date: 526,631 units. For RIAA purposes this has now sold 1,053,262 units. It also appeared on the 'Albums With TEA' at 195 selling some 3,191 units.
'Elvis Inspirational (Compilation) rises from 143 to 113 selling some 1,579 units. Total sales to date: 172,212 units.
'The Very Best Of Love' re-enters at 151 selling some 1,352 units. Total sales to date: 375,677 units.
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'Elvis Country' (Compilation) rises from 187 to 181 selling some 1,257 units. Total sales to date: 199,206 units.
'Elvis At Stax' (De-Luxe 3CD Version) entered the Current Album Chart at 167 selling some 2,067 units.
'He Touched Me' (Vols.1 and 2) dropped from 32 to 34 on the Music Video Sales Chart.
Note - (TEA) Track equivalent albums is a term used to describe a method of converting the download sale of individual songs (singles) into whole album numbers. In other words, every time ten units of a single are sold, those ten units are counted as one album sale. Track equivalent albums are considered a reliable means of gauging whether music fans are buying whole albums or are opting to buy single tracks instead.
(News, Source;BrianQuinn/ElvisInfoNet) |
| Friday 16 August 2013 .... ELVIS WEEK .... 2nd News Update --- |
Remembering ELVIS in 2013: Thirty Six years ago, at 3.30 in the afternoon of 16 August 1977, Elvis Presley
was pronounced dead at the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis. His girlfriend,
Ginger Alden, had found his body a little more than an hour earlier, collapsed
on the floor of his Graceland bathroom.
He had had heart failure while siting down and reading a book entitled 'The Scientific Search for the Face of Jesus'. Elvis was only 42 years old.
However back at the start in 1956 within months of his arrival on the national stage, the godlike Elvis had destroyed the old showbiz order, rewritten the rules on young desire and initiated the era of the teenager.
BEFORE Elvis, there were no teenagers - older children were just adults in training, apprentices to the past; AFTER Elvis, there was youth culture, the most powerful commercial force in the history of the world.
Go here as on the thirty-sixth anniversary of Elvis' passing EIN looks back at the legend and the legacy...
(Spotight, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
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The Candlelight Vigil 2013: Elvis Presley fans from around the world made their annual pilgrimage to Graceland on Thursday to pay their respects to the rock n' roll icon with a solemn candlelight vigil on the 36th anniversary of his death.
Thousands of Presley fans carried lit candles as they walked slowly and silently through the Mediation Garden at Graceland, Presley's longtime Memphis home. The garden is the location of Presley's grave and also is the spot where his mother, father and grandmother are buried.
Wreaths of flowers and pictures of Presley encircled the grave, while shadows cast by the glowing candles danced along the stone wall surrounding the garden. Soft music played in the mild night, as some in the procession bowed their heads or cried quietly.
Police estimated 35,000 people would attend the vigil. Last year, an estimated 75,000 people descended on Graceland when Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley appeared together at the vigil for
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the first time since it began.
The vigil started as an informal gathering the year after his death. It has blossomed into a major tourist event. Fans begin lining up along the outer wall of Graceland about 12 hours before the vigil, and many will stay until the early morning hours of the next day.
The event also has become an international affair hosting fans from Australia, Brazil, England and Japan and other foreign countries.
Rodrigo Gandarillas, a native Chilean who now lives in Houston, said the vigil is a way to give thanks for the enjoyment Presley has given him. "The thing that impacts me the most about the vigil is the large amount of people from different countries, different races and different languages who understand 'the King's' musical message," Gandarillas said.
(News, Source;AP/ElvisInfoNet) |
Watch Video of the 2013 Candlelight Vigil: Thousands of Elvis fans gathered around the gates of Graceland for the annual Candlelight Vigil and celebrated the life and legacy of the King of Rock 'n' Roll.
The ceremony for the 36th anniversary was organized as always by the Elvis Country Fan Club. The theme for this year's Candlelight service was announced the beautiful 1970 release 'Just Pretend'.
The weather was surprisingly pleasant, unlike the usual mid-August heat and humidity.
Go HERE to watch a replay of the Ceremony.
After the opening ceremony at the gates of Graceland, fans walked up the driveway to Meditation Garden and back down carrying a candle in quiet remembrance. Gates remain open until all who wish to
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Marty Lacker On STAX: Marty Lacker was present at the Stax sessions in 1973 and makes an interesting point:
... I read the story quoting Ernst Jorgenson at the Stax listening party and it irks me when people who were not present when those things actually happened run off at the mouth with false information.
Elvis' songwriter deal with the Hill & Range publishing was really not over at the time of the Stax sessions because Freddy Bienstock was at the sessions with Tom Diskin and as usual Freddy brought along his usual shitty songs that he and Hill and Range as well as Parker had the publishing on.
That is of course why Elvis did some crummy songs within the two sessions and why he didn't do any Stax music that could have been supplied (why no Isaac Hayes/ Dave Porter compositions?) - because Parker and Freddy couldn't get a piece of the publishing on it.
The fact is that I got in an argument with Freddy because I brought "Lovin' Arms" "Raised On Rock" and "We Had It All" for Elvis and they didn't have the pubishing on them.
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They didn't care how their actions effected Elvis personally or career-wise as long as they got their money.
- Marty.
Go HERE for the STAX interview and extensive articles.
EIN notes that we will be publishing an extensive article on the STAX sessions in the future.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
Graceland Gears Up for 60th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll: As thousands of fans gathered for Elvis Week and the annual Candlelight Vigil, EPE announced plans for a yearlong celebration to commemorate Elvis’ first professional recording, considered by many music historians to be the birth of the rock ‘n’ roll music movement.
On July 5, 1954, Elvis walked into Sun Studio in Memphis and recorded a sped up version of Arthur Crudup’s "That’s All Right" with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black. Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips first played the song July 8, 1954 on WHBQ radio and the switchboard lit up, the song was repeated fourteen times in a row during the "Red HOT and Blue" broadcast due to public demand. Rock ‘n’ Roll was born and the world of music changed forever.
Kicking off the year-long celebration in 2014 is the New Year’s Eve Hard Rock Café Guitar Drop on world famous Beale Street. Thousands will gather on the famed blues alley in Memphis to take in live music and watch a 10-foot guitar wrapped in the 60 years of Rock ‘n’ Roll art as it descends 100 feet onto Beale Street at midnight in the Central time zone.
On January 8th, fans from around the world will gather at Graceland to celebrate the birth of the undisputed King of Rock ‘n’ Roll as a cake fit for a king is cut during the Elvis Presley Day
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Proclamation Ceremony. Events continue through the 11th and include a concert by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra as they showcase symphonic interpretations of the songs that helped give Memphis the title of Birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
A special exhibition will open at Graceland on March 3, 2014 showcasing Elvis’ impact on music and popular culture over the past 60 years and chronicling the birth of rock ‘n’ roll . The vaults of the Graceland Archives have been opened to help develop this unique exhibit that will be included as part of the Graceland VIP Tour.
The site of Elvis’ first professional recording session, Sun Studio, will be the site of a global celebration on July 5th as Memphis and the world mark the birth of rock ‘n’ roll with Elvis Presley’s recording of "That’s All Right." Additional details for festivities planned at the famed Memphis recording studio will be announced at a later date.
The impressive ‘ELVIS PRESLEY – ON STAGE’ music experience will kick off a 23 date tour of the United Kingdom starting in April through the end of May, taking the 60th Anniversary celebration on the road to Europe (see story below).
(News, Source;EPE/ElvisInfoNet) |
| Thursday 15 August 2013 .... ELVIS WEEK .... 2nd News Update .... |
Mother Dolores Hart at "Conversations on Elvis": It’s not that often you find a nun headlining a rock and roll event.
But fans packed the main stage tent at Graceland Wednesday to hear Mother Dolores Hart along with singer/songwriter T.G. Sheppard and bassist Norbert Putnam tell tales of the King of Rock and Roll at the "Conversations on Elvis" discussion.
Fans were particularly interested in Mother Dolores’ unusual story. Before she joined a monastery as a nun, Mother Dolores was a rising actress in Hollywood and costarred with Elvis in two of his films. She’d been in prestige films and starred on Broadway, but gave it up for the cloistered life.
Cloistered but not isolated: with permissions from her abbess and the archbishop, she published a book and came to Memphis to visit fans and sign "The Ear of the Heart." She’s also taking |
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pictures of people she’s meeting on the trip — fans, staffers and even reporters. "I’ve always wanted to see Graceland and where Elvis lived and where his heart was," she said. "I feel his presence here so much."
She recalled the first time she met Elvis (asking him "What do you do?" because she’d been studying too hard to pay attention to pop culture), saying, "I could not believe his charisma — his voice and how it penetrated the heart."
A long line of fans stood to meet her and get signed copies of her book.
T.G. Sheppard also told his stories. Elvis knew Billy Neal Browder in the early days before he changed his name to T.G. Sheppard. He recalled to fans how Elvis was walking around Graceland singing along with his first hit, but Elvis didn’t know his friend Billy — who was hanging around at Graceland — was also T. G. Later Elvis found out and said, "Hey, you could’ve told me you were T.G. Sheppard."
(News, Source;MCAppeal/ElvisInfoNet) |
Roger Semon & Ernst Jorgensen Talk about Stax: Roger Semon knows the music business and Elvis Presley’s sound like few others do. And he knows where RCA, Presley’s record label, went wrong in marketing what should have been a historic intersection of Presley with Stax Records.
Roger Semon told the standing-room-only crowd at the Stax Museum, the problem wasn’t the music. It was in the images that were wrapped around the albums and singles over the course of three albums that featured the tunes recorded at Stax by Elvis in July and December of 1973.
Semon explained, "All of Elvis’ records from 1970 to around ’73 – every single album – came with Elvis wearing a wonderful white jump suit. I think in a way as great as he was, it actually confused Elvis’ output. Whether it was a live
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recording or whether it was Elvis’ phenomenal Stax sessions, there was no discrimination with regard to the packaging. There was always Elvis in the white jump suit." It didn’t help that the US music charts were based on radio airplay and album sales were also in a different place in terms of what was popular. "Genesis, David Bowie, contemporary music had really taken over in a massive way."
Ernst Jorgensen said the music Presley selected was a high point because the earlier publishing deal with Hill & Range music - that had dictated in large part the material he normally recorded - had lapsed.
"By 1973, Elvis gets more courageous because his publishing deal had fallen apart. But in some ways he was let down. I think he had been very much let down by radio in ’73 and ’74."
Muscle Shoals bass player Norbert Putnam earlier told Wayne Jackson (Memphis Horns), "It didn’t look this good when you played here," Putnam remembered getting to the Stax sessions early before anyone else except an engineer.
"I tried to imagine the scene that was Otis Redding and the Memphis Horns. I thought, ‘I bet the king of rock ‘n’ roll can light this place up.’"
(News, Source;SanjaM/ElvisInfoNet) |
Dolores Hart, Norbert Putnam Interview at Elvis Week: Tom Brown, VP of Original Productions at TCM sat down with Mother Dolores Hart and bassist, Norbert Putnam, for an Elvis Week exclusive
In this delightful 30 minute interview both Norbert Putnam and Mother Dolores Hart reminisce about their times with Elvis.
Mother Dolores Hart is particularly animated when talking about her past. She laughs delightfully about Elvis asking her out all those years ago and notes, "I think Elvis was very moved by the word of the Lord."
DONT MISS THIS - Go here to view the 30 minute YouTube clip.
(News, Source;EPE/ElvsInfoNet)
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Top 10 Finalists Announced in Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest: EPE sends congratulations to the winners of the Semifinal Round of the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest. They are listed below in no particular order. These top ten finalists will compete for the title of 2013 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. The group will be narrowed down to the top five, before the ultimate winner of the contest is announced.
