Welcome to the "Elvis Information Network", home to the best news, reviews, interviews, Elvis photos & in-depth articles about the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Aaron Presley...
New book - 'Elvis – The Hero in the Comic Books': Ahead of volume 1 of 'Elvis in Print: A Comprehensive Annotated and Illustrated Bibliography 1955-2023', Mandarin Duck Publishing is releasing Elvis – The Hero in the Comic Books, written and compiled by EIN’s Nigel Patterson.
The book features information and cover images (most in full color) for more than 125 comic books and graphic novels devoted to or featuring Elvis, plus internal artwork for many listings and a section on comic book/graphic novel resources. It will be published as hardback, softcover and digital (Kindle) editions.
'Elvis - The Hero in the Comic Books' will be released in February.
EIN will have more details next week.
(News, Source: EIN)
'Elvis News Report February 2024': Elvis super-fan Emiel Maier presents all the recent news including...... Announcement of Elvis in A.I. in London, Baz Luhrmann shares
details about his 2 Elvis projects, Graceland buys (fake) acetate for
permanent collection, Lisa-Marie’s book release date, Elvis' chart
success for and much much more.......
"'From Elvis at Sun' Mono II Stereo" LP: Just announced by Memphis Mansion in Denmark is ‘From Elvis at Sun’ Mono II Stereo on vinyl!
The album contains the original ten songs released by SUN records, with others later released by RCA.
The bonus tracks on this vinyl album are ‘I Love You Because’ (RCA edit master) and ‘That’s All Right’ live from the Louisiana Hayride, 16th October 1954.
These two tracks were not available on the CD release of this album.
'Elvis in Print: A Comprehensive Annotated and Illustrated Bibliography 1955-2023 Volume 1' UPDATE: This comprehensive new book was due to be published this month but has been delayed due to editing issues and the discovery of more than 70 new titles and/or editions. A revised publication date for the nearly 500-page book will be announced soon. (non-final cover image pictured)
Compiled and written by EIN's Nigel Patterson, the four volumes of Elvis in Print: A Comprehensive Annotated & Illustrated Bibliography 1955-2023 will comprise around 2,000 pages, with listings for more than 4,000 books and around 2,000 images.
Volume 1 is the first of two detailing English language, “non-fiction” releases. It contains close to 500 pages, listings for more than 800+ titles, book covers for more than 500 listings, and interesting Sidebar articles discussing controversial releases and issues in the massive Elvis book catalog.
Sections in Elvis in Print Volume 1 include:
Academic Releases, Biographies, Compendiums: Catalogs, Discographies, Chart Histories, Interviews... Conspiracy Theories, Elvis and the Colonel, Elvis and the Law, Elvis as Art and Elvis as Religion (including Psychic Experiences and Spirituality)...
The 'Listings' include original releases, subsequent re-issues , (including digital editions) and a book synopsis. 'Elvis in Print' will be published in hardcover, softcover, and Kindle formats. It will be available from Amazon stores (the hardcover edition will only be available in those countries where Amazon offers this format).
EIN will publish more information soon. (News, Source;NP/EIN)
Crowd funded Elvis comic book – Big Jackson Vol. 1: Opening Act: Steve Mardo is turning to crowd funding to kickstart the first volume in proposed new Elvis comic book series, Big Jackson Vol. 1: Opening Act. This is a news report on the comic book:
... A man dressed in Elvis Presley garb while fighting a chupacabra sounds like a totally unimaginable situation, but it's perfect fodder for a scene in a new comic book created by a local artist.
Big Jackson Vol. 1: Opening Act , the brainchild of Steve Mardo, follows Big Jackson, an Elvis impersonator who fights wild monsters and crazy circumstances while he does gigs at shabby, shady bars. The story is largely inspired by Mardo's love of music and ’80s films. Plus, he said, it was just a funny character to depict.
"People have celebrity worship this day and age, and he was an interesting person in general. I thought it would be out there and weird to have an outlandish music icon be part of the book," he said.
Mardo was born and raised in Warwick, pursued education at the School of Visual Arts in New York and Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, he returned to the Ocean State. Today, he is a full-time freelance illustrator who has worked on illustrations for children's books, Motif magazine, Rhode Island Monthly and magazines in Boston.
Big Jackson was originally self-published under Mardo's label Angry Baby Comics. He and his team brought the book to comic conventions, where it got good feedback. He is eager to share it with even more readers.
Mardo is crowdfunding an effort through Kickstarter to get the first volume of Big Jackson published. He is seeking to raise $5,270, which will in part go toward paying the talent that helps put together the book.
The project must raise all $5,720 by April 3 at noon in order to be funded. (Source: Tessa Roy, Cranston Herald, Rhode Island)
Friday 26 January 2024
'Elvis: The Biography' 2024 Reprint: Jerry Hopkins very enjoyable 'Elvis: The Biography' was first published in 2007. It combined his earlier two volume biography and added new material advancing the Elvis story to 2005.
The book was last reprinted, and also released on kindle, in 2022.
Picking up on added interest in Elvis the Plexus publishers have again re-released the book for 2024 yesterday, 25 January.
... "Elvis Presley is the biggest single entertainment personality in the history of American popular culture. Nearly thirty years after his death he remains the undisputed King of Rock n Roll. Known the world over by his first name alone, he is the foremost iconic figure in popular music. Featuring a wealth of firsthand interviews, Elvis: The Biography combines Jerry Hopkins two previous classic bestselling Elvis biographies with all-new material to give the definitive detailed account of Presley's fantastic life."
Untitled Lisa Marie Presley autobiography: As announced 2 weeks ago, Lisa Marie’s autobiography is being finalised/curated by her daughter, Riley Keough, and is due for publication in mid-October.
Amazon has now added a "working" book cover pending the final cover being designed and released.
Described as the “most intimate look at the Presley family to date” the yet untitled memoir is set to publish Oct. 15.
The publisher stated: "Born to an American myth and raised in the wilds of Graceland, Lisa Marie Presley was never truly understood . . . until now'
Editions of the book will also be translated into eight other languages including Spanish, German and Portuguese.
An audiobook version of the memoir will also be released, read by Riley Keough and including "never-before-heard recollections in Lisa Marie’s own voice."
To complete the memoir, Keough listened to hours of Lisa Marie's recordings, which touched on her father’s love, her complex mother-daughter relationship with Priscilla, her highly publicized romantic relationships and the 2020 death of her son Benjamin Keough.
The book will have 320 pages and pre-orders are now open. (News, Source;Amazon/EIN)
'The King In Motown City' New '77 Import CD: The EP Collector Label is back with another unique release of Elvis show in Detroit, April 23rd, 1977. AUDIENCE recording .
This was the very last show that Elvis played in Detroit, primarily known as the center of the automobile industry, where three major car manufacturers operate - Ford, Chrysler and General Motors, hence the nickname Motown ("motor city").
The concert was previously released in 2006 on the extremely poor sounding CD "The King Has Landed". The new tape was obtained from an American fan and has been carefully restored and mastered with a focus on preserving the integrity of the original recording. Hence, some minor hiss may be present.
As usual the CD is packaged in a nicely designed digipack with local press review. EIN Note: Elvis played Detroit on April 22 1977, not April 23rd!
The concert did not get great reviews
Go here to 'All The CD News' for tracklisting (News, Source;EP/ElvisInfoNet)
'Elvis '68 Unleashed' Double-Vinyl: The first vinyl release from Reel Trax, a new 2LP set 'Elvis '68 Unleashed' The Legendary Standup Shows. The publicity states.... After the great success of our recent CD release from December of last year which has been inspired by the celebration of the 55th Anniversary of Elvis' legendary NBC-TV Special we decided to release the soundtrack now carefully remastered for vinyl – on a stunning looking 12-inch 2-LP set and for even better sound results to be played at 45 RPM!
Carefully curated and remastered in great-sounding 'Stereo' in a highly valued professional studio in Europe, the legendary Standup shows are coming to new life. The sensational looking double album complete with liner notes from those who were there in 1968 (and written especially for this release!) is a real eye-catcher and informative as well. This album captures the raw and unrestrained energy of Elvis Presley
like never before. - Go here to 'All The CD News' for tracklisting and more details (News, Source;RT/ElvisInfoNet)
Saturday 20 January 2024
Nashville Elvis Festival - March 21-24: Join fans from around the world for the 8th annual Nashville Elvis Festival - March 21-24, 2024 celebrating the music and legacy of Elvis Presley.
Join us for a weekend of live music performances, celebrity appearances, an Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist competition and more!
The performers include, Dean Z, Cote Deonath, Bill Cherry, Ben Thompson, Alex Mitchell, Michael Cullipher, Riley Jenkins and Jeff Lewis.
With very Special Guests, The Blackwood Brothers Quartet. The legendary group is the best-known name in Gospel music history! Elvis grew up listening to their music and named them his favorite gospel quartet. The 8-time GRAMMY winners have recorded over 200 albums and sold over 50 million records. They are currently nominated for a GRAMMY Award for their latest Elvis-inspired album, Tribute to the King. Nashville Elvis Festival is hosted by Tom Brown.
Go here for tickets, highlights such as "Elvis Gospel Live" with The Blackwood Brothers are sure to sell out
(News, Source;NF/ElvisInfoNet)
Elvis Week 2024 August 9-17: EPE have posted... Save the date for Elvis Week 2024, August 9-17.
Elvis Week 2024 will be the biggest and best Elvis Week yet!
We look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to Memphis as they make the ultimate pilgrimage to be with us during this annual celebration of the life and legacy of Elvis Presley.
Stay tuned for Elvis Week 2024 schedule and ticket on-sale dates.
(News, Source/EPE/EDaybyDay)
"The Elvis Concert 2024" (USA) - Special 70th Anniversary Tour: Featuring 'On Stage' drummer Bob Lanning and Jim Murray of the Imperials.
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of Elvis' first single 'That's All Right Mama' on SUN Records, "The Elvis Concert" will be doing shows again in Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Holland this April 2024.
As you've come to expect from us, a good mix of Elvis' music, from the classics to lesser-known gems like 'There's Always Me' and 'Playing For Keeps'. Definitely not your typical Elvis tribute!
Bob Lanning and Jim Murray will both be available for photos and autographs at the shows.
The tour includes 10 dates in the Netherlands, three shows in Finland, and two in both Sweden and Denmark.
(News, Source;AD)
Parkes Elvis Festival Australia: Around 25,000 Elvis fans donned their bejeweled jumpsuits, poodle skirts and pompadour wigs to shake rattle and roll the week away in Parkes, New South Wales, for the 2024 Parkes Elvis Festival"five days of non-stop Elvis Presley entertainment" which ended Monday.
The 2024 event embraced the iconic 1957 Elvis film Jailhouse Rock as its central theme, transforming the Central West of New South Wales into a hotspot of 1950’s rock n’ roll.
Festival Producer Joel Ulbricht said, “In the 31 years since it began, Parkes Elvis Festival has blossomed into a not-to-be-missed international event, drawing enthusiasts from every corner of the globe. Special thanks are due to our amazing sponsors, artists, volunteers, and staff, whose dedication has been a cornerstone of the Festival’s enduring popularity."
The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest was won by Che Orton from New Zealand, followed by Anthony Fenech from Fraser Rice (VIC) in second place and Aaron Mansfield from Newcastle (NSW) in third.
Che Orton will now travel to Memphis to represent Australia at the Contest during Elvis Week in August.
On Saturday the town came out in droves for the Northparkes Mines Street Parade which saw thousands of spectators line the streets to enjoy the rock n’ roll vibes of Elvis-themed floats, vintage cars, motorcycles, walking groups and marching bands - all to the fabulous sound of ELVIS.
In 2025 Parkes Elvis Festival will celebrate its 32nd year with the theme 'Easy Come, Easy Go'. (News, Source;PP/ElvisInfoNet)
Tuesday 16 January 2024
'Elvis Presley's Kind of, Sort of World Tour': EIN's good friend Robert C. Gilbert has posted a new examination and detailed essay about 'Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite'.
... The Honolulu concert, which was broadcast live to much of Australia and Asia on January 14 1973 and on tape delay to much of the rest of the world was arguably the last event in which Elvis truly pushed himself and the last time he would be on television during his lifetime. Aloha From Hawaii was positioned as a way for the singer to perform outside of the United States without actually having to leave the country (something that had a lot to do with Colonel Tom Parker being an illegal alien).
The concert is good but falls short of the heights of his shows in Las Vegas in 1969 and 1970 as well as his performances at Madison Square Garden in June 1972. That being said, the music is an interesting way to consider, what one must always do when writing about Elvis, the compromises and choices that the singer made.
... Bejeweled and bedecked in jumpsuits, complete with cape, Elvis was a thoroughly American superhero. A personifacation of the decadent outpouring that often bursts forth upon the attainment of the American Dream.
The immensity of what was taking place is staggering even from the distance of 52 years. Imagine what it would have been like to see in the flesh. And yet, like much of the art that centres around the American Dream, the cost extracted from Elvis was exorbitant.
Go here to read Robert C. Gilbert 'Listening Sessions' on Aloha -
EIN highly recommended (News, Source;RC/EIN)
'The King and The Jester' New Book: Paul Belard, known for his day-by-day series of Elvis photobooks, is finishing work on his latest "special interest" release which will be heading to the printer very soon. The front and back cover images for The King and the Jester have been released.
The cover notes, "As this uncultured philistine said of himself, "I did not know what to make of Elvis, or his music. I did not care, but I saw the reaction of the audience says and it was enough for me". Parker promptly realised that Elvis was his own ticket to wealth. In addition he soon realised that the naive young man and his unsophisticated father will be no match for his dubious ploys."
The book is a very strong read and one that is very much the "counterpoint" to the recently published "rose colored glasses" account, 'Elvis and the Colonel: An Insider's Look At The Most Legendary Partnership In Show Business', by Greg McDonald and Marshall Terrill.
... You can read EIN's interview with Paul Belard's about the book, and his views on Col Parker here.
More details soon. (News, Source: Paul Belard/EIN)
'Sina jamming with Elvis: Polk Salad Annie': This was going to be EIN's New Year treat but somehow got left behind.
Her name is Sina, she's from Germany, she is now 24 years old but has been drumming since she was 10 - she now she has 1.5 million subscribers, she is a real sensation.
Here she performs a drum cover of Elvis' 'Polk Salad Annie' from 'That's The Way It Is' with the video from the movie. Her playing is astounding and what's astonishing is she seems to do it with about half the drum kit of what Ronnie Tutt played.
Right at the moment it's great to see someone away from the 'Elvis world' promoting a positive side of Elvis for a change.
PLEASE CHECK THIS OUT - Click here to YouTube. -
Play loud! (News, Source;AH/ElvisInfoNet)EIN thanks Andrew Howard for the word-up.
Riley Keough and Priscilla Attend the Emmys Together! It seems that Riley Keough and Priscilla may have put their family drama behind them since they attended yesterday's Emmy Awards together. Riley was nominated in the 'Best Actress in a Limited Series' for 'Daisy Jones & the Six'.
Last year’s drama began when Priscilla filed a petition to challenge Lisa Marie’s will.
Then in August 2023 Riley Keough settled the courtroom battle over Lisa Marie’s estate when she was named the sole trustee of the Elvis Presley Estate .
The two women agreed to make Riley the sole trustee of Lisa Marie’s estate with the twins serving as sub-trustees. Per the agreement Priscilla receives a one-time lump sum of $1 million from the estate account.
Priscilla later stated, “My family has resolved all confusion as it relates to our plea to the court and request for document interpretation after my daughter Lisa Marie’s untimely passing. As a family, we are pleased that we resolved this together.”
While the two seemed back together at the Awards unfortuantely Keough did not win the award for 'Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Series' instead it went Ali Wong in the series 'Beef'. Daisy Jones & the Six did however win two awards for 'Outstanding Sound Mixing' and 'Outstanding Period Costumes'. (News, Source;Emmys/ElvisInfoNet)
Saturday 13 January 2024
Lisa Marie Presley’s memoir – due out this year!: Riley Keough is collaborating on release of her mother's memoir for later this year. Lisa Marie Presley started writing the book before she died and Riley Keough has completed it.
One year after Lisa Marie's unexpected death, Random House revealed that the singer was writing a memoir about her high-profile and complicated life as the sole child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley. In a shared statement the publisher said that Presley asked her daughter to help finish the book before she died.
Lisa Marie died on Jan. 12, 2023, at 54 after she suffered a cardiac episode at her Calabasas home. The L.A. County Medical Examiner determined in July that Presley died from complications of a small bowel obstruction, which was linked to previous bariatric surgery.
Keough, star of “Daisy Jones & the Six” and “Mad Max: Fury Road” initially held off on collaborating on the book but picked up where her mother left off after Presley died.
“Riley carried a guilt that the world would never know the loving, joyful, and caring woman that she knew and grieved,” the statement said.
To complete the memoir, Keough listened to hours of Presley’s recordings, which touched on her father’s love, her complex mother-daughter relationship with Priscilla, her highly publicized romantic relationships and the 2020 death of her son Benjamin Keough.
The contents of the book are unknown, but what Random House calls Presley's "tumultuous" life certainly was eventful enough for
a provocative, thoughtful, and revealing memoir.
Described as the “most intimate look at the Presley family to date,” the yet untitled memoir is set to publish Oct. 15.
