early December 2007
- A man fed up with the state of sports facilities
By RICHARD WINTON
(theherald.co.uk, December 14, 2007)
Call Les Trotter's mobile phone and you are disconcertingly greeted by the strains of Elvis Presley. The King croons his 1966 single "Tell me why," while callers await an answer. The plea is an apposite mantra for the Edinburgh campaigner. The 50-year-old secretary of Hutchison Vale FC dedicates much of his time to posing that question. His regular refrain is centred on the shabby state of sporting facilities in the city and has metamorphosed into a pressure group, Unite the Clubs, established a little over a year ago from the capital's youth football teams. ...
- Ike Turner: One of R&B's greats, one of wedlock's worst
By DAN DELUCA
(charlotte.com / Philadelphia Inquirer, December 13, 2007)
Ike Turner, who died Wednesday in his suburban San Diego home at age 76 of undisclosed causes, was incontestably one of the greatest bandleaders in the history of rhythm and blues. In 1951 -- a full three years before Elvis Presley's recording of "That's All Right (Mama)" -- Turner was the architect of Jackie Brenston's "Rocket 88," considered by many historians to be the first rock-and-roll record. ...
- Groban ties Elvis with No. 1 U.S. holiday album
(Yahoo! News UK / Billboard, December 13, 2007)
Josh Groban's "Noel" led the U.S. pop album charts for a third week Wednesday, tying Elvis Presley as the record-holder for the most consecutive weeks at No. 1 with a Christmas album. Now in its ninth week of release, "Noel" moved 581,000 units in the period ended December 9, according to Nielsen SoundScan, an 8 percent boost over the previous frame. Presley's "Elvis' Christmas Album," meanwhile, ruled the charts for three weeks in 1957. ...
- Tech aplenty for cheaters, suspicious spouses: Both sides in a partnership have many options for snooping, stepping out
By Athima Chansanchai
(MSNBC, December 13, 2007)
When Elvis Presley wrote "Suspicious Minds," he probably never realized he'd be forever associated with this affair anthem, which spoke to his hound dog side. He was the King - but he was also the rock icon cliche of the guy who stepped out on his wife.
Back in those days, Elvis was on the road and surrounded by a protective entourage. Priscilla's options to spy on him would have been limited. A PI would probably have not been out of the question. But today, technology would be in her favor. Spouses have discovered that snooping isn't just for Homeland Security, it's something they can pick up without ever having to leave home. They can arm themselves with GPS phones, voice-activated recorders, keyloggers and online cell phone accounts, among the range of resources available to them from spy stores and online that make it easy for the suspicious to do surveillance. ...
- CDs mark a first Noel for these artists
By Ken Barnes
(USA TODAY, December 12, 2007)
There comes a time in most artists' careers when it's time to contemplate recording an album of holiday music. It's a family-friendly way to enhance their image and issue an evergreen sales item. Not all artists succumb to the temptation, of course - Bruce Springsteen, U2 and R.E.M. haven't put out their Christmas albums (yet), though each has recorded Christmas songs.
But historically, megastars such as Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, The Supremes, The Carpenters and Mariah Carey have all added to (or at least not subtracted from) their stardom via holiday albums. ...
- What to give a president
(news24.com, December 11, 2007)
Washington - In 2006, gift-minded world leaders made sure that US President George Bush could listen to all of Mozart while smoking a cigar and reflecting on Gandhi's Seven Social Sins, according to a US government list. But both US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney received presents whose cost dwarfed Bush's priciest trinket, an $11,000 watch, the US State Department reported.
An Indian lawmaker, Nirmal Deshpande, gave the US president perhaps the least expensive present of his time in office: a yellow linen scroll with Gandhi's warnings, worth an estimated $7 - or $1 per sin. They are "politics without principle", "wealth without work", "pleasure without conscience", "knowledge without character", "commerce without morality", "science without humanity", and "worship without sacrifice".
... As is common practice, Bush did not keep most of the gifts - except for Gandhi's autobiography and a book about him, both from Nirmal Deshpande - but passed most along to the US National Archives or other US government offices.
... Junichiro Koizumi, the former Japanese prime minister numbered among Bush's closest friends on the world scene, gave the president an electric-power assisted bicycle, as well as a collection of Elvis Presley works. Junichiro Koizumi Presents: My Favourite Elvis Songs opens with I Want You, I Need You, I Love You and closes with Hawaiian Wedding Song. Bush took Koizumi to the late King of Rock and Roll's Graceland in June 2006. ...
