mid September, 2005
- Outrageous Fortune
(Yahoo! News, September 21 2005)
One thing is for certain: If Rock Star: Elvis Presley ever were to materialize, Canadian J.D. Fortune would leave his competition crying in the chapel at the heartbreak hotel. Gold suits and greased-back hair notwithstanding, the reality TV series Rock Star: INXS finally wrapped up late last night. ...
- Calling all garlic lovers, kids and Elvis fans
(2nd item)
By ELLEN FOLKMAN
(Yahoo! News, September 21 2005)
TITLE: Graceland's Table: Recipes fit for the King of Rock and Roll by Ellen Rolfes (Rutledge Hill Press, $19.99; 237 pages).
GENERALLY SPEAKING: Graceland's Table is a cookbook by Elvis fans for Elvis fans. The 175 recipes come from members of the more than 400 Elvis fan clubs and is the first cookbook to have the full cooperation of Elvis Presley Enterprises.
SAMPLE RECIPES: "Blue Hawaii" sweet and sour Hawaiian spare ribs, "Too Much" chocolate cake, banana cake, hunk o'peanut butter pie, "Jailhouse Rock" baked beans, "Don't Be Cruel" vegetable hodgepodge and "All Shook Up" hound dogs.
FOR: Elvis fans and anyone who enjoys food with the family in mind. Elvis was a man who never strayed far from home cooking. He always loved the comfort of down-home Southern food. There are vintage photos showing Elvis sharing meals with his parents and grandparents.
JUST FOR FUN: Bits of trivia, photos showing a peek into Elvis' childhood and Graceland estate, and memoirs written by people close to Elvis make this cookbook all the more delightful.
- Biggest Elvis festival in Europe
(newswales.co.uk, September 20 2005)
Porthcawl Elvis Festival this year takes in 26 venues and more than 80 different events and is the biggest Elvis Festival in Europe. It starts officially on Friday 30th September with a champagne reception at the Grand Pavilion on the town's Esplanade. As it gets dark, the Elvis themed fairground at Coney Beach will come to life at 50p per ride and the 'Heartbreak Hotel' hosts an Elvis Speed dating evening before the opening heats of the Best Festival Elvis Karaoke Competition. ...
- Elvis Jukebox Musical All Shook Up to Close September 25
By Cara Joy David
(broadway.com, September 20 2005)
All Shook Up, the jukebox musical inspired by and featuring the tunes of Elvis Presley, will end its run at the Palace Theatre on September 25. At the time it closes, it will have played 33 preview and 213 regular performances. All Shook Up tells the story of a small town girl (Jenn Gambatese) who dreams of hitting the open road, and the guitar-playing stranger (Cheyenne Jackson) who brings romance, rebellion and rock 'n' roll into her life. Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change) wrote the libretto. In addition to Gambatese and Jackson, Jonathan Hadary, Leah Hocking, Curtis Holbrook, Nikki M. James, John Jellison, Alix Korey, Mark Price and Sharon Wilkins star. ...
- Songwriter Joel Hirschhorn Dies at 67
(Yahoo! News, September 20 2005)
Joel Hirschhorn, who shared two Academy Awards for theme songs in "The Poseidon Adventure" and "The Towering Inferno," has died. He was 67. Hirschhorn, of Agoura Hills, died Sunday of a heart attack at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, his wife, documentary producer Jennifer Carter Hirschhorn, said Monday. He had broken his shoulder in a fall Friday night, she said. Hirschhorn's songs sold more than 90 million records, were featured in 20 movies and were recorded by artists including Elvis Presley. ...
- Grocer Harold Cooperman dies at 87
(omaha.com, September 20 2005)
Whether he was dressed up for a TV commercial as Elvis Presley or George Washington, Omahans could recognize a bit of themselves in No Frills Supermarkets founder Harold Cooperman. Cooperman, 87, died Tuesday at Methodist Hospital. ...
- Towering Inferno songwriter dies
(BBC, September 20 2005)
Songwriter Joel Hirschhorn, who won two Oscars for his music in movies The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno, has died aged 67, reports say. Hirschhorn suffered a heart attack in a California hospital, according to industry newspaper Variety. Artists who recorded his work included Elvis Presley and more than 90 million copies of Hirschhorn's songs were sold, the Los Angeles Times reported. He also wrote books and was a theatre critic for Variety. ...
