late October 2007
- The Friday Morning Listen: Elvis Presley - ELV1S 30 #1 Hits
By Mark Saleski
(blogcritics.org, October 26, 2007)
Dawn loved Elvis. A few years ago, Dawn was diagnosed with breast cancer. We thought the lumpectomy had dealt with the problem. A recurrence in her lung showed otherwise. There were long struggles through the chemotherapy, fatigue, remission, and a final recurrence.
We always say that life isn't fair. This time around, it seemed especially unfair. Dawn was one of those kind and gentle souls that this planet could use a lot more of. She didn't deserve her fate. I suppose nobody does. Dawn was my cousin. ...
- Hannah Montana show in tune with good fun: Hanna Montana, a.k.a. Miley Cyrus, performs at the sold-out Pepsi Center on Thursday night
By Ricardo Baca
(Denver Post, October 26, 2007)
As with any kid sensation, the reaction to Hannah Montana covers the spectrum from worship to cat-call. The kids see her as their very own Elvis Presley. Parents appreciate her wholesome image, self-empowering lyrics and the fact that she wears Spandex underneath those short mini- dresses. And certain critics and naysayers see Montana as the representation of evil Disney and its penchant for the kind of corporate synergy that can only be spelled m-o-n-e-y. ...
- Elvis vs. The Beatles -- The Rematch, Now With Bad Wigs
(Memphis Flyer, October 26, 2007)
In real life, Elvis Presley was supposedly jealous of the Beatles. Now, 30 years after the death of the King of Rock-and-Roll, the owner of the top Elvis souvenir shop in Britain is trying to boot his next-door neighbor, who just happens to run a shop devoted to the Beatles.
Sid Shaw, owner of Elvisly Yours in London, has obtained an eviction notice against Howard Cohen (who, it must be said, in his newspaper photos looks more like Elvis than Sid). It's certainly been "A Hard Day's Night" for both of these mop-topped gentlemen.
Photo by Tim Stewart
- The Beat Goes On: Battle continues between EPE, area retailer
By Andy Meek
(Memphis Daily News, October 24, 2007)
A little more than a year ago, a representative of Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. floated a business proposition to Rick Roberts, the owner of a one-story brick storefront a few steps from Graceland.
The offer reportedly involved buying Robert's Elvis-themed shop Boulevard Souvenirs for about $350,000 and assuming the 13 years remaining on its lease.
Roberts, who developed his independent retail operation at 3706 Elvis Presley Boulevard on land that once was the site of a car repair shop, turned down the request to sell. The store currently is stocked from front to back with trinkets such as old newspapers, T-shirst and mugs, and it grosses about $1 million a year.
But EPER didn't stop there, Roberts' attorney argues in a lawsuit filed earlier this year in US District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. The corporation that officially conducts and manages Elvis-related business recently tweaked the licensing agreements it has in place with merchandise vendors. CKX In.c and Robert FX Sillerman, which acquired an 85 percent ownership of Elvis Presley Enterprises in 2005, were not named in the lawsuit.
License needed
A change that was inserted now prohibits vendors from selling their Elvis ware to unauthorised retailers within a 5-maile radius of Graceland.
"Well, guess who's within a 5-mile radius of Graceland?" said Randy Songstad, the attorney representing Boulevard Souvenirs. "So the vendors said, 'Hey, you you can't do that, they do a lot of money with us' and (EPE) said, 'If you sell to them, we'll take your license.' So the vendors called us up one by one, and said, 'It's killing us, but we can't sell to you.'"
Earlier this month, one of the federal claims filed on behalf of Boulevard Souvenirs - a claim that EPE and vice president of internation licensing Carol Butler were conspiring to eliminate all independently owned retail competitors near Graceland - was dismissed.
Why the conspiracy claim wasn't successful is that under the Sherman Antritrust Act of 1890, a conspiracy involving a busines and an employee can't technically be viewed as a conspiracy. A business, in other words, can't conspire against itself.
EPE did not respond to requests for an interview and stated in a previous e-mail response that no comment would be forthcoming.
... Boulevard Souvenirs is preparing its next move in the court action over what EPE sees as an assertion of more control over its signature product line and what the small store sees as a by EPE to shut it out of the marketplace inappropriately. ...
