early July, 2005
- Graceland to Celebrate Elvis Week 2005 August 8-16
(Yahoo! Finance / BUSINESS WIRE, July 12, 2005)
The nine-day celebration of the late superstar's life is held throughout the city of Memphis with numerous events and charity benefits, culminating in the annual Candlelight Vigil on August 15th attended by tens of thousands. Elvis.com to feature 6th annual live internet VIGILCAST(TM) of the Candlelight Vigil for fans around the world.
Each year since Elvis' death in 1977, thousands of people from around the world have gathered at his home Graceland, in Memphis, to celebrate his life in a week of events now known as ELVIS WEEK. And, for the sixth year, fans from all over the world can participate in the largest activity, the Candlelight Vigil on August 15th, via the live VIGILCAST(TM) on AOL.
Elvis Week 2005 runs from August 8th-16th. For a complete, detailed list of events, visit elvis.com.
The week is filled with numerous and varied activities such as the 21st Annual Elvis Art Contest & Exhibit, 2nd Annual Elvis Film Festival, Elvis Week Dance Party, Elvis Presley International Art Show and a special Graceland Scavenger Hunt.
Other activities include Conversations on Elvis, an Elvis Week tradition where Elvis friends and associates share stories and answer questions.
Official Elvis Insiders club members from around the world gather for the Official Elvis Insiders Conference, and returning this year are the annual Elvis Trivia Contest and the 23rd Annual Elvis Presley International 5K Run and Fun Walk, benefiting United Cerebral Palsy.
The Elvis Week Concert featuring Terry Mike Jeffrey with The Imperials takes place on Saturday, August 13th, and Elvis International: The Magazine Presents A Good Rockin' Elvis Day Festival on Sunday, August 14th.
The annual Candlelight Vigil and Vigilcast(TM) 2005 is Monday August 15th. This is the largest Elvis Week event, when thousands of fans are invited to walk up to Elvis' grave carrying a candle in quiet remembrance. A portion of the evening will be broadcast live on AOL as the sixth annual VIGILCAST(TM).
For additional information and access to Graceland, please contact us at jen@thebeckwithcompany.com or 323-845-9836.
- Successful twins reflect on music career
By Alberto Arcias
(Houston Community Newspapers, July 11, 2005)
Call them Rounders or Roustabouts. No matter, the Hooper twins had a fruitful life playing music, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Elvis Presley and Willis Nelson in a music career that spanned decades. They are pushing 82, live in a suburb of Magnolia called Fetzer, and still enjoy their whiskey and a party.
The twins, known by their stage names as Bud and Bud, were the youngest of five kids, born on a 60-acre cotton farm in Joaquin (in east Texas), to Arthur and Bertha Hooper.
As kids they worked the family's cotton fields. To make a little spending money, they hired out to pick for the neighbors. You could make fifty cents per hundred pounds, but neither one could ever pick a hundred. Being a pair of bright boys, it didn't take them long to figure out they needed another way to make money. ... At the tender age of 11, the brothers found themselves performing for country home dances where organizers made money by selling an illegal concoction called "Home Brew." The two brothers were paid 60 to 80 cents per dance. Their band consisted Bud and Bud, a neighbor's boy who played fiddle, and another who played guitar. ... Their big break came while they were playing the Magnolia Gardens in Houston on Sundays.
... Then came one of their many brushes with fame. Elvis Presley, who at this time was trying to make a name for himself, also did the show. Like the boys, he also played gigs at the Ft. Worth Hoedown, and the Big D Jamboree, in Dallas. Elvis used to come down to Houston and played at the Magnolia Gardens, and at Cooks Hoedown. He didn't have a band in those days. Once, when he came to Houston to play at Cooks, so the boys backed him up. "I remember he used to have a heavy hand with his guitar," said Bud. "Elvis was always breaking his strings. He was not much of a musician in those days, but he was a hell of a performer. Elvis knew how to use his body; and his guitar was more than a musical instrument, it was a prop. He used that guitar like it was an extension of his torso."
