Early January 2003
- [Photograph]
AP Photo/Joe Cavaretta
(Yahoo! News, January 6, 2003)
Danny Vernon, of Seattle, performs in the annual Elvis Extravaganza contest Sunday, Jan. 5, 2003, in Las Vegas. Vernon was one of 60 Elvis impersonators participating in the annual contest.
- Beatles' Ed Sullivan Show appearance tops TV poll
(Ananova, January 6, 2003)
The Beatles' live debut appearance on American television in 1964 on the Ed Sullivan Show has topped a list of the 100 greatest rock and roll moments in TV. In second place in VH-1's 100 Moments That Rocked TV is Elvis Presley's 1968 NBC TV Comeback Special and in third place is the 1981 launch of MTV.
- Vox Music scores with musical treasure hunters
By Tim Page
(Beacon Journal / Washington Post, January 6, 2003)
A record company's back catalog is one of its proudest possessions. Capitol Records still makes millions every year on decades-old Beatles and Beach Boys albums, while RCA Victor cleans up with the work of artists ranging from Elvis Presley to the legendary operatic tenor Enrico Caruso, who made his last record in 1920.
- Collectors are all shook up over fake Elvis stuff
By BROOKS BARNES
(nj.com / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal , January 6, 2003)
Thanks to hype surrounding the 25th anniversary of the singer's death last August, the King of Rock 'n' Roll is enjoying the biggest financial success of his posthumous career. But all the attention is sending a torrent of fake concert posters, alleged handwritten lyrics, stage outfits and other Elvis collectibles cascading onto the estimated $250 million market for his memorabilia, experts say. Top auctioneers including Sotheby's Holdings Inc. and Christie's International have had to pull so-called Elvis items on the eve of sales or refund money to buyers when the items were later shown to be fake; Christie's alone confirms that since 2000, it has refunded about $26,000 to buyers of questionable Elvis memorabilia.
The proliferation of fakes is so great that the San Francisco-based auction house Butterfields says it has considerably curtailed its acceptance of Elvis consignments. Butterfields pioneered the big-money Elvis market, holding the first major auction of Elvis memorabilia ever in 1994, and two more later in the decade, setting records like $63,000 for the King's old American Express card and $26,480 for his sunglasses. "The problem is that rock memorabilia has gotten so expensive that it's worth it to fake items," says Catherine Williamson, head of entertainment memorabilia for Butterfields. ...
Fake items abound in this world; hundreds of supposed John Lennon autographs actually postdate his 1980 death. But Elvis "is the worst," Mr. Luke says. Beyond the sheer volume and variety of odd King collectibles -- a set of birthing forceps supposedly used to deliver him sold on eBay this fall for $600 -- Elvis himself was generous, giving away thousands of belongings during his lifetime. Complicating matters further, his executors never comprehensively cataloged what he owned. When Elvis, who would have turned 68 on Wednesday, died in 1977, entertainment memorabilia was largely viewed as garage-sale flotsam. As a result, says a spokesman for the estate, scores of items simply "wandered out" of the star's home. ...
For its part, Graceland, the Memphis headquarters of the Elvis Presley estate, says it's seen a dramatic spike in requests from collectors to help determine what's real. But rendering opinions on what's authentic and isn't, says Graceland lawyer William R. Bradley, "would open us up to all kinds of liability." What's more, Graceland trimmed its budget in 2002 due to a downturn in foreign tourists, leaving the estate with a staff of three archivists, down from five. "We're overloaded," a spokesman says.
- Elvis fans hit the slopes
By Carla Roccapriore
(Reno Gazette-Journal, January 5, 2003)
Who said blondes have more fun, sideburns are out and only witches wear capes? Not the "Elvi" who got $10 lift tickets Saturday at Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe.
Staff members from the lodge roof to skiers on the slopes sported jet-black wigs -- among other Elvis Presley regalia -- to celebrate the resort's eighth annual Elvis Day, held in conjunction with the late king of rock 'n' roll's 68th birthday, which falls on Wednesday.
- Doing the hula with 'Aunty'
By MIJA RIEDEL
(St Petersburg Times, January 5, 2003)
Aunty Ku'ulei answered her phone on the second ring. Her studio was the third of three "hula schools" listed in the Kauai yellow pages, and the other two had turned me down. Although Kauai runneth over with hula performances, hula videos and hotel hula demonstrations, I could not find a single dance studio where I could "drop in" for one class. Still, after a half-dozen trips to the island, I wanted to appreciate more than Kauai's guava-scented breezes and plumeria leis. I was seeking the visceral sense of a place that can be learned only through the soles and bones of my feet and the line of my arms. Ku'ulei Punua did not offer classes, either, but she could fit me in for a private lesson. "How long is a class?" I asked.
