late June, 2005
- Switch could benefit Twins' Mauer
By Jim Souhan
(FOXsports.com, June 23, 2005)
It's late on a June Wednesday, and the sunbaked night spots of Phoenix beckon. The bar outside the gates of Bank One Ballpark thumps with vertigo-inducing R&B bass, seemingly making the roof of the BOB bob. This is a wonderful time and place to be a promising ballplayer with young Elvis' sideburns and old Elvis' bank account, but by the time Twins catcher Joe Mauer hits the streets, they're almost as cool and quiet as he is. ...
- Engelbert Humperdinck: More than just a name?
By Paul Jackson
(Daily Yomiuri, June 23, 2005)
... Talking of his image, Enge wants to set the record straight about Elvis. "He didn't copy my image at all. The truth of the matter is this: I put my sideburns on in 1965...that's prior to Elvis, he did it in about 1972," says Humperdinck, who like Elvis was an important mainstay of Las Vegas clubs. He pinpoints the source of the confusion: "When he finally wore that famous white jumpsuit of his, an artist sketched him in it and presented it to him on a TV show ... and he said, 'Hell, that's not me, that's Engelbert Humperdinck.'" While Elvis has long gone, contemporary Tom Jones is still around--although Humperdinck hasn't seen him in 15 years. Given the chance, though, Enge says he'd "certainly" have a pint with Jones. ...
- McFarlane: Elvis #4 Figure
(free-press-release.com, June 23, 2005)
Summary: McFarlane Toys' fourth Elvis action figure features the King of Rock 'n Roll in another timeless pose.
McFarlane Toys' fourth Elvis action figure features the King of Rock 'n Roll in another timeless pose. Dressed in his famous gold lame outfit he wore during a New York City appearance in 1956, Elvis is captured in amazing true-to-life detail. Impeccably detailed, this collector's figure includes a custom marquee base and microphone stand. Measures 6" tall.
- Queen Elizabeth faces the music: Royal's new iPod fuels selection speculation
By JACKIE LOOHAUIS
(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 22, 2005)
The story goes that early in Queen Elizabeth's II marriage, a ceremonial band struck up "God Save the Queen." Her Majesty turned to husband Prince Philip and whispered, "They're playing my song."
Just what HM's song may really be these days has now become the topic of international speculation. That's because the British tabloid The Sun and MSNBC.com report that the queen has just received an Apple iPod (a 6GB silver Mini, to be exact, says the Sun). The queen, of course, didn't "bizrate.com" it herself to get a deal. A staffer picked it up for her at £169 (about $309). Second son Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, is said to have been behind the idea. (He also got the queen her first mobile phone back in 2001).
Aside from the taxpayer issue that she could have gotten it in pink for $179, she now faces the question of just what to do with it. Presumably the queen wants to do more than carry it in her legendarily empty purse. We already know she has a penchant for good vibrations. The queen mother saw to it that she was schooled in music when she was a mere princess, and during the war, Elizabeth even did radio gigs. Elizabeth also commissioned William Walton to compose a special march for her coronation titled "Orb and Scepter." And, of course, the queen loves to knight musicians, everyone from Sir Paul McCartney to Sir Elton John, even though he may have worn more jewelry to his knighting than she did.
So now that HRH has gone digital, what tunes might she download to bliss out at Windsor Palace? Sun readers have suggested Abba's "Dancing Queen" or, mayhap, Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." Steve Murphy, program director for WFMR-FM (106.9), suggests, "Anything by the Rolling Stones." Here are some other suggestions we've rounded up:
"The Duke of Earl" by Gene Chandler
"God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols
"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen
"If I Were King of the Forest" by the Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz"
Anything by Queen Latifah
"The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on the Plain" (to improve her command of the queen's English)
Anything by The Royal Guardsmen
"Elizabeth, I Love You" by Michael Jackson
Anything by Prince
"I'm Henry VIII I Am" by Herman's Hermits
"King of the Whole Wide World" by Elvis Presley
Anything by the Kingston Trio
"England Swings (Like a Pendulum Do)" by Roger Miller
"Family Affair" by Mary J. Blige
"Her Majesty's A Pretty Nice Girl" by the Beatles
Anything by The Buckinghams
The King: Elvis Presley
- Live At The Park begins Monday with Elvis impersonator
By RALUCA BARZU
(Kentucky Standard, June 20, 2005)
Holy Cross native Eddie Miles, who travels the nation performing tributes to Elvis Presley, will entertain crowds in Bardstown Monday. Impersonating the King of Rock 'n Roll, Miles will kick of this summer's Live At The Park Concert Series at 8 p.m. The concert will happen against the backdrop of My Old Kentucky Home at J. Dan Talbott Amphitheatre, where many other artists will perform this summer. Before concerts, a beer garden opens at 6:30 p.m. Miles will perform "A Salute to Country Legends" and end with "A Salute to Elvis." Miles was born and raised in Holy Cross as one of eight children. Along with his brothers and sisters, Miles attended talent shows and displayed his vocals at a young age. His mother was the catalyst for their love for music, Miles says on his Web site biography, www.eddiemiles.com.
