January 29 - Something To Read For The Girls

The Follow That Dream / Flaming Start cooperation "Elvis Presley - Something For The Girls"was released. The book/CD package by Pal Granlund and David English covers Elvis Presley's second movie "Loving You".

Tracks CD:
Mean Woman Blues - (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear - Loving You -  Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do - Lonesome Cowboy  - Hot Dog - Party - Blueberry Hill - True Love - Don't Leave Me Now - Have I Told You Lately That I Love You - I Need You So - All Shook Up - That's When Your Heartaches Begin - I Beg Of You - One Night - When It Rains, It Really Pours - Is It So Strange - Tell Me Why - Loving You (Main Movie Version) - Party (Alternate Movie Master) -  Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do (Main Movie Version) - Loving You (Farm Movie Version) - Mean Woman Blues - Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do (Finale Movie Version) - Loving You (End Movie Version)

Elvis

Flame Tree Publishing has announced a new book by author Alice Hudson; Elvis (Hardcover – Illustrated - 128 pages). Due for release February 5, 2014.

Elvis Golden Records Vol. 3 

Due for release from the Original Recordings label is a vinyl re-issue of "Elvis Golden Records Volume 3". The disc is due Februari 11, 2014. 

(Source: UEPS / Elvis And His Music / Amazon)

January 28 - "New" Releases

Sony Legacy re-issued the "Box Set Series" 4 CD set previously available through Walmart. 

Friday Music re-issued the "That's the Way It Is" soundtrack as a limited edition on vinyl. 

Tracks: 
1. I Just Can't Help Believin'
2. Twenty Days And Twenty Nights
3. How The Web Was Woven
4. Patch It Up
5. Mary In The Morning
6. You Don't Have To Say You Love Me
7. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
8. I've Lost You
9. Just Pretend
10. Stranger In The Crowd
11. The Next Step Is Love
12. Bridge Over Troubled Water

Elvis In Tennessee


The free US "Tennessee" information magazine has several articles on sixty years Rock And Roll and Elvis Presley. 

(Source: Amazon)

January 26 - The Nation's Favourite Elvis DVD

The television show "The Nation's Favourite Elvis Songs" will be released as an import-release on a real DVD for all the fans around the world.

From the press-release:Elvis fans in the United Kingdom had the opportunity to vote for their favorite Elvis song with a countdown show dedicated to the king. "The Nation's Favourite Elvis Songs" debuted on ITV in the United Kingdom with "Always On My Mind" taking the No.1 spot. 

This special told the story behind the 20 greatest songs ever recorded by Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Mixing rich archive footage and home videos with new interviews, the documentary painted a picture of the man behind the music, telling the story of how these timeless songs came about and what impact they had on the world. The show featured different generations of international pop stars and musicians influenced by Elvis including Michael Bublé, Sir Cliff Richard, Suzi Quatro, Michael Ball, Englebert Humperdink and Cerys Matthews.

The programme also spoke with those who worked with Elvis, from songwriters to backing singers and session musicians, plus a special interview with Priscilla Presley. The documentary ventured into Elvis’ former home in Memphis, Graceland, following in the footsteps of nearly 20 million visitors, to see how popular the king remains to this day.

Tracks: "The Nation’s Favorite Elvis Song" Countdown:
1. Always On My Mind (1972) 2. Suspicious Minds (1969) 3. Can’t Help Falling In Love (1962) 4. In The Ghetto (1969) 5. A Little Less Conversation (1968/2002) 6. Jailhouse Rock (1958) 7. Hound Dog (1956) 8. Love Me Tender (1956) 9. Return to Sender (1962) 10. Are You Lonesome Tonight (1961) 11. The Wonder of You (1970) 12. Blue Suede Shoes (1956) 13. All Shook Up (1957) 14. It’s Now or Never (1960) 15. An American Trilogy (1972) 16. Heartbreak Hotel (1956) 17. Viva Las Vegas (1964) 18. Don’t Be Cruel (1956) 19. If I Can Dream (1969) 20. King Creole (1958)

(Source: FECC)

January 25 - Praise To The King

To be released shortly (early February) on the "SR" imporlabel is a new CD entitled "Praise to the King" featuring the unreleased show from Las Vegas August 23, 1971 Midnight Show. 

From the press-release:
After a long research finally we located a good tape that gives us the possibility to produce another show from Elvis fifth season. As everybody knows SR concentrates its work on early 70's live period of Elvis' activity, trying to produce always unreleased shows with Elvis at the top of his possibilities. In this our new release, we are proud to present the complete show from August 23th midnight performance of the fifth Elvis’ historical Vegas season.

The midnight show from August 23th, as presented on this CD, no surprises in the tracklist, but the show is extremely solid and good, Elvis sings all the best from the previous seasons including is new single I’m leaving. The sound is good and powerful you can hear clear all the instruments in particular the incredible job on the drums made from Ronnie Tutt. Elvis' performance on these early season nights is superb as he is still performing to the best of his ability. Although he delivers short shows they are delivered in a very intense, crisp and fresh manner that cannot be denied. Elvis was on stage to have fun and demonstrated this during the older, classic numbers, but songs such as 'Proud Mary, Polk Salad Annie' and 'Sweet Caroline' never sounded better. As Bonus we add the best of the Afternoon show in the way to give you a full day and a full 80 minutes of CD. Talking of best song the version of Proud Mary delivered from Elvis and the band is incredible surely the highest moment of the night.

This recording come from an early generation copy of the master tape, the sound quality is good considering the early season. We have on our hands the original mono tape of extremely good quality enabling us to carry out simple re-mastering work, concentrating on the reduction of noise overall at the high frequencies, trying to achieve a more clear sound and of Elvis, keeping a rough mix with some hissing on the high frequencies, but with a great definition to the background music, incredible clear in spite the limitation of an audience recording.

