early September, 2006
- Beatles Tape Thieves Sentenced
(Pitchfork, September 9, 2006)
Sometimes you can't just let it be. When it comes to the Beatles, quite a few of us wish record company executives would just give up the lawsuits and get back to the
task of remastering (and digitizing) those classic LPs. Recently, though, one
of those lawsuits has actually produced material that might at least aid in the
addition of bonus tracks to those elusive reissues.
In 2003, over 500 tapes from the 1969 "Get Back" sessions that produced Let It Be were discovered in a warehouse in the Netherlands after a man named Nigel Oliver attempted to sell the tapes (along with George Harrison's 1960 passport) for £250,000 to undercover police officers in Amsterdam. According to the London Times, on Friday, a London court ruled that Oliver, who is schizophrenic and was found unfit to plead at a previous hearing, should be placed under psychiatric supervision for two years. The BBC reports that another man, Colin Dillon, was also sentenced.
It is unknown who originally stole the tapes, which include 80+ hours of footage of the band
playing over 200 songs, including covers of "Maggie May", "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Great Balls of Fire", as well as songs by Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and
Buddy Holly. The sessions' original sound engineers identified the tapes as legitimate, having recognized their own voices among the arguments, banter and jokes of the band.
Hey, maybe we'll get a spoken word album -- a la Elvis or Robert Pollard -- out of this
whole mess. We hear Ringo had a killer stand-up routine back in the day.
- Real People@Work
(Montgomery Advertiser, September 9, 2006)
THE THOMAS FILE
Name: Joseph Reynolds Thomas
Age: 65
Hometown: Montgomery
Occupation: Piano tuner and owner of Thomas Piano
Education/ Experience: Alabama School for the Blind's two-year course for piano tuning, 45 years of experience
Best Part of the Job: The actual tuning work
Worst Part of the Job: Scheduling his many clients, because "people are so busy now"
The next time you are sitting in church, listen closely to the piano. If it has been tuned recently, there's a good chance it was tuned by Joseph Reynolds Thomas At 65, Thomas says he has slowed down a bit, but he still tunes pianos for Huntingdon College, Troy University, First Baptist Church and Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church, just to name a few. Thomas began learning the craft immediately after high school at Alabama School for the Blind. He was born with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative disease of the retina that causes progressive vision loss. Today, Thomas and son Joey run the business, Thomas Piano. Joey repairs and refinishes pianos. ... Thomas spends his free time playing bass guitar in his backyard band. They play old country favorites and some rock 'n roll. They like to play Merle Haggard and Elvis Presley songs. ...
- After the rain, Kauai's tourism sector is roaring: Arrivals from L.A. have jumped 10.2 percent so far this year
By Allison Schaefers
(Honolulu Star-Bulletin, September 9, 2006)
Sunny days have returned for Kauai tourism, which has bounced back from the record rainfall that devastated the island in March and is expected to show continued growth in visitor arrivals and spending through the year's end. Arrivals on Kauai are outpacing those of the overall state because of strong visitor demand and increased air service, said Sue Kanoho, executive director of the Kauai Visitors Bureau. Kanoho and other Kauai tourism players were on Oahu this week to share the island's results and new marketing plans. ... Many Kauai hotels are reinvesting in the Garden Isle as well. Among the highlights:
Coco Palms, the hotel made famous by Elvis Presley's "Blue Hawaii," recently began a $214 million redevelopment, and is scheduled to welcome guests back by 2008. ...
- Legendary Bo Diddley opens Mondavi season
(Daily Democrat, September 9, 2006)
Bo Diddley, one of the key figures in the development of rock 'n' roll and a true living legend, will kick off the 2006-07 season at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis. The singer/guitarist will headline Bo Diddley and Friends, appearing with blues guitarist Alvin Youngblood Hart, singer Ruthie Foster and a four-piece band. The event will begin at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, in Mondavi Center's Jackson Hall on the UC Davis campus.
