late January, 2005
Currently in the news: Songy/BMG UK's release of Elvis Presley singles
- Elvis - The Voice That Rocked The World
(Xtvworld Media Junction, January 31, 2005)
"An entertainer dead a score and more years continues to exert an extraordinary influence on the world of music and entertainment in general. One of his greatest hits "It's Now or Never", a number one single for no less than eight weeks back in 1960, is presently the Number One single, just this moment announced on BBC Radio 1's popular music chart."
Elvis Presley's hit song "It's Now or Never" tops the charts again! Former President Bill Clinton, the Prime Minister of Japan, the Duchess of Devonshire, and Bruce Springsteen, along with many millions of other Elvis fans will no doubt greet the news with a little private smile. The song when first released forty five years ago demonstrated Elvis Presley's amazing range and versatility, it silenced many of his critics. Today it will confound them!
- Entertainment, justice meet again in Jackson trial
By William Booth and Kimberly Edds
(Seattle Times / Washington Post, January 31, 2005)
It is hard to hold both images in the mind: the child prodigy, little Michael Jackson, spinning like a top in 1970, singing the No. 1 hit "ABC" when he was 12 years old; and the Michael Jackson of today, the physically transformed, faded King of Pop, who was to enter the cramped, nondescript courtroom in a California farm town this morning to face charges of child molestation. After his arrest, a 10-count indictment and months of pretrial wrangling, jury selection begins today in the trial of the multimillionaire international music icon, whose 1982 "Thriller" remains among the best-selling albums of all time. The process is expected to take several weeks, and the trial could last four to five months, attorneys said. A conviction could put the 46-year-old father of three in state prison for more than two decades. ...
Jackson wowed the world with his "moonwalking" routines. He made the dance-music video the commercial art form it is today. He went to the Oscars with Madonna and was friend and confidant to Liz Taylor, Brooke Shields and Quincy Jones. But Jackson today is often a subject of derision. His transformations from plastic surgery. His reported attempt to purchase the skeleton of the "Elephant Man," John Merrick. His belief that by lying in a hyperbaric chamber he could extend his life span. His quickie marriages, first to the daughter of Elvis Presley and then to his dermatologist's nurse, Debbie Rowe. "Here you have a defendant that is better known than the president of the United States," said Bernard Grimm, a criminal defense attorney in Washington, D.C. "And his life transcends bizarre." ...
Photo by ROBERT GALBRAITH / AP
- Antonia eyes Hollywood
By Prasun Sonwalkar
(Hindustan Times, January 31, 2005)
Antonia Bernath, who won rave reviews for her performance in Kisna, has been flooded with offers from Bollywood producers but says she is not interested in pursuing a career in India. Antonia, 23, who trained at Bristol's Old Vic Theatre, has decided to take on the role of playing Elvis Presley's wife Priscilla in an American television series. She did small roles in television shows Holby City and Monarch of the Glen. She was then picked to play Katherine in Kisna.
... She said: "My main aim at the moment is just to keep working, either in Britain or Hollywood. I loved India but didn't train for three years in Bristol with Bollywood in mind." Antonia said she had fond memories of living in Clifton in Bristol and training at the Old Vic. She said: "As soon as I had been offered a place in Bristol, I did not bother applying anywhere else because I liked it so much." The final year was generally about getting out into the real world and finding an agent. I found an agent pretty quickly, work started to come in and so I made the decision to leave. I am not saying it wasn't a fantastic course with fantastic teachers." Over the weekend, Antonia flew to New Orleans to start filming the CBS mini-series Elvis, starring Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Randy Quaid. Antonia, who is expecting to meet Priscilla for the first time next week, said: "It is always difficult to portray a real person, particularly someone who is still alive." Priscilla first met Elvis when she was 14 and so it is very much about a young girl who is in love with a famous star."
"I have heard that Priscilla has seen the script and although she insisted a couple of scenes be removed she is happy with it." ...
- He's still got the market all shook up
BY MATTHEW LYNN
(BLOOMBERG NEWS, January 31, 2005)
It's 27 years since he died, yet Elvis Presley is still topping the sales lists in music stores. The Elvis brand is as potent as it has ever been, possibly more so. And "The King" may be able to give us valuable clues on what makes some brands enduring success stories, while others are just passing fads.