- Butter Sculptor Takes On The King
(thewgalchannel.com, September 20 2005)
Hey, if you're going to make your art transitory, make the subject enduring. New York artist Sharon BuMann is creating a sculpture of Elvis out of an 800-pound slab of butter for the State Fair Of Texas next week. The Dallas Morning News reports that's about 2.6 million calories, or 295,204 grams of fat and 782,600 milligrams of cholesterol. And here's the kicker -- that's not the hefty late-career King. BuMann is sculpting "thin Elvis," the way he looked for his 1968 comeback special. ...
- Elvis butter sculpture at State Fair of Texas
(statesman.com, September 19 2005)
He's all buttered up. The State Fair of Texas in Dallas will feature a life-size butter sculpture of the late, great Elvis Presley. The real Elvis was no stranger to the State Fair. The man known as the King of Rock and Roll performed at the Cotton Bowl in 1956. ...
- The Memorialist: Elvis Aaron Presley's Grave Ledger
By Burton Fletcher
(Dallas Morning News, September 19 2005)
Early in 2005, I was in Memphis, Tennessee for a continuing education program offered by the Monument Builders of North America, a national organization to which I belong. During my convention, I visited Graceland, the Memphis home of the late Elvis Aaron Presley (b. Jan. 8, 1935, d. August 16, 1977) who lived a mere 42 years 7 months 8 days. During the tour, I was informed that, by special permission, Elvis' grave was relocated to Graceland from Forest Hill Cemetery in October 1977 after it was discovered that mischief makers had tampered with Elvis' grave. Perhaps some folks did not believe Elvis was really dead, or perhaps they were trophy hunters of the most bizarre kind. Who knows?! Like other tourists, I gawked at one thing or another until I reached Elvis' grave. Then, I was in my element, and I had an opinion on how I would improve Elvis' shrine. ...
- Lights! Camera! Hawaii perfect paradise location
By Paul Majendie
(Yahoo! News / Reuters, September 19 2005)
For international set-jetters Hawaii is the perfect location. Indiana Jones racing for cover, dinosaurs rampaging in Jurassic Park, Elvis Presley crooning to his bride -- the Hawaiian island of Kauai has offered the ultimate exotic backdrop in more than 70 Hollywood movies. As the tourist industry enjoys a boom in bookings inspired by movie and TV locations -- a phenomenon known as "set-jetting" -- Hawaii is celluloid nirvana for besotted film fans. ... Hurricane Iniki ravaged another hotel which was immortalized by Elvis Presley in "Blue Hawaii." ... "At first we put all our eggs in the 'Jurassic Park' basket and that was a big mistake. Elvis is now a big draw and very popular. And everyone loves 'South Pacific'," Movie Tours company president Bob Jasper said. ...
- Swedes get new look at Elvis
By DANZA JOHNSON
(Daily Journal, September 19 2005)
Elvis's blue suede shoes have danced their way to Sweden.
Calle Wisborg and Karin Malmsten, producers with the Swedish Broadcasting Co., said even though Sweden has a strong Elvis Presley fan base, people in their country don't know who the "King" really was. But about 50 Swedish tourists were about to find out as they visited the Elvis Presley Birthplace on Saturday. "It is so astonishing to see that the big man came from such small beginnings," said Malmsten, pointing at the little house where Elvis spent the first three years of his life. "We want people to know the normal side of Elvis. His charity, his Christian faith and his involvement in the civil rights movement. People in Sweden are very curious about Elvis." The Rev. Ulf Sanned of the Swedish Church organized a tour to the Memphis area every year. Along with Pat Rasberry and the Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau, this is the third tour Sanned has had in Tupelo. He produces and conducts a music talk program called Amazing Grace in Sweden. Sanned will deliver a sermon today at the Victory Temple Church, Elvis' home church, which will be broadcast all over Sweden. A radio documentary will be made from their trip and it will focus on the footsteps of Elvis's life. "When we broadcast this, we hope our listeners will realize the beauty of this museum," said Sanned. "The beginning of Elvis's life started here."
