Joseph A. Tunzi (JAT Productions)

 

EIN: Your recent book, "Rock-Sex-n-Roll" (what a fantastic cover!), focuses on Elvis’ early years but most of your books are about Elvis' later concert years.

JAT: I have to disagree. This argument was used for much of our earlier years, as we’ve covered a good bit of the late 1960s and the 1970s early on in JAT Productions. After nearly 25 years publishing, we’ve been able to cover nearly everything from 1954-1955 up until 1977. I don’t think JAT Productions is still pigeon-holed into only doing books on the 1970s. I think the one thing you can say about all of our books is that over the last 25 years, we’ve been able to find and publish the most previously unpublished photos of Elvis Presley throughout his career.
 
EIN: Of all your releases what are your favorites?

JAT: I would have to say that the “Elvis Sessions” books and the “Elvis No. 1 The Complete Chart History Of Elvis Presley” are some of my favorites. “Elvis Sessions III” still holds up today remarkably well. Someone recently told me that “Elvis Sessions III” is listed on another Elvis website as their number one Elvis book with the only perfect five star rating. I’m not saying that “Elvis Sessions III” is perfect, but I think it’s a testament as to how much people just love learning about Elvis’ music, nearly 35 years after he died.

As for “Chart History,” I think you could have any number of authors and experts tell you how great Elvis was as a singer and a musician. But that would be someone’s opinion. The “Chart History” book tells you precisely why Elvis is so great. Yeah, most people know about a handful of Elvis’ hits, but when you look through the “Chart History” book, you realize Elvis was consistently great throughout his career. Some people might say that from 1964-1967, Elvis wasn’t doing anything.

Or from 1976-1977, Elvis was in a downward spiral as far as his career. I don’t necessarily agree with those philosophies. Granted, these periods don’t compare nowhere near the greatness of Elvis in 1954-1958 or 1968-early 1973. But, I do think if Elvis would have scored a top ten hit in 1976, he would have been just as hot as he was during those periods of greatness.

EIN: Of your Elvis photo-books, which have been the most successful (biggest selling)?

JAT: We’ve sold close to 18,000 copies of the “America The Beautiful” book. Time-Life Books mass distributed this book after its’ initial print run. We had zero returns.
 
EIN: The Elvis photo-book market seems to be getting a little flooded nowadays compared with a few years ago. The Erik Lorenzten books, MRS books and now FTD have jumped into the market with more & more books. What do you think of this competition and has this changed your future strategy?

EIN: 2012 is the 40th Anniversary of 'On Tour' and 'Madison Square Garden' - why hasn't EPE or SONY done a blitz on this?

JAT: Madison Square Garden is being blitzed. I believe Sony just announced this project, “Prince From Another Planet” that looks very promising. In all actuality, I’m looking more forward to this video of Elvis at Madison Square Garden than the “A Boy From Tupelo” box set from FTD. No disrespect to Ernst’s outstanding book and CDs. It’s just that I personally saw Elvis on that June, 1972 tour here in Chicago and to be able to see and hear how Elvis performed at Madison Square Garden is akin to a vivid flashback from my younger days. What a nostalgic trip that will be.
 
As far as “Elvis On Tour,” I think EPE just put out an e-book on the film. I definitely think EPE and Sony would love to do a project on the film. I think the sales of “Elvis, That’s The Way It Is - Special Edition” were disappointing for Warner Brothers. The decision-makers at Warner Brothers (George Feltenstein) are still in charge and ultimately the decision to go forward with a deluxe video release of “Elvis On Tour” is in his hands. It’s my understanding that Roger Mayer is retired but still active in film preservation. I think the BluRay / DVD release of “Elvis On Tour” a few years ago is a positive sign that something may happen sooner rather than later. How soon, I can’t say. It could be as soon as this coming Elvis week or it could be in the next five years.
 
EIN: Do you know what happened to the supposed extended DVD special Edition?

JAT: I don’t know if you’re referring to the extra hour we were supposed to get from “Elvis, That’s The Way It Is - Special Edition” or if you’re referring to a re-edit of “Elvis On Tour” or the DVD that Sony has produced for the “Prince From Another Planet” set. Like I said, “Elvis, That’s The Way It Is - Special Edition” went way over budget. I don’t know if they would re-edit the original “Elvis On Tour” film now. Now that “Elvis On Tour” is on BluRay / DVD, I find it hard to believe that the reason behind the removal of “Johnny B. Goode” from the BluRay / DVD of “Elvis On Tour” was strictly because of a publishing dispute. I do think that if deluxe editions of “Elvis, That’s The Way It Is” and “Elvis On Tour” do come to pass, they will be very much in the same vein as what EPE and Todd Morgan did with the “’68 Comeback Special” and the “Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite” deluxe editions.
 