No one can question that the man remains a phenomenon. This month, he was back on top of the British charts, scoring the 1,000th British No. 1 with a rerun of his song "One Night." That's part of a campaign in which Presley's record label, SonyBMG, is re-releasing all 18 of his U.K. No.1 singles in consecutive weeks to mark the 70th anniversary of his birthday.
Promoting the product
"We do a lot to keep the phenomenon growing," said Todd Morgan, director of media and creative development at Memphis, Tenn.-based Elvis Presley Enterprises, the company that owns the rights to the man's work and image. "So we are out there in tourism, with Graceland, on the Internet, in stage shows and in books, wherever we can. If there is a saturation point, we don't seem to have reached it," he said.
Elvis has sold more than 1 billion record units worldwide, according to the www.elvis.com Web site, more than any other recording artist in history. Moreover, he topped Forbes magazine's 2004 rankings of earnings by dead celebrities. Elvis' estate had $40 million in revenue last year. Pretty soon you may even be able to own shares in the great man himself. Last month, Robert Sillerman paid $100 million for 85 percent of Elvis Presley Enterprises. Sillerman plans to take the company public.
Don't be cruel, be cool
So, if he were on a business-school curriculum, what lessons in brand management could we draw from Elvis? Here are four to start with:
- Be the first. Elvis effectively invented the modern image of the rock star. The sneer, the wiggle, the attitude - he had it all wrapped up from the moment he burst into the charts. The formula has been varied many times since, but never bettered.
The lesson? First-mover advantage is crucial. If you create the genre, then you own it.
- Die young. While this article takes no official position on whether the man is dead, Elvis made a smart career move by shuffling off the scene in 1977. Imagine the shambling, obese 70-year-old Elvis today, recording duets with Britney Spears, and endorsing Viagra on TV commercials. Instead, Elvis' career was the perfect length.
The lesson? Create a story for your brand that people can identify with, and make it short.
- Keep it simple. Elvis' image may have evolved over the two decades he was making records, though only slightly. He got fatter, and the sideburns got a bit longer. Yet, he didn't try to write symphonies, sing Verdi numbers or play King Lear in a movie. He was a singer who could also wiggle his hips a bit.
The lesson? Don't extend, change or push the brand. Stick to its essence.
- When all else fails, boost your sex appeal with black leather. Elvis didn't invent the idea of mixing sex with music, yet he pushed the combination further than anyone else had until that time. He defined an image that has been imitated 1,000 times: a pelvic thrust, a shrug, a slight sneer.
The lesson? Nobody ever went broke putting sex into a package and finding a way to sell it.
That isn't a complete course in successful marketing. The Elvis brand has also been helped by clever marketing from SonyBMG, which has kept the flame alive by finding new ways to re-release the records. Elvis' estate has carefully nurtured the image, as well. The constant use of his music by advertisers also helps keep his profile high and maintains the legend.
Still, follow those four rules, and no product can go wrong. One other lesson, perhaps the most important: Don't step on anyone's blue suede shoes.
- Pop stars going Hollywood: These pop stars don't want just No. 1 singles -- they're out for No. 1 movies
By LOUIS B. HOBSON
(Calgary Sun, January 30, 2005)
It seems that no sooner do struggling singers become celebrities than they want to develop some acting chops. Rappers are routinely popping up in films as are country singers, members of boy bands or girl groups and chart-topping artists. This is far from a new phenomenon. Back in 1944, a 29-year-old singer named Frank Sinatra made his film debut in a comedy called Higher and Higher. Before he filmed a final cameo in Cannonball Run II 40 years later, Sinatra had gone from heartthrob to Hollywood heavyweight. In the 50s and 60s, Elvis Presley churned out 29 feature films, making him the king of Hollywood musicals. No American singer-turned-actor has even come close to equalling Presley's track record. ...
