early June, 2005
- Long-playing plans for music copyright ownership
By PETER RANSCOMBE
(scotsman.com, June 6, 2005)
POP songs will receive longer protection under new plans to extend copyright laws. It will mean Beatles classics such as Love Me Do and Please, Please Me, released in 1963, will not automatically lose their copyright in 2013. The Rolling Stones may also benefit, with songs such as (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction having their copyright extended beyond 2015. United States copyright law protects songs for 95 years and UK government ministers are reported to be considering a similar length of time for British products. James Purnell, the minister for creative industries, is expected to announce the plans in a speech this week.
He thinks the extra revenue for record companies will allow them to find new acts and develop their talent. ...
- Power problems can't stop the music
By M. SCOTT MORRIS
(Daily Journal, June 6, 2005)
TUPELO - Classical music didn't get any respect Friday night when Chuck Berry flooded Front Street with "Roll Over Beethoven." "Nothing's going to stop this rock show," he told an appreciative crowd at the 2005 Elvis Presley Festival. Berry and his band roared through "School Days," before a faulty generator cut power to the stage. "I didn't do it. I didn't do it," he protested. Five minutes later, the lights were back and the rock legend in a sparkly red shirt dipped into the blues for "It Hurts Me, Too." ...
- Devotion to hobby is Hallmark for Elvis
By Mack Spencer
(Daily Journal, June 6, 2005)
TUPELO - Maybe, just maybe, if Elvis Presley hadn't become a rock n' roll legend, he could have been a competitive karate champion. In addition to making music and giving away Cadillacs, the King was devoted to the study of martial arts, going so far as to start a karate school in Memphis with world champions as instructors. That affinity has now garnered Elvis, who earned a first-degree black belt and was awarded an honorary seventh-degree black belt, a place in the Martial Arts Hall of Fame in New York.
"The timing is uncanny - with the Festival in Tupelo this weekend," said Everett Dutschke, lead instructor at Tupelo Taekwondo Plus. "Elvis is receiving the In Memory Of Award. It's a really big deal. People like Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee are in the Hall of Fame." Dutschke will represent Tupelo at the weekend induction ceremony in the Big Apple. Former Tennessee congressman Harold Ford of Memphis will represent that city, home to Elvis' Graceland mansion. Duplicate awards will be presented for eventual placement at Graceland and the Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum in Tupelo. U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker will make the presentation to the museum in Tupelo, Dutschke said. He didn't know why Elvis was chosen for induction this year, but "I think it's long overdue," Dutschke said. "I've been lobbying hard, because this is good for Tupelo. It's probably just being done now because nobody asked before."
- It's now or never: Buy Elvis' old home
By Jay Calderon
(Desert Sun, June 4, 2005)
Presley bought estate in 1970 for $85,000; 1.75-acre property listed for $2.5 million
PALM SPRINGS - Want to live like The King? All you need is $2.5 million. That's the asking price for Elvis Presley's former Chino Canyon Road home, newly listed for sale. Coldwell Banker Real Estate agent Desiree Otero confirmed Friday that the owners put the house on the market "just a couple days ago." The 5,040-square-foot estate rests on almost two acres in Palm Springs' Little Tuscany neighborhood. Presley lived there with his wife, Priscilla, and recorded part of his "Raised on Rock" album there.
And before his death, Presley had planned to invest in the property with some additional remodeling, according to Steve Christopher, the Montgomery, Ala.-based host of "Elvis on the Air" traveling radio show. "The connection that this house has, besides the fact that a couple of his songs were recorded there, is that this was one that Elvis planned to keep," said Christopher, a Graceland-endorsed expert who has emceed events at the Palm Springs house in the past. "It's got a little more significance to Elvis fans than others." Presley bought the Spanish-style ranch for $85,000 in 1970. It was the only property the star owned in Palm Springs. Another home, located on Ladera Circle, is also of Presley fame because Elvis and Priscilla Presley honeymooned there.
In the last few months, the West Chino Canyon estate has been mired in legal dispute. Reno Fontana and a former business partner, Herman "Skip" Jaehne of Venice, Fla., are suing each other over the property. ...