Speaking of which, I sincerely hope that the next time EPE does a video release of what has been called the “‘68 Comeback Special,” they refer to it by its’ proper name, “Singer Presents Elvis” or just “Elvis - TV Special” like the album. When the television special aired, nobody referred to it as a “comeback” special. That term was only coined for the television special after Elvis died. Elvis just as easily could have made what some term a “comeback” in 1976. That term has come to dismiss what Elvis did from 1964-1967, when in fact Elvis was very much an active recording and film star.

Granted, the quality of what Elvis did between 1964-1967 isn’t on the same par as what Elvis did between1954 and 1963, but nonetheless, Elvis made 3 films (“Roustabout,” “Girl Happy” and “Tickle Me”) in 1964, 3 in 1965 (“Harum Scarum,” “Frankie And Johnny,” and “Paradise, Hawaiian Style,”) 3 in 1966 (“Spinout,” “Easy Come, Easy Go” and “Double Trouble”) and 3 in 1967 (“Clambake, “Stay Away, Joe” and “Speedway”). In 1964, he had 4 top twenty pop hits in the U.S. (“Kissin’ Cousins,” “Such A Night,” “Ask Me,” “Ain’t That Loving You Baby”). Plus he had another song just miss the top twenty (“What’d I Say”). In 1965, Elvis again had four songs make the top twenty (“Crying In The Chapel,” “(Such An) Easy Question,” “I’m Yours” and “Puppet On A String”). “Do The Clam” nearly missed the top twenty in 1965.

In 1966, he had the top twenty hit “Love Letters.” In 1967 he nabbed a Grammy for the “How Great Thou Art” album and he recorded some great records, despite their chart placement (“Big Boss Man,” “Guitar Man” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” to name a few). I think the only time Elvis really made a comeback was when he returned from his time serving his country in Germany in 1960. From June, 1958 until March, 1960, Elvis was pretty out of the picture. But even then, he had cut some great records and made what is artistically his best film to tide the fans over prior to leaving for Germany.

Getting off my soapbox, from my understanding, the plan was back around the production and the release of “Elvis, That’s The Way It Is - Special Edition” to do “special editions” of “Elvis On Tour” and “Viva Las Vegas.” I believe these three titles are the biggest selling Elvis movies that Warner Brothers owns the rights to. I doubt that plan still holds true, as the sales for the special edition of “Elvis, That’s The Way It Is” were disappointing. I think we might hear more about these projects sometime soon. It could be as early as during this year’s Elvis Week or it could be over the next five years. I think there’s only a handful of major projects that need to be done by EPE, Sony and the film companies, and deluxe editions of “Elvis, That’s The Way It Is” and “Elvis On Tour” would be two of them. 

EIN: The Tunzi 'Maybellene' remix featured on the Louisiana Hayride Archives CD. What can you tell us about this? Have you anymore remixes you'd like to see released?

JAT: This is a recording I originally put out back in 2003 when I did a book with Joey Kent on the Louisiana Hayride years 1954-1956. I can’t take full credit for this as a guy by the name of Little Walter Devine worked on this recording. I think we cleaned it up when we put it out on MRS “The Complete Louisiana Hayride Archives.”

EIN: It seems that 35 years on even the bootleggers are scraping the barrel for anything new and exciting to release. Ernst himself gave the FTD soundboards only another 3 years or so. Similarly so many Elvis Tours and concerts have been covered in incredible detail with not that many new quality photos coming to light. How long do you think you can continue publishing Elvis photo-books for? Are we finally getting to the end?

JAT: Everything has a beginning, a middle and an end. I know Ernst and Roger have stated that they’d like to cover every tour and engagement from 1969-1977 through FTD. I’m not sure they’d be willing to tap into audience recordings to cover areas where soundboard recordings are scarce. Likewise, I don’t know how long I will continue publishing books and producing DVDs / CDs. I try to take it year by year. As long as I’m alive and well, I will keep going.
 
Theoretically, FTD should have enough soundboards to last until the 50^th anniversary of Elvis’ passing. Whether it becomes overkill at some point is a question only the fans can decide.
 
EIN: What is your general view on how SONY is marketing Elvis?

JAT: In declining music industry, with compact disc sales down, I think Sony is marketing Elvis superbly. I like the Legacy releases that they’ve done in the last five years or so. I think it was smart to finally focus on the original albums. I even like what Custom Marketing is doing. It amazes me that they’ve been able to push a little title like “An Afternoon In The Garden” to near RIAA gold status here in the United States. Besides Ernst and Roger, the people at Sony like Lisa Grasso and Steve Cooper have done a fantastic job with some of their concepts. I like the mosaic concept they just did for the cover of “I Am An Elvis Fan.”

Steve Cooper and his team did a great job with reissuing the Camden albums at a budget price. Those reissues brought back fond memories of buying those albums. I do think though if there is one area of improvement, it would be the mainstream (non-FTD) back catalogue.