One day, months after we met him and played a gig with him, we where working a live radio show in a used car lot in Houston. We were doing "That's all right with Mama." He was driving by when he heard us playing his song on his car radio. He came over, finished the song, shook hands and left." ...
- Aussies turn to TV to find replacement for dead `Rock Star'
By Kate O'Hare / Zap2it
(Boston Herald, July 10, 2005)
Ever since Elvis Presley swiveled his hips on ``The Ed Sullivan Show'' and sent America reeling, rock 'n' roll has always had an uneasy relationship with network television. Not a man to shrink from a challenge, reality guru Mark Burnett (``Survivor,'' ``The Apprentice'') is gambling that network viewers are ready to rock this summer, with the premiere of CBS' ``Rock Star: INXS'' tomorrow at 9 p.m. on WBZ (Ch. 4). ...
- Tribute concert aims to fan out: Owner Gilmore on hunt for investors
By Travis Tritten and Jenny Burns
(Sun News, July 9, 2005)
Carolina Opry owner Calvin Gilmore is looking for investors to help him expand his Tribute concert to theaters across the United States and abroad. Among locations for at least 10 theaters he plans in the United States are Orlando, Fla., Las Vegas and Biloxi, Miss. He also is looking to Tokyo and China as possible markets. It would be Gilmore's first expansion outside the Grand Strand. He's betting that Tribute The Concert, which features imitators of music icons such as Elvis Presley and Liberace, can strike a chord with other audiences. ... The first of the new Tribute theaters could open as early as mid-2006 in the United States, according to Simpson & Partners, the Charleston-based consulting firm hired by Gilmore to manage the business plan. A theater abroad could follow soon after, possibly in London, Hong Kong or Tokyo, said Virginia Simpson, chairman of the firm. "An Elvis or Frank Sinatra imitator would probably cause riots in the streets [of Tokyo]," she said. ...
- "Elvis Presley International Airport, Memphis".2005
Released by: ElvisArt
(free-press-release.com, found July 10, dated June 28 2005)
Summary:
Proposal for an Elvis Presley Airport in Memphis.
The "Elvis Presley International Airport, Memphis" campaign, first publicised by wily Scott Shepard in the "Memphis Business Journal" 2001, and subsequently in newspapers around the globe, including the British "News of the World", raised a few eyebrows in the rest of Memphis media back then.
A couple of years later Memphis WMC TV5 took up the story and even ran a poll in which the Elvis Presley International Airport proposal received more than 75% of the vote!
Considering we already have a John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Louis Armstrong and John Lennon Airport, the reasons for the authorities in Shelby County Memphis to deny Elvis such an honour is quite mystifying.
Last Sunday two famous Memphians made the top ten in the list of the, "100 Greatest Americans", on the Discovery Channel. Martin Luther King, and Elvis Presley.
Therefore failing an Elvis Airport why not, "The King International Airport, Memphis".
A case of fulfilling two Kings, with one throne!
- The world this week - Elvis International airport?
(Times Online, July 9, 2005)
Elvis, king of the cockpit
Officials in Memphis are in a dilemma over whether to rename the city's airport "Elvis Presley International" in honour of "The King", who grew up near by. The move would be in line with other celebrity runways, including John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Louis Armstrong, John Lennon and John Kennedy airports. But the civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis in 1968, and many believe it would be more appropriate to call it the "King Airport", to honour both famous figures.
- Rodney, Dave and sweet dreams
By Alex Calise
(southflorida.com, July 8, 2005)
This week we introduce Alex Calise's musings on the South Florida entertainment scene, with Palm Beach County in the spotlight.
There's only one word to describe the hodgepodge of events to come: eclectic. Certain overblown, startlingly mainstream acts have thrown off the feng shui-ness of it all (they should have taken a cue from Elvis and left the building a long time ago). Still, it's possible to take a break from your ordinary morning blend of prefabricated dance beats and atrocious baby voices. Here's your chance to throw back some Southern comfort, or even the barky brew of South America.