... Often called "the Originator" for his defining influence on the early development of rock, Diddley burst upon the national music scene in the mid-'50s with a heavily syncopated, guitar-driven style that proved wildly popular with young audiences and inspirational to many of the seminal rockers of the '60s, including the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, the Animals, the Who and the Doors, all of whom recorded Diddley's songs. His trademark rhythm, sometimes referred to as the "shave and a haircut" beat, was the inspiration for countless rock classics, from Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" to Bruce Springsteen's "She's the One" to U2's "Desire." ... Diddley had several other big hits during the '50s, including "Diddley Daddy" and "Who Do You Love?" and toured the United States several times with early rockers such as Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, Bill Haley, Buddy Holly and others. He appeared on an early edition of Ed Sullivan's television variety show, sang at the first Newport Folk Festival and impressed a young Elvis Presley with his performances at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater. ...
- Presley gets $2.5 million for Lake Arrowhead home
By Ruth Ryon
(Mercury News / Los Angeles Times, September 9, 2006)
Priscilla Presley was in the throes of escrow to sell her Lake Arrowhead home when she had to stop what she was doing and fly to Graceland in June to greet President Bush and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan. The prime minister is a huge fan of Elvis.
After dutifully serving her country by listening to the prime minister's rendition of ``Love Me Tender'' in the Jungle Room, the rock 'n' roll icon's ex-wife returned to finish the paperwork on her Lake Arrowhead house, which sold for close to its $2.5 million asking price. She sold the estate because she hardly used it during her 12 years of ownership, despite putting much of her creative self into redesigning the interior so that it became what she calls ``a country-English farmhouse on a grand scale.'' The house has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms in about 7,000 square feet. It also has a library with French doors and a fireplace, a gentleman's study with a fireplace, a formal dining room with a butler's pantry, and a living room with high ceilings plus French doors that open to a patio. For the staff, there is a separate staircase and entry. ...
- Priscilla Presley's big hit
(bostonherald.com / Associated Press, September 8, 2006)
Priscilla Presley has sold one of her California estates, reportedly for some $2.5 million. The Los Angeles Times said Presley, the actress and ex-wife of late rock legend Elvis Presley, described the Canterbury, Calif., home as "a country English farmhouse on a grand scale." The paper said the spread includes a seven-bedroom house, three-tiered theater and other amenities on five lakeside acres. But the Times said Presley owns several homes and rarely used the place. Presley, 61, still oversees many of her late ex-husband's businesses. She also starred in 1991's "The Naked Gun" and two of its sequels.
- Toby Keith stars in overdramatic and predictable 'Broken Bridges'
By Michael Clark
(Gwinnett Daily Post, September 8, 2006)
From Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and The Beatles to Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears, Hollywood has always tapped popular music for fresh faces and nearly foolproof cross-media marketing. Country music is another story. The only country singer to make any kind of impact on the big screen of late has been Tim McGraw in "Friday Night Lights," ...
- St John's School Talent Night In KB
By Tony Alabastro
(Borneo Bulletin, September 6, 2006)
Elvis entered the Kuala Belait Bandaran Hall, rocked around the clock, woke up little Susie, shaked, rocked and rolled to the jailhouse rock and was in the mood to perform during the St John's School Talent Night on a rainy Wednesday night. There were four Elvis Presley impersonators holding toy guitars during a rock and roll dance performance by lower primary students to the sounds of Glenn Miller, Billy Haley and the Comets, and the king of rock.
- Barlows Brief: I ain't nothin' but a hound dog
By Vic Barlow
(macclesfield-express.co, September 6, 2006)
COMMITTED fans will know of Mike McGregor, who appears on many of Elvis's home videos. Quite apart from taking care of his horses Mike made all Elvis's belts, saddles and leather accessories and lived at Graceland for more than seven years. Following a chance meeting with Mike's wife Barbara, Mrs B was invited to attend Elvis's memorial week in Memphis. ... Of course I wasn't invited on this grand trip. So while Mrs B swanned around Graceland like Priscilla flaming Presley yours truly was stuck at home with a bunch of Labradors.
I ain't nothing but a hound dog.
- A kiss is just a kiss, except when it's Elvis
By GERI PARLIN
(La Crosse Tribune, September 6, 2006)
Cynthia Pepper remembers the day she kissed Elvis Presley as if it were yesterday. It was 42 years ago. You may forget an anniversary. You may forget what age your kids are. Y ou may forget the name of your sister's youngest son. But you don't forget a kiss from The King.
