Late March 2003
- Bourne, Kraatz in Golden End to Career
By Steve Keating
(Yahoo! News / Reuters, March 29, 2003)
Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz made their last skate a triumphant one, capturing the ice dance event at the world figure skating championships on Friday and the gold medal that had eluded them for more than a decade. ... While Lobacheva and Averbukh performed to an up-tempo, crowd-pleasing Rock 'n' Roll medley of Elvis Presley and Little Richard hits, Bourne and Kraatz skated to Sarah Brightman's rendition of Adagio of the 21st Century.
- Elvis ain't nothing' but a loved dog
By Eileen Mitchell
(San Francisco Chronicle, March 29, 2003)
Ah, life with Elvis. Soon after his arrival at my home, his "forever" home, we fell into a comfortable routine. After just a few short weeks, I wondered how I had ever managed without this gentle dog by my side. In our few months together we have bonded beautifully and his former life as a racing greyhound is but a distant memory.
- Face the music (Book review)
By Peter Dempsey
(Guardian Unlimited, March 29, 2003)
The Time of Our Singing, by Richard Powers, 631pp, Heinemann, £14.99
There is no other contemporary American writer quite like Richard Powers. He is, as Sir Cliff Richard once said of Elvis, "a phenomena". The Time of Our Singing is his eighth novel since the boy-genius published Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance in 1985, and, just into his mid-40s, he is a long way from "dropping the feather", as they say. Powers is the best example of an American novelist who straddles CP Snow's "two cultures": a trained musician who began a degree in physics and then switched to literature, who programmed computers while writing his first novel, Powers is at home in the arts and the sciences, and takes the divide between them both as the subject matter and the structural principle of his fiction.
- TV Q&A: Cameras in Baghdad, lost ad revenue and more
By LARRY BONKO
(The Virginian-Pilot, March 29, 2003)
We're hooked. With the war in Iraq covered like no war before it, many viewers find the reporting to be compelling, irresistible and even addictive. We watch and we wonder. The wall-to-wall coverage by the cable news channels, extensive reporting from overseas by the three local TV news stations (WAVY, WVEC and WTKR) and the prime-time emphasis on the war by the broadcast networks raises many questions. Here are a handful from local viewers. ...
Q. During the war coverage on ``The 700 Club,'' host Pat Robertson said something about military analyst William J. Taylor having served in the Army with Elvis Presley. No kidding?
A. It's true. The retired Army colonel was an officer in the same platoon of the 32rd Tank Battalion with Elvis when both served in Germany in 1959. Taylor wrote a book about the experience, ``Elvis in the Army: The King of Rock and Roll as Seen by an Officer Who Served With Him.''
Taylor says Elvis was a good soldier, and fit, too. It was nothing for him to knock off 60 push-ups.
- Belgian symbol pours scorn on war
(Yahoo! News, March 28, 2003)
Anti-war Belgium gained a high-profile conscientious objector Friday: the country's famous Manneken Pis, dressed up in a pacifist costume to protest the conflict on Iraq.
Sporting a placard reading "Not in my name" around his neck, the infant urinator was turned into anti-war symbol with the approval of City Hall.
... The diminutive bronze figure -- a key tourist attraction near the Belgian capital's Grand Place -- will remain in the pacifist garb through the weekend. ... Carla Goffi of the group which provided the costume for the 50-cm (1 ft 8 in)-tall statue said tourists welcomed the costume. ... Manneken Pis, who has been peeing into a fountain since 1619, has some 600 costumes in his wardrobe, many offered by embassies, associations and sporting groups. He is dressed up for 300 days per year on average. Each costume must be approved by city fathers, whose conditions include a ban on advertising. Among his most popular is an Elvis outfit. Belgium is one of the most fiercely anti-war countries in Europe, along with France and Germany.
- What will they think of next?
(nutraingredients.com, March 28, 2003)
Recent food and drink highlights from Mintel's GNPD (Global New Products Database) include fruity cappuccino, confectionery products packaged like hair mousse and chocolate CDs featuring Elvis Presley songs. ...
Well, its-a one for the money ...
Things are 'All Shook Up' over at Russell Stover Candies in the US with its latest release, a collection of Elvis Presley Milk Chocolate CDs. Four are included in all and each is packed in a traditional CD case. The bilingually packaged product is available to consumers in mass merchandise stores.
