mid March 2007
- Blue-Chip Lyricist Pomus (`Hushabye') Triumphed Over Disability [Book Review]
By Jeffrey Burke
(bloomberg.com, March 22, 2007)
The kid growing up in Brooklyn between world wars had one of the highest IQs in the borough, legs damaged by polio and an ear glued to the radio. In time he'd be the one luring kids to the airwaves.
In "Lonely Avenue: The Unlikely Life and Times of Doc Pomus,'' Alex Halberstadt has written a marvelous book about one of the top songwriters of rock 'n' roll's early years. Born Jerome Felder in 1925, Pomus wrote the lyrics for hits like ``Hushabye,'' ``Suspicion,'' "This Magic Moment,'' :Save the Last Dance for Me,'' "Little Sister'' and ``Teenager in Love.''
That's an evocative soundtrack, and it plays beautifully behind a life story with sharp highs and lows. Pomus's wide range of professional acquaintances, among them plenty of Brill Building stars and Broadway characters, makes the book a feast of inside dope and boldface names. ...
- We won't be cruel to a show so true [Theater Review]
By Orla Swift
(News & Observer, March 22, 2007)
You'd expect a musical based on Elvis Presley hits to be fueled by youthful lust and pelvic thrusts. And Broadway's touring "All Shook Up" has plenty of both. But its sexiest sparks come from an unexpected source: middle-age parents. From "Heartbreak Hotel" to "There's Always Me," this romantic comedy takes pop culture's frequent fixations -- youth, beauty and instant acquisition -- and trumps them with something deeper. Look past the cocky stud at the center of the story and you'll see that "All Shook Up" celebrates ordinary people and their extraordinary passions.
Just don't look too deep. Written by Joe DiPietro ("I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change"), this jukebox musical is little more than a string of familiar songs reorchestrated in Broadway style and held together by a predictable plot. Biker hunk Chad rolls into a tiny town in the mid-'50s and sets off a chain reaction of rebellion, lust and love. Tomboy mechanic Natalie flips for the Elvis-like Chad. Nerdy Dennis pines for Natalie. Chad wants the standoffish museum director, Sandra (played by the show's headliner, Susan Anton), and so does Natalie's widowed dad, Jim. The local bar owner, single mom Sylvia, wants nothing to do with men. Her teenage daughter, Lorraine, wants any man, as long as he's forbidden. A little Shakespeare-style cross-dressing makes one more side trip before the happy ending.
The allure of "All Shook Up" is not in its storyline but in what the performers bring to their paper-doll characters. Jannie Jones' Sylvia is jaded and sarcastic, but she's also warm and funny, with a mighty voice that broadcasts deep pain and hope. Jenny Fellner's Natalie has a forlorn charm and an expressive voice. Joe Mandragona captures Chad's sexiness and sultry vocals, and also shows a comical vulnerability that makes it more palatable when Chad wins a love he doesn't deserve.
Most of the other leads are solid. The biggest weakness is Anton, the television actress and Vegas star. She's a statuesque beauty with a strong voice, but she often looks ill at ease as Sandra.
Some of Stephen Oremus' arrangements of mostly early Elvis fare are surprisingly infectious and soulful. And Sergio Trujillo's choreography is sharp and sexy, though the powerful first number, "Jailhouse Rock," promises more than the rest of the show delivers.
Compared to purebred jukebox peers such as "Mamma Mia" and "Movin' Out," "All Shook Up" is a hound dog. But it has enough attributes that even skeptical Elvis fans might find that they can't help falling in love with it.
- Jazz Cruises, LLC Announces Talent Line-Up for The Elvis Cruise(TM) Hosted by Jerry Schilling Labor Day Weekend, August 30 - September 3, 2007
Source: Jazz Cruises, LLC
(Yahoo! Finance / MARKET WIRE, March 22, 2007)
Legendary Elvis Presley Performing Groups Come on Board for Inaugural Sailing Celebrating 30th Anniversary of Elvis' Passing
Telephone 1-800-704-3034 www.theelviscruise.com
Jazz Cruises, LLC, the foremost producer of music theme cruises throughout the world, and the producer of The Elvis Cruise, the first licensed cruise featuring Elvis-inspired entertainment on the whole ship, celebrating the music and life of Elvis Presley, is proud to announce an incredible group of performers who worked with or were inspired by Elvis have come on board for its August 30 - September 3, 2007 inaugural cruise. Joining host Jerry Schilling, author of "Me and a Guy Named Elvis," and famed Elvis music director Joe Guercio are THE TCB BAND, THE JORDANAIRES, THE DEMPSEYS AND THE IMPERIALS along with the great post-Elvis era performing groups such as TERRY MIKE JEFFREY & BAND, RONNIE McDOWELL and RUBY WILSON.
