May 07 - From Georgia To Florida

The Follow That Dream collectors label 2 CD set "From Georgia To Florida" has been released. This 5 inch digipack features Elvis Presley in great form from his shows at the Coliseum in Macon on April 24, 1975 and Lakeland (afternoon show) on April 27, 1975.

Disc 1: Recorded at Coliseum, Macon, Georgia on April 24th 1975: Talk / Love Me / If You Love Me (Let Me Know) / You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me / Big Boss Man / It’s Midnight / Promised Land / Fairytale / Burning Love / Introductions including: a) What’d I say b) School Days / My Boy / T-R-O-U-B-L-E / I’ll Remember You / Let Me Be There / American Trilogy / Can’t Help Falling In Love / Closing Vamp.

Disc 2: Recorded at Civic Center Arena, Lakeland, Florida on April 27th 1975 A/S: Talk / Love Me / If You Love Me (Let Me Know) / Love Me Tender / (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear / Don’t Be Cruel / Help Me / Burning Love / Introductions including: a) Johnny B. Goode b) School Days / My Boy / T-R-O-U-B-L-E / Why Me Lord / Let Me Be There / Hawaiian Wedding Song / Hound Dog / American Trilogy / Can’t Help Falling In Love / Closing Vamp.

Delayed Once More

The Memphis City Council Council delayed — until June 18 — a resolution that would allow the state to amend the Graceland Tourism Development Zone. This is the third time that resolution has been held.

The delay once again centers on whether a soundstage is actually a soundstage and whether the City incentivizing said soundstages would violate a long-standing agreement with the Memphis Grizzlies. The deal, announced in March, appeared to pave the way for a $100 million expansion of Graceland but is now stuck in the mud.

EPE hosts concerts at the existing Graceland soundstage, which, according to EPE head Joel Weinshanker, seats between 1,600 to 1,700. The city remains concerned about violating its agreement with the Grizzlies, which forbids public financing for another arena beyond FedEx Forum.

(Source: UEPS / Memphis Business Journal)

May 04 - Cover Through the Ages

Here is the cover-art for the upcoming book "Elvis Through the Ages: Images from the Hollywood Photo Archive” by Colin Slater which is due for release September 25, 2019 from Lyons Press. Unfortunately the designer added an impersonator ...

The Elvis Information Network (EIN) sent a message to the publishers at The Lyon Press, pointing out the 
rather massive error. Here is the reply from the publisher:
"Lyons Press Editorial staff are aware of your complain. 
While the photo in question was meant to be that of an impersonator, to alleviate any confusion the editors have elected to replace it. Please rest assured that when the book publishes this September, it will have a photo of the real Elvis on it. Once the new cover is completed, it will be uploaded to our database, from which it will feed out to all online retailers. Thank you again for your time." 

Synopsis:
From the beginning of his career to his death as the Hollywood icon Elvis Presley sang and enchanted thousands of people. Publicity photos and behind-the-scenes shots from the Hollywood Photo Archives include scores of long been forgotten or abandoned images in neglected studio archives. This book collects 100 of the rarest of the rare, seldom previously seen images of his career. For the Elvis fans who think that they have seen it all, this book will provide a new lens on a beloved American icon.

(Source: Amazon / Elvis Information Network)

May 03 - Elvis Chart Icon (Updated May 07)

Due for release from Flame Tree Publishing is a re-issue of the 2014 128-page book "Elvis (Pop, Rock & Entertainment)" by Alice Hudson and a foreword by Malcom Mackenzie. 

This new edition of Elvis is part of Flame Tree's ongoing series "Rock Icons". Other titles in the series include David Bowie, Queen, Leonard Cohen, Johnny Cash, Pink Floyd, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin.

Synopsis:
"Elvis stands above all icons in music, elevated by his influence on youth culture, with his walk, his clothes and, of course, his incredible singing voice. 
The first white artist to crossover with black music he was adored and stalked in equal measure, with the last few years of his life being a torment of fame. With often intimate portraits of this troubled star this book is sure to intrigue everyone interested in the life of an astonishing artist.

