Mid February 2004
- True blue-suede Tory set to seek PC salvation
By JAMES MCCARTEN
(London Free Press, February 13 2004)
A gospel-singing, mutton-chopped Anglican priest who ministers as Elvis Presley traded his pulpit for federal politics yesterday in a bid to bring salvation to the moribund Progressive Conservative party. Rev. Dorian Baxter -- a.k.a. Elvis Priestley, the self-styled Bishop of Beale Street -- plans to fly the old Tory colours as a candidate in the next federal election in defiance of the merger that gave rise to the new Conservative Party of Canada.
Baxter was acclaimed yesterday at a PC nomination meeting in the new federal riding of Newmarket-Aurora -- the same riding where Conservative leadership hopeful Belinda Stronach will seek her own party's nomination next month. "We've been crippled by a Liberal government that has been quite content to manage the store," Baxter told a small crowd of supporters at the Newmarket legion hall where he delivers his Elvis-flavoured sermons every Sunday. "We are at a time when management is not enough."
Standing on a stage festooned with red, white and blue balloons and his name spelled out on cardboard stars, Baxter -- who opted for a suit and tie instead of a jumpsuit -- denounced the new Conservative party as an "unholy Alliance." He described the Liberal government as "a dynasty that has ruled without checks and balances for more than a decade" and promised to tackle local issues such as the cost of a phone call to Toronto -- it's long distance, while from nearby Aurora isn't -- and a shortage of commuter train service.
He also delivered his own send-up of the controversy plaguing Prime Minister Paul Martin, sung to the tune of All Shook Up. ...
- North Beach Leather distressed : Four stores close; only Grant Avenue site remains open
By Pia Sarkar
(San Francisco Chronicle, February 12 2004)
After 35 years of business, North Beach Leather is liquidating its vast inventory of skin-tight pants and snug dresses, leaving it with only its Grant Avenue store in San Francisco. The company closed four other stores -- in New York, Las Vegas, Houston and Chicago -- and filed for general assignment in July through CMA Business Credit Services, a nonprofit corporation that helps distressed companies reorganize without going to court.
General assignment offers a company the option of avoiding bankruptcy through a more efficient and less expensive way to wind down operations, liquidate assets and distribute proceeds to creditors. North Beach Leather has moved the merchandise from its other stores and into its Grant Avenue location, where prices have been slashed in a so-called winter sale. At its peak, North Beach Leather -- made famous by its owner and designer, Michael Hoban -- was the largest privately owned leather company in the United States. Hoban came up with elaborate concepts and shaped them into leather, selling his brand to such customers as John Lennon, Elvis Presley and Sammy Davis Jr., according to North Beach Leather's Web site. ...
- Mall And Museum Have Old-Town Feel
(news.tbo.com, February 12 2004)
Tom and Rose Clark want patrons to feel as though they're strolling through a mid-20th century town when visiting the Lake Placid Mall and Museum. The couple spent two years preparing the building for stores and merchants. It opens this month. The building is full of 1950s memorabilia and has a '50s feel to it, including figures of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe painted on its walls. Parts of the building remain under construction, and the Clarks are looking for more merchant tenants. The mall and museum encompass 45,000 square feet. ...
- EU Opens In-Depth Probe of Sony-BMG Music Merger
By David Lawsky and Boris Groendahl
(Reuters, February 12 2004)
European Union regulators said on Thursday they would open an in-depth probe into Sony and Bertelsmann's planned music unit merger, heralding a battle between the two major labels and independent producers. The four-month probe will give the European Commission a chance to listen to all sides in an industry facing weak retail sales because of new competition from online file-sharing and other forms of entertainment. "The Commission is concerned that the transaction might create or strengthen a dominant position," it said in a statement. SonyBMG, a 50-50 joint venture, would combine No. 2 Sony, which includes such artists as Beyonce Knowles and Bruce Springsteen, with No. 5 BMG, home to Britney Spears and Elvis Presley. ...
