Mid September 2004
- Johnny Cash auction soars above expert estimates
(Yahoo! News / AFP, September 15, 2004)
An acoustic guitar, custom made for Johnny Cash, sold for 131,200 dollars at an auction from the late country legend's estate where furious bidding pushed lots way above the expected prices. ... Smaller items also far exceeded expectations with a photo of Elvis Presley inscribed to June Cash, which was estimated at 1,200 dollars, going for 18,000 dollars. ...
- Couple opens Halloween-themed store in Missoula for six weeks
By ROBERT STRUCKMAN
(Missoulian, September 15, 2004)
Maybe you're in the market for a pair of spider-web nylons or a bloody sword. Could be you thought you'd need a remote control rat or a child's Elvis Presley outfit complete with sunglasses and sideburns. Or maybe a severed hand. ... "Well, that's what it's called: The Gory Hand," Lerum said. The phenomenon of temporary Halloween superstores has come to Missoula. With merchandise fresh out of boxes, the stuff won't have much chance to gather dust. ...
'The King' is in the building: Elvis Presley impersonator to strut his stuff in Vernon
(Times Record News, September 14, 2004)
The Wilbarger Memorial Auditorium will play host to "Elvis Presley" at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Kraig Parker, appearing with a 10-piece orchestra, will present a host of Elvis songs accompanied by all the traditional Elvis moves. In July, Parker appeared as Elvis at the Wichita Theatre. Theatre manager Dewayne Jackson said that the performer was "a phenomenal success in Wichita Falls." ...
Usher's CONFESSIONS (Special Edition) is Coming October 5th: New expanded version of 9 million-selling global hit album with 4 bonus cuts
(prnewswire.com, September 13, 2004)
LaFace/Zomba artist Usher is already on
the fast track to being named Top Artist of 2004 with CONFESSIONS ... Usher made Billboard "Chart Beat" history this year when he replaced his
own #1 Hot 100 hit "Yeah!" (after 12 weeks) with "Burn" -- thus becoming only
the 8th act in the rock era (since 1955) to occupy the #1/ #2 spots in any one
week, an elite crew that comprises Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Boyz II Men, P.
Diddy, Ja Rule, Nelly, OutKast -- and Usher. ...
Nashville Drummer Kenny Buttrey Dead at 59: Session Player Anchored Blonde on Blonde, "Margaritaville," Among Others
By Chet Flippo
(cmt.com, September 13, 2004)
Kenny Buttrey, one of the most influential session musicians in Nashville history, died at home in Nashville on Sunday (Sept. 12) of cancer. He was 59. ... Other artists with whom Buttrey recorded include Bob Seger, Elvis Presley, Steve Goodman, Dan Fogleberg, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Donovan, George Harrison, J.J. Cale, Joan Baez, Kris Kristofferson, the Everly Brothers, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, the Beau Brummels and John Hammond.
UK Pink Floyd fans needed to vote for Hall of Fame C4 show
(Roger Waters Online, September 13, 2004)
Although Pink Floyd have missed out on becoming one of the founding members of the UK's Music Hall of Fame, fans will soon get to vote for them to join other inductees at a huge concert planned for late November @ the Hackney Empire. The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, Madonna and U2 have all been awarded founding member status due to their impact over the years on British music. A further five artists will be chosen over five 2 hour special TV shows to be broadcast on Channel 4 (The event is also being supported by E4, radio, an on-line web site and via various printed press outlets) all strting in October. Members of the public will be invited to vote for a winner after being introduced to 10 chosen acts from each decade; beginning in the 50's (show 1) and ending in the 90's (show 5). ...
- 22 companies passed century mark
By Kevin Walters
(Hattiesburg American, September 13, 2004)
For a company to reach the 100 year peak like the Merchants Co. isn't so uncommon. In Mississippi, there are dozens of companies pushing the century mark, or more. In Hattiesburg, for example, Komp Equipment Co. - now mainly known as Komp Industrial Welding Supply - was founded in 1889 by George Komp, great grandfather of current co-owner, George Komp, 48. ... The Mississippi Development Authority lists 22 Mississippi-based companies that can trace their roots back to the 19th century. The oldest, based on the MDA's records, would be Columbus Marble Works Inc. which would be 158 years old this year. ... As far as towns go, next year Tupelo may have the bragging rights to having the most 100-year-old companies. Jim High, assistant director for the Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association and the Elvis Presley Festival, expects to see six companies still in operation after 100 years when Reed's department store turns 100.