Jailhouse Vinyl

Due for release from the Wagram label on June 7, 2019 is the vinyl LP compilation “Jailhouse Rock”. 

Charts

The weekly global Elvis Presley chart update. Contrary to previous weeks Elvis Presley found his way up on the US Billboard charts, but dropped on most European charts. The limited edition 2019  Record Store Day LP did drop off the US Billboard charts. 

US Billboard charts

• US Billboard Top Current Albums chart: “Elvis: International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada: August 23, 1969” dropped off the chart after last week’s new entry at #63. 
• US Billboard Top Album Sales chart: “Elvis: International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada: August 23, 1969” dropped off the chart after last week’s new entry at #81.
• US Billboard Country Album Sales chart: “Elvis: International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada: August 23, 1969” dropped off the chart after last week’s new entry at #9. 
• US Billboard Rock Album Sales chart: “The Best Of The '68 Comeback Special (Soundtrack)” re-entry at #41.
• US Billboard Rock Album Sales chart: “Elvis: International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada: August 23, 1969” dropped off the chart after last week’s new entry at #31. 
• US Billboard Country Catalog Albums chart: “Elvis: Ultimate Gospel” re-entry #11.
• US Billboard Country Catalog  Albums chart: “Heart and Soul” climbed from #18 to #16.
• US Billboard Country Album Sales chart: “The Best Of The '68 Comeback Special (Soundtrack)” climbed from #31 to #25.
• US Billboard Top Christan Albums chart: “Elvis: Ultimate Gospel” climbed from #38 to #31.
• US Billboard Christian Albums Sales chart: “Where No One Stands Alone” climbed from #26 to #25. 
• US Billboard Soundtrack Album Sales chart: “The Best Of The '68 Comeback Special (Soundtrack)” re-entry at #15. 

Official UK charts

• Official UK Streaming Albums chart: “The 50 Greatest Hits” dropped off the chart after last week’s re-entry at #79.
• Official UK Music DVD chart: "Elvis Lives - Live From Memphis" remained steady at #30. 
• Official UK Music DVD chart: "Elvis The Searcher" dropped from #15 to #43.
• Official UK Christian and Gospel Album chart: "Where No One Stands Alone" remained steady at #15.

Official Scottish chart:

• Official Scottish Album chart: “Elvis at the Movies - 60 Essential Recordings” dropped from #28 to #50.
• Official Scottish Album chart: “The Real … Elvis” dropped off the chart after last week’s re-entry at #75.

Irish IRMA chart: 

• Irish IRMA Music DVD Chart: “Elvis The Searcher” new entry at #3. 

Australian ARIA charts:

• ARIA Music DVD chart: "'68 Comeback Special (50th Anniversary Edition)" climbed from #10 to #9.

(Source: Elvis Club Berlin / Amazon / Flame Three Publishing / UK Mix / Official Chart Company / IRMA / ARIA)

May 02 - I Do A Lot O’ Things, But I Can’t Fly!

Due for release from the Touchdown import-label is the CD "I Do A Lot O’ Things, But I Can’t Fly!" containing the August 20, 1971 Dinner Show performance. 

From the press-release:
Touchdown proudly presents another show from the August/September engagement in 1971, recorded on the Dinner Show on August 20, 1971. The tracklisting is enjoyable and so is Elvis!
We worked hard to improve the sound quality and hope that you'll enjoy the result as much as we do. As usual the CD is accompanied by a full-color 16 page booklet with lots of rare photos and information on the event itself.

