Mid August 2003
- The Masters Behind the Masters
By Michael Lollar
(GoMemphis, August 10, 2003)
Just doing their thing, songwriters Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber helped give birth to rock and roll when they wrote Hound Dog in 1952
Their list of hits sounds like the very history of rock and roll almost from the moment of its birth, with classic songs recorded by everybody from Elvis Presley to the Drifters to John Lennon. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller were like the rap artists of the early '50s, pushing buttons, inviting scorn and testing the limits, as rock roared into being from its roots as blues and rhythm and blues. They were writing music for black artists, when one of their songs, Hound Dog, was heard by a young Elvis Presley. His adaptation turned it into a No. 1 hit and helped aim Leiber and Stoller toward the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
They wrote 20 songs for Elvis until the brash young songwriters had a falling out with Col. Tom Parker, the Svengali they now remember as a "bully" and a "foul, greedy" man who helped destroy Elvis. But the estrangement didn't change their respect for Elvis. "We feel that Elvis Presley was the high water mark of the 20th Century. He's legend. No, he's myth. He's in that celestial place for mythological figures. At the time, we just thought he was a white kid trying to make it as a singer," says Leiber, the man who supplied the words as lyricist of one of the worlds' best-known songwriting duos.
Stoller, the composer of the duo, will join Elvis fans in Memphis on Monday for a Jailhouse Rock version of Rocky Horror Picture Show. (Leiber said he had planned to attend but had to cancel because of a songwriting project). Audience members at Elvis Presley's club on Beale are invited to dress up as a favorite character from the movie and sing, dance or act along with the characters during a screening of Jailhouse Rock. It will also be an autograph session with Stoller, one of the few men with at least as much stake in the history of rock and roll as Elvis himself. And it will be a formal recognition by Graceland, Elvis Presley Enterprises and BMG/RCA Records of Leiber and Stoller's role in music history.
Stoller, originally of Long Island, and Leiber, originally of Baltimore, are, at 70, still writing songs and involved in two theater projects. "What else can you do? That's all we know how to do," says Leiber, whose partnership with Stoller began at 17 and has lasted 53 years. They met in 1950, sharing a love of the blues and boogie woogie. They were writing for black artists, their earliest songs recorded by Jimmy Witherspoon, Little Esther, Amos Milburn, Charles Brown, Little Willie Littlefield and, among others, Willie Mae 'Big Mama' Thornton.
It was for Big Mama Thornton that they wrote Hound Dog in 1952. Her version came out in 1953 and was adapted by several groups. Stoller had gone to Europe with royalties from some of those early songs and was on his way home aboard the Andrea Doria when it sank in 1956. Rescued by a lifeboat, Stoller arrived in New York with Leiber yelling from the dock: "We've got a smash hit." "I said, 'You mean Big Mama Thornton's record?' He said, 'No, some white kid named Elvis Presley.' Elvis had heard Hound Dog in a Vegas Lounge by a group called Freddie Bell and the Bellboys," says Stoller.
Released the same year as Heartbreak Hotel, it put Elvis on TV and turned him into the hip-swiveling phenomenon that some claim was the beginning of the generation gap. The rebellion and sexual innuendo that came with it weren't intentional on the part of Leiber and Stoller. "We were completely unconscious of what it might imply. We were just doing numbers," says Leiber. Stoller says those numbers were unfamiliar to white audiences because he and Leiber had written "almost exclusively for black performers, so we wrote in a black idiom. People started thinking it was entirely new, but the base we started from was the blues and boogie woogie."
Stoller says they didn't specifically tailor songs to that early Elvis persona but began by supplying songs they had already written, like Love Me, a ballad they had already recorded. "Then we were asked to write for a movie, Loving You, with Elvis and Lizabeth Scott." The next project, Jailhouse Rock, included four songs Leiber and Stoller wrote while held captive in a New York hotel.
They had been living in Los Angeles, and Stoller says they rented a New York hotel suite with a piano in the living area. "We were given a script for the movie and kind of tossed it in the corner. We were having a ball in New York, going to jazz clubs, cabaret, going to the theater and hanging out. Finally, Jean Aberbach who ran Elvis Presley Music knocked on the door and said, 'Well boys, where are my songs?' I think Jerry said, 'Oh, Jean, you're going to get them.' Jean then pushed a big overstuffed chair in front of the door and said, 'I'm not leaving until I get my songs.' They wrote four songs in five hours, including the movie's title song and Treat Me Nice, both major hits.