Keough said, “I was lucky to have had that opportunity and working on preparing her autobiography for publication has been a privilege, albeit a bittersweet one. I’m so excited to share my mom now, at her most vulnerable and most honest, and in doing so, I do hope that readers come to love my mom as much as I did.”
The publisher stated: "Born to an American myth and raised in the wilds of Graceland, Lisa Marie Presley was never truly understood . . . until now'
Editions of the book will also be translated into eight other languages including Spanish, German and Portuguese. An audiobook version of the memoir will also be released, read by Riley Keough and including "never-before-heard recollections in Lisa Marie’s own voice."
EIN Note: The history behind Lisa Marie’s memoir is quite confusing.
Lisa Marie signed her book deal with Gallery Books (a subsidiary of Simon & Shuster) in 2019. Reportedly, she received an advance of US$1M. In 2020, Penguin Random House made a bid for Simon & Shuster, but the sale was blocked, and a private equity firm, KKR ended up acquiring Simon & Shuster for US$1.6B.
News of Lisa Marie’s memoir first broke earlier this week, but two days before the formal announcement by Random House. Initially, the book was listed as being published Macmillan (a subsidiary of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group). Following the formal announcement, the publisher listing was changed to Random House.
It is unclear how Penguin Random House attained the rights to Lisa Marie’s memoir.
(News, Source: Alexandras del Rosario, LA Times; John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal, Random House, Jim Milliot, Publisher’s Weekly, and EIN)
New book - 'Elvis The King of Elvis Fashion' (Lorraine Gibson) due for August 30 release: This 224-page book is being released by White Owl Publishing and is described as:
.... Elvis Presley’s life was the ultimate rags to riches story, and it was the rags, as much as the riches that drove him, defined him, and made him the global icon he is today. Elvis' unique sense of style and musical talent went hand-in-hand in creating Elvis the Showman. As a teenager, before he sang a note, it was his unconventional look that singled him out among his peers. Later, it was his voice that stopped a conservative 1950s America in its tracks.
This book looks at how Elvis broke down cultural and racial barriers and smiled in the face of safe dressing. His bold outfits were his trademark yet, no matter how dazzling, they never outshone him. They were also his force shield, superhero costumes that protected him from anxiety, pain, the glare of the spotlight and, in difficult times, from reality. It considers how Elvis’s extraordinary style – as much as his pioneering music – defined his life and the experiences that he lived through.
It includes exclusive interviews with: Hal Lansky (who also contributes the Foreword), whose family dressed Elvis for three decades. Producer Steve Binder, Butch and Kim Polston, who maintain Elvis’ legacy, recreating his spectacular 1970s Vegas jumpsuits, including those worn by Austin Butler.
Elvis: The King of Fashion marvels at how an intensely shy and disadvantaged boy from the wrong side of Tupelo became the most popular, successful, idolized and imitated solo performer of all time. Most of all, it regards the rollercoaster life of Elvis the man through a fashion lens as he strode like a colossus through the world of showbusiness, dressed like The King he never quite believed he was. (News, Source: Lorraine Gibson; Amazon EU)
Trevor Simpson, Elvis author, Passed Away: Sad news that Trevor Simpson has passed away - the news was posted by his family yesterday.
Trevor had been unwell for a while with ongoing cancer complications - but he was, of course, still making his DJ-ing spot on Calder Valley Radio!
Simpson was a wonderful Elvis historian and author with his work sold world-wide. He published multiple FTD books including 'His Songs Of Praise, Volumes 1 & 2' and two books on 'The Best Of British' - HMV' and ''The Best Of British - RCA' .
Trevor also wrote regularly for the 'Essential Elvis' magazine
Away from Elvis, Trevor Simpson was also a massive football fan and an official referee.
The photo shows him another Elvis fan!
He explained, "I met Priscilla who is who is a dear, lovely lady. She has my books and knew quite a bit about me and she is to be applauded for all she has done to keep the magic alive."
EIN was delighted to interview him back in 2016 about his first book 'Elvis: His Songs Of Praise' (News, Source;FB/ElvisinfoNet)
Elvis Presley: A Little Golden Book Biography: Finally, Elvis is getting a "a Little Golden Book" release. Written by Lisa Jean Rogers and illustrated by Luke Flowers, Elvis Presley: A Little Golden Book Biography, will be released on September 24 (hardcover and Kindle editions).
Little Golden Book biographies are the perfect introduction to nonfiction for young readers—as well as fans of all ages!
This Little Golden Book about Elvis Presley, legendary movie star and the King of Rock and Roll thanks to songs like "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Hound Dog", is an inspiring read-aloud for young children and fans of any age.
Other Little Golden biographies already published are on Beyonce, Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift, The Beatles, Willie Nelson and many others...
The cover image is yet to be released - the image shown here is an EIN mock-up.
(News, Source: Amazon/EIN)
Friday 12 January 2024
In remembrance of Lisa Marie Presley, taken from her friends and family way-too-early one year ago, last January 12, 2023.
Lisa Marie Presley Has Died: In absolutely shocking news, Lisa Marie Presley only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, has died at the age of 54, after suddenly being hospitalised on Thursday January 12, 2023.
Her 77-year-old mother confirmed Presley’s death later that night. “It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us
She was the most passionate strong and loving woman I have ever known.
We ask for privacy as we try to deal with this profound loss.
Thank you for the love and prayers.
At this time there will be no further comment.”
Lisa Marie was rushed to hospital from her home in Calabasas, California, following a cardiac arrest.
Priscilla asked fans to keep her daughter in their prayers in a statement issued when the news first broke.
(News, Source;AP/Presley)
Taken from us way too early: Back in 2003 Lisa Marie talked about her life and Elvis with Rolling Stone, 'I go to Graceland and nothing has been touched. It's exactly the same. There was a whole life in that house. It's a beautiful sadness. It's either really painful or it's very comforting- it can go either way. The carpet is the same. My room is exactly the same. Nothing has been touched. Upstairs, which has never been open to the public, is my room and his room, next to each other, and an attic. It's pretty creepy. It's a shrine'
Usually I go up there alone. 'It's very comforting for me, The books, the videos, everything is there still. The Godfather, Citizen Kane, Pink Panther, Bruce Lee - all of his videos are still there. All of his records'.
'In my eyes Elvis was, to me, so overwhelmingly grand and powerful - and sometimes dark, depending on mood. And there was that for the first nine years of my life. Maybe I have been in search of something like that.
It's very hard to compete with that in my mind. That's what he was to me as a child, this huge, electrifyingly powerful, grand, beautiful presence."
Lisa Marie was her father's daughter, similarly a powerful, grand and beautiful presence. And a beautiful soul all too sadly taken from us way too early.
Priscilla pays Tribute to Lisa Marie: Priscilla honored her late daughter Lisa Marie on the anniversary of her death.
Priscilla, 78, took to Twitter to mourn her daughter...
(News, Source;X/EIN)
Thursday 11 January 2024
'Elvis Day By Day 2023' Out NOW: The 2023 edition of Kees Mouwen's 'Elvis Day by Day' yearbook is out now, published in both paperback and hardback versions.
The book is available via www.PoplarTunes.com and also worldwide through Amazon.
Well-known Elvis UK's Gordon Minto wrote a thoughtful foreword for this 6th volume in the series, sharing his perspective on the state of the Elvis world today. This latest volume covers everything from 2023 on no less than 480 pages, the biggest edition in the series yet.
Gone for 47 years, Elvis' legacy is still resonates today, as this book proves.
It covers all the news, including coverage of the unexpected death of Lisa Marie Presley one year ago and Riley Keough taking care of business at Graceland and Elvis' legacy. But also the many great moments and new titles 2023 brought us to enjoy.
The 80+ in-depth reviews by Elvis experts and fans like you and me, will help you find the titles to add to your collection, and which ones to skip, like the many AI generated "books". All the main releases have a place in this volume: the books, the movies - including 'Priscilla' - on DVD and Blu-ray and all the official and bootleg music, in mono and stereo, on CD, colored vinyl or presented as lavish box-sets, as well as several novelty titles.
With this 2023 edition you are completely up-to-date, including reviews of the latest FTDs like 'Elvis - In Person 1972', 'Elvis: Summer of '76'.
Check all the details here at www.PoplarTunes.com and see the EIN preview below (News, Source;ElvisDaybyDay)
"ELVIS: ALOHA FROM HAWAII - The Eyes of Japan" Delayed:
Disappointing news for Elvis collectors that the new book "ELVIS : ALOHA FROM HAWAII - Through The Eyes of Japan" has been delayed. It was supposed to be out in time for Elvis' birthday.
The publishers state, "We apologize for the inconvenience, but after printing and preparing to ship the Aloha book, a serious color problem occurred.
We are currently trying our best to find a solution.
For fans who have pre-ordered please wait for a while.
We will post an update as soon as possible."
Fifty years after Elvis’ legendary concert Japanese cameraman Yoshiji Kizaki's valuable, long-lost negatives have been discovered.
Mr. Kizaki is one of the few photographers who photographed not only the actual show in January 1973, but also the three Aloha performances and press conference held in November 1972.
At last, they will be reprinted from the original negatives carefully rescanned and finally published as a gorgeous photo-book!
Includes the treasured photos of the people involved, as well as newspaper and record company documentation from the time. Deluxe Size 290mm x 235mm, 1.5kg, hard cover color/ black & white 200 pages, text in English translated by David Ward.
Please see our EIN Interview with David Ward plus some stunning example pages (News, Source;ElvisSocietyofJapan/EIN)
'Elvis Presley At 706 Union Ave: The Sun Singles 1954-55' Special Pack: There is sure to be plenty of attention given to the 2024 70th anniversary of Elvis' SUN session and the first major release is Third Man Records, in conjunction with Sony announcing its 59th Vault package, 'Elvis Presley at 706 Union Ave: The Sun Singles 1954-55'. Celebrating the seventieth anniversary of these monumental recordings, this collection includes faithful reproductions of all five of Presley’s original 7-inch 45rpm singles on Sun, pressed in a hypnotic yellow and black marble colored vinyl. Plus a bonus 7-inch EP of four Elvis songs recorded at Sun which didn’t see release until later are collected in a prime pretty picture sleeve and pressed on yellow / black “sun ray” splattered vinyl.
Also includes two linen-style postcards in the box, one shows the classic, facade of the Sun storefront and the other the beauty of sound absorbing acoustic tile.
Also added here is a Crown Electric name-tag styled patch. And finally, a substantive, milled nickel 45 adaptor, featuring the iconic rooster emblazoned on all those early singles.
Packages begin shipping in April.
The songs recorded by Elvis Presley at Sun Studio survive as a psychic ur-text of rock and roll and its antecedents as a cultural phenomenon. From the initial fool-actin’ of “That’s All Right” from July 1954 through the unimpeachable “Mystery Train” of just one year later, the five singles produced by Sam Phillips with Scotty Moore and Bill Black as trusty guitar and bass accompaniment brim with a primitive, simple perfection
These songs changed the 20th century. It’s best put by the estimable Peter Guralnick when he writes… “If Elvis Presley had never made another record after his last Sun session in the fall of 1955, there seems little question that his music would have achieved much the same mythic status as Robert Johnson’s blues. The body of his work at Sun is so transcendent, so fresh, and so original that even today you can scarcely listen to it in relation to anything but itself. Like all great art its sources may be obvious, but its overall impact defies explanation.” Disc 1: That’s All Right b/w Blue Moon Of Kentucky Disc 2: I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine b/w Good Rockin’ Tonight Disc 3: Milkcow Blues Boogie b/w You’re A Heartbreaker Disc 4: I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone b/w Baby, Let’s Play House Disc 5: Mystery Train b/w I Forgot To Remember To Forget Bonus EP: Blue Moon - Just Because b/w Trying To Get To You - When It Rains, It Really Pours
See all the details plus a chance to WIN five ORIGINAL SUN pressings at www.thirdmanrecords.com (News, Source;3rdMan/ElvisInfoNet)
Elvis Festival Parkes, Australia Kicked off: Sydney Central station was full of sequins, rhinestones and jumpsuits for the annual Elvis Express to Parkes, country NSW.
They were among hundreds of Presley fans at the station along with a similar number of Priscillas.
This year’s theme is the 1957 classic 'Jailhouse Rock' so there were lots of black and white striped jail-themed outfits, along with lots of sequined jumpsuits.
The Parkes Elvis Festival attracts around 25,000 Elvis enthusiasts to this central-western NSW town annually.
A similar number that visit Graceland for Elvis' main celebrations.
Parkes mayor Neil Westcott said, “The mood in the main street is buzzing – we can’t wait to welcome visitors to our town.
The film ELVIS has really reignited interest in Elvis in the post-COVID era.”
The five-day festival from 10-14 January 2024 celebrates the legacy and life of Elvis Presley. Main Events include..
US Artist, Taylor Rodriguez- Back by popular demand, Taylor will be performing in five shows at the Parkes Leagues Club.
US Artist, Cote Deonath - the current Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist International champion in the Feature Concert Series. Six concerts, two already SOLD OUT. 'Sons Of Sun, The Sam Phillips Story' This rock and roll play is about Sun Records, Memphis, and the famous 'Sun Rising - The Story Of The Birth Of Rock & Roll' This critically acclaimed show celebrates the music and stories of the early years of Sun Records.
See Parkes Elvis Festival website for all the details (News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
Book Elvis 'Eleven Hundred and Twenty-Four' OUT NOW: The new collaboration between Jean-Etienne Baduel and Erik Lorentzen 'Eleven Hundred and Twenty-Four' is published and will ship to customers the second week of January 2024.
The set contains 3 volumes, housed in a slipcase. .. Eleven Hundred and Twenty Four . . . that's about the number of concerts Elvis has performed since his return to the stage in front of a live audience in 1969.
This set includes all Elvis legendary concerts from 1969.
Anything and everything is brought to light in these special editions. All recordings, every stage suit, all information from every CD ever released by RCA, Sony and FTD records. More than 1200 pages packed with information with the best photos available printed on heavy glossy paper
as you are used to from TEF. Priced at €269 ─ including DHL EXPRESS World Wide.
A SUPER-DE-LUXE EDITION of a phenomenon . . . The King Elvis Presley.
Go here tothe Elvis Files for details and to order (News, Source;EL/ElvisInfoNet)
Wednesday 10 January 2024
Graceland adds “That’s All Right” Acetate to Museum: A birthday announcement that Graceland has acquired the original acetate disc of Elvis’ recording of “That’s All Right” that was first played by Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips on WHBQ, marking the pivotal moment that ushered in a whole new era of pop music and changed the world forever.
The acetate, a single-sided 10” disc that features Elvis’ last name written as “Pressley,” was recorded on July 5, 1954 “live” with just Scotty Moore on electric guitar, Bill Black on bass, and Elvis himself on acoustic rhythm guitar, with no additional instruments. The sound on the 10” disc is raw and showcases the music of an up-until-that moment completely unknown Elvis Presley in its purest form.
Stamped with W.H.B.Q. Memphis, the single-sided acetate was given to WHBQ’s Dewey Phillips by Memphis Recording Service owner Sam Phillips, and was first played on air on July 6, 1954. After airing the song, the station’s switchboard lit up, and Elvis Presley’s legendary career was launched.
The “That’s All Right” acetate is now on permanent display at 'Elvis: The Entertainer Museum'.
The Graceland Archives features over 1.5 million items.
EIN NOTE: EPE have posted this YouTube clip of the acetate playing. The audio is however the later RCA version with added RCA 'echo'! It is NOT under any circumstances the original SUN acetate.
This is a real embarrassment.
There is also the fact that it is not playing at 78RPM and the label is way too "official" looking for an unknown artist.
Did Sam Phillips really print out a label like that before dashing his new find over to his friend at WHBQ?
EIN truly has their doubts.
I wonder if EPE's Angie Marchese will be able to explain the errors. (News, Source;EPE/ElvisInfoNet)
'Direct From Graceland' London Exhibit Extension: Good news for European
fans as 'Direct from Graceland' the largest retrospective exhibition
ever to leave the gates of Graceland, has been extended until April 14,
2024
After a 10-week run at Arches London Bridge the promoter announced on Elvis' Birthday that the show will continue to April 14, 2024.
The decision was announced via livestream at Elvis' 89th birthday proclamation at Graceland.
EPE's Angie Marchese said, “We are thrilled with the overwhelming success of the Direct from Graceland: Elvis exhibit’s run at Arches London Bridge and excited to announce the exhibition’s extension. Elvis is a true icon. He is still as relevant today as he was nearly 70 years ago when he shook up the world with his first commercial release, That’s All Right. Being able to share the stories, rare artifacts, and items from the Graceland Archives with the fans in the UK is beyond special.”
This extension offers an additional six weeks for visitors to immerse themselves in Elvis' musical history, captivating life, and lasting impact of global icon Elvis Presley.
See TOTALROCK's excellent review ...
Go here to get London ELVIS tickets
The 'Direct from Graceland' exhibition was originally in Australia - see EIN's in-depth review here (News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
Monday 8 January 2024 - - - - HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELVIS ! - - - -
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELVIS
EIN wishes Elvis all the best, where ever he is, celebrating his 89th Birthday.
Sixty-two years ago today in 1962 Elvis celebrated his 28th birthday at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas - (photo right).
Elvis was there with Memphis girlfriend Bonnie Bunkley as well as Joe Esposito & friends. Elvis also met up with one of his favourite songwriters Don Robertson.