Tracks: Radio Advert For The "Summer Engagement" - Also Sprach Zarathustra - That‘s Alright Mama - Proud Mary - Love Me Tender (With False Start) - ‘Honey, I Do A Lot O‘Things...’ - Sweet Caroline - Polk Salad Annie - “I Recorded 420 Songs, But...” - Johnny B. Goode - It‘s Impossible (With False Start) - Love Me - Blue Suede Shoes / Whole Lotta Shakin‘ Goin‘ On - Heartbreak Hotel - Teddy Bear / Don‘t Be Cruel (Incomplete Recording) - So High (one Line Only) - Hound Dog - Little Sister / Get Back - Elvis Talks With The Audience - Lawdy Miss Clawdy - Band Introductions - I‘m Leavin‘ - Help Me Make It Through The Night - Mystery Train / Tiger Man (Incomplete Recording) - Karate Demonstration - Can‘t Help Falling In Love

(Source: FECC Forum)

May 01 - Jailhouse Vinyl

Due for release from the Not Now Vinyl (H’Art) label on May 01, 2019 is the LP compilation “Jailhouse Rock”. This set comes on colored vinyl.

From the press-release:
"We had more fun making this film than I could have believed possible,” said Elvis Presley of his third movie, Jailhouse Rock, when it was released in October 1957. Since the movie featured only five tracks, the decision was made to include them all on a soundtrack EP, rather than pad them out with additional material to make an LP, and that was what happened in both the USA and England. However, in South Africa in 1958 they opted to release an LP-length version, which is now the LP that you hold in your hands. This contains the entire Jailhouse Rock EP plus seven other tracks – all of which maintain a very high standard.

Tracks: Any Way You Want Me / Blue Moon (version 1956) / Blue Moon Of Kentucky / Don't Leave Me Know / Got A Living To Do / How's The World Treating You / I Love You Because / Jailhouse Rock / Peace In The Valley / Playing For Keeps / Too Much / Treat Me Nice.


The King in Queensland

Filmer Baz Luhrmann will film his next blockbuster in Queensland, delving into the life of Elvis Presley. Despite Presley having never visited Australia, Luhrmann will make a biopic on the life of the King at Village Roadshow on the Gold Coast. 

"He is bringing a bit of Memphis to Mudgeeraba, a bit of Graceland to Gaven, in summer we can certainly bring the sultry humidity of the deep south," Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said. The role of Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis' manager and a key part of the film, will be played by dual Oscar winner Tom Hanks. The film production is expected to inject more than $105 million into the Queensland economy.

Meanwhile Baz Luhrmann has been doing his home-work in Memphis with the team from Graceland as the picture shows.

(Source: Amazon / Sydney Morning Herald / Baz Luhrmann on Twitter)

April 28 - Mighty Marble Vinyl

Due for release from the Magic of Vinyl on May 3, 2019 is the “marble colored” vinyl LP “G.I. In Germany”.

Side A: Arrival in Friedberg / Germany / Muß I Denn (Wooden Heart) / Frankfort Special / Tonight Is So Right For Love (G´schichten aus dem Wiener Wald) / Blue Suede Shoes / Jailhouse Rock / Tutti Frutti / A Big Hunk O` Love / Don‘t / She‘s Not You  /Good Luck Charm 
Side B: G.I. Blues / My Wish Came True / Fool Such As I / No More (La Paloma) / I Need Your Love Tonight / What‘s She Really Like / Return To Sender / Stuck On You / Surrender 
Bonus home-recording: Spanish Eyes.

The Mighty Elvis

Due for release from Yoe Books on November 12, 2019 is the 72-page graphic biography “The Mighty Elvis: A Graphic Biography” by Seymour Chwast (illustrator) and Steven Brower (text). 

Synopsis:

Revel in this commemoration of Elvis' life in the form of an art book told through the unique vision of legendary designer and illustrator Seymour Chwast.

Spearheading a new music form that, combined with an attitude and a look, would change the world, Elvis Presley became one of the most important cultural figures of the second half of the 20th century. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this book presents an enhanced portrait of one of America's greatest celebrities.

With text by author Steven Brower (Satchmo: The Life and Art of Louis Armstrong), The Mighty Elvis reminds us of the continuing stardom of one of the most popular American singers of all time. Through Chwast's illustrations, cartoons, and comics we get to relive his early life, his meteoric rise to fame and how he was affected by, and in turn, affected the world of music in the many genres he mastered. The book covers his first appearances on television, Graceland, his meeting with President Nixon, his wedding to Priscilla, and much more. Millions of fans loved him, purchased his records, attended his sold out shows and went to his thirty-three films. Death, forty years ago, has not diminished his fame. "Elvis Lives!" 