After that, Elvis "wanted us in the studio with him whenever we recorded," says Stoller. It was part of Elvis's "perfectionist" tendencies in the early stages of his career, says Jerry Schilling, a member of Elvis's Memphis Mafia. Leiber says Elvis "was like an Olympic champion. He could do 40 to 50 takes. I never saw him happier than when he was on a microphone, performing." Both songwriters say that studio time was their primary contact with Elvis, who was kept at arm's length from them by Colonel Parker. Stoller says Elvis once asked, "Mike, could you write me a real pretty ballad?" Over the weekend, they wrote the song 'Don't' for him and handed it to him only to be berated by Parker.
"He was upset that I handed a song directly to Elvis. They didn't want anybody to have direct access to Elvis. It was like Elvis was kept kind of in a glass box and away from contact except for the Memphis Mafia. They were like paid companions." Like almost everyone else, they also had little contact with Parker himself. "The longest I ever spent with him was a dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel around 1956, after Hound Dog," says Stoller.
The breaking point for them came when Leiber was recovering from a bout with pneumonia about two years later, and Parker ordered them to California to write songs for a new movie project. Leiber explained that he had just been released from the hospital and was unable to travel. "Parker said, 'You'd better get your ass out here.' " He then sent a packet with a contract for them to sign. Leiber says he pulled the contract from the packet and found only a dark line across the middle of a blank page for his signature. "I called and said, 'I think you made a mistake. There's no contract in here.' He said, 'Don't worry about that, boy. Just sign your name, and I'll fill it in later.' " Leiber says he then discussed it with Stoller, who told him to tell Parker "to screw himself." They did and never worked for Elvis again, says Leiber. Like many others, he wondered about Parker's hold on Elvis. "I think he (Elvis) had a very weak father and didn't get a sense of what a father was like. Parker came along, and his attitude was, 'Do this, do that, and I'll take care of everything.' Parker became his surrogate family."
Stoller says Parker was a "bully," and Leiber says he was a "foul, greedy man. Parker had a money machine - Elvis - that he kept squeezing the blood and the life out of and never gave him anything back. No other producer ever extracted more money." A normal agent or manager's fee was 15 percent, high was 20 percent. Parker took 50 percent, Stoller says. Leiber and Stoller's break with Parker ended that phase of their career, but not their music. They helped define music for a generation with monster hits from Love Potion #9 to Peggy Lee's pop classic Is That All There Is.
The inspiration for Is That All There Is illustrates the scope of their songwriting flair. A plaintive song about disillusionment, Leiber says it stemmed from his mood after reading a collection of short stories by Thomas Mann, an author heavily influenced by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The 1969 song became a Top 20 hit, shoving aside Grand Funk Railroad and other acid rockers at the top of the charts at the time.
The songwriters had no idea they were part of the birth of a new form of music when rock and roll became the new idiom in America. "Those are labels. We were busy doing what we were doing. We didn't have a historical sense of who we were or what we were," Stoller says.
- Elvis's Empire Strong as Ever
By Michael Lollar
(GoMemphis, August 10, 2003)
When Elvis Presley Enterprises laid off 50 employees two years ago, naysayers suspected they might finally be able to say, "See, we knew it wouldn't last." The layoffs came as an already sputtering economy was thrown headlong into the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. With a third of its visitors from outside the United States, EPE and Graceland suddenly faced their first downturn since Elvis Presley's death.
The economy remained stagnant last year, but the 25th anniversary of Elvis's death was an international spectacle. Elvis was a theme in a Disney movie (and part of its soundtrack). A remix of a 1968 Elvis song, A Little Less Conversation, became a global hit single. A new "Elv1s: 30 #1 Hits" CD went triple platinum. Graceland broke its own merchandising rec ords.
