mid May 2007
- EU approves Universal's $2.09 bln BMG buy
(bbj.hu, May 23, 2007)
EU regulators approved Universal Music Group's $2.09 billion purchase of BMG Music Publishing, the European Commission said Tuesday. The commission said the deal to create the world's biggest music-publishing company originally 'raised serious doubts' about online music competition in Europe. But it said it set its concerns aside after Universal said it would sell its Zomba UK, 19 Music, 19 Songs, BBC music publishing and Rondor UK catalogs, as well as the European license for the Zomba US catalog. These catalogs contain many bestselling titles and several successful authors such as the Kaiser Chiefs, Justin Timberlake and R. Kelly, the commission said. ³I am satisfied that the significant remedies will keep these markets competitive and ensure that consumers will not be harmed by the merger,² competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said.
The new Universal Music Publishing Group, led from Los Angeles by CEO David Renzer, will have 22% of the market, moving it ahead of Britain's EMI Group PLC. Its artists will include U2, Shania Twain, Bon Jovi, Prince, 50 Cent, Fatboy Slim, Brian McKnight, Shania Twain, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Elton John, Elvis Costello, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Leonard Bernstein and Henry Mancini. EMI said Monday it agreed to a $4.7 billion takeover by British private-equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners.
(monstersandcritics.com)
- Presley songwriter Weisman dies
(BBC, May 23, 2007)
Ben Weisman, who helped write almost 60 songs for Elvis Presley, has died. Weisman, 85, wrote or co-wrote a string of singles for Presley including Follow That Dream and Fame and Fortune. He also composed tracks for the star's films, such as Jailhouse Rock, GI Blues and Blue Hawaii. He died in Los Angeles after suffering a stroke and pneumonia. Weisman - who also wrote for Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis and the Beatles - said Presley affectionately nicknamed him the "mad professor".
Weisman wrote songs for Presley movies including Jailhouse Rock
- Death: have it your way
By Nikki Tundel
(Minnesota Public Radio, May 21, 2007)
Some say we're all equal in death. Those people don't realize just how personalized the funeral industry has become. "Everyone wants something different and wants to be different. You don't ever want the same thing all your friends have." That's Danielle Radulovich. She's co-owner of the Kozlak-Radulovich Funeral Chapels.
The Twin Cities funeral director says these days traditional services are giving way to more personalized affairs. "Before when people had a funeral, you just did the visitation, you did the funeral, and you did the burial. But now, it's more of an event," explains Radulovich. " ... Then there's the music. Some families still stick with the classics, like Ave Maria and Amazing Grace. But Radulovich says if she had to name the new funeral favorite, it'd be Elvis Presley's My Way." ...
- Dancer, actor Carl Wright dies at 75
(usatoday.com / AP, May 20, 2007)
Actor Carl Wright, who began his career as a tap dancer and comedian and later appeared in movies including Barbershop and Big Momma's House, has died, his family confirmed Sunday. He was 75. ... His movie career began late in his life, his daughter said. "He's done so many things," she said. "He worked with everyone from Elvis Presley to Frank Sinatra." ...
- Paris festival called off after anti-American threats
(Yahoo! News / AFP, May 20, 2007)
A Paris festival celebrating US music and culture has been called off following a series of anti-American threats, organisers said on Sunday. Called "Three Days in America", the festival featuring country and gospel concerts, line-dancing, sales of US paraphernalia and a tribute to Elvis Presley was to take place from May 26 to 28 in Saint Cloud, southwest of Paris.
Organisers issued a statement saying they were forced to postpone the event following "persistent pressure and threats of an anti-American nature". "At first we thought it was a joke when we received a letter with a mixture of threats, mentioning Al-Qaeda and full of spelling mistakes," said Chantal Tenot, the festival's press officer. But after several threatening phone calls the organisers decided Friday to file a police complaint and call off the event. Paris anti-terrorism investigators have been alerted and the festival organisers are to meet foreign ministry officials on Monday to discuss the situation, Tenot said.
She said the organisers hoped to reschedule the festival -- which last year drew 15,000 visitors -- in the autumn.
- Arthur Alexander's Rediscovery Chronicled on "Lonely Just Like Me: The Final Chapter," Due August 21
(allaboutjazz.com, May 20, 2007)
18-song CD contains full critically hailed Nonesuch album plus rare live tracks and hotel demos along with liner notes from original producer Ben Vaughn.