I think after “ELV1S 30 #1 Hits” and “Second To None” came out, there was this flood of greatest hits packages that has more or less confused the general public. I think if you were a newbie fan of Elvis, you have to ask the question, where would you start? I think ideally, you would want to start with “ELV1S 30 #1 Hits” but even then, there are flaws with that record.
 
EIN: There are on-going rumors that EPE is working on an Anthology project. So many of Elvis' contemporaries are dying off or getting very old, that if they haven't been interviewed already EPE will have missed their chance. Do you know anything about the project and if it is still being worked on?

JAT: To do a project like an “Anthology” on Elvis Presley, EPE would likely need investors. It would almost be like an United Nations meeting. Sony would be at the meeting for all music clearances regarding Elvis’ music, the publishers of every song Elvis ever recorded would be there as well, the various film companies would be there (Warner Brothers, 20^th Century Fox, Paramount), executives from the four major broadcast networks (NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX) would be trying to negotiate the television rights to air the anthology. Various individuals with photos, film and video would be in those types of meetings (Andrew Solt, myself and others).

Flip, Flop and Fly......JAT's Greatest Elvis Concert Book Ever!......coming soon

A dream project of this magnitude would cost a lot of money. It literally took the three surviving members of the Beatles and Yoko Ono nineteen years to settle all their lawsuits and agree to an “Anthology” and another six years to produce it. I know having done five volumes of the “Hot Shots & Cool Clips” series and two additional DVDs, that EPE is very interested in acquiring footage, presumably for an "Anthology." Here's a list of the footage JAT Productions has put out:

Elvis Documentary - Features photos and brief kinescope clips of Elvis performing on the Dorsey Brothers Stage Show, performing at the Mississippi - Alabama Fair and Dairy Show in Tupelo, Mississippi, and footage of Elvis’ Army swearing in and haircut. Documentary narrated by Jay Gordon
Elvis Press Conference at Vernon Presley’s office at Graceland (March 7, 1960)
Sinatra &Elvis Show (Opening Credits) - “It’s Nice To Go Traveling” - sung and choreographed by the ensemble (Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Joey Bishop, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Tom Hansen Dancers)
Timex Introduction Sequence
“It’s Nice To Go Trav’ling” (Reprise with ensemble and Elvis singing a verse)
Joey Bishop / Frank Sinatra comedy routine (Frank’s Time Machine)
“Witchcraft” - performed by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra introduces Sammy Davis Jr.
“There’s A Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon For New York” (from “Porgy & Bess“) - performed by Sammy Davis Jr.
Frank Sinatra introduces oriental dance routine by the Tom Hansen Dancers (Oriental Wedding Celebration)
“Gone With The Wind” - performed by Frank Sinatra
Joey Bishop introduces Tom Hansen Dancers dance routine (Chipmunk Mania Tribute).
“Fame And Fortune” - performed by Elvis Presley.
“Stuck On You” - performed by Elvis Presley.
“Witchcraft / Love Me Tender” (with reprisal of ending) - duet performed by Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.
“You Make Me Feel So Young (Old)” - duet by Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra.
Nancy Sinatra Dance Routine.
“It’s Nice To Go Trav’ling” (Closing Introductions) - sung by Frank Sinatra.
T.V. Guide slideshow.
Elvis Through The ‘60s slideshow of photographs.
 
The lyrics to “It’s Nice To Go Trav’ling” and “You Make Me Feel So Young (Old)” were adapted for the television program. The original title of this television program was “It’s Nice To Go Trav’ling

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Elvis, Hot Shots And Cool Clips Volume 1: A Video Documentary (2001):

Elvis at the Las Vegas Sahara Hotel onstage and backstage with the famous clowns Marge and Gower Champion. (October 23, 1957) as well as footage of Elvis with Liberace. (April 23, 1956)
Elvis performing at the International Amphitheater edited with footage of local teenagers’ thoughts on Elvis. (March 28, 1957)
Elvis backstage at the Tupelo, Mississippi Fair and performing on stage to benefit the Elvis Presley Youth Center to be built in Tupelo from the show’s proceeds. (September 27, 1957)
Press Conference at Brooklyn, New York terminal before boarding the USS General Randall for German port of Bremerhaven. (September 22, 1958)
Elvis at press conference shortly before his two year stint in the Army is about to end. (March 3, 1960)
Elvis backstage with Bobby Darin at Cloisters in Hollywood with Jim Backus and Donald O’Connor. (May 1960)
On the set of “Follow That Dream” 3000 citizens show up at Weeki Wachee Spring in Florida for a special event that Colonel Parker has set up. (July 30, 1961)
The premiere of “Follow That Dream” at the Marion Theatre in Ocala, Florida. (April 11, 1962)
Elvis presents the USS Potomac to Danny Thomas at an event in Long Beach, California to benefit St. Jude’s Hospital in Memphis. (February 14, 1964)
Elvis marries Priscilla Beaulieu at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. (May 1, 1967)
Elvis outside his Beverly Hills home signing autographs sporting the beard grown for the motion picture “Charro!” (August 1968)
Elvis is shown the construction site for the to be built International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada and a contract signing photo opportunity is created by Colonel Tom Parker. Elvis would return to live performing on a full time basis on July 31, 1969 at the International Hotel. The actual contract signing takes place on April 15, 1969. (February 26, 1969)
Excerpts of Elvis at the Madison Square Garden press conference at the New York Hilton. (June 9, 1972)

