August 19, 2002

Legacy is cloudy through lens of race
   By Christopher Blank, The Commercial Appeal - August 18, 2002

In April 1957, Sepia magazine, a white-owned sensationalist monthly for black readers, took up a discussion as controversial then as it is today: the case of a white kid who adopted black music and became the most successful artist of his time.

The headline: "HOW NEGROES FEEL ABOUT ELVIS."

It begins:

"As one of the most-debated subjects in the land, Elvis Presley arouses white-heat discussion everywhere. But among Negroes, the controversy over Elvis is even more explosive than among whites. Colored opinion about the hydromatic-hipped hillbilly from Mississippi runs the gamut from caustic condemnation to ardent admiration.

"Some Negroes are unable to forget that Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, home town of the foremost Dixie race baiter, former Congressman Jon Rankin. Others believe a rumored crack by Elvis during a Boston appearance in which he is alleged to have said: "The only thing Negroes can do for me is shine my shoes and buy my records."

And there it is. The first time ever that statement appeared in print, says Michael T. Bertrand, author of the book Race, Rock, and Elvis (2000, University of Illinois Press) and a Southern studies professor at the University of Mississippi in Oxford.

"Each time I teach a new class on popular music and Southern history, I still have African-American students come up after class and say, 'You know, I heard from my uncle what Elvis said.' So I eventually had to find where it came from."

Twenty-five years after Elvis's death, people still want to know how black people feel about Elvis Presley.

Was he just another white Southern racist? Was he an impostor or worse, a thief?

Changing perceptions

Many black artists have spoken out to honor the singer. From bluesman B. B. King to rapper Chuck D, these influential musicians are helping to change perceptions of Elvis.

Elvis couldn't do it himself.

Soon after the Sepia rumor started, Elvis broke his media silence for an exclusive interview in Jet, another magazine targeted at black readers.

Some said he made the remark while in Boston. Elvis had never been to Boston. Others said they heard it on Edward R. Murrow's CBS TV show Person to Person. But after Elvis's manager Col. Tom Parker demanded an appearance fee, CBS balked and Elvis didn't go on the show.

The Jet article of 1957 further confirmed what friends and associates knew about Elvis all along: He truly loved and respected black musicians.

"A lot of people seem to think I started this business," he told Jet. "But rock n roll was here a long time before I came along. Nobody can sing that kind of music like colored people. Let's face it: I can't sing like Fats Domino can. I know that."

Musicologists scoff at talk of a racist Elvis. A dirt-poor outcast at segregated Humes High School, he wore pink shirts and pomaded hair like the folks he admired down on Beale Street.

He listened religiously to Memphis's black radio station WDIA and became friends with then-disc jockey B. B. King, who later defended him in Sepia: "What most people don't know is that this boy is serious about what he's doing. He's carried away by it. When I was in Memphis with my band, he used to stand in the wings and watch us perform. As for fading away, rock and roll is here to stay and so, I believe, is Elvis. He's been a shot in the arm to the business and all I can say is 'that's my man.' "

Elvis attended black church services. Two early No. 1 hits - Don't Be Cruel and All Shook Up - were by black songwriter Otis Blackwell.

Who's the real king?

While Elvis rocketed to stardom, resentment grew among talented musicians whose similar-sounding records weren't getting the same play. The hip swiveling that merely disgusted conservative whites amounted to theft for blacks. More than one player laid claim to Elvis's gimmicks.

Blues shouter Wynonie 'Mr. Blues' Harris told Sepia: "I originated that style 10 years ago. The current crop of shouters are rank impostors. They have no right to call themselves the kings of rock and roll. I am the king of rock and roll."

In the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, guitarist Calvin New born said Elvis hung out in a black bar outside Memphis where he played. "He would sit there and watch me every Wednesday and Friday night," he said. "I'd wiggle my legs and swivel my hips and make love to the guitar."

In 1956, the Amsterdam News said Elvis had "copied Bo Diddley's style to the letter."

Flamboyant singer Little Richard pointed out stinging economic disparities: "Elvis was paid $25,000 for doing three songs in a movie and I only got $5,000, and if it wasn't for me, Elvis would starve."

But Elvis also couldn't change the times. In the same month of the Sepia article, singer Nat King Cole was famously attacked onstage by five racists during a concert in Birmingham. The 3,000 white audience members booed the assailants, but did not intervene during the beating, which the men claimed was to protest "bop and Negro music."

"It's unfortunate that Presley eventually became the white hero," Bertrand said, "because during his lifetime he represented the possibility of racial reconciliation."

What Elvis believed

Bertrand suggests that Elvis's song choices - such as If I Can Dream, Walk a Mile in My Shoes or In the Ghetto - revealed his true feelings.

But the singer's move to Hollywood struck many as an abandonment of his musical roots. Credibility with struggling black musicians faded when Elvis jumped to the big screen.

"When he first started out in his career, Presley blurred racial lines," Bertrand said. "But later on in his career he became, for lack of a better term, whiter. When he tried to become more middle class, he lost what people perceived were his black characteristics."

After Elvis's death in August 1977, white America's continued idolization of the singer didn't ride well with many black people who, particularly during the 1980s, saw their contributions to pop music overlooked and underexposed.

Continued resentment

In 1990, anti-Elvis sentiment exploded from black artists. The group Living Colour lashed out against the music industry through their song Elvis Is Dead: "I've got a reason to believe/We all won't be received at Graceland."

Raging against gang violence, poverty and inequality, rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy shouted what have become some of the group's most enduring lyrics.

"Elvis was a hero to most/ but he didn't mean (expletive) to me you see/ Straight up racist, that sucker was simple and plain/ Mother (expletive) him and John Wayne/ Cause I'm black and I'm proud, I'm ready and hyped plus I'm amped/ Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps."

Recently, Chuck D explained that his attack was against the Elvis whose roots were whitewashed by his legacy.

"The Elvis that died wasn't the same Elvis that was coming up," Chuck D said. "They said he was king. Based on who and what? Based on the quality of the people judging or the quality of his music? What does 'King of Rock and Roll' mean growing up in a black household? My Chuck Berry records are still in my house. Little Richard is still in the house. Otis Redding and James Brown. The King of what?"

Losing perspective

Memphis, Elvis's kingdom, is a near perfect reflection of the problems with the music industry and society at large.

The Bluff City is known for its blues. Known for its soul. Known for B. B. King, Isaac Hayes, Aretha Franklin, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Booker T. & the MGs, Al Green and one of the most influential recording studios of all time: Stax.

While Elvis shrines were popping up all over town, black contributions were being dismantled. The Stax recording studio was demolished in 1989. The same fate nearly befell one of the Civil Rights era's most important landmarks, the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.

As much as singer Mavis Staples loved Elvis and his music, his unbridled legacy bothered her.

"What helped Elvis was that when he did interviews, he would tell that he got it from blacks," Staples said. "Now one thing that I could say for myself was that when I came back to Memphis after Stax closed, maybe about five years later, I only saw Elvis. And that's when I said, 'wait a minute.' Something should be out here about Stax. Just because it folded doesn't mean it didn't happen. And the people of Memphis should have remembered all of the music."

Soul singer Isaac Hayes, back into the limelight after his stint as South Park's Chef, said he understands how Elvis's memory became entangled in broader issues of race.

"Elvis was due the respect he had. No animosity. No sour grapes. Elvis was the man," he said. "The thing was that we didn't get what we (the black artists) deserved. Ignorance is one of the main things. Racism? It's one of the factors. I would say it took the whole world outside of Memphis to recognize what a treasure black Memphis had."

