Late October 2002
Media coverage of:
[ Elv1s 30 #1 Hits ]
- Eminem, the rapper who used to horrify mainstream America, is getting more respect
By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
(Yahoo! News / Associated Press, October 31, 2002)
... Whether the 30-year-old rapper has softened or America has just grown more accepting, "he has started to interest serious, grownup audiences that would have dismissed him as a teenage hip-hop phenomenon," said New York Times critic Janet Maslin, who spent time with Eminem on the set of his upcoming movie, "8 Mile," for Premiere magazine. ... Not everyone is raving, however. Star, a popular New York DJ on the hip-hop-R&B station Hot 97, speculated that many of Eminem's new fans have never listened to the same kind of clever, angst-driven rhymes from black rappers such as DMX or Jay-Z. "He's not the best. That's an insult to black people who have created this art form. It's an insult to Spanish people ... He's just the Elvis Presley of hip-hop, and that's it."
- Pete Yorn Records Elvis's 'Suspicious' With Original Backup Singers
(Yahoo! News, October 31, 2002)
Pete Yorn is currently recording of a cover of Elvis Presley's classic "Suspicious Minds," and is trying to resurrect a piece of the original, famed recording in the process. Yorn's version-in-progress features the Sweet Inspirations, the backing group that also sang with the King during his legendary sessions in Memphis in 1969. The Sweet Inspirations were one of the premier female backing-vocal groups in the '60s and early '70s, also appearing on recordings by Aretha Franklin, the Drifters, Jimi Hendrix, and Van Morrison, among others. Cissy Houston, Whitney Houston's mother, and Dionne Warwick were counted as members of the group at various times.
- BMG Has Four of Top Five Albums in U.S. and Three of Top Five in Europe
By ROGER LALONDE
(Yahoo! Finance / PRNewswire, October 30, 2002)
BMG announced today that it has four of the top five albums in the U.S. and three of the top five in Europe with chart-topping debuts from global superstars Santana, Foo Fighters and Rod Stewart and continued strength from Elvis.
- Island Profile: Former Chaperone finds Marco lifestyle entertaining
By ROGER LALONDE
(Marco Island Eagle, October 30, 2002)
Tommy Ronca, a former member of the 1950s and '60s singing group the Chaperones and who once sang with Elvis, has traded the bright lights of Las Vegas for the sunlight of Marco Island.
- Elvis still reigns in earnings of dead stars, Forbes says
By Paul Nowell
(Rocky Mountain News / Associated Press, October 29, 2002)
The Ernest Hemingway furniture collection was a best seller, and the new Elvis line went toward the top of the charts. Now, Humphrey Bogart is the latest pop culture icon hawking leather chairs, chaise longues and liquor cabinets from beyond the grave. When it comes to marketing appeal, dead celebrities are a good bet, says Thomasville Furniture Industries' Mitchel Scott. "The book of life for this person is already written," Scott, the company's marketing chief, said Monday. "The entity is known. It's not going to change." Marketing the departed isn't confined to selling furniture. For two years, Forbes magazine has compiled an annual list of dead celebrities whose estates produce the most income. This year, Elvis remained the king 25 years after his death, with $37 million in income, followed by Peanuts comic strip creator Charles Schulz at $28 million.
- Nirvana's spirit still strong
By Chris Charles
(BBC News Online, October 28, 2002)
If only - the most wistful couplet in the English language. If only Elvis had stuck to vitamin pills. If only James Dean had caught the bus. If only Kurt Cobain had bought a water pistol. Alas, fate decreed otherwise and we are left instead with a legacy which will serve as a blueprint for aspiring guitar bands in decades to come.
- Elvis Display Draws Iowa Crowds
By Sue Falco
(Yahoo! News / Associated Press, October 28, 2002)
Call it Elvis on wheels. A 53-foot-long trailer filled with Elvis Presley memorabilia made a weekend stop in Council Bluffs. The display includes Presley's elementary school report cards, his favorite guitar and clothing he wore in movies and onstage.
