Mid July 2003
- Court puts Napster suit on pause
(CNET / Reuters, July 25, 2003)
A $17 billion lawsuit alleging Bertelsmann perpetuated online piracy by funding the Napster file-swapping service cannot be delivered to the German media group, Germany's top court said on Friday. The Federal Constitutional Court said it stopped the delivery because it could not rule out that the lawsuit, filed by a group of U.S. music publishers in Manhattan, would violate Bertelsmann's constitutional rights in Germany. ... Bertelsmann last week filed a motion to dismiss lawsuits by record companies Universal Music, a unit of Vivendi Universal, and EMI, as well as the publishers' suit, saying U.S. copyright law did not permit recovery from a third-party lender for damages the labels failed to recover from Napster. EMI in June became the second big record label to join the legal fight brought by music publishers against Bertelsmann, following a similar suit by Universal in May. All three suits accuse Bertelsmann of perpetuating Napster's success by investing more than $100 million in the service in 2000 and 2001. ... Bertelsmann owns the BMG family of record labels--the smallest of the big five record companies, with artists like Elvis Presley, The Strokes and Aretha Franklin.
- Jammin' on Joplin
By DAVID HINCKLEY
(New York Daily News, July 25, 2003)
Like Elvis Presley or Duke Ellington, Janis Joplin lives on in spirit and music. Since her death in 1970, she has inspired the Bette Midler movie "The Rose," several biographies and two Off-Broadway shows. Her letters have been published, and she was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ... In fact, her popularity was slumping when she died of a drug overdose on Oct. 3, 1970 - though, as often happens, it snapped back after
- Why Windows Isn't Hell Or Why Linux Isn't Bliss
By Thom "Slakje" Holwerda
(osnews.com, July 25, 2003)
To me, it's a miracle how every tiny article on OSNews.com, or any other tech-site, ends up in people shouting all sorts of nonsense at each other like "Linux is gonna bring back Elvis", "Windows shot president Kennedy", "Linux kept the cold war cold" or "Bill Gates wants to buy the moon and charge people for looking at it". Do these people really know what they are saying, or are they just going with the Open-Source flow? ...
- State Theater will be 'all shook up'
By JERIANNE STRANGE
(N ews-Enterprise, July 25, 2003)
On Sunday afternoon, visitors to the State Theater may hear: "Elvis has entered the building - and Meat Loaf is with him." Patrons will have the chance to get "all shook up" as two brothers bring their rock 'n' roll re-creation to the Elizabethtown venue at 2 and 5 p.m. The two brothers - Jesse, of Louisville, and Colonel, of Elizabethtown - have a soft spot for the local theater. "When we heard they were refurbishing the State, we knew we wanted in on it," said Jesse, who portrays Presley onstage. "As children, that was the theater we went to. In fact, the last movie I saw with my father before he died was 'The Shootist' with John Wayne, at the State." The pair uses just their first names in their entertainment careers. And, yes, Colonel really is his first name. ... Jesse said his fascination with The King started when he was a young boy. "When Elvis was still here, we'd drag our friends and neighbors into our living room, put on records and say, 'Hey, we're going to do Elvis.' That was a big thing for us," he said, adding that he and his brother had the chance to go to a few Elvis concerts. When he was about 12, Jesse went to see his first Elvis impersonator. By the time he preparing to graduate from high school, Jesse had developed a small but loyal following with his portrayal. (They dislike the term "impersonator" for their efforts, preferring the widely accepted "recreation" instead.)
- July 31: Las Vegas Flashback Party
By Megan Bates
(azcentral.com, July 25, 2003)
Put on your best sequined outfit and get decadent like Elvis in the seventies. This Thursday Mickey's Hangover will transform its premises (parking lot and all) into an authentic Las Vegas pleasure palace, circa 1976. Features include a live music "floor show" with showgirls, gambling of all varieties (in exchange for "Mickey's Chips"), and, of course, enough liquour to keep you and your pals debauched all night long. One lucky guest will win a trip for two to the real Las Vegas. Indulge in yet more Vegas fun with a 70's disco-funk band and screenings of Vegas film classics like "Oceans 11" and "Viva Las Vegas". Casino-style food and drink will be served. If you love sin city but can't make the drive on a weekday, the Vegas Flashback party is a dang good alternative.
What: Las Vegas Flashback Party
Where: Mickey's Hangover, 4312 N. Brown Avenue, Scottsdale, (480) 425-0111
When:7p.m. to 3 a.m.
