late September, 2006
- Pathologist: Drug combo killed Smith son
(USA TODAY / AP, September 28, 2006)
Anna Nicole Smith's 20-year-old son died from the accidental effect of methadone and two antidepressant drugs interacting in his system, according to a prominent American pathologist who conducted a private autopsy. The low levels of the three drugs detected by toxicology tests indicated Daniel Smith died "a tragic, accidental, drug-related death," Dr. Cyril Wecht told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
... A lawyer for Anna Nicole Smith said she hired Wecht, a forensic pathologist who gained fame as a consultant on celebrity cases including Elvis Presley's death, to end speculation about her son's death. ...
- Elvis Presley Fan Club back in action in city of the king's birth
(wpmi.com / AP, September 28, 2006)
The king of rock 'n' roll has left the building, but a fan club in his Mississippi hometown is back on center stage. Reactivation of the Tupelo Elvis Presley Fan Club comes exactly 50 years after the singer played the Tupelo fair in 1956. Presley was born Jan. 8, 1935, in a small, shotgun-style house in the northeast Mississippi city of Tupelo. He died Aug. 16, 1977, about 100 miles away in Memphis.
About 20 people showed up earlier this week at the chapel on the birthplace grounds to get the club going. Jane Riley, who helped organize the Elvis Presley Festival in Tupelo in June, said about 400 fans from around the world have signed up as members. "It's just amazing the common denominator that Elvis Presley and his life and his music provides," Riley said.
Local members, some dressed in Elvis regalia, elected officers and voted on bylaws at their meeting Tuesday. Barbara Mallory was elected president of the club, reprising her role as leader of the 1956 fan club named the Elvis Presley Sweethearts. Riley brought an enlarged photo of the original 1956 group. ...
- Elvis Presley Sings In Christmas 2006
By Paul Cashmere
(Undercover, September 28, 2006)
Being dead 29 years is no excuse for lacking Christmas cheer. This Christmas, Elvis Presley will be singing in the season for his fans. For the first time ever, Sony-BMG is compiling all of Elvis' Christmas records onto one CD.
Elvis recorded two complete Christmas albums during his career plus a number of one of singles. His first seasonal record was 'Elvis' Christmas Album' from 1957. In 1971, he released 'Elvis Sings The Wonderful World of Christmas'. The 1957 album, which is almost 50 years old, has sold around 14 million units since release while the 1971 album has clocked up sales of 3 million. All tracks on the new album have been digitally remastered.
Track Listing:
1) Santa Claus Is Back In Town
2) White Christmas
3) Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)
4) I'll Be Home For Christmas
5) Blue Christmas
6) Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)
7) O Little Town Of Bethlehem
8) Silent Night
9) There'll Be) Peace In The Valley (For Me)
10) I Believe
11) Take My Hand, Precious Lord
12) It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)
13) O Come, All Ye Faithful
14) The First Noel
15) On A Snowy Christmas Night
16) Winter Wonderland
17) The Wonderful World Of Christmas
18) It Won't Seem Like Christmas (Without You)
19) I'll Be Home On Christmas Day
20) If I Get Home On Christmas Day
21) Holly Leaves And Christmas Trees
22) Merry Christmas Baby
23) Silver Bells
- Insider trading mystery: The butler did it, SEC says
By Michael J. de la Merced
(International Herald Tribune / New York Times, September 27, 2006)
Regulators say they have solved an insider trading mystery: It was the butler in the poolside office with the fax machine. Graham Lefford was accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday of illegally trading on confidential information that he gleaned in 2004 from his boss's $100 million purchase of a controlling stake of the rights to Elvis Presley's image and likeness.
Lefford, 44, of Waxahachie, Texas, worked for Robert Sillerman, the media entrepreneur, at Sillerman's home in the Hamptons, near New York City. The commission contends that Lefford made $48,525 from a $600 investment - a profit of 8,088 percent - in shares of the company that Sillerman was acquiring. Lefford is also accused of violating a confidentiality agreement he signed in 2003, promising not to disclose any information he learned as an employee or to use it for his own profit.
