Late November 2004
- Elvis' birthday celebrated with reissues
By Daniel Saney
(Digital Spy, November 30, 2004)
January 8th 2005 would have been Elvis Presley's 70th birthday, and to celebrate the fact his record company are reissuing his number one singles. The reissue campaign from his record company, RCA, will begin on January 3rd 2005 with All Shook Up and Jailhouse Rock, his first number one singles. Then a different hit single will be released each consecutive week in chronological order. The campaign will end with the re-release of the JXL vs Elvis single, A Little Less Conversation, on April 25th. The limited edition singles will be available in either CD or 10-inch vinyl formats. All Shook Up will be sold with a presentation box in which to hold the rest of the set, which denies it a chance to feature in the UK singles chart.
- Brits Braced for Elvis' 70th Birthday
By Tom Ferguson
(Yahoo! News / Reuters, November 29, 2004)
The U.K. arm of RCA Records will launch an ambitious singles release campaign next year to mark the 70th anniversary of Elvis Presley's birth on Jan. 8. RCA will reissue each of Presley's 18 U.K. No. 1 singles weekly, in chronological order, as limited edition CDs or 10-inch vinyl discs. The campaign will begin Jan. 3 with "All Shook Up" and "Jailhouse Rock" and will end April 25 with the 2002 JXL vs. Elvis hit remake "A Little Less Conversation." "All Shook Up" comes with a box that can hold all 18 singles in either format; this makes it ineligible for the U.K. singles chart under current rules. All other singles in the series have the potential to reach the chart.
- La miglior cover version [best cover version]: I critici musicali del Daily Telegraph hanno stilato la classifica delle 50 migliori cover version. Al primo posto ...
(NEWSIC, November 29, 2004)
I critici musicali del Daily Telegraph hanno stilato la classifica delle 50 migliori cover version. Al primo posto la versione fatta da Jimi Hendrix di "All Along the Watchtower" (Bob Dylan).
Alle spalle del mitico chitarrista i Pet Shop Boys con il remake di "You Were Always on My Mind" di Elvis Presley e alla tre Sid Vicious con la sua personale interpretazione di "My Way" di Frank Sinatra.
Ecco la Top 10:
1) All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix Experience, 1968, orig. Bob Dylan, 1967
2) You Were Always on My Mind - Pet Shop Boys, 1987, orig. Elvis Presley, 1972 (after Brenda Lee, 1971)
3) My Way - Sid Vicious, 1979, orig. Frank Sinatra, 1969 (after Paul Anka, 1969)
4) Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley, 1993, orig. Leonard Cohen, 1984
5) Respect - Aretha Franklin, 1967, orig. Otis Redding, 1965
6) Tainted Love - Soft Cell, 1981, orig. Gloria Jones, 1964
7) Mr Tambourine Man - The Byrds, 1965, orig. Bob Dylan, 1964
8) Twist and Shout - The Beatles, 1963, orig. the Isley Brothers, 1960
9) Comfortably Numb - Scissor Sisters, 2004, orig. Pink Floyd, 1979
10) Mr Bojangles - Nina Simone, 1971, orig. Jerry Jeff Walker, 1967
...
- Elvis lives in Canberra
By Claire Hunter
(Canberra Sunday Times, November 27, 2004, p. 14)
Truckie by day, Elvis by night. That's the life of Garry Buckley and when the Gordon father is not behind the wheel of his black semi-triler, called Darth Vader, he's donning the wig, putting on his make-up and steeping out in white flares as the King. "About five years ago I fell into it, " he joked when describing how got into the business of impersonating Elvis. "Just leave it at that - I was in the wrong place at the wrong time". Yesterday Mr Buckley and his five-year-old daughter and fellow Elvis fan Erika traded their truck for a white 1957 Cadillac to cruise the streets of Canberra as part of the National Elvis Prelsey Convention. Those enjoying their breakfast at the crowded streetside cares in Manuka and Kingston had a surprise as the Kings passed by in a cavalcade of classic cars on their way to the Southern Cross Club in Woden to raise money for the State Emergency Service and Bush Fire Brigade. They were met in Woden by a small but dedicated group of Elvis fans for the official opening of the convention and a live concert with Parkes-based family band U'n'Us.