- Indianapolis picks firm to redevelop Market Square Arena
(Pioneer Press / Indianapolis Star / Associated Press, February 11 2004)
The city of Indianapolis chose a partnership of eight companies Wednesday to lead the multimillion dollar redevelopment of the former Market Square Arena site. Market Square Partners plans to develop a 22-story condominium complex and 75,000 square feet of retail space on the two-acre property across the street from the City-County Building. The site became a parking lot more than two years ago after the implosion of the arena, the former home of the Indiana Pacers and the venue for Elvis Presley's final concert on June 26, 1977. He died less than two months later, on Aug. 16. ...
- United States marks 40 years of Beatlemania
(Yahoo! News / AFP, February 11 2004)
The hysteria may have died down, but Beatlemania is alive and well in the United States, which is marking the 40 anniversary of the first US tour by the Fab Four and the "British Invasion" that followed. ... At the same time, the Beatles' clean-cut image appealed to an older generation that had frowned at the suggestive gyrations of rock and roll acts like Elvis Presley.
- How to avoid screwing up Valentine's Day: With these tips, you won't just skate, you might hit a romance grand slam
By BRYAN RUSSELL and DANYEL DANIELS
(San Angelo Standard Times, February 11 2004)
In a Valentine's Day episode of ''Married with Children,'' a desperate, downtrodden Al Bundy scavenges picked-over store shelves searching for a last-minute gift for his couch-warming, Oprah-watching wife He scours Chicago, ultimately engaging in fisticuffs over the last Valentine's card. He returns home with a packet of seeds instead of roses, melted chocolate instead of Godivas, a wrinkled mass instead of a lacy card - and a black eye. But despite his pathetic bounty, his wife appreciated his heartfelt effort. Don't be like Al Bundy and resort to last-minute, bottom-of-the-barrel shopping. To save time - and avoid malice - show your loved one hows pecial he or she is with a unique gift. Don't fret if your heart's creativity flat-lines. We're here for ya. Telling our boss we had ''work'' to do, we visited Sunset Mall to gather ideas even Cupid would endorse. ...
Seductive singers
Harlequin Enterprises Limited, a leading publisher of women's fiction, asked disc jockeys across North America to choose the most seductive singers of all time. Here are the winners:
1. Barry White
2. Marvin Gaye
3. Norah Jones
4. Faith Hill
5. Madonna
6. Sade
7. Christina Aguilera
8. Donna Summer
9. Enrique Iglesias
10. Elvis Presley
...
- Are you lonesome toupee night?
By Nigel Scott
(Leeds Today / Evening Post, February 11 2004)
A YORKSHIRE knitting firm has come up with the ultimate pattern guaranteed to leave Elvis fans all shook up. Bosses at Sirdar have created a knitted Elvis WIG which is turning heads worldwide. ...
- Musical vision: Pics and posters spotlight
rock music at Lexington museum
By Larry Katz
(Boston Herald, February 11 2004)
Would Elvis Presley have become the King of Rock 'n' Roll if he'd started out fat? Would we remember the Beatles' arrival in America 40 years ago if John, Paul, George and Ringo had stepped off the plane with crew cut and plaid sport coats? Would Bob Dylan have been revered as the "poet of his generation" if he was prematurely bald? Everyone agrees the sound of music counts most. But only a fool would deny that looks count, too. Long before MTV aired its first video, musicians knew their appearance was inseparable from their success.
Step into "Artist to Icon: Early Photographs of Elvis, Dylan and the Beatles," a new - and free - exhibit at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, and you quickly feel the connection between great music and great images. It's no accident that photographs of legendary musicians rivet our eyes. Elvis, Dylan and the Beatles look as charismatic as they sound. "Artist to Icon" includes 48 black-and-white photographs of Elvis, Dylan and the Beatles taken early in their careers. (The 1956 photos of Elvis, the exhibit explains, were shot in black-and-white by order of RCA in order to save money.) ... Yes, this exhibit looks back, but it doesn't warrant a ``Baby Boomers Only'' warning. When you check it out, look at the other visitors. Young adults, teenagers, even small children find these images compelling. The power of Elvis, Dylan and the Beatles wasn't only in their sound. It was in their look. ...