Matt Cordell - Winner of the Atlantic City ETA Contest
Jay Dupuis - Winner of the Tupelo Elvis Festival
Adam Fitzpatrick - Winner of the Penticton Elvis Festival
Chad Collins - Winner of the Las Vegas ETA Contest
Diogo "Di" Leichtweis - Winner of the Sao Paulo Elvis Festival
Ben Thompson - Winner of Europe's Tribute To Elvis Contest
Cliff Wright - Winner of the Fill The Blue Suede Shoes ETA Contest
Jim Barone - Winner of the Food Lion AutoFair ETA Preliminary
Michael Chambliss - Winner of the Georgia Elvis Festival
Dean Z - Winner of the Rockin' Elvis Fest at Pala Casino
EIN says there is ONLY ONE ELVIS but if you want to know more go HERE for the EPE Elvis UETA page
(News, Source;EPE/ElvisInfoNet)
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'Elvis In Concert' returns to tour the UK in April / May 2014: As EIN broke the news two days ago, this new announced UK tour will be without the original TCB band, but will be joined with all new musicians/singers helping to keep Elvis rocking concert arena's around the country. There is no additional news of whether or not there will be any European tour dates being added?
It is not yet known if the new tour will follow the same format as before, or will the new band members be bringing more performances to life by way of 50's TV performances, Movie songs and of course 70's live songs?
For past concert tours, EPE and Stig Edgren have booked it into the large arenas. This time around it will play in smaller venues with a larger geographical reach thus giving more fans a chance to see it, especially those who cannot afford to travel or those with medical issues. Tickets go on sale on September 6, 2013. |
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ELVIS IN CONCERT - 2014 UK TOUR DATES
Wed 30 Apr 2014 SHEFFIELD City Hall
Thu 01 May 2014 NEWCASTLE City Hall
Fri 02 May 2014 DUNDEE Caird Hall
Sat 03 May 2014 EDINBURGH Playhouse
Sun 04 May 2014 GLASGOW Clyde Auditorium
Mon 05 May 2014 LIVERPOOL Philharmonic
Wed 07 May 2014 PRESTON Guild Hall
Thu 08 May 2014 NOTTINGHAM Royal Concert Hall
Fri 09 May 2014 IPSWICH Regent Theatre
Sat 10 May 2014 BRIGHTON Centre
(Thanks to Elvis Matters for the dates)
(News, Source;BrianQuinn/ElvisInfoNet) |
Sun 11 May 2014 PLYMOUTH Pavilion
Tue 13 May 2014 BRISTOL Colston Hall
Wed 14 May 2014 SOUTHEND Cliffs Pavilion
Thu 15 May 2014 BOURNEMOUTH BIC
Fri 16 May 2014 CARDIFF Motorpoint Arena
Sat 17 May 2014 MANCHESTER Bridgewater Hall
Sun 18 May 2014 MILTON KEYNES Theatre
Tue 20 May 2014 YORK Barbican
Wed 21 May 2014 LEICESTER De Montfort Hall
Thu 22 May 2014 OXFORD New Theatre
Fri 23 May 2014 BIRMINGHAM Symphony Hall
Sat 24 May 2014 LONDON Hammersmith Apollo
Sun 25 May 2014 LONDON Hammersmith Apollo |
Elvis Presley Estate Bid in Second Round: The auction for Core Media’s packaged estates of Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali is now in the second round as bids. The New York Post reported that bids were due Wednesday.
Among the suitors expected to place bids are Sony Corp and the G2 Investment Group. A couple of companies that mine name and likeness assets are also expected to place bids.
Sony Music Entertainment already handles the Presley master recording catalog, so if its bid were successful the company would no longer need to make artist royalty payments to the estate.
Sources say that the properties up for sale generate about $15 million annually in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
In another measure, the Presley publishing catalog, which is currently administered by Imagem, reportedly has $6 million in net publisher's share. That catalog is 50% owned by the Presley estate and 50% owned by the heirs of Hill & Range founder Julian Aberbach and his brother, Jean. The part up for sale has $3 million in net publisher's share.
The packaging of the Presley and the Ali assets make it difficult for bidders to get a handle on the assets, because running those assets and maximizing revenue require diverse skill sets. For example, in addition to the recording masters royalties and the publishing assets, the Presley estate also includes real estate assets like Graceland and Heartbreak Hotel. Sony could buy the
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music assets, but does the company have expertise in running themed real estate assets like Graceland and the hotel?
While first round bids for the Presley and Ali estate were in the $200 million range, sources say second round bids lowered in the $100 million to $150 million range, because the recognition that both Heartbreak Hotel and the Graceland mansion itself will require a capital infusion in order to upgrade and maintain the properties.
GO HERE for EIN's archive and Spotlight into the sale of EPE Estate.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
| Wednesday 14 August 2013 .... ELVIS WEEK .... |
"Elvis at Stax" Listening Party: Two of Memphis’ titanic musical presences came together in 1973 when Elvis Presley went to Stax Studio to record during July and December of that year - and yesterday the Elvis fans flocked to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music on McLemore Avenue to hear the sounds that came from those sessions.
Excerpts from the new box set of those recordings were played and a panel including Norbert Putnam, bassist at the December session, discussed this musically historic event.
Ernst Jorgensen noted, that it was an important moment in Elvis history, "He went to the studio to sing any music he wanted to." Elvis was eager to try new music and was reeling from his divorce from Priscilla Presley.
Putnam recalled memories from the December sessions. "He
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was like a kid in high school. He was a great raconteur and told us stories for two hours. Then he led us through the recording."
The fans at Stax were soaking in the music and loving Putnam’s tales of the recording studio.
GO HERE to watch the STAX Listening Party video via YouTube.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
"10 moments that made Elvis Presley a legend": USA TODAY are on an Elvis roll with yet another Elvis countdown, this time the ten pivotal points that sparked excitement or outrage — or sometimes both. Including..
- Feb. 6, 1955: Elvis encounters the Colonel
- March 25, 1958: Presley drafted, swaps private life for army.
"At the height of his early fame, Elvis was a ripe target — for the military draft. Various branches of the armed services offered him cushy berths in which he could do his time, but the Colonel was gung-ho for Elvis serving as an ordinary soldier. Elvis picked up his draft notice in Dec 1957 but received a deferment to finish his current film project, King Creole. Three months later, he was inducted, receiving a standard close-shorn Army haircut on March 25 that was much publicized — although there couldn't have been all that much hair to shear, Elvis having voluntarily gotten a crewcut about a week before.
- Dec. 3, 1968: Mission implausible: 'Comeback Special'
By 1968, Elvis was either an afterthought or a laughingstock. It had been three years since he had scored a top 10 hit, and each film that came off the assembly line seemed more ludicrous. And a planned TV special of Christmas songs didn't promise to lift the malaise. But a slimmed-down Elvis donned black leather and sang raw versions of his favorite songs in a casual setting, reintroducing the world to what made him such a phenomenon in the first place. Elvis (aka the "Comeback Special") was NBC's top-rated show of the year. Elvis was the King once more. -
Go HERE for the full USA TODAY article
(News, Source;USAToday/ElvisInfoNet)
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New Elvis Humes High School Marker: Here is the all new State Marker to honour Humes High School, "Alma Mater of Elvis Presley".
Elvis first attended Humes in 1948 and graduated from Humes High School in 1953. It was while at Humes that Elvis got his first taste of fame. His singing career began while he was a student at Humes, where he won the senior class talent show. Elvis' his slicked back hair and unusual style of dress were tolerated by Principal Thomas C Brindley.
Thanks to Elvis Express Radio
- photo by Gabe Rodriguez
(News, Source;ElvisExpressRadio/ElvisInfoNet)
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Award for Ed Bonja: At the opening event of the German "Berlin Hall of Fame" curator Ralph Kartelmeyer presented Elvis photographer Ed Bonja with a gold record with the dedication: "Gold status presented to Ed Bonja to commemorate the sale of more than 500,000 Copies of the LP 'From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee".
Ed Bonja has a new book 'Spotlight on Elvis' coming soon (see news item below)
Go HERE for EIN's interview with Ed Bonja.
(News, Source; ElvisClubBerlin/ElvisInfoNet)
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'Elvis Is Back!' new Vinyl Release: The Waxtime label is re-issuing Elvis' classic album 'Elvis Is Back!' in Europe with a new cover and on 180g vinyl. The tracklist is as on the original LP which is of course now in Public Domain.
Release date September 20, 2013.
Side A:
Make Me Know It - Fever - The Girl Of My Best Friend - I Will Be Home Again - Dirty, Dirty Feeling - Thrill Of Your Love
Side B:
Soldier Boy - Such A Night - It Feels So Right - Girl Next Door Went A'Walking - Like A Baby - Reconsider Baby
(News, Source; ElvisClubBerlin/ElvisInfoNet)
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'Keep On Turnin'' New Import CD: Touchdown Productions proudly presents for their 20th release another totally new show! This time we'll release the dinner show from August 26, 1971. There's no wow and flutter and the overall sound quality is of very good quality for an audience recording. That goes also for the bonus tracks which were recorded at the dinner show on August 31, 1971. The show itself was released before a few years ago, but this time the bonus tracks were taken from a different source which offers a much better soundquality than the released CD of the show. As usual the CD will be packaged with a beautiful designed 16-page booklet.
Go to EIN's 'All the CD News 2013' for full tracklist
(News, Source;TP/ElvisInfoNet)
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'Love Me Tonight' New Import CD: From the "SR" label the new CD "Love me tonight" featuring an unreleased show from Las Vegas February 13, 1971 Midnight Show. After a long research we finally located a good tape that gives us the possibility to produce another show from Elvis fourth season.
The midnight show from February 13th has no surprises in the tracklist, but the show is extremely solid and good, the sound is good and powerful using a straight copy of the original source tape. Elvis' performance on these early season nights is superb as he is still performing to the best of his ability. Although he delivers short shows they are delivered in a very intense, crisp and fresh manner that cannot be denied. Elvis was on stage to have fun and demonstrated this during the older, classic numbers, but songs such as 'Polk Salad Annie', 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling' and 'Sweet Caroline' never sounded better. The season will be remembered for the beautiful new closing number ‘The Impossible Dream’ which Elvis sang with
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power and feeling giving us proof that Elvis continued to grow as a performer.
As everybody knows SR concentrates its work on Elvis early 70's live period, trying to produce unreleased shows with Elvis at the top of his possibilities. In this new release, we are proud to present the complete show from February 13th, midnight performance of the fourth Elvis’ historical Vegas season.
To be released in early September
Go to EIN's 'All the CD News 2013' for more details and full tracklist
(News, Source;SR/ElvisInfoNet) |
Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest at Elvis Week: Yesterday fans also flocked to Graceland for a showcase of contestants from the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest. The contest begins with the semifinal round at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, August 14 at 7pm. and the Final Round on Saturday, August 17, at 7pm at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts in Downtown Memphis.
The judging criteria are as follows:
Vocals - Overall singing ability
Style - Ability to present a look and style that well represents Elvis during the era of the song being performed
Stage Wear - Rating of the ETA's stage wear
Stage Presence - Ability to recreate the charisma Elvis created.
EIN says there is ONLY ONE ELVIS but if you want to know more go HERE for the EPE Elvis UETA page
(News, Source;EPE/ElvisInfoNet)
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| Tuesday 13 August 2013 .... ELVIS WEEK .... |
Elvis Week brings back the faithful: The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that Elvis Week 2013 is off and running. Ticket sales are strong and hotel rooms are well booked if not sold out.
Elvis week is bringing back many of the faithful but it's also attracted some new fans. At Graceland the Elvis Week Main Stage opened its doors for the Salute to Memphis Music Concert Monday night - while on Sunday evening on Beale Street, George Klein emceed his annual Elvis Mafia Reunion at Alfred’s. The place was packed with fans who could then ask questions of people who knew Elvis firsthand.
One was regular Marian Cocke who was Elvis' private nurse. When Klein introduced her, he noted that as his nurse, Cocke often gave Elvis a rubdown. "Every night!" she said, earning a collective swoon from the audience.
Cocke has hosted an annual Elvis Presley Memorial Dinner Charity Event for 25 years. This year's dinner is close to sold out.
(News, Source;MCA/ElvisInfoNet)
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'ELVIS In Concert' Screenshow for Europe in APRIL 2014: It’s just been confirmed that the 'Elvis Presley In Concert' screen show will be touring Europe in April 2014 BUT sadly without the TCB Band nor any of Elvis' vocalists. This is not the popular version that toured South-America successfully recently (and will return there in October), but instead it’s a low-budget version without the original TCB band members & singers. These have been replaced by unknown musicians. The shows are being offered by Live Nation. Live Nation was previously SFX Ent who used to own EPE and was formed in the 1990s by media executive Robert Sillerman and are already involved in Elvis EPE merchandise.
