Late August
- Elvis impersonator wows 'em on NBC show
By LINDA GIRARDI
(Beacon News, August 31 2008)
Sometimes getting bumped off of a cruise ship is a blessing in disguise. "My son was supposed to be on the ship but America's Got Talent bumped him off. Sixty of Joseph's fans are here -- he's going to miss a good cruise," dad Kyle Hall said from a port in Mobile, Ala. Joseph Hall, 24, is a world-acclaimed Elvis Presley impersonator. He's advanced to the final 30 contestants poised to win $1 million in NBC's third season of America's Got Talent. Hall will perform during Tuesday's show, airing from 7 to 9 p.m. ...
- Chestnut covers chestnuts: Acclaimed jazz pianist takes on some of Elvis Presley's most famous tunes
By JON FERGUSON
(lancasteronline.com / Intelligencer Journal, August 29 2008)
The idea struck pianist Cyrus Chestnut while helping a colleague record a version of "Love Me Tender": Why not record an entire album of Elvis Presley songs?
Chestnut, who will perform with his trio tonight at the Mount Gretna Playhouse, knew the project had the potential to turn into a disaster. "It was challenging," the Baltimore native said during a telephone interview. "I couldn't make the arrangements so spacey that nobody knew what they were about, but also it couldn't be so simple that it sounded just like covers. I'd get laughed right off the planet."
Chestnut, 45, first did his homework, researching Presley's career and combing through his catalog. "There was common ground," the pianist said. "His title is the King of Rock 'n' Roll but I came to realize that he loved singing gospel music as well."
After selecting a bunch of songs he believed might be suitable for instrumental jazz treatments, the pianist first wrote arrangements and then hit the road to try them out at his concerts. He settled on 10 diverse songs made famous by Presley, including "Hound Dog," "Love Me Tender," "Suspicious Minds," "In the Ghetto" and "How Great Thou Art." And he included one original, the appropriately titled "Graceland."
The album, "Cyrus Plays Elvis" (2007) proves again just how malleable jazz is as a musical form. On some of the songs, like "Can't Help Falling in Love," Chestnut hews closely to Presley's original, but on others, like "Heartbreak Hotel," Chestnut lets his musical imagination run free.
The pianist said fans can expect to hear some Presley tunes at tonight's concert but will also hear a taste of his next project. ...
- Noted lawyer James Neal tells Cumberland law students how he prosecuted Watergate figures
By ERIC VELASCO
(Birmingham News, August 29 2008)
James F. Neal has prosecuted a top labor leader and White House officials. He has defended a famous movie director, a governor, Elvis Presley's doctor and corporations facing criminal charges. ...
But the second question Neal faced Thursday during a speech to law students in Birmingham was about convicted Alabama booster Logan Young. His defense of Young, the late Memphis businessman who paid a high school coach to steer a football prospect to the University of Alabama, is one of the few cases Neal lost during a 52-year legal career of high-profile trials. ...
- 'A chance to be of service to humanity'
By ANA MARIA TORO
(New York Daily News / Hagen for News, August 26 2008)
Feliciano Jaime Atienza is devoted to teaching his newcomer students not only English, but how to thrive in a new country. On a recent Thursday evening, a diverse group of immigrants hailing from Egypt to Ecuador to China showed up for English class on W. 14th St.
But instead of sitting as usual at desks and reviewing vocabulary lists, they leaned back on the pews of a former church, learned the lyrics to the Elvis Presley song "Love Me Tender" and sang it in unison. ...
- Graceland Empire Grows with Gift Shop Buy
By ERIC SMITH
(Memphis Daily News, August 25 2008)
Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. has bought a property that sits next to Graceland and houses a souvenir shop whose owners sued EPE last year for conspiracy to eliminate competitors. EPE paid [US]$465,000 for 3706 Elvis Presley Blvd. from the Jefan Trust of Boca Raton, Fla., with Susan Sandelman as trustee.