- Retro funk styles perfect for walking in Memphis
By Barbara Bradley
(Commercial Appeal, February 10 2004)
Patrick Robinson, designer for Perry Ellis, was born in Memphis and left shortly afterward, but something about the city must have stuck. The hip '50s retro fashions he showed Friday with funky accessories and pompadour hairdos would have made Elvis Presley's smile curl. It was a good omen for the start of Olympus Fashion Week at Bryant Park, where the New York fall 2004 collections are hitting the runways each day through Friday. ...
- Jack's shakin' all over!
By Carl Palmer
(Manchester Online, February 10 2004)
LITTLE Elvis Presley impersonator Jack Williams was left all shook up - when he fell down as he was trying to get on stage. Writhing in agony, the four-year-old who has wowed judges with his versions of Elvis classics, had to cancel his appearance at the Lowry in Salford. ... Mr Pointon, from Chorlton, said: "It was very unfortunate what happened, especially as Jack was in too much pain to sing. ... Grandmother Irene added: "There were quite a few elderly ladies who went home very disappointed." ... Jack, who was wearing his white Elvis suit and dark glasses when he fell, and is a fully fledged fan since seeing Elvis impersonators on holiday, has got television channels across Europe clamouring to make a documentary about him. Grandad Jim added: "The next thing we'd love to do is to go on a holiday to Memphis in America and visit Elvis's home at Graceland."
- Review: Love featuring Arthur Lee
By Martin Donovan
(Western Mail, February 9 2004)
Coal Exchange, Cardiff, 6 February, 2004
AN evidently welcome return to Wales greeted that other famous son of Memphis when he played in Cardiff. At one time in his career, Arthur Lee could so easily have kissed goodbye to it all without even paying heed to his ample following on these shores and blessing them with a visit. Now it seems Lee and his band Love can't get enough of the UK, with a rigorous tour schedule that would leave performers less then half his 58 years giddy. ... While a heady mix of gaudy Las Vegas nights and Colonel Tom Parker perhaps mercifully robbed the UK of seeing fellow Memphis man Elvis Presley, prospects at one time also looked sour for Lee. ...
- The Beatles in America on Ed Sullivan
By Billy Watkins
(Clarion-Ledger, February 9 2004)
It cost Ed Sullivan $10,000 to change the world. That's how much he paid the Beatles to perform for three consecutive Sundays on his one-hour variety show in February 1964. He got them at a bargain rate, since most headliners on his show earned nearly that much for a single performance. The Beatles - John Lennon and Ringo Starr, 23; Paul McCartney, 21; and George Harrison, 20 - already were a hit in their hometown of Liverpool, England, and in Germany and Sweden. But they were determined to do what other British bands before them couldn't - make it in America. So, probably, the Beatles would've played for less money. They simply wanted the mass exposure Sullivan could provide. ... They were a basic band - two guitarists, a bass and drums - but with a twist. Their hair nearly covered their ears and touched their collars, and it was combed forward, without grease or tonic. Just the opposite of the established rock king Elvis Presley. ...
- A frightfully bad hair night at Grammys
By RITA ZEKAS
(The Star, February 9 2004)
Joan Rivers, who is hard pressed to tell Jay-Z from J.Lo, did her inimitable red carpet carping before the Grammy Awards last night. She glommed on to Eugene Levy and clung to him because she didn't know anyone else. Her spawn, Melissa, must have bought her metallic silver top at Home Depot, chain link by the yard. With all the Janet Jackson flapdoodle going on, we were expecting breastplate in lieu of nipple shield but we were confident of some busting out from Lil' Kim, who let us down but not flat. While she had double-sided tape-worthy cleavage, she was downright subdued given her proclivity for popping out with pasties. Both she and Warren G were channelling Mr. T.: Warren G was wearing Elvis Presley's Rolex and Lil Kim flashed her own jewellery line, which won't exactly cause Harry Winston any sleepless nights. Could it be any gaudier? Hello, Zircon City. And she had the shoes to match. ... Janet Jackson couldn't be there, but she must have sent ex Chili Pepper Dave Navarro, who showed off his nipple piercings to all and sundry. ...
- Pop culture's borders not easily moved
By Mark Hinson
(Tallahassee Democrat, February 9 2004)
The biggest news at this year's Grammy Awards was not who won or who wore what. It was the performer most conspicuously absent.