- Giant Airbus still skimpy in coach class
By ELLEN CREAGER
(FREE PRESS, January 30, 2005)
The last airplane I saw with a double bed was Elvis Presley's private jet, "Lisa Marie," in Memphis. Now, Virgin Atlantic Airways is promising its new Airbus A380 jumbo jets will have 35 double beds, all the better to make whoopee 30,000 feet over Greenland. Forgive my skepticism. It's just that I speak for the little guy, the economy passengers, the regular folks. ... Introduced this month in France, the Airbus A380 is so massive its prototype boasts beds, gambling halls, showers and shops. Yet, the way it is configured -- 96 seats upstairs for the big spenders, 440 seats downstairs for everyone else -- is not promising if you're one of the lowly 440. Airbus barely mentions this fact. ...
- Take a look at the life of a bead
By Sarah Viren
(Galveston County Daily News, January 30, 2005)
Mardi Gras beads lead a heck of a life. From the factory lines in China to the closet floors of former party revelers, these shiny, cheap trinkets reach the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. ... Around this time every year, Mardi Gras Madness on The Strand in Galveston is humming with shoppers. People are looking at brightly colored boas, picking up Mardi Gras flasks, pricing different beads. ... There are tugboat medallions, Elvis medallions, motorcycle medallions and pig-on-a-motorcycle medallions. ...
- FLOYD'S NO VOID: The prog rock music of Pink Floyd is still as relevant as ever
By MARY HUHN
(New York Post, January 30, 2005)
Mention the Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular to a classic rock fan, and they'll practically smell the pot smoke wafting through the air. That's because the 40-year-old Brit band is almost as famous for its stoner fans as for being the pioneers of prog rock. But producer Steve Monistere, who founded the popular laser show 18 years ago, insists the fumes aren't as prevalent today as they used to be. ... Monistere promises that no mindbenders are needed - only 3-D glasses - to enjoy the technical wizardry of the Spectacular, which mixes laser lights and graphics with videos in supreme surround Pink Floyd sound. Coming to the Beacon Theatre on Saturday, this latest version of the show includes a tribute to founder Syd Barrett, a "Wish You Were Here" montage dedicated to dead rockers including Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain, and clips of "The Wizard of Oz" set to "Dark Side of the Moon," showing off the eerie (and apparently unintentional) way the record syncs up with action in the movie. ...
- Elway channels Elvis
By Mark Kiszla
(Denver Post, January 30, 2005)
This is not your grandfather's football league. As rock star Jon Bon Jovi taunts Denver icon John Elway, a receiver crashes into a slot machine, while a voluptuous spectator flirts with competitors and a big play touches down violently on a smashed blackjack table. Why on earth would the Arena Football League want to stage a game inside a casino?
Made you look. And America is getting hooked on the AFL, a sport scoring big without taking itself too seriously. For example: To promote a season scheduled to conclude with a championship game in Las Vegas, the wacky premise of a new commercial is football players trashing a casino. The punch line of this televised ad? To pay for damages to the premises, one of the instigators must go to work as an Elvis Presley impersonator. "They didn't have to ask twice to get me to put on the Elvis costume," Elway admitted to me not long ago, not long after the Hall of Fame quarterback completed his first acting gig dressed as an aging King from the Viva Las Vegas era. ...
- Tunes that make you swoon: What songs ignite your passion?
By Ray Fashona
(Poughkeepsie Journal, January 30, 2005)
... There is an almost spiritual connection between music's magic and the inexplicable chemistry of two people coming together. ''If music be the food of love, play on,'' Shakespeare wrote in ''Twelfth Night.'' It's not only the food of love, it's often the fuel of love. Ordinary interaction between a man and a woman can be transformed into a special night if the right song comes on at the right moment. Most of us have songs that circle the edges of our memory, evoking thoughts of that first kiss, that chance encounter, that moment when the spark was ignited. And those songs will fovever bring us back to that time and place.
Send us your picks
With that in mind, we're asking our readers to share with us the songs that inspire romance in them. Maybe it's your wedding song or a tune that was playing when you first danced with your significant other. Maybe it's a melody that simply rouses your romantic imagination. Whatever the case, we'd like to hear from you for a story we're planning to do for Valentine's Day. Send us up to three songs, the name of the artist and a line or two about why the song has special meaning to you. We'll print the most interesting responses on Feb. 14.
