Late February 2004
- Many celebrities choose Las Vegas for final resting place
By Diana Sevanian
(Reno Gazette-Journal Online / Associated Press, February 21 2004)
Plenty of famous people come to Las Vegas, but some are mere transients compared with celebrities like Sonny Liston, Bo Belinsky and Harry James - who are staying forever.The boxer, the baseball player and the bandleader are just a few of the famous who are reposing for all eternity in southern Nevada's cemeteries and mausoleums. Jim Tipton has been charting the locations of celebrity and non-celebrity grave sites for years at a Web site devoted to the final resting places of the famous, the infamous and the little known. Tipton said some people visit celebrity grave sites for the thrill of the hunt, and many people are attracted by genealogical research.
"There are a lot of people out there literally walking cemeteries, recording the names and entering them," he said. "And they love it when someone else writes in and says, 'I'm so glad you posted my grandmother.' "But, Tipton said, "I think the single-biggest motivation is the same reason you'd visit a grave in real-life. As cliched as it sounds, it's to pay your respects to the person," he said. ... Tipton's Web site lists a reader's submission that Col. Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager, is buried at a Las Vegas Palm property. But Palm's Phillips said he could find no record of that.
- Latest Group of Western Stars Set to be Immortalized
By Diana Sevanian
(The Signal, February 21 2004)
Western entertainment - long a beloved genre celebrating the simpler life and triumph of good over bad - may not be quite the Hollywood darling it used to be, but it's certainly alive and kicking in the Santa Clarita Valley. Proof of this enduring devotion is found along the Walk of Western Stars, a bronze and terrazzo tile-lined stretch of Old Town Newhall sidewalk that immortalizes many luminaries of Western screen and stage. On March 26 that concrete path of glory will be branded with three more Western legends' names - actor Keith Carradine, Hollywood stuntman Loren Janes and Buck Page of Riders of the Purple Sage. ... A Santa Clarita resident, Janes has enjoyed a long career as a professional movie and TV stuntman. Having started out in 1954 by making an 80-foot dive off Catalina Island, Janes has stunt doubled for such stars as Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Clint Eastwood and Kirk Douglas. He has worked in more than 500 movies, including "Jailhouse Rock" with Elvis Presley; "McClintock" and "North to Alaska" with John Wayne; "The Ten Commandments"; "The Dirty Dozen"; "Back to the Future"; three "Batman" movies and "True Lies." ...
- Did Madonna change the world?
By Patrick Donovan
([Melbourne] Age, February 21 2004)
In his book 31 Songs, released last year, English author Nick Hornby wrote about the tunes that changed his life. Such inspiring songs can lift the mood of their singer's fan base every time they are played. Songs have also been made scapegoats for everything from subverting culture to inspiring school shootings. They have provided a soundtrack to the anti-war movement, raised awareness of famine in Africa and highlighted women's liberation.
But does a song really have the power to change the world?
A new nine-part American documentary series, Impact: Songs that Changed the World, analyses the power of song and in particular a song's lasting impact on music styles, fashion, mores, culture and society. Screening each Wednesday on SBS at 7.30pm from next week, the hour-long show will analyse the power of nine songs, starting with Chuck Berry's Maybellene.
Rock commentators claim the image of a duckwalking Berry introduced rock'n'roll to the mainstream while breaking down racial barriers and symbolising freedom to postwar teenagers.
Other songs chosen for their influence include Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel, Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees and Madonna's Like A Virgin.
It's controversial stuff. Melbourne singer-songwriter, author and presenter of ABC TV show Words, James Griffin, says two glaring omissions from the list are Bob Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone and Jimi Hendrix's incendiary mangling of the US national anthem Star Spangled Banner. ...
- Songs that changed the world
By Noel Menge
(Courier-Mail, February 21 2004)
The inventor of rock 'n' roll? Who, me? Chuck Berry is having none of that, despite all those who have bestowed the lofty claim on his head for these past 50 years.
He prefers to see himself as just another cog, even if all the evidence points to him being one of the biggest cogs of all. Still, Berry wants to keep it in perspective: "Call it rock, call it boogie-joogie, call it rhythm and blues, call it what you may. Man, I play what I feel. If they call it rock, it's rock, if they call it country bumpkin jazz, call it country bumpkin jazz."
Berry's first hit Maybellene went off like a rifle shot in post-war popular culture in 1955. But it was one of a volley of shots in that year. In February, for instance, 45rpm vinyl singles outsold 78s for the first time. Mid-year, Bill Haley and the Comets' Rock Around The Clock, actually recorded and released the year before, would hit No. 1 in the US. Meanwhile, the waves from regional successes by Elvis Presley and Bo Diddley would start to be felt across the US, then Little Richard's primal scream of delight Tutti Frutti would become a call to arms for a new generation.
And right in the middle of this building wave was Berry, a guitarist and singer from St Louis who already was pushing 30, a husband and father and, unusually for a city-dwelling African American, a musician with an affection for country music hillbilly, as it was known as well as blues by the likes of Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James and T-Bone Walker. And from this collision came Maybellene.
