Elvis died 31 years ago, not 50 years ago

[ForrestGump]

Seems like a lot of people take John Lennon's word for it (the same John Lennon who said that there was nothing before Elvis, that the Beatles wouldn't have existed without Elvis and who, two months after seeing Elvis played Madison Square Garden, yelled out "I love you, Elvis!" when he played the same venue). You know, the "Elvis died when he went in to the Army" quote.

It's not like Elvis needs any real defending or explanation, I suppose. He was the biggest thing ever to happen to music, at least the kind that most of us have likely been listening to these past five or six decades, and not just in terms of commercial success. But, really, it's predictable that what he really was about is not only often radically misunderstood by some here on DU but is repeated as uninformed certainty (Elvis was a racist, Elvis stole black music, Elvis was a Republican, Elvis stole my bike...etc, etc, etc). I mean, after all, many of the singers that I like the best and on which I have the most recorded coverage -- such as Elvis, the Beatles, post-Beatles Paul McCartney, and others -- are fairly regularly derided by quite a number of people here. Fine if you really don't like what you have heard of these big acts, but I think a lot of it's a knee-jerk reaction to performers who have been commercially successful to a staggering degree (this sometimes feeds into the undoubtedly familiar archetype of the person who celebrates bands nobody else likes on the mistaken assumption that they're somehow understanding something lesser mortals miss when, in fact, said lesser mortals recognize the suckitude of those groups) and there's no doubt some is the inevitable result of people who fancy themselves ironic hipsters and cultural iconoclasts.

In some ways it's easier to explain why you like some obscure act than some of the giants in pop history, here on DU. Not that that there's anything wrong with musicians laboring in obscurity (whether playing the local pub or having quite a following but no contracts that'll give them wider exposure), because some of the those I know and have seen are among the best I've EVER seen (and, besides, people like Elvis and the Beatles started off that way, too, not privy to the kind of instant careers offered pretty people these days) but I'm not sure that relative obscurity or the lack thereof is a valid criteria for appreciating a band or solo performer's material.

Regardless, this is my attempt to explain why I think dismissing Elvis Presley's post-Army output out of hand is very much a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater and, further, deprives people who really do have an interest in popular music and pop culture of finding some rather glorious things hidden in that prodigious recorded output. I'll even provide some sonic and video evidence, for anyone who wants it. There's plenty more evidence about, to say the least.

Elvis entered the US Army in 1958, right after finishing the movie King Creole. He emerged in March of 1960. His sideburns were gone, at least for the next seven years, and in his first sessions he tackled a much wider diversity of material than he'd tried before. The 'Establishment' that had vilified him soon enough embraced him, at least to an extent. He started making movies again, that very soon became dominated by family-friendly travelogue-style pieces with plots he bemoaned and sometimes songs so bad that they elicited some pretty harsh studio-outtake language from their singer. To a degree, it seemed like the Hillbilly Cat -- Elvis the Pelvis -- was emasculated.

Perceptions changed when he blasted through the sound barrier with a knockout performance in a 1968 TV Special in which, in the words of one reviewer, Elvis moved his body with a lack of pretension that Jim Morrison would envy. He finally went back where he'd wanted to stay all along, out on the road again, but first the cautious Colonel Parker committed him to a record-breaking Vegas appearance that turned into a regular and increasingly unwelcome grind for the superstar's between-tours time. Nine years after that 1968 TV special, in which 33-year-old Elvis (that was a pretty advanced age, at the time, for a rock star...Elvis was sailing uncharted waters there) tore up the Burbank NBC soundstage like a leather-clad whirling dervish, he was dead. And we, collectively, never got over that. In the process, the man was to a great extent lost amidst the all-obscuring weight of his legend, and Elvis became increasingly different things to different people. In his own country, until the past decade, he was largely seen as a tabloid figure in life and after and his very real and very substantial musical legacy remained almost an afterthought -- he was rarely discussed in the US as an influential and serious recording 'artist' and most serious considerations of his musical legacy were relegated to discussions outside the country that gave the world rock 'n' roll.

