early June, 2006
- The Elvis Suite
(Gridskipper June 6 2006)
The Lauderdale Courts housing project where teen Elvis Presley lived (1949-1953) long ago fell to the forces of gentrification, undergoing a $36 million renovation into the Uptown Square complex. Yups of all description are now happily ensconced in their renovated apartments, awash in WiFi. However, in apartment 328, you can still live as Elvis did. The Lauderdale Courts lives on in this one apartment, preserved as an Elvis shrine; visitors can ogle the place during festivities surrounding Elvis’s death- and birthdays, or rent the whole place out for $249 per night otherwise. (The Presleys paid $35 per month.) You got two bedrooms, one bathroom, kitchen, and living room, all tricked out in period crap furniture and Elvisabilia. Don’t be fooled by the authentic Frigidaire in the kitchen – there’s also a microwave concealed in a cabinet, and a hidden flatscreen TV in the living room. Mementos aside, just consider that the Elvis bedroom was likely the scene of young Mr. Presley’s most enthusiastic demonstrations of teenage self-love; there might even be a few flicks of Kingly DNA left on the headboard, if you look carefully.
- Elvis Festival ends on high note in Tupelo
(wreg.com / Associated Press June 6 2006)
Organizers of the Elvis Presley Festival in Tupelo, Mississippi, say the just-ended event may have set a record. They're reviewing receipts to see. Festival official Jim High says there were more activities this year and many vendors reported a spike in business. This year was the 50th anniversary of Presley's homecoming concert at the Tupelo Fairgrounds, and organizers re-created the performance and a related parade using live performers, video footage, audio clips and oral histories.
Presley returned to his hometown of Tupelo a few days after making his debut on the Ed Sullivan show in September 1956. in that same year, he released his hits "Heartbreak Hotel," "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Hound Dog" and launched his movie career with the film "Love Me Tender."
- Evis Presley Festival notebook
(Daily Journal June 6 2006)
The girl who kissed the King
Elvis Presley's warm lips pressed against Sarah Patterson's cheek. It was her 15 seconds of fame as she stood on stage with the King. It's been 50 years and Patterson still has a quite rusty spot on her cheek. "My husband swears I never washed the side of my face," she said, laughing. Patterson was just an awe-struck 16-year-old at the 1956 homecoming concert for the King. After placing a cap on Elvis' head, the King dove in and gave her a smacker she'll never forget. "He grabbed me around the waist and kissed me," she said, trying to keep herself under control as she told the fairy tale-like story. "The girls at my school were so jealous." So were many other Elvis sweethearts from around the world. Patterson would soon find out that she had become a celebrity overnight. The next month the picture of Elvis kissing her came out in movie magazines. She was, officially, the girl who Elvis kissed. "I started receiving fan mail asking, What was it like to be kissed by Elvis?'" ...
Picking cotton to find a way
Sixteen-year-old Barbara Mallory also found herself trying to find a way into the '56 homecoming concert. Mallory and her best friend had to pick cotton in order to buy tickets to the expensive event, which was held in what is now Fairpark. "I'm just an Elvis fan," said Mallory, who started Tupelo's first Elvis fan club. "I have been since 1954. And I guess I will be until I go to Tupelo Memorial (Gardens Cemetery)." ...
The Alamo Girls
Joyce and Royce Byrd are twin sisters from Alamo, Tenn. They were two of the six friends who helped lift Judy Hopper onto the concert stage in 1956. Joining the twins in the hoist was Gloria Wedgeworth, also one of the "Alamo Girls," as they call themselves. Wedgeworth's mother drove the girls to the concert that day. "Judy was crazy, crazy, crazy about Elvis. ... I was half that crazy," Wedgeworth said. After lifting her friend onto the stage, Wedgeworth said everything else was in slow motion, like a movie clip slowed almost to a pause. "It was sureal," she said. "When (Judy) got up there, she walked across real slow, and he laughed." "They got her before she ever got to him," Joyce Byrd said, chiming in. "She was in a trance." ...