These artists will combine each night to create a special tribute to the music of Elvis dedicated to the following eras from his illustrious career: Elvis in Memphis, Aloha (Hawaii Show), Elvis in Las Vegas and Elvis Gold. Additionally, there will be special and very moving Sunday performances of his great gospel music. Cruise guests will also participate in a special passenger "Elvis Tribute Contest," competing for $10,000 prize money, interviews and "meet and greets" with the special guests and special insights and offering from host Jerry Schilling.
- God Swing the Queen: Wanda Jackson keeps the rockabilly torch alive
By Paul Davis
(metrosantacruz.com, March 21, 2007)
She's been named the queen of rock & roll and rockabilly, the first woman in rock, even the prototypical riot girl. She was a bad-ass woman hitting stages and putting a swivel in her hips back when even a male like Elvis doing so was considered to be an omen of the end of civilization. But if you're not familiar with the name Wanda Jackson, you're not alone -- even the gatekeepers at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame have deigned that Eddie Van Halen deserves to be enshrined as a rock icon more than the fearless and trailblazing Jackson.
Jackson is often remembered for her close ties to the king of rock & roll himself, Elvis Presley -- not surprising in a business where, even after 50 years, women have yet to fully earn their due. But in 2005 another Elvis came to advocate for Jackson. In an open letter to the Hall of Fame, Elvis Costello called for her induction, stating "she was standing up onstage with a guitar in her hands and making a sound that was as wild and raw as any rocker, man or woman, while other gals were still asking, 'How much is that doggy in the window?'"
... The 70-year-old Jackson has more pressing concerns, like hitting the road with the same rockabilly two-step that she and her former beau Elvis Presley claimed as their own a half-century ago. Jackson's most recent album pays tribute to her one-time boyfriend and the man who encouraged her to find the snarling rock & roll soul that lay behind the demure country persona she had displayed on her early Decca releases. I Remember Elvis finds Jackson returning to the prototypical rockabilly sound that Presley encouraged her to explore.
"I did a lot of tours with Elvis," Jackson says. "We were dating and he took me to his house and played albums and showed me what he would do with a song. He tried to make me stretch out from country; he seemed to feel I had a knack for it." Coming from a traditional country background, Jackson was initially hesitant, but at the urging of Presley and her father, she knew she had "found a niche, and was able to sell the songs."
Jackson hit the road with Presley straight out of high school, but found that during an era when most women performers were still emulating the likes of Patti Page, she was at a loss for material. "I graduated in '55," she says, "and started working with Elvis then. I couldn't find songs being written for girls, so my dad said I'd just have to start writing them myself." Jackson sat down and began writing songs that countless women would perform after her, building up a repertoire from scratch at a time when it was extremely rare for performers to write their own material. Jackson didn't hit big in America as a rock singer until 1960 with "Let's Have a Party," although she had already racked up novelty hits in Japan (with the scandalous atomic age hips-shake "Fujiyama Mama") and Germany, all while her American rock releases languished on the shelves.
The female Elvis, only better:
Unlike her old pal Presley, Wanda Jackson is alive and well and still proving herself the queen of rockabilly, gospel and all points between.
- Cherry Lane Expands To Nashville
By Rachael Darmanin
(cmj.com, March 21, 2007)
Good news for those who love honky-tonk. Cherry Lane, the New York-based music publisher that overseas acts from Elvis Presley to Wolfmother, announced they will expand into the Nashville country music scene with the hire of Michelle Berlin as creative director. Berlin previously held the same position at BMG, where she secured recordings for acts such as the Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill and Rascal Flatts. "Cherry Lane's dedication to their songwriters' development and to the creative process has solidified their strong reputation in music publishing," says Berlin. "I am delighted this position will give me the opportunity to expand their presence in Nashville."
