mid July 2007
- Elvis For Sale?
(todaysthv.com / Associated Press, July 20, 2007)
Elvis is dead. But the effort to maintain a Web site bearing his name is still very much alive. The British version of the Elvis-dot-com site is up for sale. The manager for the site says there are already several bidders looking to snare the domain name. Elvis Presley Enterprises is expected to be one of the bidders for the site name. But the site manager won't say whether that is, indeed, the case. On the 'Net:
Elvis in Britain site: http://www.Elvis.co.uk
- New Frontier closes to make room for something newer
(Los Angeles Times / Associated Press, July 19, 2007)
One of the oldest hotels on the Las Vegas Strip closed its doors Monday, ending a 65-year-run during which it headlined entertainers such as Elvis Presley, Wayne Newton and Siegfried & Roy. The New Frontier, known for its bar featuring a mechanical bull, shut its doors at 12:01 a.m., two months after the announcement that it was bought by the Elad Group, owner of the Plaza hotel in New York. ...
- Elvis license plate finds its good luck charm with N.J. donor
(wmctv.com / Associated Press, July 19, 2007)
A state-issued Elvis Presley license plate has been rescued by someone in New Jersey. The state of Tennessee requires 1,000 people to pre-order and pay the fees for new specialty license plates before it begins production. ... The New Jersey fan anonymously donated the $3,500 needed to cover the final 100 pre-ordered plates.
- Judiciary panel wants details on coroner case
(Philadelphia Inquirer, July 19, 2007)
Members of the House Judiciary Committee, which has been investigating the firings of eight U.S. prosecutors, are seeking more details about the prosecution of celebrity coroner Cyril Wecht.
Wecht, the former Allegheny County coroner who has consulted on deaths from Elvis Presley's to JonBenet Ramsey's, resigned in early 2006 after being indicted on charges of theft, mail fraud and wire fraud. The case has not yet gone to trial.
Four Democratic committee members - including committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. of Michigan - sent a letter Tuesday to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales requesting more information about the case and two others involving the prosecutions of Democrats. They said they want to know if the cases are "part of a pattern of selective, political prosecutions."
The Justice Department has insisted there was no political involvement.
Committee investigators earlier this year interviewed U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, who is prosecuting the Wecht case. She directed the Justice Department's Executive Office for United States Attorneys from June 2004 to June 2005.
The Democratic-controlled Congress has been looking into whether politics played a role in the firing of the U.S. attorneys.
- Tupelo Main Street group axes Jim High
By Emily Le Coz
(Daily Journal, July 18, 2007)
The group responsible for the Elvis Presley Festival and downtown revitalization lacks an assistant director after firing Jim High. High was terminated from the Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association on Tuesday after what he termed a heated argument between himself and executive director Debbie Brangenberg. ... But High's departure will leave a hole.
... Before joining the Main Street staff, he worked in real estate and owned an insurance business. He is a lifelong Tupeloan and comes from a family prominent in the city's history. "Prior to me being there, Main Street had no operational structure at all, no financial reporting at all, no events at all, no festivals at all," High said. "Debbie's office was on the second floor of City Hall. Everything that has been developed out of that office on Broadway (Street) has been done since I came on board." High said he and Brangenberg butted heads several times during the past few years over a variety of issues and that the board of directors knew about it. He said it was his understanding the group held a few meetings recently to discuss how to defuse the tension between the two. Members, he claimed, suggested dividing the job functions to avoid any overlap between High and Brangenberg. But his termination came before the board could find a solution, he said. ...
- These singles and albums were far out - far out of the hippie picture, that is
By Edna Gundersen
(USATODAY.com, July 17, 2007)
Not everyone plugged into Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd during the Summer of Love. Amid the heaps of happening sounds were unhip oddities that caught the ears of fans still grooving on martinis and bobby socks:
* Return of the Red Baron, the Royal Guardsmen. The hit novelty tune by the Ocala, Fla., rock band pitted comic-strip beagle Snoopy in his Sopwith Camel doghouse against the World War I flying ace.
