Early December 2002
Also in the news: [ Lilo & Stitch DVD reviews ] [ Elvis the Helicopter ]
- PETA protest tour features a hefty 'Elvis'
(Clarion-Ledger / Associated Press, December 7, 2002)
An animal rights group is getting help from a "Fat Elvis" impersonator and a "go-go girl" to spread the word against eating meat. Representatives of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on Thursday were in Tupelo to sing,dance and promote the vegetarian lifestyle. "We're on tour visiting the fattest cities," PETA member Joe Haptas said. Tupelo is not on the list of fattest cities, he said, but added, "Mississippi is the unhealthiest state in the U.S." Haptas, Elvis impersonator Sean Diener and dancer Amber Wilt have demonstrated in Memphis and will also visit Nashville and Knoxville, Tenn., during their tour of the South. Passing motorists honked and waved at the demonstrators, but there were few pedestrians at the corner of Main and Spring streets. PETA released a statement that read "meat consumption is killing Elvis' fans and everyone else at an astounding rate because of obesity, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and cancer."
- Beware of becoming outmoded by 'The Bug'
By Robert Celaschi
(Houston Business Journal , December 6, 2002)
In ancient times when Elvis still roamed the Earth, I got a personal demonstration of how technology can change careers, courtesy of "The Bug." That was the informal name for a device in the General Electric building on Curtner Avenue in San Jose. The Bug was G.E. Nuclear's answer to the question: How do you find bad welds on a containment vessel without frying humans with radiation? What The Bug did was eliminate the need for the human being.
- Move by San Francisco Physician to Try and Ban Words 'Under God' Good News for Singer Boone, Who, as a Result, Has His First Hit Single in 40 Years
Source: The Gold Label
(Yahoo! Finance / PRNewswire, December 6, 2002)
Dr. Michael Newdow, 49, of San Francisco, who first challenged the Pledge of Allegiance's "under God" reference in a lawsuit in San Francisco, is moving ahead with his lawsuit after a federal appeals court on Wed. granted its permission. That's good news for entertainer Pat Boone. As a result of the controversy, Boone, who hasn't been on the coveted Billboard charts for 40 years, is back in the musical saddle, scoring number 15 (with a bullet) on the Dec. 7 Hot 100 Singles Sales Chart(TM) with his patriotic ballad, "Under God." (It's been #35 and 20, respectively, in the two previous weeks). Sales in part, says Boone, "are motivated by America's embrace of its patriotic roots and a return to its more traditional values." ... Between 1955-1959, he was the number two best-selling recording artist, behind Elvis.
- Rock around the ratings
By Bill Brioux
(Canoe, December 6, 2002)
In last week's U.S. TV battle of the bands, Faith Hill outperformed rock legends Elvis Presley and Paul McCartney as well as her hubby Tim McGraw. Hill's CBS music special ranked 31st for the week with11.3 million viewers, followed by Elvis (#36, 10.7 million), McGraw (#40, 10.01) and McCartney (#60 with 8.13 million viewers). Sir Paul did better in Canada, snaring 819,000 fans a week ago Wednesday on CBC.
- Variety of events mark the holidays in Southwest Florida
(Herald Tribune, December 6, 2002)
From bazaars and cookie walks, to a helicopter-borne Santa and an Elvis-themed Christmas, the holidays in Southwest Florida are packed tighter than an overflowing stocking.
- Redemption song
(Yahoo! News / Forbes.com, December 6, 2002)
In need of a hitman, BMG decides that Clive Davis, at any age, is the right choice. ... Just three years ago, at 66, Clive Davis appeared headed for the music-mogul pasture. The suits at BMG, the music unit of German media giant Bertelsmann, had decided they needed younger blood. After a storied career that included orchestrating the success of Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Whitney Houston and Carlos Santana, Davis was replaced as the head of Arista Records, the BMG-owned label that he had launched 25 years earlier. But now BMG has done what you don't see too often in the music world--admitted a mistake. In what amounts to an acknowledgment that it never should have pushed Davis aside, BMG just paid an estimated $100 million to buy the remaining 50% that it did not already own of Davis' two-year-old label, J Records (it paid $150 million in 2000 for the other half). BMG also brought him back to take control of its fallen-angel RCA label (Elvis Presley, the Dave Matthews Band). The combined entity, RCA Music Group, will have 3.4% of the total North American album market, up one-third from RCA's current share. BMG also includes Arista (performing well under Davis' replacement, Antonio Reid), and it just completed the $2.7 billion purchase of Zomba (home to Britney Spears). It is the second-largest music company, with 17% of the North American market. The biggest, Vivendi's Universal Music Group, has a 31% chunk.