Pepper, who was a TV star, was working on the TV show "Margie," playing the part of the title character. Elvis was about to make the movie "Kissin' Cousins." and he was looking to cast the part of Cpl. Midge Riley, the lucky lady he would end up kissing. "I had done a lot of episodic television, and Elvis had seen me," Pepper said. "My agent called me on a Friday and said, 'Get over to MGM. If you can wear the (WAC) uniform, you're co-starring with Elvis Presley on Monday.' It's not the kind of thing you forget."
First day on the set, Pepper was greeted with roses in the dressing room. "It said, 'To Cynthia, love Elvis.'" He's in love with me," thought Pepper, but then found out he treated all his leading ladies to roses. Still, upon first meeting, she held out her hand to shake his and he said, "No hand, honey, give me a hug." It's enough to make a grown woman come down with a relapse of Elvis fever. Yes, Pepper remembered the '50s as a teen screamer swooning over Elvis. And now she was his kissin' cousin. When it came time to shoot the kissing scene, Pepper said, "I liked the scene so much I kept messing it up," she said with a laugh.
Helping her keep all her memories clear is her job working at Elvis-a-rama in Las Vegas. She works there two or three days a week and immerses herself in Presleyana while there. "It's been 42 years since I worked with him," she said, but the memories are still clear. Even as a young actress, she was aware that Elvis was having something of a career crisis at the time. "It was in the middle of his movie career," she said, and he didn't like making one similar movie after another. "I know he was frustrated doing those movies. They were all alike, but they did makes tons of money."
And he was tons of fun, too. "He loved to have fun on the set," Pepper said. "He knew your lines and his lines and everyone else's lines. He did run a fun set. He was like a country boy. He was a regular guy." "He was a man's man," she said, but every woman wanted him. It took three weeks to make a movie, and it gave Pepper a lifetime of memories. "Because there's not many of us left who know him," she said, she is always asked what he was like and what it was like to be with him and to know him. "I would probably ask the same thing." Her answer to those questions, she said, is always the same. "I have nothing but good things to say about him. I think everyone who worked with him would say the same thing. As a human being, he was one of the best."
- Erlandson file
(startribune.com, September 5, 2006)
Pets: None
Movie: "The Shining"
Comfort food: Peanut butter sandwich
Hobbies: Politics, collecting antique furniture and running
Good book: "Making Peace" by George Mitchell
Three people he'd invite to dinner: Elvis Presley, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas [sic] Gandhi ...
- Keeping dead singers' music alive is a full-time job
By Ryan Underwood, Gannett News Service
(theithacajournal.com, September 2, 2006)
The music business may be one of the only industries in which a dearly departed celebrity can earn as good a living - if not better - than when he was alive. For proof, look no further than the posthumous July 4 release of Johnny Cash's "American V," which made its debut at No. 1 on the charts. And, of course, Graceland has long served as the schmaltzy shrine unto rock deity Elvis Presley, the ultra of top-earning dead celebrities. One of those no-longer-living Nashville legends who continues to cast a long shadow is Roy Orbison, a pop star who is far better known for his cool crooning and signature dark glasses than for being a longtime Music City resident. ...
- Lennon FBI Files Put California Professor on Long, Winding Road
By Edvard Pettersson
(bloomberg.com, September 2, 2006)
Jon Wiener's 25-year magical mystery tour of the Nixon administration's worries about the late John Lennon boils down to 10 pages. That's all that remains secret in a 281-page report compiled by the FBI in the early 1970s, when President Richard Nixon feared that the former Beatle might galvanize the youth vote and thwart his re-election, Wiener said. The journey by Wiener, a history professor at the University of California, Irvine, has taken him through the courts and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The story he unearthed will be told in a documentary, "The U.S. vs. John Lennon,'' that is scheduled to be shown in theaters this month. While a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union who has been working with Wiener says the case may be drawing to a close, the historian says it has echoes for today. "It's the principle of the thing,'' said Wiener, 62. "It's about what limits there are on the White House's arguments that it's acting in the interest of national security.'' Wiener, whose previous research focused on post-Civil War history, began his quest for the FBI files after Lennon was assassinated in New York City in December 1980. He wanted to write a book on Lennon's work against the Vietnam War. Wiener sent his first Freedom of Information Act request to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1981. He got about a third of the 281 pages the FBI said it had on Lennon, with the rest blacked out under a ``national security'' exemption to the law.