The Mighty Elvis celebrates, in art and design, the life of a great icon of American popular culture!

(Source: Magic of Vinyl / Amazon)

April 27 - 50 Million Buyers Can't Be Wrong

Offered for sale in the Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on 15 May in New York is one of the most iconic images of 20th-century art, Andy Warhol’s "Double Elvis" (Ferus Type). The silkscreen ink and silver paint artwork uniting two of the most venerated figures of modern times - the King of Rock’n’Roll and the Prince of Pop Art - is signed, inscribed and dated "elvis Andy Warhol 63" and has an estimate of US$ $50,000,000-70,000,000. 

Description from Christies:

Elvis Presley, dressed as a gunslinger in a publicity shot for the movie Flaming Star, takes his place in a flat, empty surface that, for Warhol, functions as a looking glass that reflects the overlapping nuances of celebrity, filmmaking, desire, and performance in Sixties America.

Warhol had been fascinated by the glittering allure of Hollywood since he was a child. Double Elvis, painted in the summer of 1963, pays tribute to a larger-than-life superstar whose international fame brought him the level of celebrity Warhol so coveted and admired. 

Having already cemented his position as the king of Pop in New York, the artist himself would go on to reach the same dizzy heights, having reshaped the visual arts with his profound awareness of the way mass media defines the norms of contemporary experience.

Presley allowed Warhol to get to the heart of the 1960s. ‘Elvis Presley is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century,’ said the composer Leonard Bernstein. ‘He introduced the beat to everything and he changed everything — music, language, clothes. It’s a whole new social revolution — the sixties came from it.’

Warhol’s his first reference to the singer had been made earlier, in 1956, while still working as a commercial illustrator. In a series of collage drawings of shoes shown in a two-page spread in Life magazine, Warhol had given each the name of a celebrity — James Dean, Julie Andrews and Truman Capote being among the others. 

The ‘Elvis Presely’ was an old-fashioned cavalier’s boot in gold leaf, adorned with a floral rosette and studded with stars. The ‘James Dean’, by contrast, was a sturdy, spurred jackboot. 

For his 1963 exhibition at the Ferus Gallery in West Hollywood, Warhol chose a 1960 studio portrait of Elvis Presley to reproduce. When the picture was taken, Presley had recently returned from his two-year service in the US Army. His absence from America and his stream of formulaic Hollywood movies and assembly-line soundtracks meant that his status as a genuine cultural force had been neutered. Hollywood’s product-like packaging of Presley made him ripe subject matter for Warhol.

Warhol had already completed a group of initial ‘Studio Type’ Elvises but for the show at the Ferus Gallery he had something more dramatic in mind. With the help of his new assistant, the poet Gerard Malanga, he completed a series whose composition would embody the ‘silver screen’ of cinema. Displaced from any sense of narrative or locale onto pure, shining surface, they became celluloid ciphers, highlighting the artifice of Elvis’s performance — and were conceived specifically to conquer the West Coast.

The very method by which Warhol delivered them is almost as famous as the works themselves. The gallery’s director Irving Blum did not receive individual canvases but a single, enormous roll of canvas with a box of differently sized stretcher bars. Warhol’s instructions to Blum were to cut them and hang them as he saw fit. 

This apparent relinquishing of control was anything but for Warhol had predetermined the size of each canvas with the stretcher bars he sent to Blum, which he knew would have to be matched to the groups of single, double and multi-figure Elvises. Shown in concert with a series of silkscreens depicting Liz Taylor, they made for a mesmerising, iterated display of cinematic archetype. 
The Ferus installation can be read as a barbed comment on the repetitive nature of the Western genre, a mass-produced product — like Presley himself — that was not unlike the Campbell’s Soup cans Warhol showed at the gallery the previous year. 