Formerly an auto service garage, the 4,000-square foot store was built in 1975 and sits on approximately one-third of an acre due north of Graceland. The Shelby County Assessor of Property's 2008 appraisal is $168,200. The space is now leased by Boulevard Souvenirs, which is owned by Rick and Renae Roberts. Boulevard Souvenirs had leased the property from Global Real Estate LLC until EPE bought the assignment of rents and leases from Global Real Estate earlier this year. Those assignments state that the tenantšs lease is $1,178.33 per month.
Calls to EPE were not returned by press time. When reached by phone Friday morning, Renae Roberts wasnšt surprised to hear EPE finally succeeded in acquiring the real estate. "That doesnšt surprise me because of all the appraisers that were coming through (in recent months)," Roberts said. "I mean, come on, they're bigger than us. We're not exactly dumb."
EPE has been acquiring properties surrounding Graceland and beyond as part of its plans for a $250 million Tourist Development Zone. The company in 2006 offered to buy the Roberts' business and assume the roughly 13 years remaining on the lease. The Roberts declined. The couple even reached out to the previous owner about acquiring the site themselves, efforts that were repeatedly rebuffed.
"Wešve been trying to buy this property ever since we moved in it," Renae Roberts said. "They just kept telling us it's not for sale." EPE's attempt to buy the Boulevard Souvenirs business and Rick and Renae Roberts' refusal to move created tension among the parties. The situation heated up last fall when EPE revised its distribution contracts so distributors were no longer allowed to sell licensed merchandise to vendors not approved by EPE within a five-mile radius of Graceland. That included Boulevard Souvenirs.
A claim was filed in federal court last year on behalf of Boulevard Souvenirs - a non-EPE-approved vendor - that EPE and vice president of international licensing Carol Butler were conspiring to eliminate all independently owned retail competitors near Graceland, but that lawsuit was eventually dismissed.
Since the brouhaha, Boulevard Souvenirs has had a sign hanging in its window affirming the 12 years remaining on its lease at the store - something Roberts said they plan to honor. "We have no intention of vacating, we have no intention of leaving," she said. "We have intentions of being there, not only for the 12 years, because we also have a stipulation in our lease that we can request a five-year extension. Right now wešre sitting tight."
- Homemade shrines pay homage to the King
By Christopher Blank, Scripps Howard News Service
(Deseret News, August 23 2008)
As it does with the death of a Jedi, the Force only grew stronger with Elvis Presley after his untimely passing on Aug. 15, 1977.
Thirty-one years after his death, he's now virtually omnipresent, like Santa, and with just as much ground to cover. Elvis' ghost has been spotted on the steps of Graceland and in the streets of Las Vegas. Movies such as "Mystery Train" and "True Romance" reference the supernatural phenomenon that Elvis has become. A perennial tabloid presence, he appears in unlikely places, sometimes lost and bewildered, sometimes doling out advice.
To some, Elvis is a religion unto himself. Gregory L. Reece, author of "Elvis Religion: The Cult of the King," came up with his topic after meeting a fan who'd moved to Memphis, Tenn., to be closer to the King. The singer's own fascination with world religions and death's mysteries entices pop scholars and psychics alike. In her autobiography, Priscilla Presley complained about all the mystical books from his hairdresser Elvis would pile on the bed, which resulted in far too many deep talks. It was the closest she ever came to life in a college dormitory.
Tommy Foster is possibly Memphis' foremost expert on homemade Elvis shrines. Years ago, he built one at a coffee shop. Put a quarter in the slot and it lights up and plays music. Foster called it the "Church of Elvis Impersonator," and he even officiated weddings in front of it. Foster now works for the Center for Southern Folklore and builds blues shrines professionally.
He stuffed his cabinet-size shrine with Elvis artifacts: blue suede shoes, a silver pistol, toy cars and a folk-art likeness of a jumpsuit-clad Elvis wearing sunglasses and sporting sideburns. It collected about $200 a month in quarters. Elvis Presley Enterprises tried to sue Foster three times. "I was breaking all the rules," he said. "I respect Graceland's need to protect the copyright, but it was more of an artistic statement."