- Elvis Presley Hair To Be Sold At Auction
By Sue Falco
(Yahoo! News / Launch, October 28, 2002)
Elvis Presley had it all--the looks, the voice, the moves, the sex appeal, and yes, the hair. Fans will get an opportunity to own some of Presley's silky black locks when the clippings go up for grabs in an online auction Monday (October 28) on mastronet.com. This is said to be the largest collection of Presley's hair, gathered for years by his personal hair stylist of 20 years, Homer "Gill" Gilleland. Five years ago, Gilleland gave the collection to friend Tom Morgan Jr., who has decided to part (no pun intended) with the strands. Of the lot, the auction's site says: "These are not just the usual few strands of hair which collectors normally have to settle for when rare opportunities such as this arise, but an enormous pile of clippings (approximately the size of a baseball) which were obtained directly by our consignor, Tom Morgan Jr., from Elvis's personal barber, Homer 'Gill' Gilleland." Hair from a "King" doesn't come cheap--the bidding starts at $10,000.
- ... Our next lot, er, lock straight from Elvis' head
Leslie Slape
(Daily News, October 27, 2002)
Largest collection of Elvis Presley hair clippings to be auctioned Oct. 27. Pardon my juvenile reaction, but eeeeew! What's next? Toenail clippings? Ear wax? Used Kleenex? According to MastroNet Inc. (which bills itself as "the" premier sports and Americana collectibles auction house), Elvis' personal hair stylist lovingly saved each and every hair he clipped and combed from the King of Rock 'n' Roll's head for more than 20 years. Elvis has left the building but his hair is still around. Just kidding. This is America. Of course he decided to sell them to the highest bidder. And now, for a minimum bid of $10,000, you have a chance to own a baseball-sized lump of old, dead hair picked off of Elvis' towel. The hair stands out like a sore thumb against other items in the same auction (which you can preview at www.mastronet.com). ... What on earth would be the use for an Elvis hair ball? Wait a minute ... What about cloning? Could scientists extract Elvis' DNA from his hair and resurrect the King? Think of the benefit to mankind. The world would be rid of 3,000 Elvis impersonators.
- LEE IS BIG 'ELVIS' FAN
(Evening Telegraph, October 26, 2002)
Dundee defender Lee Wilkie thinks Elvis is No. 1, but that statement's not a reflection of his musical taste (writes Tom Duthie). The Pressley he admires is not the king of rock and roll, but Steven, his Scotland team-mate and who he will be battling against at Hearts tomorrow.
- STOCKSFIELD: THE NIGHT ELVIS CAME TO LIFE!
(Hexham Courant, October 25, 2002)
THOSE of you who were unable to attend the "Elvis Night" last Saturday missed out on a real treat. Around 90 attended to see former Stars In Your Eyes contestant Adam Carter perform two halves of Elvis magic. Mr Carter sounded very like the original article although it has to be said the best lookalikes were gracing the dance floor in the form of "Jailhouse Doc", Dr Patrick Feeney and Ray Hall of Apperley Dene. It's funny how the more follicly challenged community members were delighted to wear a bit of hair for a change!
- Deaths: Beulah Quo
(Fifth item)
(Yahoo! News / Associated Press, October 25, 2002)
Beulah Quo, an Asian American film and TV character actress who appeared in the films "Chinatown," "MacArthur" and "Brokedown Palace," died Wednesday of heart failure. She was 79. She received an Emmy nomination in 1978 for her performance as Tzu-hsi, dowager empress of China, in an episode of Steve Allen's "Meeting of Minds" series, in which characters from various points in history interact with each other. The Stockton native was serving as an Asian dialect coach for the 1955 film "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" when she was hired to play a small role. When her film career took off, she changed her name from Kwoh to Quo. She had uncredited roles in the films "Flower Drum Song" and "Two Weeks in Another Town" and played Madam Yung in the 1962 Elvis Presley comedy "Girls! Girls! Girls!" Quo joined ABC's soap opera "General Hospital" in 1985 and for six years played Olin, a wisecracking housekeeper and confidant on the program.
- Caught In A Trap
[Review]
By Gary Marshall
(Spike Magazine, October 25, 2002)
Review of Peter Guralnick's Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley. ... Taken together, "Last Train To Memphis" and Careless Love make up the definitive biography of one of the twentieth century's key figures. In a sea of biographies that concentrate on the scandalous aspects of Elvis' life in order to sell copies, Guralnick's books bring the man vividly to life, warts and all. The exhaustive research can make the book heavy going at times but, for anybody with even a passing interest in pop or rock music, Careless Love is illuminating and essential reading.