As usually from this label, this new CD will come in a deluxe digipack, containing a collection of live photographs from the season and informative newspaper clips. Approximate Total running time: 80.00 

Tracks:
unreleased show august 23, 1971 ms 51 min.
01.Intro, 02.That’s All Right, 03.I Got A Woman/Amen, 04.Proud Mary, 05.Sweet Caroline, 06.Polk Salad Annie, 07.Johnny B.Goode, 08.It’s Impossible, 09.Love Me, 10.Blue Suede Shoes/Whole Lotta Shakin’ On, 11.Heartbreak Hotel, 12.Teddy Bear/Don’t Be Cruel.13.Hound Dog, 14.Love Me Tender, 15.Bridge Over Troubled Water, 16.Band Introductions, 17.I’m Leaving, 18.Suspicious Minds, 19.Celebrity Introduction, 20.Lawdy Miss Clawdy, 21.I Can’t Help Falling In Love bonus: august 23, 1971 ds 29 min. 22.2001 Theme, 23.That’s All Right, 24.Proud Mary, 25.I Got A Woman/Amen, 26.Sweet Caroline, 27.Polk Salad Annie, 28.Johnny B.Goode, 29.Suspicious Minds, 30.I’m Leaving’, 31.Can’t Help Falling In Love.

(Source: FECC)

January 24 - The Boss Knocks The King

With Bruce Springsteen knocking Elvis off his home title of number one U.S. albums. The latest news in is that Elvis has no albums on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart for week ending 1st February, 2014. Currently, Elvis' only chart entry this week is on the 'Top Music Video Sales' Chart where 'He Touched Me: The Gospel Music Of Elvis Presley' (Vols.1 and 2) drops to #23.

• The CD "ELV1S 30 #1 Hits" re-entered the Swiss Album chart at #100 while the album re-entered the Irish Album chart at #32 and recorded it's 150th week on the chart. 
• The compilation "The Nation’s Favourite Elvis Songs" dropped from #66 to #83 on the official UK Album chart. 
• The compilation DVD "The King Of Rock ’n’ Roll" dropped off the Australian Music DVD chart after a combined run of 145 weeks.

Elvis '56

The Music On Vinyl label will re-issue the "Elvis '56" compilation on vinyl on March 3, 2014. 

Cover Art

Here is the cover-art for the "3 Classic Albums" vinyl set from Art of Music (H'ART) which is due February 21, 2014. The set contains the albums "Elvis", "Elvis Presley" And "King Creole". 

(Source Brian Quinn / Amazon / The King's World)

January 23 - Bus Stop, Movie Go!

The TCB Tour Bus court decision is FINAL! JD Sumner's tour bus will reside and rest where it has been for several years. The state Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling that Tupelo businessman Bill Kinard was competent when he agreed in 2011 to sell a tour bus at auction. For the past three years, Kinard and Larry Michael of Nashville have disputed debts associated with retrieval of the bus from Washington State in early 2009 and some $134,000 in costs connected with that trip and the vehicle's partial "restoration."

Ultimately, Lee County Chancellor Talmadge Littlejohn ordered the bus put up for sale and Michael won the bid. Throughout, Kinard — who sued as Legacy Hall of Fame Inc., a celebrity memorabilia facility — argued he never intended to sell the bus and that he was under medication when he agreed to do so. Kinard said he wanted to keep the bus and take it on tour to make a living away from his Legacy Hall of Fame museum in Tupelo.

On Dec. 12, 2011 all sides apparently agreed to a court-filed compromise to put the bus up for sale. The auction was held in March 2012 and Michael was the only bidder. Four months later, Legacy Hall sued to set-aside the agreement. Legacy Hall argued in court documents that Kinard under a doctor's care and should not have signed anything.

Littlejohn in November 2012 ruled against Legacy Hall. The Appeals Court, in its unanimous decisions Tuesday, ruled Legacy Hall failed to prove Kinard was incompetent when he signed the agreement.

The 40-foot long, eight-foot wide 1976 vehicle had Elvis Presley's trademark "TCB" logo. The initials TCB stand for Taking Care of Business, which is what Presley called his band. He incorporated the letters into an emblem flanked by lightning bolts. This emblem was used in several pieces of Elvis' custom jewelry.

Kinard eventually backed off a bit from his certainty that the King of Rock 'n' Roll actually owned the bus, saying instead that Elvis gave its purchase money to music colleague J.D. Sumner to tour with his Stamps Quartet.

Peter Guralnick Confirms New Elvis Movie

The Elvis Information Website's LA roving reporter Joan Gansky was at the recent Grammy Museum lecture with Peter Guralnick. She reports that Guralnick was an excellent speaker - and talked about many of the famous people in the music industry he has met - some of whom he has also written books about. He is so down to earth and so passionate and knowledgeable on his subject: music!

It was interesting that when he took questions from the audience, they all seemed to be about Elvis! He mentioned he was working on a new book about Sam Phillips, due for release next year. Afterwards I asked him what was happening about the rumored movie of his Last Train to Memphis book. Guralnick smiled and assured me that everything was on schedule and moving right along! Lisa Marie has also noted that the new movie was in pre-production. 

The director is Kevin MacDonald who also directed The Last King of Scotland and Touching the Void.

Edward Hookstratten

Attorney Edward Hookstratten, who represented Elvis and many major TV and sports media personalities, is dead at the age of 83. He died Wednesday at his Beverly Hills home, and is best known for representing Elvis during his divorce in 1973. In fact, he was the Presley Family’s lawyer for a total of 23 years. “The Hook” was a known as a something of a maverick, but also as someone who could work both sides of the table.

(Source: WTVA / ElvisMatters)

January 22 - Collecting Elvis '69 Bootlegs

Volume 54 in the German Elvis Sammler Edition was released by DeAgostinni. 
It contains a magazine, memorabilia reproductions, a promotional photo for "Love Me Tender" and a mini-poster for "Girl Happy".

Elvis 1969

The Gravel Road import release "Elvis 1969: In Memphis / In Person - Live On Stage 1 And 2" has been released. 