- Presley's childhood home to be reborn next month
(Houston Chronicle / Associated Press, July 25, 2003)
A $750,000 renovation of the little Tupelo house where Elvis Presley reportedly was born is expected to be completed in early August. "We will be finished with everything by the ninth of August," said Dick Guyton, executive director of the Elvis Presley Memorial Foundation. "We have to be finished because we're expecting to have tour groups that day for our Fan Appreciation Day." The construction is the second phase of a renovation expected to cost between $1.5 million and $2 million. The money has come from the Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau, private donations by Elvis fans, corporate donations and other sources. "Everything we do here centers on the life of Elvis ... from when he was born in 1935 to when his family left for Memphis in 1948," said foundation chairman Henry Dodge. Last year, the foundation placed a bronze statue of a 13-year-old Elvis on the grounds of the house and completed an extensive renovation of the gift shop. Fan Appreciation Day coincides with the start of a week of observances in Memphis leading up to the anniversary of Presley's death on Aug. 16, 1977, at Graceland.
- Elvis' Birthplace Gets Face-Lift: $750K Pumped Into Two-Room Shotgun House
(newsnet5.com / Associated Press, July 25, 2003)
Big money is being pumped into Elvis Presley's Tupelo, Miss., birthplace. Construction will be complete in early August on the $750,000 renovation of the two-room shotgun house where Elvis was born. The construction includes a "story all" that features anecdotes from area residents who knew Elvis as a kid. A fountain has been installed, as has a "Circle Of Life": a ring of stones, one for each day of Elvis' life. Presley was born Jan. 8, 1935 in Tupelo. He died in Memphis, Tenn., on Aug. 16, 1977.
- Elvis' Birthplace Renovation Nearly Done
(newsday.com / Associated Press, July 25, 2003)
A $750,000 renovation of the little Tupelo house where Elvis Presley reportedly was born is expected to be completed in early August. "We will be finished with everything by the ninth of August," said Dick Guyton, executive director of the Elvis Presley Memorial Foundation. "We have to be finished because we're expecting to have tour groups that day for our Fan Appreciation Day." The construction is the second phase of a renovation expected to cost between $1.5 million and $2 million. The money has come from the Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau, private donations by Elvis fans, corporate donations and other sources. "Everything we do here centers on the life of Elvis ... from when he was born in 1935 to when his family left for Memphis in 1948," said foundation chairman Henry Dodge.
- Elvis Birthplace Undergoes $750,000 Renovation
(New York Times, July 24, 2003)
Construction is expected to be completed in early August on a 750-thousand-dollar renovation of the home where "The King" Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo. The construction is the second phase of a series of improvements expected to cost anywhere from one-point-five-million to two-point-five-million-dollars. Money has come from the Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau, private donations by Elvis fans, corporate donations, profits from the Birthplace gift shop and more. Henry Dodge, chairman of the Elvis Presley Memorial Foundation, said Elvis was born in Tupelo and lived at the home 13 years before his family left for Memphis in 1948. Last year, the Elvis Presley Memorial Foundation placed a bronze statue of Elvis at age 13 on the home's grounds and completed an extensive renovation of the gift shop. Current construction includes a new "Story Wall" that will feature quotes and anecdotes from area residents who knew Elvis as a child. The "Fountain of Life," a water feature currently under construction, will focus on the Tupelo years. The "Circle of Life" is a ring of stones, one for each day of Elvis' life, that will circle the two-room shotgun house where Elvis was reportedly born. The Elvis Presley Chapel also is undergoing renovations. Officials say the site gets between three-thousand-500 to four-thousand visitors per month.
- New Glarus couples take a cue from 'Trading Spaces'
By Chris Martell
(Wisconsin State Journal, July 24, 2003)
One thing Crystal and Monty Ruhde say they have in common is, "We have no taste." Not bad taste, as in Elvis at Graceland. No taste whatsoever is what they mean. Call it color-phobia, or furnishings-phobia, if you want to be polite. ...