Convention organiser Russ Morison, of Theodore, who had also dressed up for the event, said it was aimed at promoting the King's music to make sure the next generation did not forget him. "A lot of people's lives have been changed by Elvis in one way or another", he said.
- Elvis lives on in Canberra
By Peter Szatmary
(Yahoo! News, November 27, 2004)
Elvis sightings will become common place in the national capital this weekend as Canberra hosts the National Elvis Presley Convention. The conference program includes performances by Elvis impersonators, as well as films and research papers on his music. Retired university lecturer Susan MacDougall says academics are still studying Elvis's impact on modern culture. ...
- Bandleader never tires of playing season's music
By Peter Szatmary
(Indiana Star, November 26, 2004)
Surely musician Debbie Myers grows weary of playing holiday standards in "A Beef & Boards Christmas" year after year. Not so, said the music director of the Yuletide revue. "I like Christmas music. It doesn't matter if things are repeated. I like the nostalgia," she said. The 12th annual family tradition opens today at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre. Segments are divided into themes such as "Winter Wonderland" and "Christmas Rocks." Suzanne L. Stark directs.
Myers, a part-time clerk-typist at the Marion Chronicle-Tribune, enjoys the blend of secular and sacred songs, plus novelty numbers and popular tunes.
"It's fun making things familiar and new. If we do things in traditional ways for older audiences, they love it. But in some places we add a note or rhythm to make it different, so people don't get bored," Myers said. And Beef & Boards periodically switches out material to keep the show fresh.
... And the audience keeps her alert for the gospel "Jesus" and the Elvis Presley cover of "Blue Christmas." If the former works up people, it can go on for many verses. And if the crowd laughs at the hip-swiveling impersonator in the latter, "wehave to stop and wait and play it by ear." ...
- Graceland to Shine This Holiday Season with Annual Jennings Osborne Lights Spectacular and Elvis's Traditional Christmas Decorations
(BUSINESS WIRE, November 26, 2004)
WHAT: Graceland will officially begin the holiday season on Friday,
November 26 with the annual lighting of the traditional lights
and decorations on the mansion property. The extensive
spectacle includes hundreds of blue lights along the driveway,
a life-size Nativity scene, Santa and his sleigh and much more
originally displayed by Elvis. For the sixth year, Arkansas
philanthropist Jennings Osborne and his family have
constructed larger-than-ever spectacular displays of over two
million lights in Graceland Plaza. The interiors of Graceland
mansion will also be decked in Elvis's Christmas decor for the
holiday season and include his traditional red velvet drapes.
For the fifth year, a view of the spectacle can be enjoyed
anywhere in the world via the LIVE "GracelandCam(TM)" at
www.elvis.com .
WHEN: Friday, November 26 at Dusk (approximately 5:45 p.m. Central)
WHERE: Graceland Plaza, Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee
(Contact Kevin Kern at 901-332-3322 for optimum locations)
SPECIAL NOTES:
The Osborne displays are in addition to Elvis's traditional
interior and exterior Christmas decor, which Graceland still
presents as always. Arkansas philanthropist Jennings Osborne
and his family became nationally famous with the extravagant
holiday lighting they created for their home in Little Rock.
Now the Osbornes provide lights for over 32 cities and sites
in Arkansas as well as Disney World and Graceland. Their
lighting displays are a gift to the communities that enjoy
them.
Your coverage of the lighting is invited.
- Chubby Checker wants the glory he thinks he deserves: OLD STORY, NEW TWIST
By Scott Mervis
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 26, 2004)
In 1960, Chubby Checker put "The Twist" on the pop charts. Lately, he's been trying to put his own twist on the history of pop music. First, Checker addressed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Nobel Prize committees in a 2001 Billboard ad, comparing his contribution to pop culture to that of Edison with the light bulb and Alexander Graham Bell with the telephone. Last year, he staged a "good-natured" protest for "musical recognition" outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction dinner. Checker was making a plea for radio play, but he also wanted something from the Hall. The pop legend, who has yet to be inducted, was asking for nothing less than a 30-foot statue of himself doing the Twist in the courtyard of the Hall of Fame in Cleveland. It doesn't matter to him that no other rock pioneer has been singled out in that way.