Back in 2012 Arjan Deelen discussed the idea that EPE might continue the Elvis In Concert show without the TCB Band - and we
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had a great response from EIN readers - See the Article Here. However while EPE's marketing manager Scott Williams was considering our petition his job was terminated.
It looks like the 'Elvis Presley In Concert' screen show without the TCB Band could become the regular tour in the future.
Click here to send your thoughts to EIN.
(News, Source;ArjanDeelen/ElvisInfoNet) |
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'Elvis At Stax' special party Today: In Memphis today there is a special party in Stax Studios Museum. In conjunction with the much-anticipated "Elvis At Stax," RCA/Legacy Recordings is hosting a very special listening party at the Stax Studios Museum of American Soul Music on August Tuesday, Aug 13, 4pm to 6pm.
EPE say that "Fans will have an opportunity to stand in the very same spot where Elvis recorded the music they are hearing" - this is of course rubbish as the original Stax studios were unfortunately torn down in 1989 with the new "replica studios" built for the new Stax Museum opened in 2003.
However in addition to this you can witness stories and details behind the music and recording sessions from representatives of Sony (Ernst & Roger, no doubt) and special guest Norbert Putnam, who recorded with Elvis at Stax in December 1973 - so for music
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fans it really will be an interesting session to attend. -
Admission to this event is free.
Fans unable to attend can listen to the live broadcast via Elvis' YouTube Channel.
CLICK HERE for YouTube live broadcast from 4:30pm-5:30pm.
(News, Source;Legacy/ElvisInfoNet) |
Elvis Albums Mastered For iTunes For Elvis Week: Nine classic Elvis Presley albums from the 1950s, along with the popular The Essential Elvis Presley and this month's Elvis At Stax, now mastered specifically for iTunes to Coincide With Elvis Week plus 'Elvis At Stax' all available Now.
The Complete 50s Albums Collection brings together nine original albums from the 1950s including: Elvis Presley (1956), Elvis (1956), Loving You, Elvis' Christmas Album, Elvis' Golden Records, King Creole, For LP Fans Only, A Date With Elvis, and 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong: Elvis' Gold Records, Volume 2. Also included are this month's brand-new Elvis At Stax collection as well as the popular The Essential Elvis Presley collection.
This is the first time that Legacy Recordings and iTunes have collaborated on music releases coinciding with "Elvis Week."
(News, Source;Brian Quinn/ElvisInfoNet)
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Elvis and Women, He couldn't help falling in love: After their popular selection of Elvis' most important recording USA Today now has a feature on Elvis' favourite women! USA TODAY recalls some of his more notable flames.
.. Like many young men, Elvis Presley longed to surround himself with gorgeous, glamorous women who adored him. Unlike most, he had the opportunity to do exactly that. The singer was linked to a number of high-profile beauties during his short life, and those who have remembered him publicly have generally done so with affection.
The notable flames include..
- Priscilla Beaulieu - Elvis married just once, to a young woman he had courted for nearly eight years. As is well known, he met 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu during his stint in the Army, while serving in Germany. Instantly smitten, he began dating the stunning teen.. After sowing a few remaining
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wild oats — see the entry on Ann-Margret — Elvis did tie the knot with Priscilla, in 1967.
- Ann-Margret - It's no secret that the chemistry between Elvis and his leading lady in 1964's Viva Las Vegas didn't dissolve when the cameras stopped rolling. In Elvis and Me, Priscilla Presley describes Ann-Margret as the woman she feared most in the period leading up to her marriage. Elvis had assured her that there was nothing inappropriate going on; when Priscilla found out otherwise, she "picked up a flower vase and threw it across the room."
Other flames discussed are Natalie Wood, Anita Wood, Cybill Shepherd, Linda Thompson, Barbara Gray and Ginger Alden.
Go HERE for the full USA TODAY article.
(News, Source;USAToday/ElvisInfoNet) |
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Opening Ceremony launches Elvis Presley Collection: Just in time for Elvis Week, Opening Ceremony has announced a fall and winter 2013 capsule collection inspired by the King, under license from EPE.
Elvis has entered the building - well the boutique anyway - on a range of T-shirts, sweatshirts, button-front woven shirts and denim jackets bearing archival photographs, song titles etc.
Prices of items in the now-available Opening Ceremony X Elvis Presley collection range from $95 (for cotton T-shirts printed with various Elvis imagery) to $355 (a wool sweater with a crystal-embellished design inspired by the King's "Taking Care of Business" ring).
While the styles are cool, even better, "As a nod to the Elvis classic several Opening Ceremony men’s footwear styles are offered in blue suede."
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
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| Monday 12 August 2013 .... ELVIS WEEK .... |
Elvis Presley Birthplace Celebrates: Memphis is not the only place celebrating Elvis Week, in Tupelo this weekend Elvis fans from throughout the world visited the Elvis Presley Birthplace Park to celebrate Fan Appreciation Day.
The day began activities for Tupelo's own Elvis Week, which remembers the anniversary of the artist’s death.
Lesia Marcum of Birmingham, Ala., drove here with her husband and two nieces to celebrate her 30th Elvis Week. "I come because he is Elvis,” she said. “The magic, the heart, the voice, the spirit, the man, his kindness. No matter the mood you are in, he can cheer you up.”
Blair Hill, assistant director at the Birthplace, said he looked up during his opening remarks and saw his friend, Walter from Brazil, whom he only sees on Elvis’ birthday and during Elvis Week.”
It is like welcoming family back home,” Hill said. |
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'Elvis Complete Masters' on Sale: For the next 24 hours only, Elvis Week kicks off with these mega-rare and original numbered first edition box sets available once again in strictly limited quantities, so get one today before they're gone forever. Original Numbered First Edition Box Sets FOUND! - available once again in extremely small quantities – limited edition first run each set individually numbered
The definitive collection of Elvis Presley’s complete master recordings!
• Limited Numbered First Edition – only 1000 ever produced
• ALL of Elvis' originally released master recordings plus rarities
• Over 35 hours of music — over 800 tracks
• 240–page exclusive hardcover book
• Display case to house the collection
For next 24 hours only - US$600 with Free Shipping Worldwide GO HERE for the worldwide deal
Go HERE for EIN's indepth review.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
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'Elvis At STAX' in UK charts & Latest Billboard Album Charts: Great news that ‘Elvis At Stax’ has entered the UK Album Chart this week #70, it also debuted at #26 in the Dutch Top100 and in Belgium at #113.
We suspect that it will be a Top 200 entry on this coming week’s Billboard Album
Chart.
Sadly Elvis has no albums on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart for w/e 17th August, 2013, - but he is still selling!
The following appeared on the Catalog Album Chart:
- 'The Essential Elvis Presley' re-enters the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart at 42 selling some 8,755 units. Total sales to date: 524,965 units. Being a double album it is eligible for double sales under RIAA rules i.e. 17,418 units.
- 'Heart And Soul' re-enters the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart at 185 selling some 2,459 units. Total sales to date: 665,297 units.
- 'He Touched Me' (Vols. 1 and 2) re-enters the Music Video Chart at 32.
(News, Source;BrianQuinn/ElvisInfoNet) |
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| Sunday 11 August 2013 .... ELVIS WEEK .... 2nd News Update .... |
‘Elvis At Stax’ [Deluxe] Reviews: More new sensational reviews of the new STAX release... Joe Marchese from the Second Disc website provides a very in-depth review including...
.. Elvis at Stax would be a landmark release simply for bringing the Stax masters together; even the most diehard Elvis fan will likely admit that most of his original album releases weren't crafted or packaged with an eye to posterity. But this box set adds 27 outtakes and alternate takes that allow listeners to trace the evolution of a song. This is a fly-on-the-wall experience, with plenty of stops, starts and in-studio chatter. Elvis at Stax offers a rare and immersive look at how Presley, producer Felton Jarvis, and their talented band developed each song into a memorable recording. Elvis is frequently looser on these early takes; the rolling tape captures him joking around, but also fiercely committed to getting each song just right. Elvis even riffs a bit, such as singing a few lines of "Softly, As I Leave You" while readying his pipes for a try at "Loving Arms," or clowning, grand opera-style, before "If You Don't Come Back." Sonically, these tracks are just as crisp as the finished masters for a true "you are there" feeling. |
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This Memphis soul stew is housed in an 8 x 8" slipcase similar to that of last year's Prince from Another Planet. A 42-page softcover book is also enclosed, containing an introduction by Roger Semon, a lengthy essay by Robert Gordon, and a full track listing with all relevant session information and complete discography. The book is generously illustrated, too, with well-captioned photographs of Elvis and assorted memorabilia relating to the sessions.
Vic Anesini has marvelously remastered all three discs, and the outtakes have been newly remixed by Steve Rosenthal and Rob Santos, the box set's co-producer with Ernest Mikael Jorgensen. Touching on all of the styles that shaped the one and only King - pop, R&B, country, gospel, and of course, rock and roll - Elvis at Stax chronicles some of his last truly great studio sessions. As such, it's another essential release as part of Legacy's streamlining and repackaging of his vast musical catalogue. When push came to shove, nobody took care of business quite like Elvis Presley.
Go HERE to EIN's overview of the STAX media reviews and Cool Photos of the new box-set.
(CD Reviews, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
'The Elvis Presley I knew' New Book: 'The Elvis Presley I knew: Beyond the headlines and scandal to the heart of the superstar" is a new book written by Denver police officer Robert C. Cantwell.
"The Elvis I knew was a superstar, authentic country gentleman and ‘unprejudiced’ that cherished being around those that
regarded him as an ordinary person" says author Robert C. Cantwell who was a Golden Glove competitor and would then accomplish his life goal of being a police officer. He would climb through every rank in the Denver Police Dept, to become the Director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. After 48 years he would retire from Law Enforcement. This is his first written account of the time he was with Elvis from 1970-1977.
Cantwell states that, "The Elvis I knew was more than the world’s superstar; he was a true country gentleman. He cherished those that treated him as a normal person rather than a meal ticket. Elvis’ life and tragic ending has been extensively covered in all forms of media. I wanted to share my memories of the man few people had the good fortune to witness firsthand. He was more than an amazing singer and entertainer. He was a generous, caring man who craved true friendship and loyalty. Elvis has "left the building," but he never has left my heart.
174 pages, published August 3, 2013.
Click for more info & to buy>> The Elvis Presley I knew
- only US$8.99
(News, Source;Amazon/ElvisInfoNet)
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The King's Ransom Museum in Las Vegas is OPEN: The King's Ransom Museum is a one of a kind exhibit of Elvis Presley artifacts and priceless personal treasures. This multi-million dollar collection is on display in Las Vegas, the very city where The King set up court and reigned supreme in the 1970's.
The King's Ransom Museum provides an exciting opportunity for fans to get a rare glimpse into the life and career of one of the world's greatest entertainers, Elvis Presley. Showcasing pieces from both Elvis' personal life and his acting and singing careers, The King's Ransom Museum is truly unlike any other exhibit. Items include: The last car Elvis ever purchased, a 1977 Lincoln Continental, stage and film wardrobe, personal clothing items, jewelry, guns, badges and a variety of Elvis' law enforcement objects, personal artifacts from his Graceland home including the Bible that was on his nightstand when he passed away and many more items
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encompassing Elvis' life and career from the 1950's through the 1970's.
The King's Ransom Museum is located on casino level at the world famous Bunion's Gambling Hall, on historic Fremont Street. The exhibit is open seven days a week from 3 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and admission is $10. (Kids 10 and and under are FREE!) Tickets may be purchased at the door. Come and meet the co-stars from Elvis' famous Hollywood movies!
Go HERE to their facebook page for more info - and also see an interview with Elvis co-star Darlene Tomkins
(News, Source;Gansky/ElvisInfoNet) |
“Cowboy” Jack Clement, Dies at 82: “Cowboy” Jack Clement, the producer, engineer, songwriter and singer whose career with Sun Records and RCA saw him man the mixing boards for a plethora of canonical rock and roll and country recordings, died Aug. 8 in his home in Nashville. He was 82.