Regaining perspective

In the past 25 years, the world has improved for black people not only in the music industry, but in other areas as well.

Again, Memphis exemplifies this. Graceland isn't the only tourist attraction anymore.

The Rock and Soul Museum traces the history of the blues. The National Civil Rights Museum (which rescued the Lorraine Motel) depicts the 20th Century's great American struggle. And next April is the grand opening of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music on the original site.

Folks in the music industry now have more respect for black artists, says Chuck D, including the new artists who seem to be walking in Elvis's shoes.

If ever there were a modern parallel, white rapper Eminem is a shoo-in.

Like Elvis, Eminem grew up poor and honed his gift by studying black music and culture. Like Elvis, he's popular with whites. Like Elvis, he's become one of the most successful in the business. And like Elvis, Eminem has caught the acting bug. His debut film 8 Mile premieres Nov. 8.

Eminem doesn't hesitate to point out the irony on his latest album The Eminem Show, produced by rapper and mentor Dr. Dre.

"I'm not the first king of controversy/I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley/To do black music so selfishly/ And use it to get myself wealthy (Hey)/ There's a concept that works."

Chuck D, a founding father of hip-hop and pop musicologist, said that accepting Elvis, and by extension other white crossover artists, might be easier for black Americans now that black artists are getting more credit and exposure.

Several years ago, the Fox TV network sent him to Graceland to do a black-perspective news story about Elvis. The assignment opened his eyes.

"Elvis had to come through the streets of Memphis and turn out black crowds before he became famous," Chuck D said. "It wasn't like he cheated to get there. He was a bad-ass white boy. Just like Eminem is doing today. The thing about today is that Eminem has more respect for black artists and black people and culture today than a lot of black artists themselves. He has a better knowledge where it comes from. Elvis had a great respect for black folk at a time when black folks were considered niggers, and who gave a damn about nigger music?"

The battle for Elvis's "soul" continues. The Disney cartoon Lilo & Stitch, one of the first Elvis-themed films to show minorities (in this case, Hawaiian natives) digging Elvis's music, is a step in dismantling the racist rumor and acquainting a young, multicultural generation with his music.

Race relations are a constant effort, says Jack Soden, CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises.

"Time and time again in marketing sessions it ends up on the list of things we want to continually put forth," Soden said. "We've got a responsibility for the history, the pop culture and the legacy to find a way to correct those misperceptions."

Improving business is also a factor. Not just in record sales, but in getting the community to support the headquarters of Elvis's empire.

After all, how much pride could the mostly black neighborhood of Whitehaven take in Graceland if its celebrity occupant represented racism? How does that affect the morale of the 400 employees, many of whom live nearby? How does that rub off on the mostly white tourists who are a major source of income for Whitehaven businesses?

"Let's face it, 98 percent of our visitors are from outside the city," Soden said. "We know that we're an economic contribution to the neighborhood. We know for a fact that we're going to be here five years, 10 years, 20 years from now."

Graceland wants the Memphis community to know it cares. Its biggest charity effort is Presley Place, a 12-unit apartment complex that houses homeless people until they're back on their feet.

Despite the efforts by historians, musicians and corporate executives, getting the word out means reaching one person at a time.

In May, hip-hop singer Mary J. Blige apologized after singing Blue Suede Shoes on VH1's Divas Live.

She told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "I prayed about it (performing the song) because I know Elvis was a racist. But that was just a song VH1 asked me to sing. It meant nothing to me. I didn't wear an Elvis flag. I didn't represent Elvis that day. I was just doing my job like everybody else."

This year's extra exposure will help change minds, certainly. That, and the continued efforts of Elvis's black acquaintances.

Before his death last year, Rufus Thomas gave an interview to the TV program American Routes, which aired yesterday on WKNO. The former WDIA disc jockey and legendary Stax singer said: "Well a lot of people said Elvis stole our music. Stole the black man's music. The black man, white man, has got no music of their own. Music belongs to the universe."

Thomas went on to say that he played Elvis's tunes on the radio until the program manager told him to stop because black people didn't want to hear them. Then Elvis showed up at a WDIA fund-raising event for black handicapped children.

"When Elvis wiggled that leg, the crowd went nuts. He walked right off the stage and people were storming that stage. The next day I started back to playing Elvis again. Going to show you that no one person can tell you what another group might like."

August 19, 2002

Why Colonel Parker could not leave the building
   By Tom McGurk - Sunday Business Post
   Dublin, Ireland, 18 August, 2002


I suspect that few of us, including the loyal legions of Elvis Presley fans 25 years on, realise the full extent of how 'The King's' iconic 20th century status was moulded by a bizarre individual better known as his legendary manager Colonel Tom Parker.

Rarely can a star have been launched into the music firmament by a less likely subject.

Not only was Colonel Tom Parker not a colonel, he wasn't Tom Parker either. His real name was Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk and he was born in Breda, Holland, in 1909.

Even as a child, he astonished everyone at his ability to make money. He began in the entertainment business at age 6. He persuaded some of the local kids to put on a circus and then he charged the rest of them to attend. At 16, he disappeared under a cloud to the United States and, unable to gain legal status, he joined the US Army in order to assimilate into the country.

On leaving the army to join a carnival called The Johnny J Jones Exposition, he simply took the name of his former commanding officer. Thus he became Colonel Tom Parker.

There is a simple, if pathetic, reason why Elvis never performed to his millions of fans outside the US: The Colonel was terrified that his illegal status would be discovered and he would not be allowed back into the US.

This was only the beginning. The career of the 20th century's greatest popular musical icon was destined to be entwined with the mysterious life of an obscure Dutchman who exercised total control over the Presley industry until well after Elvis's death when the Presley estate finally took legal action to get rid of him.

Parker ran the fat-man competitions for the Johnny J Jones Exposition until one day in Tampa, Florida, he discovered that the local humane society needed a director. It wasn't so much that he cared about animals but the job came with a house, car, office and a supply of petrol.

The job suited his unique genius and he bombarded the local papers with tear-jerking stories of lost dogs, the need for contributions and the crisis of animals in need. For the first time ever, the Tampa Humane Society began to show a considerable profit.

Buoyed by his success, the Colonel decided to open a pet cemetery behind his office. Among the services offered was a lifetime contract for fresh flowers on the graves, which Parker promised to arrange with a local florists. In fact, he got the `throwaways' from the florists and arranged them throughout the cemetery.

Another side of Parker's impresario genius, which may have had implications for the future rock icon, was a show called Colonel Tom Parker and his Dancing Chickens.

It consisted of a bizarre performance where, to a background of live country music, chickens danced on straw. Concealed under the straw was a hot plate which, understandably, helped to produce the desired effect.

Parker then moved into music management taking a singer called Eddie Arnold to country music fame. At the same time, he forged links with the William Morris Agency and movie mogul Abe Lastfogel that would later become determining factors in Elvis Presley's career.

Legend has it that after the young Elvis spent $4 one afternoon in the Memphis Sun studios making a record for his mother's birthday, his obvious talent was spotted and The Colonel was among the first to hear of his extraordinary charisma. He finally got Presley by buying out his Sun contract and by promising him exposure outside the state.

Parker began by taking 25 per cent of Presley's earnings. But by 1967, he was able to negotiate a 50 per cent share of all Presley's earnings -- astonishing considering what Presley was then earning.

In retrospect, it was The Colonel's needs in the first instance which were to define and, some might argue, blight Presley's career.

Parker set up a music publishing company (of which he owned half) and songwriters offering material to Presley had to give half of their royalties to that company. Not surprisingly, the major writers refused and over the years Presley's material suffered accordingly.