What caused BMG to decide that Davis is not so old after all? Mainly that it needed his sure touch in a lousy environment--unit sales are down 13% in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. He guided upstart J Records (named for his middle initial) to a fast start, striking gold with neosoul newcomer Alicia Keys, whose debut album, Songs in A Minor, has sold 9.9 million copies. He has used J Records to revive the careers of fading stars like R&B balladeer Luther Vandross and pop rocker Rod Stewart, whose recent release of classic American songs has sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. With a roster of about 40 artists, the J Records company is generating some $200 million a year in revenues. "The recovery [after being forced out of Arista] was so strong and so immediate," Davis says, referring to his comeback. "I consider myself fortunate that the hits did not stop coming."
In addition to what Davis would only describe as the "handsome" sum of money that he received from BMG, he signed a deal to remain on the job at RCA for five years. That keeps Davis in place as one of music's primary arbiters of popular taste until age 74.
- Elvis is alive on the catwalk
(GQ Daily News, December 5, 2002)
Attention Elvis fans. Please make your way to Sotheby's Olympia tonight to place your bid for clothes made by some of the world's top designers who were inspired by The King himself. Designers such as Ozwald Boateng, Julien Macdonald, Betsey Johnson and Scott Henshall have all created outfits inspired by tracks on the globally successful Elvis 30 # 1 Hits album, to be auctioned off in aid of the Prince's Trust. While Macdonald's flamboyant black catsuit was inspired by A Little Less Conversation, Arkadius took (You're The) Devil In Disguise as the basis for his typically revealing little red dress and Marjan Pejoski and Scott Henshall chose Teddy Bear and Big Hunk O' Love respectively to inspire their designs. The event, sponsored by Renault Formula 1, Capital Radio Group, Olympus Cameras and Budweiser, kicks off in Olympia, West Kensington, at 7pm this evening. Please form an orderly queue ...
- The secret of cool
By Steve Meacham
(Sydney Morning Herald, December 5, 2002)
Clinical psychologist Adam Ferrier set out to find out why some people are cool, and others uncool, for his masters thesis at the University of Western Sydney. But as a market consultant for Sydney firm, Added-Value, he wanted to know how different brands could be made to seem cool through association with cool people. "Although much has been written in both psychological and marketing literature about its mystique and its importance to brands, 'cool' has not been defined before," Mr Ferrier says.
The notion of coolness started, he says, with the first Afro-Americans: proud warriors who in order to cope with the indignity of slavery, "masked their emotions with the cool pose, their way of showing defiance to their masters". From that initial rebellious-ness, came the "I don't care" poses appropriated in the 1950s by white role models such as Elvis Presley, James Dean and Marlon Brando. A decade later, coolness became mixed up with hippiedom, then punk rock, before moving back to the black ghettos of the United States. Now, Mr Ferrier says, "coolness is no longer about a minority saying, 'Stuff you!"'. It has become mainstream. It is also no longer about youth, class, income or any other demographic measure, but about perceptions of personal qualities. ... He concluded there are five separate factors that people identify with coolness:self belief, defiance of convention, understated achievement, care of others, and energy and sociability.
- Learning: A dickens of a show
By SCOTT THISTLE
(Duluth News Tribune, December 4, 2002)
Moose Lake School District staff will produce this week a performance of "A Rock and Roll Christmas with Apologies to Mr. Dickens." The musical, based on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," follows the author's basic story line but includes modifications by Kris Lyons, Moose Lake English teacher and show director. Lyons' adaptation incorporates a host of rock hits from the '50s, '60s and '70s. Plus, she livens up the classical cast with new characters including Jacob "Bob" Marley -- complete with dreadlocks, plus beat cops named Buddy Holly and Charlie Dickens and, of course, Elvis. "Elvis is Christmas Present for sure," Lyons said. ... Moose Lake School Superintendent Tim Caroline shaved off his whiskers to appropriately play Elvis in the show. "Elvis didn't have a beard," Caroline said during a November dress rehearsal. ... The superintendent resisted signing on for this season's show -- until he learned he could be Elvis. So in a red sequined, silk/satin, V-neck one-piece Elvis outfit, Caroline croons to Scrooge, appropriately played by Andy Nygren, who chairs the school board's finance committee.