Yee-haw.
- Hemet's mural of stars gets makeover
By HERBERT ATIENZA
(Hemet San-Jacinta Press-Enterprise, March 20, 2007)
After basking in the hot Hemet sun for 16 years, the images of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Marlon Brando and Rocky Balboa on the wall of Gary's TV and Video in eastern Hemet have been restored to their former glory.
Ramon Mena Owens / The Press-Enterprise
The mural on the wall of Gary's TV and Video in Hemet was repainted by artist George Sportelli. The ex-Hemet resident said he repainted and updated the images, specifying that he "fixed" the proportions of the images to make them more realistic.
- Berlin rallies behind baby bear
(BBC News, March 20, 2007)
Berlin Zoo has vowed it will not kill a baby polar bear amid a heated row over whether it is right to hand-rear the cub, who was rejected by his mother. Knut has been nurtured by a keeper who has slept by his side, bottle-fed him, and strummed him Elvis Presley songs. But suggestions the three-month-old should have been put down to stop him becoming emotionally and physically reliant on a human have caused outrage. ...
- 10-year-old 'Blue Suede Shoes' appears to be a tad stepped on
By Michael Wade Simpson
(San Francisco Chronicle, March 20, 2007)
Elvis is really dead. Even the supermarket tabloids have let him go. And, in the 10 years since Dennis Nahat created "Blue Suede Shoes," a '50s-'60s story ballet based on the music of Elvis Presley for Ballet San Jose (then known as San Jose Cleveland Ballet), the King has gotten deader still.
Maybe in Memphis people still care deeply about the old Presley tunes and the campy movies, not to mention the personal saga of the artist with the scandalously young bride and his bloated, pathetic end. But, in the wider culture, 50 years is forever, and anything Presleylike has become empty nostalgia.
But if Nahat's revived ballet, at San Jose Center for the Performing Arts through Sunday, wanes on the nostalgia-meter, it should be seen just to admire the costumes and scenery of Hollywood legend Bob Mackie. Be sure to wear sunglasses, because Cher's favorite designer has gone way, way over the top. There is so much color and glitz on stage, and so many costume changes, the piece out-Broadways Broadway. "Blue Suede Shoes" is basically one long chorus number, with toe shoes instead of saddle shoes, featuring three buddies who dance their way through high school, the drive-in, the Army, the lonesome road, a disco, jail and a golden finale that looks a lot like the Grammy awards.
Artistically speaking, "Blue Suede Shoes" lacks much interest. Nahat's choreography, so effective in other more traditional efforts, seems hindered by the need to cobble together a narrative that somehow fits all these songs, as well as the obligation to create a dance that is fun, fun, fun.
v
Recalling the three sailors who dance around New York in "On the Town," this trio, played by Ramon Moreno, Preston Dugger and Peter Hershey, has its share of trials and tribulations on the way through 35 Presley songs. There is the looming icon of female sexuality danced (and acted) very effectively by Catharine Grow, first as a high school hottie, later as a jail keeper/dominatrix (the best costume of the night) and, finally, a Las Vegas-style goddess. No one ever gets the girl here, but it's not for lack of trying. Presley's mother, as all fans know, played an even more important part in the singer's life than any girlfriend or wife, and, here, Karen Gabay gets to bourree around like an escapee from "Giselle" as Dead Mama.
It's a little bit depressing to see all the Elvis items on sale in the lobby and realize how Disney-fied even ballet can become, with the same need to commercialize itself in order to bring in audiences, but that's nothing new, and Ballet San Jose has 40 dancers on stage in this piece. That's a lot of paychecks. ...
Ballet San Jose: "Blue Suede Shoes' and 'Baker's Dozen." Through Sunday at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, 255 Almaden Blvd., San Jose. Tickets: $25-$78; (408) 288-2800 or www.balletsanjose.org.
- Religious themes found in past, present music - Faith & Spirituality
By John Wenz
(The Daily Nebraskan, March 20, 2007)
Johnny Cash sang gospel. So did Elvis Presley. And Run of Run-DMC and Al Green are both full-fledged reverdnds no.
