Elvis's birthday, 2008
- Local Viewers' Close Encounters With Elvis
(cbs13.com, January 8, 2008)
Today would have been Elvis Presley's 73rd birthday. On his behalf, we
asked our viewers to send in personal stories about their close
encounters with "The King" himself. Do you have a story about Elvis you'd like to share? ...
- Elvis Presley Fest still alive despite tough 2007 results (second item)
BY CARLIE KOLLATH
(Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, January 8, 2008)
The Elvis Presley Festival [in Tupelo] will celebrate its 10th year in June, and festival organizers say some changes are in store to make sure the event is a financial success. ... The festival originally started as a fundraiser for DTMSA, which still produces the festival. After several years of mixed results, including a loss of almost $50,000 last year, the volunteer organization has repositioned the festival as a community event. ... DTMSA Executive Director Debbie Brangenberg said she is bringing in new people who have festival experience to brainstorm about the future of the festival. They will meet this week and Brangenberg hopes to have concrete details within a few weeks. A few details have been pinned down, though. The festival will be held June 6-8 in downtown Tupelo and will be military-themed in honor of the 50th anniversary of Presleyıs induction into the U.S. Army. The festival also will host one of the qualifying rounds for the Second Annual Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest 2008. ...
- Happy Birthday Elvis
By M. Scott Morris
(Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, January 8, 2008)
For a pair of Elvis researchers, Mackey Hargett is more than a man. He's an important piece of evidence. Julian Riley of Verona and Rachel Ann Harden of Saltillo teamed up in 2006 to document Elvis Presley's family tree. They've trudged through cemeteries, rummaged through photo albums and talked to the King of Rock 'n' Roll's kin to get the story for their Web site, www.rootsofelvispresley.com.
"A lot of people have told us they knew they were related to Elvis but they didn't know how," Harden said. "We've been able to go back and show them how."
Hargett, a resident of the Salem community in Itawamba County, didnıt need help establishing his relationship to Elvis Presley. He has a box of photos to prove it. "Vernon and I were sitting in the kitchen at Graceland talking and Elvis came in," Hargett said, recalling a conversation with Elvis' father in his son's Memphis home. "Vernon said, 'Elvis, this is a cousin of yours on the Wallace side of the family.' "This was something," Hargett continued, "a teenager standing in front of his cousin, Elvis Presley, in the kitchen of Graceland in Memphis, Tenn." Today, Elvis would have turned 73. He died at Graceland in August 1977.
A mystery
The family connection impressed the researchers, too, because it provided clues that helped them solve a puzzle that traces back to Elvis' great-grandparents. When Riley and Harden got to the 1800s, they found a woman named Rosie (Rosella) Elizabeth Presley in Itawamba County.
"Elvisı great-grandmother never married, but she had seven children," Riley said. "One of them was Jesse Dee Presley." He was Vernon Presleyıs father. But the question remained: Who was Jesse Dee Presleyıs father? "When he got married the second time," Riley said, "they asked him the names of his folks. He wrote down that his father was known as John Presley. Well, there was no John Presley, but there was a John Wallace."
Circumstantial evidence
To say the Civil War took a heavy toll is the definition of understatement, and that toll continued after the fight ended. "So many men were killed during the war," Riley said. "That's why you had young women marrying men in their 60s."
There were also women who never married, but still had children. According to the researchers, Rosella Presley and John Wallace lived near each other for most of their lives.
"In 1896, Rosella Presley moved from Tilden to Clay community in Itawamba County," Riley said. "That's where Jesse Dee Presley is born."
In 1897, John Wallace left Tilden and moved to the north part of the county.
"For the rest of their lives, they moved around Itawamba County," Riley said, "but they never were more than 10 miles apart."
Hargett's family tree
Riley and Harden found circumstantial evidence to link John Wallace to Elvis Presley, but they found no birth certificate or marriage license to document the relationship. Mackey Hargett provided the crucial connection. He's not related to Rosella Presley. His grandmother is the daughter of John Wallace and his wife, Almira.
"My grandmother was a half sister to Jesse Dee Presley. Her name was Nora Wallace," Hargett said. "She was John Wallace's oldest daughter. This is how I got through the gates of Graceland for almost 20 years to visit with my relatives, whom I loved dearly." That connection probably wouldn't have mattered until 1957, when, as Hargett put it, 'Elvis was Elvis!" "My mother and grandmother knew it," he said, "but it never would've gotten to me if he hadn't been famous."
- Elvis Harley Sells for $58,000 on eBay
(Memphis Flyer, January 8, 2008)
The last of the limited edition Harley-Davidsons specially tricked out to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley sold Tuesday morning on eBay for $58,816. Although eBay doesn't disclose the names or locations of buyers, his (or her) eBay handle was "elvissparky."
