early December, 2005
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Elvis' Birthday Celebration
By Erik Olsen
(gadling, December 12 2005)
Time to put on your blue suede shoes and head to Memphis. Get there in the first week of January for the anniversary of Elvis Presley's birth. If he were around today, the Pelvis would be, well, shriveled and greenish, but there are still many people out there who worship him... and quite a few others who claim he still hangs out in Vegas, although how you could spot him among all those Elvis impersonators is beyond me. No matter. Memphis it is, so treat yourself to a trip to Graceland while you're at it, and if you're attending the Elvis Presley Birthday Celebration, keep in mind it includes the Memphis Symphony Orchestra's performance of Presley songs. There will also be numerous events at Graceland. And now the big question: How old would Elvis be if he were alive? The answer: 71.
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Elvis Festival program released
(Parkes Champion Post, December 12 2005)
The official program for the ClubsNSW Parkes Elvis Festival [New South Wales, Australia] has been released. Copies of the program are now available from the Parkes Visitor Information Centre. Hot off the presses, a record 7,000 copies of the program have been printed this year. The Elvis Committee are now busily preparing for a mail-out of programs to more than 1,000 addresses across Australia, where Elvis Festival fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their program. The program is bigger and fuller than previous years, with a record, 45 individual events!
"The Parkes community are really getting behind the Festival and it's great to see the Clubs, pubs and businesses supporting the weekend with new and unique Elvis events across the town," Monique Kronk, Parkes Shire Tourism Manager said yesterday. "New on the program this year is the 'There Goes My Everything' Novelty Golf Classic, the Back to the Altar with Elvis Renewal of Vows, new bus tours to the Lavender and Alpaca Farms and 3 times more events at the Clubs! " Ms Kronk added. "This year we also have 'Things from the King', a collection of items that were owned by Elvis Presley himself! "The local hair dressers are even getting involved this year with the new Elvis Big Hair Competition, which will see local hair salons showcase their best Elvis and Priscilla hair-dos."
"A hot tip for the locals - get in first now to buy your tickets for Saturday's Keno Feature Concert. The concert features renowned Elvis impersonator, Mark Andrew and going by the response so far, tickets will almost certainly sell out." Tickets for the 3.30pm and 8pm Saturday concerts can be purchased by dropping in to the Parkes Visitor Information Centre (adults $30, child $1, under 15). Payment can be also be made over the phone 6863 8860.
The Festival Program can be ordered by contacting the Parkes Visitor Information Centre, email: tourism@parkes.nsw.gov.au, phone: 6863 8860 or view a version online at: www.visitparkes.com.au. For more information contact:
Monique Kronk
Festival Media Liaison
Ph. (02) 6863 8860
Mob. 0427 462 428
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State issues its list of top tourist attractions, sans Graceland
By GARY TANNER
(Tennessean / Associated Press, December 11 2005)
Ever heard of Elvis? An annual state survey ranking Tennessee's tourist attractions by attendance is notable this year for what's missing from the list - the King of Rock 'n' Roll's castle, Graceland. Elvis Presley's Memphis home had been on previous lists, but the company that operates the late singer's home as a tourist attraction decided this year not to participate in the survey, the results of which were released in October. "From what our sales department told me, there was no real formula for the survey," said Kevin Kern, spokesman for Elvis Presley Enterprises. Each person who visits the home is counted in attendance, Kern said, while other operators may base their reporting on sales of multiple tickets to the same individuals within one venue.
Graceland attendance was about 600,000 last year, but if the company counted everyone who visited its related shops and attractions nearby, attendance would be about 1.4 million people, Kern said. State travel officials acknowledge the ranking is compiled strictly through voluntary reporting by operators of the attractions but said it is intended to be a tool used by those in the tourism industry. ...
