June 2004
- The King gets Sirius
By MICHAEL STARR
(Yahoo! News, June 30, 2004)
Sirius Satellite Radio will launch Elvis Radio - all Elvis Presley, all the time - on Friday. The station is sanctioned by the Presley estate; in fact, a rotating roster of DJs will be spinning Elvis tunes from a studio at Graceland. ...
- Elvis couple's baby name dilemma
(Australian, June 30, 2004)
A Belgian couple whose 15 children's names are linked to Elvis Presley say they cannot think of a name for their 16th child. Jean-Pierre and Carine Antheunis, from Gent in Belgium, are lifelong Elvis fans and their children's names include Elvis, Priscilla, Dakota and Tennessee. But the pair have said they don't know what to call their new baby boy. ³"If it had been a girl we would have called her Linda. Elvis once had a lover with that name,² said Jean-Pierre. "But we have run out of ideas for a boy."
- Elvis to rock around the clock
From correspondents in New York
(Australian, June 29, 2004)
A US satellite radio company is launching a special channel that will broadcast Elvis Presley's music 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The commercial free "Elvis Radio" will debut on July 2 with a live broadcast from Memphis, Tennessee, where thousands of Elvis fans are expected to gather over the Fourth of July holiday weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the king's first single That's All Right.
Sirius Satellite Radio believes it can avoid overly repetitive content by tapping the extensive Presley catalogue, including hit singles, 'B' sides, rarities, movie soundtracks and live concert recordings. ...
- Original Elvis Presley Single Hits Number One On The Charts
By LAUNCH Radio Networks
(Launch, June 28, 2004)
Billboard magazine reports that the single, "That's All Right" by Elvis Presley, will be jumping from Number 11 to Number One on the Hot Singles Sales Charts for the week ending July 3, 2004. According to Reuters, the song, which was originally recorded on July 5, 1954, has become the nation's best-selling single exactly 50 years to the date of its recording at the Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, after being re-released internationally. "That's All Right" is considered by many to be the very first rock and roll single, as well as the start of Elvis Presley's career. It's being celebrated worldwide on July 5--its 50th Anniversary--with various events around the world.
- SIRIUS Satellite Radio and Graceland Create All-Elvis Presley Radio Channel
(/PRNewswire, June 28, 2004)
SIRIUS, the premium satellite radio provider known for delivering the very best in commercial-free music and sports programming to cars and homes across the country, today announced the launch of Elvis Radio, a 24/7 all-Elvis Presley(R) radiochannel. All day, every day, Elvis Radio will celebrate "The King of Rock 'n' Roll(R)" by airing the entire spectrum of his career: His extensive catalog of hit singles ... the rarities ... the "B" sides ... the "Sun" years ... the movie soundtracks ... and his wonderful concerts. Elvis Radio will be hosted daily by SIRIUS DJs from a specially designed studio in the Plaza at Graceland, Elvis' Memphis, TN home.
Elvis Radio will debut July 2 on SIRIUS with a spectacular live broadcast from Memphis, TN. Elvis fans from around the world are expected at Graceland and the Sun Studio during the Fourth of July weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Elvis' first single, "That's All Right."
"Elvis Presley was a true pioneer, a man of many firsts in our world," said Jack Soden, President & CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. "It seems natural for Elvis to be the first artist to have a satellite radio station exclusively devoted to his work. It's especially fitting that the launch of Elvis Radio happens to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the beginning of his career. What a great way to celebrate!" ...