Two weeks ago, I asked Memphis artist Dwayne Butcher to consider creating an Elvis shrine that would highlight the artistic aspects of a memorial. Butcher was the right guy for the job; his second date with the girl he'd later marry was to a Graceland candlelight vigil. He called a few friends, also artists, to help come up with a concept. Their first brainstorm was to have a mobile puppet theater that would depict scenes from Elvis' life: karate lessons with Red West, Robert Goulet getting shot out of a television, etc. But there was some disagreement as to which person would have to perform the show.
By the end of the evening, they agreed to put their individual skills to work on a more shrinelike creation. There would be a collage of Elvis pictures, a bust of the King, and possibly something that used the dripping of paint Butcher's trademark. The result will debut soon on GoMemphis.com.
Meanwhile, I began work on my own shrine. ...
- Feeling the blues of Memphis
By LAURA CAPITANO
(Florida Times-Union, August 22 2008)
MEMPHIS - Y'all know me! I love Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, soul music and I have a Big Star tattoo. I expected to be so charmed by my first visit to Memphis that I'd want to stay. I struggled to leave Nashville after a visit last year, and I assumed a similar scene in Tennessee's other music city.
As it turns out, Memphis is Nashville's dirty, drunken cousin.
The Memphis vibe is downtrodden, man. Broken. Cab drivers curse the long-standing mayor, Willie Herenton. The hotel desk clerks warn not to carry purses on Beale Street (the Memphis "strip"). The city's wild with graffiti: on chairs, benches, lampshades, even on the gates of Graceland. And the major tourist attractions stand among blight and fast-food chains, and are rather inaccessible to tourists.
Checking in at the hotel early Saturday night, my trio of ladies was met with a multi-employee conversation about what to do about the puddle of regurgitated Beale Street consumables some chick had in the lobby. "So, ah, it's pretty early for people to be that drunk, isn't it?" I asked the clerk.
"Not in Memphis."
Neighboring Beale Street was our first outing. No cars run through the entertainment section of the street, though you do see young men performing acrobatic feats for drinkin' money. The feeling is one of spring break revelry, only with people of all ages, plus ribs and the blues. Ladies wear near-complete outfits and strut along as dudes holler, "Hey Girl! Girl!" and drink Bacchus-knows-what from plastic pails and 4-foot high bone-shaped glasses.
We greeted the morning with Sun Studios, and the magic sound from that place has to come from its ceiling. I've never seen another like it; it is shaped like a stretched-out letter W. The Studio is pretty much the same as when Elvis first came in to, as legend has it, record a birthday song for his mother. However, the tour sets you straight on this: Dear Gladys had celebrated her birthday four months prior.
And oh, that studio microphone. Oh the stand! I had never wanted to tongue-kiss inanimate objects before this. And just as I was planning my move, the tour guide said we could take pictures but no kissing or licking. Curses.
We saved Graceland for last, and the home and its grounds are wonderful places where I felt quite close to the King. Many of his suits are on display, so you get a sense of his size - not as tiny as most rockers. You learn about his tastes, see where his peanut butter sandwiches were fried up and admire the halls of gold records, movie posters and tour memorabilia. So much output in so few years. You also see the piano where he played his last song: Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.
The energy and sorrow in the meditation garden hung on my heart like a 10-pound weight. We had (strategically) just missed Elvis week, so the grave was decorated with tributes from around the globe. And whose arrangement did I see on the way out? Why, a bouquet from the Elvis Fever Fan Club in Jacksonville.
- Buddy Harman, 79, Busy Nashville Drummer, Is Dead
By BILL FRISKICS-WARREN
(New York Times, August 22 2008)
Buddy Harman, a prolific and influential drummer whose rhythmic signature can be heard on thousands of recordings by the likes of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and Simon and Garfunkel, died on Thursday at his home in Nashville. He was 79.