President Nigel Patterson of the Elvis Information Network Fan Club (Australia's oldest Elvis fan club) was also there to present Elvis with a special Birthday cake.
Watch the 2024 Proclamation Ceremony: It's somebody's Birthday!
The celebrations have already started -see details below- but if you can't make it to Memphis for Elvis' Birthday Celebration you can join in On-Line.
The special ceremony starts at 8:30am CT / 14:30 UTC January 8. Join us as we celebrate the King of Rock 'n' Roll's birthday live from
Graceland Mansion's north lawn with a ceremony featuring a birthday cake
cutting and a proclamation of Elvis Presley Day by Memphis and Shelby
County officials.
Fans who are unable to attend can watch the 2024 Proclamation Ceremony from home online for free via Graceland's Livestream page (News, Source;EPE/Elvisinfonet)
No 'Presley' wins at Golden Globes 2024: It was the 81st Golden Globe Awards last night in Beverly Hills. Riley Keough - Elvis' grand-daughter - joined stars for the celebration, just one year after the tragic death of her mother Lisa Marie.
In 2023 the tragedy was Lisa Marie dying at age 54 of cardiac arrest less than 48 hours after supporting Austin Butler, who won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of ELVIS at the 2023 Golden Globes.
This year Riley was up for the 'Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series, Motion Picture Made for Television' award for her performance in the Amazon Prime Video mini-series Daisy Jones And The Six.
Along with Riley's nod, the series, produced under Reese Witherspoon's production company, was also up for 'Best Performance by a Male Actor' and 'Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television.'
Sadly the 'Daisy Jones And The Six' series failed to win any Golden Globes.
Similarly Cailee Spaeny who was up for an award 'Best Performance
by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama' for her role in Priscilla also did not win.
For the big night Riley wowed in a sleeveless tiered dress made of sheer, white lace fabric.
It was noted as possibly being a nod to her grand-mothers wedding dress to Elvis back in 1967.
The 81st Golden Globe Awards honors the best in film and American television of 2023 - with the glittering ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. (News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
Sunday 7 January 2024 - - - One More Sleep before it's HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELVIS!
'Conversations On Elvis' 2024: Yesterday's Elvis' Birthday Celebration 'Conversations On Elvis' featured TV personality Wink Martindale, Memphis Boys drummer Gene Chrisman and the Holladay Sisters, along with movie extra Sandra Gimpel. Wink Martindale is now 90 years old but was on fine form.
He talked about his career and hearing 'That's All Right' on the air for the first time when it was spun July 1954 by fellow deejay, Dewey Phillips on WHBQ radio.
He said, "That was the beginning of Presleymania, and I just happened to be there at night".
He said the Elvis song caused such a "commotion" that he was charged with calling Gladys and Vernon Presley at home, to get them to bring Elvis to the studio, to talk on the air about the song that was driving listeners wild.
Elvis was at Suzores Theatre and we found him sitting all by himself watching a Western movie. We told him about the excitement over 'That's All Right' being played on the radio and so he came down to the station. Then Dewey put him on the air and that was Elvis' first interview. "I met him that night, and he remained my friend until the day he died," Martindale said.
He later hosted TV's Top 10 Dance Party on WHBQ-TV and in 1956 Elvis appeared on the show, for free. Wink noted, "that was much to the chagrin of Colonel Parker, who never spoke to me again!"
Martindale was then presented with a 'Beale Street Walk of Fame' Brass Note. Mary and Ginger Holladay spoke about recording with Elvis at the American Sound Memphis Sessions in 1969. Ginger Holladay who was only 17 when came to Memphis and recorded with Elvis said that, "You never forget meeting Elvis for the first time. He came in and shook everyone's hand saying "I'm Elvis Presley" it was so sweet. The American studio was downtown and rather "funky" in more ways than one. You could see rats in the ceiling, a lot of times they'd have to stop the session, and we had to wait 'til they got settled." Gene Chrisman didn't seem to mind the rats but said he didn't really enjoy Elvis' nocturnal hours. Elvis would show up about 5pm and play until about 5am the next morning. Even though the results were priceless (Suspicious Minds, In The Ghetto etc) when the sessions ended two weeks later Chrisman told everyone he thought "Boy, I'm glad this is over - that was too many hours for me, boy!" Dancer Sandra Gimpel appeared in 15 Elvis movies. She got her start in the 1961 film The Pleasure of His Company starring Fred Astaire and then danced in fifteen Elvis movies. She became one of Elvis' five main dancers noting "Elvis was such a great guy. He'd arrange lunch for everybody and we'd sit around and sing songs and he'd play the guitar or play the piano"
She also used to hear Elvis practice in the MGM rehearsal hall. "I was so blessed it wasn't even funny.” (News, Source;Various/ElvisInfoNet) - See the Memphis Commercial Appeal for more
'Elvis Day By Day 2023' Out Soon: The 2023 edition of Kees Mouwen's 'Elvis Day by Day' yearbook is heading for the printers within the next two weeks.
The book should also be available worldwide through Amazon around the same time. Well-known 'Elvis UK' Gordon Minto wrote a thoughtful foreword for this 6th volume in the series, sharing his perspective on the state of the Elvis world today.
This latest volume covers everything from 2023 on no less than 480 pages, the biggest edition in the series yet.
Gone for 47 years, Elvis' legacy is still resonates today, as this book proves.
It covers all the news, including coverage of the unexpected death of Lisa Marie Presley one year ago and Riley Keough taking care of business at Graceland and Elvis' legacy. But also the many great moments and new titles 2023 brought us to enjoy.
The 80+ in-depth reviews by Elvis experts and fans like you and me, will help you find the titles to add to your collection, and which ones to skip, like the many AI generated "books". All the main releases have a place in this volume: the books, the movies - including 'Priscilla' - on DVD and Blu-ray and all the official and bootleg music, in mono and stereo, on CD, colored vinyl or presented as lavish box-sets, as well as several novelty titles.
With this 2023 edition you are completely up-to-date, including reviews of the latest FTD releases like 'Elvis - In Person 1972','Elvis: Summer of '76'.
The book is available for pre-order from www.PoplarTunes.com and various fan clubs. (News, Source;EDaybyDay)
Sirius Elvis Radio Celebration: Over Elvis Birthday Celebrations 2024 you can experience Elvis’ incredible on-stage 89 Hours of Concert Performances marathon. SiriusXM Elvis Radio is celebrating Elvis' birthday with 89-hours of his most iconic concerts!
Elvis was born on January 8, 1935, and Elvis Radio (Ch 76) is celebrating Elvis’ 89th birthday with 89 hours of his concert performances!
Experience Elvis’ most incredible moments on stage, from his start on The Louisiana Hayride to the iconic 68 Special black leather performances, and the history-making Aloha from Hawaii concert. Over this weekend to January 9 listeners can relive all of Elvis' major legendary performances. Click HERE to listen (News, Source;EPE/EIN)
Elvis New Success on Billboard's Streaming Chart: Forbes reports... Elvis Presley isn't known as one of the most successful musicians when it comes to streaming, which makes sense, as he passed away decades before that technology was invented. While he may not be one of the top performers on sites like Spotify, his catalog is gaining ground and reaching new people thanks to these platforms.
This week, Presley reaches a new high point on Billboard’s Top Streaming Albums chart, proving that his work will succeed, no matter how millions of Americans consume music. The singer-songwriter’s Elvis’ Christmas Album debuts at No. 22 on the tally of the most-streamed full-lengths in the US. It’s the highest-ranking debut of the week. Elvis’ Christmas Album marks Presley’s second visit to the Top Streaming Albums chart.
The ranking was only instituted a few weeks ago, so many stars (even some of the biggest of all time) have recently been catching up and earning their first wins on the list.
Before this week, Presley had only landed one hit title on the Top Streaming Albums chart. Coincidentally, it’s another holiday favorite
from Elvis, his The Classic Christmas Album debuted on the ranking last month, and it rose as high as No. 30. Elvis’ Christmas Album is gaining ground and appearing on a number of charts it’s never reached before, as the 2023 holiday season has turned out to be a big one for the title. This week, the set also debuts on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, and Top Country Albums rankings. On all of those tallies, Presley has already claimed more than a dozen appearances. (News, Source;Forbes/EIN)
Taylor Swift breaks Elvis' Billboard 200 Record: As noted above, Elvis is still hitting the worldwide charts over 45 years since his all-too-early death. It's hard to imagine that any of the new generation of pop-stars will ever achieve the same.
However last week according to the overall statistics, Taylor Swift has beaten Elvis’ 'Billboard 200' chart record when her album, '1989 (Taylor's Version),' was No 1 on the Billboard 200 chart for the fifth time.
The accomplishment means that the Swift has now been at the top of the chart for a total of 68 weeks, beating the King of Rock & Roll.
Elvis' 67 weeks at No1, for albums spanning 1956 to 2002, puts him in second place among solo artists and third among all acts.
Elvis' longest-running No 1 album was Blue Hawaii which spent 20 weeks in the spot from 1961-62. Four of his 10 No 1 albums were soundtracks: Loving You, GI Blues, Blue Hawaii and Roustabout.
In July Swift broke a record set by Barbra Streisand to become the female artist with the most No 1 albums in history, with the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).
The Beatles still hold the record for the most No 1 albums overall with 19, followed by Jay-Z with 14 and Swift with 13.
Presley and Swift are currently tied for the most No 1s in a single year, both having had three in a single year twice – Presley in 1957 and 1961 and Swift in 2021 and 2023. The Elvis EIN Fan Club will have been running for thirty-eight years in 2024.
It will be fascinating to see whether Taylor Swift fans are similarly celebrating together with hits in the Billboard charts thirty years from now in 2054! (News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
More 'Elvis Evolution' News: The new 2024 experience 'Elvis Evolution' will be an “immersive concert experience” using AI and holographic projection, will premiere in London in November, with shows also planned in Las Vegas, Tokyo and Berlin.
“It’ll be a memory-making experience that will be a bucket-list item for Elvis fans and admirers around the world; people can step into the world of Elvis, walk in his shoes and celebrate his extraordinary musical legacy.”
New reports are that... Elvis fans will have to wear headsets for some of the experience as well as make their way around different areas within the venue.
The show will also offer an after-party Elvis-themed bar and restaurant on site at the central London location, with live music, DJs and performances.
It follows the success of Abba Voyage, in which life-size avatars of the Swedish pop sensations perform as their human counterparts appeared in 1979. The show made a £322 million last year.
Initially planned to last two or three years, Abba Voyage is expected to soon have a London residency. In November it announced ticket sales had passed 1.9million since it premiered in May 2022.
No stranger to holograms, Elvis appeared alongside Celine Dion in American Pop Idol in 2007 and alongside Ryan Gosling in 'Blade Runner 2049'.
... More news when we get it (News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
'Elvis Evolution' Can only be good for Elvis Impersonators: In a god-help-us-all article by UK's Guardian they suggest that 'Elvis Evolution'"Can only be good" as Elvis tribute acts embrace the hologram Presley!
At the recent Birmingham 'European Elvis Championships' where impersonators compete to become that year’s king of rock’n’roll, there was one particular Elvis on everyone’s lips – hologram Elvis, set to make his debut in an “immersive concert experience” in London in November.
For all the Presley mega-fans in the room, this week’s announcement had caused a loud buzz, and there was little concern that a digital recreation of the man himself would steal the limelight from the ETA acts. “It can only be good for tribute acts really, because it’s
introducing Elvis to a new generation, and that new generation could come and support us. Anything that’s Elvis and is good, I’m quite happy for it to steal the limelight,” said Kev Wright, 70, who has been performing his Elvis act for seven years.
“Obviously, most of the people here haven’t been able to see Elvis because he died so many years ago, and that’s as near as you’re going to get to the real thing these days.”
The Elvis tribute acts (known as ETAs) competing over the three-day event, which culminates on Sunday, said they had seen a growing number of young people getting involved in the tribute scene off the back of the 2022 film, Elvis, starring Austin Butler, and the recently released Priscilla, and the hologram concert would only build on that interest.
“We don’t claim to be Elvis or anything like that, we’re just tribute acts doing something that we love doing to cheer people up. I don’t think a hologram Elvis will ruin what we have here. People will still come to these shows. There’s going to be people to continue this legacy long after we’re gone, that’s what it’s all about. I think Elvis is going to be the last person to die on the planet.”
But could The Guardian have chosen a worse looking bunch of Elvis imitators!
Let's hope that 'Elvis Evolution' is SO GOOD that Hologram Elvis reigns supreme
See Guardian article here (News, Source;NP/ElvisInfonet)
Friday 5 January 2024
'Elvis Evolution' More details: More details emerge about the new AI Elvis show coming to London and it will not be just a newly created live performance... The publicity notes... Elvis Presley fans who missed out on seeing their hero when he was alive will be able to catch a glimpse of the King of Rock 'n' Roll later this year, thanks to virtual reality. Layered Reality the immersive entertainment company that is creating the show stated that "Elvis Evolution will use AI and holographic projection, augmented reality and live theatre to recreate events in Presley's life and music."
Layered Reality CEO Andrew McGuinness explains, "It's going to be a joyous celebration of Elvis's life; the man, the music, and his cultural legacy. Visitors will be taken on a journey from Tupelo, Mississippi, where Presley was born in 1935, to Memphis, Tennessee, home of Graceland, and Las Vegas. The crescendo of the experience is an AI performance by Elvis," he said.
Layered Reality struck a deal with Authentic Brands Group, owner of EPE, to develop Elvis Evolution. The British company was given access to thousands of the star's personal photos and hours of home-videos to create the new performances using AI.
The show will use AI and holographic projections of ELVIS created from thousands of his personal photos and home-video footage.
The show is set to open in London, November 2024 before moving to Las Vegas, Berlin and Tokyo.
It follows the success of 'Abba Voyage' a virtual concert with avatars of the Swedish pop band.
See more on this YouTube clip (News, Source;AK/ElvisInfoNet)
Elvis' birthday at Graceland: Starting today, celebrate Elvis’ birthday at Graceland with four days of live music, special tours, conversations and more. Join us on January 5-8 for a birthday celebration fit for a king!
In addition, fans are invited to the north lawn of Graceland Mansion on January 8, Elvis' Birthday, at 8:30 am CST, for the official Birthday Proclamation Ceremony featuring EPE officials, a birthday cake cutting, and an official proclamation of Elvis Presley Day.
New guests have been announced. Radio & TV personality Wink Martindale will appear at Conversations on Elvis (6 Jan) and the Elvis Birthday Proclamation Ceremony (8 Jan); dancer and stunt woman Sandra Gimpel will share her stories and memories of Elvis at Conversations on Elvis (6 Jan);
Memphis Boys' Gene Chrisman will share memories at Conversations on Elvis (6 Jan) and perform at A Night at American Sound concert (7 Jan);
Confirmed guests also include the Holladay sisters, Mary and Ginger. Patrick Dunn 2021 Ultimate ETA Contest winner will also perform during A Night at American Sound.
Go here to EPEfor tickets and info (News, Source;EPE/EIN)
Thursday 4 January 2024
Elvis Hologram show to premiere in London: It was back in 2017 that Priscilla stated that "EPE is not interested in an Elvis Hologram show" and as far back as 2014 that the company Pulse Evolution acquired the rights to create a hologram version of Elvis from EPE. This never happened.
However after the major financial success of “ABBA Voyage” it has been announced that "Hologram A.I. Elvis" will rock London audiences from November 2024 in the stage show “Elvis Evolution”.
The show being produced by UK company Layered Reality whose credits include “Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience.” “Elvis Evolution” is described as “A major new show celebrating the world’s biggest star of stage and screen, Elvis Presley, with a jaw-dropping concert finale and a personal invite to the after party. The show peaks with a concert experience that will recreate the seismic impact of seeing Elvis live for a whole new generation of fans, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. A life sized digital Elvis will share his most iconic songs and moves for the very first time on a UK stage.
Elvis fans can look forward to a memory-making experience like no other.
Through AI and groundbreaking tech you’ll be able to witness iconic Elvis performances as if you were really there, and celebrate defining moments in Elvis Presley’s extraordinary life and career.”
The London venue is yet-to-be confirmed but will be followed by after parties at an Elvis-themed restaurant and bar with live music, DJs and performances.
Layered Reality’s shows blend technology, augmented reality, theatre, projection and multi-sensory effects.
“Elvis Evolution” will also travel to Las Vegas, Berlin and Tokyo.
The company struck a deal with EPE owner Authentic Brands Group to create the show experience.
Layered Reality CEO Andrew McGuinness stated, “‘Elvis Evolution’ is a next-generation tribute to the musical legend that is Elvis Presley. Elvis maintains superstar status globally and people around the world no longer want to sit there and passively receive entertainment – they want to be a part of it. It’ll be a memory-making experience that will be a bucket list item for Elvis fans and admirers around the world; people can step into the world of Elvis, walk in his shoes and celebrate his extraordinary musical legacy.”
After the massive success of Baz Luhrmann’s award-winning ELVIS the man himself (AI) should thrill audiences with a brand new LIVE concert.