Growing up, his musical influences besides Elvis Presley were Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Merle Haggard, Marty Robbins, George Jones, The Beatles, Creedence Clearwater, the Rolling Stones and Motown. Although Miles is now an experienced musician, he admits to still having stage fright from time to time.
He prides himself in having traveled all the way to Memphis and seen Elvis in person, through a pair of binoculars, in front of his home.
On his Web site Miles wrote to his fans, "When I think about Elvis standing perfectly still in those beams of sunlight, which were majestically shining through those huge trees, with his arms stretched out, in that purple and gold robe, head back, looking up into the heavens, looking God-like himself, I believe he was communicating with God, his maker, in prayer and meditation. It is a picture I will never forget." Miles also opened a theater bearing his name in Myrtle Beach, N.C., where he still performs from time to time, in between concerts throughout the country. ...
- I put Michael into a trance: it was unethical, but I had to know the truth about Jordie
By By Uri Geller
(Telegraph, June 19, 2005)
Out of catastrophe comes fresh hope. Six months ago, my friend Michael Jackson was facing disaster in every area of his life - his career was flatlining, his finances were coming apart at the seams, his reputation was smeared by a television show that he had hoped would relaunch his image. Worst of all, he was facing a court case that could destroy him utterly. The courage he needed to withstand whatever fresh ordeals were in store was awesome. I felt deep sympathy and pity for him. Worse than this, I blamed myself. I had persuaded Michael to make the documentary with Martin Bashir that set off this appalling chain reaction. ... As the verdicts were delivered on Monday, Michael Jackson's life turned around. His headlong plunge became a soaring flight to freedom. At the same moment, the burden of guilt on my shoulders began to lift. I'm quietly proud of my part in relaunching Michael's career. This comeback of his is going to be the most dramatic ever seen in showbiz, more seismic than Elvis Presley's return from the US Army. In fact, the only thing that could beat this would be for Elvis to come back from the dead. ...
- They have questions, do you have answers?
(Bay Area Living, June 20, 2005)
LETTERS, WE get letters... Because you asked for it, here are more name-that-film dilemmas that require you to do some sleuthing. ... The final quest ... Many years ago, Jo-Anne P. of Castro Valley saw a black-and-white TV movie starring Diane Lane when the actress was a young girl. "She was in a wheelchair and didn't respond to people," Jo-Anne recalls. "Then, when the Elvis Presley song 'Teddy Bear' was played she came to life. "It was based on a true story, and in the movie a letter was written to Elvis asking him to respond. He finally sent a teddy bear. The girl died at the end. I can't remember the name of the movie." You know the drill. If you can help, do so. Jo-Anne will appreciate it.
- The difference between collecting and obsessing
By Michael Chatfield
(Gilroy Dispatch, June 20, 2005)
People like to collect things. I've never really figured out why that is, but I'm sure that somewhere a dedicated team of behavioral scientists is doggedly studying the phenomenon. For instance, my wife Melanie likes to say that she is the victim of an Elvis collection. Years ago, on a lark she went to Graceland with a friend. Not being a huge fan of The King, for her it was more of an adventure in tackiness than a pilgrimage. After that trip, everyone she knew began giving Melanie Elvis memorabilia, the more tasteless the better. She now has several boxes full of the stuff. For a while, I displayed as much as was possible in a small bathroom I liked to call "The King's Throne Room." ...
