Late December 2004
- Elvis, Popeye films make registry
(Washington Times / Associated Press, December 28, 2004)
Films teaching children during the Cold War to "duck and cover" and describing how Oskar Schindler saved thousands of Jews from the Holocaust are being added to the National Film Registry. Also being preserved: films starring Elvis Presley and the dog Rin Tin Tin. They are among 25 films selected by the Library of Congress to the registry, which holds 400 pictures.
- Elvis guitarist Hank Garland dead: Legendary Nashville musician played on 'Little Sister,' others
(CNN, December 28, 2004)
Legendary country, rock and jazz guitarist Hank Garland, who performed with Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, Charlie Parker and many others, has died at the age of 74. ... In the 1950s and '60s, Walter "Hank" Garland was the talk of Nashville, known for musical riffs that could take a recording from humdrum to dazzling, as he did on Elvis hits like "Little Sister" and "Big Hunk of Love." ... In addition to performing with Elvis and other stars in Nashville, Garland was at the forefront of the rock 'n' roll movement, enjoyed a prestigious career as a country virtuoso, pioneered the electric guitar at the Grand Ole Opry and inspired jazz instrumentalists such as George Benson. He jammed in New York City with George Shearing and jazz great Charlie Parker. ... Garland worked with Elvis from 1957 to 1961, and was playing on the soundtrack for his movie "Follow That Dream" in 1961 when a car crash put him in a coma for months.
- Magazine Names Worst Rock-Star Actors Of All Time
(wftv.com, December 28, 2004)
When singers become actors, the results are not always high art.
Who's the worst rock-star actor of all time?
Madonna
Bob Dylan
Mariah Carey
Jon Bon Jovi
Elvis Presley
Britney Spears
Vanilla Ice
Gene Simmons
Master P
Neil Diamond
That's the thinking behind Blender magazine's list of the 25 worst rock-star actors of all time. Madonna tops the list. Blender says she always is cast as the femme fatale -- "yet cannot 'do' sexy."' Bob Dylan is second, followed by Mariah Carey, Jon Bon Jovi and Elvis Presley. ...
[Go to the site to vote for the worst, but get your priorities right - ed.]
- Elvis on course for charts milestone
(Channel 4, December 27, 2004)
King of Rock Elvis Presley could land the 1,000th Number One spot in the UK singles chart. Record company SonyBMG is re-releasing all of Elvis's 18 number ones to mark the 70th anniversary of his birth. And it means Jailhouse Rock could score the coveted 1,000th number one place in a few weeks time - 47 years after its first release.
Band Aid 20 scored the 997th number one with Do They Know It's Christmas? and have held on to the top spot for four weeks. Industry experts believe X Factor winner Steve Brookstein could bag the 998th with his single Against All Odds. The Phil Collins cover is currently at number two and Band Aid is outselling it by 2:1.
The Elvis hits are being re-released over 17 consecutive weeks from January 3 to April 25, starting with All Shook Up and ending with A Little Less Conversation. Because All Shook Up will be released in a collectors' box, it will not be eligible for the number one spot under strict chart rules. So in a bid to top the chart, SonyBMG is also releasing Jailhouse Rock on the same day.
The label is calling it "the most ambitious singles release campaign in the history of the UK record industry". And if Elvis devotees flock to buy the singles, the chances of the King bagging the 1000th musical milestone are high. HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said: "With Band Aid 20 currently occupying the top spot, it's difficult to predict precisely when the 1,000th number one will occur. "However, there's a possibility that it could fall to Elvis, which would be a fantastic and truly fitting way to celebrate the landmark. Sales of singles around this time of year, following the Christmas rush, tend to be at their lowest. So if Elvis fans are out in force to buy his re-issued number ones, there's every chance this could happen."
The 1,000th number one will be one of the last to be based on sales of singles bought in the shops alone. In the next few months, the chart will be changed to incorporate internet downloads.
- Uncovering the story: Americans were exposed to a lot more than usual in 2004
By Clint O'Connor
(Plain Dealer, December 27, 2004)
The year began with Janet Jackson disrob ing and ended with Nicollette Sheridan disrobing. In between, Sharon Reed shed her threads. It's not the year in review, it's the nudes in review. ... Howard Stern changed the future of an industry by announcing his defection to Sirius Satellite Radio, a company that also added the new Elvis channel: all Elvis, all the time. The brilliant Bill Randle, the Cleveland DJ who helped America discover Elvis, passed away.