It can also be argued that Warhol was playing up the over-amped artifice of his subject. Through Double Elvis’s  spaceless silver background, we are made all the more aware that what we are seeing is an actor posing for the camera. The repetition is rigid and unmoving; Double Elvis presents not the West’s cowboy ideal but a second-hand type-figure being played, somewhat ineptly, by the character of Elvis Presley.

There were also similarities between Warhol and Elvis, as the author John Carlin has pointed out: ‘both came from humble backgrounds and meteorically captured their respective fields in a way that seemed to break entirely with the past. Each betrayed his initial talent as soon as it became known, and opted for a blank and apparently superficial parody of earlier styles which surprisingly expanded, rather than alienated, their audience. Warhol’s own manufactured persona was that of a vacuum or mirror. 

‘Both went into film as a means of exploring the mythic dimensions of their celebrity. On the surface both men shared a scandalous lack of taste. Particularly as both took repetition and superficiality to mask an obscure but vital aspect of their work: the desire for transcendence or annihilation without compromise, setting up a profound ambivalence on the part of both artist and audience as to whether the product was trash or tragedy.’ 

Perhaps a more convincing equivalence might be drawn not between the artist and Elvis, but between Warhol and the blank, silver surface on which the image of Elvis is screened. Warhol’s own manufactured persona was that of a vacuum or mirror. ‘If you want to know all about Andy Warhol,’ he said, ‘then just look at the surface: of my paintings and films and me, and there I am. There’s nothing behind it.’ In his early interviews, Warhol commonly adopted a mirroring strategy by bouncing questions back to his interviewer. 

As well as the large-scale use of silver paint in the Elvis works, 1963 saw Warhol’s associate Billy Name cover the interior of the Factory in reflective aluminium foil. And in that same year, Warhol replaced his own grey hairpiece with a metallic silver wig. His use of reflection would reach its apotheosis in the Silver Clouds, floating balloons first shown at Leo Castelli Gallery in 1966.

Of the 22 extant ‘Ferus Type’ Elvis works, 11 are in museum collections, including the canvas Bob Dylan insisted on taking in exchange for his presence in a Warhol film, which is now housed at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

(Source: Christies / FECC)

April 26 - Weekly Chart Update (Updated April 30)

Released today is the 4 CD set “Love Me Tender” from the Membran (Major Babies) label. 

Charts

The weekly global chart update. Elvis Presley’s Record Store Day LP "Live at the International" dropped off the European charts but debuted on several US Billboard charts. 

US Billboard Charts:

• US Billboard Top Current Albums chart: “Elvis: International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada: August 23, 1969” new entry at #63. 
• US Billboard Top Album Sales chart: “Elvis: International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada: August 23, 1969” new entry at #81.
• US Billboard Top Christian Albums chart: “Elvis: Ultimate Gospel” dropped from #35 to #38. 
• US Billboard Rock Album Sales chart: “Elvis: International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada: August 23, 1969” new entry at #31. 
• US Billboard Rock Album Sales chart: “The Best Of The '68 Comeback Special (Soundtrack)” dropped off the chart from last week’s #40 spot.
• US Billboard Country Album Sales chart: “Elvis: International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada: August 23, 1969” new entry at #9. 
• US Billboard Country Album Sales chart: “The Best Of The '68 Comeback Special (Soundtrack)” dropped from #28 to #31.
• US Billboard Country Catalog Albums chart: “Heart and Soul” climbed from #21 to #18.
• US Billboard Christian Albums Sales chart: “Where No One Stands Alone” remained steady at 26.
• US Billboard Soundtrack Album Sales chart: “The Best Of The '68 Comeback Special (Soundtrack)” dropped off the chart from last week’s #13 spot.