- Elvis by the Presleys
By Robin Oliver
(Sydney Morning Herald, June 4, 2005)
Elvis by the Presleys, ABC, 8.30pm Sunday
This is far more honest than we may have expected. Just watch Priscilla Presley's parents in the opening sequence. "You want the truth?" Ann Beaulieu urges. "We were against him." Husband Paul stays tight-lipped. He'd heard about this singer the girls were mooning over and had bought a copy of Elvis Presley's latest album for his daughter. He particularly enjoyed Hound Dog. Ann will not be denied. "I was with all the other moms," she says. "I was against him."
Now the good-looking Elvis was appearing on television. The 14-year-old Priscilla was banished to her room. She watched, anyway, through a crack in the door. Then a school pal made an unexpected revelation. "He's a friend of mine," she said. We watch the actual meeting. A spark, perhaps, no more, but as Presley began his military service in Germany, Paul Beaulieu, an Air Force sergeant, was posted there, too. Elvis and Priscilla would meet again.
By now the extraordinary detail of ongoing romance, often privately filmed, always conducted with old-world courtesy, is beginning to fascinate. Priscilla was seldom alone with her generous, fun-loving man. On their wedding day, Elvis is seen carrying his bride across the Gracelands threshold, singing to her, at the same moment as his 14 best friends - the famed Memphis Mafia - enter through the back door.
There are snatches of songs throughout, but it is 37 minutes before the first complete performance. Elvis sings Trying to Get to You - a notable first screening for this version and other songs that follow.
- Zsa Zsa Gabor's Family Fighting Over Will
By RYAN PEARSON
(Yahoo! News / Associated Press, June 3, 2005)
A multimillion-dollar family feud over who controls the ailing socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor's will has spilled into the courtroom. Gabor and her ninth husband are suing her only daughter, accusing Francesca Hilton of stealing $2 million by forging her mother's signature to take out a loan on Gabor's $14 million [five-bedroom] Bel Air home. ... Built by producer Howard Hughes and once owned by Elvis Presley, it has views of Catalina Island and the downtown Los Angeles skyline. ...
- ALAMEDA - Elvis memorabilia going up for auction
(San Francisco Chronicle, June 3, 2005)
On Monday, Cal State East Bay broadcasting Professor Jim Forsher will auction nearly 250 Elvis Presley mementoes -- from autographed records to personal notes -- that his mother collected while working as a secretary to The King. To say the sale, which one Elvis expert likened to "discovering King Tut's tomb,'' will be bittersweet would be an understatement.
Forsher's mother, Trude, was a 36-year-old refugee from Nazi-occupied Austria who in 1956 went from being a stay-at-home mother of two boys to working for Presley and his manager, the enigmatic and notorious Col. Tom Parker. "She totally fell in love with the glamour and the life,'' Forsher said. "The next thing I knew, my mother was not at home, she was working all the time, Dad was not handling it well, the neighbors thought we were weird.''
It all ended in 1961 when Parker fired Forsher's mother after her husband, Bruno Forsher -- a fellow Austrian refugee who was an aeronautical engineer -- left her because he was convinced she was having an affair with either Parker or Presley. She wasn't, of course. And when his mother died in 2000, Forsher inherited "box after box after box'' of Presley memorabilia, including a 78 rpm record of "Love me Tender'' signed to Forsher by Presley and his cousin, the key to Presley's dressing room for the film "Love Me Tender,'' cards and notes signed by Presley, a comb Presley used and original promotional materials. ...
- Madison man puts original Graceland blueprints on eBay
By Sherry Lucas
(Clarion-Ledger, June 3, 2005)
The original blueprints for Elvis Presley's Memphis home, Graceland, are on the eBay auction block. George A. Nash of Madison, a Realtor with BrokerSouth GMAC Real Estate, has had the documents since 1978, the year his father died, and one year after the death of the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Nash's father, George W. Nash, a Memphis builder and owner of the Geneva Kitchen franchise, remodeled the Graceland kitchen in 1957 and won a national award for the work. Presley gave the blueprints to George W. Nash so he could remodel the kitchen for Presley's mother, Gladys. "I'm downsizing. ... They were starting to get weathered, get old," George A. Nash said. A picture of a check written to his dad by Vernon Presley (Elvis' father) for the downpayment on the job helps authenticate the documents. The blueprints were made for Dr. Thomas and Ruth Frazier Moore, builders of the 1939 house later sold to Elvis.