- Nashville producer buys Elvis' home
(USATODAY.com / Associated Press June 6 2006)
The purchase of Elvis Presley's first post-success home has been all shook up. Celebrity psychic Uri Geller, who announced last month that he'd bought the home, now seems to have lost it. Geller and two partners had been the high bidders, at $905,000, on the ranch-style home that was being auctioned on eBay. But homeowner Cindy Hazen said Monday that they were unable to finalize the contract, so she and husband Mike Freeman sold the house Friday to Nashville record producer Mike Curb for $1 million. Hazen said that Geller and a partner, New York attorney Peter Gleason, altered terms of the real estate deal so that it was unacceptable. But Geller said Hazen and Freeman reneged on the deal in order to accept a higher offer. He said he considers the sale to Curb "a breach of contract." "If I have to, I will take this to the Supreme Court. If I have to, I'll take this to the Pope," Geller told The Commercial Appeal newspaper by phone from his home outside London. ... Curb's assistant, Becky Judd, said the Curb Foundation is negotiating with a Memphis college to operate a music education center at the former Presley home. She declined to name the college. .... Memphis officials say any new owner of the home will have to go through public hearings and an exhaustive approval process for it to be used for anything other than as a residence.
- Elvis home vanishes from magician's grasp
(UPI June 5 2006)
An eBay auction for a former Memphis home of Elvis Presley was won last month by magician Uri Gellar, yet his ownership promptly vanished. The Independent reports that after his bid of nearly $898,000 won on eBay, he was shocked to discover the owners had sold the home to someone else. According to eBay's regulations, a final bid on a real estate auction does not constitute a legally binding contract. Rather, eBay real estate auctions act as marketing tools to increase publicity for the property.
"We're absolutely, mind-blown angry", Gellar told The Independent, "Of course we are going to sue." Yet in a nearly magical twist, a bankruptcy court may reopen the case on who owns the home. If it does, it could give Gellar another attempt at winning a bidding war for the home, the newspaper said.
- Geller heartbreak as Elvis's home is sold from under him
By Jerome Taylor
(Independent June 5 2006)
Uri Geller may be one of the world's most famous magicians but he will have to rely on more than a few magic tricks if he is to get back Elvis Presley's first home - a 3,000 sq ft house in Memphis which, until recently, the Israeli-born psychic thought he owned. Geller thought his £480,000 bid on the internet auction site Ebay had won last month. But news emerged over the weekend that the owners of the house, which Elvis bought in 1956 using the royalties from "Heartbreak Hotel", appear to have sold the property privately to wealthy music producer Mike Curb for an undisclosed sum.
"We're absolutely, mindblown angry," a furious Geller said. "Of course we are going to sue." Geller, a former friend of Michael Jackson, placed the Ebay bid along with two other partners in May hoping to restore the house at 1034 Audubon Drive and open it to the public. At the time, he said: "As the clock closed on bidding, I felt intuitively I got the price. Suddenly, the radio started playing an Elvis song. That was Elvis telling me we got that house." What Elvis clearly didn't tell him was that a winning bid for property on Ebay does not necessarily constitute a legal contract because Ebay maintains real estate auctions on its site are purely marketing events that generate publicity and not actual legally binding sales.
But, in a twist as bizarre as Geller's spoon-bending antics, the celebrity psychic and his partners may be given a second shot at bidding for the King's former residence. According to Geller's lawyer in Memphis, the original owners of the house had their debts cleared after they filed for bankruptcy before selling the property. The bankruptcy court that heard their case did not appreciate the extra value that living in a Presley abode would bring them and is now thinking about reopening the case.
- He Didn't See It Coming?
(Memphis Flyer June 4 2006)
According to a Scottish newspaper, Uri Geller's dream of turning the first home Elvis Presley owned into a museum dedicated to the paranormal has been "dealt a setback nearly as bizarre as the spoon-bending trick that made the Israeli-born psychic famous." The paper reports that "Geller, who thought he had purchased the Memphis property in an eBay auction last month for $905,100, learned on Friday that the sellers had sold the 3,000-square-foot house for an undisclosed sum to a foundation set up by Mike Curb, a music producer." ...
- Vegas wedding reduced stress for couple
(Wichita Eagle June 4 2006)
Periodically, I've asked why it is that so many Americans fly to Las Vegas for the explicit purpose of getting married in a happy-go-lucky, comical ceremony conducted by a minister dressed up to resemble Elvis Presley or Rodney Dangerfield. Hundreds of such weddings take place each month in Sin City, and I've wondered why anyone in their right mind would seek out such an experience.