Though best known for his production work in Memphis and later Nashville, the lovably eccentric Clement also wrote hits for Johnny Cash, produced several tracks on U2’s “Rattle and Hum,” played ukulele in Hawaiian music groups over the course of a long and varied career.
Born in Whitehaven, Tenn., Clement spent time in the Marines and played in bluegrass groups before landing a job at Sam Phillips’ Sun Records at age 25. At Sun, he recorded tracks for Roy Orbison, Cash and Carl Perkins, and famously took the initiative to record “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” by the then-unknown Jerry Lee Lewis while Phillips was away in Florida. Serendipitously, he also served as informal producer for the legendary “Million Dollar Quartet” sessions featuring Cash, Perkins, Lewis and Elvis Presley. (Right: Jack Clements at SUN as Sam Phillips looks on) |
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Fired by Phillips in 1959, Clement joined RCA Victor in Nashville, but soon decamped for Beaumont, Texas, where he and Bill Hall constructed the Gold Coast Recording Studio and founded the Hall-Clement music publishing concern. Clement produced the No. 1 country hit “She Thinks I Still Care” and wrote “Just Somebody I Used to Know” for George Jones in 1962, as well as producing Cash’s 1963 hit “Ring of Fire.”
In 1987, U2 approached Clement to record the tracks “When Love Comes to Town” and “Angel of Harlem” in Sun Studio, which Clement agreed to do despite not having heard of the group.
A member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Clement was set to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame later this year.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
Ronnie Milsap relives Memphis days with Elvis: Ronnie Milsap successfully bridged the gap between country and pop during the '70s and '80s, and his influence remains all over contemporary country music radio. In a new, wide-ranging interview with Jeremy Roberts form examiner.com, Milsap recalls meeting his boyhood idol, Elvis Presley, and ultimately getting to play on the 1969 Memphis American Sound Studios sessions.
In this fascinating interview Jeremy Roberts gets Milsap to revisit his colorful Memphis past. It includes...
.. How did you come to play piano and sing harmonies on Elvis’ legendary 1969 sessions at American Sound Studios in Memphis?
Milsap: Well, I was living in Atlanta when I had my first mini hit “Never Had It So Good” in 1965 and then two years later I recorded my next single at American with producer Chips Moman and the Memphis Boys. I thought it was a great idea, and that session helped me get my foot in the door.
I soon got a residency at the prestigious Playboy Club in Atlanta, where I was working an unbelievable six hours a night, six nights a week. Anyway, Chips showed up one night. He was pleased with our previous session and urged me to move to Memphis.
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He told me that he would get me session work at American, introduce me to music industry bigwigs, produce my next hit, and land me a job at T.J.’s, a very busy nightclub owned by Jewish businessman Herbie O’Mell. Everything came true except for the hit record.
Elvis came in one night while I was playing at T.J.’s. During a break in the music, a friend introduced us by saying, ‘This is Ronnie Milsap.” Elvis replied, “Okay.” That was it – no ‘how are you’, mumble or even grunt.
In January and February 1969 Elvis booked time at American and true to his word, Chips recommended that I play on Elvis’ session. In addition, he said there was a possibility that Elvis might want me to sing.
The first day I went down to the studio, Elvis cut Eddie Rabbitt’s “Kentucky Rain”, which became a million-selling record. While we were recording it, Elvis kept saying, “More thunder on the piano, Milsap” [laughs]. You can also hear me on the high vocal harmony part.
A decade later I recorded “Smoky Mountain Rain”, written by Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan. We paid tribute to “Kentucky Rain” by incorporating the same sound of thunder that Elvis used. “Smoky Mountain Rain” became a huge hit for me [No. 1 C&W, No. 24 POP], and it’s one of my most requested songs. Tennessee recently made it one of their official state songs. I truly learned how to make records by working at American.
All these years later, it’s difficult to remember everything I contributed to with Elvis, but I do recall playing and/or singing on “Gentle On My Mind” and “Don’t Cry Daddy”. Some of my parts were added at later overdub sessions where Elvis was not present.
Is it true that Elvis personally asked you to play two shows for him?
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Milsap: I still can’t quite believe that’s true, but he did. While I was playing at T.J.’s sometime after Elvis’ American sessions, he requested that I perform at a special New Year’s Eve party he was throwing for his entourage at T.J.’s. The club was closed to the public, and guards enforced his guest list.
Elvis came over and talked about how much he loved “Kentucky Rain” and how he appreciated me playing on it. I got to sit and talk with him, kinda like we’re doing now. That was a dream come true. I never thought in my wildest dreams I’d ever get to sit and talk with Elvis. I was just a big fan who loved him so much.
Later that night I made the mistake of inviting him up onstage. “Hey, Elvis, I sure would like to play for you if you’d come up and sing a song? How about ‘All Shook Up?’”, I excitedly inquired. My request definitely freaked him out. It was his private party, and he just wanted to enjoy the fellowship of his friends without putting on a show.
The last time I saw Elvis was when I played my second New Year’s Eve show for him in 1970. Fortunately, I was wise enough not to ask him to sing. One story that sticks out in my memory was listening to one of my buddies talk about seeing Elvis going to the men’s room escorted by four bodyguards – one in front, one in back, and one on each side.
It seemed peculiar to me – since it was a private party – so I asked Memphis Mafia member Alan Fortas why Elvis did that. Alan’s answer floored me. “That’s where he gets hit on, man”. Fans knew Elvis was extremely generous and hated to let people down, and they would corner him and say stuff like ‘My mother is having an operation and I don’t know how I’ll pay for it.’ I thought it was kinda sad that a man couldn’t even visit the men’s room without being hounded.
Elvis enjoyed himself very much at T.J.’s, but I thought he was acting a little strange. This would have been several weeks after his legendary trip to the White House to visit President Nixon and receive his federal narcotics agent badge. Elvis was carrying two loaded six guns inside cowboy holsters strapped around his waist. He also had one of those five-cell flashlights. He went around holding it in front of everyone’s eyes until they were blinded. And yes, he did it to me, too. Once it was midnight, Elvis walked around to every table, planting a big Happy New Year kiss on each woman’s cheek. Joyce was thrilled for days [laughs].
The above is heavily edited - Please go HERE for the full and fascinating interview
(News, Source;Examiner.com/ElvisInfoNet) |
"Elvis Unplugged : Versions You Have Never Heard!" New PD CD: This is a mighty strange Elvis collection coming out in September. The publicity notes..
... "A Totally unique package that features Versions of Elvis tunes NEVER before heard 20 tracks in total. We have 10 Original Studio tracks of ELVIS VOCALS only, where you only hear the fabulous vocals up close and personal of Elvis As if you were sitting and listening in the same room. Also, there is 10 Original ELVIS BACKING TRACKS, where all you hear are the fantastic band and sometimes backing vocals clear and vibrant as if the Instruments are bursting out of your speakers in wonderful STEREO! This is Fantastic for Karaoke and Sing-A-Longs both for professionals and amateurs and of course for any fan of rare Elvis. This package Is a fantastic collectors Item of never before heard versions. All of the 10 Instrumental tracks are in STEREO.....
EIN notes that various tracks listed of "Elvis ONLY" vocals are for instance, Blue Suede Shoes (Vocal), Where Do You Come From (Vocal), Good Luck Charm (Vocal), Shoppin' Around (Vocal), She's Not You (Vocal) etc. |
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These tracks were recorded in simple mono/stereo with NO isolated Elvis vocal. EIN suspects some jiggery-pokery here! Especially as it is a UK Public Domain release!
(News, Source;Matt Shepherd/ElvisInfoNet) |
| Saturday 10 August 2013 .... ELVIS WEEK 2013 Starts Today! .... |
Candlelight Vigil and STAX Party to be On Elvis' YouTube Channel: Fans not able to attend this year's Candlelight Vigil in person can watch the ceremony live by subscribing to EPE's Official Elvis YouTube Channel. The YouTube Live stream of this year's ceremony will take place from 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. CT on August 15, 2013. Tune in to share in this cornerstone, annual Elvis Week event.
Fans can also tune into other YouTube Live events:
"Stax Listening Party" on August 13
Candlelight Vigil Live Stream Thursday, August 15 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. CT
CLICK HERE to subscribe to the Elvis Channel.
(News, Source;EPE/ElvisInfoNet)
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'Elvis Uncovered Vol.2' New CD: Due to the success of the original "Elvis Uncovered" release SONY are following up with Volume 2 out this September
Since Elvis Presley was not a songwriter, his monumental talent was honed through his interpretations of songs written by others. Throughout his career, Elvis showed an uncanny knack for selecting material that engaged him emotionally, along with an ability to imprint his personality on the tunes so strongly that they instantly became Elvis songs, even when they were already closely associated with other artists. Uncovered Vol. 2 explores fourteen more of these unforgettable gems.
US$11.96 - Out September 3, 2013
Tracklist, 1. Ready Teddy, 2. Money Honey, 3. Blue Moon, 4. Your Cheatin' Heart, 5. Tomorrow Is A Long Time,
6. What'd I Say, 7. Too Much Monkey Business, 8. Welcome To My World, 9. Only The Strong Survive,
10. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On, 11. Funny How Time Slips Away, 12. Walk A Mile In My Shoes,
13. Runaway, 14. Yesterday
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
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The Elvis Files Vol.6 71-73 SPECIAL PREVIEW: Coming soon Volume 6 of the great Elvis Files series. Being launched at Bad Nauheim Festival next week (see details below)
The sixth volume of the Elvis Files story chronicles Elvis' years on tour through the USA, the Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe seasons through to the absolute historic Aloha broadcast - and on to the final STAX sessions of 1973.
All ELVIS EVENTS in this Time Frame 1971-1973 are shown
- Every Working Moment...
- The Seventies Tours
- The Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe Seasons
- Aloha Via Satellite
- Plenty of CANDID Moments
- Previously Unpublished Photos.
With 500 pages and 1600 photos!!!!
Elvis Seventies rare photo fans - Do not miss our NEW Special PREVIEW pages - Go HERE...
(News, Source;ErikLorentzen/ElvisInfoNet)
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'Spotlight on Elvis' New Book: Ed Bonja, Elvis' tour photographer releases a new book 'Spotlight on Elvis' this month. Just like the deluxe Boxcar releases about ‘Graceland’ and ‘Aloha From Hawaii’, this publication come as a deluxe version. With 160 pages and over 200 pictures, it is a collection of Bonja’s best photographs that he ever took of Elvis. Each book comes with a signed picture of Ed. Bonja was always disappointed with the original print quality of his first book 'Shot By Ed Bonja' and now he has a chance to create a quality production that his pictures deserve.
Coming soon, priced around US$80
More details soon.
Please go HERE for EIN’s exclusive interview with Ed Bonja from 2004.
(News, Source;ElvisMatters/ElvisInfoNet) |
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'Turning Night Into Daytime' New Import CD: Rainbow Records proudly presents a new CD release called “Turning Night Into Daytime” , featuring Elvis Presley´s complete performance of August 31, 1973 (Midnight Show) at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. This show has not been released on CD before and will be presented in very good sound for an audience recording. The recording has been taken directly from the original cassette tape - as recorded by a “Super-Fan” from the UK who was present at this particular show.
Elvis seems to have a good time at this show and he delivers a real fine choice of songs. There are quite a few highlights to discover: a strong “Brigde Over Troubled Water”, a rather “early in the set” sung “Release Me”, a great “An American Trilogy” and a rather “rare for 73” sung “Funny How Time Slips Away”. Also note that this recording is complete, only missing the “2001” theme. This Summer release is limited to 300 copies only.
Release date August 16, 3013
Go to EIN's 'All the CD News 2013' for full tracklist
(News, Source;RR/ElvisInfoNet) |
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| Tuesday 6 August 2013 ... 2nd Update ... Eight Big News Stories ... |
‘Elvis At Stax’ [Deluxe] Reviews: Released today, it is great to see yet more good reviews and general media publicity for this new 40th Anniversary Deluxe Set.
General Jabbo of Blog Critics posted an honest review of this new release, including..
... The year 1973 was a good one for Elvis but being the world of Elvis Presley, it wasn’t without its complications, however.
Presley’s relentless touring schedule had left him exhausted. He was separated from Priscilla during this time and then RCA forced Elvis into the studio.