... "Oldies radio," he says, "plays the Beatles and oldies radio plays the Stones. And rock stations play the Beatles and rock stations play the Stones. And they don't play Chubby Checker." And, one might point out, they don't play Chuck Berry either. "Chuck Berry didn't do anything," he insists. "He didn't change anything. Elvis didn't do anything. We love him. I love him. I love Chuck Berry, too. He didn't change anything. He just got in the ring, like a boxer, boxed 15 rounds and left. Chubby Checker created the boxing ring that they dance in." Checker also took notice last week when Rolling Stone named "Like a Rolling Stone" the greatest song of all time. "Bob Dylan got the No. 1 rock and roll song of the century," he says. "That's given by men and women. The only song to be No. 1 twice since man walked on the planet -- that's God-given, that's a gift from God. Man can't give the gifts God gives. Five albums in the top 12. That's God given. Nine double-sided hit songs. That's a gift from God."
... Asked if he had favorite performers from the early rock 'n' roll era, Checker seems to change his tune somewhat. "I always say that it was Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino, they were the guys. They were the people who were unequaled, unmatched by anyone. All of us were just fragments of these people. They were the wonderful ... they were the rock 'n' roll people, they were the ones. And there weren't any other. There was Jackie Wilson and James Brown. They were good, but they didn't have the excitement that those guys had." About his claims to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Seymour Stein, a member of the committee that helps select inductees, has stated that Checker has been under consideration for induction to the Rock Hall and that he will continue to be considered. The statue is much more of a long shot, but Checker is holding out hope.
- Retailers sell not-so-obvious items
By Bethany K. Warner
(Omaha World-Tribune, November 26, 2004)
Ray Charles' "Genius Loves Company" is a hot seller - at your local Starbucks, that is. ... In fact, the ubiquitous coffee merchant says it has sold more of the late singer's final compact disc than any music retailer, despite charging a steep $15.99. The Seattle-based coffeehouse giant is not alone in selling products that otherwise seem out of place. ... By carrying Nokia camera phones and Slurpees, Elvis Presley CDs and Gold Coast Blend Coffee, and Disney Princess DVD players and drywall screwdrivers, merchants are willing to blur the lines of retailing to squeeze out more sales. ...
- Beating the holiday blues
By Bethany K. Warner
(Oshkosh / northwestern.com, November 25, 2004)
In "Blue Christmas" Elvis Presley croons that he'll have a "blue Christmas without you." For some people over the holidays, loneliness can be one of the triggers for the holiday blues. Holiday blues may not be an official clinical diagnosis for feeling down in the dumps over the holiday, but for some it's a real enough malady brought on by holiday stress. ...
- Probing the healing powers of Elvis
By Megan Doherty
(Canberra Times, November 26, 2004, p. 6)
Nigel Patterson is fascinated by Elvis sightings that go beyond the King being spotted eating a burger in downtown Memphis. The president of the Canberra-based Elvis Information Network and psychology graduate enjoys the spiritual, miracle kind of revelations involving the King. ... Mr Patterson is speaking on thetopic, Elvis Sightings and Faith: making sense of the seemingly ridiculous, on Sunday as part of the National Elvis Presley Convention which opens in Canberra today. His speech touches also on the healing power of Elvis. ... Mr Patterson says the Elvis phenomena are interesting but almost impossible to explain. ... As for all those Elvis sightings, Mr Patterson reckons it has a lot to do with baby boomers subconsciously hanging onto their youth and refusing to believe the King did die on August 16, 1977. "Because it was so important to their youth and the way they are as people now," he said.