From Elvis, Scrooge hears the importance of seizing the moment. Despite his dismal and miserly past, it might not be too late to save the present and the future, Elvis tells him before breaking into a swooning rendition of "Blue Christmas." ... Participants consider the show their holiday gift to the community, but they're getting as much of a thrill out of it as anybody,Caroline said. "After all, I've always wanted to be Elvis," he said.
- Elvis concert to help fund kidney transplant for boy, 10
By Karen Klinka
(NewsOK.com / The Oklahoman, December 4, 2002)
Elvis impersonator Dusty Lee has joined a community effort to raise funds for a kidney transplant operation for 10-year-old Sergio Ramirez, a fifth-grader at Western Oaks Elementary School. Lee, who specializes in performing the songs of the late legendary singer Elvis Presley, will present a concert at 6 p.m. Thursday in the cafeteria at Western Oaks Elementary, 7210 NW 23, said the Rev. Bill Porter, chairman of the Sergio Kidney Transplant Fundraising Committee.
- National Ratings in Primetime: Week of Nov. 25, 2002
By Marc Berman
(Yahoo! News / Mediaweek.com, December 4, 2002)
Without the benefit of its regularly scheduled Thursday night programming, NBC lost a considerable amount of steam this week, trailing first place CBS by 13 percent in households and 1.53 million viewers. Although the Peacock net did manage to maintain leadership among adults 18-49, its advantage over second place CBS was only eight percent. Year-to-year, only the WB was on the rise with losses for chief rival UPN down by as much as 32 percent. Although Fox also continues to erode by noticeable proportions, it still leads the pack among adults 18-34. ... -- The two-hour Paul McCartney special on ABC Wednesday, Paul McCartney: Back in the U.S., averaged a modest 8.13 million viewers (#60) with a 3.1/ 9 among adults 18-49 (#52) -- CBS had better results with special Elvis Lives on Thursday at #36 in viewers (10.72 million) and #38 among adults 18-49 (4.0/12).
- Shop Talk: Actor Gets in Character for Creepy MMB Ad
(Yahoo! News / AdWeek.com, December 4, 2002)
Mark Lacy, actor and Virginia Military Institute graduate, was recently hired by McCarthy Mambro Bertino for a darkly comic Infogrames spot filmed in a morgue, and he shocked MMB staffers by appearing anything but chilly toward the refrigerated cadavers. ... In the ad, Lacy's character plays dead at the morgue until his wife arrives to claim his body. Rather than build a set, MMB shot at St. Mary's Morgue in L.A. "[Lacy] was lying next to several dead bodies [in bags]. It was freaky," says Mambro. But Lacy says he was freaked out, too. "They Cloroxed [the drawer] before I got in, but it's soundproof and lightproof," he says. "I tried to act like I was into it. It was by far the oddest location and the oddest concept." He says he hummed Elvis tunes to distract himself.
- Shortlist for Record Of The Year announced
(Ananova, December 4, 2002)
Holly Valance, Gareth Gates and Will Young are among artists vying for this year's Record Of The Year title. A shortlist of ten songs has been drawn up for the award, presented by Ant and Dec on ITV this Saturday. The ten finalists also include Darius, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, Liberty X, Elvis V Junkie XL, Atomic Kitten and Ronan Keating.
- Fats Domino is 'Walking', yes indeed, and talking
By Edna Gundersen
(USA Today, December 3, 2002)
Fats Domino, a primary taproot of rock 'n' roll, recounts his own roots with none of the mythology, divine inspiration or burning ambition that embellishes most legendary biographies. ... Antoine "Fats" Domino made his debut with The Fat Man, arguably the first rock 'n' roll record, in 1949. He was 21. Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Bonnie Raitt, Gene Simmons and all three members of ZZ Top were newborns soon to be weaned on the rollicking boogie-woogie tunes that helped launch a cultural revolution. Domino's heyday is newly encapsulated in Walking to New Orleans (Imperial/Capitol, $59.98), a four-CD rock 'n' roll primer spanning 1949 to 1962, during which time he sold 65 million records. Credited for forging a crucial link between R&B and rock 'n' roll, he triggered a Domino effect that informed the '60s rock explosion and shaped everyone from Pat Boone and Chubby Checker (who named himself in honor of Fats) to The Beatles and Sheryl Crow. He racked up more hits than any '50s-era rocker except Elvis Presley. ...