EIN says, let's hope they get it right! (News, Source;AK/ElvisInfoNet)
Wednesday 3 January 2024
Why Elvis is still popular in 2024?: EIN asked Bing Chat + GPT4 this question. Its answer is one of the better Elvis related things we have seen generated by AI technology:
Elvis Presley’s enduring popularity can be attributed to several factors: - 1. Influence on Music: Elvis had a significant impact on popular music. He had 18 No. 1 hits, including standards of the rock ’n’ roll era such as “Jailhouse Rock,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Hound Dog,” “It’s Now or Never” and "Suspicious Minds". His music was a blend of country, blues, and pop, a hybrid that would become known as rockabilly.
- 2. Cultural Impact: Elvis’s influence extended beyond music into generational and sexual politics, the lure of Hollywood, and the American dream. His life and career are woven into America’s ideas of race and class.
- 3. Iconic Image: Elvis’s image remains one of the most iconic in music history. The image of the young, rebellious, lascivious rockabilly cat and the later persona of the '70s crooner have become pervasive in pop culture.
- 4. Continued Relevance: Despite some evidence of dwindling reverence among millennials, Elvis’s music and movies remain influential. His posthumous popularity is maintained through his music, biopics, and the continued debate about his life and death.
- 5. Nostalgia: Elvis’s popularity among older generations is still strong. His music provides a connection to a different era, and many people continue to find enjoyment and meaning in his songs.
However, it’s worth noting that the perception of Elvis has evolved over time, and his image has been somewhat cheapened by numerous impersonators. Despite these challenges, Elvis Presley continues to be a significant figure in the cultural landscape. (News, Source:Bing/ElvisInfoNet)
'The Blue Hawaii Sessions' New FTD: Hopefully for the end of this month FTD's 'Elvis Presley: The Blue Hawaii Sessions' 4-CD-set.
This is the earlier promised "audio release" of the music from the Deluxe 'The Making Of Blue Hawaii' Book/CD combo.
Released as a 4-CD set, it includes the complete soundtrack sessions newly-mixed from the original 3-track session tapes.
The 24-page booklet features informative flashbacks from musicians, songwriters, session data, memorabilia and global chart information.
The original album spent 20 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Top Pop LPs chart. Nominated for a Grammy Award in 1961, it became the 2nd most successful soundtrack album of the 60s only losing out to West Side Story! Footnote: Audio previously released in the FTD book “The Making of Blue Hawaii”.
Priced at around £55 /US$70 / AUD$100
See "FTD CD News" for tracklistings (News, Source;FTD/ElvisInfoNet)
'Elvis On Record Volume 1 1956-1965' (Paul Alner) OUT NOW: Paul Alner's new book is a "limited print run" and has now been published - to purchase see 'Elvis 4 Sale' or check your local dealers.
The book is priced at £130
Author Paul Alner explained to EIN...
... As an avid vinyl collector discography books are the holy grail. It is so very hard to make them "complete". In 2017 I produced a UK discography that was a layman's guide to what was issued in the UK 'Elvis On Record: A Comprehensive Guide to UK Record Releases'.
After publication many collectors asked why I hadn't gone further and produced the definitive UK discography. My response was that it was far to daunting a proposition and that I could never discover or obtain suitable pictures of EVERY variation. After a little arm twisting I vowed to "give it a go".
Early on I realised that the shear amount of variations would mean an enormous book so I decided to split it into 2 volumes of roughly the same size. I initially worked on both volumes simultaneously but the final 12 months were spent on finishing volume 1. It has taken 6 years of research and study to assemble everything that is included in the book but it is now everything I envisaged and more. It is without doubt the most comprehensive UK discography, in print or on the web, covering the first 10 years. Of course creating the
book is just the start, getting the finance in place to print it is another story, you have to believe in your project and hope others feel the same. (see a couple of example pages below)
Volume 2 will be released in the summer of 2024 and will cover 1966 to 1981.
1981 was chosen as RCA ceased pressing records in the UK during that year and it will also create a second volume similar in size to the first. (News, Source;PA/ElvisInfoNet) - See a YouTube Review / overview here -
Shecky Greene Legendary Comic, Dead Aged 97: Shecky Greene, the legendary Las Vegas standup comedian died December 31, he was 97.
While not well-known amongst Elvis fans he did work on stage with both Sinatra and Elvis.
Shecky Greene was a regular on the US TV talk show and guest star circuit in his 1960s and ’70s heyday. Earlier in his career he was the Rat Pack-adjacent comedian in a tux, delivering lightly risque or edgy anecdotal stories and zingers on stage.
Greene was known for his many appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and for working as the opening act for Sinatra and also for Elvis' first appearance in Las Vegas in 1956. He would later joke that "Elvis was my opening act!".
He appeared on TV shows “The Love Boat,” “Fantasy Island,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “The Fall Guy,” “The A-Team,” “Trapper John, MD,” “Roseanne” and
and “Mad About You.” His film roles include “Splash,” Mel Brooks’ “History of the World: Part I” and “Tony Rome.”
He guested on more than 60 episodes of “The Tonight Show,” including several outings as a guest host replacement for Carson.
Greene hailed from the Chicago area but lived in Las Vegas since the 1950s. His long association with Sin City began in 1954 when he performed on the bill with singer Dorothy Shay at the New Frontier casino, according to the Review-Journal.
His last performances in the city were in 2011. (News, Source;NeilC/EIN) - Thanks Neil!
'Elvis – The King of Fashion': Lorraine Gibson has announced her new book (with Foreword by Hal Lansky), due for release in summer (northern hemisphere).
EIN will have for more details as soon as they become available.
(News, Source: Lorraine Gibson)
A look back at some neat Elvis vinyl releases:
The Last Temptation of Elvis ( NME LP 038/039): This special 2LP release (later a 2CD) from the British New Musical Express (NME) in 1990 featured 26 Elvis songs, 25 of which were sung by other music stars. They included Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Plant, Hall & Oates, Dion, The Cramps, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Lemmy (Motorhead), Fuzzbox, The Blow Monkeys, and Aaron Neville. The songs were varied, including Jailhouse Rock, King Creole, Crawfish, Mean Woman Blues, Love Me Tender, Down In the Alley, There’s No Room to Rhumba In A Sports Car, and Guitar Man. The final track was by Elvis, King of the Whole Wide World.
Neat NME promo 10" single promoting the 2LP - The Last Temptation of Elvis (released in 1990): On one side is Macca singing It's Now or Never and on the other side, The Boss singing Viva Las Vegas.
Rare vinyl single from Turkey – Don’t Cry Daddy /Rubberneckin’: The unusual cover was apparently
drawn by a Turkish artist.
Elvis By Request Specially for Brazil (RCA Victor – 104.4124): This 14-track LP compilation was released in Brazil in 1979. The tracklisting: Viva Las Vegas (April 1964), It's Now Or Never (July 1960), No More (Oct 1961), Sylvia (Mar 1972), Sentimental Me (Jun 1961), What A Wonderful Life (Mar 1962), Tell Me Why (Jan 1966), Girls! Girls! Girls! (Nov 1962), Come What May (Jun 1966), It Hurts Me (Oct 1963), I Need You So (Jul 1957), America (Nov 1977), The Wonder Of You (May 1970), Memphis, Tennessee (Jul 1965).
Elvis – Sold Out (EP Records PRP-251): Bootleg vinyl from Canada released in 1975. The cover image was drawn by the legendary, (late) Ger Rijff. The 26/29 tracks were a mix of studio and Vegas and on-the-road concert recordings from 1969 to 1974.
Need to brush up on your knowledge of Elvis’ earliest recordings or are a new fan wanting a solid account of Elvis in the studio circa 1950s?
If so, Alan Tranter’s new book is a fresh and satisfying release, chock full of background on individual songs, recording information and neat analysis of Elvis in the studio.
Elvis In the Christmas Single Charts: Looking at the worldwide charts which this year, due to Spotify etc, are more chock-a-block with Christmas oldies than ever..
Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' and Wham!'s 'Last Christmas' dominate the top spots UK Official Singles chart Elvis' 'Blue Christmas' is at #41
But sadly beaten by Frank Sinatra (Let It Snow, Let It Snow), Bing Crosby (White Christmas) and even Shakin' Stevens (Merry Christmas Everyone)
US Billboard Top100 'Blue Christmas' is doing better at #25
However again beaten by the Usual Suspects and even Burl Ives at # 5 with 'A Holly Jolly Christmas'
Australia ARIA Top 50
Worldwide Brenda Lee is stunning the charts with 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree' in Australia she is #2 'Blue Christmas' is new at #42
Great to see Chuck Berry's 'Run Run Rudolph' at #22
New Zealand Top 40 'Blue Christmas' is new at #38
The Dutch Singles Top 100 'Blue Christmas' is at #29
and 'Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)' at #67 (News, Source;NP/EIN)
December 1956 Elvis Took Over the Pop Charts: Back in 1956 fans had to go into Record Stores to purchase their precious 45rpm singles. Sixty years ago there were no digital downloads or streaming songs via your phone.
Buying a pop record not only took a trip to the shops but also cost fans a fair bit of cash.
In October this year Taylor Swift simultaneously had every song in the Billboard top 10 from her just released album. Drake and Ed Sheeran have done similar
While this is an amazing achievement it also highlights the uselessness of trying to compare chart statistics with the vinyl / CD era.
What is actually more amazing is that on December 29, 1956, Elvis had 10 of his singles simultaneously charting on the Billboard Top 100 chart.
By the end of ’56, Presley had placed more singles on the 100 than any other artist since the inception of the charts.
Included in Presley’s 10 singles on the Hot 100 were his No. 1 hits “Love Me Tender,” “Hound Dog,” and “Don’t Be Cruel.”
The 10 Presley songs that charted the Hot 100 include: “Love Me Tender” at No. 2; “Love Me” at No. 7; “Don’t Be Cruel” at No. 26; “When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again” at No. 38; “Old Shep” at No. 47; “Hound Dog” and “Poor Boy” tied at No. 54; “Any Way You Want Me” at No. 70; "Paralyzed” at No. 78; and “Blue Moon” rounded them out at No. 93.
1956 was the pivotal one for Presley, who also released his eponymous debut and follow-up, Elvis. In 1956, Presley took over rock and roll and the pop charts.
By the end of the year, Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” was also planted in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned him his first gold record.
Every single that Presley released between 1956 through 1958 went to No. 1 on the charts in the U.S. Sadly Billboard's statistics do NOT count Elvis' massively successful years.
Throughout his career, Elvis had 149 songs chart the Hot 100, including 114 of them in the top 40, another 40 in the top 10, and 18 in the No. 1 spot.
A year later December 1957, Elvis also topped the Billboard album chart with his first holiday album. Elvis’ Christmas Album.
The album remained at the top of the 200 for four weeks and has remained the top-selling holiday album of all time. Elvis’ Christmas Album, along with the 1970 re-release, sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and was also Presley’s first Diamond-selling record.
It became the first Christmas album to spend four consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 and continues to sell nearly 70 decades later.
Elvis Is Back at No.1 on a Billboard Chart: Forbes posted... Elvis Presley is the King, and his legacy has long been secure. The rocker has nothing left to prove to the world, but his music continues to live on. Now, decades after he passed away, the legendary musician is back at No. 1 on a Billboard chart.
On the latest edition of the Rock Streaming Songs chart, Presley climbs to No.1. The singer-songwriter is back atop a Billboard tally with his favorite “Blue Christmas.”
The tune ranks as the most-streamed cut in the U.S. classified as "rock" with that determination being a bit subjective.
It’s not often that a musician who has been gone for many years returns to the top spot on any Billboard chart, and Presley is in rare company with this accomplishment. “Blue Christmas” is one of many holiday hits that soar in terms of consumption every holiday season, but there are only so many rankings where an old cut can climb to No. 1.
Impressively, “Blue Christmas” isn’t Presley’s only hit on this week’s Rock Streaming Songs chart. He also sits at No. 12 with “Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane).” “Blue Christmas” reaches the No. 1 spot on the Rock Streaming Songs chart for the first time this year, but it’s actually risen to the summit before back in 2018. Billboard only began incorporating streaming platforms in the past decade. (News, Source;Forbes/EIN)
The Elvis Presley News Report Yearly Review of 2023: Elvis super-fan Emiel Maier presents all the Elvis News Highlights of 2023.
The Good, The Bad and The Sad of Elvis Presley in the last twelve months in less than 20 minutes!
Includes... the tragic death of Lisa Marie, ELVIS movie awards, the rise of Riley Keough, Agent Elvis, James Burton back on stage, Elvis On Tour release, ReInventing Elvis ... and much much more
NOW UPDATED (Film Review) Priscilla – film by Sofia Coppola: While Baz Luhrmann’s major hit film in 2022, Elvis, was a colorful narrative and frenetic musical explosion, in 2023, Sofia Coppola’s, Priscilla, is more subdued, but still a colorfully hued and musically expressive story.
Coppola is an acclaimed filmmaker and director. Thematically, her films explore themes of identity, isolation, and the complexities of human relationships, and these underscore, Priscilla.
EIN’s Nigel Patterson recently watched the film that has divided the Elvis world.
Now updated with EIN READER comments...
We have had plenty of general negative feedback but also some lengthy and rather interesting discussions on the film.. EIN is also interested in hearing YOUR comments on the movie. (Film Review, Source:ElvisInformationNetwork)
EIN Exclusives and News from earlier in December ...
Taylor Swift ends the year at #1 Again – But She’s Not The King: The return to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 was almost ordained for Taylor Swift.
After a year that saw a massively successful stadium tour and a culture dominance that saw her win the coveted Time “Person of the Year” award, it’s no surprise that her album 1989 (Taylor’s Version) has returned this week to No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
But while those successes are impressive, the breathless and cheerleading claims to have tied Elvis Presley for most weeks as a solo artist at No. 1 is an apples to bricks comparison.
While Elvis’s sales were measured by reports from retailers (vinyl records you had to purchase in person), today’s charts on Billboard consider sales from streaming, something that didn’t exist in Elvis’s heyday.
The Billboard 200 albums chart will count 1,250 streams through a paid subscription service to one album unit, and 3,750 streams through ad-supported streaming
services to one album unit. That’s in addition to traditional sales, which are boosted by vinyl’s revival, but still lag far behind streams.
Comparing streams to the commitment needed to drive to a store to purchase an album is a matter up for debate. Does that cheapen the No. 1 status? Not compared to contemporaries, but maybe historically.
Of course, the Beatles (as a group and individually) had albums at No. 1 for 132 weeks on the album charts. But that’s not a “solo” artist. It is, though, a record unlikely to ever be broken. (News, Source: Bruce Haring, Yahoo News)
“Elvis is the greatest cultural force in the 20th century": With the biographical film, Maestro, about famed conductor, Leonard Bernstein, now showing in cinemas & Netflix, EIN thought it timely to reflect on the “Maestro’s” comments about Elvis, as reported in Time magazine:
Considering the source, it was a startling claim. A longtime lieutenant of TIME and LIFE founder Henry Luce, journalist Richard Clurman found himself chatting one day in the late 1960s with Leonard Bernstein, the legendary composer and conductor of the New York Philharmonic.
Bernstein said, “Elvis Presley is the greatest cultural force in the 20th century.”
Taken aback, Clurman, who recounted the exchange to the writer David Halberstam, offered an alternative. “What about Picasso?” Clurman ventured.
Bernstein insisted., “No, it’s Elvis. He introduced the beat to everything and he changed everything – music, language, clothes, it’s a whole new social revolution – the ’60s come from it.” (News, Source: Time/ElvisInfoNet)
Monday 25 December 2023 ..... MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY!
Everyone working at EIN wishes all of our readers a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! Let's all wish for a safe, happy & peaceful 2024 ...
I hear a choir
Singing sweetly somewhere
And a glow fills my heart
I'm at peace with the world
As the sound of their singing fills the air
Oh why can't every day be like Christmas?
Why can't that feeling go on endlessly
For if everyday could be just like Christmas, What a wonderful world this would be....
Book Elvis 'Eleven Hundred and Twenty-Four' Delayed: The new collaboration between Jean-Etienne Baduel and Erik Lorentzen 'Eleven Hundred and Twenty-Four' is delayed until the second week of January 2024.
The set contains 3 volumes, housed in a slipcase. .. Eleven Hundred and Twenty Four . . . that's about the number of concerts Elvis has performed since his return to the stage in front of a live audience in 1969.
About three years ago I (Erik) was asked to do something from the time when Elvis returned to the stage at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas and all legendary concerts after that. Well now that three book edition is ready and due to special circumstances this set will be released a few months earlier.
Anything and everything is brought to light in these special editions. All recordings, every stage suit, all information from every CD ever released by RCA, Sony and FTD records. More than 1200 pages packed with information with the best photos available printed on heavy glossy paper as you are used to from TEF. Priced at €269 ─ including DHL EXPRESS World Wide.
A SUPER-DE-LUXE EDITION of a phenomenon . . . The King Elvis Presley.
Go here tothe Elvis Files for details and to order (News, Source;EL/ElvisInfoNet)
Elvis' birthday at Graceland: Celebrate Elvis’ birthday at Graceland with four days of live music, special tours, conversations and more. Join us on January 5-8 for a birthday celebration fit for a king!
In addition, fans are invited to the north lawn of Graceland Mansion on January 8, Elvis' Birthday, at 8:30 am CST, for the official Birthday Proclamation Ceremony featuring EPE officials, a birthday cake cutting, and an official proclamation of Elvis Presley Day.