- Elvis comeback special director fought Col. Tom Parker -- and won
By Brett Johnson
(dailyreviewonline / SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE, June 28, 2004)
STEVE Binder had the guts to tell Elvis Presley his career was in the toilet and scored a rare victory in a power struggle with the singer's domineering manager, "Colonel" Tom Parker. Then Binder went out, turned a brainstorm into a jam session and directed the TV special that restored Elvis to greatness. That was in June 1968. Fast-forward 36 years, when a deluxe seven-hour DVD edition of Binder's Elvis show was released as part of a celebration of an Elvis milestone. The movie came just two weeks before the 50th anniversary of the day -- July 5, 1954 -- Elvis walked into Sun Studios in Memphis, Tenn., to cut his first record, "That's All Right." Many consider that moment to be the birth of rock'n' roll, although others trace rock's origins back further. A DVD of a 1973 Elvis Hawaii special and two CDs of historic music from Elvis and others also were released last week. The 1968 "Comeback Special" that resurrected Elvis Presley's career includes the original TV show as it aired, plus two solo concerts and two jam sessions whose performances were used as the core of the broadcast. The three-disc set also features previously unused takes of the show's two main production numbers.
50 years of The King
Suddenly, with the big 5-0 milestone looming, many are talkin' Elvis again. Binder has loads of memories from working with The King all those years ago -- vivid, fond, funny and otherwise. "If someone had told me back then that I would be getting interviewed in 2004 about the Elvis special we did, I would have said, 'No way,'" Binder, now 62, said from a couch in his Mandalay Bay townhouse recently. After the 1968 special, Elvis had a new spotlight and hit Vegas shows almost up until his death in 1977 at age 42.
Parker died in 1997 at age 87. Binder has had a long career as director and producer. But for a few memorable weeks in 1968, they were together, making a little magic and history. The original show, called simply "Elvis," aired on NBC on Dec. 3, 1968. If Parker had had his way, it likely would have been just another show with a celebrity singing Christmas chestnuts, probably soon forgotten. But in Binder's hands, and with The King's backing, it became legendary. Binder got the idea to have Elvis and friends jam onstage, performing his hits and interacting with the crowd -- a forerunner of the so-called "Unplugged" concept long before MTV even existed. He had Elvis do numbers with a full orchestra as well. What they caught was Elvis on fire, dressed in a tight black leather suit for the jam sessions, oozing charisma, energy and sexuality. He was back.
Career salvation
Almost four decades later, the show still resonates in many places, including at Elvis' sprawling Graceland complex in Memphis. "It was career salvation," said Todd Morgan, director of media and creative development for Elvis Presley Enterprises there and also one of the producers of the new DVD on the 1968 show. "Of course, who could possibly know what would have happened if the TV special hadn't come along? Maybe there would have been another way to reboot his career. But who knows?"
Binder grew up in Los Angeles, went to film school at the University of Southern California and did radio during an ensuing Army stint. Later, he landed a job on a New York-based music show called "Hullabaloo" and then directed TV specials for Leslie Uggams, and another with Petula Clark and Harry Belafonte. After the Clark-Belafonte special, Binder got a call from Bob Finkel, an executive producer at NBC. Parker, Finkel told him, had struck a deal with the network to do an Elvis special. Finkel wanted Binder to direct and co-produce it. Binder was 26. "I was so young," Binder said. "I couldn't believe all this was happening."
Hitting it off
Binder agreed to a meeting with Elvis. The two hit it off, even though Binder was frank with The King. "Basically, I told him I thought his career was in the toilet," Binder said. Binder pitched a rough outline for the show; Elvis liked it. They agreed that Elvis would go off to Hawaii to get in shape for the special. They started putting the show together in June 1968. Binder was determined to make the suave Elvis and his music the show's focus. Parker had other ideas: He wanted the show to be Elvis doing 20 Christmas songs, with no talking between numbers.
Every night after rehearsals and tapings, Binder noticed that Elvis would go to his dressing room and jam away with old friends. They would sing, play and joke. "I said: 'Wait a minute, this is history. I want to film this,'" Binder said. "And Elvis had a great sense of humor; I was determined to get that in there." Parker at first said no to taping in the dressing room but later relented on the idea as long as they did it on the studio stage. So the jam-session portion of the show was born. "I was certainly fascinated by Elvis, but truthfully, I was not into his music," Binder said. "I liked the West Coast sound, the Beach Boys and such. On the other hand, when I saw him perform through my camera lens, I accepted him for how great he really was. The cool part for me seeing it through the lens was seeing him visually build his confidence. When he realized they (the studio audience) loved him, he simply could not give them enough."