Anyway, it's easy to suggest that Elvis was never the same after the Army. He most definitely wasn't, in some ways, and not just with regard to the temporary diminishing of his sideburns. For one, his voice mellowed and matured considerably and he began working on extending his range to suit the big ballads and the type of material he had particular interest in doing. Examples of the latter include Neapolitan-influenced works like "It's Now Or Never," a song that came about because he wanted to do an English-language version of "O Sole Mio" and put the word out while he was still stationed in Germany (and, by the way, it's exactly the sort of song the pre-fame teenage Elvis, fan of Mario Lanza, would have loved to do, if he'd had the voice for it). He also lost his mother in 1958, a loss that had deep effect on him. Finally, popular music and the music industry had changed quite a bit while he was in the Army. He knew it would, he recognized that it had, and he very much doubted that he would ever again reach the kind of success he'd experienced before being drafted.

I'd suggest, though, that those who hold the 1954-55 Sun records singles up as the epitome of his pre-Army works take another look at the reality of it. Elvis' style -- more accurately, his choice of material and what he deemed worthy of recording and release -- changed the minute he first entered the RCA studio in Nashville two days after his 21st birthday in January of 1956. The first two songs were songs he'd already done live (and, possibly, he recorded the first at Sun but the tape was lost) -- "I Got A Woman" and "Heartbreak Hotel" -- and the next two were ballads. Sam Phillips would have been unlikely to get excited about the ballads, and of other choices made by Elvis that first year or two with RCA Sam has said "I wouldn't have recorded that." Even songs that to a great degree channel the distinct 'Sun sound,' like "My Baby Left Me" (recorded within a month of the first session), had distinct differences relative to Elvis' Sun output. And this was all, it's important to note, exactly what Elvis wanted. It's also important to point out that it's not necessarily what his new overlords at RCA wanted, because they were very much put off by "Heartbreak Hotel" (really, what genre of song was it?) and saw their investment as likely a colossal waste of money. But Elvis was sure he was on the right track and he was able to get away with it because he was one of the first major singers to act as his own producer in the studio.

So, yeah, Elvis 'lost' that Sun sound -- to an extent, I mean, because the guts of his performances at Sun derived from the interplay of his disparate musical influences and those are apparent even in his last sessions in 1976 -- because he fully intended to go his own way. It wasn't always that way: the movie soundtracks were largely imposed on him, contractually, but for the bulk of his career Elvis recorded and performed live songs that he liked, for whatever reason, no matter how esoteric they were or how much it ruffled purists' feathers.

So my idea here is to lay forth some cursory (VERY cursory -- the dude recorded hundreds of songs!) evidence for rumors of Elvis' 1958 death being greatly exaggerated. Thanks to the magic of youtube.com, I think I can find a song for each year -- some are just sound, with no matched video, but others (mostly movie and live performances) have synched video, too.



Here we go:

1958
Three months after entering the Army Elvis, on furlough, recorded five songs in one night in Nashville -- all five dominated the charts and went at least gold, subsequently. He wore his Army uniform while recording:

A Big Hunk O' Love

1959
Elvis was in Germany in 1959, patrolling the border and getting deeply into karate, but some home recordings exist from that time (this one with Elvis on piano):

I Asked The Lord

1960
Absolutely flawless sessions in March, that yielded several hits and several lesser-known gems like the blues "Reconsider, Baby" nailed in one take, followed by soundtrack sessions for the lighthearted GI Blues and the darker Flaming Star and Wild In The Country and, finally, Elvis' first full gospel LP and another operatic hit single:

Such A Night

1961
A mix of soundtrack (including Blue Hawaii, the monster success of which meant most Elvis movies thereafter would be in the same vein) and studio sessions, with perfection of vocal and instrumentation so extreme that some tracks almost seem sterile:

Little Sister

1962
Pretty much a rerun of 1962, with good production values on movie soundtracks, still, and excellent ones on the session work -- one highlight was the following, recorded and performed in the film as an offhand tribute to Elvis' friend, Jackie Wilson:

Return To Sender (VIDEO)

1963
More movie work, including the very good Viva Las Vegas and the quickie Elvisploitation film, Kissin' Cousins, and just one studio session:

Devil In Disguise

1964
One very brief soundtrack session and two movie sessions -- the third movie he shot this year used RCA tracks from Nashville sessions, already recorded, as part of an attempt to salvage a studio that was going under:

It Hurts Me

1965
Actually probably my least favorite year for Elvis' music, the pickings limited to three soundtracks from not-so-good films that were filled with not-so-good songs, quite a change from the year before when the films were not exactly Citizen Kane but at least had some nice tunes (I do confess to unwillingly liking a couple from what may be his worst movie, 1965's Harum Scarum, just 'cos they're terminally catchy). Anyway, here's Elvis, Elly May Clampett, and Colonel Potter:

Please Don't Stop Loving Me (VIDEO)

1966
A better soundtrack session, two lesser soundtrack sessions that produced some infernally catchy tunes, and an immaculate studio session in May that blended what would become the Grammy-winning and letter-perfect How Great Thou Art gospel LP with great secular songs drawn from a diversity of sources and genres:

Run On

1967
Two more big soundtracks, one small soundtrack, and a really nice studio session in September that included guitarist Jerry Reed playing on a song he wrote, "Guitar Man," and one other that's presented here -- this session saw a sharp change in the kind of material Elvis was releasing, foreshadowing the 1968 TV special:

Big Boss Man

1968
An embarrassment of riches, really. Even the movie songs were generally much better (check out one of my favorites, "Clean Up Your Own Back Yard", for example), including resurgent hit "A Little Less Conversation." But if I have to pick one I'd go with the TV special and if I really had to pick one performance for this list it'd have to be this, I guess:

If I Can Dream (VIDEO -- this is an outtake, not the master)

1969
Some of Elvis' best sessions, in the American Sound studio in Memphis, yielded songs like "In The Ghetto," "Kentucky Rain," and "Suspicious Minds." Elsewhere he knocked off another small soundtrack contribution -- some decent songs -- then got back to what he really wanted to be doing, returning to the concert stage on July 31:

Long Black Limousine

1970
Two months in Vegas, doing two shows a night each and every night, plus his first two tours since 1957 and a few historic days at Houston's Astrodome, with a marathon Nashville recording session in June (and a fill-in-the-gaps one in September) that yielded three albums and several hit singles:

Suspicious Minds (VIDEO -- Vegas, 8/70)

1971
Sort of like the year before, with two Vegas gigs, one stint in Tahoe, a very high-energy tour, and Nashville sessions (the first saw Elvis really focusing on folk songs he was very much into at the time, including Gordon Lightfoot's "Early Morning Rain," but it was unfortunately cut short when he had to have an emergency procedure done to ease glaucoma symptoms). Elvis felt himself getting in to a rut again, much as he loved being on the stage (although more stressful, he seemed to enjoy touring more than Vegas, even this early on in his '70s live career):

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' (VIDEO -- 11/71)

1972
Vegas twice, three tours (including one that started with much anticipated gigs at Madison Square Garden -- Elvis was considered unusual in having made it to the top without ever playing a concert in NYC), and a short recording session that turned out songs like "Burning Love" and "Always On My Mind":

Bridge Over Troubled Water (VIDEO -- 4/72)

1973
A huge event in Hawaii, a satellite show that reached an unprecedented audience, then back to the grind in Vegas, Tahoe, and on the road. Two sessions at Stax in Memphis, one excellent set preceded by more problematic ones a few months earlier:

American Trilogy (VIDEO -- 1/73)