- Man Sells Elvis Water On eBay: 3 Tbsps. Of Water Supposedly Came From Cup Used By Elvis
(Channel 4, December 26, 2004)
A North Carolina man says he's sold three tablespoons of water on eBay for $455. They supposedly came from a cup used by Elvis Presley. Wade Jones said he was 13 when he saw the King perform at the old Charlotte Coliseum in 1977. He says Elvis took a sip from a cup of water as he introduced his band. ...
- Yes, Broadway tickets, $19.95
(Omaha World-Herald / Associated Press, December 26, 2004)
"All Shook Up," the new musical comedy that uses songs by Elvis Presley, is set in 1955, so its producers have decided to sell its more than 300 balcony seats for $19.55 each, the lowest ticket price on Broadway. The show opens March 24 at the Palace Theatre. Preview performances begin Feb. 20. "All Shook Up," the story of a stranger who brings rock 'n' roll to a small town, stars Cheyenne Jackson and Jenn Gambatese.
- Railroad murders expand into myth
By Tom Lochner
(CONTRA COSTA TIMES, December 26, 2004)
- Bill Palmini, in his book "Murder on the Rails"
... Palmini interviewed Silveria, known as the Boxcar Serial Killer, who has confessed to murders in dozens of states and was convicted in three. The book provides an insider's view of the investigator's trade and the workings of small-town police agencies. "Murder on the Rails" is also a personal story about a cop, a serial killer, their shared reverence for the Bible and affinity for Elvis Presley; and the strange circumstances that brought them together. ... Palmini is the "Elvis" in "Elvis and the Lawmen," an act he devised as a sergeant, singing about traffic safety as an Elvis Presley imitator to high school audiences all over California and several other states. ...
- Briefly speaking: A very cool Christmas
(Commercial Appeal / Bartlett Appeal, December 26, 2004)
Help Lifeblood and Elvis Presley Enterprises this holiday season prevent patients in our community hospitals from having a "Blue Christmas." Simply donate blood during a Lifeblood mobile drive or at any of the 11 area donor centers during December. You'll give patients the ultimate gift -- the gift of life. You'll receive a cool T-shirt, courtesy of Elvis Presley Enterprises, featuring the artwork of Joe Petruccio. You'll also receive discounted admission to Graceland when you show proof of your donation. For information, or to make an appointment to donate blood, call Lifeblood's Donor Relations Department at 529-6320.
- Veteran players still rocking nursing homes
By Larry Rea
(Commercial Appeal / Bartlett Appeal, December 26, 2004)
Right off, you know these folks are having fun. There's Elmer Ray keeping beat with his cowboy boots as he switches back and forth between two harmonicas. Sitting next to Ray is Peggy Reynolds, who by her own admission can play just about any musical instrument. Next to Peggy is Ken Batten, strumming on his guitar as he croons either a country or gospel tune. And then, there's Louis Black, the younger brother of one of music's legendary performers, Bill Black (of Bill Black Combo and Elvis Presley fame), hitting on all the right notes on his bass guitar. ... Black, who retired from National Trust Life Insurance Co. in 1995, said he has been "picking all my life." He did a lot of his early pickings with his famous brother. "I'd tell Bill if he'd go out and play with me and play ball for 40 minutes and then I'd come in and play (music) with you for 45 minutes," Black said with a laugh. "I played a long time with him before he or I ever knew anything about Elvis Presley. They'd play over in West Memphis and all over Arkansas and down in Mississippi." When asked who was the better musician, he or his brother, Louis smiled and said, "I was the best. I taught Bill and he taught Elvis."
- Kay and Humperdinck winning ad duo
(Yahoo! News / Reuters, December 26, 2004)
An advert starring legendary crooner Engelbert Humperdinck and comedian Peter Kay has been named the year's best featuring celebrities. The commercial, for John Smith's bitter, sees the singer performing his smash hit "Please Release Me" in a nightclub as Kay returns to his table with a tray of drinks. The portly comedian then wrecks Humperdinck's "Let me ..." grand finale by shouting "Go" and silencing the venue. Trade magazine Campaign said: "Engelbert Humperdinck may be pushing 70 but you can see why he can still pack 'em in night after night on the Las Vegas strip, while Peter Kay is desperately funny as the working class straight-talker." Globetrotting television journalist Alan Whicker was second spot in the list for his performance in commercials for travel website Travelocity. Third place went to actors Donald Sutherland and Gary Oldman for their appearances in commercials for Barclays bank.
In fourth spot were legends James Dean, Steve McQueen and Elvis Presley after their photographs were used in adverts for deodorant brand Sure. ...
- Profile: Kate Bush: Can she pull off the big sway-back?
