Late March 2004
- Think TV is sick now? Give it time
By Tim Goodman
(San Francisco Chronicle, March 31, 2004)
... Now MTV has "I Want a Famous Face," which transforms ordinary, useless people into celebrity look-alikes [through cosmetic surgery]. Britney, Elvis Presley, Brad Pitt, Kate Winslet. Pamela Anderson. ...
- EPE & Scotland - False Press
(Elvis Presley The Official Site, dated March 25, found March 31, 2004)
This week, a story came out of Scotland regarding a possible ancestral link between Elvis and the village of Lonmay. Reporters started calling. A couple of the stories have created negative backlash against EPE, portraying us as issuing warnings to the leaders in Lonmay about Elvis trademarks. That's simply not true. Here's the truth:
A couple of reporters doing a stories on Elvis and Lonmay asked us how we'd feel about Lonmay's using Elvis to promote tourism there and to do merchandising. We said we're always open to proposals. One reporter asked if we object to unauthorized use of our trademarks - yes, what trademark holder doesn't? One asked what the procedures are for licensing and how we deal with infringements. These two reporters chose to make stories suggesting that we were "warning" Lonmay or something like that. Absolutely not true.
We've actually not heard from any officials in Lonmay, but we'll probably try to get in touch to let them know that a couple of recent news stories are terribly misleading. We work with communities, museums, festivals, charities and such all over the world with Elvis promotions all the time and we'll look forward to hearing from the good people of Lonmay should they want our assistance with something.
We all know how inaccurate the press has been over the years in their stories about Elvis. It's painful that some of the fans who know this don't stop and think that the things they read about EPE could be just as inaccurate. The press, once again, has created a controversy where none exists. They're very good at that.
- Elvis's German army town faces GI blues
(Yahoo! News / AFP, March 31, 2004)
When Elvis Presley came here as a GI in the late 1950s, he was arguably the most famous man on the planet, US troops were cheered as liberators and Germany was on the Cold War's front lines. Now, half a century on, the world is not what it was. The King is dead, the odds of a tank war on the rolling hills of the Hesse region have sunk to nil and the Pentagon is asking why it still needs a massive military presence in the heart of Western Europe. Presley's arrival in this sleepy town north of Frankfurt electrified the locals and served as only one of the most potent symbols of what American troops have brought to dozens of German towns since World War II. "It was rock 'n' roll and the PX shops with American products and a whole new image for Friedberg -- very exciting," said deputy mayor Michael Keller. But nearly all the 2,500 US troops in Friedberg, population 28,600, have now been deployed to Iraq, offering a taste of what is to hit dozens of similar towns if Washington pursues proposals to transfer the bulk of its 71,000 troops in Germany to new NATO states in eastern Europe. ...
- Louie's little but he's a big man
By Kathy W. Hathcock
(News-Democrat & Leader, March 30, 2004)
What Louie Archie lacks in stature, he more than makes up for in an impressive resume of life experiences. ... In September 1954 he met a man named Norman Riley Rain. He asked Louie if he could write , and since part of his previous job had entailed writing detailed reports at Bell Aircraft, he told him yes. Louie was hired at the Mirror News to write Hollywood columns. Louie believes he was just about as nervous during his first interview as the guy he was interviewing. That first interview was a 22-year-old singer who was hoping to make it in the music scene named Elvis Presley.
Louie remembers Presley as a nervous guy, who did not drink or smoke, very polite, raised in the Pentecostal Church and loved to sing gospel music. Louie isn't sure Elvis wanted to be famous as much as he just wanted to sing. ...
- When copyright is king
By Campbell Deane
(The Scotsman, March 30, 2004)
There's an old line that one of the perks of the job for lawyers who look after the estates of dead people is that their clients aren't around to tell them what to do. It came to mind last week when it was revealed that Elvis Aaron Presley may have roots in the village of Lonmay, Aberdeenshire, where one Andrew Presley was born before he sailed across the pond to the United States in 1745.
It was a story which inevitably tempted sad men in ill-fitting wigs and white jumpsuits to the scene, and invited speculation that the village could become somewhere the King's fans might want to visit. Maybe the local bed-and-breakfast could change its name to the Heartbreak Hotel?
Elvis spent only two hours of his life in Scotland (that famously brief stop-off at Prestwick Airport), but might have been slightly tickled by the idea of his fame being marked in the rather backwater location from where his forefathers came. He came from Southern poor white trash, but was always proud of his family and his roots.