From the outset, Parker exercised absolute control over Presley's career and decided that, as Elvis became more and more popular, he would deliberately limit his live and television performances.

The endless stream of Elvis movies was a strategy devised to circumvent the problem of Parker's, and thereby Presley's, inability to travel overseas.

Contractually, Parker was able to exercise absolute control and make vast profits on royalties while at the same time turning Presley into an international star.

Later, as the quality of the movies dipped into mediocrity, Parker remained unconcerned turning down quality movie offers time after time when the producers found his demands too outrageous.

Over the years, it emerged that Parker's secret vice was his chronic addiction to gambling. One night, he apparently lost $1.25 million in two hours at a table in Las Vegas.

Equally, the explanation as to why Presley's final years saw him following a gruelling performance schedule in Vegas -- sometimes twice a day even as his health and sanity were declining -- may lie in Parker's gambling addiction.

Although he had the greatest living star on the planet on his books, here was the old Dancing Chicken impresario having his act grind out two shows a night while he hit the tables.

As Presley, at only 40, headed for total physical collapse, there is no evidence of Parker attempting to halt the slide. The suspicion grows that The Colonel may well have calculated that at that stage a dead Presley was going to be even less trouble and more profitable than a live one.

Out of that tragedy would emerge his total control of the legacy. He knew that an early and tragic end would catapult his star into the showbiz constellation as it had done with Marilyn Monroe before him.

With his genius for marketing, Colonel Tom Parker made Elvis Presley an international conglomerate. But one wonders at what price to the fullest achievement of that beautiful, haunting and unforgettable talent?

August 19, 2002

Foreigners spice up weeklong 'celebration'
   By Donnie Snow, The Commercial Appeal - August 18, 2002

The streets are clearing some. The foreign accents asking for directions have moved from Grace land and Beale Street on to the airport and the Interstate.

And the pompadour-and-sideburns look is soon to be returned to the rockabilly retro kids in Midtown.

The storm that was the nine-day Elvis anniversary is finished, and what a storm it was.

"This is the biggest amount of coverage we've ever had for Elvis week," Graceland spokesman Todd Morgan said. "We haven't totaled anything, but it was the largest amount of press that we've ever seen."

With a large part of the world watching, Memphis was spiced with international flavors the last week, as fans from around the globe came to pay their respects on the 25th anniversary of Elvis's death.

"I wouldn't have missed it for anything," said Canadian Sylvia Green from her cell phone just north of Nashville, driving with friend Patty Middlebrook. Green, like many tourists in town for Elvis Week, was on her way home Saturday, in her case, Huntsville, Ontario, three hours north of Toronto.

"It was much better this year, I think," she said, comparing this year's anniversary week to the 20th and 15th. "I went to the concert last night, and it was really special. And so was the vigil except for the rain and being poorly organized."

Green's been coming to Memphis for Elvis Week every five years the last 20 years. For the last five years she has also been making annual trips to the Collingwood Elvis Festival, about an hour south of where she lives.

Even though the Collingwood's four-day festival just finished a couple weeks ago, Green, who booked her hotel room a year ago (which was an effort), said she wasn't the least bit Elvised-out.

"Actually," she pointed out, "(coming to Memphis for Elvis week) is just like visiting a family member. It's a little depressing at times, like at the concert last night, everybody was there except for the main attraction.

"I took two candles up, one for my son who died when he was little (and one for Elvis.)"

Though Elvis Week is in remembrance of Presley's death, most spent the week having fun or just running around town for all the countless events.

"We've been chasing our tails all week," said David Lee, an Elvis Tribute Artist in Memphis from Birmingham competing in Images of the King. Lee placed second in Collingwood, which gave him a pass to the finals here.

Other than a few day trips to some of this year's new Elvis attractions, Lee's been busy singing in Elvis tribute concerts like the gospel show at New Daisy during the vigil Thursday night and Friday morning.

Lee knows what Green is going through, having made the drive to Collingwood with seven family members. "We're still talking about that trip."

Unfortunately, Lee hasn't had time to take in the week's events as he'd have liked to. "We haven't even been up to Graceland this trip," he said. "I've been so many times, but it's kind of like going to church.

"We have paid respects, but not like the rest of the fans. There's so much going on that you kind of get pulled in so many different ways."

Because of so many options, hard choices have to be made.

"I didn't go to the candlelight vigil," said Kim Adelman, professed Elvis fan and author of The Girls' Guide to Elvis.

"I think most people went, not for Elvis, but for the sense of community," she said about the vigil. "The best thing (during Elvis Week) was the Elvis seminar at the University of Memphis.

"And a real highlight for me, was when I hung out at Grace land on Wednesday afternoon with a bunch of Elvis Tribute Artists, having my picture taken." Adelman's notion is that the week is about having fun, and enjoying its uniqueness.

Morgan said, "Elvis Week is not a nine-day wake. It's a celebration, and it always is.

"Every year it's people from all over the world, and great fun. A major anniversary year like this just means bigger, splashier, and more people."

Lots more people, and lots more interest from the worldwide community.

"In my opinion, the parade set the tone for the whole week," said Jimmy Ogle, director of Memphis's Rock and Soul Museum, and parade marshal. "It was the first, it was really neat looking down from Elvis (Presley's Memphis club) onto the streets dancing and holding hands watching Elvis on the Jumbotron. Memphis has really put its good face on for the world."

He said the foreign visitors are "like dealing with your mom, just as nice as they can be. They just want you to smile, sell them a ticket and tell them the story. I've got about 200 Frenchmen to go deal with now."

Ogle said he's done more than 15 interviews with international media. "They were most interested in Elvis's roots, his living conditions, being a common man a humble man, that's the story this week."

Green, 61, making her way back to Canada, looks forward to the 30th.

"If I'm still alive, I certainly hope to."

August 19, 2002

TCB Band helps Elvis 'family'close out week
   By Cindy Wolff, The Commercial Appeal - August 18, 2002


After nine days of relentless Elvis events, the city rocked with its king one last time with concerts and other activities Saturday night.

The largest was the Farewell Tribute Concert in the Peabody Ballroom, where 2,400 fans from around the world came to see the TCB Band and hear others who played with Elvis.

It was the first time that Faye Harris has ever been to Memphis during Tribute Week. She got to spend her last night in the city in the front row center seat at the concert at The Peabody.

"I ordered my tickets off the Internet," said Harris, 57, from Cincinnati. "I had no idea I'd be sitting this close to all of them. I'm so glad I got to see them because everyone's getting older. You don't know how much longer they will be alive."

SusanTheresa Spatafora of Chicago wore battery-charged earrings flashing traffic light signals as she and her friends waited for the show to start.

She's gotten barely six hours' sleep in the 12 days she's been in Memphis.

"I'll sleep when I get home," said Spatafora. "If you're getting sleep here, then you're missing out on all the fun."

She and her friend Danny Karin Brandl, from Munich, Germany, sat a few rows behind Harris.

"His music has always taken me through the hard times," said Spatafora. "We are all family here because we love Elvis and his music. Every time I come and see my friends again, some from Germany or France or here, it feels like coming home."

The concert began with former Elvis drummer D. J. Fontana sitting in on a few songs performed by the Terry Mike Jeffrey Band.

They started with Good Rock in' Tonight, then followed it with Heartbreak Hotel and That's All Right Mama.

Sun Studios founder Sam Phillips managed to come out and speak to the crowd, despite battling a flulike illness this week.

He told the audience he was on some "anti-somethings and prednisone." Phillips missed the Legends concert Tuesday night and the salute to Elvis on Wednesday because he was sick.