Inspired by Professor Longhair, Fats Waller, Amos Milburn, Roy Brown and Louis Jordan, Domino was drawing crowds to the Hideaway when Imperial Records discovered him. ... "Fats does have a sense of his place in history," Davis says. "When he pulls out a picture of himself hanging out with Elvis, he knows what that means. But it's hard to engage him on what he's meant to music. He changes the subject. He'd rather talk about how he cooks his pigs' feet." Presley, his chief competition in the '50s, was never a rival, Domino insists as he plucks a black-and-white photo of the pair from his suitcase. "Elvis came to see me before he got a record deal," Domino says. "I liked him. I liked to hear him sing. He was just starting out, almost. He wasn't dressing up. Matter of fact, he had plain boots on. He wasn't wearing all those fancy clothes. He told me he flopped the first time he came to Las Vegas. I loved his music. He could sing anything. And he was a nice fellow, shy. His face was so pretty, so soft. I'm glad we took this picture." While Domino regards Presley as an indisputable icon, he is less concerned with his own chapter in rock's textbook.
- Winterfest aims to be family friendly
(LaGrange Daily News, December 3, 2002)
The King of Rock 'n' Roll is still alive, and he's playing in LaGrange this weekend. Elvis Presley impersonator Robby Scott of LaGrange is scheduled to take the stage Saturday at Winterfest, the annual celebration hosted on Lafayette Square by the LaGrange Downtown Development Authority.
- Nicolas Cage is rocking, rolling, adapting
By Ann Oldenburg
(Yahoo! News / USA Today, December 3, 2002)
Rubbing and rubbing and rubbing his forehead, Nicolas Cage must have a bad headache. ''No,'' he says. ''I'm just thinking.'' With every question -- about his new movie, Adaptation, about life, about love -- he responds thoughtfully. He's not a guy to flash a grin and offer a flip quip. The only time he doesn't need time to think is when asked about the Elvis thing. He played an Elvis Presley character in the 1990 David Lynch movie Wild at Heart. He was an Elvis look-alike in 1992's Honeymoon in Vegas. He married, and is now divorcing, Lisa Marie Presley. And he has tons of Elvis memorabilia. What's with him and Elvis? ''There is no Elvis thing,'' he says emphatically. ''I don't own any Elvis memorabilia. I don't own any Elvis collectibles. There's this story that I've got my own room. I think they're confusing me with a friend I know who has an Elvis room. I don't. It's not true.'' He explains that the idea began during a phase of what he calls ''art synthesis.'' For his role as a just-released prisoner in Wild at Heart, he wanted to incorporate the artistic sensibilities of Andy Warhol by playing his character another way. He thought about being James Dean but decided too many people have done that. He thought about doing it as Warhol, but that didn't work. ''So I selected Elvis, which seemed fun and new, and David Lynch loved it.'' He adds, ''But if I had known I was going to marry his daughter, I probably would have just played it as Andy Warhol.''
- 6-Year-Old Does Elvis Impersonations
(Yahoo! News / Associated Press, December 3, 2002)
He's only in kindergarten, but don't be cruel to Noel Noble. Patrons at his parents' restaurant love his Elvis Presley impersonations. He even gets tips for his performances. Sometimes, customers call ahead to see when the boy is singing.
"They call him the little King," Jeff Fraunhoffer said of his son. "We get people calling here, asking what time the little King is singing. He's a draw to the restaurant." . ... Just as he picked up the lyrics from CDs, he has picked up Elvis' moves from movies. For special shows, he has a white jumpsuit with a cape. It was his Halloween costume as well.
- Once superstars, now super freaks
By Renee Graham
(The Boston Globe, December 3, 2002)
When Kurt Cobain died in 1994, a grief-stricken friend of mine made a solemn observation: ''Well, if there's one blessing, at least we'll never have to see him get old and ridiculous.'' Weepy as I was, the comment struck me as ill-timed and selfish. Here was a father who would never see his daughter grow to womanhood, as well as a gifted musician who blasted away his art and his life. What blessings, I asked, could ever come from a 27-year-old man dead by his own hand? It took me years to understand what she really meant - namely, that Kurt Cobain would never suffer Fat Elvis Syndrome.