Once taping was over, Parker found out about the show's thrust and threatened to pull out of the project unless NBC included at least one Christmas song. Fortunately, Binder said, during one improv session Elvis had sung "Blue Christmas" and he had it on tape, so he agreed to throw that in. Binder edited the show down, and showed Elvis the final product. The King, he said, was pleased with it.
- Elvis still an influence for McDowell
By TAMELA MEREDITH PARTRIDGE
(Herald & Review, June 25, 2004)
Country singer, songwriter, and celebrity voicen;impersonator Ronnie McDowell will perform a show of country, pop, rock 'n' roll, gospel and '50s and '60s music at Nashville North USA in Taylorville Saturday. "I've never really counted the amount of voices that I mimic," says McDowell, who will be signing autographs after the show. "But to name a few, I mimic Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Louis Armstrong, Little Richard and Johnny Cash." McDowell first hit the country charts with the self-penned 1977 Elvis Presley tribute single, "The King Is Gone."
"That song touched millions of people all over the world," McDowell says. "Which was amazing to me. But that's the beauty of songwriting. You get to say something special, in just a fraction of a different way, and it can have a meaningful impact." ...
- No need to cry for him; Michael still has his money
By Liz Smith, George Rush and Joanna Molloy
(Baltimore Sun, June 21, 2004)
Michael Jackson does have problems, but they're not of the financial kind. Despite reports that the Gloved One is plagued by money woes stemming from numerous debts, the pop star is still bringing in the bucks. Jackson, whose financial affairs have been taken over by no-nonsense brother Randy, cried money problems this year when his $150 million worth of debt came due. But his loans were recently renegotiated, and he still has $500 million in assets, including half of the Sony/ATV Music Publishing song catalogue, which brings him $40 million a year alone. ... The catalogue contains more than 4,000 songs by the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Fleetwood Mac, Dr. Dre, Sheryl Crow, Marc Anthony, Neil Diamond and Destiny's Child, in addition to classics by Hank Williams and Roy Orbison. So the next time you download "Your Cheatin' Heart" or "Suspicious Minds," coins will roll Jackson's way.
- Listing 50 great moments of rock 'n' roll
(Yahoo! India News, June 21, 2004)
Rock 'n' roll has truly gone gold as it celebrates its 50th anniversary - with a listing of its 50 great moments, reports UPI. A special issue of the Rolling Stone magazine has been brought out, called "50 Moments that Changed the History of Rock & Roll". The great moments are listed in chronological order, rather than in order of their magnitude of greatness, assistant managing editor Jason Fine said. That was done to avoid debate over which one moment was greater than another in the evolution of rock 'n' roll.
However, the list begins with a moment that the magazine staff voted as the birth of rock 'n' roll -- the July 5, 1954, recording session at Sun Studio in Memphis when a 19-year-old Elvis Presley recorded "That's All Right". That declaration overlooks the historical data. Bill Haley and the Comets recorded "Rock Around the Clock" several months earlier, in April 1954. One of the fascinating components of the special issue is firsthand accounts from many of those who were not only present at, but who were significantly responsible for, the creation of some classic rock 'n' roll. ...
- Rolling Stone lists landmark moments in rock
(seattlepi.com, June 21, 2004)
Latest issue of Rolling Stone, dated this Thursday, digs into the archives to come up with a list of the "50 Moments That Changed Rock and Roll." Some of the defining events include the release of Elvis Presley's first record from Sun Records, Motown's first road trip, James Brown's night at the Apollo, Bob Dylan's non-acoustic concert in Newport, the release of "Sgt. Pepper's" by the Beatles and the debut of MTV. As the saying goes, if you can remember some of these moments -- particularly the "Summer of Love" in San Francisco and the Woodstock festival in upstate New York -- you probably weren't there.