The story of Berry's first hit, recorded in Chicago's Chess Studios that year, is recounted in the first episode of Impact: The Songs That Changed The World, which premieres on SBS on Wednesday. The series follows the course of songs which did just that, all the way from Maybellene and Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel to Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. ...
- Coliseum listed as endangered historic site: Preservation official calls it 'an architectural treasure'
By Matthew Sturdevant
(Corpus Christi Coastal Bend South Texas News / Caller-Times, February 20 2004)
Memorial Coliseum was listed as one of the state's endangered historic sites Thursday by Preservation Texas Inc., a group that lobbies to preserve the state's historic resources. The Corpus Christi landmark was among 11 endangered sites named at a press conference in Austin that included representatives of the Texas Historical Commission, which perhaps would join in a formal effort to keep the building from being destroyed. ... Architect Richard S. Colley designed Memorial Coliseum in 1952, and it was completed in 1954 as part of a civic center complex that included the old City Hall and Exposition Hall, both of which have been demolished. Memorial Coliseum brings back many memories for thousands of South Texans. Many of the fondest resulted from Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson performances, as well as high school graduation ceremonies. ...
- Elvis goes under the knife
By Brian Gilmore
(Washington Square News, February 20 2004)
The first recordings of rock 'n' roll's most important artist are said to have sat in an old Tennessee warehouse, unseen and not tended to for more than 20 years. The reels of these master tapes, when discovered, were then sold at a Sheriff's auction, after the tapes' owner failed to pay rent on his warehouse space. After passing through a few intermediaries, the tapes were bought by Howard Esposito, a New Jersey businessman with plans to "chop the tape up" into two-inch sections, to be sold as collectibles for about $500 apiece.
There's a good explanation for all of this, Esposito says. At a press conference at New York's Nola Recording Studios, he explained his decision to sell pieces of Elvis' Sun Sessions master tape, even amidst fierce criticism from many Elvis fans and rock historians. The tape, Esposito said, having sat neglected for so many years, had suffered considerable water damage. "Given the condition it was in, we realized that the process to preserve it intact would, instead, destroy it," he said.
... Does this, however, justify Esposito's intentional destruction of the tape, and subsequent parceling out its pieces for profit? Esposito said that he offered the tape first to Graceland, the Smithsonian and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Since they all declined his offer, he felt that, with Graceland's blessing, the tape should then be offered directly to Elvis fans, as a chance to own an essential piece of rock history. This is garbage, said Michael Kramer, curatorial director at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He said that since the Hall of Fame does not buy exhibits, he was not contacted until Esposito's plans were already solidified. He also said that the plan to chop the tape "is nothing to be proud of. It's shameful."
As for Graceland's role in all of this, they have given Esposito the green light to use Elvis' name and image to market the product; they have, however, stopped short of endorsing the project as a whole. They say that they never specifically discussed purchasing the tape, but that the price was "way beyond [their] Elvis artifact acquisition budget." As far as the decision to sell pieces of the tape, the Graceland Web site said it was never theirs to make. The tape had been purchased by an unaffiliated private collector, and he could do with the tape as he pleased. Their decision to offer Esposito a trademark license (i.e. the ability to use the Elvis name in marketing) was based on a feeling that Esposito had convincingly proved the tape's authenticity. There was no reason, then, to stand in the way.
But wait, there's more! Some are now claiming that this long-lost artifact is not a long-lost artifact at all, but rather a copy of a 1984 reissue called "Golden Celebration." Ernst Jorgensen, who supervises the repackaging of Elvis' back catalogue, said that Esposito's tape shows signs of editing, and that it could be a number of different tapes strung together. He added that since this tape contains material from throughout the 16-month recording session, it couldn't possibly be real: The other master tapes from the Sun Sessions only contain material spanning a few days or weeks.
RCA, which owns the rights to all of Elvis' music, refuses to make a statement other than to say that it owns all of Elvis' master tapes, period. Reportedly, there were 15 original masters made, nine of which were destroyed and six of which are locked in RCA's underground vault, built into the side of a Pennsylvania mountain.
Esposito does not claim to have any of the destroyed masters, but instead thinks he has a tape which was never given to RCA when Elvis' contract was sold to them. He thinks that Sun Studios owner (and original Elvis producer) Sam Phillips held a reel back when turning over Elvis' recordings, and that this is what he has in his possession. Esposito said that he spoke to Phillips shortly before his death, and, after describing the color and brand of the tape, Phillips verified that this was possible. Phillips died, however, before ever seeing or hearing the tape.
Bongiovi points to the tape's lack of echo as proof of its authenticity. There is no technology, he said, which can remove echo from a recording, only that which can add it. Since the final recording of the Sun Sessions does contain echo, he said that it's impossible that Esposito's tape could be a copy. It must be the source recording, made before echo was added to the final cut.