- No end to the affair with Lilli Marlene
By Tom Cardy
(www.stuff.co.nz, July 8, 2005)
Despite her thick German accent, the English-speaking world embraced Marlene Dietrich, awarding her icon status. Now Jennifer Ward-Lealand is bringing her to life in a new show. She's equally famous as a singer and for her movies - along with a constant stream of affairs with men - and occasionally women. No, it isn't Madonna - but Marlene Dietrich. The German singer, with the heavily accented, half-spoken vocal style, is best known for Lilli Marlene and Falling in Love Again and her breakout movie The Blue Angel. And, like James Dean, Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, since her death in 1992 at age 90, [she] has become a pop culture icon. ...
- South Shore still has an ear for music
By Melinda Hunter
(Tahoe Daily Tribune, July 8, 2005)
Not so long ago when the likes of Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley frequented the posh showrooms of Stateline, the entertainment industry was booming. Nowadays, some aging baby boomers may argue that South Shore's heyday has come and gone. Others say that although music venues may have changed, the audience and the enthusiasm for music and Tahoe as a concert destination is only fueling more ticket sales. ...
- All things great and small -- and worthy of revering
By Jonathan Curiel
(San Francisco Chronicle, July 8, 2005)
Mana - Beyond Belief: Documentary. Directed and written by Peter Friedman and RogerManley. (Not rated. 92 minutes. At the Roxie.)
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Are there similarities among mourners at Elvis Presley's tomb in Graceland and families in Japan celebrating the spring arrival of cherry blossoms? How about a ceremony in Benin, West Africa, where the spirits of dead ancestors return; and young low-riders who parade their revved-up cars in New Mexico? Filmmakers Peter Friedman and Roger Manley believe the connection is mana, a Polynesian word meaning the power that exists in objects and other things.
In this splendid documentary, a Mouri priest says any object contains mana if it has the ability to inspire awe in people. A rock has mana. A wall has mana. Buddhist statues have mana. Crosses and shrouds have mana. In "Mana -- Beyond Belief," we see people around the world participating in visually kinetic rituals. Death and life inspire the same need to feel connected to something bigger.
- Chasing Elvis by Glenn Marcel
(book review)
By Joan Hunt
(blogcritics.org, July 7, 2005)
Chasing Elvis
Glenn Marcel
Book from Invisible College Press
Release date: 30 November, 2004
If Elvis hadn't died in 1977, do you think he'd be a bank robber? That's what one cop thinks. As he chases down leads, he sets in motion a chain of events that introduce us to some interesting characters and take us from Memphis to British Columbia, and from Los Angeles to London.
Chasing Elvis is a fun novel with more twists and turns than a Six Flags roller coaster. It exposes the inner workings behind some of the stranger tabloid headlines. It also examines the continued fascination millions have for Elvis Presley. Marcel transcends mere fan fiction with rich, intriguing characters, drama, humor, and most of all hope.
- Flashback to the '60s: Herman's Hermits, featuring Peter Noone, to perform Friday
By ERIN SNELGROVE
(News-Review, July 7, 2005)
At an age when most teenagers are cramming for tests or embarking on a new romance, Peter Noone was hobnobbing with Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Girls cried his name when he performed, and fans took his picture at every opportunity. ... Born in Manchester, England, Noone reached international acclaim at the age of 15. He graced the cover of Time magazine, and he met the likes of Johnny Cash, The Everly Brothers and other stars. These people, Noone said, were his contemporaries. He watched them rise to the top, which led him to believe that he would one day do the same. "We met older people like Elvis and the Beatles," Noone said. "They were my heroes and they were nice to me. I tried to emulate them." ... "They are still throwing underwear at us, but it's bigger than it used to be," Noone said. "Now, when the girls chase us, they can't catch us." ...
- The 50-year-old song that started it all: 'Rock Around the Clock' made Bill Haley the first rock star
By Todd Leopold
(CNN, July 7, 2005)
Fifty years ago Saturday, "Rock Around the Clock" hit No. 1. He was, James Miller wrote in "Flowers in the Dustbin," "the world's first -- and to this day, least likely -- rock and roll star."