From the original press-release:
This release is intended to be a flawless release with the best sounding Elvis of 1969. We started by going back to the basic recordings of the American sound studio; the edited repaired master tracks without the dubbing done later in Nashville. Elvis himself wasn’t all that thrilled with some of the overdubs. It’s been said that he was very happy with the sound on the acetates that he took home with him, but less so with the final masters. 

Elvis heard the dubbed masters at a very late stage and very little could be done. As an artist, you can’t always be in complete control of your output, and clearly especially when your name is Elvis Presley. These original master tracks were the result of the joint vision of producer Chips Moman, the musicians and Elvis. The two most famous songs from these sessions are without a doubt “Suspicious Minds” and “In The Ghetto”. In fact, they may well be the best-known recordings of his entire career. Just ask anyone to name two Elvis songs… 

On disc 2 you will find the multi-track live recording of the August 24, 1969 Midnight Show. Thanks to existing tape legends, paperwork and research and the fantastic unprocessed soundboard recording of the same show, we were able to piece this show together as it was originally recorded. We double-checked and compared the whole show second for second with an audience recording of the show that we had recently acquired. There are only three songs borrowed from the dinner show: “I Can’t Stop Loving You”, “Runaway” and “ What’d I Say”, which are 98% identical to the midnight show versions. We used the career dialogue from the August 24, 1969 dinner show. We don’t have this in multi-track quality and therefore we decided to include a third disc with the original raw unrepaired soundboard. As extra bonus, we used a very rare tape of a rehearsal from January 1969 at the American Sound Studios, where we can even hear a glimpse of Roy Hamilton singing! (Editor's note: it is probably Dan Penn).

The combination package “Elvis In Person & Back in Memphis” was the basic concept, but we wanted more. During the first days of the comeback in Las Vegas in 1969, special RCA presentation box sets were given away. These box sets are very rare and expensive to get hold of. This was the perfect 1969 package idea for this release. 
Included are: 

• A 28 page full color / b&w photo folio with 28 photos of Elvis in the style of 1969 including rare or unpublished photos.
• A 32 page full color booklet with original articles,
• An interview with Elvis from 1969, co-workers and musicians about recording at the American Sound Studios and performing in Las Vegas.
• Over 60+ photos of Elvis on stage (many from the same show), various are rare or unpublished
• 15 incredible photos of The American Sound Studio with Elvis, again some are rare or unpublished!!
• Previously unreleased versions.
• A rare studio rehearsal of January 1969.
• The unaltered raw audio of the August 24, 1969 M/S soundboard.
• The reproduction slipcase of the famous 1969 presentation box set.
• All recordings in excellent sound quality. 

We hope you’ll agree we did our best to respect and honour the original artistic ideas from 1969.

Tracks disc 1: In Memphis Undubbed Repaired Masters 
01. Wearin' That Loved On Look 02. Only The Strong Survive 03. I'll Hold You In My Heart 04. Long Black Limousine 05. It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin' 06. I'm Movin' On 07. Power Of My Love 08. Gentle On My Mind 09. After Loving You 10. True Love Travels On A Gravel Road 11. Any Day Now 12. In The Ghetto 13. Inherit The Wind 14. This Is The Story 15. Stranger In My Own Home Town 16. A Little Bit Of Green 17. And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind 18. Do You Know Who I Am? 19. From A Jack To A King 20. The Fair's Moving On 21. You'll Think Of Me 22. Without Love (There Is Nothing) 23. Suspicious Minds. 

Tracks 1-12 were in fully dubbed versions released on “From Elvis In Memphis”. These were the only songs besides the single “Suspicious Minds” intended for release of the magnificent studio recordings at the American Sound Studios. The tremendous enthusiasm provoked using the remaining recordings as well. It was proven right - it sold multi platinum. 
Tracks 13 -22 were fully dubbed versions released on “Back In Memphis” which was also released as a double release with Elvis In Person as, “From Memphis to Vegas - From Vegas to Memphis”. Track 23 was released as single and not added to either of the two studio albums. An extended live version was released on “Elvis In Person”. Note: This disc includes some previously unreleased versions.

Tracks disc 2: In Person Live “On Stage” Multi -Track 
01. Opening 02. Blue Suede Shoes 03. I Got A Woman 04. All Shook Up 05. Love Me Tender 06. Medley : Jailhouse Rock – Don’t Be Cruel 07. Heartbreak Hotel 08. Hound Dog 09. I Can’t Stop Loving You* 10. Johnny B. Goode 11. Monologue* (Life Story) 12. Baby What You Want Me To Do 13. Runaway* 14. Are You Lonesome Tonight ? 15. Words 16. Yesterday (with “Hey Jude” Ending) 17. Band Introductions 18. In The Ghetto 19. Suspicious Minds 20. What’d I Say* 21. Can’t Help Falling In Love / Outro 

Disc two contains the multi track live recording of August 24, 1969 Midnight Show. The Multi track recording has been repaired with segments of the August 24, 1969 Dinner Show. Tracks marked with * are taken from the Dinner Show.

Tracks disc 3: Raw Audio Unedited Soundboard & Studio Rehearsal 
01. Opening 02. Blue Suede Shoes 03. I Got A Woman 04. All Shook Up 05. Love Me Tender 06. Medley : Jailhouse Rock – Don’t Be Cruel 07. Heartbreak Hotel 08. Hound Dog 09. I Can’t Stop Loving You 10. Johnny B. Goode 11. Monologue (Life Story) 12. Baby What You Want Me To Do 13. Runaway 14. Are You Lonesome Tonight ? 15. Words 16. Yesterday (with “Hey Jude” Ending) 17. Band Introductions 18. In The Ghetto 19. Suspicious Minds (Partially). 

Bonus track (20+ minutes) 20. Band Rehearsal and a first attempt of “Come Out, Come Out (Wherever you are)” at American Sound studios (Roy Hamilton can be heard here) January, 1969.