- Small audience fills arena with memories: Employees gather to fondly recall the strange, populist hodgepodge that was the Bayfront Arena's legacy. It is slated for demolition
By TOM ZUCCO
(St Petersburg Times Santa Bay, June 21, 2004)
The night of the last event at the Times Arena at Bayfront Center, Jack Johnson looked up at the sea of empty seats and spotted the life-sized cardboard cutout of a young Elvis Presley that someone planted at the base of the stands. The night the King played the Bayfront Center? Sure he remembered. The line for tickets wound outside the building, across the parking lot and all the way to First Street SE. They were people in their 30s and 40s mostly, because by February 1977, Elvis had fallen to a B-list nostalgia act. But sporadic scuffles broke out as fans jostled for position, and police had to be called to maintain order. Across the street at the Hilton, Presley remained holed up in his room.
At the time, Johnson was a city production manager whose primary responsibility was staging events inside the Bayfront Center. He rigged steel cages for pro wrestling matches, helped spread tons of dirt on the floor when the rodeo came to town, set up barricades for demolition derbys, an ice rink for hockey games, and a revolving stage for Liberace and Tom Jones. "So everyone could see them. They were huge." Johnson, 67, retired from the city two years ago. But like a lot of his co-workers, he couldn't keep away from the arena and stayed on as a parttime stage hand. ... The Bayfront Center is not on a list of historic places, and it never had the aura of the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco or the Apollo Theater in New York. On the day of the last event, it was barren except for Elvis, the flag, and the dozen or so tables set up for the farewell dinner that evening.
... "When it was time for Elvis' show," Johnson recalled, "they brought his limo to the back and I had to have steps with handrails for him to hold. And they had a rule that no women were allowed in his dressing room. Not even women police officers. "I don't think he wanted them to see what he looked like. Six months later, he was dead." But that night at the Bayfront Center, the King managed to deliver one more time. "He'd sing the first few bars of a song," Johnson said, "and then his background singers and his band took over. "But the women loved him. He threw them his silk scarfs, and the women fought over them. "He gave people what they wanted. Sort of like this place did."
- Justin Timberlake, Isaac Hayes To Join In Elvis Celebration
By Jon Wiederhorn
(MTVAsia.com, June 21, 2004)
The day after Independence Day is when the fireworks will really be popping in Memphis, Tennessee. As part of the city's festivities surrounding the 50th anniversary of the birth of rock and roll, Justin Timberlake, funk pioneer Isaac Hayes, Elvis guitarist Scotty Moore, actor/singer Billy Bob Thornton and others will gather at the legendary Sun Studios on July 5 - 50 years to the day after Elvis Presley's "That's All Right" was recorded there in 1954. The bluesy, up-tempo song -- which featured Moore on guitar and Bill Black on bass -- is widely considered to have started the rock revolution.
J
J. Timberlake, who was born in Memphis, has often credited Elvis as one of his main influences. At noon on the 5th, he, Moore, Hayes and "Wooly Bully" author Sam the Sham will take part in the "Global Moment In Time," during which radio stations across the world have agreed to play "That's All Right." Organizers hope they will set a record for the most simultaneous airplay for a single song. The Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau will host a daylong event that will feature performances and speeches. "We are thrilled that Justin is coming home to join us as we celebrate this musical milestone," Bureau president Kevin Kane said. "He is already a world-renowned artist, and his work continues to extend Memphis' musical influence to the next generation."
- French pop icon says he'll adopt Vietnamese child
(Yahoo! News, June 20, 2004)
The veteran French rock star Johnny Hallyday and his 29-year-old wife Laeticia intend to adopt a little Vietnamese girl. In a front-page interview in the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, the man known to millions of French rock fans as simply "Johnny" said the couple had not given up hopes of having a child of their own, despite a miscarriage suffered by Laeticia last week. "We are certainly going to adopt a little Vietnamese girl," Hallyday told the paper, adding: which will not stop us having a child of our own later, when she (Laeticia) has recovered." The singer, who was born in Paris in 1943 to a Belgian father and a French mother, rose to fame in the early 1960's with renditions of popular music by US rock stars such as Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry.
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