More to come? Sanned said he hopes the focus on Elvis' younger years will encourage more Swedes to make the trip to his birthplace. Museum Director Dick Guyton said it's not uncommon to see people from as far away as Sweden make the trip to the museum. "About 40 percent of the people that visit here are European," said Guyton. "People all over the world are extremely fond of Elvis."
- Canberra's Super Sunday of fun and entertainment
By Ingrid Jonach
(Canberra Times, September 18 2005, p. 3)
Canberra's mix of blue skies, dark clouds and galeforce winds had Elvis all shook up yesterday. Elvis impersonator Andrew Leonard, aka Lemvis, said was thankful it wasn't raining hard on the first day of Floriade, with showers holding off until the late afternoon, because he was shivering in his blue suede shoes. "It is very cold in this jumpsuit. I'll have to get shaking to warm up", he said. ...
- Presley's stepbrother brings crusade to Kettering
By Khalid Moss
(Dayton Daily News, September 17 2005)
Don't expect a whole lot of shakin' when Elvis Presley's stepbrother, evangelist Rick Stanley, launches the final leg of his Ohio Crusade at First Baptist Church of Kettering, 1600 Brownleigh Road, this weekend. What you can expect, however, is a whole lot of teachin,' a whole lot of preachin' and a whole lot of prayin'.
Stanley, 52, said his attitude and beliefs have been shaped by two kings: the King of Rock 'n' Roll and the King of Kings. "I started traveling with Elvis when I was 17," said Stanley, whose mother, Dee Stanley, married Elvis' dad, Vernon Presley. "He taught me things I incorporate in my life right now, like spending time to talk to people. Elvis talked to his fans and never ran from the media or photographers. His philosophy was that we should thank God they want to take our pictures." Stanley was Elvis' personal assistant, and few friends or family members were closer to the sacroiliac-quaking crooner up until the day he died at Graceland in 1977.
Nowadays, the Florida-based preacher is a recovered addict and globe-trotting spiritual leader who doesn't rely on his kin's electric guitar or velvet jumpsuit to spread the word of God. "I got into drugs when I was traveling with Elvis," Stanley told the St. Charles (La.) Herald Guide. "I didn't anticipate my conversion to Christ, nor was I looking for it. It's something God did. He gripped my heart two months after Elvis passed away. I was sick of myself, the sin and my estrangement from God, so my girlfriend, Robyn, asked me to go to church, and I went. When I prayed and asked God to heal me, it happened." Several months after Elvis' death, Stanley accepted Christ. ...
- The Big Beat: New Orleans and how it midwifed the birth of rock and roll
By Robert Fontenot
(Oldies Music, September 17 2005)
New Orleans can arguably lay claim to being at least one of rock and roll's many simultaneous birthplaces (along with Memphis, Chicago, and New York), but the unassuming nature of the town, its music, and its artists means it often gets unfairly overlooked. Fact is, the city's mix of Caribbean rhythms, African heritage, Southern grit and urban machismo made it a perfect breeding ground. Indeed, the city's biggest star, Fats Domino, was as facile at crossbreeding American styles of music as Elvis Presley, combining country, pop standards, swing, jump blues, and boogie-woogie into a logical (and danceable) whole. He was rewarded accordingly, too: in the first generation of rock and roll, only Elvis sold more records. So why doesn't Fats garner the near-religious intensity of fan worship Elvis still commands, years after his death? Because New Orleans' musical artists are not about celebrity. They're about music. Following is a short list of links about New Orleans and its contribution to the birth of rock and roll. It's not meant to be complete, yet: this is a resource that will evolve over time. ...
- Hip Shakers From Elvis To Shakira And Others
By Judy Ramsook
(Useless Knowledge Mag, September 15 2005)
When Elvis shook his hips from side to side on stage some five decades ago, some people were appalled. So appalled that when he performed on a televised stage after that first hip shaking scene, the audience at home saw his dance movements from the waist up. Nowadays it is quite rare when viewers can capture a celebrity dance move without such shaking of the pelvic area.
With such a move being prominent in such performers like Shakira, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez and others when they do dance routines in their music videos and such, one might indeed wonder about how far society has come since those Elvis days. For those moves are not being censored, Elvis style. ...