- Casting Announced for Broadway's All Shook Up
By Andrew Gans and Kenneth Jones
(Playbill, September 13, 2004)
Complete casting has been announced for" All Shook Up", the new original musical comedy about a small town shaken awake by a mysterious, leather-jacketed stranger. ... Featuring a score made up of tunes Elvis Presley made famous, All Shook Up will play the Palace Theatre starting Feb. 20, 2005. Opening is March 24. Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change) fashioned the original libretto to All Shook Up. Directed by Christopher Ashley, All Shook Up will receive its world premiere in Chicago in a five-week, pre Broadway engagement at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre, Dec. 21, 2004-Jan. 23, 2005. Ken Roberson is the musical's choreographer. "A new musical comedy set in 1955, All Shook Up is not a biographical revue," according to the announcement. "Somewhere in middle America - one girl's wish and a surprise visit from a mysterious leather jacketed, guitar playing stranger will lead a small town to discover the magic of romance and the power of rock & roll. This irresistible new musical features 24 legendary Elvis classics including 'Heartbreak Hotel,' 'Love Me Tender,' 'Don't Be Cruel,' 'Can't Help Falling in Love' and 'All Shook Up.'" ...
- Fenway becomes an island paradise: Buffett fans seek lost shaker of salt
By Heather Allen
(Boston Globe, September 11, 2004)
Margaritaville arrived at Fenway Park yesterday. Parrotheads and Hawaiian shirts replaced Red Sox caps and jerseys. Fans came from across New England and as far as Maryland to hear Jimmy Buffett. And they arrived in full Parrothead garb: grass skirts, flip-flops, colorful T-shirts, and coconut bras. ... Elvis Presley even made an appearance. Coordinating costumes with Buffett lyrics, Lou and Cristina Bettencourt dressed as Elvis and the gypsy Carmen. ...
- Elvis Presley's "Hurricane Killer" launched against Hurricane Ivan
By Flash Nitrate
(The Spoof, September 11, 2004)
Hurricane Ivan, now downgraded to category 5 will nuke much of the southern U.S. if it hits. One lone atmospheric scientist is risking his life to save his part of the world. Luke Shaw, meteorologist for WCLE in Atlanta discovered years ago a patent registered to Elvis Presley for a device that, according to Presley will turn a category 5 killer hurricane into a summer rain shower complete with rainbow.
Reporters asked Shaw what the effects of a direct hit by a purely theoretical category 6 hurricane with winds of 400 mph would be.
Shaw said, "Imagine a hyperactive 2 year old in a china shop. Better yet, imagine Oprah set loose in an all you can eat Krispy Kreme. Thank God I found Mr Presley's hurricane machine. Miami will look like Hiroshima if we can't stop Ivan, potentially a totally impossible
category 6 storm."
CNN did confirm that an official U.S. Patent, 393193, was issued to one Elvis Aron Presley May 3, 1961. Shaw for the past 15 years has been constructing a "hurricane killer" using Presley's schematics.
Lisa Marie Presley told reporters that, yes, her father was a closet scientist, IQ up there with Einstein's but given a choice between making millions playing a guitar or living off foodstamps as an atmospheric nuclear quantum physicist .. chose to be the king of rock instead.
"His song Caught in a trap", Lisa went on to add, "was inspired when dad noticed that the orbits of stray electrons in a deuterium isotope couldn't quite escape because of the weak nuclear force generate by the nucleus of .. I'm sorry .. I don't remember all dad told me that night. Michael knows all this, I told him." Popular Science Magazine examined Elvis's hurricane machine patent. One spokesman said,
"Presley apparently discovered a way to generate inverse high pressure waves via low frequency sonic waves directed along a 2 mm cohesive laser beam pulsating at 27.9 mhz asynchronously. Such a force could theoretically dissipate a low pressure atmospheric disturbance."
Shaw is currently attempting to land an amphibious helicopter flat in the middle of Hurricane Ivan, near the coast of Jamaica. Speaking to CNN reporters via cell phone this morning he said,
"The winds are picking up as we try to set down in the middle of the category 5 killer storm. If Elvis's Laser theories are correct, once we set down in the eye we'll power up the machine, drop it into the water, trigger the quantum pulsar waves and .. hope for the best. Somehow I've got a bad feeling about .."