It's not hard to extricate religion from music. It's impossible. The very roots of modern music tie back to the gospel, Hillbilly music and the blues, all of whcih dealt with the soul in one way or another. ...
- Priscilla Presley and Thomas Kinkade to Unveil New Painting Kicking off Graceland's 50th Anniversary Weekend Celebration
Source: The Thomas Kinkade Company
(Yahoo! Finance / BUSINESS WIRE, March 19, 2007)
March 2007 Marks 50 Years Since Elvis Purchased The Mansion
WHAT: Unveiling of the new Thomas Kinkade commemorative painting
of Graceland in celebration of Elvis Presley's purchase of
the historic home 50 years ago.
WHO: Priscilla Presley and Thomas Kinkade
WHEN: 10:00 a.m.
Friday, March 23
WHERE: Graceland Front Lawn
SPECIAL
NOTES: The year 2007 marks a very special anniversary for
Graceland. In March 1957, Elvis purchased Graceland for his
home. To commemorate this historic event, Painter of Light,
Thomas Kinkade, has created his newest masterpiece
"Graceland, 50th Anniversary" and will unveil it during this
special media event. Welcoming him to Graceland and
attending the unveiling will be Priscilla Presley.
Kinkade visited Graceland in September 2006 to paint a study
for the painting, and had this to say, "Elvis Presley
created rock and roll and changed music forever. Graceland
was his refuge from the demands of his fame. My hope is that
I will capture on canvas a bit of the home that he loved so
much."
For additional information visit www.Elvis.com. For access to Graceland and events, please contact Kevin Kern at 901-332-3322.
Contact:
The Thomas Kinkade Company
Jim Bryant, 408-201-5020
or
Graceland David Beckwith, 323-845-9836
- LYTHGOE DATING PRISCILLA PRESLEY
(contactmusic.com, March 18, 2007)
ELVIS PRESLEY's ex-wife PRISCILLA is reportedly dating AMERICAN IDOL boss NIGEL LYTHGOE - just weeks the music mogul separated from wife BONNIE. Lythgoe, 57, split from his longterm love earlier this year (07), and began dating The King's former wife soon after. A source tells British newspaper News Of The World, "They clicked instantly."
- Long live the King [audio review]
By Rachel Redford
(Guardian / Observer, March 18, 2007)
In Search of Elvis
by Charlie Connelly; read by Julian Rhind-Tutt
Hachette Audio £13.99, 3 hours
During his journey across the globe 'to find the man beneath the jumpsuit', Connelly meets ardent nutters at the centre of whose lives (and livelihoods) is the 30-year-dead Elvis. In Aberdeen, a brisk business is done in the Presley tartan (complete with sporran embossed with thistle and eagle); in Finland, an academic devotee has a sideline singing Elvis songs in Latin and Sumerian. The Catholic church once excommunicated two Montreal fans who disobeyed orders and attended an Elvis concert in Ottawa; today, worshippers flock to Graceland where their idol died. The narration keys into the lighthearted tone of this entertaining romp, but don't expect insights or to learn anything new about the King.
- PRESLEY GIRLS JOIN IN ON TIPPERARY HOOLEY
(contactmusic.com, March 17, 2007)
ELVIS PRESLEY's widow [ie, ex-wife] and daughter PRISCILLA and LISA MARIE have been lapping up Irish culture in the build up to St Patrick's Day(17MAR07), singing and dancing at a bar in County Tipperary. The pair are in the Emerald Isle as guests of German aristocrat GOTTFRIED HELNWEIN, who has a castle in the county - and they both stunned regulars at a traditional bar by joining in the singing and dancing. A reveller tells the Sunday World newspaper, "They were spotted drinking at a bit of a hooley in the Halfway Bar near Ballymacarberry in County Tipperary, singing along to some of the tunes." Halfway Bar publican TONY CONDON confirms the reports saying, "Yes, they dropped in one night and seemed to have a good time.
