The Press-release:
Since Elvis fans received the news of the Hawaii 1961 benefit show so enthusiastically we have decided to release our Deluxe Edition of “HAWAII – For God and Country” instead of the previously announced digipak.
This Deluxe Edition was originally scheduled for a later release, but to give the fans an exciting option, we offer the Deluxe Edition NOW! The Deluxe Edition is a 112-page, hardcover book + CD package, with the show and radio broadcast on one disc. The CD runs more than 74 minutes, with detailed background information and many rare photos in B&W and Color. It also includes relevant clippings, articles and items related to the show and the fundraising effort.
This historic 1961 show is the only one of three Elvis gave that year that is available today, before he disappeared from the stage to work full-time in Hollywood. Only 3 days after the Arizona Benefit, he started filming “Blue Hawaii”.
The audio has been professionally remastered for maximum listening pleasure, with priority given to historical value. Nevertheless, it will be a thrill to rediscover the excitement of the only Elvis Show from 1961. The sound on this release is a significant improvement over earlier versions. Only the first edition will be numbered.
This Special Benefit Memorial Package for the serious collector includes:
- The Deluxe Edition of Hawaii For God and Country hardcover book (112+pages)
- With the audio CD (featuring the benefit show & Radio broadcast.)
- A beautiful reproduction of the original ticket (For this edition only)
- High “Quality” Long play album (180 gram Vinyl)
- The limited reproduction of A large exquisite autographed promo photo only
- given to the first 1000 ticket buyers in 1961. (For this edition only)
Tracklisting The Elvis Show:
01 Introduction by Rear Admiral Robert L. Campbell (14th Naval District commander)02 Heartbreak Hotel
03 All Shook Up
04 A Fool Such As I
05 I Got A Woman
06 Love Me
07 Introduction of musicians, singers
08 Such A Night
09 Reconsider Baby
10 I Need Your Love Tonight
11 That's All Right
12 Don't Be Cruel
13 One Night
14 Are You Lonesome To-night ?
15 It's Now Or Never
16 Swing Down Sweet Chariot
17 Hound Dog
The Special Radio Broadcast
Elvis and the Colonel pay tribute to the victims of Pearl Harbor in 1941, presented by Tom Moffatt in a special radio broadcast from Honolulu:
Sunday, March 19, 1961
18 Promotion for the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial Benefit on Saturday March 25th.
19 Take My Hand, Precious Lord
20 Tom Moffatt, E. J. Solomons (U. S. Navy Admiral)
21 I Believe In The Man In The Sky
22 Dialogue, Neal Shaw Blaisdell (mayor of Honolulu)
23 It Is No Secret
24 Tom Moffatt, H. Tucker Gratz (chairman of Pacific War Memorial Commission).
25 Milky White Way
26 Tom Moffatt, George Chaplin* (editor from Honolulu Advertiser)
27 He Knows Just What I Need
28 Tom Moffatt, William F .Quinn (governor of Hawaii)
29 I Believe
30 Tom Moffatt, Morley Theaker (manager of Sears department store, in charge of ticket sales)
31 Tom Moffatt, phone call to Elvis to talk about special broadcast for Arizona Memorial benefit
32 The Last Post, Tom Moffatt
33 Peace In The Valley
34 Tom Moffatt, closing credits
* The Elvis Memorial Benefit kick-started the struggling U. S. S. Arizona Memorial fund. The idea was inspired by a column written by newspaper editor George Chaplin. Attempts to raise money for the memorial had run dry, so Chaplin wrote newspapers across the United States about the problem. Reading about this in Los Angeles, Colonel Parker conceived the idea of a charity concert, with the proceeds going towards the construction of what would become Hawaii’s Number One visitor attraction.
Charts
This week, 'An Afternoon In The Garden' dropped from 145 last week to 186 this week (w/e 4th February, 2012) on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart selling some 2813 copies. Total sales to date: 421,493copies.
- 'Elvis: Best Of Love' jumps from 195 to 173 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart selling some 2950 copies. Total sales to date: 223,626 copies.
- 'Elvis Country' (Compilation) appeared on the Catalog Album Chart selling some 1,506 copies. Total sales to date: 86,337.
- 'Elvis Gospel' (Compilation) also appeared on the same chart selling some 1497 copies. Total sales to date: 133,709 copies.
New March FTD release rumours:
The Elvis Information Website overheard that the new March FTDs could be. These have yet to be confirmed by FTD.
- 'On Stage' Classic Album with added unreleased RCA multitrack recordings. EIN previously heard that FTD was coincidentally working on this classic album around the time Backdraft's 'ReBooked' deluxe 4cd set of similar material was released.
- 1975 Soundboard concert - possibly Shreveport, June 7 1975. The following four Shreveport 1975 tracks have been released previously by RCA on the 'Elvis Aron Presley' silver box-set. 'Funny How Time Slips Away', 'Little Darlin'', 'Mystery Train/Tiger Man', 'Can't Help Falling In Love'. It would be an excellent concert to get in full from FTD since the rest of the performance has never been released, not even on bootleg.
- 'His Hand In Mine' double-vinyl release.