- Bigger than Elvis: despite the influence of the west on Iran's popular culture, Hafez, a poet who died over 600 years ago, still gets the crowds flocking
By Robert Tait
(Guardian Online, September 15 2005)
The pilgrims could have been on day out at Graceland. Representing the full range of the age and socio-economic spectrums, they came to pay homage to an icon of modern popular culture. But the hero being saluted was not Elvis Presley or any comparable figure from the age of mass communication, but a poet who died centuries ago, and whose messages remain disputed and obscure among even the most literary of his fellow countrymen. ...
- NRI doc to get top US award
(India Daily, September 15 2005)
Indian American doctor Vikram Sheel Kumar will join the ranks of former US President Bill Clinton, entrepreneur Henry Ford and rock legend Elvis Presley as a recipient of the "Ten Outstanding Young Americans (TOYA)" award. Twenty-nine-year-old Vikram, who is an alumnus of Modern School and the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, and the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, will be the first Indian American to receive the award. ...
- Call centre service very poor during wild storms
By GREG KELTON
(Advertiser, September 15 2005)
ETSA has admitted its call centre's performance in last month's wild storms was "very poor" and revealed "significant" damage to sections of its transmission network. "The customer service in terms of ability to listen to and advise some customers was unsatisfactory," the utility company says in a report tabled in State Parliament yesterday. Energy Minister Conlon told Parliament he had written to ETSA telling them the company's performance during the storms was absolutely unacceptable, especially in the call centre where "people ringing to notify them about downed power lines were told Elvis had left the building". ...
- 'Rock Star' gears up for exciting grand finals
By Nestor Torre
(Philippine Daily Inquirer, September 14 2005)
NOW THAT ONLY FOUR "Rock Star" finalists are left standing - and singing - self-styled show biz seers are trying to second-guess the INXS jurors to predict the "final-final" winner. Let's elbow in on their action and see if we can come up with our own hopefully "educated" guesses: ... JD used to be an Elvis Presley impersonator, but "Rock Star" has enabled him to come into his own as an exciting rock performer. ...
- Astronomers find the gate into parallel worlds
(english.pravda.ru, September 14 2005)
"Whom would you like to clone?" was the theme of the recent survey conducted in the US and Great Britain. The most popular candidate turned out to be Albert Einstein, with Jesus Christ and Elvis Presley legging behind. Surprisingly enough, the famous physicist who created the theory of relativity to the fascination yet misunderstanding of the others was wrong. The only way to rescue poor Einstein is to agree that our world has more than three dimensions we are accustomed to. ...
- RETURN TO SENDER
By MICHAEL RIEDEL
(New York Post, September 14 2005)
'I GOT Stung" never made its way into the Elvis Presley musical "All Shook Up." But it's the perfect song for backers of a show that had enormous potential but, because of mismanagement, behind-the-scenes feuds and an arrogant and inexperienced lead producer, has turned out to be one of last season's costliest flops. ...
- Tough Times Call For Tough Music, Psychologist Says
(thewgalchannel.com / Associated Press, September 13 2005)
When times get tough, so does the music. Psychologist Terry Pettijohn with Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., studied Billboard's No. 1 hits from 1955 through 2003. He concluded in troubled social and economic times, people prefer mature and meaningful songs. When times are good, they want "mindless fun songs." ... In the late 1950s and early 1960s, songs like Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" and The Beatles' "I Want To Hold You Hand" were hits. As the Vietnam War escalated and political leaders were assassinated in the late 1960s and early 1970s, songs like "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel or The Beatles' "Hey Jude" were big. There's just one song Pettijohn can't explain: "The Macarena." ...
- Elvis Birthday Bash and 3rd annual ETA concert
Source: Andrew J. Howard
(Media release, September 12 2005)
Date: Saturday, January 21, 2006
Time: 12 noon to 5pm
Location: Elks lodge 600 Washington Street, Toms River NJ USA.
Attenion Elvis Fans! Friends of Elvis¨ presents its 3rd annual Elvis
Birthday Bash for Charity.Tickets are $10.00 at the door, and all proceeds
will be donated to the Ocean County ARC, who serves disabled adults. Show is
presented by Andrew & Lori Howard. The show will feature multiple artists
including Gene Dinapoli, Chris Presley, Jerry EL, Mike Marchitto, Paul
Aaron, Sammy J, Paul Daniels, Mike Ratcliffe, Ray Hoffman, Barbara Belvis,
Ray Kaminski.