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Graceland: At home with Elvis
By JOHN BORDSEN
(Charlotte Observer, December 11 2005)
What's the No. 1 Road to Rock & Roll destination? Cleveland may hold the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but it plays second fiddle to Memphis, Tenn. Last year, 413,000 souls toured the collection on Lake Erie; about 600,000 made the trek to ... Well, to see Elvis and what he left behind. The anniversaries of his birth (Jan. 8) and death (Aug. 16) are major events; his Graceland mansion on the city's south side is the hub of the Elvis Universe. Graceland, where he lived, died and is buried, is part holy grail, part cash register. When you visit, keep these things in mind:
1. This ain't Queens Road
Graceland -- 3734 Elvis Presley Blvd. -- is about nine miles south of central Memphis. The house was built in 1939 by a doctor whose wife's family had long owned the Graceland farm.The mansion is nice, but in our time of McMansions, Graceland isn't palatial. Elvis bought it in 1957 for a bit over $100,000 and moved his folks there from a ranch home he'd bought the year before. The 22-year-old's star was clearly on the rise.
The same couldn't be said for the area around Graceland. When suburban flight hit Memphis in the '60s, wealthy residents built mansions east of downtown. Bellevue Boulevard -- the road renamed Elvis Presley Boulevard in 1971 -- was and is a pre-interstate highway to Mississippi, a mishmash of stores and car lots. It looks like Charlotte's South Boulevard, not Queens Road. Not that Elvis had much truck with the neighbors, anyhow.
2. Bring your wallet
You're asked for cash before you get out of your pink Cadillac. The mansion is on the west side of the street; parking, the visitor center and shops in Elvis Presley Plaza are on the other. Parking is $5. (Tip: Park for free in the strip center just to the north of the plaza -- it's also loaded with stores selling Elvis stuff -- and walk over.) Besides souvenir shops, the official plaza has restaurants (nothing fancy), a theater and two museums. Graceland tickets are sold in the visitor center, as are -- surprise! -- souvenirs.
Pay just to see the mansion if your interest is only slight ($22), shell out $8 more for the Platinum Tour that includes the Sincerely Elvis museum ($7 separately, for several rooms of personal items), Elvis Presley Automobile Museum ($12 separately, to view cars and motorcycles) and tour the King's two jets ($8 separately). The $55 VIP tour is for die-hards.
3. This world is not flat
Graceland is not well-suited for visitors in wheelchairs or with strollers. You must board a shuttle bus for the ride across the boulevard and through the gates. While the mansion's second floor is closed to the public, some key rooms are down narrow stairways in the basement. Graceland was built as a private residence, not a walk-through shrine. The standard route through the place is maze-like.If you can't handle stairs, forget about touring the jets at the plaza. Access is walk-up only.
4. Think smaller
Graceland was built more than 60 years ago, when rooms tended to be smaller. At 17-by-24 feet, the dining room is large but not grand. Authorized photos, like those in the "Official Guidebook," make the chambers appear larger than they are and do not show the ropes visitors must peer over. Tip: You can shoot photos inside Graceland, but you can't use a flash. Flashed light harms artifacts. Spokesman Kevin Kern says, "Guides and attendants are fairly well-trained on helping guests turn off the flash on a variety of cameras." If you're unable to do this on your camera, it's OK to hold a credit card or something like it over the flash.
5. The lived-in look
The dining and living room you see first are formal; much more interesting are the places where The King relaxed.The kitchen cabinets have see-through fronts; they're filled with everyday glassware and such. And they're still used every December, when ex-wife Priscilla, daughter Lisa Marie and Presley relatives in Memphis gather for an after-tour-hours holiday party.
Downstairs holds the pool room and TV room -- well-appointed according to the famous owner's tastes and times, but a gussied-up basement nonetheless. The pool room's ceilings and walls are covered in close to 400 yards of bright print fabric. You can't help but notice the big rip in the tabletop felt. The TV room next to it is an eye-popper in Prussian blue and bright yellow; built into the far wall are three TV sets -- an idea Elvis seized upon after he heard President Johnson liked to watch all three network newscasts simultaneously. There's a small bar, though Elvis was said to be not much for spirits.
But he did love TV: More than a dozen sets are around the mansion. Sadly, much of his personal record collection is missing. Archivists snatched most of it. There's a record player and a couple of LP jackets to show where he kept it.