* Bobby Vinton Sings the Newest Hits. After scoring big in the early '60s with Roses Are Red (My Love) and Blue Velvet, the balladeer got shoved to the sidelines by the British Invasion. His strategy for recapturing his teen idol crown? For He's a Jolly Good Fellow and tunes from The Sandpiper, Fiddler on the Roof and Georgy Girl. Talk about far out.
* Little Ole Wine Drinker Me, Dean Martin. The Rat Pack crooner, oblivious to sun-baked hippies smoking pot in Golden Gate Park, tipples in a Chicago bar while "praying for rain in California so the grapes can grow and they can make more wine."
* How Great Thou Art, Elvis Presley. As free love reigned, the king of rock 'n' roll opted to release a restrained gospel album, magnificently rendered but hardly in sync with youth culture.
* Somethin' Groovy! Peggy Lee. The album title's desperate tilt only hints at the tepid contents. Emerging rock acts are making history, while the pop vocalist is Makin' Whoopee and getting lost in mellow, thinly arranged standards.
* Little Ole Man, Bill Cosby. The refrain copped hip lingo ("Baby, everything is all right, uptight, outta sight"), but this was sheer silliness, a spoken novelty hit by one of the decade's hottest comics.
* David Bowie. Few would find evidence of Ziggy Stardust in the British rocker's bizarre self-titled debut, a vaudeville-shaded romp influenced in part by Anthony Newley. Light on electric guitar, it offered a waltz, a tuba and copious strings. A spaced-out oddity. ...
Presley: Gospel album out of touch
Photo: AP
- Elvis Presley shrine has a porcelain throne
Posted by: brynn galindo
(kget.com, July 17, 2007)
How do you remember the King of Rock 'N' Roll? One Kern County woman created an Elvis Presley shrine in an unusual place as the 30th anniversary of his death is less than a month away. "I love his songs, and he's so beautiful," said Presley fan Irma Martinez. Martinez doesn't need to visit Heartbreak Hotel - she loves the king tenderly with her tribute. "Music boxes, I have catalogs, I have a lot of stand-ups, which are stuck to my walls," she said. The big hunk o' love for Presley is in an unlikely place. It's in her bathroom. "My bathroom - it just evolved," she said. In August of 1977, Elvis was found dead on his bathroom floor, but Martinez said, "he lives in mine." ...
- This E.P. doesn't stand for Elvis Presley
(examiner.com, July 17, 2007)
If super-agent Scott Boras gets his way, there will soon be another statistical column on the back of your baseball cards.
It's the "E.P." It has nothing to do with how many Elvis Presley records the player owns, or with Eating Pizza. Rather, it means "Exceptional Play." According to Boras, the fans need a specific number with which to identify defensive brilliance. ...
- Graceland to Lead the World in the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the Life of Elvis Presley with ELVIS WEEK 2007
Source: Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc
(Yaoo! Business / BUSINESS WIRE, July 17, 2007)
The Nine-Day Celebration of Elvis' Life Will Include Celebrity Events, Special 'Music and Movies' Nights on the Front Lawn of Graceland, Fan Events, Charity Fundraisers and the First Ever "Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist" Contest
Each year since Elvis' death in 1977, thousands of people from around the world have gathered at his home Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee, to celebrate his life. This gathering and the dozens of special events it features has become known globally as ELVIS WEEK. Elvis Week 2007, which marks the 30th anniversary year of Elvis' passing, is drawing unprecedented worldwide attention from people of all ages and media of all types.
For those who cannot attend Elvis Week, www.Elvis.com has created a special web site that allows people around the world to be part of the 30th Anniversary Celebration. Visitors to the site will be able to participate in the historic week with a podcast, behind-the-scenes videos, photos, fan blogs and more. During the Candlelight Vigil, www.Elvis.com will include a Vigil LiveCam of fans from around the world streaming through Meditation Garden at Graceland. ...