"A long time. We just dance and dance. I love to teach. I taught John Wayne and Elvis Presley."
- To the 'Singing Brakeman'
By Jim Patterson
(Canberra Times, January 5, 2003, Relax section p. 7)
The Father of Country Music was actually a rock 'n' roller ahead of his time, argues a folk-rocker who's recorded a tribute album to "Singing Brakeman" Jimmie Rogers. ... "Jimmie was called called a hillbilly singer, but that was not his attitude," [47-year-old singer-song-writer Steve] Forbet says. "He really had kind of a Gene Vincent attitude, and kind of an Elvis attitude. He was a drinker and partied and he had that joy for life."
- Priest Parody Nixed at Mummers Parade
By MARYCLAIRE DALE
(Yahoo! News / Associated Press, January 4, 2003)
They've poked fun at presidential sex and O.J. Simpson, but after outcries from the city's mayor and Roman Catholic cardinal a comic group scrapped its parody of the priest sex-abuse scandal during Saturday's 102nd Mummers Parade. "We're all good Catholic boys," said George Hirsch Jr., captain of the Slick Duck Comic Brigade, a small club known for outrageous spoofs of current events. Their parade car still boasted the theme "The Devil Made Me Do It," but the group's dozen or so performers offered no sex or religion - just rock 'n' roll - as they strutted to Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock." The parade is a New Year's Day tradition but was rained out and rescheduled for Saturday. On Friday, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua had called the group's planned sketch - which included the pope, priests being chased by police officers and nuns in a go-go cage - an "attack on the Catholic faith."
- Elvis Presley Birthplace plans free party: E-Club also will celebrate the King's birthday Jan. 8
By M. SCOTT MORRIS
(Daily Journal , January 4, 2003)
Hey, baby, everybody's invited to a big shindig at Elvis' place Wednesday. For the uninitiated, Jan. 8 is the 68th anniversary of the King of Rock 'n' Roll's birth, and officials at the Elvis Presley Birthplace in Tupelo are throwing a party. "We're going to have an open house all day on Jan. 8 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.," said Dick Guyton, executive director of the Elvis Presley Birthplace. "The museum and the birthplace will be open with complimentary tickets, and the gift shop will be open as usual." Guyton expects visitors from around the state, country and world that day but he's more interested in attracting local folks. "We're hoping to draw a lot of the local people who've never been here before," he said. "Probably 90 percent of the people who visit every year are from out of the state. Very few people who live in Tupelo ever come. We're trying to change that with the free tickets." There will be birthday cake, coffee, hot chocolate and other refreshments, but don't expect to find any fried banana sandwiches.
- Eminem: Crossover Artist Walking in an Elvis Legend?
By DuEwa M. Frazier
(allhiphop.com, January 3, 2003)
We all know in the music business to crossover, means that more than one culture, race, or listening group will support and buy an artist's work, thus translating into more dollars for the record company and the artist themselves. Eminem, the mostly brash, angry, loud-mouthed and lyrically ferocious rapper, has achieved multi-level success as a hip hop artist, producer and actor. Marshall Mathers as some know him, may be walking in the blue suede shoes of the pseudo legacy of Elvis Presley.
Elvis - rock n' roll god to American whites, who rode to stardom, on the guitar strings and magic feet of Chuck Berry , James Brown and other African American rock music greats, to become an idolized figure, whom many Blacks have despised throughout time for his outright thievery of Black soul/rock music and his racist comments. Known to spit as hard and write as powerfully as rappers Rakim, Nas, Biggie , Dre or Snoop, Eminem, without schucking the fact that he's white with trailer park roots, observed as a kid, the budding takeover hip hop culture dominated by African Americans, and mastered the lyrical game, one rhyme at a time.