In any event, it has now been decreed that no such thing will ever happen by lawyers for the Elvis estate. They greeted the happy news of their deceased client's Scottish connection with their customary heavy-handed copyright warning.
Within 24 hours of the discovery, Elvis Presley Enterprises had issued a reminder that it owns all the intellectual property (IP) rights in his name, his image and his songs, including the trademark of the very words Heartbreak Hotel.
To any lawyer who works in IP, this is not what you could call news. Over the past 20 years, Elvis has become something of a case study in defending artistic rights, as the company has not only enforced the laws vigorously but has even managed to change them - in its favour.
It has closed a nightclub named Velvet Elvis, ordered a fan website to take down a virtual tour they had created of Graceland, and is currently trying to block the development of an Elvis Dream Home on a site where he spent his honeymoon.
Even the vast number of (good and bad) Elvis impersonators don't escape its wrath.
Elvis Presley Enterprises is also credited with lobbying for laws to be passed which result in Tennessee now having the tightest copyright laws in the US, if not the western world. Only there can you enforce the "right to publicity" to prevent others using likenesses of someone - even if they are long dead.
They did lose out once in the UK, when the Court of Appeal threw out its attempt to close down Sid Shaw, a fan who marketed souvenirs under the title "Elvisly Yours". It was reassuring that an English court was not prepared to recognise that someone could "own" the image and name of someone who died more than a quarter of a century ago. But it took Mr Shaw a total of 12 years of litigation before his victory.
Elvis Presley Enterprises argues that it is enforcing the Presley IP rights because it doesn't want his name or his work subjected to tacky exploitation. But one of Mr Shaw's arguments was that he only began to produce his own ornaments when he visited Memphis and was appalled at the shoddiness of the goods on show.
Critics point out that the company is always prepared to allow someone to use the songs or the image if they pay for the right, and more money will be generated for the estate.
Two years ago, it allowed a DJ to remix the track A Little Less Conversation as a trailer for the release of a compilation CD that summer. The single went to No1 across Europe, and so did the CD. It's as a result of business decisions such as these that Elvis is worth more now than he ever was alive.
The firm was back in court in the US in November to prevent the distribution of The Definitive Elvis, a high-quality documentary lasting 16 hours that attempted to cover his entire career in a DVD boxed set. It argued, successfully, that the documentary had used too much television footage of his songs. A 16-hour Elvis documentary which featured none of his songs would, of course, not have any of these copyright problems. But then again, it might get a bit dull.
The principles of intellectual property law, and the attempts to get around them, frequently throw up situations which appear to defy commonsense, and in London this spring we have a classic case in Jailhouse Rock, a musical based on the Elvis film. It will be about Elvis, but it won't feature the actual song Jailhouse Rock, or indeed any other songs from the film.
While the lawyers fight on, the Elvis fans are the ones left scratching their heads and, who knows, in a supermarket somewhere, maybe there is someone wearing a white jumpsuit who is doing likewise.
As the appeal judge, Richard Tallman, put it, in the documentary judgment: "The King is dead. But his legacy, and those who wish to profit from it, remain very much alive."
- VIVA ROSS VEGAS!
By GORDON COUTTS
(Evening Express, March 30, 2004)
The spangly white jumpsuit is far too big. The slicked quiff is nowhere to be seen and the trademark curl of the lip isn't quite there. But squint your eyes and 10-year-old Aaron Ross might just pass for a pint-size version of his famous distant relative, the king of rock 'n' roll. For the Ross family claim to have recently discovered they are related to Elvis Presley.
Cove grandmother and Elvis fanatic Wilma Ross, 58 - who was born Williamina Handsley - reckons she shares the same great, great, great, great, great, great grandparents with the snake-hipped crooner.
Andrew Presley and his wife Elizabeth Leg had two sons, James and Andrew. Andrew moved to America and is claimed to be Elvis's ancestor. His brother James remained in the UK and was Wilma's ancestor. That, she claims, makes she and the rock 'n' roll king distant cousins. And if Elvis hadn't died in 1977 aged 42, he would have been just 11 years older.
Wilma lives at Creel Gardens, Cove, with husband James, 61, who works as a buyer for an oil company. They have two sons, James, 36, and Derek, 29, and two grandsons, Jordan, 12, and Aaron, 10, who has Elvis's middle name.