Friends of Elvis(R) is a sanctioned international fan club.
For further information, contact: Lori Howard; email:
ajhcol@bellatlantic.net
- How Elvis helped set Douglas Wood's spirit free
By Daniel Ziffer
(The Age, September 12 2005)
DURING the 47 days Douglas Wood was bashed, handcuffed and blindfolded in Iraq, he kept his spirits up by humming Elvis Presley's I Want To Be Free. Now the song's writer, Mike Stoller, says it was the "most important use of that song ever", and Mr Wood says he will close his speaking engagements with a rendition. Mr Wood said the Kris Kristofferson song Me and Bobby McGee, popularised by Janis Joplin, had been his first choice, but did not fit the situation. ... Speaking from Los Angeles, Mr Wood said he received "much more inspiration" from the Elvis song after considering his predicament. The song, off the 1957 Jailhouse Rock EP, speaks of a man sitting alone in a dark room:
There's no joy in my heart, only sorrow / And I'm sad as a man can be
And this room is a prison to me / I look at window and what do I see
I see a bird way up in the tree / I want to be free
- Presley impersonator pops the question at Elvis Explosion
By GAYDA HOLLNAGEL
(La Crosse Tribune, September 12 2005)
Marriage was on the mind of one Elvis impersonator Saturday night at the Elvis Explosion in the La Crosse Center. Bradley Scott of Middletown, Ohio, finished his act by proposing to Angela Miller of La Crosse, Miller's mother, Laura Pomeroy, said Sunday. ... The annual Elvis event, which wound up Sunday afternoon, drew some 35 Elvis wannabes from throughout the United States and Canada.
Matt King of Dearborn Heights, Mich., walked off with first place, entitling him a slot in the finals at the Images of the King in Memphis, Tenn., as well as other prizes. ... The Larry
Hass The Spirit of Elvis Award given for the first time this year in memory of Larry Hass, who died while participating in last year's Elvis Explosion. The award recognizes the person, fan or group that displays the best character, highest integrity and most positive attitude in their remembrance of Elvis.
- Prime time grovelling's not British: TV's The X Factor would have embarrassed our proud ancestors
By Roshan Doug
(expressandstar.com, September 12 2005)
I'm a bit sad. I sing in the shower. It's a source of constant embarrassment for my teenage son, who can sometimes hear me all over the house bellowing the discordant notes of Elvis Presley's Moody Blue. ... If you're watching the ITV talent series The X Factor, like me, you'll be amazed at the extent to which ordinary people delude themselves in believing they can sing. ...
- Japan's ruling party gains 47 seats, bolstering push for reform
By Tim Johnson, Knight Ridder Newspapers
(Yahoo! News, September 12 2005)
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi scored a crushing victory Sunday in snap legislative elections, winning the biggest gamble of his political career and giving powerful momentum to his agenda of economic reform. ... Koizumi, an Elvis Presley and opera fan who retains a youthful demeanor at age 63, whipped up unprecedented interest in the snap election. ...
- France, longtime dancer, producer, dies
By Ed Koch
(LAS VEGAS SUN, September 12 2005)
Penny France had a desire to be more than just a pretty face on a statuesque showgirl's body. Trained in dance in her native England, she came to Las Vegas in the mid-1960s as a 5-foot-9-inch Les Bluebell Girl in the "Lido de Paris" show at the Stardust. Before her dance career ended, France learned everything she could about every phase of show business, from lighting to selling tickets, and became a successful producer of small, intimate shows in Las Vegas and Laughlin. Penny France Guercio, who won acclaim for her production of the shows "Saddle Tramps" at the Sahara, "Naughty Ladies Revue" at Arizona Charlies and "The Outlaw Women at Boomtown" (now Silverton), died Sunday of cancer. She was 61.
Services were held last week for the Las Vegas resident of 40 years. "My wife ran the girls (through their numbers), she knew about the best costumes and the best designers -- she did it all," said Joe Guercio, longtime Las Vegas orchestra leader who was Elvis Presley's musical director at the International, which became the Las Vegas Hilton. ...
|