- For wine labels, forget the vintage; check out the image
By SANDRA ECKSTEIN
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 20, 2005)
Shoppers who want a decent bottle of wine with dinner - but don't know the difference between a sauvignon blanc and a pinot noir - often feel overwhelmed. But many have decided to avoid serious guides to wine and instead look for a cool label. ... And while wine devotees might groan at the thought of buying wine based on what's on the outside of the bottle, more people are shopping with their eyes. ... Part of the reason for the new labeling - from birds and kangaroos to reproductions of fine art - is a move by wine merchants to make their product more of an everyday item instead of something stuffy saved only for special occasions. The growth of American wines, which don't have the long history of many European wineries, has led to vineyard owners who are willing to have a little more fun with their labels and not take themselves so seriously, said David Sloane, president of WineAmerica, which represents about 800 American wineries. ... Winery owners, label makers and liquor store owners say that animals are extremely popular on more relaxed labels, which typically are priced underl $10. Celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra also are showing up on bottles. Other labels sport commissioned works by renowned artists like gonzo painter Ralph Steadman, French realist Balthus and Sol LeWitt of Connecticut, who is known for his wall drawings. Add to that embossings, enameling or cutout work and the array of labels can be endless. ...
- Daydreamer takes showbiz reins again
By Rachel Devine
(Times Online, June 19, 2005)
David Cassidy was the teenybop idol with a dark side. While Donny and Marie Osmond were trading paper roses, Cassidy was swapping Partridge Family values for a life of sex, drugs and adult-oriented rock. For a spell in the early 1970s he was one of the worldıs biggest heart-throbs, but then it went depressingly wrong. His memoir Cımon, Get Happy: Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus revealed how he suffered from depression brought on by fading fame and his bitterness over the money he felt he should have earned while his star was at its brightest. Now, after two decades of relative obscurity, he is bringing back that clean-cut image for a 1970s revivalist tour with the Osmonds, the Bay City Rollers and David Essex. ... Cassidy was still a teenager when he joined the cast of the hit American television show The Partridge Family in 1970. He left the show four years later, already a huge international star, to pursue a pop career. By then his fan club was the largest in the history of the music industry, eclipsing even the Beatles and Elvis Presley.
- Big fish: 'Jaws' surfaces again on DVD for its 30th anniversary and still has more bite than any other summer blockbuster
By GENE SEYMOUR
(newsday.com, June 19, 2005)
"Jaws" came out 30 years ago this summer. Somehow it seems longer than 30 years. What were movie summers like before 1975? Who can remember that far back? It's almost like asking what pop music was like before Elvis Presley broke loose in 1956. For "Jaws," in its widespread and overpowering impact on the culture at large, was very much the cinematic equivalent of Elvis. Even those on whom the movie's antic charms were completely lost couldn't escape it. People went to see it twice, thrice, even five or six times in the same season. ...
- A splashing good time
By Emily Le Coz
(Daily Journal, June 18, 2005)
TUPELO - Hundreds of spectators erupted in "awww" while watching the first child who splashed in the new fountain at the Park at Fairpark.
When the ring of squirting water changed patterns and soaked her face, the crowd responded with laughter. The toddler, on the other hand, responded with tears, and got a hug from her grandpa. The moment was one of many highlights during Friday's two-hour celebration and dedication of the downtown district's long-anticipated park on the site of the former Mississippi/Alabama Fairgrounds where Elvis Presley twice performed. ...
- Could it be the King? Owners, experts debate voice on studio tapes
By CORINA MILLER
(The Frisco Enterprise, June 17, 2005)
But until he can answer the question of whether or not the reel-to-reel tapes he inherited from his uncle contain some of Elvis Presley's earliest recordings, the world will simply have to wait to know the truth. "It's a mystery," the Frisco-based Rodman Excavation employee acknowledged.
Lawrence acquired the tapes not long after a family reunion. During the reunion, he asked a cousin, Sue Wallace, what happened to some of the relics from Fernwood Studio, the recording studio her father, his uncle Ronald "Slim" Wallace, operated in the 1950s and 60s. She replied they still had the studio's name, papers and some boxes. "I said, 'What's in those boxes?' She said, 'Tapes.' I said, 'Studio tapes?' She said, 'Studio tapes,' " Lawrence recalled. Wallace's answers piqued Lawrence's curiosity. After all, Memphis circa 1955 was a hotbed for a myriad of musical sounds, from jazz, to blues, to country and western, to gospel and some quirky hybrids stemming from any one of those styles.