- 'Elvis' rocks at Shell
By Tim Ryan
(Honolulu Star Bulletin, October 25, 2002)
If you're lonesome tonight, hanging out in a heartbreak hotel with a suspicious mind, 'cause you got some burnin' love and you're hopin' for a good-luck charm, but all that's out there is a hard-headed woman, don't worry -- just loosen up your hips because not one, but three Elvises are on their way. "The Three Faces of Elvis" show hits the Waikiki Shell stage tomorrow night featuring singers portraying the King during three stages of his long career. It's a triple-play of songs and pelvic thrusts, with enough hair gel, tight pants and snarling lips to perk up a wilting plumeria.
- Elvis Has Left the Courthouse
By HOLLY J. WAGNER
(Video Store Magazine, October 25, 2002)
A Federal Appeals Court has issued an injunction barring the further sale of The Definitive Elvis, an unauthorized DVD collection of Elvis Presley material compiled and released by Passport Video, but the supplier plans to appeal the ruling. "Passport will be filing an appeal of the lower court's decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and we are confident that the Ninth Circuit will reverse the order granting the preliminary injunction," the company said in a statement. The suit against Passport Video and parent company Passport International was jointly filed by EPE, SOFA Entertainment, Leiber & Stoller, the Steve Allen Estate and other rights holders to Presley's work and image. ... The Definitive Elvis features extensive use of images of Elvis Presley from television, film, live and recorded performances, as well as still images. "A number of critics, both here and abroad, have called The Definitive Elvis the most important and comprehensive biographical documentary produced about the life of Elvis Presley," contends the Passport statement. "Over 99 percent of The Definitive Elvis consists of original footage created and owned by Passport International. Over 230 interviews with the people in Elvis' life were conducted over a two-year period." ...
- Elvis rocks, Martha appeals to the masses
By Lz Granderson
(Palm Beach Post, October 24, 2002)
Possible legal woes didn't stop Martha Stewart from braving the public for a brief appearance at the Bernhardt Showroom to introduce the 200 pieces in her new Signature line. ... Not to be outdone, Elvis Presley didn't let a little thing like death stop him from being at Vaughan-Bassett showroom for the second time. From his face gracing the covers of sofa pillows to his signature on the backs of chairs and coffee tables, the King was everywhere. "What we found out is the pieces that sold best were the pieces that said Elvis the best," said Doug Bassett, vice president for sales. "We took more chances, to try and be more of a trendsetter." Added to the line introduced in the spring are pieces to love tenderly including a blue "suede" couch, based on the back of a '57 Chevy, and a monogrammed rocker recliner with a small beer cooler and massage mechanism. "We know this is not going to be for everyone's taste, but we know everyone will have fun," Bassett said.
- Elvis' 'do' has left the building
(Daily Texan, October 24, 2002)
If you've always longed to run your fingers through Elvis Presley's hair, this could be your chance. A baseball-sized chunk of it is going on sale. The auction for the hair starts Monday. Bidding will start at $10,000, ''and it wouldn't surprise me if it went well into the six figures,'' said Brian Marren of the Internet auction house MastroNet Inc.
- Elvis Presley Enterprises, Leiber & Stoller and Sofa Entertainment Win Injunction in Federal Court
(Yahoo! Finance / BUSINESS WIRE, October 23, 2002)
A Federal Appeals Court has issued an injunction barring the further sale of "The Definitive Elvis," an unauthorized DVD collection of Elvis Presley material compiled and released by Passport Video, it was announced today by Elvis Presley Enterprises. The suit against Passport Video and parent company Passport International was jointly filed by EPE, SOFA Entertainment, Leiber & Stoller, the Steve Allen Estate and other rights holders to Presley's work and image.
- Elvis Leaves Building for Ballot
By DAVID CRARY
(Yahoo! News / Associated Press, October 22, 2002)
The first lady of Arkansas relishes politics so much that she's running for secretary of state on her husband's ticket. Family ties are more frayed in Connecticut, where the mother and siblings of state Rep. Dennis Cleary have taken out a newspaper ad urging his defeat. While weighty issues dominate the congressional campaign scene, not all is somber or staid on the state and local election front as Nov. 5 approaches. A professional Elvis impersonator, Bruce Borders, is a Republican candidate for state representative in Indiana. In Berkeley, Calif., voters will decide on a ballot initiative requiring coffee houses to sell environmentally and politically correct brews. Oregon's last dry town, Monmouth, will decide whether to go wet.