"I knew I needed to get up and get down here to talk to you people before you all left," said Phillips. "We're here simply because of the love he gave to us. Now, we're giving it to him."

Former Elvis backup singer Charlie Hodge, who had open-heart surgery last year, performed several songs with Jeffrey's band before the TCB Band took the stage.

Other guests at the farewell tribute included Joe Esposito, Jerry Schilling, Marian Cocke, Al Dvorin and Larry Geller.

But it was the TCB Band - featuring James Burton, Ronnie Tutt, Glen D. Hardin and Jerry Scheff - that the crowd waited to see.

Meanwhile, at the Holiday Inn Select at Airways and Democrat, the ballroom was packed for the last night of the Images of the King finals. Elvis tribute artists from around the world spent last week competing at the hotel.

While that crowd mainly consisted of tourists, locals filled the P&H Cafe in Midtown for the Dead Elvis Ball.

The antithesis of Images of the King, the P&H show featured local theater actors doing their own tribute to Elvis and the week he died 25 years ago.

August 18, 2002

Elvis Hits Collection Gets Royal Treatment
   By Derek Caney - Sun Aug 18, 7:32 AM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Elvis is in your jeans." "He's in your cheeseburgers." "Elvis is in Nutty Buddies!" "Elvis is in your mom!"

Never has punk novelty act Mojo Nixon's 1987 song "Elvis is Everywhere"* been more accurate than now.

In the year of the 25th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, the King of rock 'n' roll topped the British charts. His songs grace Walt Disney's "Lilo & Stitch" movie soundtrack. Hundreds of thousands of fans each year converge at Graceland, his home in Memphis, to pay homage to "The King."

Now, taking a page from the handbook of his most loyal subjects, The Beatles, his record company will release on Sept. 24 "Elvis 30 #1 Hits," a new collection of his chart-topping tunes with vastly improved sound aimed at reaching a new generation of fans.

The album boasts hits like "Heartbreak Hotel," "Don't Be Cruel," "Burning Love" and "Can't Help Falling In Love" that span from the 1950s to the 1970s. Executive producer David Bendeth spent the about five months mixing the songs from the original master tapes for what he hopes will be the best sound quality of any Elvis release.

"I think we've created a high watermark with this album," said Bendeth, who has worked with such acts as Bruce Hornsby and the Cowboy Junkies. "What has happened previously is that people heard an Elvis record, they felt sonically distant. What we've tried to do is put Elvis right there in the room with you. It's going to help people understand his talents better."

BIG LIKE THE BEATLES

Elvis's record label, RCA, is hoping for a swell of popularity akin to The Beatles' "1," a similar greatest hits collection of the Fab Four's No. 1 hits that was one of the best selling albums of 2001.

"'1' set the benchmark for the sales you can achieve when you have an iconic musical entity," said Richard Sanders, executive vice president and general manager of RCA. "That's what Elvis is, so we need to repolish Elvis to ensure that he's seen the same way."

But RCA could face an uphill battle. Since the advent of compact discs in the mid-1980s, RCA has littered the market with Elvis releases. At one point, some 150 different Elvis albums were available around the world -- this from a man who released more than 50 albums in his 42 years of life.

And that's not counting the scores of compilations and box sets on the market. By comparison, the Beatles have around 20 albums in print. So any cynicism on the part of Elvis fans could be forgiven.

"We had mishandled the releases of Elvis," said Sanders, who joined the company last year. "We had oversaturated the market and we were on the verge of milking the well dry."

So RCA is paring down the Elvis catalog to no more than 50 releases, and it plans on remixing the albums to match the high-quality sound of "30 #1 Hits."

8-YEAR-OLD ELVIS FANS

The album is part of a push by RCA and the Presley estate to market Presley to younger fans. JXL, a dance music DJ, remixed the lesser-known Elvis song "A Little Less Conversation," which was used in a Nike advertisement and reached No. 1 on the British sales charts.

What's more, several scenes "Lilo & Stitch" feature the lead characters singing and dancing to Elvis tunes.

"With 'Lilo & Stich' we're reaching two or three generations removed from Elvis, from 5-year-olds to their older siblings to their parents," Sanders said. "The same thing with the Nike commercial and the JXL hit. Elvis is now on modern rock and dance radio stations. With '30 #1 Hits,' we're trying to reach all of them."

"My 8-year-old daughter knows all the words to 'Burning Love,"' Bendeth said. "She got it from 'Lilo & Stitch.' There's something about the timbre of Elvis' voice that turns people on. When kids hear 'Hound Dog,' they go nuts."

D.J. Fontana, who played drums with Elvis between 1954 and 1968, applauded the new collection. "It's an amazing difference," he said. "He would have loved this. And hopefully this will get people to focus on the man's talent. Because that's what was most important."

Many of the songs on "30 #1 Hits" are being mixed for the first time. "It wasn't easy," Bendeth said. "There were times where we really felt the spirit of Elvis was helping us out."

One song, "It's Now Or Never," was giving Bendeth and engineer Ray Bardani some trouble. After 10 hours of tinkering with the song, they remained unsatisfied with the results.

"So we took a break and decided just to leave it," Bendeth recalls. "And when we got back, the vocal just sounded better. I wish I could take credit."

"The only explanation is that Elvis was with us," he said.

(* "Elvis is Everywhere" is published by Muffin Stuffin Music)

August 18, 2002

CNN LARRY KING LIVE

Interview With Linda Thompson

August 18, 2002

Former radio host remembers Elvis
   By Terry Pace, Times Daily - August 17, 2002


FLORENCE - Elvis Presley's fans relived heartbreaking grief and sorrow Friday as the world marked the 25th anniversary of the singer's startling death.

But in the Shoals, a former radio personality who both dined and double-dated with the "King of Rock 'n' Roll" prefers to recall personal memories of Presley in his musical prime.

"I used to host a little program called 'Tommy's Turntable' from 10 till 12 every Saturday morning," recalled businessman Tommy Van Sandt, who was 16 when he met and befriended the future superstar.

"I was a sophomore at Coffee High School, and one day, Sam Phillips calls - I had never heard of Sam Phillips in my life," Van Sandt continued. "He said, 'I've got a young man who's cut a record over here in Memphis. His name is Elvis Presley, and he'd like to come over and be on your program.' "

The next Saturday, the 19-year-old Sun Records artist pulled up to the WJOI studios in a pink, two-door Cadillac.

"At that time, the radio station was down by the Indian Mound," Van Sandt said. "It wasn't long before I found out that Sam Phillips was from Florence, had started Sun and owned a radio station in Memphis. He eventually bought WJOI and turned it into WQLT."

On every "Tommy's Turntable" show, cheerleaders from area high schools would present a popular weekend feature called "Who's Dating Who?"

"Elvis came in, and we played the record - and those girls just went crazy," Van Sandt remembered. "He was just nice as he could be."

After that first broadcast, Van Sandt and Presley had lunch together at Ramon's Bar-B-Q, on the corner of Court and Alabama streets downtown (where the Regions Bank building now stands).

"He got a Bar-B-Q in a Bean Pot, which was barbecue in beans - he loved that Bean Pot," Van Sandt said. "After lunch, he got ready to head back to Memphis. Before he left, he said, 'Do you want me to come back next week?' I said, 'Well, sure!' He came back the second week, and it got even bigger."

Van Sandt's father, Joe, owned WJOI at the time. "Tommy's Turntable" became so popular that Van Sandt was asked to emcee concerts at the Sheffield Community Center.

By that time, Presley's two-sided single debut - "That's All Right, Mama"/"Blue Moon of Kentucky" - was a regional hit.