Nash entertained thoughts of building a replica of the famous house but plans never materialized, he said. "It is a workable blueprint. You can read it and build from it." And he's had requests for the documents, including one from Graceland seeking a donation for its archives.
Nash's own memories of visiting Graceland as a child included jumping on a long white couch and finding a pistol between the cushions. "I told my mother about it and she had a fit," and wouldn't let him go back to the house with his dad, he said.
The blueprints come with a secret. "When Elvis gave the blueprints to my father, he and my father were on their hands and knees on the floor, and Elvis pointed and said, 'The secret's right here.' Father said, 'I don't see the secret' and winked at Elvis. Elvis said, 'I like you, Mr. Nash.' " The blueprints' owner admitted, "I don't see it." "It's definitely the most unique thing we've ever had and also the most valuable," said It Sold Easy owner Tina Jones. The most expensive thing the eBay listing store has sold was a $4,700 set of drums; other unusual items the store has handled included an old saloon piano (it didn't sell) and a gyroscope which sold for $2,000. The store has a Brandon address and is located on Mississippi 25. The item number is 7519491436 on ebay.com.
Starting bid for the blueprints is $5,000, but there's an undisclosed reserve price. Bidding ends Monday. "I'm not letting them go for $5,000, that's for sure," Nash said. Midday Thursday, there were no bids. "That's supposed to be par for the course," Nash said. "People are watching it. ... There's a bidding frenzy the last day on something like this."
- Elvis statue 'all shook up'
By David Jenison
(Scoop Independent News, June 2, 2005)
Vandals have shaken Henderson's Elvis memorial plaque to its foundations at Cranwell Park [in New Zealand]. The marble statue of Elvis Aaron Presley erected by the Memories of Elvis Fan Club in 2000 was found knocked off its block this morning by local residents.
While the base plinth is intact, Elvis and his guitar took a beating and have parted company. "The Elvis memorial is not a Council-owned asset. The contractors will hold the pieces until the fan club decides what it wants to do with them," says Henderson Ward councillor Ross Dallow.
Elvis undone at Cranwell Park
- Wendy's shook up over Elvis shooting
By Nick Towle
(South Manchester Reporter, June 2, 2005)
ALL shook up: Wendy can't bear to look at Elvis.
THE king of rock 'n' roll has become the latest victim of the yob culture sweeping south Manchester. Elvis was shot in the nether regions when a bullet from a ball-bearing gun was shot through a window at the Thai E-sarn restaurant in West Didsbury, where a picture of the rock 'n' roll legend hangs in pride of place. The bullet missed the king's crown jewels by inches and lodged in his inner thigh. But, despite being all shook up after the shooting incident, Elvis is still greeting visitors to the Thai restaurant on Burton Road.
Elvis fan Wendy Beddard, who owns the restaurant, said: "Kids just have no respect for anyone today not even the king of rock 'n' roll. At first I thought he had been hit in the private parts but the bullet went into his inner leg." Wendy estimates the damage from the bullet hole in the window will cost about £2,000 to repair. She added: "I know who it is; there are two young boys and two girls about 15 years old who hang around outside the restaurant. They're up to no good; they are very arrogant children. They are so rude and they swear at me. What are these kids coming to nowadays?" Wendy will keep the picture of Elvis where it is for now but fears she may have to take it down if it attracts the wrong sort of attention again.
Wendy hosts regular karaoke sessions at her popular restaurant and often takes to the floor herself to reel off a couple of the king's classics in her Elvis costume. Her playlist includes The Wonder of You, Heartbreak Hotel, You're Always on my Mind, It's Now or Never and You've Lost That Loving Feeling.
- James Dean's Star Shines 50 Years Later
By RICK CALLAHAN
(Yahoo! News / Associated Press, June 2, 2005)
Red lipstick kisses are sun-baked into James Dean's pink granite gravestone, testifying to the enduring allure of the man who, 50 years after his death, remains a symbol of rebellious, misunderstood youth. Frozen in time by death -- forever handsome, sullen and projecting a cool nonchalance -- Dean is winning new fans with his legacy of cinematic magic, sex appeal and tragedy. His three big films have been digitally restored and were released Tuesday as a DVD box set. Film crews from around the world are visiting his hometown for documentaries. And starting Friday, up to 100,000 people -- including Martin Sheen and Dennis Hopper -- are expected to converge on Marion, Ind., his birthplace, for a three-day festival featuring outdoor screenings of "East of Eden," "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Giant" on a huge screen at Marion's airport.
