mid September, 2006
- Sinatra's too cool ... even for Elvis
By ALLAN WIGNEY
(Ottawa Sun, September 15, 2006)
His father had not wished for his only son the lonely life of a professional entertainer. Much less, the Herculean challenge of becoming established as a crooner in the style -- and with the name -- of his old man. In fact, according to Frank Sinatra Jr., while music had understandably been a passion from an early age, the now 62-year-old performer, who will be paying tribute to his late father at the Lac Leamy Casino this weekend, had no intention of following in the man he calls Sinatra's gargantuan footsteps.
"When I was a kid," Sinatra says in a typically slow, deliberate fashion over the phone from his Los Angeles home, "I wanted to be a composer and a pianist. I studied piano as a boy, but things began to happen after that and I discovered I couldn't work unless I was to do vocals.
... For someone who hit his teens during rock 'n' roll's first rebellious flush of youth, Sinatra Jr. began his gradual growth into the smooth sound of the standards sooner than most of his contemporaries. Surely, to a child of the 1950s, those rebels without a cause held some appeal, no? No. "I was a boy when Elvis Presley occurred, and that began the degeneration of the music that we have," Sinatra laments. "With Elvis, it was fairly simple; it was nothing more than constant 12-bar blues with different riffs on it. Nothing but 12-bar blues -- over and over and over and over again. ...
- Elvis, Dolly add starpower to state Web site
(Sydney Morning Herald, September 15, 2006)
Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton have made Tennessee's state tourism website a hit on the Internet, according to a media report. The Tennessee music icons were digitally paired in a TV commercial cruising down the road in a red sports car. Elvis is behind the wheel and Dolly is talking up Tennessee. "Let's pick it up a little bit, honey," she tells the King of Rock 'n' Roll. "There are all kinds of things to do in Tennessee. But, next time, let's take the pink Cadillac." State Tourism Commissioner Susan Whitaker told The Knoxville News Sentinel that people around the world are interested in seeing the Presley-Parton commercial, which has led them to Tennessee's Internet link supporting the state's $12.4 billion (euro9.75 billion) tourism industry. Tennessee's site at http://www.tnvacation.com - the only place where you can see the commercial on demand - has become one of the most popular vacation Web addresses on the Internet, ranking in the Top 10 among more than 200 million sites on Google, she said.
- STEWART WANTS A MAUSOLEUM
(contactmusic.com, September 14, 2006)
Veteran rocker ROD STEWART wants to follow in the afterdeath footsteps of ELVIS PRESLEY by being laid to rest in his back garden. The 61-year-old former grave-digger and husband of PENNY LANCASTER doesn't want his body to rot in a grave, instead he wants to lie in a fancy mausoleum in the grounds of his English country home. Stewart says, "Actually, I don't like the idea of being buried underground. I want to be above ground, like Elvis at his house. "I'd like a nice little mausoleum here in the garden. I'll have to write to my MP (Member of Parliament) about that." [Elvis is in a grave at Graceland, not a mausoleum - ed.]
- Attorneys in Wecht case argue pretrial issues in 3rd Circuit
(phillyburbs.com / Associated Press, September 13, 2006)
Attorneys for former Allegheny County coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht argued before a federal appeals court panel that a federal judge is biased against their client and should not preside at his upcoming trial on theft and fraud charges. Attorneys for Wecht are also asking the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to unseal records concerning an FBI agent who obtained search warrants in the Wecht investigation and to overrule a local federal court rule that bars attorneys from speaking to news organizations.
... Wecht, a renowned pathologist who has consulted on high-profile deaths including those of Elvis Presley and JonBenet Ramsey, resigned from county office in January after a federal grand jury issued an 84-count indictment charging him with theft of honest services, mail fraud and wire fraud. Federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh contend that Wecht used his county staff to do work for his multimillion-dollar private pathology practice. He is also accused of trading unclaimed morgue cadavers for private lab space at a local university, and also faces charges that he overbilled private clients using faked limousine bills for trips he actually made using county drivers and cars. ... Wecht's trial is scheduled to start before Schwab in Pittsburgh on Oct. 16.
- EPE's Morgan charged with DUI: Blew .243, doesn't know how he got to Collierville
By Tom Bailey Jr
(Memphis Commercial Appeal, September 13, 2006)
As the longtime spokesman for Elvis Presley Enterprises, Todd Morgan has been in the newspaper about 180 times since the early 1990s. But this time it's different. Collierville Police arrested the disoriented 44-year-old Sunday night on a charge of driving under the influence after he wrecked his car, according to a police report. "Mr. Morgan did not know where he was or how he got there," the report states. The Presley Enterprises director of media and creative development registered a .243 on the breathalyzer, the report states. The maximum allowable blood alcohol content in Tennessee is .08.