Wilma is laying claim to the famous link after reading that Elvis's family originally hailed from the Lonmay in Aberdeenshire. Greenock author and Elvis fan Allan Morrison discovered the link while researching a new book. The story goes that Elvis was descended from Andrew Presley, who left Lonmay for the United States in 1745.
On a hunch, Wilma went to examine the family tree she has spent the last 15 years working on. According to Wilma, her own line went back eight generations to the same Andrew Presley. She said: "I couldn't believe it was real at first so I double checked. "It was the right one and I was absolutely thrilled. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think we might have been related. "I've been a huge Elvis fan since I was at school. When I was at Northfield Academy I used to stick pictures of him all over my schoolbag. He's the perfect man - his looks, his singing, everything. My favourite song is definitely The Wonder of You, it's brilliant."
Oddly, the Ross's secret could have remained so forever were it not for a stroke of luck. Wilma said: "I haven't had time in the last few years to continue the family tree. I had got back as far as Andrew Presley, the father of the Andrew Presley who went to America. If I hadn't got that far back I'd never have known we were related. It's a bit creepy that that's exactly where I stopped." ...
- Kids are listening to their parents - Their parents' music, that is
By Edna Gundersen
(Yahoo! News / USA TODAY, March 30, 2004)
... Though difficult to quantify, the trend of youngsters craving oldies seems to be gaining momentum. Kids are snatching up Beatles and Led Zeppelin discs, flocking to ZZ Top and Steve Miller concerts, researching the troubled histories of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Black Sabbath and scouring their parents' record collections for Jimi Hendrix licks and Allman Brothers Band jams. ... Finding rare gems used to mean scouring used record stores, garage sales and classifieds. Paid downloads and illegal file-sharing allow easy sampling and cherry-picking. Among the more popular digital tracks, according to SoundScan: Elvis Presley's A Little Less Conversation, Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes and Elton John's Tiny Dancer. ...
- A fine vintage
By Jacqueline Lunn
(Sydney Morning Herald, March 30, 2004)
It's a question surely plaguing the deep thinkers of Australia. When is vintage, well, vintage? ... Is four years old vintage, or simply sooo last season? In the past five years vintage dressing has moved from a fringe activity to a mainstream movement. The magic of vintage stems from its history, craftsmanship, beauty and uniqueness ... . In Milan last month, Dolce & Gabbana sent Elvis Presley's 14-year-old granddaughter, Riley, down the runway wearing a shirt with "J'Adore le Vintage" across the front. ... Lorraine Forster, owner of The Vintage Clothing Shop in Castlereagh Street, says in the past few years the word vintage has been abused. "The term vintage with regard to clothing signifies that a garment is at least 20 to 25 years old and set apart by its superior fabric, cut, design and workmanship," she says. Keep the magic. Vintage Country Road? Some things are just old. ...
- Gotta feed them cats
By Patrick Donovan
([Melbourne] Age, March 30, 2004)
Woody Guthrie's heir, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, is the last of the singing cowboys. Bob Dylan changed the nature of pop music, inspiring generations of songwriters to use their heads, not just their hearts and hips, as well as legions of writers to collectively elevate music criticism to the level of serious discourse. But not a great deal has been written about what and who inspired Dylan. In his work, Dylan himself pays tribute to the greatest influences: on his socially conscious songs - Woody Guthrie; on his music - blues players from Charley Patton on.
... [Elliott] says Guthrie didn't write for art's sake. He wrote and sang because he had a lot to say, particularly about the injustices of the world. "He didn't sing fancy: he didn't try and sound too pretty like Elvis Presley or Frank Sinatra. He just told a story and spoke the words, but very sincerely and truthful, telling the story like it is." ...
- A Web Refugee Turns to Music and Says, 'The Sky's the Lid'
(New York Times, March 30, 2004)
LidRock is promoting new and established artists by putting promotional three- and five-inch CD's in soda lids to be sold in movies, fast-food chains and sporting events. ... At the moment, LidRock's biggest customers include the Regal CineMedia Corporation, which is the largest movie chain in the nation with more than 6,100 screens. There, CD's as well as DVD's from such performers as Jessica Simpson, Ashanti and Elvis Presley are distributed at no additional cost to customers who buy large-size drinks. Sample video games have also been placed on the lids by Electronic Arts Inc., the gaming company.