Disc three contains the raw unprocessed soundboard recording of the August 24, 1969 M/S, without effects. A significantly different August 24, Midnight Show when compared to the fragmented release over the years of the multi track recording. Edited due to improper language use or running times. Also segments of this show were used to repair or enhance other 1969 and 1970 multi track recordings. This is the real deal, uncut, raw and finally, no tons of reverb as on previous releases of this remarkable show. 
“The “Elvis 1969” Box versions are the repaired versions without studio banter! Some tracks have a longer running time. Presented exactly as they were prepared for in the spring of 1969 by producer Chips Moman with the okay of Elvis.” Some of the unrepaired, undubbed masters here were recently released by FTD, in some cases with studio banter. Our versions are the repaired versions and come without this banter, presented exactly as they were prepared for in the spring of 1969 for various overdubs. Our sole intention is to present these songs how they left the Memphis studio, with the okay of Elvis and producer Chips Moman.

The live show was assembled from various sources, including bits taken from regular releases in order to match up the correct audio with the best possible source. Our ultimate goal was to offer the best sounding, most complete multi track version of the 24 August Midnight Show. We also have possession of four reels with safety recordings from 1969 in fantastic quality. Some were previously released on FTD, but there were still little gems left which we wanted to offer. So we decided to put it on a third disc, and include even a very rare rehearsal from January 1969 in best sound available. This is Elvis at his best in 1969 in the best sound possible. 

Elvis Plus

The HooDoo Record budgetlabel released the CD "Elvis Presley Plus Elvis (Aka Rock ´N´ Roll No. 2)". The set contains Elvis Presley's first two albums with several additional bonussongs.

Elvis Presley (Debut Album):
Blue Suede Shoes - I’m Counting On You - I Got A Woman - One-Sided Love Affair - I Love You Because - Just Because - Tutti Frutt - Trying To Get To You - I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry - I’ll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin’) - Blue Moon - Money Honey

Elvis (Aka Rock‘N’roll Nº2):
Rip It Up - Love Me - When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again - Long Tall Sally - First In Line - Paralyzed - So Glad You’re Mine - Old Shep - Ready Teddy - Anyplace Is Paradise - How’s The World Treating You - How Do You Think I Feel

Bonus Songs:
Don’t Be Cruel - Hound Dog - Heartbreak Hotel - Love Me Tender - Shake, Rattle And Roll - I Want You, I Need You, I Love You

(Source: Elvis-Sammlung / FECC / Elvis Club Berlin)

January 21 - His Hand On Vinyl

The vinyl re-issue of "His Hand In Mine" should have been released in the US. Amazon has listed it as "Temporarily out of stock". 

(Source: Amazon)

January 20 - Elvis Books

The book "Elvis - The King Of The Jungle - 45 Years After" by Erik Lorentzen is at the printers and should be ready soon.

From the press-release:
In June 1968 Elvis Presley taped a television special to be broadcast that Christmas. The TV special "Singer Presents Elvis" was is a great moment in music and a key to Elvis musical renaissance. "A moment of change, when what was lost is found again. Elvis was lean and chiselled and -- what he had not seemed in years -- a little dangerous."  Featuring 544 pages the book will include a detailed at everything that took place at the historic taping and recording sessions. It will also include eye-witness reports from lucky fans that were present at the legendary NBC performances.

(Source: Elvis Information Network)

January 19 - Elvis Charts!

Out Now in the import reproduction of the 1973 release "Elvis". The CD contains the original tracks and bonus material like "Return To Sender" with a longer fade-out and twelve takes of "Can't Help Falling In Love".

Tracks:
Hound Dog - I Want You, I Need You, I Love You - All Shook Up - Don't - I Beg Of You - A Big Hunk O' Love - Love Me - Stuck On You - Good Luck Charm - Return To Sender - Don't Be Cruel - Loving You - Jailhouse Rock - Can't Help Faling In Love - I Got Stung - (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear - Love Me Tender - Hard Headed Woman - It's Now Or Never - Surrender

Charts

• The the UK the CD "The Nation’s Favourite Elvis Songs" dropped from #49 to #66. 
• The DVD "The King Of Rock ’n’ Roll" dropped from #29 to #35. 

Uncut

 

The February 2014 issue of Uncut, a magazine based in London, features a 9 page special on Elvis. The Kinks are on the front cover (look for Elvis' name on the bottom right). The cool new article by Nick Hasted entitled "I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago" revisits the June 1970 Elvis Country sessions and features interviews with Norbert Putnam, James Burton, David Briggs, & Ernst Jorgensen.

 

(Source: Elvis On CD / The King's World / Elvis Matters / Uncut)

January 18 - Little Vinyl Single

The songs "Little Mama" / "I Forgot To Remember To Forget" were released on 45 RPM vinyl. The songs are available on black and on pink vinyl, limited to 250 copies each. 

(Source: Elvis Australia)

January 17 - River King

The RiverKings Hockey team celebrate 60 Years of Rock 'n' Roll tat the Landers Center with an  Elvis Presley night as the team host the Louisiana IceGators. The jerseys the boys will were  auctioned off after the game.

(Source: EPE)

January 16 - Endless Summer Festival

The Straight Arrow importlabel announced the release of the CD "Endless Summer Festival" featuring "booth recordings" of the August 22, 1973 Dinner and Midnight performances.

From the press-release:
Coming out soon is the new Straight Arrow's double-digipak CD release "Endless Summer Festival!", featuring the August 22, 1973 Dinner and Midnight performances. Both shows are taken from original "booth recordings“, taped by the same person. The sound quality is far superior to the usual audience recordings. Ask your local dealer for samples! The year's journey from Hawaii to Nevada was almost at its end on August 22, 1973. That Wednesday night, Elvis delivered two professional, sold-out performances for the faithful at the Las Vegas Hilton with a mix of the old and new, including a stunning, yet-to-be recorded cover of Richard Harris' 1971 single, "My Boy." After the final Hilton show on September 3, bass player Emory Gordy would leave to return to the more creative studio environs of Nashville, Presley would instruct manager Tom Parker to leave his employ, his wife Priscilla Beaulieu would leave for good, and Elvis himself would nearly leave the land of the living. It was a long, long way down from that worldwide broadcast in Honolulu on January 14, but the man would survive, somehow, and return to sing his soul that December in Memphis.