1974
No session work -- Elvis had grown tired of showing up to recording studios -- but lots of touring and two shorter stints in Vegas, a place Elvis was no longer at all taken with, and some time in Tahoe:

Help Me (VIDEO -- 6/74)

1975
They finally got him to do a session in Hollywood, just enough for one album, and he was in Vegas and on the road the rest of the time. He was noticeably heaver this year -- up and down a bit through the year -- but the concerts were very high-energy all year long, culminating in a New Year's Eve show in the Silverdome that set indoor attendance records for years to come:

T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

1976
Mohammad wouldn't come to the mountain so RCA sent a mobile recording set-up to Graceland to record Elvis in his 'Jungle Room' in February and October, yielding singles like "Moody Blue" and "Way Down." Otherwise it was all concerts, mostly on the road with short stints in Vegas and Tahoe, his last in each venue. The first tour of the year saw Elvis really going for it but as the year wore on it was apparent that he was having off nights and was not a well man. He lost a lot of weight in the Fall and had brighter eyes and more energy for the rest of the year, culminating in a storied mini tour that led to a legendary New Years performance in Pittsburgh, but something was wrong. Elvis was in great form by the end of 1976 but some weren't surprised when it turned out that he only had eight months left to live:

Reconsider, Baby (VIDEO)

1977
Free of Vegas, and not showing up for a scheduled recording session, Elvis spent much of his time on the road. His weight was up and down, his performances were sometimes sensational and sometimes way below par (occasionally within the same show), but the bottom line is that he should not have been touring this year and probably should have even taken most of 1976 off to get it together and save himself. He was, in some ways, in the end worked to death through a numbing succession of stadium concerts. Elvis Presley died on August 16, aged 42:

How Great Thou Art








Do I look dead?

[Spiritinthesky]

1. In Switzerland its illegal to cut a lawn dressed as Elvis.

From http://www.thisdayinmusic.com

Aug 16th, 1977.
On this day Elvis Presley was found dead lying on the floor in his bathroom by his girlfriend Ginger Alden, he had been seated on the toilet reading 'The Scientific Search For Jesus'. He died of heart failure at the age of 42.

He was born into poverty in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi. His older twin brother, Garon, was stillborn.

His first record for RCA, ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, was also his first US No.1.

In Switzerland it is illegal to cut a front lawn while dressed as Elvis.

He starred in 31 films.

He was fired from his job at Loew's State Theatre during 1952 after punching a fellow usher who told the manager that Elvis was getting free candy from the girl at the concession stand

Elvis holds the record for the most entries on the US Hot 100 chart with 154.

Elvis became the first rock 'n' roll artist to be honoured by the US Postal Service with a stamp.

In 1957, Elvis purchased the stately mansion 'Graceland' in Whitehaven, Memphis. He paid $102,500 for the property which had previously been used by the Graceland Christian Church.

In 1960, after completing his national service and flying back to America, he stepped on British soil for the first and only time in his life when the plane carrying him stopped for refuelling at Prestwick Airport, Scotland.

[ForrestGump]

11. I sure hope Call Me Wesley knows this

:hide:

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. This is, perhaps, the best thing I have ever read that was posted in

the Lounge. Forrest, have you ever considered writing a book using your knowledge and opinions on Elvis. As a fan of Elvis (my favorite songs are a lot of the post Army songs, but you knew that) I have read a lot of books. I have yet to read an analytical view on the man and his music. It is usually either tabloid style: focusing on his problems, the writings of an ex wife/girlfriend/wannabe. Or a combination. I think you have much to offer in the way of a book. Just my thoughts. Excellent post.

[auntAgonist]

4. I would stand in line for that book.

:hi: MrsG! I just love Forrest's writing too.

aA
kesha

[ForrestGump]

14. I DO go on...

:D

[BuelahWitch]

5. I was thinking the same thing

So I will second Mrs. Grumpy's proposal that you write a book about Elvis. Someone who had that much influence on popular culture deserves to have a decent biography.