New guests have been announced. Radio & TV personality Wink Martindale will appear at Conversations on Elvis (6 Jan) and the Elvis Birthday Proclamation Ceremony (8 Jan); dancer and stunt woman Sandra Gimpel will share her stories and memories of Elvis at Conversations on Elvis (6 Jan);
Memphis Boys' Gene Chrisman will share memories at Conversations on Elvis (6 Jan) and perform at A Night at American Sound concert (7 Jan);
Confirmed guests also include the Holladay sisters, Mary and Ginger. Patrick Dunn 2021 Ultimate ETA Contest winner will also perform during A Night at American Sound.
Go here to EPEfor tickets and info (News, Source;EPE/EIN)
MRS CAMDEN reviews: The UK MRS label have re-released 3 CD titles on its new alternate budget label 'MRS CAMDEN'. - One Night In Pearl Harbor 1CD
- Elvis On Television 1956 - 1960 2CD
- The Complete 1950's Live Recordings 3CD
All three were released late November 2023.
The releases on MRS CAMDEN are scaled-down budget versions priced for the mainstream market. The titles have slight changes from the original MRS deluxe versions and now come in a Digi-Sleeve packs with small booklets.
There are minor upgrades on each release but they still all pack a punch and cover important sections of Elvis' historical journey. Going from 1954 to 1961 it is one incredible rockin’ trip. EIN's Piers Beagley checks them out as possible Santa bonus treats...
If you are in the UK and order them on Amazon you can still get them delivered by Christmas Day! (CD Reviews; Source: ElvisInformationNetwork)
Dixie Locke (Emmons) Passed Away: Dixie Locke, Elvis' first serious girlfriend, has passed away December 19, 2023 . Dixie was someone who knew Elvis Presley before the world knew him as the iconic ‘King of Rock and Roll.’
Her relationship with Elvis was one of genuine connection and affection, founded on mutual respect and admiration long before fame and fortune.
Dixie Locke Emmons is regarded as Elvis' first serious girlfriend. They started dating in January 1954 and met though their mutual involvement in the First Assembly of God. It was on January 24, 1954 that Dixie noticed Elvis at a church function.
She noted, "I thought Elvis was the most gorgeous thing I'd ever seen. He was a very shy person, but when he started singing he put so much into putting the music across that he kind of lost himself. He threw himself into it completely"
When we first dated we went to a drive-in in South Memphis which was where I was from. We just sat and talked, and he told me about his job, about his family. It was kind of not strange because we both felt like we already knew each other. We had so much in common. Our families were so similar in that they were hardworking people.
He asked me if I could go out the next week when he took me home. I told him yes and I gave him my aunt's phone number. Elvis was just a nice, handsome guy. There was a magic kiss that night when we got home. It was almost casual. I had to sneak into the house because my parents were sleeping.
We started going together in January '54, and we dated pretty steadily until his first record was released. We were together three or four nights a week.
From January '54 until we went to the prom together in 1955. But Elvis was traveling a lot by that time and he had such a busy schedule. He also came to my graduation in '56.
We kept a good close bond with each other. We had talked about getting married after my high school graduation but by the time his records came out, we realized that wasn't going to happen. I cannot actually remember Elvis and I ever specifically breaking up, because we didn’t. No matter how far his fame was beginning to take him, we knew in our hearts we were eternally tied to each other.”
In 2012 Dixie Locke Emmons published her book 'Unlocked: Memoirs of Elvis's First Girlfriend' co-written with her daughter Kristi Emmons Jones. You can buy it at the Graceland shop. (News, Source;Kristi Emmons/EIN)
Elvis 'n Me (Charlie Hodge) reprint update: Jennifer Hodge has published this new information which now includes shipping (at cost) to the UK and Australia:
... Charlie's book is now $29.99 plus shipping on eBay. You calculate shipping depending on where you live. Its what ebay (through USPS) charges. Because of overhead and other reasons, the price went up a little.
Ebay purchases available for USA and Canada only.
If you have ANY questions, please email me at tcbinaflash@hotmail.com
For anyone in UK and Australia, we can do transactions through PayPal ONLY.
Please contact me through my email at tcbinaflash@hotmail.com I will send you an invoice through PayPal once I know your email linked to your PayPal account.
If shipped to the UK and Australia:
Book $25.00 + Shipping 28 + PayPal fee $3 = Total $56.00. Yes, that's a lot!!!
I only charge what USPS charges for shipping.
OR you can get a friend from the US to buy it for you if you are coming to visit Graceland or they are going to visit you!!! NOTE: You can also order through snail mail for $31.00 per book (personal check only). That includes shipping in the USA. FYI, shipping is first class but really slow!!🐌
Contact me via snail mail
Jennifer Hodge
PO Box 6243,
Sevierville, TN 37862 (News, Source: Jennifer Hodge)
'Elvis: A Musical Revolution' returns to Sydney in February 2024: Elvis will be back in the building. Following its world-premiere August 2023 season in Sydney Australia followed by a lengthy season in Melbourne, 'Elvis: A Musical Revolution' will return to the Sydney State Theatre from February 4, 2024, to be followed by a national tour.
The return season features a series of enhancements including ..
- Additional chart-topping Elvis hits such as Return To Sender, A Big Hunk O’ Love, Teddy Bear, and Good Luck Charm.
- Introduction of new captivating dance numbers and exciting moments.
- A streamlined runtime, ensuring a faster-paced show infused with heightened energy throughout.
Opening Night is Friday 9 February through to March 3 2024.
Previews at special prices are also on offer from Feb 4 > Feb 8
Go here toState Theatre for tickets and details (News, Source;ETM/ElvisInfoNet)
‘AT 3:AM – LAKE TAHOE 1973’ MRS Press release: UK Label ‘Memphis Recording Service’ (MRS) will release a deluxe 2CD set, and an LP titled ‘AT 3:AM – LAKE TAHOE 1973’ both on 23rd February 2024.
The CD features live performances of both the Midnight and 3:AM concerts from Elvis’ May 1973 engagement at The Sahara Tahoe in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. The shows are presented in stereo for the first time ever.
The accompanying booklet - featuring rare photographs, memorabilia and includes liner notes that set the scene.
The LP version is only of the 3:AM show and is available in black and clear (the clear only Elvis dealers) versions.
EIN Note: A new high-res image of the front cover was provided and you can see that the design is a stunner.
'Elvis on Tour March 1974' REPRINT!: From author Kieran Davis, a brand new book on 'Elvis on Tour March 1974' - and the first print run is already SOLD OUT!
The book covers Elvis' March 1974 tour and is the same format as our previous books - hard back, colour, large format etc.
There are 336 pages which include the usual mix of photos, memorabilia and documents plus an exhaustive text on the tour.
The five Memphis shows are especially of note as all the official documents relating to the shows are included.
The front cover image shows Elvis wearing a cape at one of his Tulsa shows - a true rarity. Plus check out detailed sample pages below
The price is £100 / US$123 with worldwide shipping included, regardless of your geographical location.
Luckily for fans who missed the original ordering deadline a second printing of this book is coming! Due to the Christmas holidays they will not be available until late January at the earliest.
Rather than take payment this early please just send us an email if you would like a copy and we will invoice you nearer the time.
Price £100 including worldwide shipping. Out late January / February 2024.
For details to preorder Click Here
(News, Source;KD)
UPDATED- CD Review 'The Joan Deary Tapes Vol1' - and has Ernst won the war?’: Two years ago EIN posted an article suggesting that the Elvis bootleg era was over, that FTD and Ernst Jorgensen had truly won the war.
So it was a surprise to many that a new bootleg label ‘Joan Deary Inc’ suddenly popped up two months ago promising a very similar series of releases to the Madison ‘A Legendary Performer’ set.
They promised "Unique content... with never issued before outtakes. Some very different mixes among other glorious sounding tracks. Every track comes in great sound quality and has been remastered for optimal listening pleasure..."
EIN was suspicious from the start - to be honest I saw no need to purchase this CD - but several EIN readers wanted to know more before they put down their hard earned cash. Go here as EIN's Piers Beagley investigates to see if there is life in this new series of Elvis bootleg releases... Please read this before ordering we've done the work so that you don't have to! Now UPDATED with YOUR comments (CD Reviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)
'Elvis Presley - Concerts and Rehearsals from 1944 to 1977' New E-Book - Now Available on Kindle: From italian author Marco Durzu - This new book contains exclusively information relating to Elvis Presley’s concert activity currently known and publicly known, from 1944 to 1977, reporting the shows and rehearsals of the shows, with detailed information on the audio recordings of the same, in particular original CDs and bootlegs.
As regards the video recordings of the shows and rehearsals of the shows, in particular original DVDs and BLU-RAYs and bootlegs, at the moment only essential videography is reported, but in future updates of this book it will certainly be extended and integrated with all the information known.
Furthermore, the shows that were canceled are also noted.
I chose to report the shows in chronological order, year by year, from 1944 to 1977, following a progressive numbering also for the tours.
As regards the shows from 1944 to 1961, at the moment only those for which audio recordings exist have been highlighted, but future updates of this book will certainly contain detailed information on the audio recordings of the same, in particular original CDs and bootlegs.
The book is written entirely in English. Pages: 437
Now available Apple Book Store / Google Play Store and Amazon Kindle (News, Source;MD/ElvisInfoNet)
Suzi Quatro talks Elvis: Leather clad rocknroller Suzi Quatro has sold over 50 million records worldwide having massive hits with songs such as 'Can the Can' and 'Devil Gate Drive'. Her major US Billboard hit was the duet 'Stumblin' In' with Smokie's lead singer Chris Norman.
She is back on tour aged 73 and discussed the impact Elvis had on her career.. "Seeing Elvis on The Ed Sullivan Show was the lightning bolt that got me into music. I thought to myself, “I’m gonna do that.”
I have always had a life-long obsession with Elvis and he influenced my whole career in fact I've covered an Elvis song on every album that I've recorded.
My leather jumpsuit was of course inspired by the Elvis' leather suit on the ’68 Comeback Special.
I started in a band back in 1964 - but when I saw Elvis on the Comeback Special I rushed out and bought my first leather jacket.
The UK producer Mickie Most who worked on all my early hits first saw me playing with my old band in Detroit and the number I
performed was 'Jailhouse Rock'.
I'd had a few hits by 1973 and I was about to make my first album. I'd recorded 'All Shook Up' which was a single in the US. So in ’74 I go to America again with my English band, with hits under my belt.
I was in Memphis in a hotel room on tour. 'All Shook Up' was in the lower end of the charts and the phone rang in my hotel room and it was Elvis’ people.
Before I could even recover from that bit of information, he was on the phone, so I nearly died.
And he said to me, “Hi, this is Elvis.” Like you need to be told that.
He said, “I’ve heard your version of ‘All Shook Up’ and I think it’s the best since my own. I’d like to invite you to Graceland.”
I wasn’t nervous, but I wasn’t prepared to meet him. I wanted a bit more time.
So I said, “I’m very busy,” and I didn’t meet him. I don’t regret it, because obviously I didn’t know he was gonna die.
It wasn't until 2009 that I finally visited Graceland. It was very, very emotional. I was in tears so many times as I traced the footsteps of Elvis who was, and is, the reason I do what I do."
Suzi Quatro is touring Australia in Feb/ March 2024. Check tickets (News, Source;BS/ElvisInfoNet)
'Elvis UK – Extended' New book for 2024: From UK specialists John Townson and Gordon Minto's their new book 'Elvis UK – Extended: The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley’s British EPs 1957-2001'
This soft-backed book, a newly written 490 page, fully comprehensive text, follows on from our previous publications in the Elvis UK series, each of them acclaimed by collectors, and provides the ULTIMATE guide to Elvis’ EP releases issued in the UK between 1957-2001. This new volume: • Complements - and extends considerably - information relating to these particular releases included in our original books Elvis UK, published in 1987, and Elvis UK2, published in 2002 (for example, the EP section in Elvis UK (1987) was a mere 46 pages; 'Elvis Extended' runs to 490 pages) • Is extensively illustrated in full colour throughout, including a range of images of Elvis himself • Details the history of extended play releases, their popularity and subsequent fall from favour • Features a wealth of background information, revealing exciting new details and information regarding tax codes and price changes as shown on labels – as well as tabling chart positions • Offers technical but clear details regarding manufacturing, along with matrix numbers and their significance • Where appropriate, each EP release is cross-referenced with its US counterpart and key differences discussed • Includes a chronological list of all the EPs included
• Discusses each extended play album individually, in a detailed and forensic way, while the extensive text is amply illustrated with scans of every known cover and label variation, relevant photographs, and scans of contemporaneous newspaper and magazine articles and adverts • Features a header block for each album release comprising information about the songs or spoken word material included, release dates, along with details about the writers, as well as showing the record mode • Includes hitherto unpublished information from company files, including first-hand input from some of those who worked directly on certain important releases e.g. The two EP Collections • Incorporates historically significant events of the period throughout the narrative • Chronicles and dates all changes to various company logos used • Includes a detailed Song Index, showing recording dates, which album(s) each song has been featured on, along with details of outtakes used, as well as a Spoken Word Index referencing when and where the material was recorded • A short but important section dealing with demo EPs which includes a discussion about potential fakes ..... In short, as readers have come to expect from each of the previous Elvis UK publications, this book is intended to be the last word on its subject – in this instance, the much-loved extended play record format as seen in the UK. Please note: while there is no definite price for this book as yet, we can assure our loyal customers and fellow collectors that we’re doing all we can to keep the retail price affordable.
We fully expect this book to be printed and available in the early spring of 2024.. Look out for more details soon!
Check out our review of their recent 'Elvis UK - Beyond RCA' Book Review: (News, Source;GM/ElvisInfoNet)
Baz Luhrmann discusses ELVIS as a TV show - "completely different" from the movie: In another interview Baz Luhrmann discusses more on his "new" Elvis project.
Over a year after his masterpiece ELVIS hit the big screen, director Baz Luhrmann now wants to return to the King of Rock and Roll’s life story, but this time perhaps in a TV show format.
In a conversation with CinemaBlend about his series 'Faraway Downs', Luhrmann now revealed he is now planning to do the same to Elvis, but it will differ from the movie.“I really would love to do the episodic version of Elvis. And I'll take a completely different storytelling style than I would if I'd done it for the cinema.”
Luhrmann’s 2022 epic starring Austin Butler earned eight Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Best Actor, so why after all of the success would Luhrmann want to turn the story into a different format?
He explained, “Now, okay, why would I be so stupid? Well, like when an iconic, popular musician does a song and they perform it in concert and they do, you know, let's say it's a dance cut, they do a heavy metal version. I think of the dexterity of music, and the ability to take the same piece and reinterpret and rediscover.
It keeps the artist engaged. But it also keeps decoding and recoding the story, and keeps it alive in the moment. So that's why I would do it. And I think I would do it with Elvis.”
Thinking about Elvis’ life story as a musical ensemble is certainly fitting, as his life story can certainly be interpreted in many different ways. Luhrmann's movie focused on the star's rise to fame and his troubling relationship with shady manager Col Parker, whereas Sofia Copolla’s 2023 movie Priscilla tells the Elvis tale from his wife’s perspective. With the musician's illustrious career both on and off the stage, we are sure that Luhrmann’s Elvis only just scratched the surface, and there is so much more to tell about one of the most famous men to ever live. We for one cannot wait to see what Luhrmann does with it all next! (News, Source: Megan Garside, gamesradar.com)
Elvis Remembered (Shelly Powers): In her very interesting book, Elvis Remembered, author Shelly Powers (for online fan club, Elvis International), provides in-depth interviews with many people who knew Elvis. Those interviewed are:
Jerry Schilling, Cynthia Pepper, Patti Parry, Ed Bonja, Sonny West, Joe Esposito, Myrna Smith, Darlene Tompkins, Jimmy Velvet, and Larry Geller.
In his Introduction for the book, Michael Comley wrote: Very sadly, most of these Elvis people have now passed on, which makes this book even more of a treasure. Shelly has captured so many glorious Elvis stories, which through hundreds of hours of transcribing her interviews, are now preserved forever in this beautiful book.
Here are excerpts from the book: Jerry Schilling talks about Priscilla and the opening of Graceland…. SP: You’re still very good friends. I love Priscilla. ... She’s a wonderful lady, and I think she’s done a lot for Elvis Presley’s memory. JS: More so than people realize, I’ve had the opportunity on a day-to-day basis to work with her in many capacities. I was on the board of Elvis Presley Enterprises for years. Elvis would be big without any of us, without
Priscilla, whatever, but to an extent, if you don’t have an organization, if she hadn’t opened up Graceland. It seems like very together today, but it was very controversial at the time, and everybody thought it would last six months.
SP: She was very nervous about it wasn’t she? JS: Of course, She wanted to make sure it was all in the spirit of Elvis; she wanted it to be successful. Her main motivation, she wanted to keep Graceland until Lisa was of age. She felt her father wanted her to have that. She learned a lot; she made a lot of the right decisions. She cared about everything, from what color were the original carpets. She talked to me and Joe and asked, “What do you think? I’d love to show the house to people, and here are the circumstances.” And I think she is the lady of rock ‘n’ roll.
Myrna Smith on possibly dating Elvis….. SP: Now, Myrna, I have to tell you there are a lot of women in this fan club, and they have a lot of questions. I don’t think I have met a woman today that doesn’t find Elvis Presley attractive. I mean he was a beautiful-looking man. You got to spend so much time with him along with the other Sweets and because of the tours and spending all that time with him, did you ever consider dating him yourself? MS: Well, he had plans for that, but I didn’t have any.