CNN reporters say they lost contact with Shaw and his crew about 45 minutes ago.
- How Elvis got back in the building
By Julia Baird
(Sydney Morning Herald, September 11, 2004)
... There is a booming area of study about email overload and how to cope with it. The Toronto office of a public relations firm decided to place a large bust of Elvis Presley on the desk of any employee who sends an email that should not have been sent. It's called the Return to Sender award. The senior vice-president of the firm said it was trying to cut down on the amount of email being sent within the office, particularly looping too many people into distribution lists and emailing people who sit just metres away. She claims Elvis has cut email traffic by at least 10 per cent. ...
- Dry - but never bland
By Philip Key
(icliverpool.com, September 10, 2004)
THE singer PJ Proby might be charitably described as a colourful character. A large, raw-boned, pony-tail-wearing Texan, his life story is the stuff of legend. Singing from the age of three, he worked with people like Elvis Presley and Tennessee Ernie Ford and performed under a variety of names (he was born plain Jim Smith). Brian Epstein brought him to England for a Beatles special when he became an overnight sensation. Notorious for his womanising and drinking, Proby managed to get himself banned from British stages after he split his trousers at two concerts. ...
- The Elvis Detective: Jorgensen Preserves The King's Legacy
By Alana Nash, edited By Barry A. Jeckell
(Billboard, September 10, 2004)
The year was 1999. Ernst Mikael Jorgensen sat nervously in the lobby of the Hotel Nikko in Beverly Hills, Calif. A man who grew up reading detective novels in his native Denmark, he was about to experience a cloak-and-dagger caper of his own making. A middleman chosen by a jittery seller would soon deliver 25 Elvis Presley tapes stolen from RCA long ago, including the master for "Heartbreak Hotel" and the outtakes for "It's Now or Never." Carrying a bag stuffed with $10,000 in cash, Jorgensen was so edgy that the night before he hadn't been able to eat. He didn't dare leave his hotel room with that much money. He never learned the name of the seller, but he got what he came for -- no surprise to those who know the tall, mild-mannered Dane as the Columbo of rock.
Jorgensen, a record producer/compiler/researcher, has earned a reputation not only for ferreting out Presley's lost recordings, but also for cataloging the King's music and documenting elusive concert dates. Today he rides his own private "Mystery Train" as one of the premier redeemers of Presley's legacy as an electrifying performer and seminal recording artist. Without Jorgensen's work chronicling Presley's recording sessions and artfully preserving and packaging his BMG catalog, the image of the singer at the end of his life -- a sad self-caricature -- might have lingered in the American consciousness.
Instead, Presley is largely remembered the way Jorgensen thinks of him, as "probably the most important star of all time." Just how the 53-year-old Jorgensen came to rescue Presley's creative standing and put him back on the top of the charts decades after his death is a story so unlikely it could be the subject of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. It all started in the early '60s with Jorgensen's sister, who bought the singles "It's Now or Never," "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame" and "Little Sister." The last is "the one that really caught my attention," Jorgensen says.
Jorgensen didn't get his own record player until 1963, when he was 13. The first albums he bought were by the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. But he also began collecting early Elvis Presley records. By 1967, however, when Presley sang "Old McDonald" on the soundtrack to the movie "Double Trouble," Jorgensen recalls in his Nordic accent, "I found it very hard to defend my appreciation for Elvis' music."
PUT ON THE PATH
Then came "Big Boss Man," which rekindled Jorgensen's passion and set his destiny. "I couldn't understand how an artist could go from the absolute ridiculous to the bluesy character of 'Big Boss Man.' Underneath all the movie trash were, from time to time, wonderful recordings that seemed to come from a different planet and even from a different artist. But I was a fan of detective novels, and history was my favorite class in school, so I thought, 'I want to find out.'"
The 16-year-old ran smack into the dictate of Colonel Tom Parker, Presley's longtime manager, of withholding information, even about when the records were made or which musicians played on them. Along with two friends, Johnny Mikkelsen and Erik Rasmussen, Jorgensen began a fierce letter-writing campaign to RCA, and later to musicians' unions and engineers. He learned how master serial numbers indicated when songs were recorded and assembled as much minutia as possible about Presley's recording sessions. ... In time, Jorgensen and his friends acquired the early paperwork of legendary RCA VP of pop A&R Steve Sholes. Jorgensen also began corresponding with Presley's producer, Felton Jarvis; shortly after the singer's Stax sessions in 1973, Jarvis shared with Jorgensen details of 10 new tracks that wouldn't be released for another year.