- Horoscope
By Jeraldine Saunders
(mercurynews.com / TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC., December 11, 2007)
BIRTHDAY GAL: Actress and dancer Teri Garr was born in Lakewood, Ohio, on this day in 1944. This birthday gal danced her way through numerous Elvis Presley movies as an unaccredited extra and then built a long resume of film work including parts in such classics as "Young Frankenstein," "Tootsie" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." She has frequently appeared on television, including regular stints on "Friends," as well as "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour." Most recently, the veteran actress appeared with Lisa Kudrow in the film comedy "Kabluey." ...
- 'White' or 'Blue' Christmas? Columnist likes both styles
(Fredericksburg Free Lance Star, December 12, 2007)
IT DOESN'T bother me that the Christmas season seems to be inching further back into the fall season every year. It just means that I get to listen to Christmas music even sooner! I love Christmas music. It is my favorite thing about the holidays. I love Elvis, Bing Crosby, Amy Grant, Elmo, the Judds, Run-DMC, Mariah Carey, Vince Guaraldi and my most indulgent, guilty pleasure -- Celine Dion singing an incredibly over-the-top "Feliz Navidad."
I have satellite radio, and there are five -- count them, five -- stations dedicated exclusively to different kinds of Christmas music. One of the stations signed on Nov. 1, with the rest following at Thanksgiving. Hooray! When I hear these songs, I think of different Christmas memories without even having to get out any pictures. I can close my eyes and remember exactly how I felt when I heard a certain song in a particular year.
Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas" reminds me of high school. In my French class, out of nowhere, one of our classmates sang, "I-I-I'll ha-a-ave a blue " Without even thinking or discussing it, everyone chimed in on the "oooh-oooh-oooh-oooh-oooh". It cracked up our teacher and started a yearly tradition.
My other Elvis recollection involves the Christmas after I had my first child, Billy. My mother had just left after helping me recover from my delivery. We all decided it wouldn't make any sense to drive to Tennessee for Christmas with an infant. I remember dancing in my living room with my little boy and tears rolling down my face as I listened to the King sing "I'll Be Home for Christmas." No one can make you sadder about not making it home for the holidays than Elvis. ...
- Around town: More songs about precipitation
By Brian O'Neill
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 11, 2007)
This just in: We have at least one song that celebrates sleet. A week ago, "Around Town" (accidentally called "The Morning File" because no one, not even layout editors, knew it existed) used this space to grapple with the kind of weighty issue that keeps readers coming back: Are there more good songs about rain or about snow?
I offered my Top 10 in each category, or would have, had I been able to find more than eight good songs about snow. (Most winter music is less about snow than Christmas.) I invited readers to complete my list. Many did, and Dale "Satch" McQuaid of Aspinwall e-mailed "Rain, Sleet and Snow" by Paul Revere and the Raiders, nailing the precipitation trifecta. Were I wearing waders, I'd drop to my knees in awe. It's pretty clear (if anything can be clear in such weather) that rain leads snow in the American/British song book. I had a pretty good rain list a week ago, but missed a couple gems.
"Rainy Night in Georgia," the Tony Joe White song that Brook Benton turned into a hit in 1970, remains a go-to song for baby-boomer brooding. A number of readers suggested that one. "Love Reign O'er Me" by The Who was another popular choice. Some asked for a judge's ruling because the title is a pun, but it clearly qualifies. Songwriter Pete Townshend made sure listeners had a damp good time, with rainstorm sound effects and these opening lines: Only love/ can make it rain/ the way the beach is kissed by the sea/ Only love/ can make it rain/ like the sweat of lovers/ laying in the fields.
I can't name them all, but other songs that came up more than once included "I'm Only Happy When It Rains," a mope-fest by Garbage; "Isn't This a Lovely Day (To Be Caught in the Rain)?" from that prolific celebrant of inclement weather, Irving Berlin; and "I Love A Rainy Night," by New Jersey's best country singer, the late Eddie Rabbitt (who also wrote Elvis Presley's hit, "Kentucky Rain.") ...
- With Hatton gone, who's next for Mayweather?
By BERNARD FERNANDEZ
(Philadelphia Daily News, December 10, 2007)
The British invasion of 1964 was launched when the Beatles arrived in America and dethroned Elvis Presley as the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Even at the height of Beatlemania, however, it's hard to imagine a frenzy surpassing that generated by Ricky Hatton's bout against WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the MGM Grand on Saturday night. An estimated 25,000 Britons poured into Sin City to party and loudly support their hero, and so what if only 3,900 tickets were made available to them initially? Some Hatton fans were willing to pay up to $10,000 for a ticket, and did ...