Janet Jackson was a Grammy no-show Sunday night following the hue and cry over her now-infamous nipple flash during the MTV-produced halftime musical show at this month's Super Bowl. The fallout has fueled everything from tsk-tsk editorials to a Federal Communications Commission investigation to a class-action lawsuit against the singer. But was Jackson's overexposure at the Super Bowl - and singer Justin Timberlake's role in the "wardrobe malfunction" - really a defining moment in television history?
Does it actually rank up there with Elvis Presley's then-shocking hip swivels in the '50s or Irish singer Sinead O'Connor tearing up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on live television in the early '90s? Did Jackson really move the boundaries of the ever-coarsening popular culture? ...
- Hells Bells, it's Geoff
By Nick Butterly
(Sunday Times, February 8 2004)
WA Premier Geoff Gallop will appear in a movie about hard-rockers AC/DC. The Premier has a small part towards the end of new Australian film Thunderstruck. In his scene - which amounts to about three seconds screen time - Dr Gallop, playing himself, tells a TV news crew: "You've got to be an AC/DC fan; if you're not you're a dag." Thunderstruck is about a group of close mates who travel across Australia with the remains of a dead buddy in a bid to bury him alongside AC/DC's original lead singer, Bon Scott, in Fremantle Cemetery. The movie is due for release at the end of May. Thunderstruck has been filmed largely in WA and is part-financed by the state's peak film body, ScreenWest. A spokewoman for Dr Gallop said his music tastes included T Rex, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Easybeats, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and AC/DC. The Premier has not seen the completed film.
- Ridge Runners Square Dancers' 1950's Valentine Sock Hop - February 7, 2004
(Paradise Lost, February 7 2004)
If smashing a jukebox pinata with an Elvis Presley signature guitar sounds like a good time, then maybe the Ridge Runners Square Dancers' 1950's Valentine's Sock Hop is the place to be. The Ridge Runners are celebrating their 47th year together in Paradise, and with square dancing enjoying an upsurge in interest, the group hopes the sock hop will draw in new members and show them a good time. Ridge Runner Robert Broyals said he and his wife, Renie, have been dancing with the group for two years and they are excited about the group's first sock hop.
The group usually holds a dance on the first Saturday of every month, but this time members wanted to try something different, he said. "Usually we just have a Valentine dance," Broyals said. "This time we decided to liven it up and make it a theme dance to draw more people." ... Some members will bring down their classic cars to show off and, of course, the music of the 1950s will be a feature attraction, not to mention the finger foods. ...
- The Jackson stunt: What now? Super Bowl flashing may encourage crackdown
(CNN / Associated Press, February 6 2004)
The one-second flash of Janet Jackson's breast at the Super Bowl could end up putting the brakes on years of plunging standards in the entertainment industry. "This particular event might be, for the moment, the straw that broke the camel's back on the patience of the audience," said talk show host Carson Daly, a veteran presence on MTV, which produced the offending halftime show. "Tolerance of this sort of sexual imagery may have reached its peak." Unlike other milestones of indecency -- rock star Bono using the f-word on the 2003 Golden Globes, or Madonna and Britney Spears tongue-kissing on MTV -- Jackson chose to reveal herself before the largest TV audience of the year. And she did it precisely when federal authorities are mulling a crackdown on broadcast indecency. ...
Backlash and history
... Shock and titillation in popular culture is nothing new. From Elvis Presley's scandalously swiveling hips to Ozzy Osbourne's bleep-fest on his MTV show, performers have banked on outrageousness to excite and incite an audience. ...
- Forty years ago, the Fab Four shook their mops on 'Ed Sullivan' and knocked Elvis off his throne
By Joel Selvin
(San Francisco Chronicle, February 6 2004)
Forty years ago tomorrow, the Beatles descended from TWA Flight 101 in New York on the precipice of the unprecedented. Rock 'n' roll would never be the same. ... Ed Sullivan presided over rock 'n' roll's first coronation. Eight years earlier, when Elvis Presley appeared (if only from the waist up) on the Sunday night television institution, an entire nation, hooked up to the new medium, proclaimed him king. By showtime on Sunday, Feb. 9, Sullivan knew that he stood at another crossroads, and he clearly relished the position as he introduced the group. ...
