Mid April 2004
- Touch of Elvis
By Michael Dwyer
([Melbourne] Age, April 16, 2004)
Steve Poltz was only 10 years old when he "pimped out" his sister to Elvis Presley. He had inside info from the guy who ran Palm Springs Airport. She was 12 or 13, "but she looked 17," the songwriter recalls, "and Elvis hugged her for the looooongest time."
Delivered in full, it's exactly the kind of anecdote that makes the Canadian expat's work so engaging. "I like a song to be like a snippet of conversation or a slice of life," he says, "so the listener feels like we're having a one-on-one talk." The technique has worked on Australian audiences every year since 1999, when Poltz first toured as Jewel's guest. That was after he co-wrote her squillion-selling single You Were Meant For Me. But that's another story.
"So the plane landed and the steps came down and out came Elvis in full-on black leather with the perfect pompadour and long sideburns," he continues. "We were about 100 yards across the tarmac, so we came running all the way up to him and he said: 'Sounds like you kids been a-runnin'.' Just like that." Then came the hug. "It was the first time I remember feeling uncomfortable, seeing another man hug my sister. I remember my mind going through all the options: 'That's not cool,' and then, 'but it's Elvis!' In the end I remember thinking, 'It's OK, Elvis, you can have her'. So I guess that was the time I pimped out my sister for a record deal." Actually, the deal was another 25 years coming. ...
- Joe defines the importance of being Elvis
(iccheshireonline.icnetwork.co.uk / Crewe Chronicle, April 15, 2004)
EXPECT the unexpected when unpredictable, helium-voiced comic Joe Pasquale takes over the Stoke-on-Trent's Victoria Hall on Sunday. The funnyman will have the audience in raptures as he delivers a bone-tickling insight into what he believes are life's important issues. In a tour to celebrate his 10th anniversary in the business, he aims to teach the importance of Elvis Presley's songs and what the human race will become when an asteroid strikes Earth.
- Montreal authors hope new Kurt Cobain book prompts cops to see murder theory
By ANGELA PACIENZA
(Fort St. John / Canadian Press, April 15, 2004)
Hours after Kurt Cobain's body was found in his Seattle greenhouse with what authorities called a self-inflicted gunshot wound, rumours of a plot to take out the popular singer surfaced. The king of the grunge movement was instantly added to the list of stars that murder mythologies have grown up around - a catalogue that includes the decades-old deaths of the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Brian Jones and Elvis Presley and the more recent death of Diana, Princess of Wales. And like most conspiracy theories, dozens of scenarios have been spun since Cobain's death 10 years ago. ...
- Not so posh any more
By Sarfraz Manzoor
(Hindustan Times, April 15, 2004)
'We will never agree on anything,' wrote the American music critic Lester Bangs, 'as we agreed on Elvis.' He wrote those words as part of a now celebrated obituary of Presley, but it was not only Elvis that he was mourning; his might have been the bloated corpse, but he was not the only one who had died. For Bangs the passing of Elvis had robbed America of its most meaningful, most American icon; someone whose biography and back catalogue provided the centrifugal force to hold a restless nation together.
Elvis was gravity, and without him the country would, Bangs feared, be lost in a disunited state of weightless relativism. Once Elvis had left the building for the last time, Bangs foresaw a culture "where along with our nurtured indifference to each other will be an even more contemptuous indifference to each other's objects of reverence. We will continue to fragment in this manner, because solipsism holds all the cards at present; it is a king whose domain engulfs even Elvis's."
Fast-forward 27 years to another century, another country and another fallen king. It might seem like something of a leap from the death of Elvis to the current marital troubles of the England captain - from the Seventies kitsch of Graceland to the Nineties decadence of Beckingham Palace - but I was reminded of Bangs's words and fears while reading some of the acres of coverage about David Beckham. ...
- Grass Roots: Elvis has left building, but fans are in Orchards
By SCOTT HEWITT
(The Columbian, April 15, 2004)
What is it about Elvis Presley that makes so many people not only listen to him and love him but actually want to be him? "I didn't have any other inspirations, I didn't have any sports stars to look up to or anything, so I started listening to Elvis every single day, and I haven't stopped," said 12-year-old Josh Dietrich of Vancouver, recalling the turning point of his life, at age 6 or so, when he first discovered the King of Rock 'n' Roll. His passion grew so quickly that he was ready to play the King in a school talent show by age 8. Josh's mother Joyce is frankly baffled by the way he seems drawn to Elvis.