- Wanda Jackson owes a debt to Elvis Presley
(Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, October 24, 2007)
By Jeff Spevak
If you go
What: Wanda Jackson, with the Lustre Kings.
When: 8 p.m. Thursday.
Where: German House Theater, 315 Gregory St.
Admission: $18 advance, $20 at the door, available at the Bop Shop.
Call: (585) 473-5070.
With a couple of country hits on the charts, Wanda Jackson had her doubts. But she and Elvis Presley were touring together, along with Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly and that crazy Jerry Lee Lewis. With her dad, of course, as chaperone. A girl's reputation had to be guarded, you know, although Dad's presence made it a little tough on the romance then brewing between her and Elvis.
"He was a kid then, only about 20, I guess," Jackson says. "I was 17, 18. Sometimes, he and I would just get a hamburger and a Coke. Drive around. Talk. Get acquainted. We were young, our careers were just starting. He was so encouraging to me. He give me the courage to try this new style."
Rock and roll. And rockabilly. All of the guys were doing it, and Elvis was persistent. And Jackson caved. She thought, "Maybe I should. I was a teenager, and this was my generation of music. And it would be silly not to try to do it."
Elvis was right. A string of hard-howling, attitudinal hits followed. "Fujiyama Mama," "Riot in Cell Block #9" and even a song Elvis had done, "Let's Have a Party." She was, as the title of a new documentary suggests, The Sweet Lady With the Nasty Voice.
Does Wanda Jackson believe, as many musicologists insist, that she was the first female rock and roller? The 70-year-old born-again Christian pauses for just a moment. "Yes," she says.
So it's history Thursday at the German House Theater, with Wanda Jackson backed by the Lustre Kings. As yet another Elvis - Elvis Costello - writes in the liner notes to her 2006 album, I Remember Elvis, "Tell me why this woman isn't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." It's not that Jackson has gone unnoticed. She is in the country music and gospel halls of fame. And in 2005, she was a National Endowment for the Arts honoree, which spotlights folk and traditional arts. "There were 12 of us, including a 93-year-old woman who wove Navajo rugs," Jackson says. She did take note of how few female singers had been honored by the organization over the years. "That made it all the more special to me. Here we are, putting our American music all over the world. I've done my very best to make it pure and not make it pop music, in the poorest sense."
Hers was an era in which rock and roll "turned it upside down," Jackson says. "Up until Elvis, all of our songs were geared toward an adult audience. But young people were now buying the records." She was quickly accepted into the club. "I often wondered why I was able to work with him," she says of shows where everyone came to see Elvis. "The crowd seemed to accept me; they didn't boo me, like they did some of the other artists."
Well, if Elvis was for the girls, Wanda was for the guys. But the songs were always for the guys. "There just wasn't that much material available for a girl, and I wouldn't get first chance at a rock and roll song," she says. "They wanted one of the guys to get first crack at it."
While Jackson speaks admiringly of Elvis' encouraging words, it's tough to tell to what degree Elvis was the man in Jackson's life; she doesn't tell tales. But Elvis did give her a ring, which she still has.
But soon enough, he went off to Hollywood, and they lost touch. The new man in her life was Wendell Goodman, who also manages her to this day. And, a decade later, another man entered their lives. "Let's Have a Party" gave way to "I Saw the Light." Becoming born-again, Jackson has said over the years, saved her marriage. ... And now she's brought another man back into her life. The last time she saw Elvis was in 1964, during a brief meeting in Las Vegas. In I Remember Elvis, she sings some of the King's classic Sun Records-era music. Songs that Elvis got first crack at, like "Good Rockin' Tonight" and "Mystery Train." "I was always a little bit leery of tackling his stuff," she says. "I didn't want it to sound like I was trying to copy him. If Elvis has done a song, it's been done. I wanted to keep the ambience of his songs. And I wanted to tell the stories the fans seemed to enjoy hearing so much."
Stories like their first meeting, in 1955, at a radio station while promoting a package tour that the two were a part of. "I had never heard his name, I had never even seen him," she says on the final track of the CD, a handful of respectful Elvis stories. She remembers him as tall, dark-haired and good looking. He was wearing a yellow sports coat, with longish hair, sideburns and a ducktail, "which was different than what my friends in Oklahoma were wearing."