6. Not as tacky as they say
So how over-the-top is the decor? You hear a lot about the faux wilderness look of the Jungle Room -- his first-floor den. Its look comes from his fondness for Hawaii, where "decor" is always laid on with a trowel. EP bought the furnishings in Memphis, in a single 30-minute shopping spree in 1974. The room wasn't called the Jungle Room; he simply knew it as "the den." The glass partition that sets off the music room from the living room looks more Shakey's Pizza than Louis Comfort Tiffany. Elvis commissioned the panels, which bear matched peacocks; they replaced glass blocks he didn't care for. And the dining room with its high-back chairs around a 6-foot mirror-top table is ersatz chic.
But keep in mind that many rooms have been locked by curators into the colors and furnishings of the 1970s, an era that many professional decorators would just as soon not discuss.
Elvis was not well-educated and, despite his wealth, not a recreational traveler. Much of what you see reflects his working-class sensibilities and time spent in glitz-crazy Vegas. But consider this: He could've knocked out walls or built onto the old Georgian colonial house, but he had enough sense to leave it largely alone. The meditation garden (and ultimate Presley resting place) south of the mansion, and the racquetball building out back, were built in 1965 and 1975 respectively. Both are functional; neither is smothered in tackiness.
7. Best indoor places to linger
The tour route leaves the house to take in dad Vernon Presley's garage-like office and the trophy building -- a rec room that holds display-case exhibits -- plaques, clothes (including Army fatigues and stage jumpsuits) and curios. The collection is extensive, a place to wallow in pop culture and American folkways. The Sincerely Elvis museum back at the plaza pales in comparison.Part of the racquetball building displays costumes from his later concerts, but the mood is more serious than sequinned. The attendant stationed there tells you Elvis spent part of the morning of Aug. 16, 1977, at the spinet piano in the lounge, playing/singing for girlfriend Ginger Alden and Presley cousin Billy Smith and his wife. That concert for four, which included singing "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" and "Unchained Melody" was his last gig: Elvis went to bed and was found dead hours later. In both buildings, you have elbow room just to linger.
8. Do see the Lisa Marie
Besides the display areas behind the house, there's a special exhibit area in the mansion. (Among the items that were on view this spring: his desk from upstairs. On it were the books "The Creative Process in the Individual" and "Gods From Outer Space.") The Lisa Marie, at the plaza, is intriguing -- a Convair 880 jet that may be the only walk-through attraction time-bending curators haven't fiddled with. He purchased it in 1975 and would probably think it little-changed. As his "flying Graceland," the Lisa Marie is his lifestyle in miniature. Some touches show his affection for conspicuous consumption: The guest bathroom up front has a sink basin with gold flecks and gold-plated sink.
More intriguing are the personal details learned from video monitors that offer snippets about the King and his jet, like his choice of in-flight beverages -- lime Gatorade and diet Dr Pepper. Or his taste in the then-new world of home videos. His favorites? "Blazing Saddles," Peter Sellers movies and episodes of "Monty Python's Flying Circus." ...
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For this DJ, it was all Elvis all the time
By MILT KRUGMAN, Bucks County Courier Times
(Charlotte Observer, December 11 2005)
For most of the past year, there was no need asking Memphis broadcaster Rob Grayson what musician he'll spin next: Whether "Blue Moon of Kentucky," "Blue Hawaii" "Blue Suede Shoes" or "Blue Christmas," it was Elvis. Always Elvis. Through the end of October, he was the morning guy at Sirius satellite radio's all-Elvis station (Elvis Radio, Station 13). And Elvis CDs were pretty much all he shared space with in the closet-size, glass-windowed Sirius broadcasting booth near the Graceland visitor center at Elvis Presley Plaza. Grayson was born in 1957 -- "a member of the Beatles generation" -- but spinning Elvis for seven hours at a stretch may have been natural: He was raised 3 1/2 hours away, in Greenville, Miss., and has worked on and off in Memphis radio over the years. He also owns a studio in Memphis that produces cheerleader-competition tapes. With that, at least, he has some thematic variety. But spinning seven hours of Elvis day after day. ... "Well, you vary the tempo and the mix."
And there's a listenership that calls to make curious requests. "Kids would call and ask for `Hound Dog' and `Teddy Bear.' Adults were a different story. Most requests, oddly, were not for the hits. There's a song called `Just Pretend,' an obscure LP cut from a '70s movie. We got lots of call for that." After 15 all-Elvis months, Grayson is pursuing other broadcast endeavors as well as running his studio. "I even play songs by more than one artist now," he says. Joking. But there's no Elvis burnout. "After all those months, I would still run across things that surprised me, like `I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell.' How that one slipped through the cracks, I have no idea."