"I introduced Elvis when he performed his shows there," Van Sandt recalled. "Before one of those Saturday shows, he called me on a Wednesday and said, 'I thought we might go get a burger after the show. How about getting me a date?' I said, 'Well, sure.' "

Van Sandt called a friend, Jane Harris (now Pride), whose mother wouldn't give her permission to go on a blind date.

"There was a pretty little girl named Betty Goodman - her dad owned a little general store in north Florence," he recalled. "I asked her, and she was just thrilled."

After Presley performed two back-to-back shows at the center (the Tri-Cities Daily later reported that "pandemonium broke loose!"), Presley, Goodman, Van Sandt and his date climbed into Presley's Cadillac and drove to Lewis' Diner, at the intersection of Second Street and Woodward Avenue in Muscle Shoals (the site of a present-day Amoco gas station).

"We had a great time, and he really seemed to like Betty," Van Sandt said. "He drove us back to the community center. We got in my car, and he and Betty got in theirs. We went our way, and they went theirs.

"Now, I understand from the grapevine that Elvis dated her a couple of more times or so," he added. "I've heard that she went over to a couple of shows in Memphis and that he bought her a fur coat."

Goodman eventually married Phil Scoggins and moved to Memphis, where they raised three children. The Florence girl who once dated the destined "King of Rock 'n' Roll" died in an auto accident years later.

"Right after that last show he did here, Elvis just took off," Van Sandt said. "His manager at the time was Bob Neal, who was a disc jockey. When we were backstage, the crowd was going wild and all the girls were screaming. Bob said, 'This is getting too big for me.' A little bit after that, Col. Tom Parker took over and Sam Phillips sold Elvis to RCA."

Van Sandt's role as Presley's Sheffield Community Center emcee is recounted in a 1995 book by Lee Cotten, "Did Elvis Sing in Your Hometown? Elvis on Tour in the Fifties" (High Sierra Press).

Tickets to those shows ranged from 75 cents to a dollar, with standing-room-only crowds topping 2,800.

"Elvis sent me Christmas cards, and I had one of those original 45s of his first single," Van Sandt said. "I gave them all to girls I was dating. I wasn't thinking about the future, you know, and how much they might mean today.

"But I still have fond memories of Elvis," Van Sandt added. "I know that everybody says it, but it's true. He was a nice guy - a really nice guy."

August 18, 2002

Elvis Fan Relives Teenage Years
   By LINDA DEUTSCH,  Yahoo!News


MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Many years ago, when I was just a kid, a voice on the radio changed my life and American music forever. It was Elvis Presley singing "Heartbreak Hotel." I started a fan club and dreamed of going to Memphis to see The King.

But life got in the way. I became a journalist working in Los Angeles, traveled the country covering big stories, but somehow my travels never took me to Graceland — until this year. I heard about the planned 25th anniversary Elvis Week in Memphis and the old feelings returned. More than four decades after I first heard The King at age 12, I was still a fan and I wanted to be there.

Then in May my friend, Chuck Hirshberg, who was working on a commemorative book for the anniversary, called out of the blue and asked me about Elvis. He remembered that I'd spoken of being a fan and asked if I would like to make my first trip to Graceland with him for a story in "Elvis Then and Now." Wow, would I ever!

Faster than you can say Hound Dog, I packed my Elvis T-shirt and everything I owned that was pink and black — Elvis' favorite colors — and we were on our way. I was going to relive the happiest times of my teenage years.

My mother, getting into the spirit, found some memorabilia — a letter from Elvis congratulating me on my high school graduation, a yellowed clipping from my hometown New Jersey paper, The Asbury Park Press, about my fan club and our campaign to have Dick Clark devote an entire "American Bandstand" to Elvis music on his 24th birthday. And there was a picture of me with Clark, presenting my petition. I never looked happier.

I stayed at Graceland from the minute it opened until closing time, and when I left I knew I would be back. But little did I know that I would return within three months to cover the largest Elvis Week in history for The Associated Press.

This week's outpouring of love from 35,000 fans convinced me once again that those of us who discovered Elvis in the late 1950s were onto something bigger than we could have imagined.

Visiting Graceland was like stepping into a time machine. Here were the rooms I had studied in photographs, the living room and rumpus room where Elvis and his Memphis Mafia hung out, the dining room where he shared meals with his beloved parents, Gladys and Vernon. Here was the famous pink Cadillac he bought for his mother in the first burst of fame which transformed him from a simple truck driver into a millionaire superstar.

And, of course there was the music everywhere, that deep, rich voice and those throbbing melodies that defined a musical revolution.

I remember the day in 1956 that I first heard "Heartbreak Hotel." A disc jockey came on the radio and announced he was about to play something very unusual. I heard the sound and was thunderstruck. I had what would later be called that rock 'n' roll feeling — a long way from "Your Hit Parade" and the songs of stars such as Patti Page and Perry Como. This was exciting music. I can only describe my reaction as visceral and I still feel it today when I hear Elvis sing.

I spread the word to my two closest girlfriends, Florence Lacity and Carol Mennie, and we went in search of Elvis' records. Mind you, we had never seen this Elvis Presley, just heard him on the radio. Once we saw him on television — this extraordinarily beautiful man with a magnetism that jumped off the screen, we were hooked.

The furor that surrounded Elvis' performances and his swiveling hips made it even better. Now we were rebels, the first wave of a revolution. And if some thought it wasn't cool to like Elvis, we knew better.

I decided to start a fan club and, with an early instinct for journalism, I started a newsletter, the Elvis Times. My father had a mimeograph machine I could use for duplication and my parents, ever indulgent of an only child, agreed to pay the postage for mailings across the country and around the world to my 300 members. The beginning of my career? Perhaps.

I wrote to Tom Diskin, an aide to Elvis' manager and he wrote back encouraging the fan club idea. Later, I would write to Judy Spreckels, a close friend of Elvis, and she, too, answered my letters. It was as if I were part of the inner circle. I was learning the confidence that came with being involved in something important, something in the news.

I never met Elvis but I did see him in person once, which was a powerful experience. In 1957 we heard that Elvis was performing in Philadelphia and we persuaded Carol's mother to take us on a bus to see the concert.

It was a scene of incredible pandemonium with kids fainting and screaming. When Elvis came onstage, the building shook with screams as if an earthquake ( news - web sites) had struck. It had. It was Elvis in black leather singing songs that could barely be heard above the roar.

We were the fan club and we thought we'd have great seats. But, alas, we wound up in nosebleed heaven. Elvis was a remote, wiggling figure far, far away from us. But when I looked at my friend Carol, tears were streaming down her face.

"Carol, what's wrong?" I asked.

"HE LOOKED AT ME!" she exclaimed.

I would always cite that as an example of the Elvis magic. Everyone thought he looked at them.

This week I stood with thousands of Elvis fans in a driving rainstorm as candles were lit and an all-night vigil began in Elvis' memory. Many of the fans were from my generation and people kept asking them why Elvis was so important to them and why they had come here.

Hirshberg answered that in the part of the book about my trip to Graceland.

"You could say that Elvis provided the soundtrack to their adolescence," he wrote. "They grew up with him, which was wonderful, but unfortunately weren't allowed to grow old with him, which is a melancholy symbol of life's disappointments. Graceland brings these conflicting emotions to the surface; that's what makes visiting such a unique experience."