- National festival a celebration fit for a king
By Megan Doherty
(Canberra Times, November 25, 2004, p. 3)
... Public servant Russ Morison, truck driver Garry Buckley and tyre shop worker Andrew Leonard are among the Elvis devotees gathering in Canberra this weekend for the inaugural National Elvis Presley Convention. The faithful will be dressing up, discussing Elvis sightings, pondering whether The King was "Hillbilly Cat or Copycat", listening to the hits and participating in a spectacular cavalcade of Elvis and his "Memphis mafia" along the streets of Canberra. Mr Morison, the convention convener, is a Defence Department employee and ballroom dancer with a liking usually for "soft smoochy music". But when he pulled on an Elvis suit for a fan club function two years ago, he felt the power of the King. "I think there's something that happens. It's like the Superman thing", he said. "I look at the guy and I wouldn't say I was envious, but probably deep down in the inner recesses of my mind, there's probably some sort of envy about how he can pull the ladies and 'Wouldn't it be nice to be like him?' kind of thing. Obviously you've got to do a reality check sometimes." ...
- Elvis Presley Birthplace seeks city upkeep: Foundation envisions a world-class attraction - Presley memorial looks for full-time upkeep
By LEESHA FAULKNER
(sunherald.com / ASSOCIATED PRESS, November 25, 2004)
TUPELO - Paul and Joyce Fournier huddled under an umbrella within yards of the shotgun shack where Gladys Presley gave birth to the King. Reading about Elvis on a brick wall, they moved slowly from one printed recollection to another, ignoring the rain and enjoying the manicured lawn and flower gardens. "We live in Michigan, but this is a part of my life and Paul's life," said Joyce Fournier. "When I was in eighth and ninth grade, Elvis blossomed even in small towns of central Indiana. So, here we are." An estimated 75,000 visitors a year flock to the Elvis Presley Birthplace. Although the downpour kept many from walking the grounds this week, some, like the Fourniers, dodged puddles and admired the grounds kept by a worker from the city's parks and recreation department. For the Elvis Presley Memorial Foundation, which oversees the site, part-time upkeep isn't enough. Members have proposed that the grounds have full-time attention to complement recent improvements.
Henry Dodge, the foundation chairman, recently pointed out those improvements to the Tupelo City Council. Among them, the life-size sculpture by Michiel Van der Sommen of Elvis at 13, which stands on the grounds adjacent to the house, and a $75,000 renovation of the house and revamping of the gift shop, funded by the Tupelo Convention and Visitors' Bureau, fans, corporate entities and other sources. Now, Dodge and the foundation want to turn the birthplace site into a world-class attraction, and that means a full-time maintenance worker. ...
- Sandwich with image of Mary draws $28,000
By Sharon Haddock
(Chicago Sun-Times, November 24, 2004)
A woman who said her 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich bore the image of the Virgin Mary will be getting a lot more bread after the item sold for $28,000 on eBay. GoldenPalace.com, an online casino, confirmed that it placed the winning bid, and company executives said they were willing to spend ''as much as it took'' to own the 10-year-old half-sandwich with a bite out of it. ''It's a part of pop culture that's immediately and widely recognizable,'' spokesman Monty Kerr told the Miami Herald. ''We knew right away we wanted to have it.'' Photos posted on eBay show what can be viewed as a woman's face emblazoned on the sandwich, a bite taken out of one end. Bidding closed Monday. ... The auction has spawned the sale on eBay of look-alike sandwiches, along with T-shirts, earrings, Christmas ornaments, decals, photos and refrigerator magnets depicting Duyser's version. A grilled-cheese sandwich purporting to bear the image of Elvis Presley attracted a bid of $275.
- 9,000 tax notices undelivered: Payment due date just a week away, county says
By Sharon Haddock
(Deseret Morning News, November 24, 2004)
For Elvis Presley, "Return to Sender" was a hit song about love gone awry - and provided a nice addition to his bank account. For thousands of Utah County property tax payers, those words are more likely to invoke a little extra pain for their pocketbook. More than 9,000 property tax notices - all returned for lack of a good address - have piled up in the county treasurer's office, and Treasurer Mel Hudman is concerned. ...
- PRESLEY CHRISTMAS TUNES FOR SALE
(contactmusic.com, November 24, 2004)
Alternative master takes of classic ELVIS PRESLEY Christmas tunes are set to go under the hammer in Los Angeles this weekend (28NOV04). The festive master tape recordings, from 1956 and 1957, are valued at $30,000 (GBP16,000) to $50,000 (GBP26,740). The items for sale at the Bonhams and Butterfields auction also include alternate versions of ALL SHOOK UP and JAILHOUSE ROCK.