... If you need even more proof that The King still reigns, look no further than the "If I Can Dream" Elvis Fan Club. Organized by Yacolt resident Trish Garber, the club drew about 10 people to a recent meeting -- including Josh and Joyce Dietrich -- held in the back room at Pied Piper Pizza in Orchards. ... Wherever they hail from, many of the club's far-flung faithful come together during an annual August pilgrimage to Memphis, Tenn. Memphis is the site of Elvis' mansion, Graceland, now a shrine for fans like Garber who visit on the anniversary of her hero's death.
... "One of the things that interests me in doing the research is his choice of songs and what's going on in his life," she said. For example, she pointed out that "Baby Let's Play House" and "Milk Cow Blues" both entered the repertoire as Elvis was considering marriage to Dixie Locke; "Heartbreak Hotel" when he was breaking up with her in 1956, and "I Was The One" after the romance was over. ...
- Polka star an icon
By Andy Grimm
(SAGINAW NEWS, April 13, 2004)
Band leader John B. Lipinski played his first polka as a professional in 1943, taking home $5 and a belly full of wedding cake. While he never grew rich, the Bay City native built a career that spanned seven decades and a life that revolved around his love of polka music. ... Lipinski, 68, died Friday, two months after undergoing heart bypass surgery. ... In 1956 Lipinski formed the John Lipinski Orchestra to play for his own polka show on Channel 5. Shortly after he and his band recorded their first album in 1957, Lipinski was drafted and stationed at Fort Hood, Texas -- alongside fellow draftee and occasional band mate Elvis Presley. ...
- Clinton book's release worries Dems
By Jim Rutenberg and David D. Kirkpatrick
(Daily Review Online / New York Times, April 13, 2004)
As Bill Clinton seeks to finish his memoirs, leading Democrats are voicing concern that the book could overshadow Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign, diverting attention to Clinton's outsized legacy of scandal and achievement. ... The New York Observer recently likened his anticipated book tour to "Elvis Presley's 1968 comeback special."
- EU stops clock on Sony-Bertelsmann music merger
(Yahoo! News / AFP, April 13, 2004)
The European Commission said it had suspended an investigation into the planned merger of the music operations of Sony and Bertelsmann pending further information on the deal. ... The commission wants to clarify the potential impact of the merger on the markets for music recording and publishing, Lueder said, adding that Sony and Bertelsmann welcomed the delay. ... Germany's Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) and Sony Music of Japan announced in December that they planned to merge into a new outfit called SonyBMG. ... The new giant would bring Sony artists ranging from Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion and Elvis Presley together with Bertelsmann talents such as Avril Lavigne and Britney Spears.
- King-sized: Fat Elvis plays up a rockin' gimmick
(Rockford Register Star, April 13, 2004)
Squeezing his 300-pound frame into a white, too-tight polyester jumpsuit complete with blue rhinestones, bell bottoms and an attached cape wasn't too tough for Chris Roser. Nor was it hard to keep the black wig on his bald head and the sunglasses on his face while wiping sweat from his brow. Roser, 33, of Rockford wasn't a dead ringer for Elvis Presley in his later years, when the King's girth was more remarkable than his voice. Even so, Roser looked way more like Elvis than he sounded Friday night at Rockford's Elixur night club. ... Roser is lead singer of Fat Elvis, a quintet that plays dozens of metal and hard rock songs -- but only one Elvis tune so far, "Heartbreak Hotel."
He's the first to admit that the group, known until last December as 2 Big 2 Small, cared more about changing the band's name to grab attention than paying tribute to Mr. Presley. "We were trying to think of a gimmick," Roser said. "We thought, 'Hey, Elvis is the king.' " ... And the prop toilet on stage just sat there. Audience members were supposed to infer that Elvis died at home on the pot. Ha ha.