- Library offering new fiction with an Elvis Presley twist
(courierpress.com / Gleaner, December 9, 2007)
A new fictional work at the Henderson County Public Library pursues a story of a truck driver who suspects that he might be the long-lost twin brother of Elvis. Here are some details about "Almost Graceland" and other new works at the library:
Fiction
"Almost Graceland" by Steve Carlson -- Perusing his late mother's journals, Memphis truck driver and Elvis look-alike Ray Johnston learns that he had been adopted from the same hospital as Presley and may actually be his twin brother, a discovery that proves complicated when he meets his famous would-be sibling. ...
- All about migraines
By MARILYN LINTON
(TORONTO SUN, December 9, 2007)
What have Love Me Tender and Alice in Wonderland got in common? Both Elvis Presley and Lewis Carroll suffered from migraine headaches.
Migraines are associated with slurred speech, a sensitivity to light, and visual disturbances. Elvis coped by wearing dark glasses, while Lewis Carroll may have written Alice in Wonderland based on the visual distortions he experienced. Dutch impressionist Vincent Van Gogh painted his famous Starry Night during one of his violent migraine attacks. Sadly, none of these men knew what was happening to them. It's been only recently that we've learned that there are several different kinds of headaches, and that various headaches need different kinds of treatments. Not only drug-based responses, but lifestyle changes as well.
Take migraines: This painful condition (its prevalence in Canada exceeds that of diabetes and asthma) is often underdiagnosed, says Calgary neurologist Dr. Werner Becker. The professor in the department of clinical neurosciences at the University of Calgary recently led a Migraine Forum of 30 migraine experts and patients. Its goal was to examine the country's current state of migraine care and explore ways to improve the lives of Canadians with migraine. ...
- Extended Play: 'Walk Hard' live and kicking
By Todd Martens
(Los Angeles Times, December 4, 2007)
Columbia Pictures had the wrong venue for staging Monday night's coming out party for "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story." Just a short walk from where John C. Reilly took the stage as Dewey Cox in West Hollywood lies the House of Blues, a nightclub chain that stands as a permanent celebration of rock 'n' roll's love affair with the movies. Where better for a fictional band to come to life than a venue closely associated with "Saturday Night Live" skit-turned-film "The Blues Brothers"?
But whereas the House of Blues icons the Blues Brothers specialize in covers, many of the songs featured in "Walk Hard," the latest film from the Judd Apatow ("Superbad," "Knocked Up") comedy empire, are originals. Each tune is a good-natured parody of artists such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, among others. So even though Monday's hour-long marketing event-turned-concert -- a preview for a brief "Walk Hard" tour -- was little more than a live-action movie trailer, it was more entertaining than not. ...
- Rock City: Memphis - Embrace the blues (and punk and hip-hop) with Spin's guide to Memphis
By Bob Mehr
(spin.com, December 4, 2007)
Historically hailed as the home of the blues, birthplace of rock (thanks to Sun Studio), and the capitol of soul, Memphis has also proven a haven for garage punk, hip-hop, and a thriving studio scene. It has nurtured envelope-pushers from B.B. King to Project Pat. Urban mayhem, low rents, and a deeply ingrained allegiance to all things eccentric continue to make this Mid-South metropolis a mecca for American music.
... You'd be hard-pressed to find a true Tennesseean who will utter a bad word about the King -- with the exception of Jimmy Denson. Denson grew up with Elvis and supposedly shielded a teenage Presley from neighborhood bullies. These days, he takes any opportunity to spin uproarious tales about Elvis as a demonically possessed mama's boy whose "eyes looked like two pissholes in the snow." ...
- K-State takes center stage at Madison Square Garden
By HOWARD RICHMAN
(Kansas City Star, December 3, 2007)
This stage, among the most famous venues in the world, has quite a history. It claims to be the only place where all four Beatles performed solo. Barnum & Baileyıs Circus played to packed houses here. Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra belted out a few tunes in the place. Yes, there really is nothing like Madison Square Garden. Tonight, the college from the Little Apple takes its act to the Big Apple. At Madison Square Garden. The Kansas State basketball team hopes to put on quite a show at 6 p.m. when it faces Notre Dame in the Jimmy V Classic. ...