The commission's lawsuit, filed in a U.S. district court in New York, seeks the return of Lefford's profit, and unspecified civil penalties.
- Elvis has left the wardrobe
By Joel Alas
(Baltic Times, September 27, 2006)
It seems nowhere on earth was immune to Elvis Presley obsession. Even in Soviet times, Elvis' LPs slipped through Baltic borders. Thanks to the pirate station Radio Luxembourg, even Estonians were all shook up over the King. And along with Elvis fever came that other inexplicable global phenomena - Elvis impersonation.
This week, one of Tallinn's most eclectic theater troupes explores the concept of Elvis impersonation through their production of "Elvis Was in the Wardrobe." The play, written by young Estonian playwright and lyricist Urmas Vadi, uses Elvis fascination as a metaphor for the identity crises suffered by everyday humans. Although it is performed in Estonian, director Aare Toikka says English speaking audiences should still be able to appreciate the visual humor of the production.
The play focuses on three Elvis impersonators working at an Elvis museum who become so involved in mimicking their idol that they forget their original identities. "All of these characters think they actually are Elvis, they are sure of it," says Toikka. "It's a play about a crisis of identity. It's a surrealistic comedy that is about Elvis, yet is also about something else, about real humans."
Toikka says he remembers hearing Elvis music float across the airwaves while listening to illegal international radio stations at night. "Elvis was everywhere, all over the world. In Estonia there is even an Elvis club. There was a group of people who made a big party on the 75th anniversary of his birthday. Estonia was just like everywhere else. In this play, Elvis is a symbol. It's about humans and their identity, that's more important. We took the Elvis myth, and played with it to also tell another story."
Although the words "wardrobe" and "closet" are often associated with "coming out," Toikka says the play is not gay-themed, but rather focuses on general concepts of identity. The play does carry an adults-only warning, but Toikka doesn't want to spoil the surprise by explaining what indecencies the audience can expect.
"Elvis Was in the Wardrobe" is the kind of over-the-top comedy perfectly suited to the VAT Theater, the company presenting the production. VAT is a small company that draws on the same troupe of three actors for all their productions, supplemented by a small number of visiting actors. They are well known for their high-energy visually-driven shows, in particular the recent production of the Estonian epic tale "Kalevipoeg," which won rave reviews from both Estonian and English speaking audiences.
"There is singing in this play, but not all of it is Elvis music. We asked some Estonian musicians to write new music for the play, but there is also one big Elvis number at the end," Toikka says.
"Elvis Was in the Wardrobe"
VAT Theater, Estonian National Library Theater Hall, Tallinn
Sept. 28, Oct. 16, 18, Nov. 2, 16. Tickets: www.piletiveli.ee Information: (372) 6450 959
- SONY BMG's Strategic Marketing Group to Release Elvis Presley - Elvis Christmas CD
Source: SONY BMG
(Yahoo! Finance / PRNewswire, September 27, 2006)
Definitive Collection Features Elvis's Two Original Christmas Albums for the First Time on One CD
Album in Stores and Online October 3, 2006
On October 3 SONY BMG's Strategic Marketing Group will release Elvis Christmas. This definitive, career-spanning collection of holiday songs from Elvis Presley incorporates all the tunes from the 1957 hit Elvis' Christmas Album and his equally acclaimed 1971 Elvis Sings The Wonderful World Of Christmas for the first time on a single disc. He interprets Christmas-time standards, holiday hymns, as well as several gospel tunes that reflect the spirit of the season. All 23 tracks have been upgraded with DSD technology for optimum sound quality. The original albums are not part of the active Elvis catalog.
Elvis' Christmas Album, recorded in three days of sessions, may have been simply conceived as an ephemeral holiday souvenir for his eager young followers, but over the years it has come to be regarded as one of Elvis's finest LPs by both critics and fans. In the nearly 50 years since its release, the album, in various formats, has sold more than 14 million copies in the United States alone. The lineup from that album has been combined here with all the material from the only other holiday disc Presley ever made, his 1971 collection, Elvis Sings the Wonderful World Of Christmas. Sales of that equally well-received album have exceeded 3 million.