It should be noted that neither of these superb-quality, off-line concert recordings have been previously issued. Both shows are completely new, even to die-hard Elvis fans. They were never in circulation, in any form. Enjoy the music!

Tracks:
CD1 - Wednesday, August 22, 1973 Dinner Show 
01. Introduction: Also Sprach Zarathustra - 02. C. C. Rider - 03. I Got A Woman / Amen - 04. Love Me - 05. You Gave Me A Mountain - 06. Blue Suede Shoes - 07. Medley: Long Tall Sally / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / Your Mama Don't Dance / Flip Flop And Fly / Jailhouse Rock / Hound Dog - 08. Love Me Tender - 09. Fever - 10. What Now My Love - 11. Suspicious Minds - 12. Introductions of singers, musicians, orchestra - 13. My Boy (with lyric flub corrected) - 14. Release Me - 15. An American Trilogy - 16. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel - 17. Can't Help Falling In Love - 18. Closing Vamp / Announcements.

CD2 - Wednesday, August 22, 1973 Midnight Show 
01. Introduction: Also Sprach Zarathustra - 02. C. C. Rider - 03. I Got A Woman / Amen - 04. Love Me - 05. You Gave Me A Mountain - 06. Steamroller Blues - 07. Blue Suede Shoes - 08. Medley: Long Tall Sally / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / Your Mama Don't Dance / Flip Flop And Fly / Jailhouse Rock / Hound Dog - 09. Love Me Tender - 10. Fever - 11. What Now My Love - 12. Suspicious Minds - 13. Introductions of singers, musicians, orchestra - 14. My Boy - 15. Release Me - 16. An American Trilogy - 17. A Big Hunk O' Love - 18. Can't Help Falling In Love - 19. Closing Vamp / Announcements. 

Elvis Promo

"The Name, the Voice, The Icon' Elvis 2014" This is the first poster from EPE as they start to promote the 2014 Anniversary of the 60 Years Of Rock'N'Roll. EPE has yet to announce the schedule of up-coming events

(Source: FECC)

January 15 - Release Caught On Camera

The limited edition book "Elvis Caught On Camera - The 50's Candids" was released. The book, covering Elvis Presley in the fifties in candids, is packed in a slipcase. 

(Source: FECC)

January 11 - An Icon On Track In Vegas

The Touchdown Productions importlabel announced two new audience recorded releases entitled "At Dinner In Vegas"and "Back On Track In Vegas". 

From the press-release:
Touchdown Productions proudly presents two new audience recorded releases.  One of it, the dinner Show from September 3, 1972 is another totally new show that didn't even circulate on CDR or in any other form. The show was very good, Elvis was in fine form and sang some very fine renditions of "What Now My Love", "I'll Remember You" and also "For The Good Times"! The sound quality is good for this kind of recordings. The CD comes with a beautiful designed 16-pages booklet.

Tracks - At Dinner In Vegas
[01] See See Rider (2.21) - [02] Johnny B Goode (1.41) - [03] Until It‘s Time For You To Go (2.25) - [04] You Don‘t Have To Say You Love Me (1.59) - [05] Polk Salad Annie (3.48) - [06] Elvis Talks (0.48) - [07] What Now My Love (3.13) - [08] Fever (2.52) - [09] Love Me (1.58) - [10] Blue Suede Shoes (1.10) - [11] Heartbreak Hotel (with false start) (2.50) - [12] Hound Dog (2.18) - [13] Love Me Tender (1.38) - [14] I‘ll Remember You (2.25) - [15] Walk That Lonesome Road (feat. The Stamps Quartet) (3.19) - [16] Suspicious Minds (4.02) - [17] Band Introductions (1.17) - [18] For The Good Times (2.13) - [19] Mystery Train/ Tiger Man (2.20) - [20] You Gave Me A Mountain (3.14) - [21] Can‘t Help Falling In Love (1.45) - [22] Closing Theme (0.30) 
All tracks recorded on September 3, 1972 at the dinner show.

At the same time Touchdown Produtions will release the midnight show from January 28, 1974. Elvis was much more focussed during the first Vegas engagement in 1974 as he had been during the former engagement when Elvis presented himself less professional than in recent years. The midnight show had an interesting song line-up which included some seldom sung songs like "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", "Spanish Eyes" or "Sweet Caroline". The soundquality is good for this kind of recordings. The CD comes also as usual with a beautiful designed 16-pages booklet including lots of rare pictures from this engagement! 

Tracks - "Back On Track In Vegas"
[01] Also Sprach Zarathustra (0.38) - [02] See See Rider (2.47) - [03] I Got A Woman/Amen (3.53) - [04] Love Me (1.44) - [05] Let Me Be There (2.54) - [06] You‘ve Lost That Lovin‘ Feelin‘ (4.15) - [07] Sweet Caroline (2.19) - [08] Love Me Tender (1.47) - [09] Long Tall Sally/ Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On/ Mama Don‘t Dance/ Flip, Flop And Fly/ Jailhouse Rock/ Hound Dog (2.27) - [10] Fever (2.17) - [11] Polk Salad Annie (2.43) - [12] Introduction of The Voice (0.32) - [13] Killing Me Softly (by The Voice) (2.43) - [14] Spanish Eyes (3.05) - [15] Suspicious Minds (3.53) - [16] Band Introductions (1.48) - [17] Introductions of Celebrities (2.11) - [18] I Can‘t Stop Loving You (2.15) - [19] Help Me (2.35) - [20] Introduction of Marty Pasetta (0.51) - [21] American Trilogy (4.03) - [22] A Big Hunk O‘Love (2.12) - [23] Can‘t Help Falling In Love (1.37) - [24] Closing Vamp (0.45) - [25] The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (2.57) 

All tracks were recorded on January 26, 1974 at the midnight show with the exception of track 25 which was recorded on February 8, 1974 at the dinner show. 