- ELVIS FAN WAS ALL SHOOK UP OVER DIVORCE
(icnetwork.co.uk, November 23, 2004)
ELVIS fan Joe Markie was 'all shook up' when his wife began divorce proceedings. He hit rock bottom and threatened to kill her. Markie - who idolises the King and has been dubbed 'Paisley's Number One Elvis fan' - has hit the headlines in the past for his generous work to support charities such as ACCORD Hospice. But a very different side to the 63-year-old was revealed when he appeared in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court. ...
- Elvis Lives on in Bonn: Elvis is still a cultural icon - and he's back in the building
(Deutsche Welle, November 23, 2004)
Forget Memphis, Las Vegas and Graceland -- Germany has always had a special place in its heart for Elvis, and now, anyone wanting a personal glimpse of the man behind the myth need go no further than Bonn. Boasting exhibits ranging from glitzy catsuits and strands of hair to first-edition records, the show that opened in Bonn Monday marks what would have been Elvis' 70th birthday. Taking a fond look at the two years that Presley spent in Germany as the most famous GI in history, it pays tribute to one of the 20th century's brightest stars and explores the reverberations of rock & roll in post-war Germany. The curators aren't taking any chances. Elvis fans can be a determined bunch, and that's why much of the memorabilia is behind glass. "We don't want anything ending up on Ebay," explained Jürgen Reiche, the director of the House of History in Bonn.
How pop culture changed Germany
When Elvis Aaron Presley was drafted into the United States Army, he might have left his fans back home so lonesome they could cry -- but Germany couldn't wait to meet him. "For many, Elvis opened a window on to the world," explained Reiche. "His music and way of being gave them a touchstone -- after all, many young Germans had grown up without fathers." The King was welcomed by crowds of screaming fans when he arrived in the northern port of Bremerhaven to begin military service in October 1958. The fresh-faced 23-year-old private assigned to the US Third Armored Division was to spend the next 18 months at Ray Barracks in the sleepy town of Friedberg.
A corrupting influence
Under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, 1950s Germany was a staid and conservative place. Not everybody was thrilled to be playing host to Elvis the Pelvis. Local politicians alleged he was corrupting young people, while East Germany dismissed his music and raunchy performances as anti-communist propaganda. In March 1960, Germany bid "Auf Wiedersehen" to the King of Rock and Roll, but not before he'd ensured himself a permanent place in Germany's affections by recording a version of the famous folksong "Muß i denn zum Städtele hinaus." It may have been incomprehensible to his US fans, but his winsome rendition featured in the 1959 movie "GI Blues" meant he was claimed as an honorary German.
From pink Cadillacs to Priscilla
As well as featuring clips from movies like "GI Blues" and "Jailhouse Rock", the House of History show includes 300 items from Presley's stay in Friedberg, including the military-issue bag he was carrying when he arrived, the pink Cadillac he drove on days off and even the partially reconstructed barracks hut where barbers gave him his regulation army haircut.
While Presley clearly had an electrifying effect on post-war Germany, ushering in the country's lasting love-affair with American pop culture, the exhibition also explores the role Germany played in Presley's life. After all, it was here at that he met 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, his future wife and mother of his only child, Lisa Marie. At one point during his stay, he even moved his father Vernon and his grandmother Minnie Mae into a house in Bad Nauheim, a small town near to the military camp where he was stationed. "It was rock 'n' roll and the PX shops with American products and a whole new image for Friedberg -- very exciting," said deputy mayor of Friedberg, Michael Keller.
The extent to which Elvis shook up mainstream culture cannot be over-estimated, say the organizers. "He still preoccupies us, he's well-known across the generations, and he brought about a sexual, musical and social revolution," pointed out Jurgen Reiche. In his opinion, post-Elvis Germany was never the same again. "He inspired and motivated society," he explained. "He was an ambassador of a movement that spoke to people who wanted change."
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