The only songwriter whose songs were covered by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley was Arthur Alexander. One of the greatest soul singers of all time, if not the best known, he penned ³Anna,² ³Sally Sue Brown² and ³You Better Move On² among many others. The Beatles modeled their early sound after him. Yet by 1980 - a young man, just 40 - Alexander had left the music industry and was driving a bus and working at a center for disadvantaged kids in Cleveland. That's exactly where the story of Lonely Just Like Me: The Final Chapter - a deluxe package chronicling his improbable, triumphant yet tragically short-lived comeback in the early '90s - begins. ...
- Buy Red West's House
(Memphis Flyer, May 20, 2007)
Before the Triple 6, there was the Memphis Mafia, Elvis Presley's rotation of chauffeurs, bodyguards, sycophants, and friends. One member of that storied group, Red West is auctioning off his 12-acre estate in Bartlett at 6676 Memphis-Arlington Road. West was a longtime Presley associate, dating back to his standing up for the pink-clad, pimply pre-King at Humes High in the early 1950s. West co-authored Elvis: What Happened?, and has since worked as an actor.
Red West's home in Bartlett can be yours
- Ex-girlfriend Delgado loved tenderly by Elvis
By LYNWOOD ABRAM
(Houston Chronicle, May 20, 2007)
Shirley Searcy Delgado, who dated Elvis Presley about 50 years ago during the singer's early career, died Monday in her Houston home, apparently of a heart attack. She was 72.
In the mid-1950s, Presley spotted Delgado in the audience at the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, where he was performing, said her son, Victor Matthew Delgado of Houston. During an intermission, Presley "grabbed her and took her backstage to the band, saying, 'Look what I found,' " her son said.
Romance ensued, and Presley and Shirley Delgado intended to marry, her son said. But Presley's manager, Col. Tom Parker, decided that "marriage was not a good business move" for the singer, he added. Delgado and Presley, however, continued to see each other from time to time but eventually went their separate ways, Victor Delgado said. ...
- Excitable genius: Charting the paths of Warren Zevon's troubled musical brilliance
By Dorman T. Shindler
(Denver Post, May 19, 2007)
It's been said that Dostoevsky was a real jerk, but books like "Crime and Punishment," "The Idiot" and "The Brothers Karamazov" exonerate him in the eyes of posterity. That may be so, but in the eyes of those who knew him, he was no less the jerk.
Anyone who has met their fair share of well-known writers or musicians or others dubbed celebrities has probably run into at least one egomaniac who couldn't see past his own puffed-up chest. Though rock 'n' roll and folk singer/songwriter Warren Zevon isn't as well known as Elvis Presley, he brought a quirkiness to the art of songwriting and performing that was undeniably brilliant. ...
- Home of the 'King'
By Bill Husa
(Chico Enterprise-Record, May 19, 2007)
Students at the Academy for Change built a replica of rock 'n' roll legend Elvis Presley's home. The replica was transported to the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds Friday morning. The home can be seen at the Silver Dollar Fair, which starts Wednesday and runs through May 28.
- Archivist Hopes To Find New Clinton Library Director This Summer
By Andrew DeMillo, Associated Press
(Denver Post, May 17, 2007)
The nation's archivist said Thursday that a replacement for outgoing Clinton library director David Alsobrook could come as early as this summer, but said he hopes to avoid controversy by consulting with as many people as possible about the appointment. ... Weinstein spoke at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, located on the grounds of the presidential library in downtown Little Rock. David Alsobrook, named the library's director in 2004, has announced he's retiring from the position at the end of the month.
... During his speech, Weinstein said the presidential library system has undergone a "period of maturation" and said he looked forward to the addition of President Bush's library and the currently private Nixon library in California. ... Weinstein said Bush's library may have three or four times as many e-mails in its archives as the Clinton library, which has about 20 million e-mails from Clinton's eight years in office. Weinstein said he hopes to have a new system for storing electronic records in place before the opening of Bush's archives.
Rutherford displayed a picture of the most-requested photo from the National Archives -- a picture of Elvis Presley shaking hands in the White House with President Nixon. "First of all, who's that guy next to Elvis?" Weinstein quipped.
- Used Elvis Checkbook to be Auctioned. Please Don't Ask Us Why
(memphisflyer.com, May 17, 2007)
In June, auctioneers Bonhams & Butterfields will be selling one of Elvis Presley¹s personal checkbooks from the early 1970s. The checkbook, which is estimated to be sold for $25,000 to $30,000, includes unused checks printed with the Graceland address, used check stubs, and notations for airline tickets, expenses, and a dune buggy registration.
The auction will be held in Los Angeles June 4th. Also included in the Hollywood and music memorabilia sale are honeymoon photographs of Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio, one of Frank Sinatra's tuxedos, and a handwritten note from Lenny Bruce.
