Alfred Wertheimer (Elvis) bio:
In 1956, freelance photographer Alfred Wertheimer was assigned to photograph a 21-year-old singer who RCA was promoting. It was Elvis Presley, a name the 26-year-old Wertheimer did not recognize when he trekked down to New York City's Studio 50 (later to be named the Ed Sullivan Theater) to photograph Presley's appearance on Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey's Stage Show.
One day in 1956, a young man from the south came to New York to bring his music to a wider audience. This man, who was himself a force to be reckoned with, was as yet unknown outside of the south. He had come to play on Stage Show, a CBS program produced by brothers and big band leaders, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey.
A series of extraordinary photographs document this brief moment in time when the 21-year-old Elvis Presley was on the cusp of national stardom.
The photographer was Alfred Wertheimer, a young photojournalist, who had grown up in Brooklyn, and attended Cooper Union. He would go on to spend around ten days with Elvis over the next two years, and shoot roughly 2,500 photographs.
The intimate photographs of Elvis are a product of Wertheimer s artistic brilliance and the history of photography. Wertheimer managed to document pivotal moments in the creation of the new rock n roll that would take over the nation, in the vocabulary of an iconic movement in photography.
As Wertheimer tells it, there was a bit of luck involved too. Wertheimer, who looks two decades younger than his 81 years, moves around his office with a sprightly step and a shock of whitish grey hair. He likes to joke around, and he says that he only remembers two things: the day he met Elvis and today. Yet he seems to have an encyclopedic knowledge of a wide range of subjects. In 1955, he was sharing a studio with a few other photographers on Third Avenue in New York.
Among these were Paul Schutzer, who had attended Cooper Union for a year, and Jerry Yulsman, who would go on to become a renowned photographers in their own right. Schutzer s grand dream in life was to be a staff photographer for Life magazine. He would drop any other assignment whenever Life gave him a call. As a result, he happily passed on any other work to his friend Wertheimer, which he would do in addition to his own assignments. And this meant that Wertheimer was in the right place at the right time to take on an assignment that would be the turning point of his life. On March 12th, 1956, the head of PR from RCA Victor, Anne Fulchino, called and asked if he could do a job the following week. She says, I want you to photograph the Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey Stage Show, Wertheimer says.
He was pleased, as Tommy Dorsey was one of his heroes. But then Fulchino told him that he wouldn't actually be photographing Dorsey: I want you to photograph Elvis Presley, who s playing on Dorsey s program. He explains that there was a silence on his part before he said, Elvis who? Wertheimer accepted the assignment, and that was how he found himself in the same room as Elvis Presley, who was on the verge of becoming a national star. Wertheimer's photographs show a pensive Elvis, just doing what he did: performing, spending time with his family or fans, napping, reading letters and papers, combing his hair, or listening to music.
From a photographer's point of view, he explains, Elvis was unique in that he permitted closeness not six to eight feet away, which was standard, but right up close, three to four feet away. He was so intensely involved with what he was doing: it was as if he were laser focused; whether he was combing his hair or chatting up the girls, he would be himself.
I didn't realize how unique that was. He thinks about it for aminute, before adding, I put him under my microscope and studied him, only my microscope wasmy camera lens. This desire to document everyday habits and the details of life to be a fly on the wall are a longstanding tradition in east coast American art. In fact, Wertheimer was taking a tried and true trope in photography realism and applying it to a new subject. Realism, in Wertheimer's hands, was not about the down and out, but instead about the up-and-coming.
His photographs are witness to an incredible time in the history of photography, as well as to the birth of a star and newchapter inthehistory of music. He coinedthe term available darkness photography, to explain his philosophy that the darker the place, the easier to capture a person s real nature. He used this technique to portray Elvis in a way that nobody did afterwards. And he was there for the performances that won the heart of America.
Elvis was conscripted into the military in 1958, and Wertheimer was there to photograph him as he shipped out to Germany. After this, he never saw Elvis alive again. It wasn't until almost 20 years later, upon the death of Elvis in 1977, that there would be a sudden surge in demand for Wertheimer's photographs from this era. Wertheimer s life didn't stop with Elvis.