- Supervisors OK Elvis courthouse plaque
By PHILIP MOULDEN
(Daily Journal, October 22, 2002)
Lee County supervisors agreed Monday to allow a monument honoring Elvis Presley to be placed on the courthouse lawn, one of a series of memorials to be part of a driving tour through Tupelo. The courthouse monument would mark Presley's appearance on a live jamboree radio show broadcast from the southeast corner of the courthouse in the mid-1940s. The Tupelo native who was to become the king of rock and roll sang his first song on live radio during a Mississippi Slim's program on WELO during one of the jamborees, the Tupelo Convention & Visitors Bureau informed supervisors.
- Bidding soon starts on Elvis' hair
(ABC Action News, October 22, 2002)
Elvis has left the building - but his hair is still around ... [as below].
- Hair today, sold tomorrow
(Macon Telegraph / Associated Press, October 22, 2002)
Elvis has left the building but his hair is still around. Next Monday, bidding begins on what's being called the largest collection of the King's hair clippings. The Elvis locks were gathered by Homer "Gill" Gilleland, who was Presley's personal hair-stylist for more than 20 years. Five years ago, he gave the collection to close friend Tom Morgan Jr., who has decided to sell it. Morgan coordinated security for Elvis' funeral. The clippings are accompanied by letters of authenticity from experts in hair collecting and Elvis memorabilia. Bidding will startat $10,000. The online auction will be on mastronet.com.
- Big rig brings a hunka-hunka Elvis stuff
By Bill Blakenship
(Topeka Capital-Journal, October 21, 2002)
Topka may have "Czars", but Mayetta has "The King". Mobile Graceland, a traveling exhibit of Elvis Presley memorabilia housed in a 53-foot semitrailer, will stop Wednesday and Thursday at Harrah's Prairie Band Casino. Museum-quality cases inside the trailer contain jewelry, clothing, instruments, photographs and other artifacts, many of which have never been displayed outside Memphis, where Presley built his mansion, Graceland, which has attracted more than 12 million visitors since "The King of Rock and Roll" died in 1977.
- Nov. 3 is National Sandwich Day -- the Best Thing Since Sliced Bread
Source: Jack in the Box Inc.
(Yahoo! Finance / BUSINESS WIRE, October 21, 2002)
From Reubens to BLTs, PB&Js to the all-American hamburger, the humble sandwich has been a mealtime staple for centuries. In fact, Americans consume 45 billion sandwiches a year. So it's no surprise that the oh-so versatile sandwich has been honored with its own day of observance -- National Sandwich Day on Nov. 3. To celebrate, Jack in the Box(R) restaurants, home of more than 15 different kinds of sandwiches and burgers, has compiled a few fascinating facts about the sandwich. ... For $5.75 you can eat like The King at Elvis Presley's Memphis Restaurant, which serves up Elvis' favorite -- a fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich, hold the jelly.
- Elvis and Ulster 'get the same bad rap'
By Noel McAdam
(Belfast Telegraph, October 21, 2002)
Ulster gets the same "bad rap" across the world stage that Elvis did, according to a member of the Presley family. It may be a long-shot comparison, but Elvis's step-brother Rick Stanley says the province is one of the best places he has ever been in the world. Now an evangelist, visiting Northern Ireland for the first time, he said: "You guys put southern hospitality to shame. "I guess in the same way there were these myths about Elvis - that he was a drug addict, for instance: he wasn't - and I guess it's the same for Belfast," he said. On the drugs, he said: "I should know. I was a heroin addict. Elvis had problems: he was sick. He had a bad back, he suffered from insomnia." On a busy three-day tour, with an itinerary including a breakfast prayer session in Ballymena, the man who swapped the King for the King of Kings, revealed he had the last lengthy conversation with Elvis on the night before he died. They talked about a sensationalist book two sacked bodyguards were about to write - Elvis was worried about the effect on fans - and the concert tour he was about to go on. Stanley, who was just six when Elvis's father married his mother, was invited to the province as part of the Christian Power to Change programme. "It is my first time here, but it won't be the last," he said.