The three Danish researchers began self-publishing pamphlets of the information they had compiled, and soon Jorgensen attained a certain notoriety, as well as an inkling of his future. Years later, the pamphlets would form the foundation of his exhaustive 1998 book, "Elvis Presley: A Life in Music - The Complete Recording Sessions," which is recognized as a definitive reference. Originally planning to become a teacher, Jorgensen moonlighted as a mailman to support his studies at the University of Copenhagen. But he dreamed of a way to somehow get involved with Presley's music.
Dropping out of school in 1976, he took a job at a rack-jobber, and his career in the recording industry began. At one point, he started his own label, It's Magic. But a job as GM of PolyGram Denmark led to his appointment as managing director of BMG Denmark in 1988, when he was 38. The job Jorgensen had prepared for all his life -- overseeing the Elvis Presley catalog -- dropped into his lap shortly after he started working for BMG.
The company had owned Presley's recordings since acquiring RCA in 1986. In fact, BMG's administrative departments were using Jorgensen's 1984 recording-sessions compilation, "Reconsider Baby" (written with Rasmussen and Mikkelsen), as their guide. Still, BMG continued to treat Presley the Colonel's way -- that is, with a carny attitude toward "the cheap way to get a buck," as Jorgensen puts it. Many of its albums seemed thrown together, with uneven material, lackluster themes ("Something for Everybody") and inferior artwork.
In Jorgensen's view, there was no attempt to put out a quality product that reflected the singer's artistry or the magnitude of his contribution to American popular music. "At one meeting," Jorgensen recalls, "I stood up and asked, —Why are we treating the Elvis catalog so poorly?' The guy who had hired me, [late BMG International president] Rudi Gassner, looked at me coldly and said, 'Well, if you're so smart, why don't you do [something]?' And I said, 'Yep, thank you.'" ...
- Fair presents pop music history on a major scale
By Michelle Mills
(U Music, September 10, 2004)
Woven among the cooking demonstrations, the cotton candy and the Ferris wheel at the Los Angeles County Fair are myriad musical acts. Each year, visitors can find stages offering entertainment for every taste and mood ranging from rock and country to karaoke. There are also evening concerts featuring big-name artists. At the doorway of building 22 you will be greeted by an oversize jukebox spinning a huge record. Its track list includes hits from the '50s through today, echoing the theme of this special attraction: "The Beat Goes On! The History of Popular Music.' Inside, you will find photographic displays, genre-based exhibits, an interactive area, famous vehicles and more. The Experience Music Project in Seattle will present three of its traveling exhibits, including 50 photos of artists' early days, such as Elvis Presley and the Beatles, in "Artist to Icon.' Photographers Alfred Wertheimer, Astrid Kircher, Jurgen Vollmer, Max Sheler and Daniel Kramer have contributed recorded stories about the musicians to accompany the display.
- Teaming up together to save the blues
By PATRICK L. ERVIN
(Delta Democrat Times, September 10, 2004)
With recent circumstances surrounding the cancellation and revival of the 27th annual Delta Blues and Heritage Festival, lovers and supporters of the music have pressed on to give some semblance of acknowledgement to the craft. Local officials, organizations and artists have moved forward to give blues aficionados something to whet their appetites. Starting Friday at 5:30 p.m., the Greenville Arts Council, along with other contributors will display works in its Wethersbee House Gallery called "Highway 61 Revisited." ... Appreciators of black and white photography will be able to see pictures of a young B.B. King alongside Elvis Presley. ...
- How Solomon Linda's haunting melody went for a song
(Business Day, September 10, 2004)
IN 1939 Zulu songster Solomon Linda sang without preparation a haunting melody while recording a song in the only recording studio in sub-Saharan Africa. It was a blend of Wesleyan hymn chord progressions and calland-response style of traditional singing. It was riveting. Like its bizarrely close cousin Manenberg, Mbube seems to capture what SA sounded like then.
From this recording session, the song, Mbube, the lion, went on a strange journey, which was arrestingly told by author Rian Malan in an article written for Rolling Stone magazine. (The article, a classic, is reproduced at http://www.3rdearmusic.com/forum/mbube2.html.) The story of the song is briefly this: Mbube was sold by Linda for a flat fee of 10 shillings to the founder of Gallo records in SA, Eric Gallo. While Solly's band, the Evening Birds, sang the familiar base line, Solly sang the soprano track and improvised the melody that we now associate with the words, "In the jungle, the mighty jungle".