Send responses to: Romantic Songs, Life Department, Poughkeepsie Journal, P.O. Box 1231, Poughkeepsie, NY 12602 or e-mail rfashona@poughkeepsiejournal.com. And don't be shy; there's no shame in showing your romantic side. To warm you up a little, we've asked some of our staff members to share their favorite love songs.
I'll get the ball rolling with my picks:
... ''Can't Help Falling in Love,'' Elvis Presley. Because how often do you hear men say: ''Take my hand, take my whole life too'' without women threatening them with a violent weapon? ...
- I am immune to your underwear
By Kevin Myers
(Daily Telegraph, January 30, 2005)
British women spend on average £72 a year on lingerie - more than the women of any other country in Europe - according to the French Institute of Fashion. Lingerie is a broad category, but not so broad as to include men: chaps don't do lingerie, and that's that. Equality shies and flees before the L-word.
Whomever women buy their panties for, it's not for the benefit of men. The only male who ever said of knickers, they're rather nice, leave them on, honey, was Elvis Presley. This was around the time he was eating several pounds of deep-fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches a day, popping 235 different prescription drugs, and hadn't had a bowel movement in a year. That's what it takes for a man to tell a woman to keep her knickers on. ...
- Small towns honor slain Colo. GI
By Electa Draper
(Denver Post, January 30, 2005)
Dolores - The U.S. Army and two small towns in southwestern Colorado came together to bury 27-year-old Pfc. George Geer on Friday. A Fort Carson chaplain and an Army Honor Guard brought their time-tested cadences and solemnity to the Dolores High School gymnasium, where Geer had graduated a decade ago and where his funeral services were held. Geer was killed Jan. 17 by a car bomb at Ar Ramadi in Iraq. His patrol partner, Army Staff Sgt. Thomas Vitagliano, 33, of New Haven, Conn., also died. For a fallen hero such as Geer, small towns do what they can to register the loss and to heap homegrown honors. The basketball backboard was raised to make more room for the flag-draped casket. The stage was decorated at one end of the gym with wreaths and bouquets of carnations, chrysanthemums and gladioluses. And hundreds of people came from around Dolores and Cortez, where Geer had lived with his parents, Harold and Lois, and his sister, Hope. Mourners filled the gym bleachers and many long rows of folding chairs. Before services began, a loudspeaker blared country-western odes to patriotic young men and to fast cars, for which Geer had a zeal and fondness. And the loudspeaker also played Elvis Presley's version of "Amazing Grace," later reprised on bagpipes. ...
- Spectator : The music of sound
By Al S. Mendoza
(Inquirer News Service, January 30, 2005)
Published on page A22 of the Jan. 30, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
IT WAS Dada who said it first: "The music of sound." Dada, Mayo's lovable sister and the "Ate" of Migel, always referred to "The Sound of Music" as "The Music of Sound." She loves the film so much she can watch it all day over and over again without showing any sign of exhaustion. ... here's more about "The Golden Legends" of Steve O'Neal, a.k.a. Danee Samonte of radio dzRJ 100.3, who will bring in the Peter and Gordon sound next month. Gordon will perform with Dennis Yost ("Spooky") and Chris Montez ("Call Me") at the Aliw Theater on Feb. 12 and Hard Rock Caf’ on Feb. 13-14.
... Gordon worked as a disc jockey on BBC2 TV's "The Fantastist," recorded solo singles and a solo album. He did landscaping and gardening and appeared as the Pharaoh, dressed like his idol, Elvis Presley, in the Tim Rice musical, "Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat." His role as the Pharaoh began in 1971 at the Edinburgh Festival and took him to London and finally Australia, where he got married in 1975. ...
- Walter: In merry May will come Elvis onslaught
By Tom Walter
(Commercial Appeal, January 29, 2005)
CBS will be the Elvis network during May sweeps. The network has scheduled a four-hour miniseries about the singer May 8 and 11.
But wait, there's more! On May 13, CBS will air "Elvis by the Presleys." Here, Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley "speak with unguarded candor about their lives with the legendary Elvis Presley and offer an intimate look at their family and private life," according to the network. Home movies and rare performance footage will spice up the reminiscences.