Presley knew of Stax and its success, and its proximity to Graceland couldn’t be beat, so he scheduled sessions for July and December of that year. A plethora of material was recorded.
The sessions proved fruitful, providing material for three albums: Raised On Rock, Good Times, and Promised Land. This collection presents two complete albums and nearly a third, plus a multitude of outtakes. While many of these outtakes have been previously released on various box sets, Elvis At Stax cherrypicks many of the best of these tracks and presents them in one place.
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Rather than order the original albums as they were released, the songs are instead presented thematically. Disc one contains 17 R&B and country outtakes, while disc two features 10 pop outtakes. Completists will love pointing out the subtle differences between the two versions presented here. The December material is the most satisfying, however. From the longing of "It’s Midnight" to the throwback rock of Chuck Berry’s "Promised Land" to the funk of "If You Talk In Your Sleep" to the gospel-tinged "I Got A Feelin’ In My Body," Presley reminds the listener just how easily he was able to switch between genres, sometimes combining them into his own, unmistakable sound.
While some of this material may not be as strong overall as earlier triumphs such as From Elvis In Memphis or Elvis Country, listeners who dismiss it outright are missing out on many fine performances. Elvis At Stax does a good job of presenting Presley’s Stax sessions in a manner that makes sense — something Presley fans have wished for years — while offering a fresh view of this material.
Go HERE to EIN's overview of the STAX media reviews and Cool Photos of the new box-set.
(CD Reviews, Source;BlogCritics/ElvisInfoNet) |
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“Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii” New 2013 DVD release: Elvis made television and entertainment history with his “Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii” concert television special. The performance took place at the Honolulu International Center, now known as the Neal Blaisdell Arena, on January 14, 1973. It was beamed live via Globecam Satellite to various countries, on a delayed basis to approximately 30 European countries and first aired in the U.S. on April 4 on NBC. The viewing audience was estimated at over one billion worldwide.
In celebration of the 40th anniversary of “Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii,” fans from around the world gathered in Honolulu in January 2013 for five days of celebrations. The highlight of the week was a screening of a special re-edited version of “Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii,” that was shown at the Blaisdell Arena on Jan 14, exactly 40 years to the day Elvis performed there.
The re-edited version, which includes rarely-seen footage and audio, received rave reviews from critics and fans alike. This special 40th anniversary edition offers a new look at Elvis during one of his most outstanding concert performances of his career.
See EIN 'Aloha 2013' detailed Review here - We can certainly recommend this re-cut version although how the extra-wide image will fit a standard TV format needs to be seen
ELVIS ALOHA FROM HAWAII • Re-edit of “Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii” as
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seen at the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu on January 14, 2013
+ BONUS FEATURES • Event footage from the “40th Anniversary Aloha from Hawaii Celebration” in Honolulu in January 2013
• A Look Inside the New “Elvis’ Ha waii: Concerts, Movies and More! Exhibit” at Graceland
• Clips from Elvis’ “Aloha from Hawaii” Press Conferences
• Replica Booklet of Program from January 14, 2013 Screening Event.
Release date: August 19, 2013. The single DVD can be pre-ordered from EPE Shop Graceland here.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
Michael Ansara, Actor from Harum Scarum Dies: Michael Ansara, a busy and widely recognizable character actor who was best known for portraying American Indians, the Arabian prince in Elvis' 'Harum Scarum' and later a Klingon in three different "Star Trek" series, died July 31 at his home in Calif. He was 91.
Born in Syria, Mr. Ansara mostly played ethnic roles, he was cast as an Egyptian taskmaster in "The Ten Commandments," as Judas Iscariot in "The Robe" (1953), and an Arabian prince who kidnaps an American movie star, played by Elvis in "Harum Scarum" (1965).
In one of his most memorable roles he embodied the evil Klingon leader Kang in "Star Trek."
Mr. Ansara was a guest star on many of the most well-known TV series of the 50s, '60s and '70s, including "I Dream Of Genie", "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.," "Lost in Space," "Bewitched," "Hawaii 5-0" and "Kojak."
Mr. Ansara was married three times. He also married Barbara Eden, best known from "I Dream of Jeannie."
(News, Source;Mandy/Leila/ElvisInfoNet) |
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'Houston, We Have A Problem' New controversial Import CD: From the Audionics label, a previously unreleased soundboard recording of Elvis Presley's controversial matinee performance at the Summit in Houston, TX, on August 28, 1976.
Over the years, much has been written about Elvis' afternoon concert at the Summit in Houston, TX. on August 28, 1976. The review by Bob Claypool has often been cited in Elvis literature, and the general consensus appears to be that this concert was a real disaster. Some have even suggested that this show was Elvis' worst concert ever, and it has often been a hot discussion point amongst fans. Someone even wrote a book about the show.
And yet, no recording has ever turned up. Not even an audience recording. Much of what we have read so far about this show is based on the Claypool review. But reviews are always subjective, while an audio recording is obviously a more objective means to judge a performance. After a long and exhaustive search, Audionics was recently able to locate and purchase the original soundboard tape of this concert, and we are now pleased to announce its release. |
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No doubt this newly-discovered recording will generate even more discussion on the message boards, as Elvis fans are now finally able to judge this controversial show for themselves.
The audio quality of this soundboard is topnotch, and the show itself is 80 minutes. The audience sounds like they were having a good time that afternoon, and it’s interesting to hear the one-off return of Jerry Scheff’s bass solo in "Polk Salad Annie" for the first time since 1972/’73. We believe that this significant release will lead to a more nuanced appraisal of this show in the future.
Presented in a deluxe digipack with unpublished photos and relevant liner notes, for hard-core collectors this is one release that you must own.
Go to EIN's 'All the CD News 2013' for lots more Details and full tracklist
(News, Source;Audionics/ElvisInfoNet) |
New York Daily News with Rare Photos of Elvis' Cars: From the famous pink Cadillac to his 1955 Messerschmitt - Elvis always had the hottest rides on the market.
A few too many photos are selected from movie stills rather than Elvis' genuine cars but there are some cute shots here, especially the 1955 Messerschmitt and Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster shots.
If you are at Elvis Week you can see over 33 vehicles owned by Elvis by visiting Graceland's Elvis Presley Car Museum. Highlights include his famous Pink Cadillac, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Stutz Blackhawks, a 1975 Dino Ferrari, a 1956 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible, the red MG from Blue Hawaii and more. Also, see some of Elvis’ favorite motorized toys, including a go-cart, dune buggy, motorized three-wheelers and a pedal car. Some newer additions to the Elvis Presley Car Museum include his Rolls Royce sedans, 6-door Mercedes Benz limousine and Elvis' John Deere 4010 tractor that he used on his ranch and at Graceland.
Go HERE for all the photos
(News, Source;NYDN/ElvisInfoNet)
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'Losin' Out In Vegas' New Import CD: From the Straight Arrow label Elvis' Las Vegas Sunday, December 5, 1976, 9 pm show. All die-hard fans know that Elvis‘ last Las Vegas season was an up & down experience. After a strong Dec. 2nd opening night, followed by 4 solid shows on Dec. 3 & 4, he gave a different kind of concert. Perhaps it was his first partial "sit-down" show, since June 1968!
An English super-fan Jennet was there and here are excerpts from her memories:
"Elvis had sprained his ankle, hence the delay. Following "C. C. Rider", Elvis made his apologies, stressing that he had twisted his ankle, in case there were any doubters. There were some changes to his song list. "I did a song called 'Are You Lonesome Tonight'", he said, adding humorously, "And did you sprain your ankle the day before?" He asked for a chair and water and crutch, and finally Charlie brought a chair onstage. He settled himself on the chair and Charlie held a microphone to Elvis' guitar.
A diverse selection of tunes was proof that Elvis had 'something for everybody': his versatility was underlined when he performed the
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emotional "You Gave Me A Mountain", following on with a short, raucous "Jailhouse Rock", the Neapolitan-flavoured "It's Now Or Never", 'Tryin' To Get To You", and a throwaway "Blue Suede Shoes". Then, "Fever" was, frankly, sexy (even with Elvis' restricted leg-twitching), while "America" was proudly, patriotically performed.
As per usual this season, the King's powerhouse delivery of "Hurt" was a show highlight."
Sound quality is very good for an audience recording. This special release is presented in de-luxe digipak accompanied by a 24-page booklet filled with previously unseen photos from December 1976 as well as liner notes written by the English super-fan, who taped the show. Do not miss this unique opportunity to get the ultimate release of this unusual show!
Go to EIN's 'All the CD News 2013' for more Details and full tracklist
(News, Source;SA/ElvisInfoNet) |
Download the New Elvis Week App: Fans can download the official Elvis Week app for a FREE mobile guide to this year's celebration in Memphis on August 10 - 17. This fully-loaded app will help you rock 'n' roll through the week and make sure you have the latest details in hand. Visit the iTunes store to download the new iPhone app for free or visit Google Play to down load the new Android app for free!
The official Elvis Week app features:
• Customizable event schedule that allows you search by venue, date or upcoming events, plus gives you the opportunity to create a favorites list by hitting the star button in the top right corner
• Complete list of Elvis Week guests with photos and bios
• Map of the Graceland grounds and Memphis-area with important Elvis Week locations marked
• Elvis news feed with live updates through out the week
• Video section with daily recaps of this year's events
• FAQ section with answers to some frequently asked Elvis Week questions
Go HERE to EPE for links
(News, Source;EPE/ElvisInfoNet)
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Mylon Le Fevre Joins Elvis Week Line Up: Grammy Award winner Mylon Le Fevre will be making a special guest appearance during Elvis Week.
Le Fevre was only 17 years old and in the Army when he wrote his first song, "Without Him." He was performing that song on stage at a Gospel convention in Memphis, when unbeknownst to him, Elvis Presley was there. After the concert, Elvis asked to meet Mylon, and shortly thereafter, Elvis recorded the song for his album, "How Great Thou Art." From this point on, Le Fevre embarked on a rock and roll journey that he documents in his new book "Live Forever," featuring more than 100 photos, many of which have never been seen before.
Mylon was born into the pioneering Southern Gospel family, The Le Fevre's, and he spent some time as a member of the famed Stamps Quartet. Fans can purchase tickets to see Le Fevre, along with former members of J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet and DJ Fontana, during the "Official Elvis Insiders Event" taking place on August 17.
(News, Source;EPE/ElvisInfoNet) |
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| Sunday 4 August 2013 .... 2nd News Update ... . |
Elvis At STAX New Review: Great to see the new STAX release getting good mainstream reviews.
Here Nick DeRiso reports for SE Reviews...
.. So much for the long-held notion that Elvis had simply thrown away his own gifts by the 1970s. In fact, these soul-soaked sessions at Memphis’ legendary Stax Studios show an artist still deeply committed — for now, at least.
How much of that has to do with working within those hallowed halls, we’ll never know. But over a dozen days in July and December of 1973, Presley managed to coax out some 28 songs — three of which became late-period Top 20 hits. Interestingly, Presley had never recorded at Stax before then, despite living less than 10 minutes away in Graceland.
Something important happened there, a last gasp of fizzy artistry from a singer about to disappear into his own jump-suited myth onstage, though you would have been hard pressed to put it all together before now. The bulk of these efforts scattered over a trio of albums. |
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The 3-CD Elvis at Stax puts a frame around this special moment, then enlarges it. The sneer that seemed to be forever working around Presley’s smile fit right in, of course, with the tough, swaggering music long associated with Stax. But as this set pairs those original 28 masters with 27 interesting outtakes, it also offers new insights into just how meticulous, how lovingly crafted and focused, these seemingly care-free recordings had always been.
Sure, Presley had gotten much of the way there on instinct (just as Stax legends like Otis Redding, Booker T and the MGs, Wilson Pickett, and Sam and Dave had), but this kind of magic really isn’t magic at all. It’s work, and a lot of it. Elvis, for instance, would have a hit with Tony Joe White’s "I’ve Got a Thing About You Baby" from these sessions, but it would take 15 tries to nail it to his satisfaction. Presley was making song selections that hit home, and working in his own backyard. That part came easy. Getting it just right often did not and the sessions would stretch into the wee hours.