... His acting style, fresh and filled with angst, was new and revealed a deep talent, Thomson said. And by dying young -- at 24 -- Dean never experienced the ravages of age and weight gain like peers Marlon Brando and Elvis Presley. ...
- PJ hits North Wales
(North Wales Chronicle, June 2, 2005)
A living legend who moved in the same circles as Elvis Presley and country icon George Jones among others takes the stage at the North Wales Theatre next week. People who remember the sixties will also remember PJ Proby for his trouser ripping performance in the UK ...
- The 'Fawn' CD, A Concept Whose Time Has Come: Elvis Presley Favorites Mix With Original Music on 'Fawn'
Source: Fawn's Records
(Yahoo! Finance / MARKET WIRE, June 2, 2005)
A mix of classic rock styling, Elvis Presley tunes and songs aimed at both Christian and secular audiences who love animals is the best way to describe "Fawn," a nine-song album written and produced by Aziza Smith and Fawn's Records. Proceeds from the album, a memorial tribute to her beloved dog Fawn and to all of the animals whose lives could and should have been saved, will go toward the development of Faith Village, a 501(c)(3) non profit no-kill animal sanctuary to be built in the Colorado mountains. "This album was produced to have universal appeal and to capture audiences of all ages, backgrounds and musical styles," said Smith. "No album like this has been produced before. It's also a touching musical outlet for those who love and appreciate animals and a message for those who don't!" Songs include the title track "Fawn," along with two Elvis Presley favorites "If I Can Dream" and "The Walls Have Ears." The album also features a French rendition of the song "Jesus Is All," or "Jesus Est Tout." ...
- Fergus in the 50s
By Sarah Horner
(Fergus Falls Daily Journal, June 2, 2005)
When most people think about the 1950s they think of Elvis Presley in a white jumpsuit [in the 1950s?!!! - ed.] singing "Heartbreak Hotel," the hit television show "I Love Lucy," or young ladies walking down the street in beehives and pink poodle skirts. Such examples are icons of the era that young and old alike associate with; but few people remember the finer details of the 50s, and even fewer remember how they manifested in Fergus Falls. Local author and Fergus Falls graduate Lance E. Johnson wanted to reawaken those memories and remind people what it was like to live in Fergus Falls during that period. In his book, "Fergus Falls and the Fabulous Fifties," Johnson takes his readers on a trip down memory lane and reminds them about a time in Fergus Falls when World War II was ending and a new era was beginning. ...
- Audioslave Exiles All Comers
By David Jenison
(Yahoo! News, June 1, 2005)
Like the Audioslave album title says, rock music is finally out of exile. The band's sophomore release, Out of Exile, has become the sixth rock album in a row to debut at number one on Billboard's album chart in as many weeks. Since Mariah Carey lost the top spot to Rob Thomas' Something To Be on Apr. 26, Bruce Springsteen's Devils & Dust, Nine Inch Nails' With Teeth, Dave Matthews Band's Stand Up, System of a Down's Mezmerize and now Audioslave's Out of Exile each took turns at number one. So much for rumors that rock is dead. ... Meanwhile, for Mariah Carey, the voice is indeed back. The Emancipation of Mimi remains one of the year's steadiest sellers, moving another 179,000 copies, up 6,000, to hold the three spot. Last week, she scored her 16th number one single on Billboard's Hot 100 with "We Belong Together" -- only the Beatles (with 20) and Elvis Presley (with 18) have more. And, according to early tracking numbers, Carey is poised to reclaim the top slot with Mimi ahead of Oasis' new Don't Believe the Truth. ...
- A Honky-Tonk Hero: Billy Joe Shaver, The Biggest Country Music Star You've Never Heard Of
(cbsnewyork.com, June 1, 2005)
Just about every country singer you can think of - from Waylon Jennings to Johnny Cash to Willie Nelson - has turned the songs of Billy Joe Shaver into hits. Even Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan have recorded Shaver's songs. Those songs have an edgy, raw style that grew out of the music of Texas bars and honky-tonks, where Shaver misspent a good deal of his youth. His songs, not so much his voice, have made Shaver a honky-tonk hero, and a troubadour of the human condition. His philosophy can be summed up in a few words: "The devil made me do it the first time; the second time, I done it on my own." ... With Howard's help, Nashville's biggest stars soon began listening to Shaver's songs. His big break came in 1973, when Waylon Jennings recorded nine Shaver songs on one album, called "Honky Tonk Heroes." It became a big hit. That album soon made Shaver the favorite songwriter of many country music stars. Elvis Presley even recorded one of Shaver's songs three times. ...