He continued to freelance. Eleanor Roosevelt and Nina Simone were among the other people he subsequently photographed. He also spent a great deal of time as a cameraman for well-known programs like Granada's The World in Action, and Mike Wadleigh's film Woodstock. " You have all these experiences", says Wertheimer, "and it becomes part of the collective memory. It takes a while to realize that your perspective is an important ingrediënt."
A New Decade, A New Sound
Coming out soon is the new Straight Arrow's double-digipak CD release "A New Decade, A New Sound", featuring the February 3, and 5, 1970 Dinner shows and packed in a double digi-pack set and limited to 500 copies.
Looking back at Elvis' final decade of live shows, there are two Las Vegas engagements that stand out: the August '69 one obviously, but certainly also the one in February '70. Whereas the '69 comeback shows were a natural extension of the NBC '68 special with a strong focus on his classic hits, the second engagement From the way he performed these songs, you could tell that he really loved them and genuinely enjoyed the new direction his career was now taking. Most of the oldies were gone from the setlist. It was a very bold move, especially for an artist whose career in the sixties had been marked by boredom and predictability. Released from the chains of the past, Elvis looked and sounded like a man in full control of his career, and he clearly relished the artistic freedom that was now his.
The fact that the music sounded better than before was due in no small part thanks to the two newcomers to the core band; Glen D. Hardin on piano and Bob Lanning on drums. Hailing from Lubbock, Texas, Hardin grew up with Elvis' music, seemed to know all the songs, and was able to contribute with a lot of ideas. Just as importantly, he wrote fresh arrangements for several of the new songs in the show. Elvis loved these arrangements, and Hardin quickly became a highly valued member of the band. Lanning was & is a true no-nonsense rock & roll drummer, who cites Earl Palmer as a main influence. No surprise therefore that he refused to be speeded up by Elvis (or by anyone else, for that matter), and instead focused on laying down a solid groove. In retrospect, this goes a long way in explaining why the February 1970 recordings are musically more solid than other live recordings from the 70s. With that in mind, we would like to dedicate this special collectors' release to messrs. Hardin and Lanning. It’s worth mentioning that Bob Lanning was “found” quite recently after a 45-year absence, and he will be part of a special Elvis show that will be touring Europe in May 2015! And no doubt it'll be a sensation to hear his tight & fearless drumming again after all these years!
The February 3rd, 1970 D/S was previously released by the Memory Records label ("Have Some Fun Tonight", 2002). The February 5th, 1970 D/S was released twice from an inferior source and finally by Memory Records ("International Earthquake", 2002). Those Memory Records releases were engineered and mastered using obsolete hardware and software and for some mysterious reason, both shows were even slightly edited.
12 years have passed, and now it‘s time for the ultimate re-release of these special recordings - in a new, crisp, dynamic sound, and with no edits. Straight Arrow’s release of February 3rd and 5th, 1970 Dinner Shows is taken directly from the original tape transfers made in 2001. Every second was digitally restored from scratch to achieve optimal listening pleasure. Ask your local dealer for samples.
As every Straight Arrow’s re-release, this beautifully designed double-digipack edition is limited to 500 copies.
Tracks CD 1:
01. Excerpt of Sammy Shore speech - 02. Introduction: Orchestra Instrumental - 03. Opening Vamp - 04. All Shook Up - 05. I Got A Woman - 06. Proud Mary - 07. Don't Cry Daddy - 08. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel - 09. Long Tall Sally - 10. Let It Be Me - 11. I Can't Stop Loving You - 12. Walk A Mile In My Shoes / In The Ghetto - 13. Kentucky Rain - 14. Sweet Caroline - 15. Polk Salad Annie - 16. Introductions of singers, musicians, orchestra - 17. Suspicious Minds - 18. Can't Help Falling In Love.
Tracks CD 2:
01. Rick Rennie comments recorded prior the show - 02. Introduction: Orchestra Instrumental - 03. Opening Vamp - 04. All Shook Up - 05. I Got A Woman - 06. Proud Mary - 07. Don't Cry Daddy - 08. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel - 09. Love Me - 10. C. C. Rider - 11. Let It Be Me - 12. I Can't Stop Loving You - 13. Love Me Tender - 14. Chat with audience - 15. In The Ghetto - 16. Sweet Caroline - 17. Polk Salad Annie - 18. Introductions of singers, musicians, orchestra - 19. Suspicious Minds - 20. Can't Help Falling In Love / Announcement.
(Source: ElvisMatters / FECC)