While saving money is itself a reason for choosing to marry in Las Vegas (some chapels there charge as little as $75 for the license and ceremony), why the zany part? After receiving many unsatisfying explanations from readers, I have finally received a letter that comes close to achieving the right tone. It is printed below, without change:
"My wife and I are in our mid-30s and were married at the Little White Wedding Chapel in the fall of 2003. As we waited in the lobby for the preacher, I noticed a picture of Lorenzo Lamas on the wall, claiming he was married here, so I knew we were in the right place. We had paid an extra $150 for a tacky Elvis impersonator to host the ceremony. "He showed up in a yellow velour jacket and sang a bad version of 'Viva Las Vegas' after the wedding. We then went outside and had our picture taken with the King, and that wedding picture is now framed and hangs on our bedroom wall. After the wedding, we treated ourselves to the $17.50 self-service buffet at the Bellagio for our 'reception.'
"Getting married in Las Vegas was the perfect solution for us. My wife had been married and divorced before, so she felt no need to go through the stress, hassle and expense of another wedding. I, being a typical guy and nonreligious, had no need whatever to get married in a church or have an expensive reception. She was thrilled at the idea of a $200, completely stress-free wedding. ... My wife is my perfect soul mate and getting married at a tasteless chapel in Las Vegas in no way lessened or cheapened our love for each other. It was a fun-loving, upbeat, humorous experience that is what a wedding should be. ..."
- POP CULTURE: LOVING IT TENDER - Presleys' presence felt in building long after Elvis left it
By Larry Bleiberg
(DALLAS MORNING NEWS June 4 2006)
At Graceland, Elvis' bedroom is off limits. Across town, you can sleep in it. Long before his private jets and rhinestone jumpsuits, Elvis Presley was a polite teenager living in public housing in downtown Memphis. Now, the renovated project attracts young professionals, and the restored Presley family apartment is available for rent.
Here, you can truly sleep like a king. Step through the keypad-operated door, and you're back in the Truman era. Presley family portraits decorate the five-room apartment. In the kitchen hulks a vintage Frigidaire with a grocery list scrawled by Elvis' mother, Gladys. In one bedroom, furniture bills addressed to Vernon Presley are stacked next to a Bible. And in Elvis' room, his Social Security card and paycheck stub are tucked in a mirror, competing for space with a Marlon Brando movie photo. The cumulative effect is dizzying -- Elvis seems to have just left the building.
The Presleys moved into Lauderdale Courts in 1949, when the future star was 14 years old. The home was a big step up from the cramped boardinghouse room the family had shared. Here they had two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and their own bathroom. The family lived at Lauderdale Courts during Elvis' high school years. The Presleys moved out in 1953, when they had saved enough money to buy a house. Six months later, the young musician stepped into nearby Sun Studios and recorded a song -- My Happiness -- for his mother's birthday. The rest is rock 'n' roll history. Lauderdale Courts is where Elvis grew up. He had several girlfriends living in the project. He could walk to his job as an usher at the Loew's theater near Beale Street and would listen to records at Poplar Tunes record store, still in business a few blocks away. He marveled at the fashions at Lansky Brothers clothing store and began to cultivate his flashy style.
The home is open for tours during Death Week, the Elvis-crazed August activities that mark the star's death in 1977, and the week of his Jan. 8 birthday. Other times of year, it can be rented out for as many as four guests. It's $250 a night, with a two-night minimum. When the Presleys lived here, rent was $35 a month. The 347-apartment complex was nearly demolished in the 1990s. But preservation groups, Elvis fans and developers worked to save and refurbish the property, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After a $36 million investment, the former housing project was renamed Uptown Square and its apartments marketed to young professionals. Inside apartment 328, though, it's still 1950. ...Contact: (901) 521-8219; ww.lauderdalecourts.com.
- PRISCILLA PRESLEY REACHES OUT TO ADDICTS
(contactmusic.com June 4 2006)
PRISCILLA PRESLEY shared the pain of her former husband ELVIS PRESLEY's drug problems during the opening of a rehabilitation centre yesterday (03JUN06). The 61-year-old spoke at the Michigan launch of a centre inspired by the teachings of Scientology founder L RON HUBBARD. Presley is a Scientologist. She insisted her own encounters with drug addictions made her delighted to be able to help others, saying, "We have become a drug culture and we need to do something about it. "We all know someone who struggles with the problems of alcohol or substance abuse." In an earlier statement Presley explained the so-called Narconon program is "capable of eliminating the very cravings that drive addicts in recovery back to drugs".