- Missile Crisis Students Hold Reunion
By SONJA BARISIC
(Yahoo! News / Associated Press, October 20, 2002)
Carol Heilman thought it was just another drill, perhaps part of a war game. So the 17-year-old wasn't too concerned when she and other kids on the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were ordered to leave school in the middle of the day and head straight home on Oct. 22, 1962.
Told to pack a single suitcase, she filled hers entirely with 45s by Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and other favorite musicians. Even when her family boarded a ship, she still didn't grasp that the situation was serious. "When we got out to the mouth of the bay, I turned around and the sun was setting over the (base) chapel," Carol, now Carol Heilman Winkler, recalled Friday during a school reunion. "The sunlight hit the steeple. I knew then, and I just lost it, because I didn't have a home." She and her classmates were among more than 2,400 military dependents evacuated from Guantanamo because of the brewing Cuban missile crisis, which President Kennedy disclosed to the country that night as most of the evacuees headed for Norfolk. The 40th anniversary of that day was the focus of the reunion, which brought together about 200 people who attended junior or senior high at W.T. Sampson School at Guantanamo between 1953 and 1967.
- Aida' Star Headley's Solo Recording Debuts at No. 38 on Billboard Charts
By Andrew Gans
(Yahoo! News / Playbill Online, October 17, 2002)
Heather Headley's debut solo recording, "This Is Who I Am," debuted at No. 38 on this week's Billboard Top 200 charts. The No. 1 spot was held by the Elvis Presley compilation "Elvis 30 #1 Hits."
- Elvis' plane changes owners
By Lillian Kafka
(Yahoo! News / Reuters, October 17, 2002)
A bird flew out of an open engine compartment of a Lockheed Jetstar yesterday, but inside the plane, once owned by Elvis Presley, the red velvet seats were plush and the golden bathroom faucets gleamed. The 10-passenger jet hadn't been flown in a few years and probably won't be again - it's missing four engines- but that didn't stop Mark Kuykendall from purchasing the rock 'n' roll icon's former personal jet. After Presley's death in 1977, Elvis' father, Vernon Presley, sold it to an aircraft company and it eventually landed in the hands of Roswell resident Roy McKay, according to Kuykendall. McKay said he sold the plane in 2000 to a Polish man, who removed the engines and installed them into a different plane.
- The wild one
By Mark Juddery
(Canberra Times, October 17, 2002, Times Out Section pp. 4-5)
The musical "Shout" is about Johnny O'Keefe, one of the pioneers of Australian rock 'n' roll. ... With a 25-strong chorus, and producer Kevin Jacobsen's track record (he previously produced big-top versions of Cats and Grease), it should be a great night. Pity about the name, though. ... While it's easy to see him as Australia's answer to Elvis Presley, the King was a far more polished package. O'Keefe (who was was just 11 days younger than Elvis) was neither a heart-throb, nor a great singer, but thanks to his wild, infectious engergy, he was our first rock superstar. ... Also, unlike Elvis, he was in control of his image.
- Charts: Platinum Elvis!
By David Jenison
(Yahoo! News / E! Online Music, October 16, 2002)
Online music subscription company Pressplay said Monday it has signed a licensing deal with leading It's no wonder they call him the King. In three short weeks, Elvis Presley's 30 #1 Hits has passed the one million copies sold mark, making this his fastest platinum release. At the same time, Elvis held the number one spot all three weeks, fending off major debuts by such heavyweights as the Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Xzibit, Beck, India.Arie and the new American Idol compilation. For the week ended Sunday, Elvis' 30 #1 Hits turned platinum by selling another 205,000 copies, according to SoundScan numbers. Bon Jovi, which was formed six years after Elvis passed away, scored the week's top debut at number two, selling 160,000 copies of their eighth album, Bounce. The New Jersey natives, whose latest features some Springsteen-like sentiments about 9-11, made a comeback with 2000's Crush, featuring the Max Martin-penned hit "It's My Life" (Martin also penned the early big hits for Britney, 'N Sync (news - web sites) and Backstreet Boys.
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