Yet, it was over in the blink of an eye. The schedule came together so quickly, in fact, that Isaac Hayes — and this is an incredible image — ended up having to move his studio schedule around to accommodate things.
The Stax stuff would, sadly, became grist for the mill, only notable if you listened closely on albums populated with blended sessions. Even so, 'Promised Land', 'If You Talk In Your Sleep' and 'My Boy' were each Top 20 smashes. Unfortunately, Presley wouldn’t return to Stax, passing away on August 16, 1977. A posthumous single, "I’ve Got a Feeling in My Body," would follow in 1979 — providing yet another glimpse into this largely forgotten time. It’s a moment finally placed into proper perspective with the lovingly compiled, utterly revelatory Elvis at Stax.
Go HERE for the full article.
(News, Source/SEReviews/ElvisInfoNet) |
Kanye West Not buying Graceland: Rapper Kanye West is reportedly interested in buying Graceland for his girlfriend, Kim Kardashian.
An "anonymous source" close to Kardashian says, "There have been constant whispers that it’s due to go on the market, as long as it stays open to the public and as a place for Elvis fans to visit.
Kanye is really excited about the possibility of owning it. He thinks it would be really cool if he, Kim and baby Nori lived there, at least some of the time."
EIN notes that the "anonymous source" in tabloids usually means a newspaper beat-up. And Graceland is, of course, NOT on the market although most newspapers are wrongly reporting that Graceland is for sale and not only the core EPE operations. Presumably Kayne West has not checked with EIN!
While CORE Media Group, which owns Elvis Presley Enterprises, is trying to sell the operation it does not own Graceland nor Elvis' |
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personal possessions.
Lisa Marie retains sole ownership of the mansion and all Elvis' artifacts and she has stated,"What is predominately sacred and can never be touched is Graceland itself and its contents and artifacts and that is and remains mine and my family's forever".
Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia but grew up in Chicago. Kim Kardashian was born in Los Angeles so why on earth would they want to live part-time in Memphis?
The story might make more sense if Memphis' Justin Timberlake - estimated net worth of $110 million – said he’d like to move to Graceland.
Another Media beat-up.
(News, Source;Tabloids/ElvisInfoNet) |
Elvis STAX Radio Promo CD: Here's a lovely Elvis collectors CD - the brand new STAX Radio promo - a 54 minute special from Joyride Media.
If you want to hear it please tune in to EIN's good friends at the Elvis Express Radio Show tomorrow August 5th for their special presentation.
Click HERE to Elvis Express Radio.
(News, Source;JKrein/ElvisInfoNet)
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The 'Elvis Files Vol.6' Launch at Bad Nauheim Festival: Later this month the brand new 'Elvis Files Vol.6' book will be launched at the Bad Nauheim Elvis Festival.
The sixth volume of the Elvis Files story chronicles Elvis' years on tour through the USA, the Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe seasons through to the absolute historic Aloha broadcast - and on to the final STAX sessions of 1973.
Elvis Bad Nauheim Festival is 15th to 18th of August. With TCB concerts, exhibitions, a Cadillac-parade, a fan market and much more! In cooperation with the German Fan Club “Elvis Presley Gesellschaft e.V.”
Go HERE for Bad Nauheim Festival info
Go HERE for a better look at Elvis Files VOL 6 1971-1973..
(News, Source;EL/ElvisInfoNet) |
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| Thursday 1 August 2013 . . . 2nd News Update . . . |
New September FTD Releases: News of the upcoming FTD releases scheduled for late September was first announced by 'Elvis The Man & His Music'. There are three releases of which only two have been confirmed.
1. 'Moody Blue' as a Classic Album release featuring the final Graceland session and outtakes.
The follow-up to the surprisingly impressive "From EP Boulevard".
2. 'G.I. Blues Vol.2' as a Classic Album CD.
Follow-up to the excellent 'G.I. Blues Vol.1'.
FTD also note that the supposed July release of the new VINYL 'Live On Stage In Memphis' has been unfortunately delayed |
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until late August due to a problem with the manufacturers.
FTD state that another two releases are also being planned for November 2013.
(News, Source;FTD/ETM&HM/ElvisInfoNet) - (The G.I. Blues cover above is only EIN's suggestion!) |
‘The King Revealed’ Magazine Review: ‘The King Revealed’ is EPE’s new crammed 122 page "Elvis Official Collectors Edition" glossy magazine released in time for Elvis Week 2013.
The publicity states... Elvis Presley has been anointed The King for good reason. Now we go deep into the historical archives, with rare access to thousands of photos, documents, interviews and vintage bits of Elvis memorabilia and share them with the public for the first time. This Special Collector’s Edition will give readers a more in-depth look at Elvis’ life and legacy than has ever before been seen, while instantly becoming a keepsake of The King they’ll never want to part with.
Can EPE really astound us with the promised 350 RARE ARCHIVE PHOTOS?
Go here as EIN checks out this new 2013 magazine to see just how collectable it really is - and discovers some good and bad news.. Review features extracts and plenty of Elvis photos ...
(Book Reviews:ElvisInfoNet)
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'Love Me Tender' on Blu-ray OUT NOW: Elvis' big screen debut is out noe on Blu-Ray. Moviegoers were introduced to Elvis Presley in this film set during the dying hours of the Civil War. Elvis sings four songs, including the title song. The year is 1865, and the three Confederate Reno brothers don't know the war has ended. They manage to steal a Union Army payroll, and head for home with the money. While Vance (Richard Egan) can think only of the love of his life, Cathy (Debra Paget), it turns out that the brothers have been reported dead, and Cathy has married their youngest brother Clint (Elvis Presley). Vance accepts this until he learns that Cathy still loves him. To complicate things, the U.S. Army knows of the brothers' theft and is hunting them down.
The Blu-ray featuree 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements will include: Audio Commentary By Noted Elvis Historian Jerry Schilling; Elvis Hits Hollywood; The Colonel & The King; Love Me Tender: The Birth & Boom Of The Elvis Hit; and Love Me Tender: The Soundtrack.
Out Now on Blu-Ray for around $15.
See EIN's in-depth review of the Love Me Tender' 50th Anniv Edition DVD as the extras are the same.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
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Poncie Ponce, Speedway Actor Obit: Poncie Ponce, the Maui native who played a wise-cracking cab driver Kazuo "Kim" Quisado on the 1960s ABC TV detective series Hawaiian Eye, the first network series to be set in the 50th state, has died. He was 80. (Photo right, with Connie Stevens)
The TV show led to parts in a handful of films, most notably as part of a stock car racing pit crew on Elvis Presley's team in the 1968 movie 'Speedway'.
During Hawaiian Eye’s opening each week, Ponce was seen floating in the ocean on an inner tube, wearing his trademark straw hat and stroking a ukulele. Connie Stevens played a nightclub singer/photographer on the series, which was actually filmed on a lot in Burbank.
When Hawaiian Eye’s run came to an end in 1963, Ponce traveled the world performing in nightclubs in Australia, Argentina, Japan and elsewhere.
Ponce also appeared as Kim in TV's 77 Sunset Strip. He also had a bit role as Pineapple in the comedy The World’s Greatest Lover (1977).
Ponce, a native of Maui, Hawaii, died July 19 at his home in Los Angeles.
(News, Source;PaulGansky/ElvisInfoNet)
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UPDATED - 'Hot August Night' FTD CD Review: After the success of the iconic '68 Comeback Special - Elvis signed on the dotted line for a pretty penny - a cool million to perform a two week engagement in Las Vegas at the newly built International Hotel. Mixing contemporary songs and his classic rock 'n' roll hits Elvis and his dynamite TCB Band kicked some serious Ass in Sin City.
Elvis' stunning August 25 1969 Midnight Show formed the core section of Elvis' famous "In Person" RCA album with seven performances being selected from this fabulous night.
For the first time ever, at last FTD have released Elvis' complete performance - but do these songs stand out when listened to as part of this familiar 1969 Las Vegas season?
Go HERE as EIN contributor David Tinson checks out this new FTD release with newly added photos and extra discussion.
(FTD Reviews, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
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Elvis Palm Springs home Opening soon for tours: The doors to the King of Rock'n'Roll's Palm Springs castle will soon open to the public again. A co-owner of Elvis Presley's home at 845 W. Chino Canyon announced on Saturday that the 5,100-square-foot building will be available for tours by Oct.1.
Rade Raicevic said the next few weeks will be spent redecorating the home and tours will later be offered for $20 per person, seven days a week.
"We have tourists from different parts of the world and I never know when they're coming," he said of the home's fame. Elvis owned the house and used it as a winter getaway from 1970 until he died in 1977.
Sitting at the top of a hill in the Chino Canyon neighborhood, it includes a view of the city from its backyard and inside there's a studio and dance room. |
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Raicevic said minimal numbers of visitors will be allowed since the home is on a narrow residential street. The announcement came after a Riverside County Court ruled on July 22 that Raicevic and Nevada-based Financial Bonanza LLC owned the home after a previous occupant, Reno Fontana, failed to pay back a loan from 2006.
"It would be a shame not to open it to the public because this is where Elvis lived. It's such a great part of history." Owners tell me they hope to have it open to the public as early as October. Rubin says Reno Fontana has threatened to appeal the court's decision.
(News, Source;KMIR/ElvisInfoNet) |
"Elvis '68 Comeback" Fan Mosaic Revealed: EPE is excited to announce our largest Elvis fan mosaic to date! The "Official Elvis '68 Comeback" Fan Mosaic is now available for fans to view!
Over 10,000 photos were submitted from 27 different countries - proving that Elvis' legacy continues to live on through his fans around the world! Featuring the iconic image of Elvis dressed in his legendary leather suit, this officially licensed 24 x 30 Fan Mosaic collector's is built entirely from fan-submitted photos. This limited-edition print appears black and white from a far, but up-close is compiled of full-color fan photos. A wall-sized mural will be displayed here at Graceland during Elvis Week 2013.
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(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
Latest Billboard Album Charts :Sadly Elvis has no albums on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart for w/e 10th August, 2013, - but he is still selling!
The following appeared on the Catalog Album Chart:
- 'Heart And Soul' remains at 65 selling some 2,023 units. Total sales to date:
662,838 units. It also rose from 125 to 119 on the Physical Album Chart selling
some 2,023 units. Total Physical sales to date: 662,261 units. It also rose from
70 to 67 on the SMEI (Sony Music Entertainment International) Chart.
- 'An Afternoon In The Garden' rose from 105 to 98 selling some 1,698 units. Total sales to date: 569,758 units. It also rose from 172 to 158 on the Physical Album Chart selling some 1,698 units. It also rose from 86 to 82 on the SMEI (Sony Music Entertainment International) Chart.
- 'Elvis Inspirational' (Compilation) rose from 148 to 140 selling some 1,446 units. Total sales to date: 169,135 units.
- 'Elvis Country' (Compilation) dropped from 154 to 177 selling some 1,276 units. Total sales to date: 196,636 units.
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- 'The Essential Elvis Presley' (Double CD) dropped from 175 to 193 selling some 1,240 units. Total sales to date: 516,210 units.
- 'Elvis: 30 No.1 Hits' has sold 4,868,114 units to date.
The following DVD appeared on the Top Music Video Chart:
'Elvis: He Touched Me' (Vol.1) drops from 40 to 50 selling some 161 units. Total sales to date: 222,140 units.
(News, Source;BrianQuinn/ElvisInfoNet) |
'1970 In The Dome' New Tunzi Book: From February 27 to March 1st 1970 Elvis performed 6 shows in the Houston Astrodome. His appearances there are now considered legendary.
JAT Publishing will showcase these historic performances in a NEW 208 page photo journal that will recreate all the excitement of Elvis live on stage! From the arrival to the press conferences with a text that's sure to enlighten this book will be a keepsake forever. Included will be a special dvd of the complete Houston Press Conference for the first time digitally remastered and unedited with additional bonus footage.
This hardback edition includes over 160 color and black & white photographs... many shown here for the first time.