SP: He did? MS: Yeah, he had some plans for us to have a little relationship, but I wasn’t going to be a part of it because I knew what Elvis was into, and I didn’t happen to be into that, you know. I was married when I met Elvis.
SP: So had you not been married, maybe? MS: No, I knew too much about Elvis from what I had heard. I knew he was not a one-woman man, and I was a one-man woman. [She laughs.] But when I split up from my husband I started dating Jerry Schilling. (News, Source: Elvis Remembered)
Riley Keough on Lisa Marie and Graceland: With the success of NBC's 'Christmas At Graceland' Riley Keough appeared on SiriusXM radio to discuss the TV special and thoughts about her mother, Lisa Marie.
Keough was on SiriusXM show 'Inside Graceland' speaking with host Joel Weinshanker, who as the managing partner and majority owner of EPE and friend of Lisa Marie is very familiar with Elvis' legacy.
During the show Keough admitted that she found it "crazy" that her mum didn't enjoy the attention that comes from being a part of a famous family.
Weinshanker noted that it odd that Priscilla loved being in the limelight while her mother was exactly the opposite.
Keough explained, "I think, you know, everybody's different. My mother - Lisa Marie - wasn't somebody who liked attention. She didn't like being in the public eye, which is a crazy situation that she was born into for somebody who doesn't like attention.
She didn't like being in the public eye, which is a crazy situation that she was born into for somebody who doesn't like attention.
But she loved coming to Graceland, she loved the fans, and she loved being with the original generation of Elvis fans. And my grandmother (Priscilla), for so many years obviously dedicated her whole life to Elvis' legacy. I don't really know where I exist on that spectrum. I love being involved, because it's my family and I care about them, and we'll see how that works out in the future. But this recent show (Christmas at Graceland) has been a nice experience".
Riley is now the owner of Graceland as well as the managing partner and majority owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises.
EIN notes that the feedback from our readers has been overwhelmingly positive for how well 'Christmas at Graceland' had been produced.
Riley Keough performed very well as the host and also as co-producer.
It seems Graceland and Elvis' legacy is in good hands. (News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
New book seeks to set the story straight about the Colonel: 2022 was the year of Baz Luhrmann, Elvis, and an air of renewed positivity in the Elvis world.
So far in 2023, it has been Sofia Coppola, Priscilla, and a generally down vibe undoing the sense of optimism that 2022 brought.
And it seems that vibe is not going away anytime soon, with the release of Greg McDonald and Marshall Terrill's book, 'Elvis and the Colonel'.
It is fair to say that a majority of fans do not hold the Colonel in high regard. And if we are to believe this new book, that is unfounded!
While EIN hasn't yet had the opportunity to read the McDonald and Terrill release (it was only released on November 28), an article published by Fox News a few days ago, provides a clear picture of its narrative essence.
Here are several excerpts:
... When Colonel Tom Parker died in 1997, the former carnival pitchman who guided Elvis Presley to stardom was reviled for reportedly exploiting the "poor country boy" who became King.
But in his final months, the infamous manager wondered what could have been.
"He loved Elvis like a son," Greg McDonald told Fox News Digital. "The Colonel never wrote a tell-all, even after these negative stories came out about him. He refused. And when I saw Baz Luhrmann’s film, I knew somebody had to come out and finally tell the truth."
McDonald, who worked for Parker, has co-written a book, "Elvis and the Colonel: An Insider’s Look at the Most Legendary Partnership in Show Business." The entertainment producer, who knew both men, wanted to set the record straight about their relationship. McDonald currently manages Parker’s assets.
"Everybody depicts the Colonel as this bad guy, but if Elvis Presley was standing in the room right now, and somebody in the room said something bad about the Colonel, they’d get thrown out of the room. They loved each other, but they had a tough relationship toward the end because Elvis wasn’t doing well, and the Colonel was worried about him."
By the 1970s when Elvis' dependence on prescription drugs was affecting his life, McDonald and Terrill state:
A frustrated Parker said, "I’ve had it! I’ve put up with this nonsense for years, but this is too much. No more. Either he straightens out or we’re finished. If he can’t stop taking those damn pills, then there is nothing more I can do and I’m getting out. I don’t need this c---. I’m quitting."
But Parker wanted to help, McDonald stressed. And he had one last idea.
"The Colonel and I were down in San Diego at one of the big buildings where Elvis was appearing," McDonald recalled. "Billy Graham was there for several days. He had a 100-piece choir… There must have been 50,000 people… On our way home, the Colonel said, ‘The thing Elvis loves the most in his life is gospel music. And if he had a 100-piece choir like Billy Graham and only did gospel music… It might save his life.’"
"The Colonel knew Elvis needed something more than Vegas and the regular rock ‘n’ roll tours," McDonald shared. "He knew that Elvis loved gospel music. He loved it better than anything… The Colonel knew Elvis was at risk. He felt that gospel music would save him."
Presley was eager to return to his gospel roots. But the entertainer died before Parker’s plan came to fruition...
EIN Comments: Will this new book be balanced and address the egregious contracts the Colonel engineered with Elvis? Will it address the arrangements that precluded Elvis from being given the best new music to record? Will it address the many lucrative opportunities for Elvis to tour outside the US that the Colonel declined? Will it address the Colonel's problematic background?
We look forward to finding out but suspect we may be disappointed.
It will also be interesting to compare McDonald and Terrill's account with another book
about the Colonel, expected to be published in 2024........ .one with a
much different focus.
Read the Fox News full story here - - - - EIN is interested in Your Thoughts, Please send us your comments (News, Source: Fox News, EIN)
'Parkes Elvis Festival'- Get Your Tickets: The Australian small country town of Parkes will come alive from 10-14 January 2024 to celebrate the legacy and life of Elvis Presley.
There will be hundreds of Elvis, Jailhouse Rock and Rock ‘n’ Roll themed events across five fabulous, fun-filled days.
Over 25 thousand Elvis fans are expected to attend, so with only 6 weeks to go fans should book tickets now to the key events.
These include..
US Artist, Taylor Rodriguez- Back by popular demand, Taylor will be performing in five shows at the Parkes Leagues Club.
US Artist, Cote Deonath - the current Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist International champion in the Feature Concert Series. Six concerts, two already SOLD OUT. 'Sons Of Sun, The Sam Phillips Story' This rock and roll play is about Sun Records, Memphis, and the famous musician who started their careers there.
'Sun Rising - The Story Of The Birth Of Rock & Roll' This critically acclaimed show celebrates the music and stories of the early years of Sun Records.
Go to Parkes Elvis Festival website for tickets and all the details (News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
'Elvis Presley Rock ’n’ Roll No.1’ "Stereo" CD Review: Back in May I reviewed ‘From Elvis at Sun’ “Mono II Stereo” compilation and at the time was hoping for more of the same.
Luckily for inquisitive Elvis collectors, producer Anthony Stuchbury is back with his take on Elvis’ first album ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll No.1’ - this time on the French RDM label.
Elvis’ very first LP had two key variations, the well-known classic RCA album and also the UK HMV version. This compilation starts with the 12 tracks from the RCA album then the extra five cuts from the HMV version plus the life-changing ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ single.
It’s a stunning selection of nineteen brilliant Elvis recordings. “Mono II Stereo” remixing needs a producer who understands what Elvis’ sessions were all about and Stuchbury is not only a super-collector but also a man who really knows his Elvis recordings.
His work here is truly impressive.
With The Beatles releasing their early singles in DES stereo for 2023 Doncha' Think It's Time for RCA / SONY to do the same for Elvis. EIN's Piers Beagley checks out the wonders of Elvis' first album in stereo
(CD Reviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)
'ELVIS: Closing Night 1972' MRS CD Review: This MRS 2CD set features a live performance recorded on 4 September 1972,during the last night of Elvis’ seventh engagement in Las Vegas at the
Hilton Hotel.
The show is presented in stereo. A bonus CD of remastered rehearsal tracks, recorded days before the engagement began, is also included.
While Elvis is perhaps not as full-blast as on the 'Opening Night' here MRS's 'Studio D' engineer has done some brilliant audio remastering,
removing the bad cassette-tape-hiss of all previous releases. Emphasising the instrumentation with this "Stereo remaster" not only elevates Elvis and the musicians' performance but also places the listener right into the audience.
This night Elvis rocked into 'Johnny B. Goode' and even performed the golden-oldies with some real respect. It's a great show. Go here as EIN's Piers Beagley discovers something new in this re-release - the near perfect bookend to MRS' examination of Elvis’ 1972 Summer Festival.
(CD Reviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)
'Elvis January 6 1957' New Book: A new publication from hard-working Elvis author Paul Belard - 'Elvis January 6, 1957. Third Ed Sullivan Show'.
This book includes 200 pages purely about Elvis' third appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, it features some lovely rare pictures and is printed on glossy paper.
The foreword notes... ... Elvis’ third visit to Sullivan’s show, January 6th, 1957, would prove to be his last. Some have advanced that the astronomical fees his manager Tom Parker asked for future television appearances - $300,000 with the promise of two guest spots and an hour long special - effectively killed any request from TV stations.
A huge and raucous audience turned up in to hear “Hound Dog,” “Love Me Tender”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, and “Don’t Be Cruel”, as well as newer material such as “Too Much” and “When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again”, and “Peace in the Valley”.
During the final sequence, Mr. Sullivan urged viewers to contribute to a Hungarian refugee relief fund Elvis supported.
The man who just a few months before had sworn not to have Elvis on his show, closed this evening by saying: ... I wanted to say to Elvis Presley and the country that this is a real decent, fine boy, and wherever you go, Elvis, we want to say we’ve never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we’ve had with you. So now let’s have a tremendous hand for a very nice person!
Order via Amazon or the author direct at pbelard@hotmail.com (News, Source;PB/ElvisInfonet)
"ELVIS : ALOHA FROM HAWAII - Through The Eyes of Japan"David Ward Interview: Fifty years after Elvis’ legendary concert in Hawaii, Japanese cameraman Yoshiji Kizaki's valuable, long-lost negatives have been discovered.
Mr. Kizaki is one of the few photographers who photographed not only the actual show in January 1973, but also the three Aloha performances and press conference held in November 1972.
At last, they will be reprinted from the original negatives carefully rescanned and finally published as a gorgeous photo-book!
The book also includes contributions from people involved in the live satellite broadcast and record release.
Includes the treasured photos of the people involved, as well as newspaper and record company documentation from the time. Deluxe Size 290mm x 235mm, 1.5kg, hard cover color/ black & white 200 pages, text in English translated by David Ward.
While this exciting new book won't be published until January 2024, the cut-off date for Pre-orders with a free set of stunning photocards is next Monday, November 20.
It is the perfect time for EIN's Piers Beagley to ask David Ward some key questions about the book. Go here for the interview and some stunning PREVIEW pages. DON'T MISS OUT it's a limited print run. (Interview, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)
Elvis Day By Day 2023' New Book: From Kees Mouwen, Elvis' 2023 year in review, out early January.
.... 2023 is a year with two sides for the Elvis world as it took fans from splendour to tragedy and back. Kicking off in high gear with a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination for Baz Luhrmann’s ‘ELVIS’ movie, turning into a tragedy with the unexpected death of Elvis’ only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley.
Fortunately, 2023 brought us many entertaining and interesting book, film and music releases with Deluxe Audiophile book and CD sets on the ‘Blue Hawaii’ movie, the Madison Square Garden concerts, the 1972 tours, ‘Aloha From Hawaii’, his early SUN and RCA recordings in stereo, new movies in the cinema and more new (colored) vinyl than CD releases.
All of these illustrating the splendour of Elvis’ legacy that continues to resonate with old and young fans almost 50 years after his passing.
Perhaps we even got too much, as it gets harder and harder to keep up with every new title that came out in 2023.
This is where the ‘Elvis Day by Day 2023 - The Year In Review’ comes to the rescue. It contains the complete “2023 Elvis year” in one physical reference; all the music, movies, concerts, books, and everything else that happened in the Elvis world that is worth preserving for future generations.
The yearbook distinguishes itself by identifying the most important releases of the year, in circa 70 in-depth reviews.
All written by well-regarded Elvis world writers and fans like you and I, sharing their perspectives and opinions, providing both a fun and insightful read, as well as helping you to select new additions for your collection.
This 6th volume in the ‘Elvis Day by Day’ series is all you need as an entertaining and fact-finding reference on everything Elvis Presley from 2023.
As author Pål Granlund stated at the introduction of this new volume: “It’s a great book, I can tell you, I have them all”.
Go HERE to 'Elvis Day By Day' to preorder - 450 pages of ELVIS for only €49.00 (News, Source;ElvisDayByDay)
Elvis’ legacy taking a battering: Sadly with any massive success there is always the fall-out. It is a fact that negative always sells more than positive, especially when it comes to the tabloids and the general media.
So suddenly, post the massive success of the ELVIS movie, it is now time for the tabloids to give Elvis’ legacy a bashing. And as an Elvis fan this can be so upsetting.
While EIN is not going to dwell on the crap being played out on TV it was obvious when the female director of the UK doco series 'Elvis’ Women' publicly apologised confirming that "Elvis wasn’t a groomer. He wasn’t abusive. The relationships had very little to do with sex. There was not a lot of sex full stop. It wasn't a cult and no one was forced into anything".
This was despite the fact that the series was, of course, edited to make it look more shocking. As noted above, “negative” sells and generates the biggest publicity.
And now the ‘Priscilla’ Sofia Coppola film that seems to pander to Priscilla’s narcissistic tendencies. The film is after all based on Priscilla's autobiography and not on the alternate version, "Child Bride: The Untold Story of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley."
Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!
And even worse, this week we now shockingly discovered that Lisa Marie wrote to Sofia Coppola asking her not to make the film and also asked Priscilla NOT to get involved.
With Lisa Marie’s terrible untimely death only a few months later this is heart-breaking news.
One can only wonder about the guilt Priscilla might be feeling because she ignored her daughter's wishes. If EIN readers want to comment -please click here to send us your thoughts. (News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
Elvis' girlfriend Mindi Miller comments: This week Elvis' girlfriend Mindi Miller added her thoughts. Mindi Miller was an actress when she first met Elvis in early 1975 they bonded over their common interests and so Elvis then asked her to go on tour with him..
.. I have been asked by several people to make a public statement regarding if Elvis was really so controlling, and if he was truly a pedophile. My answer unequivocally is NO on both subjects. Elvis was never controlling to me, but like any of us, he had certain rules that he lived by which we all should. He was the kindest, sweetest, and most gentle man that I have ever had the pleasure to know. Most men do like being with younger women for their own reasons, and I am not here to argue that point. But he was in absolutely no way a pedophile, and I am really sick and tired of reading all these outrageous lies about him.
I have always, and will continue to my death and beyond to defend this man. The people who talk about him in a disparaging light, are
not people that truly love Elvis and many of them did not know him, and some speak in retaliation of the way they feel perhaps that they were treated. That is their own personal problem and that is in their own mind. That is not who this man was.
Please stop blindly believing everything you hear and read in books or social media or TV interviews and the like.
Go to other people that were with Elvis and who knew him intimately and please don’t believe just one persons narrative. - THANKU @ EVERYONE FOR CONTINUING TO DEFEND HIM……
Go here for EIN's 2017 in-depth interview with Mindi Miller (News, Source;MM/ElvisInfoNet)
ELVIS #2 Highest Paid Dead Celebrity 2023: Forbes annual list of the highest earning deceased celebrities for 2023 has been released - and without even leaving his secret hideaway ELVIS is back up to second place!
Compared to last year the top 10 deceased A-listers on Forbes’ annual
ranking of the highest-paid dead celebrities earned some $470, a 70%
decrease from the record-breaking $1.6 billion grossed in 2022. This was
in part due to the drop in massive music catalog and merchandising
sales. This year only Ray Manzarek, late keyboardist for the Doors,
achieved massive money through acquisitions of their intellectual
property.
Without catalog sales inflating the earnings of Manzarek, the top earners on this year’s list are familiar afterlife performers. Michael Jackson returns to #1 spot for the first time in four years with an estimated $115 million in earnings, followed by Elvis Presley at No 2. Two beloved artists round out the top five with Dr. Seuss #4 and Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz at #5.
.. Forbes notes that there are now a growing number of artists who cash in while they’re still alive. Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Dr. Dre are just some of the musicians who sold their music rights this year, each for upwards of $200 million. After all, it's better to have the money while still alive!
However some stars are still finding new life after death, such as recently departed Jimmy Buffett who will earn big money in 2024. The billionaire “Margaritaville” singer died in September from cancer and had the first No. 1 hit of his career a few weeks later.
TOP TEN 2023 1 Michael Jackson $115 million 2 Elvis Presley $100 million 3 Ray Manzarek $45 million
4 Dr. Seuss $40 million
5= Charles M. Schulz $30 million
5= Prince $30 million
5= Whitney Houston $30 million
8 John Lennon $22 Million
Last year, due to merchandising deals, J.R. Tolkien took first place with $500 million, then followed #2 Kobe Bryant $400 million, #3 David Bowie $250 million and Elvis forth with $110 Million earnings, then James Brown $100 million and Michael Jackson $75 million.
So while ELVIS may have "left the building" he is still an economic powerhouse this year generating $100 million in income 46 years after his death.