But wait, there's more! On May 3, Crown Publishers will publish a book, also titled "Presley by the Presleys," that will contain previously unseen photos of Graceland, hand-written notes and selections from scrapbooks.
But wait, there's even more! A two-CD soundtrack will be released in May as well. It will include tracks from the special, Elvis's favorites, Priscilla and Lisa Marie's picks, along with previously unreleased cuts and outtakes.
CBS announced the Elvis onslaught during its portion of the winter press tour attended by TV critics from around the country. In addition to the announcements, CBS provided an "Elvis Is in the Building" lunch, consisting of fried chicken, sweet potatoes, cold cuts, apple cobbler, and of course, peanut butter and banana sandwiches. No word whether the PB&Bs were fried, as Elvis loved them. ...
- Teachers in Broward school reward reading efforts by eating worms
By Robert Nolin
(Sun-Sentinel, January 29, 2005)
A hall full of school kids learned a new recipe for brain food Friday: Words plus worms equals fun. To reward the 765 pupils at Hollywood Central Elementary School for reaching a milestone in a reading program, eight teachers partook of a Fear Factor spoof in which they cuddled with snakes and a tarantula and, much to the delight of their squealing charges, ate worms. ... Physical education coach Dustin Morris, garbed in the blue cape and red shorts of Million Minute Marathon Man, performed with his pet pythons Arnold and Conan, and pet tarantula Elvis. His co-stars were about 50 bait worms drenched in syrup. ...
- Grammys Get Hip (Hop) This Year
By Gail Mitchell and Melinda Newman
(Yahoo! News / Billboard / Reuters, January 29, 2005)
As rap and hip-hop experience an unprecedented level of influence on American culture, appreciation for the music is hitting a similar high-water mark in the creative community. Nowhere is that more evident than in urban music's domination of the nominations for the 47th annual Grammy Awards, which will take place Feb. 13 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. ... "The world is changing," industry veteran and former Motown chairman Clarence Avant says. "Black music has always been a dominant force in this country. But we've always been the third person in line. There was Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, but Benny Goodman and others got the big apple. In the rock 'n' roll scene there was Little Richard and Chuck Berry, but Elvis Presley got the big apple. I'm glad the Grammys see fit to give this music credit within the bigger scene. Rap/hip-hop has taken its place in the music world and become a factor."
- Drivers, snow a bad mix
By DENNIS ROGERS
(News & Observer, January 29, 2005)
... In Charlotte, it was 36 degrees with 28 mph gusts. Even at those relatively toasty temps, you could have had Dale Earnhardt, Elvis Presley and Col. Sanders arriving in a golden chariot at halftime and not drawn enough fans for a decent game of pinochle. ...
- Personal truths: Ahhh-ow! The Godfather of Soul explains the legend (and crafts a few more)
By OTIS R. TAYLOR JR.
(The State, January 29, 2005)
It was a risk, but James Brown always has done things his way. Not yet the legend he would soon become, Brown scraped up "every bit of coin I could lay my hands on at the time" - $5,700 - to record an album at Harlem's storied Apollo Theater. ... The gamble paid off. "Live at the Apollo" - the first of four albums Brown would record there - charted for 66 weeks and sold more than a million copies. That's the bigger-than-life Brown you get to know in "I Feel Good: A Memoir of a Life of Soul" (New American Library, $24.95), in stores next week. But you also will meet a bitter, sometimes violent and occasionally deluded legend.
... With good looks and daring, suggestive dance moves, Brown is a natural performer whose music exudes originality. And in "I Feel Good," he hits his contributions on the "one" - a term he uses for beginning songs on the upbeat. His stage presence inspired many of music's best showmen, including Elvis Presley. Brown coached Presley on soul music, and Presley even asked to use Brown's band. Presley remained a friend, Brown writes, "even though I knew he copied about 75 percent of what he did from me: going with the gospel-type sound in 'Heartbreak Hotel,' to the hip-swiveling dancing, to the jumpsuits, right down to the cape, which I have to say flattered me very much so." Presley isn't the only superstar who owes him, Brown writes. In Michael Jackson's first audition, "he danced for Berry Gordy of Motown the way he learned watching me." ...
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