The book is scheduled for a November 2013 publication and will come with a DVD containing the press conference in full.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
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Dee Stanley Not Long For This World: Dee's son Billy Stanley has posted today that his Mother's condition has seriously deteriorated, although just 2 days ago it seemed that she might recover. The bad news today is .. "Dee's condition is getting worst by the hour... She didn't recognize me today,
when I was called in to see her... I also had to make the hardest decision I
ever made, but I remember mom's wishes... If anything happens, she is not to be
kept alive by machines... I had to come home, to eat, then I'm going back to the
hospital to say good bye to my mom... The doctor will call when she passes
away.... "
Vernon Presley married Davada (Dee) Elliot Stanley on July 3, 1960. Elvis always had a close relationship with his father but when his mother died in 1958, his father then started dating a married woman named Dee Stanley. Elvis didn’t care for Dee thinking that it was too soon after Gladys' death for his father to be dating again. When Vernon and Dee Stanley married in July 1960 Elvis did not attend the ceremony.
(News, Source;SanjaM/ElvisInfoNet)
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New Book by George Hill: A new book by Elvis photographer George Hill commemorating the 40th anniv of the July 1, 1973, Nashville performance.
He notes, "Elvis performed in Nashville, only twice during his touring years of the 1970's. Both concerts were held on Sunday, July 1, 1973. This new book with photos from photographer George Hill commemorates these performances on their 40th Anniversary.
George's long time friend from Jr. High School, and fellow Elvis concert photographer, Gerald Berry, lived in Nashville at the time and he got their tickets. This was the tour where Elvis performed 5 SOLD OUT shows at the Omni in Atlanta, GA. When the tour schedule came out, Nashville was on the list. That's how they found out that Elvis was coming to town!
"The Auditorium in Nashville was small", George Hill remembers. "It held only 9,000 people, and it was LOUD. During the first show, he had some folks in Nashville that he wanted to thank. The only name I remember for sure was Chet Atkins. He read the list of names from a sheet of paper that he had. Then he sang FADED LOVE, from the Elvis Country Album, and dedicated it to them."
Go here for more details
(News, Source;ElvisImagesIn Concert/ElvisInfoNet) |
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Collingwood Elvis Festival Packed with Fans: This weekend's Collingwood Elvis Festival is rocking with Elvis artists and fans - and that is good news for businesses. People with lawn chairs started gathering on Collingwood’s main street early Friday morning for the kick-off of this year’s Elvis festival. But some say getting here in the morning isn’t soon enough to get a spot close to the stage.
This is the 19th consecutive year Collingwood has hosted the event that features more than 100 tribute artists from all over the world performing at several venues in the region.
“The love for Elvis is just as strong here as it is in Memphis, my mind is being blown. For me what this is doing for my heart is telling me that Elvis truly was the greatest performer that ever lived,” said Memphis Jones. |
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Some tribute artists look and sound more like the King than others but they all add to the atmosphere.
“People are coming back, I have customers that were here last year and they keep coming back so I knew we are doing something right,” said Jim Meridis from The Old Red Hen restaurant.
The Collingwood Elvis Festival runs July 25 to 28th.
Go HERE for Collingwood Elvis Festival Information
(News, Source;Collingwood/ElvisInfoNet) |
| More News and EIN exclusives from earlier in July .... |
Elvis in August Heritage Auction: Heritage Auctions 'Entertainment & Music Memorabilia Signature Auction' in Dallas starting August 10th features some very interesting Elvis items several supplied by Elvis' first cousin Patsy Presley.
There are special previews August 8-9 at Heritage Auctions, Maple Avenue Dallas.
Included are...
- Elvis Owned and Worn ARMY Jacket, Pants, and Hat. (right)
Included here are Elvis' own jacket (38S), pants (29" x 32"), and hat (size 7), in pristine condition.
LOA from Patsy Presley Geranen.
Opening Bid: $10,000** Estimate: $20,000 - up.
- Elvis Owned Diamond Ring.
Gorgeous 14 carat gold and diamond ring is understated compared to many of the King's rings, but no less impressive! Size 10 1/4, 14k gold, 13.95 grams, with one main diamond of approximately 1 carat.
LOA from Patsy Presley Geranen. Estimate: $6,000 - up.
- Elvis and Band Autographed Photo and Fan Club Memorabilia (1955-56).
Smoldering 8" x 10" promotional photo of the young King has been signed on the back by Elvis and his bandmates Scotty Moore, Bill Black, and D. J. Fontana. Also included here is an envelope stamped from "Elvis Presley Fan Club", postmarked September 27, 1955 enclosing a letter from 'Elvis' (secretarially written and signed) and a membership card for the fan club, including a letter.
The autographs show little wear, and Elvis' is especially strong.
COA from Heritage Auctions. Estimate: $3,000 - up. |
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- Elvis Owned "Elvis Is Back" Jacket. (right)
Made of tan-colored corduroy, two side slit pockets, four button front closure, further small tab at neck, additional tag reads "Paramount / E. Presley / F10216," stamp on inside right sleeve lining reads "Paramount / Wardrobe;"
worn by Presley on the cover of his album Elvis Is Back his first one after he got out of the Army. From Alan Fortas' collection.
Estimate: $5,000 - up.
- Elvis Owned and Worn Sweatsuit (1960s).
Two-piece nylon sweatsuit - dark blue with white stripes - which Sonny West attests was used by Elvis when he played racquetball or rode his motorcycle. The jacket shows minimal wear - it has a Cober Kuit label, with a front zipper and two side pockets, and appears to be a Medium or Large.
LOA from Sonny West. Estimate: $1,200 - up.
Go HERE to bid or for more info
(News, Source;Heritage/ElvisInfoNet) |
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"Conversations on Elvis" 2013 nearly Sold Out: The highly anticipated Elvis Week event "Conversations on Elvis," featuring Mother Dolores Hart,T.G. Sheppard and Norbert Putnam, has only a few tickets remaining.
Hosted by Tom Brown, this event gives fans a chance to hear from friends and those who worked closely with the king. Mother Dolores Hart (right), who left Hollywood to enter a contemplative monastery, starred alongside Elvis in "Loving You" and "King Creole." T.G. Sheppard formed a close personal and professional relationship with Elvis while promoting records for RCA. Elvis would later, as a token of their friendship, give T.G. his first tour bus. Other guests include representatives from Sony who will be talking about the new “Elvis at Stax” release and Elvis' bassist Norbert Putnam, who was part of the studio band for Elvis’ December 1973 recording session at Stax.
Go HERE for 'Conversations on Elvis' tickets
(News, Source;EPE/ElvisInfoNet)
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2013 Jaycees Winner Beau Davidson talks about Elvis: In 1971, Elvis received what became his proudest achievement when he was named among the Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Men. Elvis fan and Memphis performer/songwriter Beau Davidson recently stopped by Graceland to place his own Ten Outstanding Young Americans award directly beside his idol's.
Scientists, inventors, performers, film makers, future Presidents have been selected for this award over the years. Davidson was honored for his accomplishments in the entertainment and political arenas, including his appointment to The Young Americans Coalition.
For Elvis, who grew up poor and faced extreme criticism, this was one of his proudest moments. He had finally achieved acceptance, recognition, and respect for his work. Elvis was known to carry his Jaycees award around with him everywhere and this is the only award
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'Turning Night Into Daytime' New Import CD: Rainbow Records proudly presents a new CD release called “Turning Night Into Daytime” , featuring Elvis Presley´s complete performance of August 31, 1973 (Midnight Show) at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. This show has not been released on CD before and will be presented in very good sound for an audience recording. The recording has been taken from the original cassette tape - as recorded by a “Super-Fan” from the UK who was present at this particular show.
Elvis seems to have a good time at this show and he delivers a real fine choice of songs. There are quite a few highlights to discover: a strong “Brigde Over Troubled Water”, a rather “early in the set” sung “Release Me”, a great “An American Trilogy” and a rather “rare for 73” sung “Funny How Time Slips Away”. Also note that this recording is complete, only missing the “2001” theme.
Rainbow Records sat this release is limited to 300 copies only, so be sure to reserve your copy at your local dealer!
To be released August 16, 2013
(News, Source;FECC/ElvisInfoNet) |
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Bruno Mars on Elvis, Hendrix & more: At 27 the Hawaiian-born pop phenomenon Bruno Mars has a sound knowledge of more than 50 years worth of rock, R&B, hip-hop and other styles that provide the foundation for his old-school-meets-contemporary sonic synthesis. His studies have clearly paid off. His 2010 debut album, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans,” has sold 6 million copies worldwide, his total number of worldwide single download sales has surpassed 100 million.
Recently Mars talked about four of his biggest musical inspirations including Elvis.
Mars: “The biggest thing Elvis had was the command he had on stage... how he could control the crowd and the band. I think there’s a performance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan (TV) show where he does ‘Hound Dog.’ At the end he slows it down, and - to me - it looked like an improv moment, not like something they rehearsed. It was like Presley saw girls in the audience freaking out and said to
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himself: ‘Watch me slow it down - and then really go nuts.’ And he slows it down at the end and then starts his little dance, and he had them..."
As a child performer Bruno Mars used to do a stunning Elvis impersonation.
His other inspirations are Michael Jackson (I don’t know what kid didn’t listen to him at my age), Bob Marley (Bob is one of the greatest songwriters ever), Jimi Hendrix (The greatest guitar player in the world).
(News, Source;SanjaM/ElvisInfoNet) |
'Elvis At Stax' Forty Years Ago: Forty years ago this week Elvis was in the STAX studios in Memphis for the initial July session.
When Elvis entered the STAX Memphis studios in July 1973 the last time he had been in a recording studio to lay down new material was March 1972 for the ‘Burning Love' session over a year previously. It is unbelievable but Elvis had only recorded seven new studio masters in the two years between June 1971 and July 1973.
To begin with it was a lacklustre session since, as Marty Lacker notes, "Elvis didn't care what studio it was as long as it wasn't American Studios that Parker and Felton Jarvis had poisoned his mind against. Elvis tole me that the session didn't mean anything to him and that the only reason he was doing it was because Parker and RCA were nagging him to record."
However on the second night of recording things picked up with ‘Find Out What’s Happening’ and ‘I’ve Got A Thing About You Baby’ being laid down.
On July 23rd, the third night, Elvis recorded the Mark James composition ‘Raised On Rock’ relased as the single, followed by |
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8 takes of the sublime Tony Joe White composition ‘For Ol’ Times Sake’. Listening to the song without the added echo of the final master, one can hear the true openness of the Stax studio ambience which helps give the song even more of that feeling of loneliness that the lyric so requires.
See below for the new STAX release details.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet) |
Arthritis silences Scotty Moore - New Interview: Arthritis has invaded the hands of the man “Rolling Stone” magazine rated 29th in its 2011 list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of all time - reports journalist Billy Watkins.
Scotty Moore was Elvis Presley’s original lead guitar player, he was also Elvis’ close friend and worked as his manager for a short time.
“It’s been about seven or eight years since I was able to play,” Moore says by phone from his secluded home outside Nashville. “I had stopped playing professionally several years before that, but I’d still play once in a while for my own enjoyment ... just whatever song came to mind, really.
“Sure, I miss it. But the arthritis came on gradually, so I knew the day would come that I had to deal with it.”
Even though he makes few public appearances and spends most of his days working in his yard and watching “whatever I can find” on television, he is hardly forgotten.
“Paul called just the other day,” Moore says. That would be former Beatle Paul McCartney, who studied Moore’s work note by note as an aspiring musician in Liverpool, England.
“You know, it’s funny to me when people talk about Elvis swiveling his hips and all that,” Moore says. “That wasn’t put on. It was a natural thing for him to be on the balls of his feet when he played guitar and sang. You put a guitar in his hands, ask him to play, and that’s how he stood. That’s how he kept rhythm to what he was singing.
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“But after we saw how much the fans loved it, we’d sort of encouraged him to do it. Bill Black was the one who would whisper in Elvis’ ear and tell him to shake his leg or throw his belt out into the audience. It became part of the show.”
Some critics didn’t care for Elvis’ onstage antics. “But I never could understand why,” Moore says. “It wasn’t vulgar. It was just a man filled with music from the top of his head to the tip of his toes, and it was the only way he knew to let it out.”
Elvis, Moore and Black formed the group The Blue Moon Boys, they soon added DJ Fontana “because we really needed drums so people could hear us ... the only amplification our instruments had was my amplifier, and it was nothing compared to the amps of today.”