[ForrestGump]

15. Cool! Now I know it'll sell at least three copies

(though I'd give them to y'all free, anyway) :D

There are a few allegedly definitive biographies out there now, two in recent years by Peter Guralnick (though his second -- that covered the post-Army years, as fate would have it -- was too skimpy, in my opinion) that are probably the new standard. But none of them examine the music very closely, focusing mainly on the events in his personal life and his overall societal impact. The second of Guralnick's books, like the second of author Jerry Hopkins before him, focuses more on decline than anything else -- that's obviously an important element in the man's story, ultimately the key to his early demise, but they tend to see nothing but that and gloss over the actual work that Elvis did (and, much like most filmed biographies, create the impression that Elvis was lonely and brooding all the time in the '70s).

[ForrestGump]

13. Thanks, Mrs G

:hug:

He's got to be the most written-about person of the 20th Century (granted, much of what's been written is sensationalist garbage, sometimes written by people who claim connections that don't exist) so it's kind of hard to imagine contributing much new unless I write about his participation in the Entebbe raid. But, yes, there's a lot less written on his actual music -- examples that leap to mind are a study by a music expert way back in the '70s or '80s, that talked a bit about the quality of his voice (for some reason, I never got the book), and a couple of very detailed books on his recording sessions that focus more on the actual specifics of each session in terms of more technical session aspects and not so much related to the material he was actually recording. It's possible that a book that examines what he recorded and otherwise performed in the context of the times and of his own life, and in terms of how it was shaped by outside influences and in turn influenced others, could work. Shoot...I'd read it. :D

Maybe one day.

[auntAgonist]

3. This is awesome, thank you ForrestGump once again for

your eloquent and well informed post. I wish we could recommend posts from the lounge for the front page.

:hug:

aA
kesha

[ForrestGump]

16. Thanks!

I've wished the same thing regarding being able to push some Lounge threads on to that page (not that I ever look at said page myself). We don't get no respect in here, I tell ya!

:hug:

[Faygo Kid]

6. Wow. Impressive. I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news.

There are a few moments that stand out, that are frozen in time - JFK, RFK, MLK; the Challenger explosion, Nixon's resignation, Elvis' death.

John Lennon's, too, for that matter.

Damn that Col. Parker and the junk he put Elvis into.

[ForrestGump]

17. Yeah, the Colonel was a liability well before the '70s

Not that Elvis wasn't a co-conspirator in his own downfall, even if the prime motivation was too strong a sense of loyalty to the Colonel. He actually did try to fire Parker in 1973 -- it followed a crazy closing show in Vegas (to me, it was an incredible piece of showmanship and funny to the max) in which Elvis, among other things, repeatedly criticized the venue's management hierarchy and later getting chewed out by the Colonel for doing so -- but Elvis's always-money-conscious father talked him into getting the Colonel back after the Colonel threatened action over the millions of dollars (totally bogus) he claimed Elvis owed him.

The Colonel was a piece of work, as famous among show business managers as Elvis was among singers, and I can appreciate some of his carny-inspired shenanigans even though he was ultimately a destructive force in Elvis' life and set back his career needlessly in the '60s with the film contracts. Among his most egregious excesses were when, in 1967 after Elvis slipped in the shower and sustained a severe head injury that required hospitalization (it's been suggested he didn't slip), he renegotiated his contract such that the Colonel took 50% of everything, unheard of for a manager. At the same time, with Elvis suffering concussion and numbed out by the drugs the doctors were giving him, the Colonel managed to get rid of Elvis' personal hairdresser (a man who provided Elvis with a lot of books and discussion on Eastern philosophy and so on, whose influence mystified Priscilla and threatened the Colonel's grip on Elvis), burn (with Priscilla's help) all of Elvis' well-marked and annotated books on philosophy and what was then called the 'occult,' and arrange Elvis' wedding to occur in Vegas a couple of months later. The Colonel was a Machiavellian opportunist, in general, but that was a real low point.