For anyone who expected that to be the last hurrah - the blazing finale of a celestial object - 2003 is proving that Elvis has almost as much hold on the planet as gravity, apple pie and motherhood. "Waiting for the demise of the Elvis Presley phenomenon is a long, lonely wait," says Elvis Presley Enterprises CEO Jack Soden, who fended off the doubtful as early as two years after Graceland opened. "They would say, 'Well, I guess you're hoping to do well the next couple of years, because it's going to die off.' "
Graceland, which had 600,000 ticket-buying visitors last year, expects to draw more than 640,000 visitors to Memphis this year, he says. The Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Memphis estimates that will pump up to $400 million into the economy for the year - roughly $50 million of that this week alone as anywhere from 50,000 to 75,000 fans descend on Memphis for the 26th anniversary of Elvis's death.
Last year's 25th anniversary was the "biggest year ever," says EPE merchandising director Danny Hiltenbrand. It was up 21 percent from the year before. "But, through July of this year, we've already matched what we did in fiscal 2002." Hiltenbrand says he can't explain it except for the huge surge of publicity last year, which moved tourists to plan a Memphis visit this season. The biggest tourism influx was in 1997, the 20th anniversary of the death, with 750,000 visitors. Soden thinks that number was helped along by a Wonders Series exhibition on the Titanic the same year.
But Soden says no one needs to look for deep explanations about the undiminished appeal of Elvis. "You don't have to re-invent Elvis or repackage Elvis or change the fan base. Elvis grabs fans the same way he did in 1954, 1955 and 1956." Among dead celebrities, he last year topped the Forbes magazine list of biggest incomes, $37 million, beating out Peanuts comics creator Charles Schulz, Beatle John Lennon and NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt.
While Soden says Elvis needs no repackaging, Graceland is, in fact, constantly repackaging him and watching his fan base grow progressively younger. Elvis would have been 68 this year. His manager, Col. Tom Parker, once paired Elvis with Frank Sinatra in a TV special in hopes of making the notorious "Elvis the Pelvis" appeal to an older audience. The trick now is to make dead Elvis appeal to the young. Soden says 53 percent of the fan base is 35 or younger. The Disney movie Lilo & Stitch last year exposed Elvis and his music to young children with four Elvis songs and a running Elvis theme. It reinforced Elvis as indivisible from American culture and as much a part of history as George Washington, the Louisiana Purchase or Bob Hope.
The EPE licensing division isn't taking that for granted, licensing an array of products in "junior" sizes and categories to appeal to younger fans. Carol Butler, director of worldwide licensing, says licensing revenue has increased every year since she arrived nine years ago. "I feel safe in saying our licensing is going to be up 10 percent over last year. I think that's because of all the exposure in the 25th anniversary year." Wal-Mart became a licensee with a line of boxer shorts to appeal to a young audience. Russell Stover candies, a major licensee with an older demographic, asked for suggestions about declining sales, and Butler suggested "something colorful to appeal to a younger audience. They now have a CD box with a chocolate CD inside, and that's doing really well."
Graceland is exploring electronic licensing avenues, for instance Elvis tunes as downloadable ring tones for cell phones. This year's licenses include a line of "Jibber Jabber" infant clothing with Elvis themes like the T-shirt messages, "Shake, Rattle and Roll Over" or "Elvis May Be the King of Rock and Roll, But I'm A Princess." Hiltenbrand and Butler say one of the most successful new products is a line of Elvis purses with rhinestones and glitter, which Hiltenbrand says "are flying out the doors." The most popular Elvis items in terms of revenue for EPE are collectible plates, Elvis sculpted figures, Christmas ornaments, paper products (such ascalendars), Russell Stover candies, the new MBNA Elvis credit card and Elvis lottery tickets. Items once licensed "but that didn't last long" include metallic helium balloons, wallpaper, neckties (the country "went casual") and party goods for adults. Among items she expects to do well this year are a line of collectibles by California designer Paul Frank, including several remakes of 1956 collectibles. Other items include a brightly colored marbled Brunswick bowling ball, Zippo lighters, pet accessories, an Elvis-themed Lionel train car and several items licensed through Spencer Gifts and aimed at young buyers.