Bill Haley was 30 in 1955, a family man with several children and a job as leader of a mildly popular band, the Comets. With his spit curl and paunch he looked like a salesman or, maybe, a disc jockey -- which, indeed, had been one of his previous jobs. He'd had a couple major chart hits but didn't think much of rock 'n' roll; it was simply the hot thing at the time, something popular with the kids that got the dance halls jumping and paid the bills. Haley's background was in Western swing, a la one of his influences, Bob Wills. So he may have been destined to be a musical footnote if it weren't for a movie, "Blackboard Jungle," and the song that blasted over the opening credits: "Rock Around the Clock."
Fifty years ago Saturday, "Rock Around the Clock" hit No. 1, a position it held for eight weeks on the Billboard charts. "Rock 'n' roll," an expansive term coined a couple years earlier by DJ Alan Freed, had now been to the pop mountaintop, a position it would never quite relinquish. Within six months, a trickle of rock 'n' roll hits -- by artists such as Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Carl Perkins -- would become a flood as the king of them all, Elvis Presley, emerged with a hip-shaking frenzy and changed the course of pop music for good.
Elvis, Little Richard, Berry, Domino, Perkins -- they're all considered founding fathers, legendary names still recognized as rock 'n' roll pioneers. But Haley? How did a pudgy, un-rock 'n' roll guy become the man who made the first huge rock 'n' roll record? Kevin Phinney, author of the forthcoming "Souled American: How Black Music Transformed White Culture" (Billboard Books), puts it succinctly. "He was the right man at the right place at the right time," Phinney says. ...
- Good timing kick-starts career
By Sarah Mauet
(ARIZONA DAILY STAR, July 7, 2005)
In his first professional acting role, singer/songwriter Tyler Hilton was cast in the role of a lifetime - he plays his first musical idol, Elvis Presley. "It was really nerve-wracking," Hilton said in a phone interview from a tour stop in Memphis. "At first I was thinking maybe I shouldn't do the thing because it's too much pressure and what if I screw it up. But then I thought if they offer me the part and I said 'no' and saw someone else do it, I'd be like, 'What! Why didn't you take that?' " The husky-voiced folk pop singer plays a young Presley in "Walk the Line," a biopic of country-music legend Johnny Cash. The film, which is due out later this year, stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.
While Hilton did little research to play Presley, he did dedicate time to learning the King's famous hip-popping moves - moves that Hilton does not plan to incorporate into his Tucson show Wednesday. "No, I couldn't pull that off," he laughed. ...
- The right site
By RICHARD NEWMAN
(North Jersey Media Group, July 6, 2005)
The King is in the house - the warehouse, that is. Yes, add Elvis Presley-brand sequined jumpsuits to the list of celebrity merchandise sold online by eFashionSolutions.
Just last week, Elvis Presley Enterprises announced that it had selected eFashionSolutions to run ShopElvis.com from eFashion's distribution center in Secaucus. "It's a one-stop shop,'' wrote Jennifer Burgess, director of marketing for Elvis Presley Enterprises, in an e-mail interview Tuesday. "They have successfully integrated everything from |the creative development, to the technical back-end processing, to a highly cost-effective shipping process, and that is exactly what we were looking for.''
eFashion, which is expected to begin running the Elvis site later this month, already runs the Web operations for about 20 other retailers, including Jennifer Lopez's Jlo.com and Phat Farm for Russell Simmons and Baby Phat for Kimora Lee Simmons. Four-year-old eFashion, which takes a 40 percent cut on each item sold, generated $30 million in sales last year, its chief executive said. Every order goes through eFashion's 71,000-square-foot facility, which is part of a larger building on Enterprise Avenue South in Secaucus. ...
- Makin' money: Elvis Fest future gets a big boost
By EMILY LE COZ
(Daily Journal, July 6, 2005)
The King would be proud. Three years after the festival named in Elvis Presley's honor started losing money, its organizers shifted tactics and turned a $9,135 profit to keep the annual event going another year. Festival organizer Jim High, for one, is saying, "Thank you. Thank you very much."