Dang, $30,000! That's a lot of money. Wonder if they'll take a check.
- MCCARTNEY: 'ELVIS INFLUENCED ALBUM'
(contactmusic.com, May 17, 2007)
SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY has confessed THE BEATLES classic album SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND was heavily influenced by ELVIS PRESLEY. The music legend reveals The Beatles wrote the 1967 LP, using the concept of a band, so they would not have to go on tour - an idea they obtained from Presley. MCCartney says, "We had this idea that we'd make a record, and the record itself would go on tour for us. "That came from a story we'd heard about Elvis' Cadillac going on tour. We though that was an amazing idea: He doesn't go on tour, he just sends his Cadillac out. Fantastic!"
- More Firefox Bloat? Say It Ain't So, Mozilla
By Scott Gilbertson & Michael Calore
(WIRED, May 17, 2007)
When Firefox launched in beta release five years ago, it burst on the open-source browser scene like a young Elvis Presley -- slim, sexy and dangerous. Since then it has attracted millions of users, generally set the agenda for browser development and unseated Microsoft's Internet Explorer as the de facto monopoly in the field. But, with Firefox 3.0 poised for release this summer, the "IE killer" is in danger of morphing into an early Fat Elvis, if increasing numbers of die-hard fans turned reluctant critics are any guide. ...
- The King shakes it up in new collections
By Gannett New Service
(stargazettenews.com, May 14, 2007)
To honor the 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, Warner Home Video and Paramount will release a King's ransom of DVDs on Aug. 7.
"The Hollywood Collection"($50), contains six films making their DVD debuts: "Charro"; "Girl Happy"; "Kissin' Cousins"; "Stay Away, Joe"; "Tickle Me"; and "Live a Little, Love a Little." Also expect deluxe editions of "Viva Las Vegas" and "Jailhouse Rock."
Paramount's "Lights! Action! Elvis! Collection" ($77 in a blue suede case) will include "King Creole"; "G.I. Blues"; "Blue Hawaii"; "Roustabout"; "Girls! Girls! Girls!"; "Fun in Acapulco"; "Paradise"; "Hawaiian Style"; and "Easy Come, Easy Go."
In other festivities, Warner will sponsor showings of "Viva Las Vegas" (Aug. 13) and "Elvis: That's the Way It Is" (Aug. 14) at Graceland.
- The mystery behind Elvis' duet from beyond the grave
(heraldtribune.com, May 14, 2007)
Still scratching your head over how those crafty 'American Idol' producers had Elvis Presley and Céline Dion singing onstage together? No, it wasn't a hologram. According to various sources, here's how it was done: A Photoshop-like technology called Rotoscope was used to merge Presley's 1968 performance of W. Earl Brown's "If I Can Dream" with recently taped shots featuring Dion, so that it appeared as if it were taking place at the same time as the rest of the April 25 show.
Dion sang her part without an audience or anyone next to her, looking to her side on cue. Then she did the routine again with a Presley body double who lip-synched Presley's song and matched his moves from his 1968 performance.
Finally, all three elements -- Dion alone, Dion with the body double and the original Presley performance --- were combined through editing and rotoscoping, which traced Presley from the original footage by cutting him out. Then the whole bit assembled on videotape. ...
- 'Elvis Presley' treats mothers to a nursing home concert
By Dennis Rich
(sedaliademocrat.com, May 13, 2007)
Don Darnell belted his way through a string of Elvis Presley's greatest hits, as whitehaired heads bobbed and hands clapped along to the rhythm. Darnell, an Elvis impersonator and former Branson performer, was the guest entertainer at the Sylvia G. Thompson Residence Center's Mother's Day tea on Sunday.
The skilled-nursing home serves some 90 residents, many with illnesses or disabilities that require special attention from the staff. About 60 residents and their families gathered in one of the home¹s common rooms to enjoy the show and snacks through the afternoon.
Darnell said that he enjoys performing, but that "it's always nice when you can come out and put smiles on peoples faces. I love performing, it just comes naturally, but when the songs are done and its just me talking with them ' that's just me relating to people. We are all human beings," Darnell said. ...
- Interview: Legendary musician Glen Campbell
Interviewed by Robert Chalmers
(The Independent, May 13, 2007)
He's sold nearly 50 million records and had 27 top 10 hits. He's worked with Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Johnny Cash. Yet Glen Campbell remains widely unrecognised as the legendary artist that he is. `Could the drink, the drugs and the claustrophobia have anything to do with it?