- Learn in Church, Belt 'Em Out on 'Idol'
By Jennifer Garza
(redorbit.com / Sacramento Bee, March 17, 2007)
Now they sing in front of millions on "American Idol," but until recently many of this year's contestants could be found performing in church. Chris Sligh is the worship leader at Seacoast Church in Greenville, S.C., where he and his wife, Sarah, are active in the congregation. Sligh leads the music during services and fronts the church band. The son of missionaries, Sligh attended Bob Jones University in Greenville and regularly seeks out his pastor for musical advice. But don't expect him to perform praise music on the hit Fox TV show.
... How do you mix the sacred and the secular? Very carefully, especially if you're vying for the top spot on the most popular TV show in the country. Many of this year's contestants honed their skills in church. Now they find themselves in the middle of "Idol" worship. ... Churches have long influenced pop music -- from who sings it to how it is performed. Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles are just a few who got their singing chops with church hymnals. ...
- Replica of Elvis's house teaches local students construction skills
By CHRIS GULLICK
(Chico Enterprise Record, March 17, 2007)
Ron Reed sees a lot of juveniles in court in his job as a public defender for Butte County, but he prefers to see them swinging hammers, drilling holes and painting - and many afternoons this month he's gotten his wish. Students in Matt McGuire's construction class at the Academy for Change (AFC) are working on an idea of Reed's, to build a replica of Elvis Presley's birth home. Reed presented the idea to Bernard Vigallon, the school's director, and McGuire. He researched the project, taking measurements at the house personally, when he visited his sister in Tupelo, Miss.
... Each student was required to pass a safety test before using any of the tools, McGuire explained, but he added that they're not using any power tools. The work is being done the way Elvis's father would have done it when the house was built in 1934. ...
- Songwriter Otis Blackwell Left Music All Shook Up
By Brian Deagon
(Yahoo! News / Investor's Business Daily, March 15, 2007)
Two days before Christmas 1955, Otis Blackwell wrote seven songs and sold them to a music broker for an advance fee of $25 each. He needed the money for presents. That grew to a much bigger gift three weeks later. Elvis Presley said he would record one of those songs, titled "Don't Be Cruel." Blackwell, when told of the news, responded, "Who is Elvis Presley?" It didn't take him long to find out. "Don't Be Cruel" shot to the top of the pop charts and stayed there for 11 weeks. Blackwell received $80,000 in first-year royalties. He no longer had to work as a floor sweeper and clothes presser or sing the blues in tiny New York City bars for $5 a night to make ends meet.
Over time, Blackwell's songs became signature hits for top entertainers. He wrote "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless" for Jerry Lee Lewis. Peggy Lee popularized his song "Fever." James Taylor recorded "Handyman." Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Billy Joel and the Who also recorded his songs. He wrote 965 songs, becoming one of the most influential and prolific writers of his time. About 185 million copies of his songs were sold.
Blackwell died May 6, 2002, of a heart attack in a hospital in Nashville, Tenn. He was 70. He lived in relative obscurity after suffering a paralyzing stroke in 1991, the same year he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. "In terms of songs published, Otis Blackwell ranks right up there with Paul Anka, Irving Berlin and Cole Porter," said Dan Del Fiorentino, curator of the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, Calif. "One of the most powerful things he could do was take the image of a strong, virile man and turn him into a bowl of Jell-O when it came to being around a pretty woman."
In the early 1950s, the big bands were fading and single artists such as Frank Sinatra, Pat Boone and Bing Crosby cornered the charts. Other musicians looked for songs that could break that mold. They especially wanted songs that appealed to American teenagers, who were becoming an independent force. "Don't Be Cruel" did the trick, though not even Presley realized its potential. The song was issued as the B side to "Hound Dog," which topped the charts for four weeks. "Don't Be Cruel" stayed No. 1 for more than twice that length and remained on the charts for 18 months.
It was a milestone not passed until Presley recorded another song by Blackwell, called "All Shook Up." It also became a No. 1 hit. Another Blackwell hit recorded by Presley was "Return to Sender." Some say Blackwell was instrumental in helping develop Presley's style, even though they never met. Blackwell often sang and recorded his songs before they were presented for sale. He also noted that Presley sounded like him, right down to each quiver and inflection. "I didn't mind that he copied the demos so closely," Blackwell said. "I figured making good demos was a surer way of getting him to record my stuff." ...
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