Bruce Rossmeyer is CEO of 13 Harley dealerships, including Graceland Harley-Davidson and the world's largest H-D dealership in Daytona, Florida. Earlier this summer, he commissioned 30 FLH model Harleys with custom paintjobs and other features designed to re-create as closely as possible the 1957 FLH Harley once owned by the King of Rock-and-Roll. Each bike was specially numbered, and 1-29 have already been sold.
The reserve price -- the minimum price the bike can sell for -- was set at $58,816, and the bike received just one bid. Anything over and above that price was to be donated to Presley Place, which offers transitional housing for homeless families in Memphis. Since the bike sold for the reserve price, looks like Presley Place lost out.
- Elvis Presley: The King lives on for many on his birthday
By GREG JORDAN
(Bluefield Daily Telegraph, January 8, 2008)
Seventy-three years ago today a man who forever changed the world's music was born in Tupelo, Mississippi to Vernon and Gladys Presley. They named their new son Elvis, but to his fans, he is forever "the King of rock 'n' roll."
Born on Jan. 8, 1935, Elvis Presley rose from his humble beginnings to become a music pioneer and a lasting icon. New fans discover Elvis daily and seek out his music, said Wyatt Lilly, owner of Cheap Thrills Records in Princeton. "Elvis had it all. He had the looks and he had the sound, and he did the kind of music that very few people had actually heard before," Lilly said. "He took black music that was pretty underground in the 50s and brought it to the American mainstream, and the younger people just went wild for it. Not many people knew about rock 'n' roll and the more upbeat blues sound, but that all changed with Elvis. He not only made the music more accessible, he made people aware of it."
Music history might have been very different if Elvis had never pursued a music career. ...
- Reporter remembers Elvis friendship
(West Australian, January 8, 2008)
Hollywood scribe Nancy Anderson wasn't expecting much when she first interviewed Elvis Presley in 1956 on the set of his movie "Love Me Tender." ... [as below]
- Reporter remembers Elvis friendship
By JOHN GEROME
(Yahoo! News / AP, January 7, 2008)
Hollywood scribe Nancy Anderson wasn't expecting much when she first interviewed Elvis Presley in 1956 on the set of his movie "Love Me Tender." "I didn't really want to meet Elvis because I had just talked to Fabian and some of these other teen idols and I thought 'Well, here's one more. He won't even know his name,'" Anderson, now 89 years old and retired, recalled recently. But it surprisingly led to a friendship with Presley that lasted until his death in 1977 and continues today with family of the late star, who would have turned 73 on Tuesday.
"He was a nice man and a lot brighter than people thought," she says from her home in this bucolic town set amid rolling horse farms and steep wooded hills about 50 miles south of Nashville. "We'd sit around and talk about the Battle of Shiloh. We'd talk about religion and girls and making movies and Memphis. Just whatever."
First as a freelance writer and later as West Coast editor of Photoplay and other movie magazines, Anderson reported on Hollywood when the glow from its golden age was still fresh and Americans idolized screen legends such as John Wayne, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. While chronicling the actors and the industry that made them famous, she got to know a lot of them. Spend an hour with her and you'll pick up tidbits only an insider could know about people like Marlon Brando and Ronald Reagan.
"I really liked Elvis a lot. I loved John Wayne. He was good to me. I was very fond of Barbara Stanwyck. And Robert Mitchum I liked real well," she recalls.
Her connection with Presley was a natural. Both came to California from Tennessee - she from Nashville, he from Memphis - and they shared an affinity for Southern culture and history. And of course, they worked in the same industry and knew many of the same people. "I think I probably reminded him of his mother," said Anderson, who was 16 years Presley's senior. "That's when everybody was making fun of Elvis and I didn't. I think I understood him better."
Over the years, she'd get calls from the star's manager, "Colonel" Tom Parker, who'd ask her if she wanted to visit Presley. Later, Presley would invite her to his concerts (she still has a scarf he gave her at one of them). Anderson also became close with Presley's wife, Priscilla, his father, Vernon, and his stepmother, Dee. She hasn't heard from Priscilla for a few years, but she still gets occasional phone calls from Dee.
Anderson last saw Presley around the time she left Hollywood to return with her husband to Tennessee, where she wrote about country music for a while before retiring. It was the 1970s and she went to see him in Lake Tahoe, Nev., where they spoke in his dressing room. He looked ill, she said, and it wasn't long after that that he died.
"Dee (Presley) called me and wanted to know if I wanted to go to the funeral with her. I said 'I can't, Dee. I'm going to Hawaii that day,'" she recalled. "I didn't want to go to the funeral, and so I went to Hawaii." ...