The song was a modest success in SA, and was later sent to the US in the 1950s where it was played to Pete Seeger. The US was on the brink of a folk revival, and Seeger was on the lookout for catchy folk tunes from around the world. He recorded the track with his band the Weavers, but couldn't make out the lyrics. So the song became Whimoweh and the rights were credited to a fictitious person, common practice in those days for songs thought to be of traditional origin. Seeger did try to ensure some of the royalties got back to Linda, and some did, but very little. Just as Seeger was becoming successful with the song, disaster struck. He was cited by the House Un-American Affairs Committee as a member of the Communist Party, and the Weavers were iced out of the industry.
The song was rerecorded a few times, and then taken over by a songwriter who had written songs for Elvis Presley, one George Weiss who added the 33-word lyrics "in the jungle" and so on. The song was put out on the Bside of a record by a band called The Tokens. The featured song tanked, but a British DJ loved the B side and played it heavily. ... The man who wrote one of the world's most popular songs never got to see anything but the smallest pittance, becoming perhaps the ultimate example of the exploited musician in a industry rich in exploitation. Songwriters have been known to live for years on the proceeds of a single popular song. But Linda was buried in an unmarked grave because his family could not afford a gravestone.
The whole situation screams out for justice. Yet its enormity is in a way its own problem, for how do you mete out justice when the situation moves beyond the capacity of human agency to fix. What the situation requires is for us to turn back the clock and do it all again, this time getting it right. But look again at what did happened. Seeger thought he was recording a quasi-traditional tune, Weiss was using Seeger's tune, Disney presumably thought it was Weiss' copyright. Linda's family was paid once for the song, then by Seeger's agent, and then apparently once again by the current theoretical owners. Was Linda naive to sell such a brilliant song? Probably. But he was not the first nor will he be the last person to sell a good thing too cheaply. Was he exploited? In making an argument to Weiss on behalf of the family, Malan argues that the only thing worse than being exploited is not being exploited. And is that not just the terrible truth of it?
- NASHVILLE SKYLINE: Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? Cash-Carter Auction is Emblematic of Demand for Stars' Memorabilia
By Chet Flippo
(cmt.com, September 9, 2004)
The massive auction of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash's stuff at Sotheby's in New York City is unprecedented in country music, in terms of scope and star power. This is really not a new thing for country music. ... Elvis Presley's legacy has turned into a regenerating, eternal garage sale with all manner of new related merchandise -- as opposed to actual totems. The most recent crop of products is a new vintage of Elvis wines being introduced this fall: Presley Pinot (Noir), The King Cabernet (Sauvignon), Jailhouse Red (Merlot) and Blue Suede Chardonnay. An Elvis museum and gift shop in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., that displayed such items as the King's X-rays, hair dryer and garment bag was one of the more depressing establishments I've ever visited. ...
- Parton Announces Tour Dates
(cmt.com, September 9, 2004)
Dolly Parton has announced her "Hello I'm Dolly" tour of casinos and theaters in the U.S. and Canada. The tour kicks off Oct. 14 in Greenville, S.C., and will visit 36 cities before ending Dec. 19 in Seattle. Parton will be accompanied on tour by the Grascals, a new bluegrass band led by bassist-vocalist Terry Eldredge. Parton's new concert album, "Live & Well", will be released Tuesday (Sept. 14). The Grascals will release their debut album early next year. Their first single, a remake of Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas," is a duet with Parton.
- Beatles fly flag in hall of fame: The Beatles had a lasting influence on the UK music scene
(BBC, September 9, 2004)
The Beatles are the only British act among the founding inductees into the UK Music Hall of Fame, alongside Elvis Presley, Madonna, U2 and Bob Marley. The hall, launched on Thursday ahead of a Channel 4 series this autumn, is for artists who have made the greatest contribution to "UK music culture". Producers say it is "nothing to do with the geography or the moment in time". The artists were chosen by a panel including Sir George Martin, Trevor Nelson and Paul Gambaccini. Malcolm Gerrie, head of production company Initial, told BBC News Online: "It's to do with fantastic music that will be there forever and the impact and resonance they've had." Outside the US, it's Britain that's dominated pop music for the last 40 years ...
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