And there is the sheer volume of Presley material. "I was always discovering new Elvis -- like `Edge of Reality,' as close as he came to a psychedelic sound, from the `Live a Little, Love a Little' movie soundtrack." Grayson had more than an occasional brush with Elvis reality: George Klein, who went to high school with Elvis and was a member of the King's "Memphis Mafia," has an all-Elvis show on the shift after his.
Grayson has his own memories: "I lived around the corner from Graceland, on Winchester, the year he died. And I was on the air, filling in for a regular disc jockey, when rumors started came in. A listener called to say his roommate was a nurse at Baptist Hospital, that Elvis was there, and that Elvis didn't look so good. There were other calls. I alerted our news department. As far as I know, our station was the first in Memphis to broadcast word of Elvis' death." The station was WHBQ -- where, in the early '50s, announcer Dewey Phillips did the first on-air interview with a young truck driver whose debut single was just coming out. ...
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Barbara Maholick, an Elvis fan
By MILT KRUGMAN, Bucks County Courier Times
(phillyburbs.com, December 11 2005)
Not many people can say they own every record album recorded by Elvis Presley. Barbara "Bunni" Maholick, a huge fan of "The King," accomplished that feat, and a room in her Falls home is devoted to Elvis with memorabilia and photographs. "She loved music, and in the opinion of my brothers and sisters, she was the No. 1 Elvis fan," said daughter Terri L. Cauto of Levittown. "She has memorabilia you cannot believe. Between CDs, albums, cassettes, I think she has them all, but probably no eight tracks. I think she saw him live about five times. She took my sister and I when we were little to his last concert in Philadelphia, and that was right before he died."
A happy moment for Mrs. Maholick was when she went to Graceland in Memphis. ... Mrs. Maholick, a lifelong resident of Levittown, died Dec. 1. She was 63. ...
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Man accused of stealing Elvis jewelry in court
(Canoe / Associated Press, December 9 2005)
A man charged with stealing more than $300,000 US worth of Elvis Presley's jewelry from the Elvis-A-Rama museum appeared in court Friday and later expressed fears about receiving a fair trial. Eliab Aguilar, 30, would not comment on his guilt or innocence, but said he's worried about being tried in Las Vegas. "My case is such a high-profile case," he said after appearing before District Court Judge Deborah Lippis. "So many people here know about it and are into it." Aguilar was arrested last month after police said he approached a retired Elvis impersonator at a pharmacy and offered to sell him several items stolen from the Las Vegas museum. The memorabilia include Presley's 1953 class ring from Humes High School worth $32,000, a 41-carat ruby and diamond ring worth $77,000 and a gold-plated Smith & Wesson .38 special pistol. ...
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Elvis Presley still the UK chart king: It's official...
(NME.com, December 10 2005)
Elvis Presley remains the most successful UK chart act of all time - official! The legend stays ahead of Cliff Richard after the Book of British Hit Singles & Albums officially unveiled their long awaited annual list of the Top 100 Most Successful Acts Of All Time. The Top 100 is the most definitive and genuine list of its kind, as it is based on the total number of weeks each contender has spent on the official UK Singles and Albums charts and not on arbitrary voting. This year Queen have overtaken The Beatles into third place, while Madonna is getting ever closer to the Fab Four.
This year's Top 20 is:
1. Elvis Presley
2. Cliff Richard
3. Queen
4. The Beatles
5. Madonna
6. Elton John
7. The Shadows
8. Michael Jackson
9. U2
10. David Bowie
11. Rod Stewart
12. Frank Sinatra
13. Diana Ross
14. Dire Straits
15. Simon & Garfunkel
16. The Rolling Stones
17. Abba
18. Fleetwood Mac
19. Phil Collins
20. Paul McCartney
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John Krondes and The Elvis 'Hit Making Team' Rock Hollywood, CA
Source: Funky Sound of America
(PRWEB, December 8 2005)
The Sweet Inspirations and Elvis' Saxophonist Gary Herbig Record With John Krondes and The Elvis "Hit Making Team" In Hollywood, CA. "Rock 'n Roll Heaven" Cheers The "Hit Making Team" Assembly.