Moore felt responsible for Elvis during their travels. “I remember his mother getting me off to the side before we left and said, ‘Please take care of my boy.’ I wasn’t much older than Elvis, but I’d been in the Navy for four years and I guess to her I seemed a little more equipped to handle the ways of the world. But I never forgot what she asked me to do, and I tried my best.”
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When talking about Elvis’ final years, Moore is torn between anger and sadness.
“We could all see (his death) coming,” Moore says. “We knew things were not going along as they should have been ... that he wasn’t being taken care of like he should’ve been.
“I say this without any hesitation: If things had worked out differently, and that group of us that started out with him could’ve stayed with him all the way through, Elvis would still be alive today. I firmly believe that.
Go HERE to The Clarion Ledger for the FULL LENGTH interview by Billy Watkins.
--- “Scotty & Elvis: Aboard the Mystery Train,” his new book with music historian James Dickerson is out now.
(News, Source;ClarionLedger/ElvisInfoNet) |
'Elvis At Stax' Uncut Mini-Review: The UK music magazine UNCUT have published their review of the new Stax deluxe set. They gave the set a good rating of 7/10.
Elvis In the wilderness: gems from the King's downward spiral. - As the '70s passed, the lustre of his peerless comeback years fading, Elvis found himself increasingly tangled in a web of poor health and drug abuse, bad business decisions and artistic dead-ends. Recording sessions became haphazard affairs. RCA shamefully releasing anything bearing his name or likeness. However well-intentioned revisionism takes precedence on 'Elvis At Stax', with the producers rifling through the 1973 session tapes, attempting a coherent narrative. The box-set features 55 tracks over three discs cut at Memphis' famed Stax studio, although in truth this grab-bag of would-be pop standards, stale "in-house" Elvis material and a few honest-to-goodness rock'n'roll nuggets bears faint resemblance to the label/studio's classic Southern-soul sound. While you may have to be a serious Elvis scholar to stomach cornball like "Three Com Patches" or multiple takes of syrupy dreck like "Mr Songman", Chuck Berry's "Promised |
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Land" (all three takes!) fired by spot-on vocals and brilliant James Burton guitar, belongs in Elvis' upper echelon. And so it goes - schizo-style - from the scintillating to the off-the-charts lame. When Elvis connected with younger writers - eg. Tony Joe White (For Ol' times Sake), Dennis Linde (I Got A Feelin' In My Body) and Danny O'Keefe (Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues), Elvis proffered a plausible artistic path, one that regretfully never quite materialised.
7/10 - Review by Luke Torn. See below for tracklisting and good value deals
(News, Source;Uncut/ElvisInfoNet) |
| Cheapest ex Amazon US |
Double Vinyl ex USA |
Deluxe ex Amazon UK |
Single CD 'Best of' ex UK |
"Elvis - The 60th Anniversary" Special Magazine: USA TODAY in the states have just published their (one year early!) 'Elvis - The 60th Anniversary of his First Recording' special Edition magazine.
Featuring articles such as..
- 'I Don't Sound Like Nobody' - How a gift for Gladys set Rock'n'Roll history in motion.
- Priscilla and Lisa Marie
- '20 Essential Songs' (see news story below)
A nice song selection and neat reviews. For 'Hound Dog' it notes "DJ Fontana’s furious drum roll between the verses caught listeners’ ears, but it was Elvis’ hip-thrusting gyrations during live performances of the song that caused the destruction of American civilization as we then knew it."
While it all looks a little 'mainstream', reports from US Elvis fans are VERY positive - after all, how often do we see a new Elvis magazine in the newsstands nowadays. Sadly the cover photo is reversed! (see below) 48 pages packed with photos and articles, how can you go wrong? Only $4.95 in the US.
Get it NOW before it sells out. You can order it On-Line here.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
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"Collecting the King" at Elvis Week 2013: The 21st Annual Collecting the King® Memorabilia Show returns for August, 2013! This year it will be held in the Bert Parker Room on August 12-13-14-15 (Monday through Thursday) during Elvis Week 2013 at the luxurious Peabody Hotel.
Dealers at our show this year will include many good friends and well established names in the Elvis collecting world including, Ray Jackson (R&J Collectibles), Rocky Kruegel (Stardust Records) who always has the most incredible assortment of 45’s each year, and of course, yours truly, Soundz Good Records with our large assortment of rare and collectible Elvis Records and memorabilia. In addition, representatives from Heritage Auctions will be set up at the show looking for new Elvis items for future auctions, so be sure to bring in your rarest Elvis memorabilia and talk to them.
Peabody Hotel, 149 Union Avenue, Memphis, TN
The Bert Parker Room - August 12 - 15
Showtimes: 10am - 6pm Daily
FREE Admission
Sneak preview Sunday, August 11 - 6pm to 8pm @$10.00
The best Dealers selling the best of the King’s collectibles! Go HERE for more details.
(News, Source;Nigel/ElvisInfoNet)
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'Elvis Files Magazine ISSUE 4' - Review: Published last month, the June Issue of the Elvis Files magazine once again features Elvis stories, as well as new unpublished Elvis photos, that would be missed from Lorentzen's "Elvis Files" series of books. EIN has been overseas recently so we've been running a little late with reviews.
Favourite features this time include 'Elvis attending Nancy Sinatra’s 1970 opening
night' and ten years earlier 'Elvis’ April 1960 train journey to L.A.' - plus the
ten pages dedicated to Elvis and Debra Paget.
There are of course plenty of other articles in the magazine including ....
- Elvis Live October 1976 at Fort Wayne
- Elvis Live October 1957 in LA and San Francisco.
- Elvis and his famous luxury gold Cadillac.
- Hedda Hopper "He is the Greatest Phenomenon"
Plus plenty more Rare Candids not featured in previous Elvis Files books.
Go HERE as EIN investigates the new June issue- with plenty of rare Elvis photos.
(Book Reviews, Source;ElvisInfoNetwork)
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'Elvis At Stax: 40th Anniversary' PRICE DROP!: Great news for fans worrying about buying these cuts for yet another time. The new STAX set has had a price-drop the 3-cd Deluxe set is now only $26 and single "Best Of' only $12 (with free delivery to some areas). They are both out on Aug 6, 2013.
... The last major studio sessions in the career of Elvis Presley have finally been gathered together for the first time in one comprehensive package as 'ELVIS AT STAX: DELUXE EDITION' bristles with energy and dynamism.
Released simultaneously will be a single CD of highlights from the box set simply titled ELVIS AT STAX, and a 180-gram, double-vinyl LP.
The official website notes 'ELVIS AT STAX' bristles with energy and dynamism. The proof is in the six consecutive singles that the Stax sessions produced, all of which skirted the Top 40 from 1973 to 1975.
Deluxe 3CD set - Price:$26.25 - Pre Order Here >>> Elvis At Stax: 40th Anniversary (3 CD) .
Best of - Price:$12.50 Pre Order here >> > Elvis At Stax: 40th Anniversary (1 CD) Best Of  . Full track details below
(News, Source;Amazon/ElvisInfoNet)
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**** More Great Elvis Books to order or pre-order now **** |
New Guests Join Elvis Week Lineup: This year Elvis Week is August 10 - 17 and EPE have just announced new special guests who will be making an appearance for the first time.
- Ronnie Milsap - at the Official Elvis Insiders Event; Saturday, August 17
Country music legend Ronnie Milsap did session work with Elvis, including playing piano and singing on "Kentucky Rain." Milsap is known as country music's most popular and influential performers and continues to be one of the most successful cross-over singers of his time.
Mother Dolores Hart and bassist Norbert Putnam - at Conversations on Elvis; Wednesday, August 14
- Mother Dolores Hart starred with Elvis in two films – "Loving You" and "King Creole." Six years later and after 10 successful feature films, she left Hollywood and joined the Abbey of Regina Laudis. Following Conversations, Mother Dolores will be signing copies of her new book, "The Ear of the Heart."
- Norbert Putnam, known as "Putt" by Elvis, recorded as a session bassist with Elvis on over 100 tracks. Norbert was also one of the studio musicians during Elvis’ December 1973 recording session at Stax in Memphis. He will be joined by representatives from Sony who will be talking about the new "Elvis at Stax" release.
Go HERE for full EPE list of Guests.
(News, Source;EPE/ElvisInfoNet) |
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Elvis Week "Elvis at Stax" special party in Stax Studios: In conjunction with the much-anticipated August 6th release of "Elvis At Stax," the 3-CD box set chronicling the music Elvis recorded at Stax Studios in July and December 1973, RCA/Legacy Recordings is hosting a very special listening party at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music on August Tuesday, August 13 at 4:00 p.m.
EPE say that "Fans will have an opportunity to stand in the very same spot where Elvis recorded the music they are hearing" - this is of course rubbish as the original Stax studios were unfortunately torn down in 1989 with the new "replica studios" built for the new Stax Museum opened in 2003.
However in addition to this you can witness stories and details behind the music and recording sessions from representatives of Sony (Ernst & Roger, no doubt) and special guest Norbert Putnam, who recorded with Elvis at Stax in December 1973 - so for music fans it really will be an interesting session to attend.
Admission to this event is free.
(News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
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Elvis Week 2013 Brochure: Now available to download is the official brochure for
Elvis Week 2013 showing EPE’s full schedule.
CLICK HERE to download the Elvis Week brochure -
Elvis Week 2013 is Saturday, August 10 - Saturday, August 17. EPE are excited to be bring back the Elvis Week Main Stage at Graceland again this year.
The Main Event this year is the repeat of the “Aloha from Hawaii” 40th Anniversary Enhanced Screening that was shown in Hawaii this past January (and damn good it was too - See EIN Review here)
See Elvis Week 2013 Schedule highlights below
(News, Source;EPE/ElvisInfoNet)
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Elvis Week 2013 Events Schedule: EPE is already warming up for Elvis Week 2013 with tickets for Elvis Insiders going on sale this Tuesday, April 9.
Elvis Week 2013 is Saturday, August 10 - Saturday, August 17. EPE are excited to be bring back the Elvis Week Main Stage at Graceland again this year.
The Main Event this year is the repeat of the “Aloha from Hawaii” 40th Anniversary Enhanced Screening that was shown in Hawaii this past January (and damn good it was too - See EIN Review here)
Other Elvis Week 2013 highlights are
- August 14 - Conversations on Elvis - Hosted by Tom Brown, this event lets fans hear from those who worked closest with the king – from friends, colleagues, co-stars, |
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musicians and more. Confirmed guests: Mother Dolores Hart, T.G. Sheppard, who formed a close personal and professional relationship with Elvis while promoting records for RCA – Elvis would later, as a token of their friendship, give TG his first tour bus. More guests to be announced soon.
- August 15 - Elvis Gospel Celebration: Start off your morning with an amazing gospel celebration featuring Terry Mike Jeffrey, Andy Childs and former members of J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet – Bill Baize, Donnie Sumner, Ed Hill and Larry Strickland as they sing some of their favorite Elvis gospel songs on stage.
- August 15 - Candlelight Vigil: After an opening ceremony at the gates of Graceland, fans are invited to walk up the driveway to Elvis' gravesite in quiet remembrance.
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- August 16 - Official Elvis Insiders Event: This year’s Elvis Insiders event will be a celebration of all that is Elvis with special segments that highlight various parts of Elvis’ life and career. Attendees will enjoy sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes looks, rarely-seen videos, feature segments filmed just for the event,
- August 16 - “Aloha from Hawaii” 40th Anniversary Enhanced Screening: At the Orpheum Theatre, celebrate entertainment history with a special enhanced screening of Elvis’ landmark 1973 television event. Elvis’ “Aloha from Hawaii”. As a special enhancement to the evening, enjoy a performance by former members of J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet.
- August 17 - Elvis Celebration Concert featuring Terry Mike Jeffrey with Special Guest DJ Fontana: Join us for a celebration of Elvis music during a special afternoon concert event. The show will feature Terry Mike Jeffrey and band performing some of their favorite Elvis tunes, joined by Elvis’ original drummer – DJ Fontana.
Plus the usual 'Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contests' that for some reason regularly sell out.
For the complete EPE 'Schedule of Events' Click Here.
(News, Source;EPE/ElvisInfoNet) |
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The Elvis Information Network has been running since 1986 and is an EPE officially recognised Elvis fan club.
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.
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