- Collecting My Thoughts
By Burt Prelutsky
(mensnewsdaily.com, March 29, 2004)
One of those axioms we have all grown up with is that opposites attract. Being the type of person I am, I tend to be suspicious of anything that other people accept on face value. After all, we are talking about a species that, in terrifyingly large numbers, believes Elvis Presley is still shopping for blue suede shoes; trusts in horoscopes and tea leaves; worries about who wins wrestling matches; and believes they're called infomercials because they contain actual information ...
- U.S. Forensics Team Probes Taiwan Shooting
By WILLIAM FOREMAN
(phillyburbs.com / Associated Press, March 30, 2004)
A US forensics team led by an expert who investigated John F. Kennedy's assassination began its probe Monday into the election eve shooting of Taiwanese leader Chen Shui-bian. ... The team leader, Dr. Cyril H. Wecht, suggest the conspiracy theories that Chen faked the shooting seemed unlikely. The bullet left a 4 1/2-inch gash under Chen's navel. "Looking at this wound, it is consistent with a gunshot wound," said Wecht, who also helped investigate the death of former Federal Bureau of Prisons intern Chandra Levy, and consulted on high-profile cases ranging from the Kennedy assassinations to the death of Elvis Presley. ...
- Billboard Album Reviews
(2nd item)
(Yahoo! News, March 29, 2004)
ARTIST: ELVIS PRESLEY
ALBUM: ELVIS ULTIMATE GOSPEL
During his phenomenal career, Elvis Presley won only three Grammy Awards, and they were all for his gospel recordings. Featuring 24 tracks on a single CD, this collection beautifully showcases Presley's deep gospel roots. The packaging includes quotes from his mother, Gladys, commenting on how her son always loved to sing in church. Indeed, Presley's appreciation for the music is revealed on tracks like "Swing Down Sweet Chariot." Timeless standards -- including "How Great Thou Art," "Amazing Grace" and "He Touched Me" -- are delivered with a passion and authority that is truly moving. And depending on the track, he is backed by the Jordanaires, the Imperials Quartet and others. This collection is not just a must for Elvis fans but for anyone who loves great gospel music sung with power and conviction.
- Crystal Method: They blend rock, techno and hip-hop
By Richard Harrington
(Seattle Times / Washington Post, March 29, 2004)
Pull out the CD booklet of "Legion of Boom," unfold it, and this is what you'll see: Like Batman, Spider-Man, Daredevil and a handful of superheroes before them, Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland are poised atop a tenement building, looking out over a Gothamlike cityscape, brightly lit skyscrapers behind them. By day, Jordan and Kirkland are mild-mannered members of the Crystal Method, but that mass of speakers, turntables and keyboards piled up right next to them contains the very instruments that by night transform Jordan and Kirkland into ... the Legion of Boom.
What Jordan and Kirkland would really like is to join Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Jimi Hendrix and, later this year, Elvis Presley and the Beatles, in McFarlane Toys' line of exquisitely detailed rock 'n' roll action figures. ...
- Poll not so cruel to Elvis lookalike
By PAUL WESTON
(Sunday Mail, March 28, 2004)
[Queensland, Australia] -- ELVIS impersonator and Gold Coast mayoral hopeful Dean Vegas last night admitted he had worn out his best pair of blue suede shoes on the campaign trail. Mr Vegas, 39, had lost none of his sense of humour after polls closed, despite covering from Coolangatta to Beenleigh to hand out how-to-vote cards at more than half of the region's 89 booths.
"How are you doin', handsome?" Mr Vegas asked, in his best Elvis voice before entering the Southport Sharks club. "Yeah, I've been wearing my blue suede shoes. I like them, they look good. I've been running around everywhere. We've been down to Tugun, up to Bethania. I'm just disappointed I couldn't get everywhere."
Mr Vegas said he had decided to stage a free show at Sharks today to say thank-you to his supporters. "It will be from 4pm to 6pm. Their support has been fantastic," he said. Last night he decided to leave his Elvis jacket at home along with his singing voice to "meet a few supporters and shout them some drinks". But he fielded many requests for songs during the day. "I sang bits and pieces. I was having a ball. Everyone wanted me to say 'thank you very much'," he said, his voice suddenly deepening into a southern drawl.