Bonus Section: History In The Making (Universal International News):

Features the following four clips along with other news from the era:
A.) Elvis inducted into the U.S. Army at Fort Chafee, Arkansas. (March 24, 1958)
B.) Elvis returns to the United States (Fort Dix, New Jersey) and is greeted by Nancy Sinatra after two years of military service. (March 3, 1960)
C.) The Beatles arrive at New York’s Kennedy Airport where the hysteria is compared to the hysteria generated by Elvis Presley fans. (February 3, 1964)

D.) Elvis weds Priscilla Beaulieu at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. (May 1, 1967)
Elvis arrives in Bremerhaven, Germany among a throng of fans. (October 1, 1958)
Elvis speaks at a press conference at the Las Vegas Hilton on the announcement that he would be performing the Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite concert. (September 4, 1972)
Slideshow of photographs taken of Elvis at his afternoon concert at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee. (March 17, 1974)

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Elvis at the Shelby County courthouse in Memphis, Tennessee a day after getting involved in a scuffle with two gas station attendants who turn nasty because of the crowd of fans that Elvis attracted. (October 19, 1956)
Elvis performing at Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Michigan. (March 31, 1957)
Earliest known color footage of Graceland. (1957)
Footage of Elvis’ Army induction at Kennedy Veteran’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee and Fort Chafee, Arkansas (March 24, 1958)
Premiere of “G.I. Blues” at the Wilshire Theater in Los Angeles, California (November 15, 1960)
Elvis backstage with Bobby Darin and introduced from the audience by Bobby Darin at Cloisters in Hollywood (May 1960)
Colonel Parker’s birthday party (June 26, 1964)
Elvis at the JCC Prayer Breakfast and Awards Ceremony (January 16, 1971)

More footage from the Madison Square Garden Press Conference at the New York Hilton (June 9, 1972)
Elvis on stage at Madison Square Garden (June 9, 1972)
Elvis on stage at Chicago Stadium (June 16-17, 1972 evening shows)

DVD Easter Egg #1: Simply continue to watch as the credits roll and the advertisement for the British fan magazine Essential Elvis disappears and eventually an Easter Egg screen will appear indicating that the first Easter Egg consists of extra footage of Colonel Parker setting up the Madison Square Garden Press Conference. (June 9, 1972)

DVD Easter Egg #2: From the main menu, choose “Chapter Select” and then select “Next Menu” where you are viewing Chapter selections 7 through 11. From here press up until a small white arrow appears in the lower right portion of your television screen. While the arrow is on your screen press enter once to advance to another screen which will ask you “one more” to which you press enter again. From there another screen will appear with a red music note in the lower right corner. Press enter once more to watch silent footage of Elvis in concert at the Jefferson County Armory in Louisville, Kentucky along with fan reactions. (November 25, 1956)

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Elvis, Hot Shots & Cool Clips Volume 3: A Video Documentary (2007):

Screen test / wardrobe fitting for the Avon Production “Jailhouse Rock.” (Early 1957)
Elvis on stage and backstage with Liberace at the New Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. (April 23, 1956 and November 14, 1956)
Elvis on stage at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois. (March 28, 1957)
Film premiere of “Love Me Tender” at the Paramount Theater in New York. (November 15, 1956)
Press Conference for Elvis’ Astrodome concert appearances at the Astroworld Hotel in Houston, Texas. (February 25, 1970)
Presenting check to the Motion Picture Relief Fund on the set of “Frankie And Johnny.” (June 10, 1965)
Tour of Elvis’ 1960 gold Cadillac. (Sometime After May 1965)
Elvis arrives in Honolulu, Hawaii for the USS Arizona benefit show and the filming of “Blue Hawaii.” (March 25, 1961)
More footage of Elvis presenting the USS Potomac to Danny Thomas and Saint Jude’s Hospital in Long Beach, California. (February 14, 1964)
More than 150 people jammed into Mayor William B. Ingram’s office to watch Elvis present checks to 58 Memphis and Mid-South charities with Mayor-Elect Claude Armour announcing that Elvis was going to pass out checks personally. Elvis is presented a 6-foot plaque in appreciation by the organizations. (December 17, 1963)
More footage of Elvis and Priscilla’s wedding as well as the press conference that followed. (May 1, 1967)