Police found Morgan and his damaged Toyota Avalon at Byhalia Road and Polo Run at 9:53 p.m. ... Morgan told police he had three beers at Rafferty's Restaurant at Poplar and Perkins near his home in Memphis. "... And could not figure out how he ended up in Collierville," the report states. The arrest occurred about 15 miles east of the Memphis restaurant. Police took Morgan to jail. The car's hood was cracked, the front fender damaged, front left tire missing and rear left tire was flat. But police couldn't figure out what he had hit. ... His arraignment in Municipal Court is scheduled for Sept. 21.
- Elvis Exhibition Heads To Australia
By Paul Cashmere
(Undercover, September 13, 2006)
An exhibition of rare Elvis Presley memorabilia will travel to Australia as part of the Elvis Presley in Concert tour. The priceless items will be escorted to Australia by Graceland curators and guarded around the clock. Fans going to the show can also use their ticket to see the exhibition which will be open from 6.30pm at each venue on the tour.
The exhibition will include:
White Tunic (1969)
Tunic top from a white two-piece concert outfit Elvis wore in 1969. His two-piece outfits tunic top and pants with long cloth belt were inspired by the style of karate uniforms. (Karate was one of Elvis's longtime key interests.) These stage outfits were introduced in 1969 and were the predecessor to the famous and (and ever more elaborate through the years) jumpsuits that were introduced in 1970.
Shirt/Pants/Belt Ensemble (1970)
Red puffed-sleeve shirt, black pinstriped pants, red/black leather studded belt with chains. An ensemble featured in the on-stage rehearsal segment of the concert film Elvis, That's The Way It Is (MGM, 1970). A photo of Elvis in this outfit is featured on the original movie poster, which is also part of the exhibit.
That's The Way It Is Concert Jumpsuit White with Beaded Fringe (1970)
One of many concert jumpsuits from 1970. One of several featured in the concert film Elvis, That's The Way It Is (MGM, 1970). Performances from this film, some of which feature Elvis wearing this outfit, are an extensive part of the Elvis performance footage presented in the current Elvis Presley In Concert touring production.
Elvis on Tour Purple Concert Jumpsuit & "Owl" Belt (1972)
One of several jumpsuits Elvis wore in the concert film Elvis on Tour (MGM, 1972). Purple with silver studding. Matching belt with "owl" design on the buckle. Also part of the exhibit are a casual shirt Elvis wore in the film and an original Elvis On Tour movie poster. Some footage from Elvis On Tour is featured in the current Elvis Presley In Concert touring production.
"Madison Square Garden" Concert Jumpsuit & Cape (1972)
White with brass studs and gold satin accents (1972). One of the jumpsuits Elvis wore during his triumphant multi-show, sellout engagement at Madison Square Garden in New York, June 1972. This outfit is featured on the cover of the soundtrack album.
Aloha from Hawaii "Arrival" Suit (1973)
Off-white corduroy jacket and print shirt Elvis wore during the "helicopter arrival" sequence of his 1973 television special Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii. In its live and tape-delay original broadcasts in 1973, the TV special was seen by 1.5 billion people in 40 countries. The soundtrack album and an original audience ticket from this performance are exhibited along with the arrival outfit. Performance footage of Elvis in his famous American Eagle jumpsuit from this special is featured extensively in the current Elvis Presley In Concert touring production.
Elvis Presley in Concert dates are:
Fri 6 Oct - Perth Burswood Dome
Sun 8 Oct - Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Tue 10 Oct Melbourne Rod Laver Arena
Thu 12 Oct - Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Sat 14 Oct - Sydney Acer Arena (formerly Sydney SuperDome)
- Elvis's ex-band members to play in Christchurch
(stuff.co.nz / NZPA, September 12, 2006)
Elvis Presley fans in Christchurch are in for a treat with a one-off concert for New Zealand scheduled next month. The "King" may not be here in person, but his former band members are reuniting and a selection of Elvis's favourite costumes from 1969 to 1973 will be on display under heavy security. A theatrical production, Elvis Presley in Concert, combines video footage of Elvis performing in his finest concerts with a 16-piece orchestra and a group of Elvis' original bandmates from the concert era.
All music in the concert production is performed live, with Elvis's image projected on to a giant video screen and his voice melded with the music. Two other video screens will carry live action from the stage. The show at the Westpac Centre on October 18 is a one-off for New Zealand.