... Mr. Harman played on an estimated 18,000 recordings, many of them major hits, in a career of more than five decades. He worked most sessions with the celebrated "A Team" of studio musicians who shaped the Nashville Sound of the 1950s and '60s, performing on Cash's "Ring of Fire," Roger Miller's "King of the Road" and Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man," along with scores of hits by Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Dolly Parton, Ray Price and others.
Mr. Harman also made his mark on the pop charts, making distinctive contributions to records like the Everly Brothers' "Bye Bye Love," Presley's "Little Sister," Simon and Garfunkel's "Boxer" (as a percussionist) and Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." He played - bass, not drums - on Ringo Starr's 1970 country album, "Beaucoups of Blues." ...
- Country stars duet with Elvis on holiday CD: Victor Trevino Jr. and the Hound Dogs
By
(star-telegram.com, August 22 2008)
Why are there so many Elvis Presley events lately? Oh, yes: Last weekend was the 31st anniversary of his death. Well, if you're bored with impersonators who do the pudgy Vegas Elvis, take some time to catch Victor Trevino Jr. and the Hound Dogs. Victor's a young actor (he was the Boy in a production of The Fantasticks at the Rose Marine Theatre about five years ago), and he spends his time doing the young Elvis while his band jams the rockabilly. He'll be competing in the Ultimate Elvis competition in Memphis this year, so you better catch him now, before he wins that thing and blows up. Not literally, y'know, because we want him to stay the young slender Elvis as long as he can. ...
- The lucky few: FSU researcher shines light on forgotten generation
[Book announcement]
By Elwood Carlson
(Florida State University, August 21 2008)
John McCain, Elvis Presley, Gloria Steinem and Martin Luther King Jr. took different paths in life, but they were all lucky. That's because they were born between 1929 and 1945, a generation sandwiched between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boom that Florida State University Professor Elwood Carlson has dubbed "The Lucky Few."
"It's an entire generation that's been lost in the shuffle, and it's a generation that's very different from the one before it and the one after," said Carlson, the Charles B. Nam Professor in Sociology of Population. "It's also the first generation that is smaller than the one before it."
In a new book, "The Lucky Few: Between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boom" (Springer), Carlson argues that 41 million Americans who were born during the 16-year period that began with the crash of the stock market and ended with the conclusion of World War II were blessed by the virtue of their comparatively small numbers and the fortunate timing of world events. Their childhoods were marked by the Great Depression and wartime rations, but by the time members of this generation came of age, the postwar economy was booming, jobs were plentiful and educational opportunities were abundant. The Lucky Few hopped on the gravy train with the explosion of white-collar jobs in the 1950s and continued to ride it right into retirement, Carlson said.
"Because of their childhoods, they had really low expectations," Carlson said. "But after the war, those tough times evaporated and the reality exceeded their expectations, so they felt really lucky."
And for good reason. Their transition to adulthood was early, fast and easy. Although a military draft was still in place, most, like Elvis, served in peacetime. They were able to take advantage of veteran's benefits -- such as a college education under the GI Bill -- while suffering only a fraction of the casualties of the "Greatest Generation."
Throughout adulthood, they experienced the longest continuous economic boom in the country. They had the highest employment rates of any generation, and they contributed to the rise of corporate America and its accompanying perks. They pioneered the trend of early retirement. Their economic success fueled social changes as well, Carlson said. Members of this generation married younger and started families sooner, not because of changing mores, but because they could afford to do it.
Of course, some -- namely white men -- were luckier than others. But even blacks and women fared better than their counterparts in the generation that preceded them, Carlson said. Their prosperity afforded them opportunities to become trailblazers throughout their lives. Members of this generation traveled to the moon, championed civil rights and saw one of their own -- Sandra Day O'Connor -- become the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Now between the ages of 63 and 79, members of this generation are still on a winning streak, according to Carlson, who at 58 counts himself among the baby boomers. ... Carlson said he was inspired to research this generation and its characteristics after requiring his students to read "Birth and Fortune: The Impact of Numbers on Personal Welfare" by Richard Easterlin. Easterlin's book argues that the number of people born in a generation directly and indirectly affects personal destiny and the economy in general.