- Elvis birthday event set for tomorrow at Waikiki hotel
(Honolulu Advertiser, January 7, 2008)
Elvis Presley would have been 73 years old tomorrow. An "Elvis Birthday Celebration," featuring the King's movies, songs and more will be held at the Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio; free and open to the public; 922-0811.
- Follow the Blue Suede Shoes to art exhibition
(Parkes Champion-Post, January 7, 2008)
The Coventry Room will become a Blue Hawaii sea of colour when the Elvis Art Festival opens this Friday night. An official opening will be held from 6pm this Friday night with drinks and nibbles for $10 entry. The exhibition continues throughout the weekend, from 10am to 4pm, Saturday and Sunday for a gold coin donation. The art festival is in its second year following a successful staging in 2007 when 74 artworks were on display.
- Parkes landscapes feature in 'Elvis' artwork
(Parkes Champion-Post, January 7, 2008)
Local artist Bev Rowe has created her third major artwork for this weekend's Elvis Gospel Service. Bev's large canvases will provide the backdrop for the main stage for the gospel service that will be held in the make-shift church the undercover car park at Big W.
More than 1,600 people are expected to attend Sundayıs service, with this year's theme being "The Holy Longing - The Impossible Dream.'
Bev admits that this was a difficult theme for her to start with, but feels that her creation has captured the spirit of the service. Working from a selected passage in the service program prepared by Rev Tom Stuart, Bev started forming an idea in her mind.
Strangely, it was during a visit to the Bathurst 1000 car races that she was thinking of Parkes and the Elvis Festival. One challenge that she tackled was to stick to the service's theme, but still incorporate Parkes into the artwork. 'All the rock-scapes [around the edges of the picture] are from Parkes, directly from sketches made in the Parkes area,' Bev said. 'The blue [in the centre] is the abyss, and the blue of the sky.'
The man featured in the painting is representing a man coming from dust, and having to make choices. 'That is where it follows the theme of the Holy Longing and the Impossible Dream, that man has to make choices, and he can make good choices or bad choices.'
While Bev was not initially an Elvis fan and was even a little sceptical about the feasibility of the gospel service, she was eventually convinced and is now thrilled to be able to make her contribution to the community event.
The Holy Longing theme will continue for the next festival, but Bev will be looking to create a new artwork for next year's service. 'It's important to keep the momentum going, and to keep people interested,' she said. 'At the same time, while it gets bigger and better each year, it must be something that is appropriate and acceptable to the congregation.' Bev has been overwhelmed by the support she has received from local businesses and individuals. ...
- Elvis Presley's memory strong for Laurel family
By Jason Niblett
(Leader Call, January 7, 2008)
They aren't some of the die hard fans who believe Elvis Presley is still alive, but with his birthday approaching Tuesday, at least one Laurel woman and her family will honor Presley's memory as if he were still here.
Elvis Presley was born January 8, 1935, in Tupelo. He signed an unprecedented contract with a record company in late 1955, and his fame exploded in 1956 worldwide. He died in 1977, two years before Stephanie Goodrich was born.
"I love him. He is awesome," she said. Stephanie's the true fan, but her husband, Kendal, and her children, Devan and Dylan, are also becoming bigger fans as time goes on. She has even named two of their children after The King; Dylan's middle name is Presley, and an infant daughter who passed away of SIDS last April was given the name Gracelynn. Elvis music played at her funeral.
Stephanieıs collection started when she was a young child. She said everyone knew to give her something Elvis-related for Christmas gifts and birthdays, and that trend has continued.
"I hear his voice and I get chills," Stephanie said.
She has also set herself goals for major purchases, which she has been able to complete over recent years. Stephanie recently acquired her first Elvis Presley gold record.
"I've got so much stuff I love and it has come from all over the world," she said.
Kendal stepped in after a few purchases on eBay. "Years ago she got in trouble getting some of her things on eBay," he said. "She's still grounded from eBay. I don't know what of this came from eBay."
"I do," Stephanie said with a sly smile.
Her husband and children take her collection and fondness for Elvis in stride. Kendal said he wasn't much of an Elvis fan when he met his bride, who he met when they were 16 years old. But, that changed over the years.
"Since we've been together, I developed more respect and appreciation for him," he said. "I like a lot of his movies."
"He was such a giver," Stephanie pointed out. "There's a wall in Graceland of canceled checks where he gave so much. He was constantly writing checks. There's so many stars now who don't do that."
Stephanie's collection also includes 66 albums, movies, TV Guides, watches, and other items. There is a Memphis newspaper still sealed from the day of his death. Then, there are unmarked United States Postal Service Elvis stamps and a coaster set in its box from the 60s. She said it finally got to the point where the family felt they needed some protection in their home. That's when they got their security system and planned for more electronic methods of securing their home.
"The main reason for the security system of course is for my family, but also for my Elvis things," she said. ...