August 17, 2002 (updated - August 18, 2002 - Source: EPE)

ELVIS: THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT
   August 16, 2002 - 8:00 PM, The Pyramid arena in Memphis

Priscilla Presley, the former wife of Elvis Presley, looks over at the newly unveiled cover of the Elvis Presley album of his 31 number one hit records, at the Elvis Presley 25th anniversary concert at the Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee, August 16, 2002.

  more info. / photos

Concert reunites Elvis, fans once more
   By Christopher Blank, The Commercial Appeal - August 17, 2002

After a week of speaking the name, studying the photos and listening to old recordings, even fans can start to feel as though Elvis Presley never endured the thousand natural shocks flesh is heir to. The legacy occasionally feels as complex as a quartet of syllables, a perfect face and a warbling voice.

But Friday night's "Elvis - The Concert'' at the Pyramid spectacularly united the three into the closest audiences will ever get to experiencing the real Elvis since his death in 1977. Though the show has been around for several years, the 25th anniversary of the performer's death warranted something special, something different.

And that's just what was delivered to the sold-out audience of Elvis fans gathered in Memphis from around the world. To the delight of all, Lisa Marie Presley even sang. Not live, however.

After intermission, the newlywed (to Nicolas Cage) came onstage and tentatively introduced a tune from her new album (to be released soon).

"You made me/I love you" out came her slightly country-esque voice.

The tune, written for her father, brought the crowd to its feet. Lisa Marie didn't have to say much. Instead the president of Elvis Presley Enterprises left the talking to her mother, Priscilla, who introduced the emotionally charged show by saying "you have given so much back to him.''

The production famously grafts Elvis's original vocals and live concert footage projected on a screen, with a hard-rocking band playing live beneath.

The first part of this special concert focused on young Elvis, creating a montage from the Ed Sullivan Show and various movies. More documentary than dramatic, the first half didn't work the same kind of magic as the second, which uses footage primarily from Elvis's concerts in the 1970s.

It is in the latter shows - when the performer locks eyes on his audience, karate-chops in a jumpsuit and curls his lip while singing "hunka hunka burnin' love'' - that the legacy of Elvis truly connects.

If ever he were to have pulled a Lazarus, however, there was no better time than the revival of the show's first half, when an extended set of gospel tunes provided the evening's most stunning moment. This is what has been missing - a reminder that Elvis's three Grammies (plus one for life achievement) were for gospel tunes.

His backing vocal groups reunited for this event. First, the Jordanaires brought Peace in the Valley. Then the Imperials helped Elvis with He Touched Me, J.D. Sumner and the Stamps rounded the bases with Why Me Lord. Finally, the Sweet Inspirations joined in for the grand finale of the first half, How Great Thou Art.

The concert continued well past 11:30 p.m., concluding Elvis Week by showing that the singer still has the stuff, even if he's no longer with us.

The video for A Little Less Conversation came after Priscilla's announcement that Elvis Presley Enterprises is just getting started with new ways to introduce Elvis to future generations. From remastered and remixed recordings to possible Broadway musicals, there's no end to Elvis's legacy.

August 17, 2002

Priscilla Presley Greets Elvis' Fans
   The Associated Press


MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Priscilla Presley greeted thousands of cheering Elvis fans at a concert Friday night marking the 25th anniversary of the King's death, telling them ``you're helping Elvis make history again.''

``I want to thank you for your loyalty and support for Elvis. You have given so much back to him,'' she told the crowd of 14,000 jammed into The Pyramid arena in Memphis. She promised the concert would ``blow you away.''

With that, the arena went dark and an enormous video screen filled with images of Elvis singing some of his trademark songs. On stage, members of his original backup musicians played. Among them was Elvis' first drummer, D.J. Fontana, who drew his own ovation when the cameras focused on him.

This year's festivities marking Elvis' death on Aug. 16, 1977, at Graceland have drawn the largest gathering of fans — an estimated 35,000 — since Presley died.

Presley's daughter Lisa Marie appeared onstage for about one minute to introduce a song she had written about her father. The obviously nervous Lisa Marie, who strongly resembles her father, said she would not sing the song but that a recording of it would be played for the audience.

The mournful rock number featured Lisa Marie telling her father she wished she had had more time with him and saying no one had noticed all the trials he had endured.

``I wanted you to know that I haven't forgotten,'' she sang. ``You made me. I love you. You're still lovely. You were lovely then.''

Her new husband, actor Nicholas Cage, did not appear.

The newlywed couple and Priscilla Presley secretly visited Graceland in the wee hours Friday morning and watched from the mansion windows as fans carried candles to Elvis' grave in an all-night vigil. They were unseen by the crowd as they entered and left.

They then made a brief stop at Elvis Presley's Memphis, a restaurant and night club on Beale Street, where they watched revelers from the privacy of a VIP area.

Fans were on their feet cheering for much of the concert, featured footage of Elvis from his ``Aloha, Hawaii'' concert and a Las Vegas appearance. They raised electric torches and popped so many flashbulbs they illuminated the arena.

The second act of the tribute began with a black limousine driving into the arena through a cloud of smoke escorted by members of Elvis' ``Memphis Mafia'' of close friends.

Fans who began gathering at Graceland early Thursday morning for the vigil, continued their parade to the grave until about 9:30 a.m. Friday. They carried candles and left poems and trinkets in the Meditation Garden where Elvis is buried.

Their spirits were undampened by a wild storm. The rain, thunder and lightning delayed the start of the vigil for an hour.

Rain continued off and on through the night and many fans rushed to souvenir shops to purchase Elvis umbrellas and plastic ponchos, then returned to their places in line for the candlelight procession.

``I spend all day at Graceland and then I stand and stand and stand,'' said Renate Bressner, a fan who came from Munich, Germany.

``My back hurt,'' added the 56-year-old Bressner, an Elvis fan for more than 40 years. But she said was not giving up until she reached the grave site, which she finally did after 2 a.m.

Bressner said her family, including her 35-year-old daughter who was raised on Elvis music, discouraged her from making the trip to Memphis by herself but she was adamant: ``It is something I have to do.''

Melanie Figueroa of the Austin, Texas, fan club, which led the procession, said the inclement weather didn't bother her.

``We've been doling this for years,'' she said. ``I was going to stay whether it was rain or sleet or snow.''

Sandy Bates of Baltimore said she's been attending for years but found this one the most inspiring.

``He's been gone 25 years but he's still making all these people happy,'' she said. ``You have to admire someone who can bring about all this loyalty in this day and age.''

August 17, 2002

Elvis's clean sweep of fame

  This King is too big for just one hall
  By Christopher Blank, The Commercial Appeal - August 17, 2002


No matter what you think about Elvis Presley, you still think about Elvis Presley.

That's how fame works. A person wiggles his or her way into the world's consciousness, and in time thinking people say, 'Hey, this would make a great museum exhibit.' "

Now, you might be the most famous person at your office or on your block. But you'll never be the most famous person on Elvis Presley Boulevard.

You see, Elvis abided by all the rules of entertainment stardom. In case you want to walk a mile in his shoes, here they are:

- First, make a Top 10 hit record. Do it 38 times.

- Then star in a feature film. Do that 31 times.

- Then stage a TV "comeback" special followed by more music. BUT! - and here's the key: The second time around, create a unique sense of fashion that gives rise to a whole cult of impersonators.
Last but not least, die youngish. Sorry to say, but this is almost as important as all the other rules.

With his 2001 induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the King became the first artist to gain entry into all three music-related halls of fame. So before you start your career as a rock/movie/cult star, do some research in the following places:

Rock and roll

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum overlooks Lake Erie in Cleveland, the city where Elvis played his first concert north of the Mason-Dixon line. What better reason to locate a museum there?

Although the museum didn't open for business until 1995, the hall of fame idea was hatched in 1986. Elvis was among the first class of inductees.