She remembers he drove off in a pink Cadillac. The guy knew how to make an impression. "I think entertainers are just special anyway. They put their pants on one leg at a time, but there is a magnetism and a charisma about them. Elvis had charisma. Anybody that's ever known him always says the same thing."
- PRESLEY CAR AND ARMY JACKET SAVED IN THE FIRE
(contactmusic.com, October 23, 2007)
ELVIS PRESLEY's Nash Metropolitan car and his U.S. Army jacket were among the memorabilia items saved from Kashan Castle in Malibu, California, which was destroyed by fire on Sunday(21Oct07). The famous landmark was one of the first building destroyed by the Malibu fires.Owned by philanthropist and collector Lilly Lawrence, the estate, also known as Malibu Castle and Hodge Castle, also featured memorabilia items belonging to late royals Grace Kelly and Diana, Princess Of Wales.Many of the items housed in the castle's private museum were destroyed in the fire.
- Elvis and Beatles fans settle row
(BBC News, October 23, 2007)
Mr Shaw will shortly be launching an Elvis karaoke bus business
A legal battle between an Elvis Presley fan and a Beatles fan has been settled out of court. Elvis fan Sid Shaw claimed Harold Cohen breached the terms of an agreement to convert the basement of Elvisly Yours, in Baker Street, central London. He wanted Mr Cohen to vacate the room, which they shared, so he could use it. In August a Central London County court judge ruled against Mr Shaw. The case was due for trial on Tuesday but has now been settled out of court. ...
- ELVIS v BEATLE S - The Trial
Central London County Court
(contactmusic.com, October 23, 2007)
Sid Shaw Elvisly Yours Shop v Howard Cohen Beatles Shop
Sid Shaw and Howard Cohen share a joint lease for the shops and basements at 231/233 Baker Street, London NW1 6XE since March 2000. I negotiated all legalities for leases, renewals, application for changing rateable values, all at very favourable rates and handled any legal problems, devoting hundreds of hours of my time. Cohen just signed documents. I saved Cohen over £100,000.00 in rent and rates since March 2000. We had planned from Spring 2000 to organise Beatles and Elvis Karaoake Tours of London but just after opening our shops my lifetime partner, Maureen, was diagnosed with breast cancer and the Karaoke Tours put on hold, but still discussed regularly.
Last year Maureen was very ill and we allowed Cohen to use the basement of our shop for a Beatles Museum at 233 Baker Street, but only on a temporary basis The agreement was until the end of 2006 and to be reviewed subject to Cohen adhering to all the terms in the Agreement . He broke many terms in the Agreement and I gave him notice to quit our basement 31.12.06. He and his law firm prevaricated for months but would not vacate the basement. A meeting was arranged, after months of trying, with Cohen, his solicitor Kevin Morrell, Maureen and me on 14th February 2007 again demanding Cohen vacate. They never responded to that meeting. Maureen sadly died March 27th 2007 after having been given a diagnosis March 21st 2007 that cancer had spread throughout her body. Three different doctors, at our local GP, in the previous year, said she was anorexic. But, they never bothered to examine her even though she had had cancer, had problems swallowing and had secondary thrombosis. We were togther for 34 years.
In April 2007 I met with Cohen asking him yet again to vacate my basement. In May I gave him two notices to vacate. I appointed Regency Law to represent me for the Eviction but they could get no response from Cohen's solicitor. Regency never returned my calls nor replied to my emails to advise progress. So I started legal proceedings myself on July 30th to evict Cohen from my basement. August 16th 2007 was the 30th Anniversary of Elvis' death and it was massively damaging to my business not to have my basement. This summer we had planned "Elvis Karaoke Tours" of London. The public would wait in my basement for Tours, watch DVDs, have a coffee, chat about Elvis and be entertained. Instead of using my time to sell Elvis merchandise to retail chains, do deals with newspapers for 'Readers Offers' eg the Elvis Talking Clock I had to spend weeks before the Elvis Anniversary in and out of Court :
www.elvisly-yours.com/talkingclock.htm
A Hearing was held on August 7th before Judge Lightman. I wanted a Mandatory Injunction for Cohen to vacate my basement but Judge Lightman refused and set an early Trial date instead for October 23rd 2007. With my people's barrister, Tony Allston, I then immediately appealed to Circuit Judge Cowell who set a Hearing for an Appeal on August 13th, but I failed to get the Injunction.