Black & White Television commercial for the network television debut of “Roustabout.”
Elvis at his Army induction in Fort Chafee, Arkansas holding a copy of his LP “Elvis’ Golden Records” (March 25, 1958)
Elvis arriving at the Hawaiian Village Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii for the filming of “Girls!, Girls!, Girls!” during which Elvis is interviewed by local disc jockey Tom Moffatt (April 7, 1962)
Elvis on the M-G-M. lot during production of “It Happened At The World’s Fair” signing a check for Memphis mayor Henry Loeb for Memphis charities while director Norman Taurog and Elvis’ father, Vernon look on (November 8, 1962)

DVD Easter Egg #1: From the Main menu, select “Chapter Select” and then select “Next Menu” each time until you come to Chapter selections 11 through 15. From there scroll down until the yellow music note is below the “Credits” and “Main Menu” chapters. Press “Play” three times to watch more footage of Elvis at the Brooklyn Terminal just rior to his departing to Germany while in the Army. In this clip Elvis is asked what his favorite record is, to which he responds ironically that Brooklyn’s own Toni Arden’s Decca recording of “Padre” is currently his favorite. (September 22, 1958)

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Elvis, Hot Shots & Cool Clips Volume 4: A Video Documentary (2007):

Elvis being interviewed for the Hy Gardner Calling television program on local New York station WABD. (July 1, 1956)
Curtain call for the Milton Berle Show. (June 5, 1956)
Television commercials for RCA Victor record players and RCA Victor albums including Elvis’ first album “Elvis Presley.” (June 5, 1956)
Elvis being interviewed prior to his departure home from Germany and his arrival and subsequent processing at Fort Dix, New Jersey. (March 1 and March 3, 1960)
Television commercial for the 2 LP set “Elvis” (20 Gold Hits).
Elvis eating cake outside his Graceland mansion shortly after returning home from his military service. (March 7, 1960)
Elvis traveling by train to Miami, Florida for the Frank Sinatra Timex Special. This features interviews of fans waiting to catch a glimpse of Elvis Presley as well as an interview aboard the train. (March 21, 1960)
Photos and footage of Elvis, his father, R&B singer Roy Hamilton and many of the musicians at American Studios in Memphis, Tennessee during an afternoon Roy Hamilton session. (January 22, 1969)
Television Commercial for 1975 2 LP set “Double Dynamite.”
Television Commercial for 1977 LP “Welcome To My World.” Footage of Elvis in concert in Roanoke, Virginia on August 2, 1976.

Footage of Elvis in concert in Dayton, Ohio on October 26, 1976.
Television Commercial for 1971 LP “Elvis Sings The Wonderful World Of Christmas.”
Outside the Las Vegas Hilton prior to Elvis’ departure home to Memphis featuring the last Las Vegas Hilton marquee to showcase Elvis Presley. (December 13, 1976)
News reports of the funeral of Elvis Presley from both the United States and the United Kingdom (August 18, 1977)
Television Commercial for the airing of the CBS television special “Elvis In Concert” (October 2, 1977)

DVD Easter Egg #1: From the Main Menu go to Chapters. From there go to Chapters 6 through 10. Scroll down until the Music Note is between the words “Credits” and “Main Menu.“ Press Left so that a music note appears in the bottom right corner of the photo. Press Play and you will be able to watch an interview clip with Marion Keisker,n describing first recording Elvis Presley while he was still an unknown. (1978)

DVD Easter Egg #2: From the Main Menu, select Chapters. From there go to Chapters 6 through 10. Select Credits.. After watching the credits roll, several minutes will pass without any picture or sound. After this occurs a television commercial for a commemorative version of “Elvis” (20 Gold Hits) LP will play. For a little while, several more minutes of no picture or sound will play. Then a M-G-M commercial for “Lion Power” featuring the motion picture “Speedway” will be seen.

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Elvis, Hot Shots & Cool Clips Volume 5: A Video Documentary (2011):