Another EPE venture, Heartbreak Hotel, is booked a year in advance for Elvis anniversary weeks with guests given first option to register year after year. "On an annual basis, it probably has 80 percent occupancy, while hotels typically average 60 to 65 percent," says Soden. EPE's Elvis Presley's Memphis club, competing with the entire Beale Street entertainment district and its heavy focus on the blues, has not been as successful as EPE had hoped. It also has suffered because of competition from Tunica casinos, which can afford to pay higher fees for performers on a regular basis. Figures for the club are proprietary, but Soden is cryptic about its future: "If Elvis Presley's downtown gets better and works great, it will be there for a long time. If it doesn't, I don't see that as a cornerstone to our whole presence in Memphis." Hiltenbrand says the rest of Elvis Presley Enterprises is beneficiary of the Elvis persona: "Elvis is one of those kinds of comfort foods in tough economic times, with security concerns, stress and war. Elvis hearkens people back to a simple, light-hearted time."
- The Colonel and the King
By Alanna Nash
(Readers Digest [Australian ed.], August, 2003, pp. 122-136)
"They fitted together perfectly: the raw musical genius and the cunning promoter. And as Elvis slid deeper into wierdness and drugs, Tom Parker's power only grew."
Starts with a description of the events on the last day of Elvis's life, then covers "Colonel" Tom
Parker's early life in the Netherlands, his disappearance and change of identity, US army enlistment, discharge as emotionally instable, carnival work, management of singer Eddy Arnold and then Elvis Presley. Parker manipulated behind the scenes in various ways during Elvis's career, while Elvis became increasingly disappointed with the lightweight movies and bland pop songs. The constant frustrations took their toll on Elvis and led to increasing drug dependencies. Elvis intended to break away from Parker, but never managed to. Parker told an interviewer after Elvis's death that he never looked on Elvis as a son - but as the success he'd always wanted.
- The King lives on at the Georgetown Opry
(News 8 Austin, August 9, 2003)
There'll be a whole lotta shakin' goin' on in Georgetown next weekend. A musical tribute to Elvis Presley will take the stage at the Georgetown Opry. "Four Kings Over Texas" features four Elvis-style performers. There's 60s Elvis, movie Elvis, 70s Elvis, and comeback Elvis, who wears black leather. The show is scheduled for the 26th anniversary of Elvis' death next Saturday, Aug. 16. ...
- High caliber entertainers coming for Kings Prairie benefit concert
By Murray Bishoff
(Monett Times, August 9, 2003)
Fourth annual concert for Kings Prairie school renovation to a community center Aug. 9. Preparations are complete for the fourth annual Kings Prairie benefit concert for the community center at the old school house. Tomorrow's concert will begin at 6 p.m. Serving will start at 5 p.m. Located on Farm Road 2015 in Barry County, west of Highway Z, which connects with Highway 60 three miles east of Monett, the building is a quarter mile west of the New Liberty Church. Gospel music stalwart and Grammy nominee Al Brumley Jr., himself a Kings Prairie resident, has again gathered an outstanding lineup of acoustic performers, many with roots in old-time radio in the region, to share their talents for the audience in the scenic outdoor setting. ... Coming for the first time this year will be Duke Mason, who has performed since 1996 at the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage. He was vocalist and keyboardist for the Chapelaires from 1996 to 1999, and today gives 20 shows a week at Precious Moments. ... Musically, Mason enjoys all types of music, from classic country to jazz and Big Band styles. He is particularly noted for his renderings of Elvis Presley's songs. "I've never considered myself, or have ever tried to be an Elvis impersonator. I am a huge fan of his music, stemming from his Gospel recordings that I heard when I was young. As with any performer, you tend to borrow things from, or try to emulate a certain style of other performers that you like. The style of his songs, gospel and others, reminded me of the quartet sound that I had heard all my life -- The Blackwoods, The Statesmen, The Jordanaires ... etc. I don't try to sound like Elvis, but people have been kind enough to say that I do, and to me that is a great compliment."
- Elvis is back in just seven days: Celebration at market honors the King
By Emily Huigens
(Anderson Independent-Mail, August 8, 2003)
Come one, come all, come Elvises, big and small. Impersonators of the king of rock 'n' roll are invited to a celebration of Elvis at the Anderson County Farmers Market next Saturday. Festivities will include an impersonation contest, with prizes including a new guitar and a box set of Elvis' hits. Judges for the main event will include local personalities, market manager Tom Gibson said.