So now we have a Trial on Tuesday October 23rd where I am applying for damages and costs. Cohen has been extremely economical with the truth in his witness statements, he should have been a politician. He claimed he had nowhere to put his Beatles Museum if forced to vacate. But, he had already taken possession of a shop directly opposite on Baker Street weeks before, called "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" and the company was formed 14.2.07. He could have simply moved his Museum 25 yards, but he did not tell the truth in his witness statement and could have saved me all this anguish, grief and cost. He ain't nothing but a 'hound dog' and he ain't no friend of mine.
All I wanted to do was rebuild my life after Maureen's death and do everything we had planned together for our shop with "Elvis Karaoke Tours". Although August 16th was the 30th Anniversary of Elvis' death it was also called "Maureen's Day 1" and five Elvises performed for free outside my shop raising money for the "Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre". I had planned to invite family, friends and fans to a Tribute to Maureen in my basement with displays of photographs, her achievements, cards we exchanged over the years. But, Cohen denied me that right to honour Maureen. If I get damages for loss of business 50% will be given to the Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre to name a "Counselling Room" in memory of Maureen.
Cohen finally vacated my basement on September 11th 2007 but cost my business tens of £thousands in lost profits. He knew how big the Elvis Anniversary would be in August but spitefully and vindictively refused to move before August 16th. We had five TV crews outside "Elvisly Yours" all day with three filming LIVE to the world plus ten national and
international press and photo agencies as the five Elvises gave a free street party.
I have appointed Ian Coulson, the "Geordie Elvis", to act as my general assistant with special responsibility to organise and perform the "Elvis Karaoke Tours" of London. Ian, "Geordie Elvis", will be a witness at the Trial. Previously Ian has spent ten years working for Camden Council as a care worker dealing with problem children expelled from schools. He is an Elvis Tribute Artist on the weekends, has a great voice, a great sense of humour and is perfect to organise and perform onboard "Elvis Karaoke Tours" of London.
Cohen's main claim is I refused to pay the rent. But, he persuaded the new landlord to only send invoices to him and refused to send me copies of the landlord's invoices for 18 months, except one invoice 12 hours before Maureen died. Cohen should have paid me rent and rates, but consistently refused. For a year the landlords refused to send me a copy of the joint invoices because of some unknown arrangement with Cohen. They did not send me this year's invoices until last week.
I have not used a solicitor. Sadly, my solicitor, Simon Tucker (the nicest solicitor in Britain ) could not handle my case because he represented me and Cohen for the renewal of the lease and other matters. I have very little faith in most law firms so I have just used a "People's Barrister". I have prepared all the Trial Bundles myself under Tony's guidance and this has saved me £thousands in legal costs.
Elvisly Yours,
Sid Shaw
www.elvisly-yours.com
For more information contact:
Sid Shaw Office: 01923-242001 Monday 11am-6pm
email: sid@elvisly-yours.com
Anthony Allston (the People's barrister)
Lamb Chambers: 020-7797-8300
email: anthonyallston@lambchambers.co.uk
www.lambchambers.co.uk
- COURTROOM BATTLE LOOMS FOR ROCK ICONS
By Doreen Carvajal
(contactmusic.com, October 22, 2007)
ELVIS PRESLEY and legendary rockers THE BEATLES are set for a courtroom showdown - over the rights to a basement. Rival shop owners Sid Shaw and Howard Cohen, who respectively own neighbouring memorabilia stores Elvisly Yours and The London Beatles Store in London's Baker Street, are squabbling over the rights to the shared basement. A contract was drawn up in 2005, granting Beatles fan Cohen exclusive access to the storage space, but Shaw insists he has broken it by not paying his agreed half of the rent and allowing water damage to ruin valuable merchandise. As a result, Shaw will be dusting off his white jumpsuit in preparation for this week's courtroom showcase (begs22Oct07). He says, "Every day he stays in the basement I suffer further loss. He has cost me thousands."
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