- Watch the 'Birdie'
(Tallahassee Democrat, February 6 2004)
Teen dreams: Kim (Aislinn Cassels-Hyde) is star-struck when she gets to meet rock 'n' roll heartthrob Conrad Birdie (Michael Nicholson) as part of a publicity gimmick before he's inducted into the Army. The hip-swiveling singer (modeled on Elvis Presley) causes an uproar when he lands in the small town where Kim's biggest dilemma to date has been whether to go steady with Hugo. With such familiar songs as "Put on a Happy Face," it all adds up to tuneful fun and games when the Brookwood School's Drama Guild stages a production of "Bye Bye Birdie" at 8 p.m. today and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Thomasville Municipal Auditorium in Thomasville, Ga. The show is directed by Constance Clineman and features a live orchestra directed by Alan Payne. Tickets are $15 for reserved seats; general admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children. Call (229) 226-8070.
- No plain Jane: Fricke brings old favorites to town
By Mark Lowry
(Star-Telegram, February 6 2004)
Janie Fricke says she has learned in her years out of the spotlight that "you have to be true to yourself." She performs Saturday in Fort Worth. In her 30-year singing career, Indiana native and longtime North Texas resident Janie Fricke has been around the block and back. She began as a jingle singer (Red Lobster, Coca-Cola), then did session work (backup vocals for Loretta Lynn, Mel Tillis, Elvis Presley and others). ...
- About the DJ: Michael Starr
(Radio VH1, February 6 2004)
Michael Starr's first memory is of his mother playing Elvis Presley records. Ever since then rock and roll has filled an important role in his life - it even moved him to New York City, to which he won tickets in a Beatles Blitz radio contest and never went home. It's safe to say, however, that his record collection got a lot more interesting when he discovered just how much great music was made before Elvis ever met Sam Phillips. A technical writer by day, Starr has also published fiction. In his free time he'll likely be found in clubs listening to favorite bands or at home spinning discs for his lovely wife and two enormous cats.
- Russell's 'Miracle' role goes beyond hockey
By Ron Dicker
(Baltimore Sun, February 5 2004)
As a 10-year-old, Kurt Russell acted with Elvis Presley in It Happened at the World's Fair. When Russell played Presley in a TV movie 19 years later, he did the best impersonation he could. Russell was not about to add any artistic flourishes to Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks, either. /break/ ''I detest when I watch a movie and someone is portrayed in a fashion that is just some writer's fantasy'' ...
- Wilkins's granddaughter keeps his heritage alive
By Jon W. Sparks
(Commerdial Appeal, February 5 2004)
For Lane Wilkins, the past is prolog to her lifework. Her personal connection to Southern history feeds that mission. The result is a passionate researching and telling of stories of Beale Street and the blues, of slaves and sharecroppers, of Delta genealogies and family ties. It is a portrait of Memphis culture. Wilkins's grandfather was legendary bluesman Robert Wilkins, who quite literally set the course of his granddaughter's life. '
... Lane Wilkins did develop a musical flair, however, even though her grandmother disapproved. "She said, 'You can't teach her to play guitar cause bad women do that." ... One thing she has been doing for some time is presenting programs for children. On Saturday, she will go before a group of kids at the Children's Museum of Memphis and give them a few things to think about."Using my guitar, I take nursery rhymes and reinvent them to reflect blues history." There is, for example, the story about the rainbow chicken who finds herself at Third and Beale. "She's red, black and green and says she'll give everyone who has a sad story the blues." This hip myth covers the birth and the spread of the blues. And then, "a young white boy comes up and wants the blues." The multihued hen is reluctant. "But she hears his story about losing his twin brother at birth and so that's how Elvis got to sing the blues." It's a way to instruct youngsters about what grownups call black migration and cultural derivatives. For the kids, Wilkins will bring to life the story of Gus Cannon and his two-string banjo and jug band. "Children get to sing, dance and move while they learn about Memphis Minnie, Furry Lewis, B. B. King and Elvis Presley." ...
Go to earlier articles
|