(Sunday Times, December 26, 2004)
... The news that Kate Bush is planning a comeback after 12 years has lit up the captured moment when she erupted on the music scene as a 19-year-old, tangle-haired gypsy with a dazzling talent and a totally original approach to pop. ... Catherine Bush was born in 1958, when British pop was waiting to be rescued by Elvis Presley. Her father was an English GP who played jazz piano, married to an Irishwoman who had been an accomplished folk dancer in Co Waterford. She was brought up in a comfortable home with two older brothers, John and Paddy. Both were fanatical about folk music and Kate imbibed their records of folk, sea shanties and Irish jigs. She liked Buddy Holly and Presley, but her main inspiration was traditional music. ³Irish airs, the uillean pipes - music like that affects me physically,² she said.
- N.C. man offers water from the cup of The King on eBay
By RICHARD GRAY
(News Coast / Associated Press, December 25, 2004)
Wade Jones likes Elvis, but he insists he's just a casual fan. That's why, after watching a grilled cheese sandwich thought to be embedded with the image of the Virgin Mary fetch $28,000 on eBay, he decided to part with three tablespoons of water from a cup Elvis Presley used during a concert.
"It's one thing to be an Elvis fan, but then you tell them you have this cup and water and they think you're a fanatic," he said. "I'm not like the people bidding on this water."
The high bid on the online auction service as of early Saturday night was $455. The auction closes at 4:30 p.m. Christmas Day.
Jones was 13 when he went to see the aging Elvis in February 1977 at the old Charlotte Coliseum, which is now Cricket Arena. He saw the pop icon drink from the cup while he introduced the band. Jones went up to the stage after the show to see if he could get a souvenir, perhaps a scarf Elvis would throw to his audience. But police guarding the stage wouldn't give him one. Thinking fast, he asked for the cup, and a police officer gave it to him.
As proof of its authenticity, Jones provides photos of Elvis during the concert in which several plastic foam cups can be seen on a stand behind him. Another photo shows Elvis holding a plastic foam cup.
The cup, covered in plastic wrap, stayed in Jones' parent's deep freezer for eight years, until he moved out. He then decided to melt the ice and keep the water in a sealed glass vial, while putting the cup in a trunk with other memorabilia from his childhood.
Jones isn't giving up the cup just yet.
"I'm kind of attached to the cup," he said. "I thought it was a little quirkier to sell the water."
Jones specializes in quirky eBay sales. He once sold a high school annual from the 1940s that he bought for about $1 at a thrift store for about $47 to a man whose father appeared in the book. He sold a 50-cent manual on making surf boards for about $50, he said. And for those with suspicious minds, Jones says it's not just about making money. "It's nice to get the money, but it's also nice to see things that don't mean anything to you get into the right hands," he said.
- Our heritage in ruins
By RICHARD GRAY
(Scotland on Sunday, December 25, 2004)
The failure of the £7m Burns Cottage project has cast a spotlight on how Scotland's apathy and indifference is shamefully squandering the legacy of our greatest poet.
"IT IS possibly the most important place in the country connected to Burns," said Peter Westwood, and he should know. The honorary president of the Robert Burns World Federation adds: "This cottage is where he was born." It is a view echoed by millions of Burns fans worldwide, yet the humble, thatched cottage and its adjoining museum in Alloway, Ayrshire, has fallen into disrepair. Years of neglect has seen damp eat into the fabric of the building, rain water leaks through the museum roof, while poor lighting and humidity are destroying the priceless artefacts inside. The state of the birth-place of Scotland's most treasured literary figure is now an embarrassment to a country that prides itself on its annual celebrations of the Bard's life.
... Historians have described the poet as the Elvis Presley of his day, making his humble cottage in Alloway, Burns' own Graceland. It is the main pilgrimage all Burns fans make when exploring his roots. People in remote corners of China, India and Africa have heard of Burns, and his name has become synonymous with Scotland. Nowhere else in the world can boast a poet whose birthday is a tradition celebrated across the globe with a feast so embroiled in national identity. And Burns' most popular song, 'Auld Lang Syne', is sung on the strike of midnight of New Year's Day by millions of revellers around the world. The poet John Stuart Blackie best summed up the importance of Burns to his homeland. He wrote: "When Scotland forgets Burns, then history will forget Scotland." ...