Ace Photographer Shows Iconic Elvis picture
 

Ace photojournalist Pete Hohm spent much of his long career at the Star Tribune photographing hockey, baseball and basketball games, but like all staff cameramen, he did every job that came his way which is how he happened to be at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington on a night in November 1971 when Elvis Presley took the stage and a blizzard of flashbulbs lit up the scene. 

Holm's work will be celebrated in a show at Carbon Chroma Gallery in the Northrup King Building, 1500 Jackson St., N.E. Gala party 6 p.m. - 9 p.m., January 18, free. The show will be open from noon to 5 p.m. Jan. 17, 18, 24 and 25.

(Source: FECC / Elvis Matters)

January 10 - Wahooo Weekend Charts

In the new Venus Book/DVD combo "The King In Motion Vol. 1: Last Vegas", the label has announced their second release in this series (coming soon); "The King In Motion Vol. 2: Wahooo From Omaha", this time a Book/DVD/CD combo. More info’s coming when available.

Charts

Last week Elvis Presley was listed with four titles on the Billboard charts. On the charts for the week ending January 18, 2014 Elvis Presley is listed with two titles. On the Top Music Video Sales Chart the "He Touched Me: The Gospel Music Of Elvis Presley (Volumes 1 and 2)" climbed from #18 to #10 while the "Elvis Lives"set climbed from #20 to #18. 

On the Australian Music DVD charts the DVD "Elvis: The King Of Rock 'N' Roll" climbed from #34 to #29 this week.

On the Official UK Album Chart "The Nation's Favourite Elvis Songs" compilation dropped from #43 to #49.


For the Love of Elvis 

The book "For The Love Of Elvis" by Marla J. Selvidge  was released as a paperback. In the words of the author: I have just finished a new book on Elvis,  For the Love of Elvis." I spent three years researching Elvis as I developed a class for the University of Central Missouri, "Elvis.  Memphis Messiah."  When I had finished reading hundreds of articles and books and watching scores of videos, I was compelled to write a positive book about Elvis.  It is a tribute to his genius.  I term my work, "Elvisology."

Synopsis:
Selvidge explores the human side of Elvis. His life has become a beacon for people who are from the "other" America. By living the American Dream, Elvis became a model of hope to people. The title of the book captures the love that Elvis felt from his fans, but is also captures the love that Elvis gave and felt for his fans.

On the author:
Marla J. Selvidge, Ph.D. is Professor and Director of the Center for Religious Studies at the University of Central Missouri. She founded the Center in 1990 and has directed its growth, developing scores of courses as well as academic and public programs. 

(Source: Elvis Express / Elvis And His Music /ARIA / The Official Charts)

January 09 - Vinyl, CD and DVD Import Releases

Following the hugely popular and acclaimed volume 1 in the 'Home Movies' DVD trilogy, volume 2 has now been released by the Roar Productions importlabel. The Elvis home movies contains rare and unseen private footage from the sixties. 

The content:
 See Elvis on vacation in Hawaii, enjoying the snow in Colorado, meeting his fans, together with Tom Jones and much much more. Sit back and enjoy a journey of Elvis in private throughout the 60s, in the best quality. The DVD is region free: NTSC: Total running time 146 minutes.

Going Back To Houston

The first CD release from the new TNT Records importlabel was released. The producers teamed with the Audionics importlabel for the audio. The set contains two concerts recorded June 4 and 5, 1974 in Houston, Texas. 
 
Closing Strong

The VV importlabel released the vinyl / CD set "Closing Strong" containing a soundboard recording from February 23th 1970 Las Vegas Closing show, and an audience recording of the March 1, 1970 2.30 PM show performance by Elvis Presley as recorded at the Houston Astrodome, Houston TX. 

The set comes as a double LP set, 200 gr. vinyl picture disc contains the February 23, 1970 Closing Night, the CD with the Houston show, comes with a plain sleeve. The set itself is limited to 500 copies. 

Elvis Stamps From Austria


The Austrian Postal Service released an Elvis stamp to commemorate what would have been Elvis Presley’s  79th birthday. It is a set of 8 official Elvis stamps. Four stamps have a value of 0.62 euro each, four others of 0.70 euro. Although the stamps are available in a set of eight only (for 9,90 euro, or 12,50 $US), they can be used to send letters or parcels. 

(Source: Elvis Australia / Elvis Aktuell / Elvis On CD / Austrian Post)

January 08 - A Legendary 79th Birthday Kick-off

January 8, 2014 marks the day Elvis Presley would have turned 79 if he hadn’t left the building on August 16, 1977. On the lawn of his Graceland Mansion this day marked the kick-off of “60 Years of Rock ‘n’ Roll” with the Birthday Proclamation Ceremony.

Sweet Home Alabama

The new TNT Record importlabel announced the release of their second CD “Sweet Home Alabama” containing the recordings from the June 2, 1975 afternoon and evening shows. 

From the press-release: 
Welcome to the second CD release by TNT Records. After a quick sell-out of our first title “Goin´ Back To Houston” and again with a little help from our friends at “Audionics” - probably the premium and still active label when it comes to rare recordings in best possible sound - we decided once more to pick two shows from “Tour Number 14” (May 30 – June 10, 1975). On this brandnew double-cd set (Release Date: January 15, 2013) you are going to hear both concerts Elvis did right after a couple of great “warm up”-concerts in Huntsville, AL. Elvis then went on for Concerts number 6 and 7 of “Tour Number 14”. Both shows took place in Mobile, Alabama. And the town went nuts for The “King”. As a matter of fact everybody had to admit that Elvis might have been the only entertainer in 1975 who was able to play a sold out crowd on a Monday afternoon! Both Mobile-Shows have been released before, the afternoon performance even came out by the legendary “Madison”-Label. Anyhow if you have missed the show´s first releases from approximately 10 years ago or if you want to owe them in even better sound than before plus exactly the way they were recorded (without the standard “2001 Theme / See See Rider” opening) you should not miss this great new double cd! You can also expect a great booklet full of photos and information including newspaper articles and original paperwork. Ask your local dealer for it, he should have it right in time around the scheduled release date for you!