Elvis performing on stage at the New Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada as well as backstage with Liberace and Liberace’s brother, George. (April 23, 1956)
Elvis being introduced from the audience during a concert in Las Vegas by Liberace and footage of Elvis and Liberace backstage jamming. (November 14, 1956)
Elvis arrives for his U.S. Army induction at Kennedy Veterans Hospital in Memphis, is fingerprinted, is given 53 310 761 as his Army serial number, eats a sandwich, signs autographs, holds a copy of “Elvis’ Golden Records,” is sworn into the Army and is shown about to depart for Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. (March 24, 1958)
Elvis arrives in Brooklyn, New York by train, boards the USS General Randall. (September 22, 1958)
Elvis interviewed on the USS General Randall by media. (September 22, 1958)
Elvis arrives in Bremerhaven, Germany. (October 1, 1958)
Elvis arrives in Friedberg, Germany. (October 1, 1958)
Newsreel and press conferences in Friedberg, Germany and Fort Dix, New Jersey. Elvis waves goodbye to his future wife Priscilla Beaulieu before departing Friedberg, Germany. Elvis is presented a gift from Frank Sinatra’s daughter and future film co-star, Nancy at Fort Dix, New Jersey. (March 1, 1960 and March 3, 1960)
Elvis on the set of the Paramount motion picture “G.I. Blues” with three Scandinavian princesses and cutting up with actress Juliet Prowse during a scene. (June 7, 1960)
Elvis arriving in Weeki Wachee Springs, Florida for the filming of “Follow That Dream” and a special event Colonel Tom Parker has set up. Elvis signs autographs for fans. (July, 1961)
Elvis performing at Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois. (June 16, 1972)
Elvis performing at Chicago Stadium in Chicago Illinois. (June 17, 1972 Evening Show)
Elvis arriving in Hawaii for the USS Arizona Memorial benefit concert and the filming of “Blue Hawaii.” Elvis is seen entering car and departing. (March 25, 1961)
Arriving in Hawaii by helicopter for the filming of “Girls!, Girls!, Girls!” and has multiple leis around his neck. Elvis is interviewed by local disk jockey Tom Moffatt. This scene was recreated nearly 11 years later during Elvis’ arrival for the “Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite“ concert. (April 7, 1962)
Elvis at a press conference following his closing show at the Las Vegas Hilton with RCA President Rocco Laginestra announcing the upcoming “Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite” television special and album. (September 4, 1972)
Elvis holds a press conference at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii to promote the forthcoming “Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite” television special and album. (November 20, 1972)
Elvis arrives in Hawaii by helicopter for the “Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite” concert. (January 9, 1973)

Please note that several erroneous dates were listed for some of the clips found on the “Hot Shots & Cool Clips” series upon their original release. The dates listed here attempt to rectify that matter.

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Elvis: Young Man Of The Nation - 40^th Anniversary Edition (2011):

The Documentary:

Photographs of Elvis meeting Richard Milhous Nixon, the thirty-seventh president of the United States, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. on December 21, 1970. Among the topics discussed at that meeting was Elvis’ upcoming “Ten Outstanding Young Men Of The Nation” Jaycee’s nomination. President Nixon had once had the award bestowed upon him.
Excerpts of all ten speeches from the nominees.
Backdrop close up of other nominees from years past.
Narrator talking about annual Jaycee’s nominations and history with a backdrop close up of other nominees from years past.
Footage of a nominee walking to podium.
Footage of a Jaycee’s Award with two hands touching each other.
Narrator talking about Memphis, Tennessee chapter being the host chapter and that they worked on planning the event for two years. / Footage of people sitting.
Frank Taylor talking.
Narrator talking about registration for the event. Overhead footage of cashier worker.
Narrator mentions that over $30,000 in checks and cash had to be received from over 2,000 people.
Footage of people filing into a building.
Footage on the set of the “Today Show” with Hugh Downs with some of the most recent nominees about to be interviewed.
Footage of the Jaycee’s Award stage at Ellis Auditorium. Narrator talking about local Memphis sponsors / underwriters such as Jim Lockhart, president of First American Securities, Larry Lockhart, president of Continental Securities, and Dave Packard, president of American National Securities. Brief clips of all three men. The men offered their companies to be the backbone of the 1970 Jaycee’s conference. They presented themselves and their organizations to the delegation at a well attended cocktail reception that preceded the Jaycee President’s banquet. Footage of the cocktail reception.
Footage of the Jaycee President’s Banquet. The Jaycee President addresses the delegation at the first formal banquet on Friday evening. Footage of delegation in audience and honorees. Saturday morning brought a awe-inspiring prayer breakfast that allowed the honorees and the delegation a chance to reflect. Footage of featured speaker Deloss Walker.
Footage of the prayer breakfast honorees. The prayer breakfast is the one formal opportunity where the delegation gets the chance to communicate with the most recent honorees and ask questions.
Footage of the keynote speaker, George W. Bush, the new United States ambassador to the United Nations with audio of his speech speaking about service to one’s country and comparing it to the easy question that the Sunday school teacher asks the children at church, “who made you” and the small child answers, “I don’t know, I’m not done yet.”
On Saturday evening the delegation was treated to a man called a modern day Will Rogers, Lieutenant Governor George Nigh of Oklahoma. His message was serious, his manner was most entertaining. Footage of Lieutenant George Nigh speaking.
Climax to a prestigious weekend was the awards ceremony, televised to a regional audience in the Memphis area.

Honorees take the opportunity to express their inner most feelings, thoughts, and desires:

Thomas Irving Atkins, 31 (Municipal Affairs) -Boston, Massachusetts. A Boston city councilman who overcame a bout with polio during childhood, convinced Boston Mayor Kevin White not to cancel a James Brown concert at Boston Garden the day after Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated. Instead he convinced Mayor White to allow the concert to continue as scheduled and to allow for the concert to be broadcast on television hoping to keep angry teens from rioting and looting in the city. Footage of Thomas I. Atkins at the prayer breakfast and throughout the weekend. Footage and audio excerpts of Thomas I. Atkins’ speech.