Whatever the truth may be, Esposito has already begun the process of cutting up the reel. At his press conference, he made the ceremonial first cut, which was then mounted on Lucite to be presented at Graceland. He said he will make as many pieces as the tape will offer, but that he expects that number to exceed 10,000. The $495 plaques are available online (www.elvismastertape.com), and offer Elvis fans an unprecedented crack at this (possibly phony) slice of rock and roll history.
- In the Mood: CU celebrates Glenn Miller's 100th birthday
By Sandra Fish
(Daily Camera, January 20 2004)
The first gold record for more than 1 million in sales. Forty-five tunes on the top-seller charts in a single year. Surpassed only by Elvis Presley in record sales for RCA. The impetus for one of the first popular movies shot at the University of Colorado and in Denver. Glenn Miller's achievements as leader of the most popular dance band of the early 1940s make him one of CU's most famous dropouts, up there with the likes of actor Robert Redford, playwright Dalton Trumbo, distance runner Mary Decker Slaney and South Park creator Trey Parker. Starting this month, CU is celebrating Miller's legacy in honor of the 100th anniversary of his birth on March 1. ...
- Denmark's finest: With their first Australian release, Kashmir are pleased to learn we 'rock'
By Andrew Murfett
([Melbourne] Age, January 20 2004, Issue No.107)
Quirky rock collective Kashmir are the biggest band in Denmark. Led by Kasper Eistrup, Zitilites (pronounced "city lights") is their first Australian release - though their the fourth album overall.
It is a diverse record sitting somewhere between the soothing sound of Coldplay and the programmed samples and beats of the recent Radiohead albums. ... "Most people speak English here," Eistrup says, "and we have learnt English from the fifth grade. There was never really a question for us in terms of English lyrics, it seemed really obvious. We listen to everything from Led Zeppelin to the Beatles, Elvis Presley to the Kinks or even AC/DC, so it was just a musical language for us, that was the language we grew up on, so it came quite naturally." ... Apparently the legend of Australian rock has travelled to Denmark. "We have heard that Australia is a rocking country and you like your rock music," he says. "This pleases us." Kashmir play at the Prince, St Kilda, on February 29.
- Galway News
Editor: Liam Ferrie
(The Irish Emigrant, January 19 2004, Issue No.107) Item 8, paragraph 13, by Richard O'Shaughnessy
A news exclusive broke over the outlying districts of Galway during the week with sightings of ELVIS PRESLEY at Peacocks of Maam Cross (about 30 kms north-west of Galway, basically in the boonies), this revelation as one could call it was reported on Gerry Ryan's RTE 2 radio programme by a woman calling herself 'Marie'. She maintained that herself and a friend met Elvis at Peacocks about two months ago, (looking very well, although he has aged slightly and put on a bit of weight) she said he was rather quiet but after a few pints of Guinness he was 'grand' and even went to the dance. She was further pursued by Gerry during the course of the interview to speculate that perhaps that he was out there to review the idea of a sequel to The Quiet Man made by John Wayne there in the late 50's (??). She indicated that he was going to play the prodigal son of John Wayne returning to the old sod......... This is fact.......sometimes I worry!
- Thankya for watching my movie, said the stranger
By Jon Sparks
(Commercial Appeal, January 19 2004)
Sandra Hughes had a surprise meeting with Elvis early in his career. Here's her story: "In the spring of 1956, when I was 16 years old, Elvis Presley's first movie, 'Love Me Tender,' was playing at a downtown Memphis theater. Being quite enamored of him, my best friend and I 'ditched' our afternoon classes at Tech High School and headed for the movie. "After thoroughly enjoying his performance and only letting out a minimum of excited screams, we made our way into the lobby when it was over. Standing there right in front of us, looking larger than life, was possibly the most handsome man we had ever seen on the face of the Earth, no other than The King himself. We were both totally dumbstruck, whereupon he came up to us and said, 'I didn't really die, you know,' (as he had in the movie). At that point, he magically produced two 8-by-10 glossies of himself, which he autographed and gave to us. He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, leaving two young ladies with a never-to-be forgotten memory - and a great deal of explaining as to why we weren't in school and how we acquired the coveted Elvis photos."
T. G. on the CB
Christy Bendall has her own celebrity encounter, CB-style:
"In the mid-'70s, my parents were listening to country music on the car radio while we were traveling home on I-40 from visiting family. A new song by T. G. Sheppard came on and my dad got on the CB radio and commented that he liked it. It just happened that T. G. was on the same stretch of interstate and heard the comment. He and my dad talked, and the singer said he was on his way to Memphis to meet up with Elvis Presley. My mom was flipping out, and I was excited as well but trying to maintain some teenage cool, particularly since country music wasn't my thing. "We all pulled in to a weigh station near Brownsville and T. G. and his band members emerged from a Lincoln. I tried to remain low-key and hung out in the back seat of our car, until my mom tells him that HER DAUGHTER would love his autograph! I was SO embarrassed. He was really nice about the whole thing and did leave us with an autograph - for my MOM, of course!"
(Note to Christy: He'll be at Bally's in Tunica next month, if you want to see him again).
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