- Elvis, McCartney and three guys named Chris
By Lewis Taylor
(The Register-Guard, March 28, 2003)
"Spiv" is British slang for a person who uses his wits to avoid getting a real job. It's also the name of a Washington-Colorado power pop band fronted by Chris Barber. Aside from being good at avoiding responsibility, the band also has a knack for producing catchy, humorous songs. Barber owes a debt of gratitude to Ken Stringfellow (the Posies, Big Star, R.E.M.), whom he somehow convinced to produce and play on the group's latest release, "Don'tcha Know?" ...
Q: Are you thinking of relocating?
A: Well, the thing I like about Vegas is they're really into entertainers. I definitely like people that are entertainers, that can use humor and banter with the crowd. I do stuff to get people into it. Doing stuff in Denver, there's certainly a lot of hippies there, and they're not so much appreciative of somebody who would put on a suit and do the sort of "Elvis looking sharp" thing.
Q: You look a lot like Elvis. Do you get compared to any other rock stars?
A: Paul McCartney a lot. It depends. If I put the pomade in and I got the "pomp" going, then I get the King, but if I let it down and have the mop top, then I get more Paul McCartney.
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manchester theatre and dance: The Roy Orbison story
(Manchester Online, March 28, 2003)
BRUCE Springsteen loves him and admits that his early work owes him a huge debt. So does The Mavericks' Raul Malo, who sometimes seems to be channelling him. So do Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, k.d. lang and, wherever he is, Elvis Presley, who reckoned he had the "greatest voice in the history of rock 'n' roll". Of whom are we speaking? Why, the late Roy Orbison, of course. ... Unlike most rockers who are subjected to the on-stage "story of" treatment, the late "Big O" actually had an interesting, if tragic, life story as well as you can discover from Tuesday when The Roy Orbison Story begins its run at the Opera House.
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Turtle Stocks
By John W. Rogers Jr
(Yahoo! News / Forbes, March 27, 2003)
My company's logo is a turtle. What Aesop wrote in 550 B.C. remains true: Slow and steady wins the race. Like the tortoise in the fable I am content to plod steadily and deliberately along while the Wall Street hares feverishly hop after the latest fad. But patience is not the turtle's only virtue. Its singularly unique trait is that during times of danger it can pull its head, feet and tail inside its shell. ... Another sage, Benjamin Franklin, said there are only two things you can count on in life: death and taxes. Matthews International is banking on everyone's ultimate fate, regardless of tax bracket. The company is the U.S.' leading manufacturer of bronze memorial products (cemetery plaques and urns, including Elvis Presley's grave marker), commemorative items (building plaques and monuments) and mausoleums. Matthews is also the second-largest producer of caskets in the U.S., behind Hillenbrand Industries.
- 'Almost Elvis' documentary on tap at Memphis Film Festival
By ROBERT LEE LONG
(DeSoto Times, March 27, 2003)
Documentary features DeSoto County couple
Dr. Ed Franklin, the veterinarian to stars like Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, has had almost as many incarnations as Elvis himself, and the retired Southaven resident can now add being part of an international film festival to his list. The documentary "Almost Elvis," which traces five Elvis impersonators from across the country to eventual stardom as the winner of an internationally recognized Elvis impersonator contest run by Franklin and his wife Jackie, is premiering at the Memphis International Film Festival on Saturday. The airing of the documentary by producer John Paget will take place at 10 a.m. at the First Congo Arthouse Theatre inside the First Congregational Church, 1000 South Cooper.
- Dion descends on Caesars Palace with colossal excess
By Elysa Gardner
(Yahoo! News / USA Today, March 27, 2003)
The Titanic has risen from the bottom of the ocean and landed in the desert with an enormous thud. ... How else to describe the proudly tacky, perversely fascinating spectacle that has descended, appropriately enough, on Caesars Palace? Surely, no one expected Celine Dion's extravaganza A New Day . . . ( * * out of four), which opened Tuesday, to be a model of understatement. But the epic waste of money, talent and energy on display at the Colosseum, a Roman-style venue that Caesars built just for the singer, would have made even Elvis blush.
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Celine Dion takes on Elvis: Singer opens Las Vegas run
at new Colosseum theater
(MSNBC News, March 26, 2003)
Celine Dion literally flew, belting her chart-busting ballads of love, as she opened a three-year gig in the new $95 million Colosseum theater at Caesars Palace on Tuesday night. It is arguably the biggest risk on the Strip and as important to Las Vegas as Elvis, backers say. ... "I compare the show tonight to the opening in 1969 of Elvis at the Hilton," said her husband and manager, Rene Angelil, who negotiated a deal worth a reported $100 million to Dion.