- Beatles beaten by Oasis in vote for greatest album
By Hugh Davies
(Daily Telegraph June 2 2006)
The debut album by the Mancunian band Oasis has been voted the "greatest album of all time" in a poll of 40,000 people. Definitely Maybe, which cost only £85,000 to produce, put brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher on the road to super-stardom and has sold seven million copies worldwide since its release 12 years ago. The album was heavily influenced by the Beatles and came to define the Britpop era of the mid-90s. Ironically, it edged into second place Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the psychedelic album by the Beatles, which regularly tops "best of" album polls.
Readers of the Book of British Hit Singles and the music magazine NME were given a year to compile a top 10 list, which was then converted into a top 100. The list is dominated by guitar-based acts. David Roberts, the editor of the book, said that the Beatles' 1967 concept album was ahead until three weeks ago. There was then a "last minute rush" for Definitely Maybe. Elvis Presley and Sir Cliff Richard missed the list because both were better known for their singles. "People don't see them as album acts," he said. They were also said to have "suffered" because each had released so many albums. Rock pioneers such as Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis were similarly omitted because their most memorable performances were on singles, while bands such as Pink Floyd and U2 were remembered for albums. ...
- All things Elvis are golden during anniversary tour
By Paula Crouch Thrasher
(Star-Tribune June 3 2006)
All things Elvis are golden as part of a tour package commemorating his rocking ride to fame.
Like Paul Simon, you can be "going to Graceland" this summer during the yearlong celebration commemorating the 50th anniversary of Elvis Presley's meteoric rise to fame. A tour package, Elvis Golden Anniversary 2006, created by Elvis Presley Enterprises in conjunction with Sweet Magnolia Tours, celebrates Elvis' "breakout year." That's the year in which he released his first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel," made his first TV appearances and released his first movie, "Love Me Tender." ... The yearlong celebration of Elvis' 50th anniversary will lead up to the 30th anniversary of his death on Aug. 16, 1977 (www.sweetmagnoliatours.com; for more tours, www.gracelandtours.com; for Graceland, www.elvis.com). ...
- Music's top managers reveal the highs and lows of working with their headlining acts
By Alexia Loundras
(Independent June 2 2006)
Behind the two greatest acts of the past 50 years stand two of the greatest managers. Colonel Tom Parker and Brian Epstein guided Elvis Presley and The Beatles to superstardom. Could those artists have reached the top without their guiding lights? Both had rare talent, but sometimes in the music industry that's not, on its own, enough. ... it is the manager's job to make sure things don't go awry. Every potential creative genius needs someone with the drive, ideas and determination to first find that golden act and then guide them through the business side of the music industry. We asked 13 managers of today's biggest acts to tell us what skills a good manager needs. ...
- Judge Denies Motion in Coroner Case
By MICHAEL COWDEN
(startribune.com / Associated Press June 1 2006)
FBI agents had grounds to seize computers from the office of a nationally renowned medical examiner facing trial on theft and fraud charges, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab ruled Wednesday that there was probable cause for search warrants to be issued and that investigators had not violated protocol in taking computers from former Allegheny County coroner Cyril Wecht's office.
Wecht, who has consulted in high profile cases including the deaths of Elvis Presley and Jon Benet Ramsey, is charged with using his county staff to do work for his multimillion-dollar pathology practice. He also is accused of trading unclaimed morgue cadavers for private lab space at a local university and faces charges for allegedly overbilling private clients. . ...
- Clemens Returns To Save the Astros ... Again
By STEVEN GOLDMAN
(New York Sun June 1 2006)
Roger Clemens is back, treading the same path that Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and George Lucas walked before. Clemens aborted his retirement after just a few months, returning to the Houston Astros yesterday in exchange for a minor league contract that pays $322,000 over the five-month minor league season, followed by a prorated percentage of a one-year major league contract worth $22,000,022 when (and, since all things are possible including a Clemens flame out, if) he is added to the big league roster. As Presley, Sinatra, and Lucas proved, comebacks and sequels are marked at the beginning by great expectations, but often prove to be only inadequate reprises of the original. The audience descends into disappointment and then apathy. Perhaps these artists even produced some good work during their second time around, but competing with your own legend when you've been at the pinnacle of your profession is a quixotic task at best. ...
- Showfest problems aren't new
(Delta Democrat News June 1 2006)
The problem with having an event such as Showfest is there are some inherent issues with putting that many people together at one time.
Therefore, no matter where Showfest is held, particularly when alcohol is involved, there are likely to be problems. It's the same way with the car show on the Gulf Coast, with the Elvis Presley festival in Tupelo or Jubilee Jam in Jackson. There are bound to be issues requiring police involvement with events as big as the one that was in Greenville 10 days ago. ...
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