- Presley Enterprises launches Elvis Week Web site
(Memphis Business Journal, July 17, 2007)
Elvis Presley Enterprises expect 50,000-75,000 visitors to attend Elvis Week celebrations this year, the largest crowd in history. In addition to the podcast, elvisweek.com will feature behind-the-scenes videos, photos and fan blogs. During the candlelight vigil, sister Web site elvis.com will have a live Web cam of fans from around the world streaming through the meditation garden at Graceland.
- Virtual Elvis Is In The Building: The King Is Back Through The Magic Of Multimedia
(CBS News / AP, found July 17, 2007)
"The virtual Elvis sings, dances and talks to fans. His legs ripple like jelly during Burnin' Love."
The King, rest in peace, is dead. But long live the virtual King. More than 25 years after his last concert in New York City and 20 years after his death, Elvis Presley returned Thursday night through the magic of video. The slimmed down, late '60s image of Presley took center stage at the Radio City Music Hall in "Elvis: The Concert."
The performance was the first of three New York City shows of Elvis Presley Enterprises, featuring Mr. Thank You Very Much on a 20-foot-high screen, flanked by a live band and backup singers.
... "Our illusion is just about perfect," said Morgan. "It's like he's really back in the building." The look is so real, in fact, that some promoters are considering reviving other dead artists, Graceland officials said. ...
- LJ native a hit on ABC's The Next Best Thing'
By Jason Smith
(thefacts.com, July 16, 2007)
Several years back, Donny Edwards played a tape of an Elvis Presley song for his father. The two are avid Elvis fans.
After the song was finished playing, Edwards asked his father what he thought of the song. "I told him I liked it," said his father, 60-year-old Clute resident Jerry Edwards. "He knew that, because we had listened to it a hundred times together."
Edwards leaned over to his father and told him, "That's me, Dad," Jerry Edwards said. Completely baffled because the song sounded just like Elvis, Jerry Edwards asked his son to play it back for him. After listening to it again and again and not being able to tell the difference between his son's and The Kingšs voice, he knew his son would be - the next best thing.
The 32-year-old Edwards, who grew up in Lake Jackson, continued perfecting his impersonation of Elvis. His work now is on display as one of the top 10 finalists on "The Next Best Thing," which airs Wednesday nights on ABC. People from around the country compete on the show for a grand prize of $100,000 and the title of the nation's greatest celebrity impersonator, imitating such greats as Jack Nicholson, Cher and Robin Williams. ...
- Woman says she has rock containing what looks like Elvis Presley
(wmctv.com / Associated Press, July 16, 2007)
You can't think about rock without thinking of Elvis. Not this rock, anyway. Rock collector LaDell Alexander, 60, has found a stone she swears has the face of Elvis Presley on it. You don't have to think Elvis is everywhere to see it: A pattern on the rock resembles a human head with dark hair and the king of rock's trademark muttonchop sideburns.
Alexander, who splits her time between Estes Park and Texas, said the rock was one of many she bought in various places last summer. She didn't notice the pattern until she took the rocks to Texas and cleaned them before using them to decorate her yard. "I was about 20 feet away and the first thing I said was, 'That is Elvis,"' said her husband, Lynn Alexander, 63.
The Alexanders plan to sell the rock on eBay in August and donate the proceeds to one of Presley's foundations. The singer died on Aug. 17, 1977."People are calling me the Elvis Rock Lady," LaDell Alexander told The (Fort Collins) Coloradoan. "Seven out of 10 people see Elvis" on the rock, she said.
- Optometrist eyes Elvis-Harley motorcycle market niche
By Jane Roberts
(detnews.com / Scripps Howard News Service, July 14, 2007)
In a few days this spring, Graceland Harley-Davidson sold 25 limited-edition Harleys -- copies of a bike Elvis owned in 1957 -- for $58,815 apiece. That same April weekend, 400 bikers turned out for the first Elvis Rock 'n' Roll Ride for Life, raising $100,000 for the American Diabetes Association.