Comments to: duewa_frazier@litnoirepublishing.com
- Cruel to the King-maker: Man charged with defacing Elvis artwork
By JANETTE RODRIGUES
(Houston Chronicle, January 3, 2003)
It's nothing new for people to use household items for revenge, such as pouring sugar in a gas tank or Coke on a car hood. But bleach on an Elvis quilt? A Kentucky man is accused of using the common cleaner to deface "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Elvis," an art quilt valued at $6,500, during the 2002 International Quilt Festival in Houston. A Harris County grand jury indicted quilting machine manufacturer Daniel G. Puckett on a felony charge of criminal mischief, accusing him of damaging two quilts valued at more than $15,000 on Nov. 3, authorities said this week. ... Witnesses told off-duty Harris County sheriff's deputies that Puckett, 46, was wearing his show exhibitor's badge when he damaged the quilt and ran away, Capt. Robert Van Pelt said Friday. ...
But the Tennessee-based artist who created the Elvis-inspired quilt believes the incident stemmed from a lawsuit she won against Puckett last year. Arlene Blackburn said she purchased a $5,000 quilting machine from Puckett's Design-A-Quilt company in 2000. ... Blackburn said she and another quilter were using the machine when it broke and caught fire, three weeks after she bought it. She said she returned the machine and Puckett gave her another off the showroom floor. "I took it home and used it on two or three quilts," Blackburn said. "I was on my fourth quilt and it gave me an electrical shock. It knocked me back and numbed my arm." She said she called Puckett five or six times to get a refund, but he didn't respond to her calls or those from her attorney.
Blackburn said she and quilter Dee Doebler, an International Quilt Show winner who also had had problems with one of Puckett's machines, sued him in 2001. They won and were awarded $18,000, Blackburn said, but Puckett filed for bankruptcy two days later. "I think he should spend at least as much time in jail as I spent on the quilt," she said. That would be 18 months -- the time she said it took to design and make the quilt, which featured a center panel with a blue-on-blue Elvis, encircled by flowers, floating above the gates of Graceland. Before it appeared in the festival's prestigious judged show, she said, it was exhibited at Graceland in August on the 25th anniversary of the King's death.
- Voice of The King
(The Ledger, January 3, 2003)
Singer Ronnie McDowell, known for the Elvis Presley tribute song "The King is Gone," performs Wednesday at Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven.
- Can't help falling in love with Mason's 'Elvis Presley'
By Deirdre Donahue
(Yahoo! News / USA TODAY, January 3, 2003)
Consider Bobbie Ann Mason's just-published appreciation, Elvis Presley (Penguin, $19.95), a delectable appetizer. You might call it a deep-fried tapas because it effectively stimulates a hunger for Peter Guralnick's definitive, two-volume Presley biography, Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love. In her book, Mason credits Guralnick with rescuing Presley's reputation. The author of the much-praised In Country, Clear Springs and Shiloh and Other Stories, Mason captures her fellow Southerner as part of the Penguin Lives series. A number of book publishers have discovered that many readers enjoy a book that is longer than a magazine article but does not immerse time-pressed Americans in a full-scale history or biography. Instead, these slim, elegant volumes match interesting writers with compelling topics. They let readers get their literary feet wet before committing to a full plunge.
A writer-in-residence at the University of Kentucky, Mason is an excellent choice. (I will not spoil the gentle surprise she springs upon the reader in the acknowledgements at the book's end.) Born in Mayfield, Ky., where her father ran a dairy farm, Mason listened with her family to Presley at the very start of his career. She writes sympathetically about Presley but takes him seriously as a man, a musician and as a global cultural icon. (Many of the books published this summer marking Presley's death 25 years ago featured photos and memorabilia for the established fan.)
Mason probes the reasons that for so many years and for so many educated people, Presley languished as ''a nervous national joke . . . a hillbilly voodoo doll,'' fat and ridiculous in his spangled jumpsuits. Mason, however, understands the struggling country people Presley sprang from. She is not fooled by Presley's soft good manners; nor does she fall into the Yankee mind-set of assuming that all white Southern men were equal. ''Elvis was born into the mind-set of poverty: the deference toward authority and the insolent snarl underlying it, the feeling of inferiority, the insecurity about where the next meal was coming from. Tupelo was a town run by a few old families. . . . The subtle gradations of status in a small town like Tupelo -- with its fine houses downtown and its fringe of outcasts -- were as particular as the social nuances in a Jane Austen novel.'' (Mason is such a good writer, one has to resist the urge to quote her. Endlessly.) The family struggled to avoid being dismissed as ''white trash,'' but when Presley's father, Vernon, and uncle were sent to Parchman Prison Farm for altering a check for a hog, it was a major setback. Mason believes that Elvis -- then 3 -- and his mother, Gladys, grew closer during the 10-hour bus rides each weekend to visit Vernon.