As Gore Vidal once noted, "Death is a good career move"!
Read the original article here (News, Source:Forbes/ElvisInfoNet)
'ELVIS: August Season in Vegas 1974' FTD Review: A triple-CD focusing on Elvis' Las Vegas 1974 Summer Season.
Three previously unreleased soundboards Aug 27 Dinner Show, Aug 29 Midnight Show, Aug 30 Dinner Show.
For Elvis 1974 was an emotionally turbulent year. This was his sixth season singing to the Las Vegas casino audiences, still doing two shows a night, and he was really feeling the loss of Priscilla. Yet this inner turmoil helped produce the most fascinating Las Vegas season of his career.
It seems all too obvious that someone was prescribing Elvis some ‘Little-Helpers’ to get over the 'flu - and this put him in a chatty and distracted mood.
So while there is little doubt that collectors will be very glad to have these previously unreleased soundboards from this exciting season where Elvis truly enjoyed his newer material, it is only a shame that there was too much talking and all too many complete throwaway performances.... Elvis super-collector Geoffrey McDonnell & EIN's Piers Beagley provide an in-depth review.. (FTD Reviews; Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)
(Interview) Dick Dekker and David Ward, authors of the new book, ‘From Memphis To Tokyo – A Reference Guide To The Absolute Mastery of Elvis’ Japanese Vinyl’: With the release of this book imminent, EIN’s Nigel Patterson and Elvis Day By Day’s Kees Mouwen, went treasure hunting in the land of the rising sun to discover what gems can be found in Dick Dekker and David Ward’s new discography about Elvis’ Japanese vinyl (and learning a few new Japanese words in the process).
Discover the delight of Japanese Elvis vinyl...
... The authors discuss the love the Japanese producers put into their releases. Making alternate, high quality and adoring covers for their records, that fascinate Elvis vinyl collectors.
... Virtually every record has something about it that’s different to the equivalent release in another country, whether it be different artwork, different songs or extras like a lyric sheet. That’s what makes the Japanese releases interesting objects for both Elvis and vinyl collectors... Read Dick and David’s fascinating interview
(Interview, Source: EIN/EDBD)
Elvis in Literature #3 – ''Elvis's Man Friday' by Gene Smith: Continuing EIN’s occasional series of interesting and (hopefully) thought-provoking Elvis excerpts (references/discussions) found in general literature. Elvis's Man Friday by Elvis' first-cousin Gene Smith is an often forgotten "insider" memoir.
Elvis and Gene were very close from a young age, and Gene later became a prominent member of Elvis' Memphis Mafia.
In his book, published in hardcover (with dust jacket) in 1994, Gene recounted his time with Elvis in linear fashion, in what was a very readable, entertaining and informative release.
In particular, the reader is informed about a number of unusual things and Elvis' idiosyncrasies.
EIN wonders how many readers knew that Elvis and Gene had (for a while) their own secret language?...
London 'Direct from Graceland' review: The London Evening Standard has given UK's 'Direct from Graceland' new exhibition a great review - 4 / 5 stars!
... In the new 11,000 square feet centre in London Bridge comes a new exhibition about the man without whom rock'n'roll would never have conquered the world.
The Presley estate’s 1.5 million artefacts have been curated down into about 450 pieces on display here, with jumpsuits, cars, contracts, an immersive concert film room and all kinds of other King-related delights. You can see, for example, the Western Union Telegram that Elvis sent to Colonel Tom Parker in response to the impressively lucrative deal he had secured for the ’68 Comeback Special, it reads... “Dear Colonel, Is that the best you could do? Yours, Elvis…”
For the Elvis obsessive, a ‘white glove’ experience allows you to actually lay hands on items like the diamond, ruby and sapphire-adorned World Championship belt Presley was awarded having played 57 Vegas shows in 28 days, which he wore to meet Richard Nixon at the White House - careful though: it’s valued at $500,000.
Elvis was a sensation across the world, he took the Memphis Blues of the African Americans and took it mainstream for everyone and, yet he kept it real, loving
his mum, family and country. As you go into the exhibition you can see Elvis' gold plated telephone from his bedroom, but also his Hai Karate and Brut aftershave.
He was both extraordinary and, in his private life, ordinary, and this exhibition helps us to get closer to Elvis the Superstar and Elvis the real man.
The Exhibition starts with Elvis' parents and humble origins. His father worked four jobs to support the family and we are able to see a 1950s poodle motif handbag and velvet dress owned by his mother.
A report on Elvis himself records that while "flashily dressed" and a "playboy type" he has worked hard for the last three summers and wants a job dealing with people.
His clothes in his ordinary life were surprisingly plain albeit with a few flourishes. His Karate gear is on display with Elvis Presley embroidered on the belt.
His wooden jewellery box with brass inlay which is on display empty is surprisingly plain given the contents that is must have once displayed. Elvis' onyx and diamond encrusted medallion bearing his name and a large gold metal belt with diamonds, rubies and sapphires are on display in another case.
But Elvis was a performer and he understood the need to stun on stage.
...Elvis was weirder and wilder before them all, he invented the idea of the megastar eccentric and looked and sounded fabulous while doing it.
This great exhibition is fitting testament to that indisputable fact and a great tribute to the King of Rock 'n' Roll.
See TOTALROCK's excellent review ...
Go here to get London ELVIS tickets
The 'Direct from Graceland' exhibition was originally in Australia - see EIN's in-depth review here (News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
'Elvis UK Beyond RCA' Book REPRINT: In fantastic news for authors John Townson and Gordon Minto their first edition of the "physical book" 'Elvis UK Beyond RCA The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's British Non-RCA LPs 1974-1997' has sold out - and already has been REPRINTED.
It is a second edition, updated and slightly revised. The book is a newly written 377 pages, with fully comprehensive text and follows on from our previous publications in the Elvis UK series, each of them acclaimed by collectors, and provides the ultimate guide to Elvis’s non-RCA LP album releases issued in the UK between 1974-1997.
This new volume complements - and extends considerably - information relating to these particular releases included in our original books Elvis UK, published in 1987, and Elvis UK2, published in 2002
The softback book is being sold exclusively through Now Dig This / Elvis The Man And His Music.
It retails at £45 (includes p&p in the UK) overseas customers will have to pay the higher postage costs.
Go here toElvis The Man And His Musicto purchase REPRINT is OUT NOW IN STOCK.
Read EIN's'Elvis UK Beyond RCA' book review here (News, Source;GM/ElvisInfoNet)
Paul Belard Interview about Col Parker and Elvis 'The King & The Jester': EIN recently discovered that prolific author Paul Belard is researching a new book about Elvis and Col Parker. Due out in 2024 the book has the provisional title 'The King & The Jester'.
Belard explains... Nearly forty-five years after his death, Elvis Presley remains equally famous and easily recognized around the world. For most of the entirety of his adult life, the man who made all the major decisions of Elvis’ career was Tom Andrew Parker, who, himself, became a celebrity by association. Why is Elvis’ manager so well-known? The author is clearly not the only one who cannot name Sinatra’s manager, nor Johnny Cash’s, the Rolling Stones’, Springsteen’s or Beyoncé’s.
On the positive side, Tom Parker was a hard worker, a gifted promoter, a skillful negotiator, and a keen judge of character. Aside from the gifted promoter, which he undoubtedly was, the other traits, put in the wrong hands, can easily become negative qualities.... A new book on Col Parker? EIN wanted to know more about how Paul Belard chooses his topics, his views on wily old Col Parker - as well as the recent 'ELVIS' and 'Priscilla' movies... EIN's Piers Beagley asked the questions... (Interviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)
The topics include did Elvis’ music decline when he moved from Sun to RCA, “who” triggered the media and public moral outrage about Elvis in the 1950’s, Elvis’ film recordings (particularly in the 1960s), the connection between Elvis’ films and those of Mario Lanza, singles that failed to be major hits, Elvis’ mid-60’s soul-infused recordings, the quality of Elvis’ albums after From Elvis in Memphis, the artistic value of Elvis’ RCA Camden albums, Shane’s views on 10 particular Elvis songs, Elvis remixes, can Sony have another hit Elvis album?, and a lot more...
Shane Brown has strong, well-reasoned views on many “things Elvis”, and they offer a lot for readers to think about and possibly reevaluate their views on various issues. Don't miss this fascinating interview for 2023.
(Interview, Source:ElvisInformationNetwork)
'Elvis: A Musical Revolution' Sydney Theatre Review:'Elvis A Musical Revolution' has been playing in Sydney Australia since early August. Described as.. The Icon. The King. The story of a man who gave the world a musical revolution. Featuring over 40 hit songs, Elvis: A Musical Revolution celebrates the extraordinary life of cultural icon, Elvis Presley.
Let me declare that I like the genuine Elvis Presley. I really don’t like theatre musicals, so it was with slight trepidation that I found myself close to the front of the stalls for this new Elvis "jukebox musical".
However as they say, “Elvis was in the building” and with a cleverly designed functional set and some high-energy performances it was a most enjoyable celebration of The King.
The Australian producer is David Venn and there is no doubt that Baz Luhrmann’s ELVIS has spurred some monetary investment into this show and the presentation is highly professional.
The show begins with australia lead Rob Mallett as '68 Elvis in silhouette - but just as you anticipate a massive start Elvis’ doubts and fears kick-in and he wonders if he still has it. At this point a young child Elvis appears to offer advice.
And it is this clever device that creates that special edge to the overall performance as well as a stunning cast. Go here for EIN Piers Beagley's full review
(Spotlight; Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)
"Elvis: From King to Legend 72-73 PART TWO " New Doco: Now that Elvis Week 2023 is over - along with the publicity blast for 'Aloha From Hawaii' 50th Anniversary edition' - a reminder not to miss Part Two of Dennis Laverty's excellent new documentary "Elvis: From King to Legend 72-73".
Running 2 1/2 hours, part 2 takes Elvis' story from July 1972 through to the excitement of Aloha.
In two parts, this is a new five hour documentary from Elvis super-fan and EIN contributor Dennis Laverty. It is a unique in-depth look at this incredible 12 month period in Elvis' career that is often skipped through in the usual Elvis documentaries.
In PART two the interviews include Linda Thompson, John Wilkinson, Loanne Parker, Joan Deary, Bill Baize, Tony Prince, Bill Belew, Felton Jarvis, Priscilla Presley and many more. There is also a fascinating interview with Aloha's director Marty Pasetta.
EIN Note: This is a labour of love by a serious Elvis fan featuring fascinating footage and interviews that we would have all liked to have seen officially. It is free and is a true celebration. (News, Source; Dennis Laverty/EIN)
'Elvis Forever 2023':Where were you when Elvis died? What were you doing? Throughout our lifetimes there are very few dates that resonate with such clarity.
While some key historical events such as 9/11 or the Boxing day 2004 Tsunami are remembered, other unique moments are lost as vague memories.
The day of Elvis' death I was recording a "best of Elvis" cassette for my best friend.
A lightning storm was raging through London, the rain pouring down outside when my Mother called upstairs, "Have you heard, Elvis Presley has died?" -
A moment never forgotten.
... I can guarantee you one thing: we will never again agree on anything as we agreed on Elvis.
The newspapers the next day told the story. Go here to EIN's 'Elvis Forever 2023' for emotional reminiscences and also those traumatic news headlines ...
The world would remember, everything would change, but in 2023 Elvis' legacy still lives on.. (Spotlight, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)
Elvis in Print: A Comprehensive Annotated & Illustrated Bibliography 1955-2023 - Volume 1: After more than two decades research, the first volume of what will be the definitive account of books published about Elvis, is scheduled for release on January 8, 2024.
Compiled and written by EIN's Nigel Patterson, the four volumes of Elvis in Print: A Comprehensive Annotated & Illustrated Bibliography 1955-2023 will comprise around 2,000 pages, with listings for more than 4,000 books and around 2,000 images.
Volume 1 is the first of two detailing English language, “non-fiction” releases. It contains more than 450 pages, listings for more than 800 titles, book covers for more than 500 listings, and interesting Sidebar articles discussing controversial releases and issues in the massive Elvis book catalog.
Elvis as Religion (including Psychic Experiences and Spirituality)
Elvis for Younger Readers
The 'Listings' include available publishing details for the original release and subsequent re-issues (including hardcover, softcover and digital editions) and a book synopsis, which varies between one or two sentences and several paragraphs.
Elvis in Print will be published in hardcover, softcover, and Kindle formats. It will be available from Amazon stores (the hardcover edition will only be available in those countries where Amazon offers this format).
EIN will publish more information and sample pages in the coming months.
Note: The accompanying image is not the final cover artwork. (News, Source: EIN)
(Film Review) Reinventing Elvis: The ’68 Comeback…..”a battle for artistic integrity”: EIN’s Nigel Patterson recently immersed himself at the cinema watching John Scheinfeld’s documentary film, Reinventing Elvis: The ’68 Comeback (based on Steve Binder’s account of the making of Elvis’ legendary Special). Reinventing Elvis takes a deeper dive into the making of the Comeback Special, featuring interviews from some of the surviving performers and audience members, as well as Presley experts placing it in the context of the times and the singer's career.
Nigel left the cinema after viewing a fascinating and illuminating account full of drama, humor, and ultimately reclamation. Read Nigel’s full review
'Las Vegas Summer Festival 1972' MRS CD Review: This 4CD set contains a varied selection of live performances drawn from Elvis’ seventh engagement in the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel during Elvis’ summer festival in the month of August 1972.
It features the 11 August Dinner and Midnight Show plus 12 August Dinner and Midnight Show. For the first time ever these performances are released in "Stereo". Bonus rehearsal tracks, recorded days before the engagement began, are also included.
The accompanying 40-page booklet includes rare photographs, memorabilia and liner notes help set the scene.
Key songs include My Way, Fever, Its Over, Until It’s Time For You To Go, American Trilogy, What Now My Love, Little Sister/ Get Back, Never Been To Spain, For The Good Times and A Big Hunk O' Love'.
Elvis was in superb form and with more new songs in his set-list sounding even better with the new MRS audio remaster it is a power-packed set.
(Book Review) 'Fact vs. Fiction in the 2022 ELVIS Movie' (Trina Young): EIN’s Nigel Patterson recently sat down to read Trina Young’s fourth book about Elvis. Given its core intent, Fact vs. Fiction in the 2022 ELVIS Movie is not a standard narrative, but rather, an illuminating treatise assessing degrees of fact and fiction in what was the most successful non-franchise movie of 2022, Baz Luhrmann’s spectacular assault on your visual and auditory senses, ELVIS.
For the core section of the book, Ms Young rates each scene based on four different criteria (note that for each scene it's time in the film is included). The author then provides narrative details for each of the last three criteria, the Storyline information often running to several pages. Her ratings for historical accuracy (truth) can be truly enthralling.
Elvis, Ann-Margret, the filming of Viva Las Vegas (aka 'Love in Las Vegas'), the slap heard across Hollywood, (and more): The story of the behind-the-scenes filming of Elvis’ best and highest grossing film, Viva Las Vegas (released in 1964), is colorful, and one that had repercussions for Elvis’ subsequent films as well as a rare loss for Colonel Tom Parker.
Drawing on a wide range of sources, EIN’s Nigel Patterson takes a reflective look at the drama between star, manager, Ann-Margret, Viva Las Vegas film director and what it all meant.
'From Elvis at Sun' Stereo CD Review: A new ‘From Elvis at Sun’ “Mono II Stereo” release from the Danish Memphis Mansion label.
The compilation includes the five classic SUN SINGLES plus the other nine alternate cuts that RCA would purchase from Sam Phillips.
Keen Elvis fans must surely have a serious fascination about how Elvis' early ground-breaking recordings were created.
Why do Elvis' classic rock’n’roll singles sound so good, especially given the low quality recording equipment of the time? And how were they laid down in the studio?
One way to discover the wonders of 50’s rock’n’roll inventiveness is to examine "stereo" versions of the old mono recordings and it is only since the creation of the cutting-edge audio process DES (Digitally Extracted Stereo) that we can do this.
Previous Mono <> Stereo versions have not quite made their mark. So is it possible that this new 2023 set can help fans appreciate the real magic and brilliance of Elvis at SUN? EIN's 2,600 word review by Piers Beagley looks in-depth at whether new upgrades in "DES" software can help create something special from these old SUN classics...
(CD Reviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)
Book Review: 8mm Elvis - The Story of Elvis on 8mm': Long before the days of Bluray, DVD and VHS people watched home movies on 8mm film. '8mm Elvis The Forgotten Format' is a glossy, colour, hardback book cataloguing the history of Elvis on 8mm film.
Author Vince Wright has been collecting all the Elvis 8mm he could find since the 80s.
He explained.. “I was cataloguing all these films hoping someone would write a book about it – I waited, they didn’t, so I did.”
So in 2023, and after many years of searching and researching, the author has released his comprehensive narrative and visual record of Elvis on 8mm.
This book is unique in its narrative and visual content and is an important inclusion in the complex jigsaw puzzle that forms a complete record of the multi-varied story of Elvis Presley. Go here to read Nigel Patterson's review
(Book Reviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)
'Elvis On Tour' Box-Set In-Depth Review:The January 2023 'Elvis On Tour' SONY release is a 6CD / 1 Blu-Ray box set comprised of the audio from four of the shows (and two rehearsals) that were part of Elvis’ 1972 North American tour.