Lost-pill-bottle jokes aside, the 150 people at Elixur, 3780 E. State St. in Rockford, couldn't have cared less. They were there to party and have fun. ... Does Roser worry about getting in trouble with the keepers of Elvis' legend for using the King's name? "If we get in trouble," Roser said, "we will probably change the name to something like Fat Elvass."
Comments to gbraun@registerstartower.com.
- Rock Music Menu: The King reigns in March Music finals
By ANTHONY J. SANFILIPPO
(Delaware Country Times, April 12, 2004)
"Long live the king! Long live the king!" I must admit I am a little surprised. Turn on the radio anymore and you can still find several stations cranking out Beatles tunes. But search around and you'll have a really hard time catching Elvis Presley songs on the air.
With that in mind, when you voted Elvis to square off with the Fab Four in our March Madness of Music final, I thought the Beatles would win in a landslide. Again, it goes to show what I don't know. Not only did Elvis win, he slaughtered the Beatles in what amounted to an anti-climactic final. It was never close as the King coasted to an easy victory by 38 percent (69-31). So here's what I've learned:
Elvis Presley is the single most important figure in American 20th century popular music. He may not be the best, and he's definitely not the most consistent. But no one could argue with the fact that he was the musician most responsible for popularizing rock 'n' roll on an international level.
Viewed in cold sales figures, his impact was phenomenal. Dozens upon dozens of international smashes from the mid-'50s to the mid-'70s, as well as the steady sales of his catalog and reissues since his death in 1977, makes him the single highest-selling performer worldwide.
More important from a music lover's perspective, however, are his remarkable artistic achievements. Presley was not the first white man to sing rhythm & blues (remember Bill Haley?). But he was certainly the first to fuse country and blues music into the style known as rockabilly. While rockabilly arrangements were the foundation of his first recordings, the King could not have become a mainstream superstar without a more varied repertoire that included pop, gospel, bluegrass and opera. His 1950s recordings established the basic language of rock 'n' roll. His explosive and sexual stage presence set standards for the music's visual image.
Unfortunately, to much of the public, Elvis is more icon than artist.
He made a heap of bad movies. He became a caricature of himself as his mannerisms were copied incessantly. And his personal life was at best peculiar, giving him a mythic status. By his untimely death, Elvis had become more a symbol of mainstream America than of a cultural trailblazer.
The Beatles, all big Elvis fans, displaced Presley as the biggest musical act in the world in 1964. What's more, they did so by writing their own material and playing their own instruments - something Elvis didn't do. Once atop the spectrum of the public eye, The Beatles, and several bands they influenced, took rock 'n' roll to a new level with their experimentation, which in essence, tried to render Elvis irrelevant in the mainstream. And that's where I thought he sat, outside the mainstream, outside the public purview.
That is, until these past six weeks.
- Mariners' woes less than ancient: They date to Aug. 16
By JOHN MCGRATH
(News Tribune, April 12, 2004)
Erratic starting pitching. Shoddy relief from the bullpen. Anemic hitting. Listless defense. Star-crossed strategic decisions. You might presume those are reasons the Seattle Mariners have an 0-5 mark. I've got a better idea. I'm convinced there's a curse at work. ... The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced the Mariners' curse traces back to Aug. 16, when Boston's Pedro Martinez dominated the Mariners at Safeco Field. ... For what it's worth: Babe Ruth died on Aug. 16, 1948. Elvis Presley's Aug. 16 death in 1977 precisely preceded, by 10 years, the famous celestial harmonic convergence of 1987. ...
- COME ON BABY, LET'S DO THE TWIST! - Chubby Checker fans gather to possibly set world record for dancing
By Kelly Marshall
(Sun News, April 11, 2004)
Chubby Checker fans of all ages danced, twirled and shouted with joy as their own American idol appeared Saturday at Broadway at the Beach. More than 100 locals and visitors shook a tail feather with Checker while attempting to break a world record for the number of people doing the twist and other dances including the electric slide, the cha-cha slide and the limbo. ... Some compared the experience to meeting Elvis Presley, because they had listened to Checker's music for decades. "This man is a music icon," said Michael Visnich of Conway. "Elvis had the hips, and Chubby did the twist. Put the two together, and you have rock 'n' roll." ...