- All Shook Up Tour Rumbles Into Milwaukee Sept. 12; Susan Anton Stars
By Kenneth Jones
(Playbill, September 12, 2006)
All Shook Up, the Broadway musical that married a fresh story to songs made famous by Elvis Presley, parks Sept. 12 at Milwaukee's Marcus Center for the first stop on its national tour. Joe Mandragona will play Chad, the handsome stranger who shakes things up in a drab 1950s-era American town, and Jenny Fellner (Mamma Mia!) will play Natalie, the girl who falls under his spell. Also in the cast are Susan Anton as Miss Susan, David Benoit as Sheriff Earl and Wally Dunn as Jim Haller.
All Shook Up has an original book by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change). Among the Presley tunes heard in the show are "Heartbreak Hotel," "Burning Love," "Love Me Tender," "Can't Help Falling in Love," "Jailhouse Rock," "Blue Suede Shoes," "A Little Less Conversation," "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel" and "All Shook Up." A cast album was released in spring 2005.
The Equity production will play 30 cities in 2006-07, including Orlando, Indianapolis, Boston, Appleton, Louisville, Philadelphia, Denver, Houston, Atlanta, Minneapolis and Fort Lauderdale. Christopher Ashley, who directed the brightly colored Broadway production, which had a six-month run at the Palace Theatre in 2004-05, again directs.
Completing the cast are Beth Glover (Mayor Matilda Hyde), Valisia Lekae Little (Lorraine), Dennis Moench (Dennis), Brian Sears (Dean Hyde), Natasha Yvette Williams (Sylvia), Alicia Albright, Nick Cearley, Abbie Cooper, Randy Davis, Josh Franklin, Erin Greiner, William Hammonds, Tiffany Janene Howard, Matthew Kiernan, Mary Jo McConnell, Kevin McGlynn, Jermaine Rembert, Betsy Struxness, Kyle Vaughn, Aurelia Williams and Carla Woods.
Producers Richard Martini, Allen Spivak, Albert Nocciolino and Magic Arts & Entertainment reunite the original Broadway design team, including set designer David Rockwell, costume designer David C. Woolard and lighting designer Donald Holder for the 2006-07 tour.
Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys) choreographs.
One of the selling points of the Broadway run was the potent work of music supervisor/arranger Stephen Oremus (Wicked), who flirted with rock, soul, gospel and rockabilly when addressing songs written by many composers and lyricists (Elvis tended to sing the work of other writers).
The Broadway cast included Cheyenne Jackson, Jenn Gambatese, Jonathan Hadary, Leah Hocking, Curtis Holbrook, Nikki M. James, John Jellison, Alix Korey, Mark Price and Sharon Wilkins.
The Broadway run of All Shook Up ended Sept. 25, 2005. It began previews Feb. 20 with an official opening March 24. The musical played 33 previews and 213 regular performances. Visit www.allshookup.com.
- It's The Serie A Comeback Special!
By Larry Schwartz
(Football News, September 11, 2006)
In the mid to late 1960s people began to openly criticise Elvis Presley. Casual fans thought he was past it, the press were only too happy to highlight his obvious problems with overeating and drugs, and music industry insiders - not to mention film bosses - thought he was a spent force. The future was not bright for the big fella.
But then, against all odds, he hit them all with the '68 Comeback Special, wowing the world with his full power and glory, proving that he wasn't dead yet. This summer Serie A was in a mid-sixties Elvis mess. ... That was until the folk of Italian football delivered their own Comeback Special. ... Not all comebacks went so well though. Spare a thought for Juventus, who, dressed in a sombre new black away kit, drew at lowly Rimini. Seemingly cruising at 1-0 against ten men, a mix up between Jean-Alain Boumsong and Gigi Buffon gave the hosts a surprise leveller. (Yes you read that correctly - Boumsong in football-confusion shocker). A very unpleasant first taste of life in Serie B for the Old Lady, so much so she was left 'All Shook up', as I believe someone once crooned.
- In Role Reversal, Ex-F.B.I. Agents Align Themselves With Defendant
By ALAN FEUER
(New York Times, September 11, 2006)
When Lin DeVecchio goes to court, he never goes alone. His lawyers are there, making arguments. The news media are there, taking photographs and notes. His wife sometimes shows up, making small, sorrowful faces as she grips him by the hand. Then there are the men who make a path for him as they escort him back and forth through the crowd. The ones with the gray hair and the jowls, the stern faces and the off-the-rack suits. Almost from the moment he was charged in March with helping to commit four murders for the mob, R. Lindley DeVecchio has been surrounded by this posse of supporters: retired F.B.I. men who for years were not only his colleagues, but also his friends. ...