While Easterlin used his theory to focus mainly on the negative pressures facing the 78 million baby boomers -- unemployment, high crime, marital stress and divorce -- Carlson saw an opportunity to explore the positive circumstances that shaped the lives of the first "baby bust" generation in America. ...
- Country stars duet with Elvis on holiday CD
By JOHN GEROME, Associated Press
(Tucson Citizen, August 20 2008)
Thanks to technology, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride and LeAnn Rimes will be among the country stars performing with the king of rock 'n' roll on "Elvis Presley Christmas Duets." The new album, due out Oct. 14, will also feature Gretchen Wilson, Wynonna Judd, Sara Evans, Amy Grant and Anne Murray.
Sony BMG is releasing the disc in partnership with Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. They say it's the late icon's first duets album and the first Christmas compilation of its kind. ... While Presley recorded only 20 Christmas songs, his holiday albums have sold more than 25 million copies in the U.S. alone.
His 1957 release, "Elvis' Christmas Album," is the top-selling holiday release of all-time with 9 million in sales, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The Jordanaires, the vocal group that backed Presley on most of those early recordings, are rerecording their parts for the new album. ...
- Presley, Orbison tribute concert Friday in Albert Lea
(Austin Daily Herald, August 20 2008)
The Marion Ross Performing Arts Center in Albert Lea is presenting a tribute to Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison Friday beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Roy Orbison's career spanned four decades. He was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is best-known for the song "Pretty Woman," but he also wrote and sang hits like, "Only the Lonely," "In Dreams," "Running Scared" and "Crying."
Kenny Miller of Rapid City, S.D. will be performing his tribute to Orbison and then Brad Boice, Harmony, will be performing his tribute to Elvis Presley. Boice is well-known in the area and has a strong following throughout southern Minnesota and northern Iowa.
According to music historians, Elvis called Orbison "the greatest singer in the world." And Orbison wrote a tribute song to Elvis called "Hound Dog Man" after Elvis died Aug. 16, 1977. ... The performance is just six days after the 31st anniversary of Elvisš death. Tickets are available at Doylešs Hallmark in Northbridge Mall, Albert Lea. ...
- Elvis Presley commemorated at Mioveni
(Nine oClock, August 18 2008, iss. 4248 , p. 10)
Thirty-one years after his death, the unequalled Elvis Presley was commemorated at Mioveni, Arges county. The show from Dacia square rallied several hundreds of fans of the rock 'n roll king, who sang and danced all the night long. Valentin Mogoasa, known as Elvis from Mioveni, inaugurated on Saturday evening an Elvis Presley club in front of which a statue of the rockšn roll king was put up. In order to complete the show, there was a concert where the imitators of Elvis from around the country showed their talent. One of the outstanding guests at Mioveni was Elvis Romano from Maramures, a well-known character from the films of the late director Cristian Nemescu. He sang a song of the Great Elvis in Rromani. The organizers of the show promised to set up every year a performance of Elvis' imitators at Mioveni. Moreover, next year there will be guests from the whole world.
- Cruisers retrace Presley family journey
By Danza Johnson
(dailyworld.com / Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal / AP, August 18 2008)
On the 31st anniversary of his death, Elvis shared the spotlight with cars as the 2nd Annual Rags to Riches tour rolled up and down old Highway 78. Despite steady rain, more than 120 cars participated in Saturday's cruise, which commemorates the ride Elvis and his family took to Memphis, Tenn., when they moved from Tupelo. Dozens of antique cars took part in the cruise, which Tupelo Auto Museum curator Allen McDaniel said was designed to promote his attraction and Tupelo. "This tour symbolizes that ride Elvis took from our town to Memphis," said McDaniel. "He didn't know that ride would lead to riches, but it did so that's why we call this the Rags to Riches tour. It's always good to get people coming to Tupelo and this is another way to do that."
|
