As he noted: As far as I am concerned, Kees set a new standard with his 'Elvis Day By Day' books when it comes to an Elvis yearbook and reference guide for “everything Elvis Presley” from around the world. I am already looking forward to the 2021 edition and I am also trying to get the 2019 edition. A must!
Thank you Rogier!
Elvis Day by Day 2020 - A Fantastic Initiative and Reference
In 2019 there suddenly was a new Elvis book: "Elvis Day By Day - 2019", written by Dutch Elvis fan Kees Mouwen. A book which offered an overview of everything Elvis from the year 2019. At first, this edition raised some questions. What exactly does this book bring to what we have not already been able to read during the year 2019 on the internet and in the various Elvis magazines, including your own "It's Elvis Time"? The book looked attractive in terms of design, but I decided to wait a while before purchasing it.
Recently the announcement of "Elvis Day By Day - 2020" came out and it looked very attractive again. It made me to contact the author, Kees Mouwen, who was kind enough to provide a review copy of his latest book. That's how I first came across this "Elvis Day By Day". And I have to say: I am pleasantly surprised and also very enthusiastic about what is presented here.
Not many can say that their book contains a foreword by the well-known, American Elvis biographer Alanna Nash: Kees can, and you will read it in this 2020 edition. This carries weight and shows that this is not just any book. Kees himself is also no stranger to the Elvis world either: he is one of the original founders of the website ElvisNews.com and since 2010 also of the blog: ElvisDayByDay.com.
About the origin of the concept for this book, Kees says in an interview with Nigel Patterson of the Elvis Information Network website: “The idea for an Elvis 'yearbook' is a long-cherished ambition ... a complete overview of that happened in a year… This book is to hold in your hand, read and keep for reference. This is a new concept and fans may have to get used to it. When I announced the book, there were many reactions that all the information is already available for free on the internet. Until people saw what this book really is: a complete and illustrated reference to everything Elvis from the past year, complete with reviews and backgrounds”.
And that is exactly what makes this book so unique: you think you already know everything, but when you start reading and browsing through this book you cannot stop.
Released by Kees through his own "Popular Tunes Publishing" in cooperation with the Danish 'Memphis Mansion' (Henrik Knudsen), this book makes you realize how much Elvis news and releases there actually are in a year. It is almost impossible to keep track of all of this on the internet, as well as having to buy and collect it all. In this book you can (re)read it all.
A nice design and lay-out with color photos and text. Clearly arranged: first all the news and new releases for each month, followed by a few reviews or articles that go deeper into events or releases of that month. Of course: some releases are also discussed in your own IET and so there may be some overlap in what you read in your own IET-magazine and in this book. The added value of this book is that it covers all books, official, import and public domain releases. There is not enough space in your IET-magazine to cover them all.
And so there are many releases that I did not know existed, or knew the backgrounds or quality of. Also: many articles and reviews have also been written exclusively for this book and therefore cannot be found or read on the internet or other Elvis magazines. Everything Elvis of the past year will appeal to you: news items, birthdays of acquaintances from the Elvis world, book releases, vinyl releases and new Elvis merchandise that has been released ... It is too much to mention. Also current affairs are discussed: on page 45 we find a chapter entitled "Elvis and COVID-19".
I also noticed a few remarkable releases that had completely escaped my attention. Like the one about the booklet "Heli & Elvis". Heli von Westrem turns out to be a lady from Germany who was more than friends and who seems to have been through quite a bit with Elvis during his stay in the army in Germany. She describes life on Goethestrasse 14 as well as an almost kidnapping in Johannisberg, Bad Nauheim. Exciting and I'm going to check that booklet thanks to the tip in this book.
The research of this book is so complete that - as an example - we can also follow the Blu-ray DVD releases of "King Creole" throughout the year - as an example - with a separate review of this new release.
The highlight of this 2020 edition is a 12-page back-to-back review of the FTD "That's The Way It Is" 8-CD / 2-book release versus Erik Lorentzen's books with the same theme. The quality and care of this book is very high. Complete with a clear index and a Top 10 of best releases of the past year.
The book comes in two versions: a paperback edition and a hardcover edition with 24 bonus pages and 8 additional reviews. When the first book by Kees came out - the 2019 edition - there was a review that described the book as' a 2.0 version of the annual 'Elvis Monthly Specials' that appeared between 1963 and 1985. A nice and rightful compliment. And hopefully it gives you an idea of what to expect when purchasing this book.
Kees: “Over the past ten years, many Elvis books from the "Elvis Files" and Follow That Dream teams have been published about certain periods in Elvis's life. All look back on his life back then. But the Elvis world today is more than "alive" and very active and so I thought there is room for a book about Elvis "Today" (to quote a classic Elvis album title)".
As far as I am concerned, Kees set a new standard with his "Elvis Day By Day" books when it comes to an Elvis yearbook and reference guide for “everything Elvis Presley” from around the world for a certain year. I am already looking forward to the 2021 edition and I am also trying to get the 2019 edition.
It is expected that Kees' books will also be for sale through the new web-shop of your own It’s Elvis Time. A must!
The book is available at:
More information and previews of the book go to the >>> Elvis Day By Day 2020 page.