"We've all worked with Lin since the early 1970's," said Joseph D. Pistone, the real-life Donnie Brasco, who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family as an undercover agent in the 1970's. ... The so-called Friends of Lin DeVecchio have a total of 480 years of street experience, give or take a few, and while most spend their time these days on a golf course or at the shore, they remain encyclopedic on the subject of the mob. Who knows better than us, they say, what happened 20 years ago at Carmine Sessa's bar or at Larry Lampesi's house near McDonald Avenue in Brooklyn? (Both places will figure prominently at trial.)
"We gathered the information," said James M. Kossler, who from 1979 to 1989 was Mr. DeVecchio's boss. Much of that information has been posted on a Web site, www.lindevecchio.com, which attempts to refute the state indictment with transcripts of federal trials and with private F.B.I. reports called 302's. ... The Web site also levels personal attacks against the state's lead prosecutor, Michael Vecchione; its chief witness, Linda Schiro, Mr. Scarpa's former companion; and Sandra Harmon, who is a self-described relationship coach and the co-author with Priscilla Presley of a tell-all book on Elvis Presley, and who had planned to write a book with Ms. Schiro but wrote one instead about Mr. Scarpa's son. ...
- Bids track culture from Graceland to Greece
By Larry Schwartz
(The Age, September 11, 2006)
There are books, re-releases of his music and even a travelling show with live musicians and a virtual Elvis culled from hours of concert footage. Elvis Presley's legacy is as strong as it has been since he was found dead in his Memphis mansion, Graceland.
"Elvis is not dead," Sean O'Neal wrote in his 1996 book, Elvis Inc.: The Fall and Rise of the Presley Empire. "He lives on - as an image, a face, a symbol. And he will continue to do so as long as that image sells."
Plans to mark the 30th anniversary of Presley's August 16, 1977 death are among more than 100 projects shortlisted for the City of Melbourne's annual grants program. The council's community services committee will tomorrow consider a recommendation for a $15,000 grant to the RMIT Gallery for events associated with Presley. A council spokeswoman said the committee would consider recommendations by a panel of artists and others for 107 grants totalling more than $1 million. ... The council will consider the committee's recommendations on September 26.
- One last time: Nothing keeps Beverly Jackson from seeing 'Elvis'
By Sherrie Mitchell
(Reporter-Times, September 10, 2006)
Martinsville resident Beverly Jackson was disappointed when a semi slightly clipped her nursing home's facility van before a trip to the Mooresville Senior Center. Residents of The Waters of Martinsville were scheduled to watch Dr. Donald McMahon perform as music legend Elvis Presley on the anniversary of Presley's death. Jackson, a longtime Elvis fan and a mother of seven, had been the founder of the Elvis Presley Circle City Fan Club.
Her children remember their mother hiring two Greyhound buses and taking club members to Graceland. Her daughter, Rhonda Ralston, also recalls the meetings themselves and the connections they made. Her brother, Greg, met and married one of the club's members. Jackson's son, Dallas, said, "At 6 in the morning, you could feel the house vibrating because mother would be downstairs dancing to Elvis music."
When John Smith, the maintenance director for The Waters, heard of Jackson's disappointment about the trip, he called a friend from Indianapolis who had not done his impersonation of Elvis in eight years. Arrangements were made, and "Elvis" performed at the facility on Aug. 24. The Elvis impersonator, who preferred not to be named, dedicated his first song, "Young and Beautiful," to Jackson. Overwhelmed with emotion, tears fell down her face as she placed her hand over her heart. Songs "Teddy Bear," "Hurt" and "Burning Love" followed. With his wife, Leslie, Smith himself then performed various songs, including Johnny Cash's hit "Jackson." The staff and "Elvis" were dancing all over the dining room in the facility. Activity assistant Blaine Carroll, performed "Let It Be," by the Beatles. Activity director Sheila Harmon, along with a facility resident, sang "Crazy," by Loretta Lynn. The final song of the evening was "YMCA," sung by Smith and company, which had the residents appropriately motioning the letters.
Jackson's family attended this special event. Even her son Jeff was called home from Afghanistan by the Red Cross because of the severity of his mother's illness. Jeff was to return to Afghanistan on Sept. 2, but he was granted an extended leave because of his mother passing away a week after the small concert. Her funeral was held Sept. 5 to a blend of Elvis' gospel hits.
|