- Rimes has reason to stay upbeat
By ERIC R. DANTON
(The Hartford Courant, December 25, 2004)
LeAnn Rimes first hit the country charts in 1996 with "Blue," which prompted many to hail the 13-year-old singer as the second coming of Patsy Cline. Eight years later she has grown up and has the audience to prove it. "There's a lot more men coming, obviously, now that I'm getting older," Rimes, 22, says with a laugh from Houston, where she is on tour. "Every time I introduce my husband on stage, there's a lot of booing." Aside from growing up, Rimes has broadened her audience by moving from country into a more mainstream pop sound with her 2002 record, "Twisted Angel." She also collaborated with Chris Isaak on "Devil in Disguise" for an Elvis Presley tribute show in 2002. ...
- BONO LOVES AMERICA
By ERIC R. DANTON
(The Hartford Courant, December 25, 2004)
Irish rocker BONO has always enjoyed a rich love affair with America, because he finds the country a cultural inspiration. The U2 singer gets angry when he hears other musicians complaining about having to travel to the States and performing there. He says, "Waking up in Memphis, Tennessee, where Stax was born, or where ELVIS PRESLEY cut MYSTERY TRAIN or where MARTIN LUTHER KING was shot dead is not crap. "America is just full of possibilities. ... "
- Bing Crosby meets Elvis in new carol for gardeners
By Janine Pineo
(Bangor Daily News, December 25, 2004)
As you finish off the last of the fruitcake - and I am not going to ask exactly how you plan to "finish" it off - you may want to gather the clan for one last carol to mark the passing of the season and the coming of the new. I'm talking seed catalog season. With my thanks and apologies to the wonderful Irving Berlin, please join me in singing to the strains of "White Christmas" my new carol of hope and gardening: "Green Garden."
May I suggest you start singing like Bing Crosby and then we'll give it a big finish with an Elvis flair? I'll let you know where. And if any of the kiddies got an instrument from Santa, well, just tell them to join in whenever they can.
A one and a two and a ...
I'm dreaming of a green garden,
Just like the one I grew this year.
Where tomatoes glisten
With squash vines twistin'
Through paths that once were wide and clear.
I'm dreaming of a green garden
In shades of gold, blue, red and white.
May your weeds come down with the blight
And may all your insects fail to bite.
I'm dreaming of a green garden
In ev'ry catalog I find.
With sunflowers buzzing
While bees are humming
In blooms of lavender and thyme.
I'm dreaming of a green garden
With ev'ry lyric line I type.
May your seeds match all of their hype
And may all your compost smell quite nice.
(Bring on the Elvis, people.)
May your weeds, may your weeds, may your weeds be scanty from blight --- (hold that note!)
And may all your Christmases be white.*
*This line includes and concludes all the gardening advice this column has to offer, because a good blanket of snow may protect your perennials from winterkill. Or not.
- Local notables take on tunes
By DANNA JOHNSON
(Kamloops This Week, December 25, 2004)
From Elvis to Elton John, from Bing Crosby to Boney M, music sets the tone for a merry Christmas as much as stockings hung by the chimney. For some families, it's not the quality of the music so much as the tradition that keeps the same CDs popping up year after year. Tastes differ depending on whom you ask, but one thing remains clear - many of Kamloops' most notable residents prefer tradition when it comes to Yuletide melodies. ...
- Neighbors Digest: Elvis, Mickey Mouse on display at museum
(item 5)
(Juneau Empire, December 24, 2004)
Come see what secrets lurk deep in the closets of your friends and neighbors during the Juneau-Douglas City Museum's three-part Juneau Collectors Series running from January through September 2005. In three separate shows, Juneau collectors will have a chance to share their private gatherings of unusual items and quirky collectibles with the public. An opening reception at 4:30 through 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 7, launches Part I of the series with Joel Orelove's Elvis Lives in Juneau! and Mickey Mouse Memorabilia collections. In celebration of Elvis Presley's 75th [sic] birthday (Jan. 8), the City Museum will display almost 100 Elvis-themed treasures, including a real sample of his hair, several Elvis nesting matryoshka dolls, handcrafts such as dolls and quilts made here in Juneau, and a wide assortment of other fun items from Orelove's personal collection.
In the spirit of good old-fashioned American fun, the City Museum's opening reception for this show will feature Elvis music, Elvis impersonators and one of Elvis's own favorite treats - jelly-filled doughnuts.
Be sure not to miss the Tlingit King, Leonard R. Johnson, from Angoon, who will attend the event in his prize-winning Tlingit Elvis costume from last year's Juneau Arts and Humanities Council Wearable Arts Extravaganza. For more information, contact 586-3572. Winter hours are noon to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. The Juneau-Douglas City Museum is located at Fourth and Main streets and is a program of the Juneau Parks and Recreation Department.
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