Dr. George Joseph Todaro, 33 (Medicine) - Chief Viro-Leukemia and Lymphoma Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland. He was among the first investigators to determine that a naturally occurring virus could transform cells when he co-authored the “Oncogene Theory,” which became one of the foundations for future cancer research. Footage of Dr. George Joseph Todaro on the “Today” show set and at the prayer breakfast. Footage audio excerpts of Dr. George Joseph Todaro’s speech.

Paul William Bucha, 27 (Military Service) - Assistant Military Professor, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. In March of 1968, he and his company of 89 men were dropped by helicopter southwest of Phouc Vinh, Binh Duong Province. It was believed this area was a North Vietnamese stronghold. Bucha’s mission was to seek out and engage the enemy Early on, they encountered little resistance. On the afternoon of March 18, 1968, the company’s lead group of roughly 12 men stumbled upon a full North Vietnamese Army battalion that was camping for the night. The lead team came under heavy enemy fire and was pinned down. Bucha then crawled towards an enemy bunker and destroyed it. He returned to the company perimeter and ordered a withdrawal to a more secure location. Throughout the night, he kept his fellow soldiers’ spirits up by encouraging them, distributed ammunition, and directed artillery and helicopter gunship fire. He used flashlights and stood undressed to direct helicopters to help in evacuating the injured and bringing in more supplies. Early the next morning as the North Vietnamese withdrew, he led a rescue party to locate those soldiers who had been cut off from the rest of the company.

Footage of Paul William Bucha at the prayer breakfast, receiving his Jaycees award and on the “Today” show set. Paul received the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Nixon. Footage and audio excerpts of Paul William Bucha’s speech.

Walter Johan Humann, 33 (Business) - Vice-President, Secretary, General Counsel, LTV Aerospace Corporation, Dallas, Texas. Chaired the national committee in 1970 that helped create the United States Postal Service (USPS). The former deficit-ridden politically driven Post Office Department was replaced with a service run more like a public company. At the time of the creation of the USPS, it made up the largest federal government reorganization in United States history. Footage of Walter Johan Humann on the “Today” show set and receiving his Jaycees award. Footage and audio excerpts of Walter Johan Humann’s speech.

James Burton Goetz, 34 (State Affairs) - Former Republican Lieutenant Governor of the state of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota. James also was a media mogul and owned radio station KAGE in Winona, Minnesota. Footage of Jim Goetz sitting in audience, receiving Jaycees award, and sitting a table with his wife Ruth Elbert. Footage of Jim Goetz speaking with no audio of his speech. Brief clip of the Jaycees trophies. Audio excerpt of Jim Goetz’s speech. Footage and audio excerpts of Jim Goetz’s speech.

Harry Wendell Cherry, 34 (Business) - President, Extended Care Incorporated, Louisville, Kentucky, Co-owner of the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association (ABA). Footage of Harry Wendell Cherry at the prayer breakfast, on the “Today” show set and at the cocktail reception. Footage and audio excerpts of Harry Wendell Cherry’s speech.

Ronald Louis Ziegler, 31 (National Affairs) - Press Secretary to President Richard Milhous Nixon, Washington, D.C. Youngest White House Press Secretary in United States history. He is the official news spokesman for the President and the White House staff. His respect for newsmen and their audiences played a perceptible role in creating a new confidence between the White House and the American people. Footage of Ronald Louis Ziegler at the cocktail reception, on the “Today” show set, and during his speech. Footage and audio excerpts of Ronald Louis Ziegler’s speech.

Edward Thomas “Ned” Coll, 30 (Voluntary Service) - National Director, Revitalization Corps, Hartford, Connecticut. The Revitalization Corps is a private, domestically focused agency dedicated to serving the poor. Footage of Edward Thomas Coll speaking and receiving his Jaycees trophy. Footage and audio excerpts of Edward’s speech.

Mario Renato Cappechi, 32 (Biological Research) - Assistant Professor, Biological Chemistry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. His brilliant research has contributed significantly to man’s understanding of the fundamental operations of cells. And he has also dealt with all the crucial events in the recent dramatic work in the synthesis of proteins. Footage of Mario Cappechi at the cocktail reception, at the prayer breakfast, on the set of the “Today” show set, receiving his Jaycee’s award. More footage of him at the cocktail reception. Footage and audio excerpts of Mario Cappechi’s speech.

Elvis Aron Presley, 35 (Entertainment) - Musician / Entertainer, Memphis, Tennessee. The success of Presley is a phenomenon in the entertainment world. He is one of the most well known and prolific entertainers in the nation. Fifty-one of his single records have won gold record awards for sales of more than one million records. Unlike other entertainers, he has intentionally concealed many acts of philanthropy, which might have brought him considerable publicity. Footage of Elvis Presley signing autographs outside, at the prayer breakfast, more footage of Elvis signing autographs outside while walking. Footage of Elvis signing autographs standing next to a car and footage of Elvis’ speech. Footage and audio excerpts of Elvis’ speech.