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Elvis Musical Looking Broadway Bound
By Darryl Morden
(Yahoo! News, March 26, 2003)
An Elvis Presley musical, called Can't Help Falling In Love, looks to be Broadway bound. The show is set up like the successful ABBA musical Mama Mia, with a story built around more than 20 Elvis hits, including the title song. Other tunes to be featured are "Heartbreak Hotel," "Love Me Tender," and "Blue Suede Shoes" (which was written and first recorded by his 1950s Sun Records labelmate, Carl Perkins). The Elvis musical held its first reading on Monday night (March 24) at the off-Broadway Westside Theater in New York City. If all goes as the producers plan, it will become one of the latest stage shows based on pop music, including Billy Joel's collaboration with choreographer Twyla Tharp, Movin' Out; and the Mamas & The Papas musical, Dream A Little Dream. There are also productions in the works built around the music of the Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, and the Bee Gees.
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Auction raises about $26,000 for chamber of commerce
(Porterville Recorder, March 26, 2003)
Poodle skirts and black leather biker jackets were all the rage at the Porterville Chamber of Commerce's 50s themed auction Saturday night, where the group enjoyed a record breaking charity event . Through silent and live auctions members of the community donated about $26,000 to the chamber. ... But they also had fun with the 50s theme, Silva-Carter said. "We had a lot of fun with the 50s theme and we got a lot of great feedback from people about the food and decorations," she said. "People also seemed to like Elvis." Elvis made a special appearance at the event, performing several of his greatest hits.
- For the First Time, Every '70s Pop Hit From The Osmonds Featured on One Album: OSMONDMANIA Spans The Osmond Family, Donny and Marie, From 'One Bad Apple,' 'Go Away Little Girl' and 'Paper Roses' to 'Down By The Lazy River'
Source: Polydor/UME
(Yahoo! Finance / PRNewswire, March 25, 2003)
Osmondmania lives! When Jack and Kelly Osbourne pulled off their masks in a viewed-by-zillions TV commercial that debuted during the recent Super Bowl, they revealed ... Donny and Marie Osmond. Yet because they are the pop culture icons of the baby boomer generation, the musical success of Donny and Marie, and the entire Osmond family, has been frequently overshadowed. OSMONDMANIA - THE OSMOND FAMILY'S GREATEST HITS (Polydor/UME), released March 25, 2003, is a musical reminder of just how popular they were and helps to explain why they remain so today. ... Did you know that ... Elvis Presley used to watch them perform from the lighting booth in hotel showrooms?
- David McLemore: Seguin's kin seek stamp of approval
(Dallas Morning News, March 24, 2003)
Elvis has one. Bugs Bunny has one. Now, the descendants of Col. Juan Nepomuceno
Seguin say a U.S. postal stamp honoring this hero of the Texas... [registration required for this site].
- Hypnotist takes crowd for 'virtual reality' trip
(Cumberland Times-News, March 24, 2003)
Hypnotist Steve Meade will take his audience on a virtual reality tour of the mind, which may include a Caribbean beach party, when he visits Allegany College of Maryland Thursday at 8 p.m. The stage show that is open to the public. Meade, who hits the actual road to take his stage hypnosis show coast to coast, has hypnotized more than 10,000 people in hundreds of performances, including at many colleges and universities, over the past nine years. ... Meade's volunteers also may become star struck, thinking they've been transformed into a famous musical star such as Madonna, Michael Jackson or Elvis, or they may become aliens on an intergalactic journey. Public admission is nominal and students, staff and faculty of ACM are admitted free.
- Denise Lynn Sykora
(Auburn Journal, March 23, 2003)
Denise Lynn Sykora passed away March 20, 2003 in Sacramento at the age of 59. She was born August 26, 1943 in Stockton, CA. She loved her family, especially her four grandchildren. Denise worked in the Motion Picture Industry for nine years as a professional hairstylist to the stars, including Elvis Presley.