- Happy birthday Elvis Presley
By Laura Casey
(Liberal Online - Southwest Daily Times, January 7, 2008)
Highlights include concerts with Elvis' music and appearances by some of Elvis' original band musicians, including TCB Band members James Burton, Glen D. Hardin and Ronnie Tutt. According to just one of the numerous Web sites that contain information on Elvis, "Presley began his career as one of the first performers of rockabilly, an uptempo fusion of country and rhythm and blues with a strong back beat.
His novel versions of existing songs, mixing 'black' and 'white' sounds, made him popular - and controversial - as did his uninhibited stage and television performances. He recorded songs in the rock and roll genre, with tracks like 'Hound Dog' and 'Jailhouse Rock' later embodying the style. Presley had a versatile voice and had unusually wide success encompassing other genres, including gospel, blues, ballads and pop.
To date, he is the only performer to have been inducted into four music halls of fame." This ability to capture some of the black jazz and blues sounds Presley brought to the music scene in the early 1950s may have been just what some record producers were looking for, according to Liberal High School's band director Lance Burnett.
"I think the record companies were looking for an artist to do that - take that black sound from Memphis and open up a wider market," Burnett said. "So in a way - in his early years - he was kind of manufactured a little bit. But he turned out to be the real deal." His early years were what catapulted him to stardom quickly, and in Burnett's opinion, it was because of his versatility. "I think he sang the greatest ballads of all time," Burnett said. "And I always enjoyed his '50s and '60s style of rock. I was never into his Vegas style too much, but I liked his early music. It was very much a mixture of gospel and blues and hill music. "I know people that have set aside a whole room in their house with just his artifacts.
So, he really struck people - women in particular - in a deep emotional way," Burnett added. A Liberal woman agreed. "I think that's true,' said 55- year-old Joy Beasley of Liberal. "I think his appeal to women was also because he always had respect for his mother, and that's very appealing. He just wasn't a Hollywood type."
Though Beasley is now a grandmother, she remembers listening to Elvis when she was 7 years old, and she has been a super fan since. Growing up in a family where her mother sang in her father's band, Beasley has always been around music. "I was singing Patsy Cline's songs when I was 3," Beasley said. "I knew all the words to her songs because of mom."
But it was Elvis that stirred her emotions. "At that time, there was no one else like him his voice and blues sounds and rock and roll sounds - all together - everything," Beasley said, adding with a giggle, "and the sex appeal." A dream of Beasley's came true in 1974 when her thensister- in-law, Irene Kemper, got tickets for an Elvis concert in Fort Worth, Texas. "We drove down there from Liberal I was 22 years old," Beasley said. "It was in the Tarrant County Convention Center and the place was packed. They kept telling everybody to be seated, but Irene and I went looking in the hallways to see if we could find a room where they had (Elvis) to get an autograph. ...
There was this hot dog stand down there and his lead guitar player, James Burton, was standing there in his bright gold jumpsuit eating a hot dog. We went over and asked for an autograph and he said, 'I donıt have any paper.' Well, there was those hot dog papers - they were almost clear. He folded one up and wrote his name.
We thought that was really big, you know?" As everyone got seated, and the girls were back in their seats, the show opened with the sound track from 2001: A Space Odyssey. "It was in loud crescendos louder and louder," Beasley explained. "And then they broke into CC Rider and he came running out on the stage. He wasn't fat then, and his hair was long and those sideburns. It was so exciting. We were screaming and jumping around." Other women were in quite a tizzy as well, Beasley said, as they would run up to the stage and throw their underwear at Elvis.
Security was busy the whole two-hour concert escorting women back to their seats, she said. "After the concert was over like they always did they announced, 'Elvis has left the building.'" Being around music her whole life has also lured Beasley to 50 or 60 major concerts throughout the years, she estimated, from rock to country, but the Elvis concert has been the highlight for Beasley. "But he was the most exciting person you'd ever see," she said. "Those other concerts donıt even compare."
Beasley has also made a hobby out of collecting records of the King's as well. Of her more than 600 LP albums and 1,600 45s, she has several from Elvis' earliest days. "I have a couple of his Sun Records 45s on the Sun label," she said. "And there's one on Sun label with Jerry Lee Lewis with Elvis singing back-up." After seeing Elvis in concert, Beasley made a trip in 1975 to Graceland, but Elvis was home that weekend and they only got to meet his uncle and take some treasured photographs.
Beasley has also travelled to Tupelo, Miss., Elvis' birthplace, and returned to Graceland after his death to tour Graceland Mansion and the grounds. When asked if she still considers Elvis to be "The King," she responded, "Oh Yeah," with a giggle. "There will never be anybody like him again - that charisma - that range of voice," Beasley added. "Nope, nobody."
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