CD1 – Mobile, June 2, 1975 A/S 
01. Amen / I Got A Woman (incomplete) 02. Love Me 03. If You Love Me (Let Me Know) 04. Love Me Tender (with false start) 05. All Shook Up 06. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel 07. Hound Dog 08. The Wonder Of You (with false start) 09. Burning Love 10. Band Introductions 11. Johnny B. Goode 12. Drum Solo (Ronnie Tutt) 13. Bass Solo (Blues - Jerry Scheff) 14. Piano Solo (Glen D. Hardin) 15. School Day 16. T.R.O.U.B.L.E. 17. I’ll Remember You 18. Why Me Lord 19. Let Me Be There (with reprise) 20. An American Trilogy 21. Funny How Time Slips Away 22. Little Darlin' 23. Mystery Train / Tiger Man 24. Can't Help Falling In Love 25. Closing Vamp

CD2 – Mobile, June 2, 1975 E/S 
01. Amen / I Got A Woman (incomplete) 02. Love Me 03. If You Love Me (Let Me Know) 04. Love Me Tender 05. All Shook Up 06. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel 07. Hound Dog 08. The Wonder Of You 09. Burning Love 10. Band Introductions 11. Johnny B. Goode 12. Drum Solo (Ronnie Tutt) 13. Bass Solo (Blues - Jerry Scheff) 14. Piano Solo (Glen D. Hardin) 15. School Day 16. Bridge Over Troubled Water 17. T.R.O.U.B.L.E. 18. Alfie (one liner) / I’ll Remember You 19. Let Me Be There 20. An American Trilogy 21. Funny How Time Slips Away 22. Little Darlin' 23. Mystery Train / Tiger Man 24. Can't Help Falling In Love 25. Closing Vamp 

Elvis Presley’s 1974 Legacy Release

RCA/Legacy Recordings to Release 40th Anniversary 2-CD Edition of Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis.

From the press-release:
RCA Records and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, will celebrate the 40th Anniversary of "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" with an expanded 2-CD release of the monumental concert experience featuring tracks left off the original album (because of the spatial limitations of vinyl), plus a wealth of previously unreleased material.

Disc 2 of the newly remastered expanded "Legacy Edition of Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" presents, for the first time, a recently located recording of Elvis' complete concert "test-run" held for an ecstatic live audience on March 18, 1974, two days before his historic concert return to Memphis, where he'd last played live in 1957. The remarkable "test-run" performance was recorded in MONO, drenched in the reverb Elvis preferred, and provides new insight into the magic of Elvis.

As a special added bonus for Elvis aficionados, Disc 2 of "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" includes five intimate tracks (three of them previously unreleased) cut at the RCA Studios in Hollywood on August 16, 1974. Originally intended as reference recordings for an upcoming Las Vegas engagement, the performances—which include "Down In The Alley," "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues," "Softly As I Leave You," "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "The Twelfth Of Never"—-provide a rare fly-on-the-wall glimpse into Elvis' consummate backstage artistry as he prepares these songs for concert.

The musicians backing Elvis on "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" include James Burton and John Wilkinson (guitars); Charlie Hodge (guitar and vocals); Duke Bardwell (bass); Ronnie Tutt (drums); Glen D. Hardin (piano); The Sweet Inspirations, J.D. Sumner & The Stamps, Kathy Westmoreland (vocals) with Joe Guercio and his orchestra.

"Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" will also include a 24-page booklet featuring rare photos, previously unseen memorabilia, new liner notes, press clips and more. Following the artistic success of his 1973 Stax sessions and the global phenomenon of the "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" album and broadcast the same year, Elvis opened 1974 with a 15-city-tour routed to end in Memphis and a state-of-the-art concert recording.

"I wanted to record a live session in my hometown of Memphis," said Elvis at the time.  "After all, this is where it all started out for me." Originally released on vinyl on July 7, 1974, "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" reached #1 on the country charts and featured "How Great Thou Art," the track that would bring Elvis his third (Gospel) Grammy win.

"Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis"

• Newly remastered album includes all concert tracks not included on original vinyl.
• Disc 2 premieres previously unreleased MONO "test-run" of entire concert recorded with a live audience at the Richmond Coliseum on March 18, 1974.

Tracks CD 1:
Also Sprach Zarathustra - See See Rider - I Got A Woman / Amen - Love Me - Trying To Get To You - All Shook Up (nicht auf Original-Album) - Steamroller Blues (nicht auf Original-Album) - Teddy Bear-Don't Be Cruel (nicht auf Original-Album) - Love Me Tender (nicht auf Original-Album) - Long Tall Sally / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / Mama Don't Dance / Flip, Flop And Fly / Jailhouse Rock / Hound Dog - Fever (nicht auf Original-Album) - Polk Salad Annie (nicht auf Original-Album) - Why Me Lord - How Great Thou Art - Suspicious Minds (nicht auf Original-Album) - Introductions (nicht auf Original-Album) - Help Me - An American Trilogy - Let Me Be There - My Baby Left Me - Lawdy, Miss Clawdy (nicht auf Original-Album) - Funny How Time Slips Away (nicht auf Original-Album) - Can't Help Falling In Love - Closing Vamp

Tracks CD 2 - 18.03.1974:
Also Sprach Zarathustra - See See Rider - I Got A Woman / Amen - Love Me - Trying To Get To You All Shook Up - Steamroller Blues - Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel - Love Me Tender - Long Tall Sally / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / Mama Don't Dance / Flip, Flop And Fly / Jailhouse Rock / Hound Dog - Fever - Polk Salad Annie - Why Me Lord - How Great Thou Art - Suspicious Minds - Introductions - Help Me - An American Trilogy - Let Me Be There - My Baby Left Me - Lawdy, Miss Clawdy - Funny How Time Slips Away - Can't Help Falling In Love - Closing Vamp

The August 1974 RCA Rehearsal:
Down In The Alley - Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues - Softly As I Leave You - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - The Twelfth Of Never

Elvis as a Teen? 