After more conversation, Lawrence learned the tapes in the remaining boxes had not yet been played. That statement made his mind reel even further. So much that the Plano resident sought permission from his cousin and her brother to purchase the tapes, with plans to take the tapes home with him to Texas to see if he could hear their contents. The two agreed to sell them.
Upon arrival home, Lawrence visited Rosewood Studio in Tyler, the very studio in which country music prodigy LeAnne Rimes recorded her debut hit, "Blue." Lawrence thought very little of the mellow male voice that dripped from the tapes through the speakers. When he turned to look at the young engineer manning the studio, he stared in surprise. The young man recognized the dulcet tones and began shaking.
"He was so excited, his hair was standing up on the back of his arms," Lawrence recalled. "I started to listen. Then I thought, 'Oh, my God. This could be the king.' " Rock and roll history makes Lawrence's conclusion even more of a possibility. Elvis historians say the star, who was born in Tupelo, Miss., graduated from Memphis' Hume High School in 1953 and immediately began to search for a place in the growing music industry. His style reflected the many sounds he heard around him, from the pop and country music filling charts across the nation, the gospel tunes he heard in church and the black jazz and rhythm and blues he soaked in while walking Memphis' famous Beale Street. Historians say his first known recordings, "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heart Breaks," were compiled in Memphis' Sun Records in 1954.
Lawrence's family history supports his conclusion as well. Fernwood Studio, once located on Fernwood St. in Memphis, was turning out recording after recording from 1954 to 1966. But more than that, Wallace recalls sitting in the studio while Presley crooned his soft melodies into the microphone and onto blank tape.
As teen-agers, Wallace and a young Elvis Presley were good friends. "We would meet at an ice cream parlor, Ace Sundry, after school and listen to the juke box and just mess around for a while before we went home. It was just a hangout for us kids. He was just a part of the crowd," Wallace, who now resides in Duluth, Georgia, said. In their conversation one day, Presley, then a shy, polite, insecure teenager, confessed to Wallace that he'd been singing all his life yet could find nobody to listen to him. He doubted out loud that he would ever make a name for himself in music.
Wallace immediately thought about her father. Still, she hesitated. Her father preferred to record only country and western. And recently, one of his finds, Thomas Wayne, had hit the charts with his tune, "Tragedy." Despite her father's musical taste, Wallace decided she wanted to help her friend. One afternoon, she brought a reluctant yet eager Presley home with her. "Daddy was used to me bringing musicians home. So we set up a session. Dad listened to Elvis and said, 'I'll tell you what, I'll see what I can do.' He went inside and picked up the phone and called his friend Sam Phillips."
Wallace's father suggested to Phillips that he listen to Elvis. Phillips called back a few days later and said he had time that evening for the young singer. Presley could hardly wait for the sun to set in the humid Memphis sky. "He was just thrilled to death," Wallace, who established her own record label and launched Isaac Hayes' career, recalled. Phillips was intrigued by the talent the young, dark-haired, sleepy-eyed youth before him displayed. So intrigued was he that he took Elvis under his wing.
Wallace heard the good news that night when the future rock and roll legend called her to relay the details. As Presley's music career picked up, Wallace saw less and less of him. But when Presley came into town after traveling the road, still trying to make a name for himself, he made time to visit Wallace and Fernwood Studios. He even recorded a few licks at Fernwood. At times, his stays went on into the wee hours of the morning, and Wallace's younger brother, Ronnie, would wake to find Elvis sleeping soundly on the family couch.
"He would practice this one or that one, so that when the guys would come in to play, he could practice with them. He was just in there messing around," she said. The tapes he made stayed at Fernwood, even when Wallace's father adamantly declared he would never use them. "I was sitting there on the stool when he was singing those songs. He told Dad, 'Mr. Wallace, I wish you would keep them. It's my way of saying thank you. It I make it, you could do something with them,' " Wallace recalled. Those tapes remained in a box placed on the top shelf in a leaky shed for decades, never even coming out when Elvis Presley achieved legendary status, achieving a career that included 33 films, countless concerts, television specials, over one hundred billion record sales and recognition as the singer who earned the most consecutive No. 1 hits in history.
According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Presley has the more multi-platinum and gold records than any other artist, earning 25 multi-platinum and 97 gold ones. He also spent more time on Billboard's hot 100 than any other artist. His fan-base and influence on the music world continued, even after his death on Aug. 16, 1977.