It's a curious thing to say of a man who has sold almost 50 million records and had 27 top-ten hits, but Glen Campbell remains widely unrecognised as the legendary artist he is. His ongoing partnership with the prodigiously talented songwriter Jimmy Webb, who provided him with classics such as "By The Time I Get To Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "Galveston", has been as compelling a collaboration between songwriter and artist as has ever been achieved in popular music. As a guitarist, Campbell played with Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Ike and Tina Turner, Randy Newman and the Beach Boys, and nothing of the unique gift that attracted these performers has deserted him. And yet, over the three days I spend with him in Las Vegas, he repeatedly expresses surprise that I should be interested in talking to him at all.
- Blue Hawaii: Elvis Slept Here
By David Ellis
(Epoch Times, May 12, 2007)
If you invited the rels and best friends to your wedding in a derelict hotel that'd been abandoned for over a decade, they'd have good grounds for suggesting you'd lost it. But in Hawaii they're queuing up for just such an opportunity.
Then again, this is no ordinary abandoned pub: this is the old Coco Palms Hotel on the island of Kauai, and it became the world's best-known hostelry when Chad Gates married his girlfriend Maile Duval there in 1961. If you think it's now we who've lost it, Chad was in fact Elvis Presley and Maile was Joan Blackman, and they tied the knot in one of the most-watched movies ever, Blue Hawaii.
Chad, if you've forgotten, had returned from a stint in the Army and become a tour guide with his girlfriend Maile, leading five pretty young things around Hawaii. While doing so he sang and danced his way through Blue Hawaii, Almost Always True, Rock-A-Hula Baby, Beach Boy Blues, Hawaiian Sunset, Moonlight Swim, No More, Slicin' Sand, Hawaiian Wedding Song, Island of Love and Can't Help Falling in LoveŠ
It was the biggest number of songs ever in an Elvis movie, and the soundtrack album topped the charts for 20 consecutive weeksŠand interestingly Presley was just 26 years old when he made Blue Hawaii, while Angela Lansbury who played his dizzy Mom, was only a mere eleven years older.
As a result of the movie's success couples flocked to the Coco Palms from around the world to be married on the same Wedding Barge as Presley and Blackman, on the man-made lagoon amid the hotel's 2000 coconut palms. Others poured in simply to pose outside the bungalows that had been built especially for Elvis and his co-stars, or next to the Wedding Barge. But although parts of South Pacific, Pagan Love Song and TV's Fantasy Island were among the many films and TV soaps made in and around the hotel, nothing could compare with the impact of Blue Hawaii.
The hotel's future came to a crashing halt, however, in 1992. In September of that year Hurricane Iniki, with winds of up to 300kmh raged across Kauai, trashing the Coco Palms. ...
- Avenue Q's Gelber to Be Part of Elvis People Cast
By Andrew Gans
(playbill.com, May 12, 2007)
Complete casting has been announced for Doug Grissom's new play, Elvis People, which will begin previews June 6 at Off-Broadway's New World Stages/Stage 1. Directed by Henry Wishcamper, the production will officially open June 21. The cast will feature Jordan Gelber, Jenny Maguire, David McCann, Nick Newell, Nell Page and Ed Sala.
The creative team will also include Cameron Anderson (scenic design), Teresa Squire (costume design), Robert Robins (lighting design), Graham Johnson (sound design), Erin Kennedy Lunsford (wig, hair and make-up design), Maya Ciarrocchi (video and projection design) and Lorelei Esser (properties design).
"No performer before or since," read Elvis People press notes, "has had the impact of Elvis Presley: from that first groundbreaking appearance on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' to Las Vegas to Graceland; American Demographics reports that 84% of all Americans say their lives have been touched by Elvis in some way. Now, in this new play . . . you will meet some of the funny and touching cast of characters whose lives were forever changed by 'The King' as [playwright] Grissom traces the influence of Presley on our culture." ...
- Defendants held in contempt in Elvis memorabilia case
(wmctv.com / AP, May 11, 2007)
A Delaware judge has held two Nevada residents in contempt over a collection of unusual Elvis Presley memorabilia. Robert Gallagher and Betty Franklin were cited for failing to follow a court order to let a man who is suing them inspect the collection.
The items were collected by Presley's personal physician and include a prescription bottle dated before Elvis died, a laryngeal scope used to examine his throat and device used to irrigate his sinuses. They were collected by Doctor George Nichopolous.
Presley died at his Graceland estate in Memphis in 1977 at age 42. An official with Elvis Presley Enterprises once described the collection as "tacky, tasteless and unfortunate."
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