You know what I mean. There's the young, virile Elvis, all pouty and swivel-hipped defiance, and then there's Fat Elvis, who died on the toilet, his body bloated and marinated in a pharmacy's worth of drugs. By the end, he bumbled around onstage, if he bothered to show up at all, barely able to remember the lyrics to his biggest songs. To borrow the words of my prescient pal, he became old and ridiculous, disgracing himself and his fans as he tarnished his legacy, wasted his talents, and outlived his usefulness.
It can never happen to Cobain, but there have been plenty of others slipping and sliding into that hall of shame. For example, there's Liza Minnelli - who clearly learned nothing from her mother's short, tragic life - looking like a wax work from Madame Tussaud as she teeters about with her really creepy-looking husband, David Gest. There's Marlon Brando, who in ''A Streetcar Named Desire,'' ''On the Waterfront,'' and ''The Godfather,'' gave three of the greatest on-screen performances in cinema history but is now better known for his messy private life, gargantuan size, and incoherent (but thankfully rare) public appearances. And lest we forget, Marlon and Liza's buddy - everyone's favorite plastic surgery-addicted, baby-dangling freak, Michael Jackson. Once a prodigious talent who mesmerized audiences with the shattering prepubescent ache of his voice and a smiling young man who could move with the grace of Fred Astaire, he has devolved into a 44-year-old weirdo who now seems to exist only to create breathless tabloid headlines.
- Elvis' UFO Diet
(Things to do, December 3, 2002)
If you want to try brand-new theatrical fare, check the free staged reading of a freshly minted play-in-development at Gorilla Theatre, 4419N Hubert Ave., Tampa. St Petersburg freelance writer Peter Smith penned "Elvis' UFO Diet". It's a comedy about business in the tabloid capital of the world, South Florida. The Elvis image [below] is by Tennessee-born artist Red Grooms.
- Blue Christmas in Puyallup
By Russ Carmack
(Tacoma News Tribune, December 2, 2002)
Elvis impersonator Danny Vernon sings to the crowd at the sold-out Liberty Theater in Puyallup on Sunday at the Elvis Inspirational Christmas Dinner Show. Vernon's wife, Marcia Smith, center, and Sarah McGrath sing backup during his act.
- Erratic behavior again cast doubts on Michael Jackson's image, career
By Anthony Breznican
(San Diego Union-Tribune, December 2, 2002)
Michael Jackson seems to be moonwalking from one embarrassment to another this year. He publicly feuded with his record label, accusing its chief of racism after his album sales were low. He dangled his infant son from a hotel balcony. And his morbidly altered face just gets weirder. As the trial resumes Tuesday in a lawsuit filed against the 44-year-old entertainer in a contract dispute, his erratic behavior has once again eclipsed his musical talent. "Just when you think it can't get any worse, Michael Jackson finds a way - an unprecedentedly creative way - to make it worse," said Michael Levine, a public relations expert who represented Jackson in 1993.
Tabloids accused Jackson of reckless endangerment two weeks ago after he displayed his baby, Prince Michael II, to fans by dangling him briefly from a fourth-floor balcony in Germany, where he had gone to accept an award. Jackson called the incident a "terrible mistake," and Berlin authorities said the actions were not punishable. ... Levine, who represented Jackson at the time, characterizes the singer now as a self-destructive personality akin to John Belushi or Elvis Presley.
- Serena the Best? No: Annika
By Jeff Berlinicke
(The Ledger Online, December 2, 2002)
Serena Williams got all the glory Three Grand Slam titles in 2002, TV endorsements, a role in a TV documentary on Elvis Presley (seriously) that aired on Thursday (Elvis had been dead for four years before Serena was born). She was even the best tennis player in her own family, and that's saying something.
- Singles could do encore on Web: Retailers fear online sales will cost them
By Benny Evangelista
(San Francisco Chronicle, December 1, 2002)
Record stores, which are already struggling to compete with free music downloads, may be running into unlikely competition from the record labels themselves. Back in the days when Elvis was king, music fans flocked to record stores to buy the latest hit singles on vinyl 45 rpm discs. Retailers saw these singles, which were cheaper than albums, as the way to hook customers for life. These days, singles, which now come in the form of plastic CDs have nearly dropped out of sight -- not, retailers say, from lack of demand, but from lack of supply by the labels. But now, major record companies like EMI and Universal are turning to the Internet to sell digital singles, and retailers are wondering how they can compete without more singles to sell.
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