Mason does not gloss over the drugs, the underage Priscilla, the weak performances at career's end, the guns, the complicated bond with Colonel Tom Parker. But she conveys why Presley, in that black leather suit in the 1968 TV comeback special, defines eternal, untamed male sensuality yet could sing the spirituals he loved like an angel.
Elvis Presley by Bobbie Ann Mason, Penguin, 178 pp., $19.95
- The sounds of 2002 ( Part 2 )
By Baby Gil
(Philippine Star, January 3, 2003)
An assortment of R&B sounds dominated 2002 that it has become almost laughable watching the efforts of nearly every music artist in the world to sound; look, move and be black. Not that they should be blamed, soul music has grown, evolved and become the music of this generation - black, white, Asian, Latin or whatever. It has also remained, sweet, sexy and involving with the most infectious of beats. You can have it honeyed and smooth like Usher's and Ashanti's, fervid and angry like Eminen's and Christina Aguilera's or youthful and unaffected like Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch. But whatever it is, jazz, hip hop, dance or just plain pop, it was certainly the year of R&B. ... Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, reached number one in the charts again with 30 #1 Hits, an all-number-one selling collection released to commemorate the 25th year of his death. Like Elvis, several big acts chose not to release new albums but came up instead with retrospectives. These are collectorıs editions of their best works covering at least a decade like the Cranberries' or more like Stevie Wonder's. As a result 2002 turned out to be a time for looking back. While it is not good to dwell on the past, you do have to admit that they really did great stuff back then. So make sure you grab copies of these albums by Chicago, the Rolling Stones and Elton John.
- Black Elvis Vegas bound
By Jannell McGrew
(Montgomery Advertiser, January 3, 2003)
When he was a little boy sitting on his grandpa's knees and watching Elvis Presley on television, Bibby Simmons knew he had what it took to be like "The King." He watched the rock legend's every move and memorized all his songs. By the time he was 8, neighbors were calling Simmons "the black Elvis." Now in his early 40's, he'll be showing off those moves and that voice during the International Elvis impersonators competition, which starts today in Las Vegas. "It's just something I like doing," Simmons said of his love for impersonating Elvis. "I'm pretty good at it so I might as well try it (the competition) out." Although the majority of the 240 contestants are white men with dark hair, that didn't stop Simmons and other competitors. According to national media reports, a Croatian man and a Japanese woman also will offer their take on the legend's songs. Simmons qualified for the competition after he won two karaoke competitions in Montgomery.
- Elvis is in the house
By TOM LOUNGES
(Northwest Indiana Times, January 3, 2003)
Some say that there was only one Elvis Presley, but in truth there were many. The world saw Presley morph many times during his 21-year reign as the "King of rock 'n' roll." Aside from being the sneering image of teenage insurrection, Elvis went on to become the all-America boy in G.I. fatigues; the pastel-adorned pretty boy in a string of B movies; the leather clad rocker with a social conscious; the lei-wearing show biz icon who became the first person broadcast globally via satellite; and tragically, the well-padded parody of himself who spent his last years grinding away in rhinestone jumpsuits.
As hundreds of Elvis birthday celebrations are presented this week across the globe in honor of what would have been the King's 68th birthday on Jan. 8, all of those various images of the boy who dared to rock will live again.
Three major Chicagoland birthday concerts take place this week to pay homage to a man, who 25 years after his death, is more popular then ever and generating more money in an average year than he did during his entire lifetime.
- Fireworks on Australia Day
By Sean Nicholls
(Sydney Morning Herald, January 3, 2003)
The 9 o'clock fireworks display cancelled at the last minute on New Year's Eve will be held on Australia Day, Sydney's Lord Mayor, Frank Sartor, said. The 10-minute show will feature fireworks launched from barges moored at Fort Denison and Goat Island. In sharp contrast to the classical strains of New Year's Eve's midnight show it will feature a soundtrack comprised of pop artists as diverse as Kylie Minogue, Elvis Presley and George Benson. But questions remain about what time the show will take place, because fireworks are already scheduled for the 9pm "Darling Harbour Spectacular" as part of existing Australia Day celebrations. Australia Day was chosen "because all the police and other infrastructure is in place and there are therefore minimal additional costs involved in restaging those fireworks," Cr Sartor said. The day was chosen over tomorrow night's launch of the Sydney Festival, which had also been considered.