- L.A. starmaker's sad tale: AWASH IN CELEBRITY, BAY AREA NATIVE NEARLY DROWNED
By Brad Kava
(Mercury News, April 9, 2004)
It's a question every high school student ponders: Would you rather be hugely rich or fabulously famous? "Mayor of the Sunset Strip,'' a biography of radio disc jockey Rodney Bingenheimer, is a chilling picture of what happens to those who make the second choice. ... While his name doesn't roll off too many tongues today, he was a brightly glowing fixture in the dark Hollywood firmament of the 1960s, '70s and '80s, a place where the road didn't go on forever, and the party came to a depressing end. ... Courtney Love "stalked him.'' He was a starmaker and groupie taker, a self-described "designated driver between the famous and the not-so-famous.'' If you wanted to sleep with a star like Elvis Presley, Robert Plant or Mick Jagger and you couldn't, you took their friend Rodney, the next-best thing. ...
- Rules sought for genetic sleuths
By Glennda Chui
(Mercury News, April 9, 2004)
You may take secrets with you to the grave, but it's getting harder to keep them there. With the advent of powerful genetic tests, there's nothing to stop someone from teasing medical secrets from a lock of hair or bit of bone. Now a group from Chicago is drawing up what may be the first set of ethical guidelines for biohistorical analysis. It will address, among other things, whether scientists should be allowed to test the remains of historical figures only after getting the consent of their descendants.
Most of the time, these tests are done on famous folks. Researchers have probed Einstein's brain to see why he was so smart and tested strands of Beethoven's hair, preserved at San Jose State University, to see if he suffered from lead poisoning. Locks from the likes of Napoleon, Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe are in the hands of private collectors and available for testing, for a price. ... In the case of someone like Elvis, who died relatively recently, there are laws that protect the interests of his survivors and the handling of his remains, Shapiro said. And in cases where someone has been dead a long time, it would be impractical and unnecessary to track down descendants and get their consent. ...
- Casting Announced for Goodspeed's 'All Shook Up,' Musical With Songs Elvis Made Famous
By Kenneth Jones
(Yahoo! News, April 8, 2004)
Casting has been announced for Goodspeed Musicals' developmental staging of All Shook Up, the new musical about a town in middle America shaken by the arrival of a leather-jacketed stranger. Set to the tunes made famous by Elvis Presley, you might say it's a show that merges Norman Rockwell and rock 'n' roll - all in the conformity-conscious 1950s. ...
- ELVIS SINGLE ON THE AIR AGAIN/ELVIS TOP 10 IN BILLBOARD
(Rick Hendrix Company, April 8, 2004)
Nashville,TN - Elvis Presley will be hitting the airwaves again soon, with his first National release in years. Rick Hendrix of the Rick Hendrix Company in Nashville, TN was left with the decision to choose the national release for RCA/BMG and Elvis' first gospel single. Elvis' first ever gospel collection "Elvis-Ultimate Gospel' was released March 23 to retail, and debuted in Billboard Magazines HOT SHOT DEBUT in the Top 10, and was Elvis first appearance in the Country Billboard Top 40 Album Charts in 26 years. The single Hendrix chose for radio is a Happy Goodman's tune penned by Rusty Goodman called "Who Am I." More than 250 million Elvis gospel recordings have been sold in the U.S. alone, but never before has there been a greatest hits collection of these inspirational songs. For more information go to www.rickhendrix.com.
- A musical tour of Memphis
(USA TODAY, April 8, 2004)
Elvis Presley's regal, 14-acre estate draws millions of fans to Memphis, but Graceland is merely the gravy on the city's meatier legacy. Every root of American popular music took hold here. By day, explore the history of rock, soul, R&B, jazz, gospel and blues at; by night, boogie to authentic or polished forms of the music. To prepare, tune your radio to WDIA-AM 1070 (where B.B. King used to be a deejay) or WEVL-FM 89.9 (run by roots-savvy volunteers), and head out on the ultimate Memphis music tour.
Don't miss: The audioclip of civil rights figure Ben Branch playing saxophone on Precious Lord, Take My Hand, fulfilling a request that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. made shortly before his assassination. The hub of black nightlife in the 1920s fell into decay but was resurrected in the 1980s as a glitzy, tourist-friendly, Bourbon Streetwannabe area of music clubs, rib joints, bars and souvenir shops.