By the time of the 'concert years,' the Colonel was making more money off Elvis than Elvis was, because in addition to his exorbitant cut of Elvis' net he wangled merchandising deals that gave him the bulk of the profits. At the time, Bob Dylan's manager (the almost-as-legendary Albert Grossman) was expressing an interest in being Elvis' manager and Jerry Weintraub, whose Concerts West handled Elvis' live performances in the '70s, was keenly interested in the same and came close to getting it when Elvis temporarily booted Parker. I wish someone else had managed to replace the Colonel.

It's also widely considered to be thanks to the Colonel's status as an illegal immigrant that we never got a world tour out of Elvis (his concert movies and the 1973 Hawaiian satellite-broadcast shows were intended to pacify constant requests from overseas for concerts, including massive offers of money from interests in the UK and Japan), which is probably the challenge Elvis needed in the '70s. He was one of those people who needed constant challenge, otherwise he'd settle in to a harmful rut, and after the satellite show it seemed that there as nothing left to do other than a world tour. A world tour might well have saved Elvis' life, actually...extended it, at least. Instead, the Colonel's gambling problems and the millions of dollars he was into the Las Vegas Hilton International for as a result, kept Elvis basically as pricey indentured labor in Vegas much longer than he wanted to be there or than was good for him.

When the Colonel heard of Elvis' death, he immediately flew to New York to sign merchandising deals. He showed up in Memphis for the funeral, though, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, shorts, and baseball cap.

[BuelahWitch]

20. What a sick, rotten old man the Colonel was!

Didn't Priscilla take him to court after Elvis died?

Another question: I seem to remember that Streisand wanted Elvis for her leading man in the '76 "A Star is Born." Was it Elvis or Parker who turned her down, or was it all a rumor in the first place? Do you think being cast in a major feature film might have given Elvis a new challenge?

[ForrestGump]

22. He really was. He wasn't a total villain, and could be very funny and wily (there're LOTS of

anecdotes in that regard -- he was a real 'character'), but he did some despicable things.

Yep, Priscilla and the lawyers who ended up turning the Estate around, taking it from being a cash-strapped entity (Elvis basically spent and gave away his money as soon as he earned it) to being the juggernaut it became, sued him for a number of reasons. I think it was around 1980, and I know one of the big things they were going after him for was that he sold Elvis' catalog in 1973. I don't know much about the whole thing, though. I'm also far from an ardent admirer of the Estate and how they've gone about things, though they sure did manage to make some people a lot of money and have set the bar and created precedents for other entities that represent the interests of deceased celebrities.

Yep, Jon Peters and Barbra Streisand went to Elvis with A Star Is Born, meeting him backstage in Vegas in March of 1975. The usual story is that Elvis was excited by the project and that the Colonel turned it down because they wouldn't agree to Elvis having top-billing or to the salary demands. Recently, I've heard that someone claims it was Elvis himself who changed his mind about the thing -- Barbra was widely said to be very difficult to work with, at the time -- and that he used the Colonel as the 'bad cop' to deliver the news. Regardless, perhaps it wasn't the best vehicle for him, but he definitely wanted (ALWAYS wanted, right from the beginning) to do more dramatic roles.

Elvis was actually offered a lot of roles and had several written expressly for him: Robert Mitchum talked with him about costarring in Thunder Road (as his younger brother), he supposedly was wanted for The Rainmaker (and did a scene from it for his first screen test), he was intended for a role in Westside Story and the lead in Your Cheating Heart (the biopic about Hank Williams, the role filled by George Hamilton), ditto with Sweet Bird Of Youth, and John Schlesinger really wanted him to be Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy, for which he was the original choice and as whom the director visualized Joe Buck when he took on the project. There're actually quite a large number of films that were allegedly offered him, but I can't recall all the titles.