If you need more help connecting the dots between Memphis, Elvis and Harley-Davidson, ask Lisa Wade, 47, longtime optometrist who quit a VP job at the Southern College of Optometry to capitalize on an untapped market for people passionate about Elvis and Harley-Davidson. "Elvis owned a number of Harleys and gave away a number of Harleys," she said. "Everyone knows he loved Harleys."
Wade, now owner/dealer/principal of Bruce Rossmeyer's Southern Thunder Harley-Davidson in nearby Horn Lake, Miss., also opened the first-ever Elvis Presley Enterprises-licensed "boutique" Harley-Davidson store in January. Now, she has purchased 5.3 acres of land near a highway interchange for a "destination dealership" she intends to open by 2010. "We're going to make sure we have space for outdoor events and performance space. We expect one or two restaurants will come with us."
Know this about Wade: She's been driving motorcycles since she was 8, and her uncle and business partner is Bruce Rossmeyer, legendary in Harley circles for owning more dealerships than anyone else, including the 150-acre Destination Daytona, the largest Harley store in the world. In 2005 alone, his combined Harley sales exceeded $200 million, according to his Web site.
That kind of clout and the novelty of Harley's tie to Elvis has given Wade some weight in Memphis. Graceland Harley-Davidson, for instance, is a registered EPE trademark and the first business of its kind on Graceland property. "It's a great marriage to have the Harley shop on our property. Elvis loved anything with an engine and especially motorcycles," said Kevin Kern, EPE spokesman. EPE, which also licensed the 30th anniversary bikes, exact replicas of the 1957 Harley Elvis owned, is thrilled that the recipients include Jay Leno and fans as far away as Australia. "When we unveiled the bikes, thousands of people were out there just to see the first bike debut," Kern said. Even though you can't buy a bike at the Graceland shop or get an oil change -- there's little showroom space and no service department -- it's turned out to be a magnet for EPE's male customers. ...
- Elvis tribute artist to compete in national contest
By Kathryn Buckstaff
(news-leader.com, July 13, 2007)
Branson ? Elvis tribute artist Johnny Loos of Cheyenne, Wyo., will be representing Branson when he competes for the title of Elvis Tribute Artist of the Year on Aug. 17 at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts in Memphis during Elvis Week 2007.
Loos was among the contestants who competed Wednesday at Legends Family Theater to be among the 25 contestants in one of the contest authorized by Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. Twenty-five contests were held in several states, England and Australia.
Loos, 35, said he?s only been performing as Elvis for seven years. He drove a bread delivery truck until his father, Orin Loos, heard him sing at a restaurant one night. "He was pretty impressed because he bought me a $2,000 outfit," Loos said. When Loos began performing, he traveled to Canada where he met his wife, Cindy. They now have two children, son Dakota and daughter Justice. Loos actually came in second in the Branson contest. In first place was Justin Edwards, of Roland, Oka. ...
- Critters' feast at Elvis estate is over thanks to 'ScareCrow'
By Katie Ruark
(Palm Springs Sun, July 13, 2007)
Critters may have lost a snack, but the Elvis Presley Estate landscaping is safe again. In January, the owner restored the grounds at 845 W. Chino Canyon, putting in $9,000 in new flowers, resodding, installing new irrigation and stripping the brush. But it didn't attract exactly the crowd they were looking for.
"The first few days it looked great," said owner Reno Fontana. "Then there was a rabbit, then a second rabbit, then a squirrel, then her babies. Before you knew it, we would pull up after going to the movies or something and the place would be full of animals." The critters, at-first considered cute, were eating up the new landscaping. Fontana decided something had to be done. He contacted Contech Electronics, a company that sells animal control and training products, and ordered a "ScareCrow." It sprays animals with the help of a motion sensor. "What was a smorgasbord a week ago is now unattainable," he said. Karen Ross, spokeswoman for Contech, said the product is mostly used to keep deer away, but has also been effective with rabbits, squirrels, cats and dogs.
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