In the course of this definitive collection, Elvis Christmas, Elvis considers every aspect of the holiday season, from its frivolity to its solemnity, from the excitement of getting wished-for presents to the bittersweet longing for those people and things we might be missing to the fun of hanging out near the mistletoe. Elvis conjures up a vision of the holidays as we all know them -- or at least as we wish them to be -- and that's why these songs will never go out of style.
Track Listing:
- Santa Claus Is Back In Town
- White Christmas
- Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)
- I'll Be Home For Christmas
- Blue Christmas
- Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)
- O Little Town Of Bethlehem
- Silent Night
- There'll Be) Peace In The Valley (For Me)
- I Believe
- Take My Hand, Precious Lord
- It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)
- O Come, All Ye Faithful
- The First Noel
- On A Snowy Christmas Night
- Winter Wonderland
- The Wonderful World Of Christmas
- It Won't Seem Like Christmas (Without You)
- I'll Be Home On Christmas Day
- If I Get Home On Christmas Day
- Holly Leaves And Christmas Trees
- Merry Christmas Baby
- Silver Bells
The SONY BMG STRATEGIC MARKETING GROUP works closely with the company's labels to oversee and coordinate activities in a variety of areas, including master television, film and commercial licensing, creative product development, partnership marketing alliances, and the coordination of joint soundtrack projects between the Sony Music and BMG label groups, as well as overseeing Elvis Presley content management.
SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT is a global recorded music joint venture with a roster of current artists that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars, as well as a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT is 50% owned by Bertelsmann A.G. and 50% owned by Sony Corporation of America.
- Tupac plus 10: hip-hop's diminished potential
By Daudi Abe
(Seattle Times, September 27, 2006)
It has been a decade since the passing of Tupac Shakur, the hip-hop equivalent of Bob Marley and Elvis Presley, the iconic figures of reggae and rock and roll, respectively.
Like Marley and Presley, whose status has grown in the years since their premature deaths, Shakur has remained relevant, in part due to his appearances in movies and the continued release of new music of his. ...
- One Guy's Tribute to Elvis
By G. Scott Kanavos
(Bradley Weekly, September 27, 2006)
Bomber Jr's Note: My friend Scott sent me this great article about Elvis Presley so I decided to let him have my spot this week. I'll be back next week.
I turned 43 this year, which means that despite all my efforts thus far, I managed to out-live Elvis Presley, the king of rock n'roll, one of my boyhood idols, who died August 16, 1977 at the age of 42. As a white kid growing up in the south during the 1960's, I, along with the rest of you from that era, have witnessed a lot of changes: the last of the dirt roads, the end of guys like Lester Maddox and George Wallace, and the disappearance of country stores, where we all would sit around and have a moon pie and a Dr. Pepper.
It seems almost inconceivable now, with our streak of lighting cars and the information age, but then, in Cleveland, Tennessee, at a time when everybody had just three television stations (3, 9 and 12) and seemingly went to church every time the doors were open, that one entertainer could be embraced so dearly by a generation or two and by nearly all the south. But Elvis was.
Now, I know that some of you just winced at that last statement, but hear me out. Elvis was like family to most southerners then. And, as with most family, you were either proud of him or a little embarrassed, depending on what he had just said or done lately. On the proud side, he was just a poor boy who God blessed with tremendous talent, and he took that talent to the heights of his profession. He loved his mom. His gospel albums still give chills to their listeners. And when Uncle Sam drafted him, he served honorably and without complaint.
To those us who were proud of him, in him, we saw some of ourselves. Almost none of us were that rich then, it seems. Yet, we sat in our churches believing that God had bestowed some talent on us; we just had to figure out what it was and put it to work. To us, too, serving your country was just part of being a southerner, a right of passage, our duty. And, as we watched our fathers, uncles and cousins shipping out to Vietnam or as we went to the funeral home to welcome one of them home, we, like Elvis, understood that there are just some things that must be done.