But Mr Vegas offered a serious response when asked about his campaign, in particular his decision to direct preferences to runner Ron Clarke rather than incumbent mayor Gary Baildon. Mr Vegas ran on a "Jailhouse Rock" campaign, promising to work closely with police to arrest troublemakers and make sure the Coast was a safe tourist destination. But he also targeted Cr Baildon for failing to deliver important infrastructure for the city in the past eight years. "Gary, as a person, I have nothing against. As a mayor, I have no respect for him," Mr Vegas said. "I saw it as either myself for mayor, or Ron."
Late last night, Mr Vegas had polled 10 per cent of the vote - a credible performance for a minor candidate given that Greens candidate Ian Latto was struggling to record 5 per cent.
- Fame did not come easy for Ferlin Husky
By LEROY SIGMAN
(Daily Journal, March 28, 2004)
Just like people of the Lead Belt like to say, "I knew Ferlin Husky when....," the country music legend who was born in Cantwell 78 years ago can say, "I knew Elvis Presley when....." Husky was already a recording star and touring out of Memphis when the young swivel-hipped lad from Mississippi was trying to break into the music world. Promoters signed Presley up to be the opening act for several Husky tours through Mississippi and other areas to the south of Memphis. Those were the first performance tours for Elvis before he made it big. "How many people can say Elvis Presley opened shows for them?" Husky said with a smile of satisfaction.
Husky said he met Presley in Memphis and they got acquainted. He also go to know Presley's parents, Vernon and Gladys, and the eventual King of Rock and Roll's promoter, Col. Tom Parker. When Presley was drafted in the late 1950s, he continued to correspond with Husky while serving with the U.S. Army in Germany. In August of 1977, Husky had heart surgery in Minneapolis. When he regained consciousness, the owner of the Minnesota Twins was in the room and read him a list of the people who had left messages wishing him a speedy recovery. "He said Vernon called," Husky said. "I have a cousin named Vernon so I asked, 'Vernon who?' He said, well Vernon Presley, of course." "I don't remember the date of the surgery," Husky said, his voice more somber now, "but I will never forget date they took the stitches out. I was laying there on the table and there was small, black and white television monitor up on the wall. All of the sudden they flashed a news bulletin on the screen. Elvis had died. It was Aug. 16, 1977, the day I got the stitches out.
"You don't know how I felt. He was a good friend and a good person. It really took something out of me." Husky said Presley was a very unique young man with a tremendous personality. He loved to perform and loved his fans. For those who were his friends, they could have no better fan. Unfortunately, it is Husky's opinion, that some of those who surrounded him not only created the problems that complicated Presley's later life, but also caused his death.
- Rosenthal collects, designed stamps
By TOM MORTON
(Casper Star Tribune, March 28, 2004)
Before he owned television and radio stations, engaged in Republican Party politics, majored in history at the University of Wyoming, and fought in the Korean War, Jack Rosenthal collected stamps. ... Rosenthal's move from collector to designer had its roots in the early 1950s, when he met classmate and track star Paul Carlin, who held the postmaster general job from 1984 to 1986. ... While acknowledging that the United States grew from East to West, his study of all the stamps ever issued by the U.S. Postal Service reflected a distinct Eastern orientation, Rosenthal said. Some stamps transcended regional themes, such as the development of the Elvis Presley stamp, which drew thousands of suggestions and comments before it was issued in 1993, he said.
- Legendary Rock Group Deep Purple Is in Korea
(Daily Journal, March 28, 2004)
The five-member hard rock band is here in Korea as part of its Asian tour which includes Japan and Singapore. Formed in the late 60s, Deep Purple has won diehard fans across the world with its unique style of what some describe as "loud 'n' proud" sounds, drawing from various influences such as pop and classical music. "Music comes from other sources. When we're growing up, I listened to what I thought was a legend then. Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, they were legends. But they're just people who made music. And we're just people who make music." bassist Roger Glover said. ...
- Sedaka enjoys chart renaissance
(BBC News, March 28, 2004)
Singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka is enjoying a chart revival in the US, thanks to American Idol's Clay Aiken. Aiken's recording of Sedaka's 1970s song Solitaire has entered the Hot 100 at number four - 20 years since his last chart appearance as a songwriter. The Carpenters' version of the tune, which Sedaka co-wrote with Phil Cody, reached 17 in 1975. Sedaka made his US chart debut as an artist in 1958, while his success as a songwriter also spans 45 years. ... [Solitaire] has also been recorded by Shirley Bassey, Petula Clark, Sheryl Crow and Elvis Presley among others.
Go to earlier articles
|