"It was basically a no-brainer that he got in right away," said chief curator Jim Henke.

Elvis is also a no-brainer for a museum display case. The man could shuck off historical artifacts like a jeweler in King Tut's funeral parlor. For that reason - along with the vastness of his reign - Elvis's legacy sprawls out all over the museum.

The main exhibit is the two-sided display case where one can currently find the "Tiger" jumpsuit from 1973, some paycheck stubs and the honorary police badge presented to him by the Memphis Police Department, ensuring no surprise visits by the Green Team to Graceland.

In another part of the museum, a decade-by-decade display about rock and roll, one finds another jumpsuit and a Martin acoustic guitar Elvis "played" on his final tour in 1977.

In the actual "Hall of Fame" portion, Elvis gets considerable representation in a documentary film. His likeness appears again in an exhibit about Sun records and again in a section on the great cities of rock and roll - Memphis being one of them.

Five exhibits. Now that's fame.

"Pretty much when people come here, Elvis and the Beatles are sort of the two artists that a lot of visitors ask about," Henke said. "We've made sure from the start there's always Elvis's presence in the museum. Every year or so we go back to Graceland and see if there's something they want to trade out."

Henke says the museum tries to focus less on Elvis's sometimes controversial biography and more on the music.

Country music

Based in Nashville, The Country Music Hall of Fame has been around much longer than the rock hall. But Elvis didn't swivel his way into it until 1998.

The reason it took nearly four decades, says senior curator Mark Medley, is that Elvis was partially to blame for a country hall of fame in the first place.

"It was a kind of circling of the wagons," Medley said. "In 1957, country music was so impacted by rock and roll that the Country Music Association wanted to keep its traditions intact. That's how the hall of fame was born. They wanted to preserve their share of the market. That goes a long way in explaining why it took so long for Elvis to get into the hall of fame."

Although the King idolized Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams - two of the first inductees in 1961 - admiration didn't flow the other way.

Despite his looks and his moves, however, Elvis had country in him. His first song on the country charts was Baby, Let's Play House in 1955. He would eventually have 84 country chart singles, 11 of which hit the No. 1 position.

"I think that there was a perception that Elvis wasn't country," Medley said of Elvis's lockout. "But also as country performers Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, people said, 'Why the heck is Elvis not in the Country Hall of Fame?' He charted country all the way up until his death."

His last song to chart before his death was Way Down in 1977.

Nestled in Nashville's new entertainment center downtown, the new museum opened in 2001.

"We look for things that tell a story," Medley said of the Elvis exhibit. "A stage costume is really neat, but if you go to Graceland, you'll be on overload looking at stage costumes."

Currently, one exhibit celebrates the 25th anniversary of Elvis's passing. Elvis's gold piano is near session player Reggie Young's guitar, heard on Kentucky Rain and Suspicious Minds.

The permanent exhibit's centerpiece is Elvis's gold 1960 Cadillac limousine, which the singer donated in 1976.

"I think that country music fans have always thought of Elvis as country. There was a sense of 'Gee, this is overdue' when he was elected," Medley said.

Gospel music

Although the Gospel Music Association has yet to build a temple for its hall of fame, plans are in the works for a museum, most likely in Nashville.

Meanwhile, type "Gospel Music Hall of Fame and Museum" into Google.com, and you'll discover an operation out of Detroit that doesn't include Elvis on its list of inductees.

Ask if Elvis has been mistakenly left off its list, and the voice answers in a you-must-be-joking "No!"

"There may be some legal issues involved the future," says Tricia Whitehead, a public relations rep for the real Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame, into which Elvis was inducted in 2001, making him the first person to cover all the bases. "I think they're strictly black gospel."

The GMA has only recently begun to induct black artists into its hall of fame, which might explain, given the accusations that Elvis copied black styles, why it took 30 years for him to get in.

Elvis had a long and affectionate relationship with religious music, as did those at Thursday night's Candlelight Vigil. He recorded more than 50 gospel tunes throughout his life. He even insisted on performing Peace in the Valley on the Ed Sullivan Show "for his mother."

Elvis won three Grammy Awards during his life. All were for gospel records with the exception of his lifetime achievement Grammy in 1971.

August 17, 2002

Johnny Grant, the honorary mayor of Hollywood, holds up an old picture of himself with Elvis Presley after he placed flowers on Presley's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Friday, Aug. 16, 2002, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Friday marked the 25th anniversary of Presley's death.

 Flowers and notes adorned the star on the 25th anniversary of Presley's
 death. August 16, 2002, Hollywood, Los Angeles.

August 17, 2002

Elvis appears in New York field
   Ananova - 16th August 2002



An artist has mown a giant portrait of Elvis into a hang-gliding field to mark the 25th anniversary of his death.

Elvis died the day Roger Baker celebrated his 24th birthday on August 16, 1977.

The artist and four helpers took a month to create the image using traditional mowing techniques on a 50-acre piece of land in Ellenville, New York state.

Mr Baker, who's 49 today, told the Poughkeepsie Journal: "I've always been somewhat of an Elvis fan."

He recalls getting tickets to a concert in 1977 that neither he, nor Elvis, were able to attend. "That sort of clinched the decision to who I would put into the field,'' he added.

Partners Tom Mackey, Chris Flueck, Joe Noval and Steve Israel helped Mr Baker mow a massive profile of Elvis clutching a microphone into the field.

The paper reports his first mowing endeavour was a 25-acre Statue of Liberty design at the same site to mark the Millennium.

Elvis Presley's daughter and her mother secretly visited Graceland in the early hours of this morning. A Graceland representative said Lisa Marie Presley, her new husband, Nicolas Cage, and mother Priscilla Presley arrived after midnight to witness an estimated 35,000 fans in candlelit procession.

It was the largest gathering outside the mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, since Elvis died.

August 17, 2002

The international Elvis community takes the news hard
   M. SCOTT MORRIS, Daily Journal Tupelo - August 16, 2002


It truly is an "Elvis World" and the A&E Emporium is bringing part of it to you.

Our old friend from Ireland, Maurice Colgan, sent out word to international Elvis fans to find out where they were when they heard the dreadful news of Aug. 16, 1977.

Andrzej Lipczynski of Warsaw, Poland, was spending "a beautiful summer day on the beach in Sopot by the gulf of Danzig on the Baltic Sea." He and his wife, Malgorzata, returned to the hotel for a sweltering night when the announcement came over the radio that "the famous American singer Elvis Presley had died in his Graceland home."

The news was enough to interrupt the vacation.

"The regular news updates on Poland's national radio station slowly but surely convinced us. We left for our home in Warsaw," he said. "We could not wait another moment. We just had to share this very sad news with all our family and friends."

Christophe Jouanne of France was camping with his parents in the mountains near Chamonix and learned of Elvis' departure from a newspaper story.

"I was 14 years old at the time, and it was a terrible shock for me," he said. "I had discovered Elvis only the year before, and I had been hoping to go to the States one day to see him perform, as soon as I'd have a job."

It seemed everyone in Sunshine Coast Queensland, Australia, was shocked by the news, said Linda Dix, who became an Elvis fan when she was 3 years old.

"That night, my Mum could not console me," she said. "She began to worry as I have had a lot of heart surgery and the shock was too great for me. She was concerned it would bring on a heart attack É Fortunately, I did not need a doctor, but it took me a long time to get over the shock. When Elvis died, I lost the best friend I ever had."

Christine Bamford, president of the TCB Elvis Presley Fan Club from Queensland, Australia, was working at a printing factory when she got the news.

"I cried so much that I couldn't work, so the boss sent myself and three others home," she said. "I was paid for it as they thought it was as bad as me losing a member of my family."