Plus, Elvis was cool. Let's face it, we weren't that cool then. We wore white socks with black shoes, we were getting picked on in the news every night, and the Yankees who stopped at our fruit and vegetable stands on their way to Florida, looked down their noses so hard at us, we could feel it. But, Elvis - he took up for us. He was white. He was black. He broke Ann Margaret's heart. He called the Big Boss Man out. He rocked.
Still, his detractors have a point or two. With the exception of Jail House Rock, even I cannot sit in the same room with an Elvis movie. He got married in Vegas, which was vulgar. He got divorced, which was worse. He got fat, then fatter. He wore jumpsuits. And sold out when he made Las Vegas his primary venue.
However, in his defense, let me say that it must have been hard being the King. After all, from the time he stepped into the national spot light in 1956, at the age of twenty-one, he was overwhelmed by all the things the world could offer. Screaming girls, the Ed Sullivan show, fancy cars and all the rest that money could buy would cloud any country boy's head. Perhaps, if Elvis had listened to some of those gospel standards he recorded so beautifully, instead of just singing them, he would have found a greater purpose in his life than merely being the King.
Like most kids who grow away from their childhood hero's, I was a little embarrassed by Elvis by the time I was in my teens. By then, we had cable and MTV. The kids I knew took their rock n' roll seriously, and in the 1970's, Elvis seemed more like a cartoon character of what a rock star should be. So, I wore my Lynyrd Skynard tee shirt and blasphemed Elvis like a little hypocrite every chance I could. I thought it made me look cool.
But as I often said these stupid things, people from Elvis's generation, my father and mother or their friends or the parents of my friends, would stop in their tracks and tell me that I shouldn't talk about Elvis that way. You see, to them (and I suppose to many of you) Elvis was one of them. He was not perfect. Like them, he was trying his best to find his way in a world that was changing so fast that he barely could comprehend it. If the King could get lost along the way, I guess they figured anyone could. Simply put, there are life lessons in Elvis that could apply to the whole boomer generation.
The day Elvis died, I came home from football practice to find my mother and my aunt sitting on the sofa crying into tissues. Having not heard the news because I was so very busy warming the bench all day and part of the evening, I was stunned at this sight and initially thought a family member had passed. When I asked what had happened, my mother responded with "Elvis Presley died today, and you didn't even call me." At that time honestly, Elvis was like a distant uncle I had not seen in many years, so I wasn't that affected.
But as the song goes, the world turns. You get older. You get smarter or something. You think back about the teachers, preachers, friends, family who helped shape the person that you've become and thank God for everyone of them. You forgive your enemies and rediscover your heroes. You mourn your losses and count your blessings. Y ou bury your grandparents and meet your own children. You grow up.
In doing so, too, you look at the world around you and you see the changes in it also. The barns we played in as children have fallen in on themselves, the roads have been paved, and you hardly know anyone in town anymore. Now, the Yankees live next door and they are not moving back up north anytime soon.
Since Elvis died, four of our presidents have been from one of the confederate states as they used to be called. Since Elvis died, black music has become white and white music has become black so often that nobody cares about that debate anymore. Elvis helped change that. Elvis helped change the image of the south too, for better or worse, and I think ultimately for the better.
Sometimes when I drive down the road and see the changes of our town, our south, or when I hear "Suspicious Minds" on the radio, I think of these things. I wish Elvis could see it. More importantly, I wish Elvis could see how cool it is to grow up and see your children grow up too.
And as we, the babies of the 50's and 60's, start burying our parents, friends and neighbors who helped get us this far, we need to be mindful of the lessons that Elvis offers us. In the end, even the King died and he died a young man. With all that he left behind him when he stepped through death's door that August day, we ponder what else he might have done if he had known it was his last.
Meanwhile, my daughter is in the backseat of my pick-up truck wanting to hear "Hound Dog" just "one more time." Oh, well, long live the King! Thank you, Elvis and thank you to everyone who helped me have that "Hound Dog" moment, you know who you are and if I could, I'd buy every one of you a pink Cadillac or two.
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