Official UK charts:

• Official UK Streaming Albums chart: “The 50 Greatest Hits” re-entry at #79.
• Official UK Vinyl Albums chart: “Live at the International” dropped off the chart after lat week’s new entry at #34. 
• Official UK Physical Albums chart: “Live at the International” dropped off the chart after last week’s new entry at #80. 
• Official UK Music DVD chart: "Elvis The Searcher" climbed from #23 to #15.
• Official UK Music DVD chart: "Elvis Lives - Live From Memphis" climbed from #43 to #30.
• Official Christian and Gospel Albums Chart Top 20: "Where No One Stands Alone" remained steady at #15.

Official Scottish Album charts:

• Official Scottish Album chart: “Elvis at the Movies - 60 Essential Recordings” climbed from #41 to #28. 
• Official Scottish Album chart: “The Real … Elvis” re-entry at #75.

Dutch charts:

• Dutch Vinyl 33 chart: “Live at the International” dropped off the chart after last week’s new entry at #17. 

Australian charts:

• Australian ARIA Music DVD chart: '68 Comeback Special (50th Anniversary Edition) dropped from #9 to #10.

Elvis character details for Elvis biopic

With production set to begin in January 2020, the studio is searching for an actor between the ages of 18 and 29 to portray the King of Rock ’n’ Roll. The character details for the titular role in the upcoming Elvis Presley biopic read: "Vulnerable, but with a strong sense of his own destiny. Although shy, he has the enthusiasm of someone who dreams of being big. This is Elvis before he’s famous and adopts his famed persona".

The Great Gatsby’ director Baz Luhrmann is directing the pic, which will star Tom Hanks as Presley’s manager, Tom Parker. Parker both helped Presley rise to fame and hurt him in the process. He never let Presley tour outside the US and took 50% of Presley’s earnings. No release date for the project has been set.

(Source: UK Mix Forum / Billboard / Dutchcharts / Official Chart Company / GWW / ARIA / Google / Amazon)

April 25 - King Creole in 4K

The classic 1958 “King Creole” movie will debut during Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs May 11, 2019 in a new 4K digital restorated version. Actress Jan Shepard is scheduled to appear as a special guest. 

Synopsis: 
Elvis’s third starring role remains his best work on screen. He plays 19-year old Danny Fisher who is struggling to finish high school while living in a French Quarter flat with an unemployed father (Dean Jagger) and sister (Jan Shepard). The rebellious teen-ager navigates a veritable tightrope between a legitimate singing career and a wholesome girl friend (Dolores Hart) vs. a criminal life while romancing the mistress (Carolyn Jones) of a vicious gangster (Walter Matthau). Produced by Hal Wallis and deftly helmed by Curtiz on location in New Orleans, this musical crime drama established Elvis as a legitimate actor with a stellar supporting cast including Paul Stewart and Vic Morrow.   

April 24 - New Documentary

English singer Colin Paul is currently working on a new documentary about the day Elvis died and its aftermath. In the introduction to the documentary, entitled "42 @ 42" he explains how it affected him when he was on a tour of Scotland with his parents in Oban. 

The documentary will mainly include news broadcasts from the US, UK and some from Europe, as well as interviews with those who were there, some recent interviews and some from that time. The documentary was inspired by his good friend Carey Rayburn in Memphis, who produced the documentary "8.16" a few years ago. "8.16" focused primarily on the fans and how they felt. Last week Paul traveled back to Oban (for the first time since 1977) with his family to film the intro. "42 @ 42" will be released on August 16, 2019 and will be available for free on YouTube. 

Anne Neyland Died

Anne Neyland, who portrayed a love interest of Elvis Presley's character in the 1957 movie Jailhouse Rock, died Wednesday, her family announced. She was 84. 

Neyland played Laury Jackson and Presley starred as Vince Everett, a construction worker who accidentally kills a man in a barroom brawl, in Jailhouse Rock, the singer's third movie overall and first at MGM. 


"These last three years he's been so used to people tearing at him wherever he goes that he's drawn-into as hell," Neyland once told Photoplay. "He's so used to being alone with a few close friends and going for drives and playing records that you can't get him out of it."

She dated Presley during the making of the film and for a spell afterward.

(Source FECC / ElvisMatters / The Hollywood Reporter)