- Hendrix family feuding is hard-core
By SARAH KERSHAW
(New York Times, July 24, 2003)
Elvis lives -- maybe. But Jimi Hendrix is definitely dead, and has been for 33 years. Even his most devoted fans accept that. Lately, though, it seems that almost everything else about Hendrix -- his image, the circumstances of his death, his message and his legacy -- is open to debate, or else a nasty argument. ... There is the fight between his brother Leonis Hendrix and his stepsister, Janie Hendrix, over his estate, which intensified last year after Hendrix's father, Al, who had inherited his son's estate, died in April. There is the new exhibit at the Experience Music Project, a hugely popular collection of Hendrix memorabilia that was first started with a large donation by Paul G. Allen, the Microsoft co-founder and hard-core Hendrix fan, and then vastly expanded last month with mementos from the family. There was the completion of a granite memorial to Hendrix, constructed by his family, at a graveyard in Renton, where his remains were exhumed last November and relocated to the memorial, about 100 feet away. And then there has been the increasing criticism from fans and others over how Janie, who in 1995 won the rights to Hendrix's music and likeness and now runs a company called Experience Hendrix, has marketed the Hendrix image. ...
- [Memphis] Safety Guide
(GoMemphis, July 23, 2003)
[Regarding Tuesday's storm] ... The Memphis Botanic Garden had a lot of branches and a few trees down, including some big oaks, and there was some damage to the dome and the outdoor stage for its Live at the Garden series, said Jamison Totten, director of Live at the Garden and special events. He said the stage would be repaired by the beginning of next week in time for the Aug. 1 Lisa Marie Presley/Chris Isaak concert. Sun Studio suffered no damage and was operating on Tuesday. Also open for business was Graceland, which had power and little damage, according to media coordinator Bobby Davis.
- Oprah No. 1 on list of pop icons
(Detroit Free Press, July 23, 2003)
Named: Oprah Winfrey as No. 1 on VH1's list of the "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons." Superman came in second, followed by Elvis Presley. If a daytime diva beating a superhero sounds weird, consider a rapper beating a president: Detroit's own Eminem ranked 31, ahead of John F. Kennedy at 32. The list, which is tied to a VH1 special airing this week, is supposed to reflect which real or fictional icons have had the most impact on pop culture.
- Elvis studio to become a historic landmark
(Ananova / Associated Press, July 22, 2003)
Sun Studio in Memphis, where recording pioneer Sam Phillips discovered Elvis Presley, is to receive historic landmark designation from the US government. The ceremony, to take place in Washington on Wednesday, will make Sun the first recording studio in the US to become a historic landmark. The landmark designation is "more for Phillips than some of the stars who recorded there," National Park Service historian Patty Henry said.
"Even if Elvis had never recorded there, Phillips was very influential in pioneering the rock and roll sound." The designation will make Sun eligible for some federal grants and tax incentives. Sun Studio is where some of the most important rock 'n' roll, rockabilly, blues and R&B artists of the 1950s recorded. It was where Presley recorded That's All Right and Carl Perkins recorded Blue Suede Shoes. BB King, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis also recorded there.
- It's official: Sun Studio a landmark
By James W. Brosnan
(GoMemphis, July 22, 2003)
WASHINGTON - Sun Studio, where Sam Phillips first recorded Elvis Presley and other rock and roll pioneers, will become the first recording studio in America to be designated a historic landmark. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton is scheduled to sign the designation Wednesday in a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. The Beale Street Historic District and the Chucalissa Indian mound complex at T. O. Fuller State Park are the only other historic landmarks in Memphis. The recognition is reserved for businesses or structures with a significant place in American history. There are 25 in Tennessee and 2,347 in the nation, compared to more than 47,000 on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sun Studio at 706 Union was the recording site for some of the greatest rock and roll, rockabilly, blues and rhythm and blues artists of the 1950s. It was where Presley recorded That's All Right and Carl Perkins recorded Blue Suede Shoes. B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis also recorded at Sun. But the landmark designation is "more for Phillips than some of the stars who recorded there," said Park Service historian Patty Henry. "Even if Elvis had never recorded there, (Phillips) was very influential in pioneering the rock and roll sound." For instance, it was Phillips who placed the acoustic tiles that musicians said helped create the unique sound of the early recordings, said Henry. She said no other recording studio has been designated a national landmark.
Sun, which exists pretty much as Phillips created it, is still a working studio where artists record at night. During the day it's a place for visitors interested in music history. Forty-minute tours bring more than 100,000 visitors a year through a small museum and into the actual studio. There, guests can sing into the microphone used by many of the studio's legends and see the exact spot where famous musicians stood.
The new designation will make Sun eligible for some federal grants and tax incentives. John Schorr, acting general manager and one of the family members who owns the studio, said he hopes state officials will post directional signs to the studio on highways, even though it doesn't meet their threshold for having 300,000 visitors annually. But principally, the owners are glad to have the landmark status "as a recognition from the federal government of just how special this business is. It's really a pat on the back," said Schorr. ...
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