Before the 8th annual festival last month, planners had hinted at canceling downtown Tupelo's celebration if it couldn't start making money. Last year it lost $5,465. In 2003, it lost $2,642.
But cost-cutting measures and new twists broke the losing streak this year, High said at a Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association meeting Tuesday. Organizers saved $4,000 by forgoing rain insurance and another $1,000 by halving the number of portable toilets at the event. Instead of paying vendors to sell beer, they staffed the booth with volunteers and even manned their own food stand to earn extra cash. The carnival that coincided with the festival for the first time this year provided a $2,850 commission for event coffers, and organizers catered their own E-Club and VIP events to trim costs.
They also spent $25,000 less on entertainment than they did last year despite getting stars such as Chuck Berry and Tracy Byrd.
On the downside, Elvis Presley Enterprises - which owns rights to Elvis' likeness and image - raised its festival licensing fee to a $5,000 flat rate, up from last year's rate of 10 percent profits on Elvis merchandise sales.
High said that based on ticket sales, the weekend festival on Front Street attracted an estimated 11,000 people, up from last year's all-time high of 8,500 tickets. Organizer Debbie Brangenberg said a super-ticket promotion with Clear Channel Communications and Dodge's Chicken stores helped boost sales. Those tickets offered discount weekend passes to the festival and free entry to the Elvis Presley Birthplace. And during the June 3-4 event, more visitors - 271 - toured the birthplace than any other time, Brangenberg said. "It was a success, but it wouldn't have been possible without the volunteers," said Main Street Association President Randy Burchfield. Roughly 200 volunteers sold tickets and refreshments, manned the gates and ran errands for the event.
- Elvis Fest saved for another year by cost-saving tactics, other changes
(Picayune Item / Associated Press, July 6, 2005)
Tupelo's Elvis Presley Festival turned a $9,135 profit in 2005, enough to keep the event going for another year.
Before the 8th annual festival last month, planners had hinted at canceling the downtown event if it didn't start making money. Last year, it lost $5,465. In 2003, it lost $2,642. Cost-cutting measures and new twists broke the losing streak this year, festival organizer Jim High told a meeting of Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association on Tuesday. High said organizers saved $4,000 by forgoing rain insurance and another $1,000 by halving the number of portable toilets at the event. Instead of paying vendors to sell beer, they staffed the booth with volunteers and even manned their own food stand to earn extra cash.
The carnival that coincided with the festival for the first time this year provided a $2,850 commission and organizers catered their own E-Club and VIP events to trim costs. High said they spent $25,000 less on entertainment than last year despite getting stars such as Chuck Berry and Tracy Byrd. "We just did a better job of getting the right people at the right price," High said.
Elvis Presley Enterprises, which owns rights to Elvis' likeness and image, raised its festival licensing fee to a $5,000 flat rate, up from last year's rate of 10 percent profits on Elvis merchandise sales. High said based on ticket sales, the weekend festival attracted about 11,000 people, up from 8,500 tickets last year.
- Elvis Presley Enterprises ousting last competitors near Graceland
(tennessean.com / Associated Press, July 6, 2005)
Elvis Presley Enterprises is taking over the last two independent souvenir shops at Graceland but says it has no immediate plans to expand. Graceland spokesman Todd Morgan said, however, that closing the independently owned shops gives EPE freedom to move quickly on new ideas for more company-owned stores, museums or the like. ...
- Presley Enterprises taking over gift shops
(USATODAY.com / Associated Press, July 6, 2005)
Elvis Presley Enterprises is taking over the last two independent souvenir shops at Graceland but says it has no immediate plans to expand. However, Graceland spokesman Todd Morgan said that closing the independently owned shops gives EPE freedom to move quickly on new ideas for more company-owned stores, museums or the like. ...
Elvis Presley Enterprises will own all of the souvenir shops at Graceland
after it buys the two remaining independent ones open now.
Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau
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