Footage of the Jaycee’s stage at the close of the ceremony with footage of United States Jaycee’s President Gordon Thomas delivering the closing remarks. Footage and audio excerpts of Gordon Thomas’ speech. Brief footage clips of each of the honorees speeches. Audio of a vocal group singing “The Battle Hymn Of The Republic.” Footage of an American flag waving in the wind. Scene outside of Memphis / Closing Credits - Produced By The Memphis Jaycees. Lyle Tudor - President.

Slide Show of photos of Elvis from the Jaycee’s ceremonies.

Elvis Excerpt: This allows you to go directly to Elvis’ portion of the above detailed documentary where he delivers his speech.

The Complete Speech: This is the complete speech taken from a number of film and audio sources. Parts of the film and audio quality are sub-standard.

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EIN: What is your view on how Elvis Presley Enterprises is marketing Elvis?

JAT: I think some perspective is needed. From 1977 up until when Graceland opened, there were many shops in the Memphis area that sold very tacky products like Elvis sweat and things of that nature. I think EPE is limited to some extent as to what they can and cannot do. Of course they own the rights to distribute the three television specials. They own the publishing on a good many songs. They own their own archives of photos and documents. But ultimately, they generate most of their revenue through tours and merchandise.

I guess what one person views as being a tacky product, another views with a different set of lenses. The facts are that there are individuals who collect “Elvis ducks” and things of that nature. Most of that stuff has never really appealed to me. I have no desire to purchase an “Elvis duck” though I have received gifts from others that know I’m into Elvis and buy me one of these types of products.

That said, I think EPE has done a marvelous job marketing Elvis. Like I said earlier, it amazes me how many younger fans come to Memphis during Elvis Week. That’s a testament to what EPE has been doing, what Sony has been doing, what Ernst and Roger have been doing, but ultimately how well Elvis’ music, films and video have held up after so much time. Some said it would die after the fifth anniversary in 1982. After the tenth anniversary, they still said it would eventually die down.

After the 15^th anniversary they still said it would die down. And even after the 20^th anniversary they still said it would die down. It wasn’t until the 25^th anniversary that I think some people started realizing that it never was going to end.

One thing I do think EPE should look into doing, would be to reconstruct the studio setup as it was when Elvis recorded in the Jungle Room in February and October, 1976* with the RCA mobile recording truck in back of the house. They could even modernize it as a studio and make it a fully functional recording studio. This alone could generate revenue for EPE as I’m sure there would definitely be recording artists / bands who would want to record at Graceland. I know EPE keeps track of celebrities who have visited Graceland but maybe then they could keep a separate list of recording artists / bands who have recorded in the Jungle Room. I think EPE were once offered the opportunity to purchase the big red RCA recording truck but passed on the offer.

EIN: Are you attending Elvis Week 2012?

JAT: I still have a lot of Elvis product that I need to ship and I am working on multiple Elvis projects as I speak. That said, if all goes right, I’d very much like to be down this year. It’s been a few years since I’ve been down during Elvis Week.
 
EIN: If you do make it to Memphis, will fans be able to meet you?

JAT: If I’m down there, yes, I love to meet and chat with fans about Elvis. To be honest, I’ve come across a lot of leads for photos, film and video and tapes through fans and other individuals while in Memphis. My one concern in Memphis has always been the crime and safety in the area. It always seemed like every time I was down there, I heard of or witnessed a few horror stories.

Going back to your question regarding the marketing of Elvis by EPE, I think if there’s really one area where EPE can improve, it would have to be with regards to the fan safety and the crime in the area. I realize there is only so much EPE can do by itself. It likely would take a revitalization of that area of Memphis, which only the local government and state government can sign off on. I think EPE is trying to work with both the local and state governments to clean up the crime problems in the area and to help reduce traffic.
 
EIN: The Pied Piper of Cleveland video. What do you know about this? Is it in the hands of one of the super-collectors as some claim?

JAT: I have a partner in “Elvis Sessions IV” and he wishes to remain anonymous. He’s not a producer of any Elvis product. But I think everyone will know exactly what “The Pied Piper Of Cleveland” film was all about after “Elvis Sessions IV” comes out.
 
EIN: Joseph, is there anything else you would like to say?

JAT: I hope all the fans are going to Memphis for Elvis Week have a safe and enjoyable trip.
 
EIN: Joseph, thank you for what has been a fascinating interview! EIN, and we know many fans, appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us......we wish you and JAT Productions continued success as we wait, impatiently, for your next releases.....in particular, Flip, Flop and Fly....and next year, the silver pipe laden, Elvis Sessions IV!