- Local designer creates Nashville office mural fit for a King
By Mark Larson
(Sacramento Business Journal, March 21, 2003)
A love of B.B. King's music landed a Sacramento designer a $55,000 gig to paint 24 musicians for a Sprint office in Nashville - and the result has become a major selling point for the firm. The story starts two years ago, when Steve Barbaria of Sacramento-based Tackett-Barbaria Design Group decided to paint King after seeing him perform at a local show. Barbaria put his striking painting, which shows King singing and playing on stage, on the Tackett-Barbaria Web site, where it was spied by Carrillo Architectural Group of Sacramento. Carrillo had the job of designing a Nashville software development center for Sprint PCS with a look that would inspire the telecom company's young techies. Carrillo had decided to pay artistic homage to a list of musicians with connections to Tennessee - and after looking at the B.B. King painting, they knew they wanted them all painted in Barbaria's mural-like style.
So Carrillo hired Barbaria to do a series of 24 paintings for the building, of artists including King, Amy Grant, Chet Atkins, Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, to name a few. Barbaria, after researching all the artists, set to work. The plan called for floor-to-ceiling depictions. He stayed here to paint, and after getting the OK on his proposed ideas for each painting, he took about a year to create all of them, each 2 feet square. The paintings were then photographed and enlarged.
Barbaria got about $55,000 for the "Nashville stories" job, plus a great credential. Sprint got an office with eye-popping original art for its lucky staffers. It's worth a look at Barbaria's work. Check it out at tbdesign.com. You can download free desktop screen images of Elvis, Bono and Aretha.
- Musical montage of history: Syndicated Sound, the Tarpon High show choir, will perform Time Machine in April in a national competition
By MARIAN LEE
(St. Petersburg Times, March 23, 2003)
Close your eyes and listen to Tarpon Springs High School's show choir, Syndicated Sound. What you hear are the upbeat songs from more than a half-century of American pop, dance and jazz. Open your eyes and what you see behind the singing and dancing is an evolving photo montage of images that includes civil right pioneer Rosa Parks, the Berlin Wall, President Kennedy's assassination, antiwar demonstrations and the Oklahoma City bombing.
"Even in times of heavy issues such as war, there was always time for music and joy," said choir director Charles Cheeseman.
That's the show, titled Time Machine, that Syndicated Sound will take to Branson, Mo., when it represents Florida at the national show choir championship, FAME's Show Choir Cup, April 3-6. This will be the fourth time the Tarpon Springs group -- which consists of 28 singers, eight instrumentalists and four technicians -- has competed in Branson. "They are a great group of kids," Cheeseman said. "The students did the choreography themselves, as well as the set design and painting." Junior Brian Ross, who has been in chorus and musical plays since third grade, helped choreograph the song Jailhouse Rock. ... The stage is set with a painted backdrop of dials, computers, lights, tubes and clocks depicting the time portal through which members of Syndicated Sound travel back through the decades to perform the songs of their parents and grandparents. Five quick costume changes accompany songs from Santana and the Beatles to Elvis Presley and Duke Ellington as chiffon skirts and brightly colored vests give way to disco attire, tie-dyed T-shirts and dresses, poodle skirts, Elvis shirts and zoot suits.
Before each song, different sections of the backdrop turn to reveal photos symbolizing the important events and entertainment icons of each decade, creating a complete photo montage of the last half of the 20th century by the end of the performance.
- Lied audience digs Flash Cadillac, Symphony Orchestra show
By JOHN CUTLER
(Lincoln Journal Star, March 23, 2003)
Poodle skirts, bluejeans, strapless prom dresses and letter sweaters were all in style Saturday night as FlashCadillac rocked it up with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra at the Lied Center for Performing Arts. The half-dozen musicians in Flash Cadillac are masters of re-creating the rock 'n' roll era of the 1950s and 1960s. ... Through "I Only Have Eyes for You" and Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman"the Flash Cadillac players got the house warmed up. "All Elvis fans, scream!" came the request from vocal leader Timothy Irwin. The house didn't respond enough, so Irwin repeated the call. Finally on the third try, the house roared and the stage burst into Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock." The Jerry Lee Lewis hit "Great Balls of Fire" found Dwight Bement on piano laying out the repeated chords and bass player Warren Knight vocalizing. "Roll Over Beethoven"followed as did the Beach Boys' favorite, "Surfin' USA."
Many patrons said the second half was the better half. The crowd roared, whistled and cheered when Polochick emerged from backstage wearing the signature white pantsuit, shades and black wig of Elvis Presley. ...
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