See a Never-Before-Published Photo From His Hometown in Tupelo, Mississippi (From Vanity Fair). Now the complete picture and story are available.

Elvis Presley is one of the most photographed figures in music history. But in the nearly 37 years since his death, every significant picture of rock’s swivel-hipped pioneer has been widely seen. Or has it?

Wade Jones, 50, a lifelong Elvis fan from Mount Holly, North Carolina, has been “constantly looking at photos” since 1977, when he smuggled a tape recorder into one of Presley’s last concerts. And so in 2005, when the late Janelle McComb—a Presley family friend from Tupelo, Mississippi—sent Jones a childhood picture of the future king of rock ’n’ roll, Jones was dumbstruck.

“I had never seen that image in my life,” says Jones, who looked at the photo of a young teenager leaning on his bike—his head tilted back, his hooded eyes nearly closed in the Tupelo sun—and realized it was the first shot placing Presley (who would have been 13 that year, 1948) on the streets of his hometown. “Just his pose, and the fact that he was in a candid situation, surrounded by normal people, was kind of eerie.”

The image also appealed to a European fan, who paid $361.68 when Jones, partially obscuring the image to keep it from being copied, listed a print on eBay last August. The auction started an Internet buzz on Elvis-fan message boards. Graceland—Presley’s homestead—contacted Jones about acquiring the original. Media requests poured in. Some believed they’d pinpointed the exact location in the picture—West Main Street, near the Tupelo Hardware store where Gladys Presley bought her son his first guitar. Others denounced the photo as a fake; after all, Jones was the same guy who had once auctioned water from a Styrofoam cup that Elvis had used on stage in Charlotte, and later sent the cup “on tour.” Yes, admits the digital-sensor salesman, but that was all in good fun.

So, is the photo—published here, for the first time, uncropped—really Elvis? In the full-frame version, someone has written “Elvis” in script near the right border. But who? Janelle McComb, who died two months after mailing it, told Jones in a phone call that the woman who took the snapshot was on her way to the drugstore to drop off some film to be developed. She had one more exposure on the roll, and just asked Elvis, whom she knew, to pose. But Jones didn’t catch her name.

Billy Smith, Elvis’s first cousin, confirms that the boy in the photo is indeed his relative. Moreover, when approached by Vanity Fair, several Elvis experts attested to its seeming authenticity. British collector Tony Stuchbury, for one, said: “The body language matches. He put his head back like that in later years. I’ve seen pictures from vacations in ’69/’70 where he looks just like that. I’m convinced the photo is real.”

Roy Turner, the Tupelo historian who assisted Elaine Dundy in the research for her definitive biography, Elvis and Gladys, took one look at the picture and declared, “There’s no doubt in my mind that it is Elvis.” But the location eluded him. If it were Presley, the one person who would know the spot was 78-year-old Sam Bell, the last close friend Elvis made in Tupelo. The two were neighbors and constant companions when the Presleys lived for a year at 1010 North Green Street in a well-to-do black community known as the Hill.

“Yeah, I know that’s him,” says Bell, who is African-American. “That’s the way he’d be looking. That’s the way he’d be dressed. And the bike too, that’s what we rode, those type of bikes.”

Furthermore, he believes that that’s Presley’s mother, Gladys, keeping a watchful eye from the shadows. “Elvis wasn’t ever running around by himself,” recalls Bell, a retired personnel manager for a lawn-and-garden company, who often played and went to the movies with Elvis and their mixed-race group of friends. “If she wasn’t with him, shopping and all that, we were.”

But it’s the location of the photo that cinches the deal. The boy in the frame stands at the intersection of North Spring and Jefferson, the epicenter of black and white Tupelo. The establishments on the west side of North Spring—a pool hall, barber shop, and military surplus store—catered to a mostly black clientele. The businesses to the east—a grocery-and-seafood market, a furniture store—served white customers. Bell, who still lives nearby, remembers many Saturdays when the block was the busiest spot in town, where some shoppers arrived from the country in horse-drawn wagons. He points to a squat building, on the right, with what appears to be an outside service window: “That was a little cafeteria where you could go and get a milkshake or a soda, but the counter wasn’t integrated, so the blacks couldn’t go in and sit down.”

Elvis knew the neighborhood well. Not far from his gaze, on the opposite side of Jefferson, stands the Lee County Courthouse, where he regularly attended WELO’s live radio shows on Saturday afternoons, soaking up the hillbilly sounds of local idol Mississippi Slim, who encouraged the boy’s own singing and put him on the air. If he had ridden his bike a block or so east, down Jefferson, he would have arrived at Shake Rag, the impoverished local African-American community, where he first heard the low moan of the blues.

In the fall of 1948, only months after this photo was taken, the Presleys, deeply in debt and hoping for a brighter future, packed everything into an old green Plymouth owned by cousin Billy Smith’s parents, and left for Memphis. There, Elvis united the sounds he remembered from both sides of Tupelo’s streets. “He didn’t say, ‘We’re going to Memphis,’ ” Bell recalls. “He said, ‘We got to move.’ He was kind of sad. Didn’t really want to go.”

“What makes the photo exceptional,” insists Turner, the town historian, “is that it’s the only pictorial reference to Elvis’s years in North Tupelo, living in the historically black community.” Presley long talked about it, and biographers labor to document it. “Now,” he says, “we can see his story.”


What we also see—in that head cocked back and that youthful swagger, if the experts are correct—is, precisely, Elvis becoming Elvis.

Collecting Elvis 

Released today is volume 53 in the German Elvis Sammlung series, put out by De’Agostini and EPE. It contains a magazine, memorabilia reproductions and a mini-poster for “Viva Las Vegas”.

Elvis Presley - La Musica E Il Regno 

The book "Elvis Presley - La Musica E Il Regno (Guida Illustrata Alla Discografia Completa)" by John Robertson was released. 


(Source: EPE / Elvis Collectors / Amazon / Vanity Fair / Elvis Club Berlin)