Originally recorded for the Elvis On Tour concert film that was released later that year, the set features a total of 145 tracks, including 91 previously unreleased tracks, as well as the award-winning concert film on Blu-ray.
RCA/Legacy's Elvis On Tour box set is produced by Ernst Jørgensen and mixed by Grammy Award-winning Memphis-based producer Matt Ross-Spang.
Elvis' April 1972 concerts were magnificent, so hopefully this expensive 50th anniversary release including newly remastered concert performances captures the magnificence and excitement of the movie and Elvis' stunning shows.
After fifty years surely SONY/RCA will get it right.....
'The Elvis RCA Camden Collection' EIN Spotlight:Most fans have had a love-hate relationship with Elvis' Camden collections. On one hand they are seen as an artistic misstep being released at a time when Elvis was back riding high on the charts saturating the market with a series of albums containing little-known songs. Yet on the other hand many younger fans used these budget collections as a way to enter the amazing world of Elvis’ vast back-catalogue.
The RCA Camdens featured the first release of an Elvis live recording, 19 previously unreleasedtracks and 58 tracks previously unreleased on an album. That is quite impressive even if Col Parker only had his increased revenue as the main goal.
Now updated with Readers' Feedback - Read this fascinating article and tell us YOUR THOUGHTSabout Elvis' Camden releases... EIN contributor Neil Colombari reveals all...
(Spotlight; Source;Neil Colombari/ElvisInfoNet)
(Book Review) Elvis Live At The International 50th Anniversary Edition (Kieran Davis): In 2011, Kieran Davis released the highly praised book, Elvis Live At The International. In 2022, he has published an expanded 50th Anniversary edition…and what an expansion it is!
The latest edition dwarfs the original with 432 pages compared to 172 in the original release.
And the added 250+ pages of additional material is stunning, making the 50th Anniversary release one of the best Elvis books published in 2022.
As its title reflects, the book covers Elvis' appearances at the International Hotel in Las Vegas between 1969 and 1971 (it was renamed the Las Vegas Hilton in July 1971). The narrative element is significantly based around fan, Peggy Elzea’s copious diaries, and a bumper array of archival material. Peggy’s experience seeing Elvis in Las Vegas is one every fan will envy. There is so much fascinating information and so many striking images in the book that it is hard to know where to start in describing it...
'ELVIS' DVD, BluRay, 4K OUT Now: Baz Luhrmann's 'ELVIS' movie now released as DVD, BluRay and 4K Blu Ray, out September 13.
The BluRay review includes,, The 1080p transfer offers a very crisp and faithful representation of Elvis' specific appearance. Cinematographer Mandy Walker reportedly shot the entire film .. with custom "Elvis" lenses made from special glass. Meant to evoke the era in which it represents this formula genuinely produces an image evocative of a classic cinematic appearance. With the addition of artificial film grain, the illusion is even more convincing. Still, this is ultimately a purely digital image through and through, and one with a varied color palette that ranges from dark and muted to almost candy-colored in its overall intensity, especially in some of the specific background elements by costume and production designer Catherine Martin. Bonus features include
- Bigger Than Life: The Story of Elvis (22:22) The challenges and joys of adapting Elvis' life for the big screen.
- Rock 'N Roll Royalty: The Music and Artists Behind ELVIS (7:33)
- Fit for a King: The Style of Elvis (8:02) - An overview of the iconic stage outfits and period clothing used in the film.
- Viva Australia: Recreating Iconic Locations for Elvis (7:26).
- "Trouble" Lyric Video (2:15).
- Musical Moments (19 clips, 46:19 total) All of the music segments. (News, Source;ElvisInfoNet/Bluray.com)
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Don't miss out on one of EIN's most-viewed and controversial interviews of all-time - Mike Stone tells all.
EIN Interview with Mike Stone: Mike Stone has had a long and successful career in athletics, in the entertainment business, as an author, sports instructor, bodyguard and personal fitness trainer.
Mike Stone was also a key figure in the emotional roller-coaster that described Elvis and Priscilla Presley's lives in the seventies. In this exclusive EIN interview Priscilla's ex-partner, karate champion and author talks about his amazing life, including... - Meeting Elvis and Priscilla
- Hawaii, Elvis and Karate
- Being Phil Spector's bodyguard
- Sitting next to John Lennon recording
- Priscilla and karate
- Fans blaming him for Elvis' marriage split-up
- Elvis putting a "Hit" out on him
- Finding peace in the Philippines
- His new autobiography
UPDATED- The collapse of the Elvis Bootleg Empire: Has Ernst won the war?’: Back in 1999 Ernst Jorgensen and Roger Semon convinced BMG to let them start the FTD collectors label in order to counteract the Elvis bootleg companies which had been selling unreleased material to fans since the very first vinyl bootleg 'Please Release Me' was issued back in 1970.
Of all the bootleg labels that have come and gone the 'Madison' label was one of the very few that always produced high-quality releases and which happened to start at the same time as FTD. The designs were top-notch and with detailed sleeve notes they easily competed with the legal Elvis releases.
In 2021 ‘Madison’ have returned with the new bootleg ‘A Legendary Performer Volume 9’ but all is not what was promised. The Elvis bootleg vaults are empty and FTD appears to have won the game. Go here as EIN’s Piers Beagley checks out the lack of new material and considers the bootleg era at an end... And EIN wants YOUR SAY -Our article is now updated with YOUR FEEDBACK - and more... (Spotlight; Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)
Don't forget that EIN's Elvis Facebook page regularly features fabulous RARE newly discovered photos of Elvis. This month EIN celebrates our 45,000 members! - including several of Elvis' own friends and colleagues So Elvis fans don't miss out on these rare and exciting photographs.
Now with over thousands of great photos, News and with more added every day – including YouTube footage.
Elvis "BACK ON DVD!": Paramount have re-released three classic Elvis movies this month on DVD. 'G.I. Blues'- BACK ON DVD! The year was 1960... 'Girls! Girls! Girls!' - BACK ON DVD! The year was 1962... 'Paradise, Hawaiian Style'- BACK ON DVD! The year was 1966...
From Paramount Pictures.-
Release date: March 12, 2021.
From Amazon for $14.99. (News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
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‘From Elvis in Nashville’ Box-set EIN In-Depth Review:
A 4CD collection presenting the definitive chronicle of Elvis' 1970 marathon sessions with the "Nashville Cats".
Recorded live in RCA's Studio B over the course of an epic five day run in June 1970 now, for the first time, the sessions are presented in pristine audio, newly mixed by acclaimed engineer Matt Ross-Spang without the added overdubs appearing on earlier releases.
Elvis’ 1970 Nashville session was very different from the previous Memphis sessions or even Elvis’ later sessions. Nashville was a real mix of Elvis recording RCA supplied demos along with one-take spontaneous favourites Elvis threw into the mix.
As Elvis noted, "It don't take much to get these guys going, boy, I'll tell you…. Just give them a "well..." and they're gone. That's what I call 'Sittin' on ready". EIN's Piers Beagley explores this new box-set to discover one of the best Elvis releases in years..
(CD Reviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)
US CD box-set
US Vinyl
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‘TTWII 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition’ FTD Book Review: FTD's most expensive set ever published, David English and Pal Granlund bring the complete background story of 'Elvis: That's The Way It Is'. Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the movie's 1970 release, this ultimate collector's edition includes two hardback books, eight cds with over 450 minutes of music,
including newly discovered unreleased performances.
With access to 2,000 original negatives and 35mm slides, restored and repaired, many of which have never been seen before, the book also contains items from the MGM and RCA archives including paperwork, documents, memos and recording information.
Two books, 600 pages, plus all the MGM recorded rehearsals - including 70 tracks officially unreleased.
FTD's most expensive set but with the vast majority of the rehearsals already out on bootleg, can it really be worth the US$270 plus postage. Initially Sold Out and already into its first reprint what makes it so desirable? EIN's Piers Beagley investigates and discovers plenty .. Go here to our 6000 word review including plenty of extracts and stunning images. (FTD Reviews, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)
Amazon Deals on ELVIS Blu-rays - Beware of excessive prices at some Elvis dealers.
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'ELVIS In The 2010s' A Personal Review of the Past Decade: Rather like Elvis’s own career, each decade since Elvis’s death appears to have had a theme or identity of its own. Clearly the late 1970s were difficult for RCA as they struggled to find the right direction with which to take their posthumous releases, and so it was the 1980s that was the decade when the company slowly but surely learned how to look back at Elvis's legacy and start to make some sense of it.
The 1990s were when that reached a peak, with the decades boxed sets, and the Elvis in the 90s series, thus bringing virtually the whole catalogue back into print in a coherent way.
The 2000s were when errors of judgement at retail level started to occur (despite huge successes like Elv1s), but also when FTD came into its own and flourished. And so what will we make of Elvis releases of the 2010s when we look back on them from the future? Go here for EIN contributor Shane Brown's personal take on the highs and lows of Elvis product that has come our way over the last decade....
(Spotlight, Source;ShaneBrown/ElvisInformationNetwork)
Elvis LIVE Aug 23, 1969 Album Review + Elvis Concert Review 1969: ..."The atmosphere throughout the entire hotel was nail-bitingly electric! It is difficult for me to describe and paint a true portrait of attending in person this unique occasion - Elvis' Return to Splendor LIVE in 1969 - but I'll try my best. I want, and hope, you will understand the excitement of what has to be the pinnacle of Elvis' career to date!" Joan Gansky was lucky because not only was she in the audience for Elvis' TV musical renaissance of the '68 NBC Special but she also saw Elvis at his most dynamic - first at his August 22nd 1969 Midnight Show and then the following night at his August 23rd Dinner Show. Joan Gansky has written this insightful and emotional article for EIN in 2019, fifty years later, looking back at this special event from 1969 as well as providing her review of the new RCA vinyl album of the August 23rd Dinner Show. One of EIN's most important articles we have ever published- Go here for Joan and Paul Gansky's incredible articles and exclusive photos
(Review/Spotlight, Source;ElvisInformationNetwork)
'What was Elvis searching for?' EIN Spotlight: The question is raised – but never answered – in the title of HBO’s recent absorbing, imperfect documentary 'Elvis Presley: The Searcher'.
At the start it seems clear what the teenage Elvis was searching for – an escape from the oblivion of poverty in the American South. Yet his quest was cultural as well as financial.
Later Elvis read obsessively, seeking out such books as The Impersonal Life, Joseph Brenner’s guide to self-discovery and Kahil Gibran’s book of fables, The Prophet. In his copy of Gibran’s tome, Elvis jotted down the line: “A singer can sing his songs but he must have an ear to receive the song”.
So what exactly was Elvis searching for? In this fascinating EIN Spotlight respected author Paul Simpson takes a close look at this all important question which, for some reason, was basically ignored in the recent HBO documentary..
Mindi Miller Interview with EIN: Mindi Miller was a working actress when she met Elvis in early 1975. She was interested in karate (she performed all her own movie stunts), exploring spirituality and the Bible and so they had a lot in common. Mindi Miller and Elvis bonded over their common interests and soon afterwards he asked her to go on tour with him in April 1975.
She stayed friends with Elvis through the years - along with members of the 'Memphis Mafia' - and attended his funeral.
EIN's Sanja Meegin recently caught up with Mindi Miller to talk about her close friendship with Elvis over the years.
In this fascinating interview she discusses. . . - Her first night with Elvis
- How Elvis persuaded her to cancel her overseas movie & modelling plans
- Their mutual interest in Karate
- Graceland and meeting Lisa Marie
- Attending Elvis' funeral . . . and much much more... Go here for EIN's Sanja Meegin and her intimate and detailed discussion with the delightful Mindi Miller - Now with Reader Feedback.
Official Elvis CD Box-sets at bargain prices through Amazon UK
'Marty Lacker: A Life Well-Lived' & Elvis at American Studio's Interview: It was with immense sadness that last month EIN had to report on the death of our great friend - and a true friend to Elvis - Marty Lacker. We will miss him dearly. Marty is well-known as one of the key members of the Memphis Mafia and also co-Best Man at Elvis' wedding. He was known for both his honesty and being forthright with his opinions. He was the only member of the Memphis Mafia who still watched and commented on recent Elvis News. He had no issue with holding people to account (especially ones who would inflate their importance within Elvis' legacy) and would regularly ask EIN to add his comments or to correct any inaccuracy. Elvis fans often ask about Marty Lacker's background, how he came to meet Elvis, as well as his involvement in the music industry outside of working for The King.
As a prelude to Ken Sharp's fascinating interview with Marty Lacker and a discussion about Elvis' famous American Studio' Memphis sessions, EIN presents "Marty Lacker: a life well-lived" in which Marty tells of his life in the music industry, his friendship with Elvis along with his dislike of the over-controlling Col Parker. Go here to learn all you need to know about Marty Lacker as well as Elvis outstanding Memphis American Sound sessions in 1969. (Spotlight; Source,KenSharp/ElvisInformationNetwork)
'The World of FTD' In-Depth Review: The new deluxe book 'The World Of FTD' has been received by some lucky fans and Elvis collector Mike Lodge has provided EIN with a very detailed review - of well over 3 thousand words! The book was authored and designed by Keith Flynn with input from a large number of other Elvis specialists including EIN's Piers Beagley, EM&HM's Trevor Cajiao, Geoffrey McDonnell, Gordon Minto and many others. It is 1,200 pages, hardbound three book set, chronicling every release by FTD.The book also features 100s of high-quality photos from the collection Erik Lorentzen
KJ Consulting are proud to publish this Box Set which weighs 8 kilos.
Paul Dowling EIN Interview Part Three: Paul Dowling is without doubt one of the major names in the Elvis World. He started collecting and selling Elvis vinyl over 40 years ago and has one of the world's largest Elvis Presley record collections. He started his "WorldWide Elvis" shop back in the seventies, way before the internet, where fans could get hold of rare Elvis records and memorabilia.
With such a fascination with Elvis, Dowling not only became a big name in the early years of Elvis bootlegs but later became friends with Ernst Jorgensen and helped RCA with various official releases.
In the final part of our fascinating interview Paul Dowling discusses .... - Dodging the FBI agents that were sent after him
- Unreleased Elvis material that still hasn’t come out
- Why does Ernst Jorgensen doubt this claims
- His BMG project 'For The First Time Ever' - what happened
- The true story of obtaining the Million Dollar Quartet tape
- His thoughts on Paul Lichter, Sean Saver, Sherif Hanna, Rex Martin
- Spending time with Alan Fortas
- Jim Curtin, newly added story
'Ultimate Elvis' New Electronic Edition: Announced by Elvis sessions expert Keith Flynn for publication November 1 is the brand new concept of the 1750 page super-deluxe Elvis sessions book 'Ultimate Elvis' Electronic Edition.
This incredible three volume book will now be available as an e-book on an i-pad or android tablet. - Created in HTML5
Fully updated e-books will open in any web browser on any operating system, so no need for separate downloads for different operating systems. - Life-Like 'Flipping' Pages
Flip through pages as if you are reading an actual book, but also being able to zoom-in to view smaller images and captions.
- View as Double or Single pages
View as double pages on a computer or laptop etc, and single pages when viewing in portrait on an i-pad or Android tablet. - Fully Navigational Table Of Contents
Jump back and forth to the sections of the books you want to read, instead of flipping through numerous pages to find what you want. PRICED AT - all 3 Volumes for £60 = US$93
On sale from November 1st 2015. Try Before You Buy -
Download free zip-file containing 27 pages from Volume 1, before you decide to buy the complete set. -
NOTE - These books are MASSIVE so you will need approximately 1GB of spare disc space for these three volumes, -
Click HERE to Keith Flynn's 'Ultimate Elvis' Electronic Edition to try.
Go HERE to EIN's independent review of 'Ultimate Elvis' (News, Source;ElvisInfoNet)
Did Elvis Record 'Tiger Man' At Sun?: A question that has puzzled Elvis fans through the years is whether he actually recorded the song ‘Tiger Man’ during his years at SUN studios.
The basic question is why did Elvis refer to 'Tiger man' several times in concert as “The second song that I ever recorded, not too many people heard it”?
And if Elvis DID record it, then why hasn’t any reference to it at SUN or proof of its existence been found?
Elvis would first perform ‘Tiger Man’ in concert at his first 1969 Las Vegas International season and would continue playing it through the years – usually in a medley with Mystery Train - until his last performance at Saginaw on May 3 1977. He would sing it over 150 times on stage! The thought that there might be an acetate or undiscovered tape of Elvis at SUN singing ‘Tiger Man’ is a mouth-watering concept - but is it an unlikely fantasy or strong possibility?
Go here to our detailed 'TIGER MAN' spotlight as EIN's Piers Beagley puts in the hard yards to check the facts from the fantasy . (Spotlight; Source;ElvisInfoNetwork)
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The Elvis Information Network has been running since 1986 and is an EPE officially recognised Elvis fan club.
EIN is a not-for-profit Elvis Fan Club website posting daily news and informative articles for Elvis Presley's legion of fans.
EIN tries to credit all news sources, as well as link to the original articles if excerpts are used.
If you believe we have used copyrighted material please contact us and we will remove it immediately.
EIN also has a local Australian national Elvis Fan Club for paid up members featuring quarterly newsletters along with free EIN members cds plus an annual EIN Elvis Mega Quiz with special prizes.
The printed newsletters have extra content, articles and reviews to this website along with the popular Elvis EIN Mega Quiz.
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