Also, in the '70s, he was contributing to a screenplay that combined some of his interests, the basic story being a now-familiar one along the lines of an ex-CIA operative seeking vengeance for the killing of someone close to him, with lots of martial arts action (in other words, it would have been the template for every Chuck Norris film). I don't know if the title was Billy Easter or if that was another never-completed project he was involved in, but in 1974 he also worked on (and shot a lot of footage for, including some of himself in a dojo) a martial arts documentary called The New Gladiators that was to focus on top martial artists of the time, with narration by Elvis.

Some of these projects might have worked well. Elvis was a natural actor, no matter that he could probably have benefited from some training -- to my mind, he was especially good at light comedy (Follow That Dream was maybe the most pure example) and at being very angry or surly (as in Jailhouse Rock, King Creole, and Flaming Star -- even in the '60s musicals, that he largely just sort of strolled through, the moments when you see a flash of anger are the most convincing parts of his performance). He actually could have been convincing, I think, as a bad guy and I remember seeing one film historian claim that he was actually better at the surly, angry rebel thing than was James Dean. Maybe I'm crazy, but I bet -- maybe with some grooming or experience in more dramatic roles -- Elvis could have pulled off the role of Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, if he'd had the chance.



Just found this interview with Jerry Weintraub -- kind of interesting:

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/jerry_weintraub_interview.shtml

[johnnie]

7. Great synopsis

Of course you didn't have to tell me.

I found this yesterday, I never heard it before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gCEGSN6ZO8

[ForrestGump]

18. That show was definitely one of the lower points

I've heard from 1976. Not awful, just not Elvis firing on all cylinders. Of course, to actually BE there (rather than listening to a soundboard tape -- they tend to be kind of sterile in feel and often you can't hear much of the audience reaction) would have been another thing, I'm sure, because Elvis' charisma was always more than enough for any stadium's capacity.

He also did this song (again, an unrehearsed surprise, complete with lyrics like "adknown undress") in Asheville in 1975, I think on July 24, and it's cool to hear even if it's not soundboard quality. Those were some truly excellent concerts, with all sorts of one-off songs performed (in addition to full versions, again unrehearsed, of older songs like "Memphis, Tennessee" he did great jobs on the recently-recorded "Shake A Hand" and "Pieces of My Life," neither ever a part of his setlist, and did "Why Me, Lord" all by himself, including JD's part). I know I've got at least one of these shows ready for you. On that subject, I've almost got the entire container of CD-Rs done but, because of my erstwhile roommate going way far off the deep-end and precipitating my move to temporary quarters, the few remaining discs will have to wait until I get myself a new place, hopefully within a couple of weeks from now. From memory (I haven't burned any since April), I think I've got ten or fewer to go.

[ghostsofgiants]

8. Good post.

I'm not an Elvis fan, but that was still a neat read.

[ForrestGump]

19. Thanks! You can't fool me, though...

now that the dreadlocks are gone, I see a ducktail in your future. :D

[Orsino]

9. But I see no reason to delay his beatification.

Thanks for the history lesson!

[ForrestGump]

21. Well, he jammed with them. The Beatles, I mean.

Oh. I see what you mean. My mistake. :D

[Nickster]

10. We had an Elvis watching marathon last night. We watched a concert from 1970, which was pretty bad.

Then we saw the Frank Sinatra show's welcome back Elvis program, when he came back from the Army. They mentioned his missing sideburns, he said that he left them in Germany. Then we watched the 25th Anniversary concert where they had the original band play to video of his Hawaii satellite show. That was a really cool show.

It was really interesting watching his 1970 Vegas work versus his later work. He seemed so interested in just getting the 1970 show over with and the TV special concert was so much better.

[johnnie]

12. I was at that 25th anniversary show

It was really cool.

[Canuckistanian]

23. His movie career did.

When was King Creole, like 1957?