- US barber in hot water for selling Neil Armstrong's hair
(Yahoo! News / AFP, June 1, 2005)
An Ohio barber has lost his most famous customer after he sold a plastic bag filled with Neil Armstrong's hair for 3,000 dollars. Armstrong, who was the first man to walk on the moon, used to get his hair cut about once a month at Marx Sizemore's barbershop in Lebanon, Ohio. ... Sizemore told the paper that he was approached a year ago by an agent for John Reznikoff, who is noted in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest collection of hair from historical figures. "First I told (the agent) I wasn't interested, but he kept at it," Sizemore told the paper. So Sizemore changed his mind and used the money to pay his bills. It's just picking up the trash on my floor after a haircut, anyway," he explained.
But when the famously private astronaut found out his hair had been sold, he confronted the 36-year-old barber and demanded he get it back. When Sizemore told Armstrong that wasn't possible, the astronaut had his lawyer send the barber a letter threatening legal action if he doesn't return the hair or donate the proceeds to a charity of Armstrong's choice.
Sizemore isn't the first barber to profit from the hair of a customer. In 2002, Elvis Presley's former barber sold a mass of the King's curls for 115,120 dollars, gaining the world record for the most valuable hair clippings sold at auction.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Reznikoff "doesn't usually look for specimens from living celebrities, because he doesn't want to encourage fans to go after their idols with scissors." His collection includes clippings from Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Napoleon, Elvis Presley, King Charles I and author Charles Dickens.
- Bidding begins on King's things: Alameda's Auctions By the Bay offers memento collection from Presley's one-time secretary
By Susan McDonough
(KYW Newsradio 1060, June 1, 2005)
INSIDE a glass cabinet, sharing space with a Wurlitzer jukebox and antique pinball machines at an Alameda auction house, is a collection of Elvis memorabilia, set to be sold within the next week. This is not the grand stuff - including Elvis' jumpsuits, original Army fatigues and the like - that earned millions in 1999 at an MGM Grand auction in Las Vegas. This stuff is more personal.
Inside the glass cabinet are inky fan letters, signed black-and-white photos of Elvis, handwritten notes on studio letterhead, a pink Elvis Presley Music business card and even a black barber's comb - ordinary stuff made magical because of a connection with Elvis. The collection of about 100 pieces belongs to the family of Trude Forsher, Elvis' personal secretary from 1956 to 1961. Forsher died in 2000, and her son, James, a Cal State East Bay professor and filmmaker, inherited the collection.
... The Elvis collection will be on display in the auction house's preview room beginning Friday. It is catalogued on the company's Web site at www.auctionsbythebay.com. Many items are now open for bidding on e-Bay. ...
- Pittsburgh's Famed Coroner Gets High-Powered Help to Fight Federal Probe
(KYW Newsradio 1060, June 1, 2005)
He's helped investigate the deaths of former intern Chandra Levy, Jon Benet Ramsey and Elvis Presley and the assassinations of US president John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert. Now Allegheny County, Pa. coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht is getting help from friends and associates, including well-known forensic scientist Henry Lee, to pay his legal bills from an ongoing federal investigation.
... Federal authorities in Pittsburgh are investigating whether Wecht, 74, or any of his employees worked on private cases during county time. FBI agents searched Wecht's office in April and seized computers and Wecht's private files. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported last month that the files included the Kennedy assassination; the deaths of Elvis Presley, White House counsel Vincent Foster and commerce secretary Ron Brown; and the prosecution of Erik and Lyle Menendez, brothers convicted of murdering their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. ...
- Elvis beats three agencies to land Pizza Hut business
(Brand Republic, dated January 13, found June 1, 2005)
LONDON - Pizza Hut has handed Elvis its multimillion-pound below-the-line account as it changes its strategy to focus on casual dining rather than fast food. Elvis, which won a four-way pitch against incumbent Minerva, RPM3 and Tequila, has already begun work on the brand values of the 440-restaurant chain. ...
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