Trickle of Documents
After enlisting the ACLU to help, Wiener lost his first battle in 1988, when a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that the FBI didn't have to disclose any more. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision three years later, denying the FBI's claim that release of the documents would lead to "military retaliation'' and other harm against the U.S. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case in 1992, and in 1997, the FBI settled with the ACLU and agreed to release 81 more documents to Wiener. Among the revelations in a March 16, 1972, memo was the assessment that Lennon wasn't a real revolutionary because he was "constantly under the influence of narcotics.''
A federal judge ordered the FBI almost two years ago to release the remaining 10 pages. The FBI argued that unveiling the documents would jeopardize the U.S.'s relationship with foreign governments. Wiener said he thinks the remaining 10 pages contain information from Britain's MI5 intelligence service about Lennon's support for the U.K. Workers' Revolutionary Party.
Coming to a Close
The FBI, under its fourth director since the case began, may decide this month whether to appeal or to supply the remaining documents, said Dan Marmalefsky, an attorney with Morrison & Foerster in Los Angeles who has been representing the ACLU pro bono in the case for 23 years.
"We're basically at the end of the line,'' Marmalefsky said. ``I anticipate they are going to make up their mind by the end of September, and the expectation is that the government will not pursue the appeal.''
FBI spokesman William Carter declined to comment amid the pending litigation.
The Lennon files are part of a larger collection of FBI files that show the agency's focus on celebrities. Dossiers accessible over the Internet in the FBI's Freedom of Information Act "reading room'" include reports on stars ranging from Elvis Presley, who wanted to meet then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, to Walt Disney, whose 1962 movie "Moon Pilot" made light of a government agent.
Looking for Plot
Wiener said the file on Lennon, opened to determine whether Lennon was scheming to disrupt the 1972 Republican convention in Miami Beach, Florida, instead was mostly made up of routine scraps about Lennon's fight with the Immigration and Naturalization Service over efforts to deport him and his association with protest groups, along with newspaper clippings. Those snippets cost the ACLU and its lawyers an estimated $400,000, about half of which was reimbursed by the FBI in a settlement, Wiener said. He wrote a book about the case, "Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files,'' in 1999.
Federal government secrecy efforts have expanded since the Sept. 11 attacks. The number of government "classification actions'' has soared 75 percent to 14 million since 2001, while the total number of declassified pages dropped to 29 million last year from 100 million in 2001, according to a June report by the Congressional Research Service. The government spent $7.1 billion stamping "confidential,'' "secret'' or "top secret'' on documents in 2004, up 58 percent from 2001. "The issue is, who gets to decide what is in the interest of national security?'' Wiener said.
To contact the reporter on this story: in Los Angeles at epettersson@bloomberg.net .
- In Sight/Music & Arts: Italian neo-crooner brings back romance with style
By HIROKO OIKAWA
(asahi.com, September 1, 2006)
For 27-year-old Italian crooner Patrizio Buanne, who has sung for the pope and been compared to Elvis, it was the words of a British knight that really got to him. "We did a show together last September. Tom Jones said: 'You have a fantastic voice. You are gonna be huge.' [I said,] 'You mean fat?' [He said,] 'No, you are gonna be very famous.' It made me cry," Buanne said recently in an interview during a promotional visit to Japan. Jones was among his "teachers" - as Buanne put it -- along with Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Paul Anka, all his idols. They taught him well: Buanne's debut album "L'italiano" (The Italian) went gold. It was released in February 2005 by Globe Records, part of Universal Music, in Britain. With pop music from the 1950s - 1970s as well as traditional Italian songs, the album sold more than 100,000 copies in the first 11 days it was out. It went gold in Finland, Austria, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa and platinum in Australia and Taiwan.
... The singer's career has looked sterling from the get-go. Starting at 11, Buanne won a string of talent competitions, including an Elvis-impersonation contest whose award was a trip to Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. ... "My music is tonic for the soul. I hope there will be more artists like me in the future," he said. Meanwhile, Buanne is keen to experiment with different performing styles in the future. "My idol is Madonna. She can be a pop star; she can be Evita; she can be anything. Presley is the same thing," Buanne said. "Some people call me the new Elvis. It's a compliment, but it doesn't mean I'm an impersonator. I want to be Patrizio Buanne." ...
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