- Expiring copyrights in Europe worry U.S. record labels
By Anthony Tommasini
(New York Times, January 2, 2003)
European copyright protection is expiring on a collector's trove of 1950s jazz, opera and early rock 'n' roll albums, forcing major American record companies to consider deals with bootleg labels and demand new customs barriers. Already reeling from a stagnant economy and widespread downloading of copyrighted music from the Internet, the recording companies will now face a perfectly legal influx of European recordings of popular works. Copyright protection lasts 50 years in European Union countries, compared with 95 years in the United States, even if the recordings were originally made and released in America. So recordings made in the early to mid-1950s -- by figures like Maria Callas, Elvis Presley and Ella Fitzgerald -- are entering the public domain in Europe, opening the way for any European recording company to release albums that had been owned exclusively by particular labels. Although the distribution of such albums would be limited to Europe in theory, record chains and specialty outlets in the United States routinely stock foreign imports.
- Party planned at `Little Graceland'
(WRIC TV / Associated Press, January 2, 2003)
They'll be throwing a birthday party for Elvis Presley this weekend in Los Fresnos, Texas. The lower Rio Grande Valley town is home to what's become known as "Little Graceland." A man who served with Elvis in the Army lives there. After Presley died in 1977, Simon Vega turned his home into a monument to the King of Rock 'n' Roll. It's become a major attraction in the tiny town about ten miles north of Brownsville, and the venue for many parties in Elvis' honor. Hundreds of Elvis fans are expected to gather there Saturday, a few days before what would have been the King's 68th birthday.
- Bay Area Cop Croons Traffic Safety to Travelers Between California and Las Vegas - Elvis Style
Source: Chief Operator Teen Driver Program
(Yahoo! Finance / BUSINESS WIRE, January 1, 2003)
The legend of Elvis Presley is hard at work reminding motorists to buckle up and use a designated driver during the new year. For the past four months, an estimated 10 million motorists tuned in to Highway Radio have had the opportunity to hear a traffic safety public service announcement recorded by Albany California Police Department Lieutenant Bill "Elvis" Palmini. Highway Radio is broadcast over an area that extends into California, Las Vegas, and Arizona. The singing traffic safety messages are based on a song titled "One Way Ride," written by Palmini's former partner, retired sergeant Art Clemons, and turned into a PSA for radio stations. Palmini, who uses the persona of Elvis, is also a spokesperson for the Chief Operator Teen Driver program funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.
- Elvis museum caters to suspicious minds
By JIM SUHR
(The Brunswick News, January 1, 2003)
Quicker than you could choke down a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich, Bill Beeny's roadside ''Elvis Is Alive'' museum serves up plenty for folks with suspicious minds over whether Elvis really ever left the building. Barely bigger than a living room, the place about 40 miles west of St. Louis is a conspiracy theorist's dream, from its government documents to the pathology reports, DNA testing results and photos, including one that purports to show Elvis shadowing Muhammad Ali in 1984. All of it, Beeny insists, proves that Elvis sightings over the years aren't merely urban legends. ''There's a certain percentage of people who think I'm totally crazy. That doesn't bother me,'' says Beeny, 75 with jet-black, slicked-back hair and long sideburns that would make Elvis proud, as would the jumpsuit Beeny jumps into when photo opportunities arise.
Now 11 years old, Beeny's museum along Interstate 70 casts Elvis as ''the King'' of deception, a guy who masterfully faked his death a quarter century ago to escape miseries of fame, fortune or sweaty rhinestone duds, not to mention Mafia death threats.' 'He had a lot of reasons for wanting to leave the life he had,'' Beeny says. So have Beeny's theories left any die-hard Elvis fans all shook up or simply convinced that Beeny ain't nothing but a hound dog? Beeny's approach: Let open minds prevail.
- Sexsmith Wonders When Success Will Strike
By JUSTIN GLANVILLE
(Yahoo! News / Associated Press, January 1, 2003)
When he was a little boy, Ron Sexsmith was certain he would be a rock star. He worked hard at the dream. There were the long hours spent alone in his bedroom, listening to the Kinks and struggling to learn seventh chords on his guitar. There was the constant gigging, as he got older, in his hometown of St. Catharines, Canada. There was also destiny: He shares a birthday with Elvis Presley. "When I was a little kid, that was like a bolt of light: I was born on the same day as Elvis!" he says. "You have this idea in your head that it's meant to be." Yet despite endorsements from the likes of Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello and nearly unanimous critical raves for his five albums, Sexsmith is still far from fame.
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