- Elvis lives! (On Burkina Faso postage stamps)
By Andrew Leonard
(Salon.com, December 3, 2007)
University of Michigan economist Joel Slemrod knows how to come up with the kind of headline that catches How the World Works' eye: "Why Is Elvis on Burkina Faso Postage Stamps? Cross-National Evidence on the Commercialization of State Sovereignty." His lead paragraph offers up a delicious slice of cultural/economic globalized miscegenation.
One stamp dealer's advertisement listed for sale stamps picturing Elvis Presley issued by Burkina Faso, Chad stamps depicting Marilyn Monroe, Chechnya stamps picturing Groucho Marx, Grenada Grenadines stamps showing Bob (Elliot) and Ray (Goulding), Mongolia stamps with the Three Stooges and the X-Men, and Montserrat stamps with Jerry Garcia. Most of these stamps never reach the issuing country's shores, and are designed, produced, and marketed by a foreign agency to stamp collectors around the world.
Mongolia stamps featuring the X-Men? What would Genghis Khan do?
How can you not love an economic treatise that introduces the concept of "stamp pandering?" Unfortunately, for those of us whose minds go blank at the first sight of a multivariable differential equation, the going gets a lot harder in short order. And Slemrod's conclusions after investigating four examples of sovereignty commercialization are hardly earth-shattering.
Slemrod's four examples are countries that money launder, offer themselves as tax havens, provide flags of convenience for shipping, and engage in stamp pandering. Unsurprisingly, there is considerable overlap among the first three categories, less so for the fourth. The 44 stamp-pandering countries are two times more likely to be tax havens than not, but don't significantly overlap with the money-launderers or flag-of-conveniencers. Interestingly, both tax haven and stamp-pandering activity appear to require relatively higher levels of "good governance." Money-laundering, not so much.
Generally, well-governed poorer countries that do not have other means of readily raising funds engage in sovereignty-selling activities such as stamp pandering. But that doesn't seem particularly surprising, and makes Slemrod's final sentence: "This provides some support to the notion that when revenue is difficult to raise in other ways commercialization becomes more attractive" something of a buzz-kill. Why is Elvis on Burkina Faso postage stamps? Because it's hard to make a living in this world when you're a poor African country, and if you have any kind of decent head on your shoulders, you'll grab at every option available. Besides, Elvis made his own living ripping off the musical contributions of African-Americans, so maybe what's really going on in this particular case is some cultural reappropriation.
That still doesn't explain the X-Men thing, however.
- A Horizon in the future? Municipal Auditorium compares favorably to Blue Horizon boxing venue
By Scott Ferrell
(Shreveport Times, December 2, 2007)
Municipal Auditorium has been home to Elvis Presley and the Louisiana Hayride, concerts and circuses. It will soon be home to a monthly series of boxing and MMA events.
- Lewis remains top of both charts: Lewis's Spirit is the UK's fastest selling debut album of all time
(BBC News, December 2, 2007)
Former X Factor winner Leona Lewis has again held on to the number one slots in the UK singles and album charts. Her single, Bleeding Love, has clocked up its sixth week in the top spot while her album Spirit remained number one for the third week in a row.
The 22-year-old beat off competition from X Factor's 2005 winner, Shayne Ward, who went straight to number two with his album Breathless. Westlife's Back Home made it to third place in the album charts. Kylie Minogue's new entry, X, reached number four with the Eagles' Long Road out of Eden rounding off the top five. ... The only new entry in the singles chart was Elvis Presley's classic American Trilogy at number 12.
- Christmas With Tanya Tucker
(pollstar.com, December 2, 2007)
Country music icon Tanya Tucker has announced a handful of dates for a holiday show with Elvis Presley's backup vocal group, The Imperials. Tanya Tucker Family Christmas will consist of four shows: December 12 at Voodoo Lounge in Kansas City, Mo.; December 14 at Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Okla.; December 15 at Delta Downs Casino in Vinton, La.; and December 21 at Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville. Tickets for three of the four shows are available at Ticketmaster.com.
Besides The Imperials, the show will feature production and conducting by Presley's former orchestra leader, Joe Guercio, along with performances by Tucker's daughters and her niece. ...
- Graceland Area Up For Development
(newschannel5.com / Associated Press, December 2, 2007)
A New York group is buying up property around Graceland for development. Bob Sillerman of New York and others are pumping more than $200 million into the area near Graceland mansion, which was Elvis Presley's home. Next week, the Memphis City Council hopes to pass a resolution showing support for the project.
As envisioned, there would be a hotel and convention center, retail shops and restaurants on more than 100 acres Sillerman's group bought from owners of properties surrounding Graceland. ...
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