The success of a similar event at the market last year inspired this year's Elvis celebration, he said. "It was a magical night," he said. "Watching the crowd, it was like they were actually watching the King." At this year's event, one of the legendary singer's cars will be on display alongside other Elvis-era classic cars, Mr. Gibson said. Fans will be able to view a 1970 Mercedes Grand 600 limousine once registered under Elvis Presley's name.
- Love is in the air, with minister dressed as Elvis
(forbes.com / Reuters, August 8, 2003)
Love is in the air. Ten couples intend taking wedding vows in mid-air on Monday night aboard a plane flying from Orlando to Las Vegas. More than 100 passengers will witness the in-flight ceremony, to be conducted by a minister dressed as Elvis. ...
- 'Elvis Has Left the Building' heads to N.M. for filming
(Houston Chronicle / Associated Press, August 7, 2003)
"Elvis Has Left the Building," an upcoming movie starring Kim Basinger and directed by Joel Zwick, will begin shooting in New Mexico this fall. ... [as below]
- New Kim Basinger Movie to Film in N.M.
By KIMBERLY VAN SCOY
(Gainsville Sun / Associated Press, August 7, 2003)
"Elvis Has Left the Building," an upcoming movie starring Kim Basinger and directed by Joel Zwick, will begin shooting in New Mexico this fall. New Mexico was selected because of the state's incentives to production companies, producer Tova Laiter said this week. ... Basinger will star as a cosmetic saleswoman who ends up on the run from the FBI after she leaves a train of dead Elvis impersonators. Hundreds of New Mexico-based Elvis impersonators are expected to be hired. ... Elvis Has Left the Building will be based in Albuquerque. New Mexico landscapes will double for Tennessee, Arkansas, Arizona, Nevada and New York City.
- Rock legend was just a regular guy
By KIMBERLY VAN SCOY
(News & Record, August 7, 2003)
I arrived at work at the insane hour of 3:30 a.m. Thursday to get ready to hit the air at 5 am. I flipped on my computer and started scanning the stories for that morning's newscast and there it was ... "Sam Phillips Dies." My heart sank. To many of you, he's the man who discovered Elvis Presley 50 years ago. To me, he was a lifelong family friend, mentor to my broadcasting career and someone I will always miss.
Sam Phillips was already larger than life in the entertainment business when my family moved to Memphis in 1964. He had discovered not only Elvis but also such other stars as B.B. King, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. Sam and his wife, Becky, were members of the church that we joined that year. My parents and the Phillipses became fast friends. Little did I know that their friendship would lead to some of the most incredible memories of my life.
It was a hot August day in 1977 when a crawl rolled across the bottom of our television: "Elvis Presley has died at Graceland." I was shocked and so, it seems, was everyone else. The next day, Sam called my mom and invited us to Elvis' wake. We drove to Graceland past the crowds of grieving people. Sam's name got us right through the huge iron gates of Elvis' mansion and past the tens of thousands of people lined up outside. We were escorted into the foyer for a quick glance at his body lying in state. I remember thinking he didn't look like Elvis. It all seemed so surreal.
A few months later, Sam started his first radio station, WLVS. Yes, the LVS is for Elvis. I had once told him that I wanted to be a disc jockey, and he hadn't forgotten. When he was looking for someone to fill the midnight to 6 a.m. shift, he called me. Sam was a night owl, so it wasn't unusual for him to sit and talk with me until 4 in the morning, sharing delightful stories about Elvis or the others he'd discovered. Other nights he'd drop by at 2 or 3 a.m. with someone famous. I met so many legends - Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, George Jones. Once, he brought in Charlie Rich, who serenaded me on the air with his sultry hit "Behind Closed Doors."
Those who've heard of Sam Phillips will remember him as the father of rock 'n' roll, a keen eye for talent, or maybe the founder of a Memphis radio station. I'll always remember him as a regular guy whose generosity enriched my life and put me on the road to a wonderful career.
- Phillips's visitation is light- hearted
By Michael Donahue
(GoMemphis, August 7, 2003)
Elvis Presley's recording of That's All Right played while guests filed past the casket of Sun Records founder Sam Phillips Wednesday at Memorial Park Funeral Home. "We couldn't have a visitation without Sun playing," said Jerry Phillips, one of the sons of the man who discovered Elvis and released his first recordings and those of a list of pre-eminent rock and roll and rhythm and blues artists. ...
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