Bamford said she will always remember Elvis - a person she never met - as a "sweet, gentle, kind, loving and down-to-earth man."

You may recall past mentions in this space of Swords, Ireland, resident Maureen Colgan, who received a pleasant pick-me-up from Elvis while she was going through a spell of bad health.

The handwritten letter said:

"Dear Mrs. Colgan,

"Just a short note to say I hope you are feeling much better. Take care of yourself and don't worry - everything will be all right.

"Sincerely, Elvis Presley."

On Aug. 17, 1977, Colgan was busy styling her 17-year-old son's hair when a news flash interrupted the TV show the family had been watching.

"Our daughter, Tracey, who had been sitting close by, exclaimed, 'Mom, Elvis has died!'" she said. "The three of us stood staring at each other in disbelief É Our whole evening just took on an air of sad acceptance. We knew Elvis had been in poor health for some time but never suspected he was so dangerously ill."

How does a child born in Tupelo grow up to command the loyalty of people from all over the world? How could his death hit people who've never met him as hard as a death in their own families?

I doubt the answers would fit in a whole library of books. Goodness, if Elvis had never existed, his life would be completely unimaginable. We're talking about an honest-to-heaven phenomenon here.

It truly is an "Elvis World."

August 17, 2002

   ELVIS ON AMC FESTIVAL

  
Long Live the King
In recognition of the 25th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, AMC (American Movie Classics) pay tribute to the "King" of rock 'n roll; both on-air on Sat. August 17th from 10:30AM - 4:45PM and online here!

AMC Interview With Hollywood Insiders

August 17, 2002

Tupelo's Own

   Childhood friends remember Elvis as a boy
   BY M. SCOTT MORRIS, Daily Journal Tupelo - August 16, 2002


Imagine the man known as "Elvis the Pelvis" getting a healthy swat across the hindquarters with a switch. It happened more than once as Elvis Presley was growing up in the "hills and hollers" of East Tupelo.

"The creek was off limits but we found it once or twice a week. We probably shouldn't have been there, but we were," said 64-year-old Guy Harris, a childhood friend of Elvis. "Believe me, he was a good boy and I was what I thought was a good boy, but we did get into a little mischief."

Long before he became a worldwide singing sensation and motion picture star, Elvis was a likable, ordinary kid in Tupelo, according to a trio of childhood friends who recently got together to share memories 25 years after his death on Aug. 16, 1977.

"We'd hike up in those hills and sit up there for an hour or two and talk about all kinds of things," said James D. Ausborn, 69. "One or two times, I'd borrow a bicycle and we'd ride together, and we'd play football in a vacant lot - the things kids do."

A lot's been made of the Presley family's tough financial times while living in East Tupelo, but money was tight for most people in the neighborhood.

"Everybody was poor and everybody was happy. They'd make up games and play checkers with Coca-Cola tops," said Becky Martin, 68, who lived near Lawhon School. "We'd get money from collecting bottles and go to the show. They had two movie theaters in town, the Strand and the Lyric."

Elvis was fond of Westerns when he could scrape 25 cents together. Harris said 25 cents would pay for a movie at the Strand plus popcorn and a Coke.

"If you were lucky enough to have 50 cents, then you got to go to the Lyric in the afternoon," Harris said. "When your money ran out, you were expected at home."

He said parents in the neighborhood worked together to keep close watches on the young ones. If Harris got in trouble while hanging out with Elvis, he'd get a whipping from Gladys Presley just like Elvis.

"Then I'd get another whipping when I got home," he said. "It was the same for him."

Harris believes that strict upbringing - church on Sunday, "yes, ma'am" and "no, ma'am" all the time - helped shape Elvis into the beloved star he became.

"He didn't think he was any better than us even after he made it big. I never knew him to be above anybody - ever," he said. "That's one of the things that's great about him. It goes back to the way we were raised."

Seeds of success

Elvis also displayed no shortage of self-discipline as a young Tupeloan, especially when it came to his guitar. Ausborn's brother, Mississippi Slim, had a local radio show that fascinated Elvis.

"My brother would sit down and show him chords on the guitar," said Ausborn, adding that Elvis sought instruction from others in the community as well.

Elvis practiced "Old Shep" over and over for the chance to perform on Mississippi Slim's radio show. After he'd learned that, Slim taught him another song, which Elvis studiously learned. Even then, there was evidence the lessons were paying off.

"Every now and then, he'd bring his guitar to school," Ausborn said. "He'd sit at the desk at dinner and everyone would crowd around him."

The boy who would be king also received musical training at church.

"He loved gospel music," Martin said. "He was more religious than people gave him credit for."

There's no sure way to measure the impact his Tupelo childhood had on the rest of Elvis' life, but sometime before he left this small town for the big city up the road, Elvis had glimpsed his amazing future.

"He'd say he was going to be something someday and buy his mother a house," Martin said. "That was his dream and he did it."

August 17, 2002

Fan in Ireland lobbies for Graceland statue of Elvis as soldier
   By Patrick J. Dickson, Stars and Stripes -Pacific edition, August 16, 2002




WASHINGTON — What would Elvis say? Perhaps “Thankya. Thankyavairmuch.”

Elvis Presley has been memorialized in many ways: the young Elvis with a postage stamp, the old Elvis by a slew of embarrassing, jumpsuited imitators.

But if Maurice Colgan has his way, it will be Elvis the soldier that is remembered, with a statue at his beloved Graceland.

Colgan is “Ireland’s biggest Elvis fan.” He and his wife, Maureen, have been interviewed by media from around the world.

“When we were at Graceland,” Maurice said, “there was all the beautiful gardens, but no statue, and we thought, wouldn’t it be nice to have one?”

Colgan was encouraged to propose the statue after the city of Tupelo, Miss., (the King’s birthplace) used his idea and erected a sculpture of a 13-year-old Presley.

After the Tupelo statue was dedicated, Graceland CEO Jack Soden sent Colgan a note congratulating him.

So Colgan thought Elvis the soldier would be the perfect addition to the grounds at Graceland.

While open to the idea, an official from Graceland’s Archives Department said she felt that the grounds itself would not be appropriate.

“It sounds like a great idea, but I don’t know, because we don’t have room on the estate itself,” said Angie Marchese, curator at Graceland. “All we have on the estate is his awards — you know, gold and platinum records, that sort of thing …

“But across the street, there’s a museum called Sincerely Elvis, you know, about his relationship with his fans. It might be good over there.”

Elvis Presley was inducted into the Army at the Memphis Draft Board on March 24, 1958. He arrived in Germany on Oct. 1 of that year, and was stationed at Ray Barracks in Friedberg for 18 months, maintaining an off-base residence in Bad Nauheim, which he shared with his father and grandmother, and some friends from Memphis.

He rose to the rank of sergeant in the 1st Battalion, 32nd Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Division.

In 1961, Maureen Colgan was admitted into hospital with serious kidney failure. Maurice Colgan wrote to Elvis and told him about his wife.

Presley replied within a week.

“He also wrote a note to me saying that he had sent the note to Maureen,” Colgan said. “So we have two letters from Elvis himself.”

The letter to Maureen read, “Dear Mrs. Colgan, Just a short note to say I hope you are feeling much better. Take care of yourself and don’t worry — everything will be alright, Sincerely, Elvis Presley.”

By all accounts, Presley was a model soldier.

It turns out that Elvis the soldier is also Elvis the peacekeeper.

“There’s the Elvis fans that love him as a young lad, and there’s the ones that love his Vegas years, you know. So I thought the image of Elvis as a soldier would be neutral between the two camps.”

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