Despite Wallace's memories, Herbert Joe, board-certified forensic audio examiner and managing partner of Yonovitz and Joe, has reason to doubt the tracts on Lawrence's tapes are indeed the King of Rock and Roll. Upon request from Fox 4 News, which produced a story on Lawrence's find, Yonovitz and Joe conducted a free forensic analysis of the tapes. To test the tapes they used known Elvis Presley songs to create a database of vocal characteristics. "From that, we compared the vocal characteristics of the songs we were presented," Joe said. "Then we compared the two and made a forensic determination that each of the six songs were not sung by Elvis."
Joe noted the frequency of some of the same words in both the known and unknown songs were different. Pitch also varied. "There were other things, but we were kind of confined to what we could work with," Joe said. "Obviously, it would have been better if we had had the same songs to compare." Even RCA Records denied the recordings represented some of Presley's earliest works. "They listened to it, and they said they 'do not believe these are some of the earliest recordings of Elvis Presley,'" Lawrence said, quoting the letter he received from RCA, adding the renowned record label theorized the voice could indeed belong to Thomas Wayne.
But still, both Lawrence and Wallace are convinced that the tracts they hear on the tapes were recorded by Presley. Wallace believes her memories are proof enough. And Lawrence, a musician in his own right, hears bits and pieces of the style for which Presley was known, a style Presley would not yet have developed at such a young age. Here and there in the five cuts on the tapes, certain words and phrases belie their potential origin. One song, in which the singer ponders the sentimental value behind a pressed orchid, which, the singer performing the tune said reminds him "of the love we shared in our high school days," features the word "days" played out long and lonesome, just like Elvis. Some of the notes in the tunes are sung in the softer, vibrato-heavy tones that made "Are You Lonesome Tonight" famous. And a take of "Don't Be Cruel" has the singer singing, "Baby, it's just you I'm thinking of," with the first word sounding more like a hiccup-ed "buh-aaybee," much in the way that Presley himself would have sung it in his heyday.
The presence of old relics also suggest to Lawrence that the King of Rock and Roll indeed sang the cuts on the Fernwood Studio tapes he now owns. With Slim Wallace's belongings is a one-of-a-kind old black and white photo of a teen-age Elvis Presley holding a guitar and posing with a local DJ. The DJ, Dewey Phillips, was one of Slim Wallace's acquaintances. Lawrence also possesses some photographs of Presley shot outside of Fernwood. He also has an album cover in which Presley, then about 17 years old, stands with his band members.
Joe acknowledged that despite his forensic analysis, it's possible that the recordings may indeed have originated from Presley. Comparing a singing voice with a speaking voice is hardly a foolproof test. And as there are very few guidelines that could help forensic scientists analyze a singing voice available, Yonovitz and Joe had to use the guidelines in place for speaking voices.
Still, Herbert believes it highly unlikely that the voice on the tapes he heard is indeed a young King of Rock and Roll. Even if forensics can't prove that theory without a doubt, history can. Herbert pointed out that "Don't be Cruel" was recorded in 1956, after Elvis had already signed on with Sun Records. In addition, the recordings he heard included heavy bass, which were often deleted from early 1950s recordings, as very few personal record-playing systems could pick up a bass's low tone. Herbert noted that even though those facts did not factor into his final analysis, they must be considered.
But if the voice on the recordings isn't the legendary Elvis Presley, then who is it? "If it's not him, then who the heck is it," Lawrence wonders. "That's the mystery." That is the very mystery that Lawrence hopes to solve. The search for the truth has inspired many creative ideas. For example, Lawrence is reliving the experience in some songs he's penning. And in the name of finding the truth, he hopes to one day set up an Internet-based reality show, in which he interviews source after source, all experts in music, history and relating topics. Lawrence believes his search for the identity of the voice in the recordings is his destiny. After all, too many bizarre occurrences have cropped up since Lawrence acquired the tapes. For example, he's amazed the tapes survived, even though they were stored in unsealed boxes in a leaky shed. Other, better protected tapes have withered in the same time frame. "These were in a leaking shed in a topless box, and they're perfectly preserved," Lawrence said. "The leader tape between the songs would break, but they (the songs) play."
Lawrence believes the truth is out there somewhere. And he's going to find it. Until then, those tapes, their origin and the identity of the man singing them, will remain a mystery. "We've got something, and it's huge," Lawrence said. "Bigger than huge. But I don't know what the word would be."
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