Hollywood will never be the same. T he streets of Film City and the celebrity circles were all abuzz over the news of the return of the Elvis "Hit Making Team" to the studio. Extraordinarily, The new music recordings by John Krondes and the Elvis "Hit Making Team" mark the first milestone reunion of Elvis Presley's music making unit in nearly 30 years. Over the last year or so, the music world has witnessed a most improbable series of fateful events, that reassembled just about all of the King's Men & Women. Mightily, the young singer/songwriter John Krondes and the Elvis "Hit Team" are pushing forward to realize the impossible dream for music lovers who long to believe that Elvis is still alive.
John Belushi, President of the "Rock 'n Roll Heaven" commission has sent praise from the pearly gates to the Presley "Hit Making Team" for putting the band back together. Playing out a real live version of the Blues Brothers Rock 'n Roll mission, John Krondes and the "Hit Team" are untiringly following Elvis' orders to "Keep The Music Alive". The electric current sent from "Rock 'n Roll Heaven" celebrating the "Hit Making Team" reunion is resonating in the hearts of music lovers around the planet Earth.
In current "Hit Making Team" news, HMT singer John Krondes was joined in song at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles this past month by Elvis Presley's female back-up singers, The Sweet Inspirations. Presley horn section sax man Gary Herbig as well recorded classic Rock 'n Roll sax solos on the latest "Hit Making Team" recordings. Elvis Presley's Lead Trumpet player on the '68 Comeback Special, Jack Feierman, and Walt Johnson, Lead Trumpet player for Elvis in the mid 1970's, along with Sam Cernuto, Elvis' Lead Trombonist, also from the 1970's, have joined the "Hit Making Team" and are being scheduled to record on the new tracks in Los Angeles in early January '06.
As the Elvis "Hit Making Team" with John Krondes nears completion of the first CD of new recorded music since Elvis died in 1977, Elvis Presley's close friends and celebrity supporters have fraternized in aiding the furtherance of the "Hit Making Team" calling. Fans around the world anxiously await the release of the historical CD "If I Can Dream" by John Krondes and The Jordanaires with the Elvis "Hit Making Team", anticipated for delivery in early 2006.
John Krondes and the "Hit Making Team" will be back in the New York studio, recording the String Orchestra on the new tracks before year's end. Excitingly, Elvis Presley's Horn Section is in the process of being reassembled by order of John Belushi and the "Rock 'n Roll Heaven Commission". Shock waves are flowing through the Elvis world at the news of the addition of Elvis' Horn Section to the "Hit Making Team". The current Rock 'n Roll assignment by the heavenly commission is to muster the brass troups and majestically sound the trumpets across the oceans for the realization of a dream, a dream that every Elvis fan has dreamt for 28 years.
In Other "Hit Making Team" news, "Indiana Girl", the current single by John Krondes has been reported by FMQB this week to be #30 on the National Adult Contemporary Chart with 755 spins. To hear "Indiana Girl" by John Krondes go to FMQB.com and then look for "Indiana Girl" on the AC Home Page or click this link: http://www.fmqbproductions.com/epks/2005/johnkrondes/radio.html. Look for the release of the new CD "If I Can Dream" by John Krondes and The Elvis "Hit Making Team" in early 2006. Music by John Krondes and The Jordanaires is available at Amazon.com and other fine internet retailers.
As the world is purportedly ready for the divine Reassembly of the Elvis "Hit Making Team", and the continuance of the musical legacy of Elvis, the Board of Directors of the "Rock 'n Roll Heaven" Commission have mobilized to "Save The Music" and "Keep The Dream Alive". The current panel consists of Frank Sinatra (Chairman of the Board), Rodney Dangerfield (Vice-Chairman), John Belushi (President), Elvis Presley (CEO), Dean Martin(Vice President), Sammy Davis, Jr. (COO), Johnny Cash (CFO), and other Directors John Lennon, George Harrison, Ray Charles, Bobby Darin and James Dean. All the fans prayers and good wishes have been answered by "Rock 'n Roll Heaven". This is our dream come true!
Welcome To The New Day Where The Magic Of Elvis' Music Is Back!
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