Don't miss: B.B. King's presents big-name acts; the Memphis Music record shop offers a broad collection of regional artists.
Sun Studio
706 Union Ave.; 800-441-6249; admission: $9.50. If rock 'n' roll had a single birthplace, it would be this tiny, well-preserved studio where Sam Phillips recorded everyone from Howlin' Wolf to Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. A room houses modest memorabilia, but the studio is the reason to visit.
Don't miss: The 'X' is said to mark where 18-year-old Elvis stood while recording his first single, That's All Right, in 1954.
Stax Museum of American Soul Music
926 E. McLemore Ave.; 888-942-7685; admission: $9.
Built on the site of the original Stax Records studio, this new museum explores how a tiny company became a force for black economic empowerment when it unleashed the ferociously funky sounds of Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Isaac Hayes, Carla and Rufus Thomas, the Staple Singers and others.
Don't miss: A rebuilt 100-year-old church from rural Mississippi and Isaac Hayes' 1972 peacock-blue Superfly Cadillac with gold windshield wipers.
Graceland
3764 Elvis Presley Blvd.; 800-238-2000; elvis.com; admission $18. The ultimate pop-culture shrine contains Elvis' entire mythos: his home, jets, cars, jumpsuits, tombstone.
Don't miss: Anything.
Full Gospel Tabernacle
787 Hale Road; 901-396-9192 The Rev. Al Green, a soul great icon, preaches and sings gospel here most Sundays. Services begin around 11:15 a.m.
Don't miss: The dynamic gospel choir backed by an electric rhythm section. Even if the good reverend is absent, the choir will cleanse and rejuvenate your spirit.
Memphis Wild Bill's 1580 Vollintine; 901-726-5473; admission, usually $5. This small, no-frills club, the last of the city's authentic juke joints, is for the fervent - not faint - of heart.
Don't miss: The Hollywood All-Stars, who hold forth most weekends with classic blues/R&B/soul.
- Elvis fan's Graceland plans put on hold
By Jeremy Hudson
(Clarion-Ledger, April 8, 2004)
Peter Georgi of Los Angeles has been an Elvis Presley fan nearly all of his life, but he had never visited Graceland in Memphis. He and seven other family members flew from Los Angeles to New Orleans, where they boarded the Amtrak train and headed for Memphis on Tuesday. ... Giorgi, who has Elvis-style sideburns, had just finished dinner with his 7-year-old nephew when the train tipped and began a slide on the gravel [and overturned]. ... No one in their party suffered life-threatening injuries, and they still plan to reach Graceland. But they are considering renting a car. Giorgi said he hopes he gets his luggage back soon. "I need my camera for Graceland," he said. "I almost went back and got it, but it was too dark and I was too tired."
- Credit card companies focus on prepaid products
By Nicole Maestri
(forbes.com / Reuters, April 8, 2004)
They look like regular credit or debit cards, but come with an added kick. They are so-called prepaid cards -- plastic cards with money already loaded. Also known as gift cards, they are a bright spot in an otherwise crowded market for card issuers American Express Co., Visa USA and MasterCard International, research firm TowerGroup said in a report. ... Visa and MasterCard offer their gift cards through partnerships with member banks, with offerings such as the Bank of America Visa Gift Card and KeyBank's Elvis Presley prepaid MasterCard. They can be used anywhere a Visa or MasterCard debit card is accepted. ...
- Rock critic's song on Passion CD
(BBC Online, April 8, 2004)
A rock critic has told of his surprise and delight after a song he wrote was picked by director Mel Gibson for a CD to accompany The Passion of the Christ. Harm's Way, recorded by Daily Telegraph writer Neil McCormick, sits alongside tunes from rock luminaries such as Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and Nick Cave. Mr McCormick, 43, who went to school in Dublin with members of U2, wrote the song about a friend with drug problems. He said he was flattered to be among Gibson's "spiritual" song selections. "Apart from the sheer amazement I'm incredibly pleased," he told BBC News Online. "After 14 years of rejection I always felt I had it in me to be a rock star. For a critic fulfilling a dismal destiny, to be plucked out of the ether and end up on an album between Elvis Presley and Leonard Cohen is very flattering." ...
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