Madonna & Mariah Carey may have recently broken a couple of long-standing Elvis records, but The King is still doing very well, indeed. As of today, His Majesty's 'Christmas Duets' is on multiple Billboard charts; #17 on their Top Albums Chart, #3 on the Top Country Albums Chart, #4 on the Top Holiday Albums Chart and #18 on the Comprehensive Albums Chart! Also, 2000's 'It's Christmas Time' reached #4 and 2006's 'Elvis Christmas' reached #11 on the Top Pop Catalog Chart. Let's see ANY other artist accomplish that feat 31 years after their death.
I've been reflecting on Elvis' western movies lately. He made just 3 and my guess is that they were fun to make. Who wouldn't like to be in a western?! I loved them growing up; The Rifleman, Bonanza, Gunsmoke and The Big Valley were all weekend favorites. I've always loved John Wayne and Eastwood westerns, too. Love Me Tender wasn't a bad start to his movie career but I still cringe at his overacting towards the end. I'm no actor but that just how he comes across. Flaming Star was a little better but after a handful of roles Presley still showed signs of struggling as an actor. Still, it's the best of the three. It's too bad that by the time he came to Charro! Elvis hadn't developed his skills well enough to go on to making good movies. The potential was there but lost on the fluff he'd put out throughout the '60s. Charro! was a perfect vehicle for him but he seemed to just go through the motions. Had he had the desire Sinatra had for his role as Maggio in From Here To Eternity then Elvis would've gone on to make some decent movies. To me, the mark of a great movie is wanting to return to it repeatedly and remembering famous quotes, sharing them with family, friends and even co-workers. None of Elvis' films do that for me. That's not to say there isn't some entertainment value in some, there are – musically, but that's it. The best of the bunch being Loving You and Viva! Las Vegas. Elvis' acting is ok in each, his performances in Loving you are great and the chemistry between him and Ann Margaret is fun to watch.
Elvis Quotes “I don’t sound like nobody.” Elvis, 1954 “Rock ‘n’ Roll music, if you feel it, you can’t help but move to it.” Elvis, 1956
My Son Nicholas
ELVIS PRESLEY REMIXES Bria
n Cooper (April, 2005)
In June of 1968, Elvis made some of the most significant recordings of his career. Studio, rehearsal and live performances were recorded in preparation for his first television appearance in eight years. One of these songs would, decades later, become a worldwide smash.
A Little Less Conversation was written for Elvis’ 1968 movie Live A Little, Love A Little by Billy Strange and Mac Davis. It was recorded in March of the same year. The song was recorded again a few months later for Elvis’ television special, but not included. This recording, like many throughout his career, would remain unreleased for years. It surfaced on the 2-cd set Memories: The ’68 Comeback Special in 1998 and featured in the Ocean’s 11 remake a few years later starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts.
A remix of the recording was featured in a Nike shoe commercial. This version, an extended remix and the ‘68 Special recording were released together on a cd single. It went to number one in 27 countries, including the United Kingdom where it broke a tie with The Beatles for the most number one singles. A music video aired on VH1 and MTV. Due to it’s success, the remix was included on ELV1S: 30 #1 Hits as a bonus number one single. Subsequently, it was featured in Jim Carrey’s comedy, Bruce Almighty. It became the opening theme for the t.v. show Las Vegas, starring James Caan and was also featured in Disney's computer animated film, Shark Tale.
Felton Jarvis had some of Elvis’ songs overdubbed at Young ‘Un Sound Studios in Nashville in the fall of 1980. New instrumentation was added to Elvis’ original vocals. The end result was 1981’s Guitar Man album. Jerry Reed re-recorded his guitar work for the album’s title track and Too Much Monkey Business. Other songs chosen but not released until 2000 were In The Ghetto, Kentucky Rain and Burning Love. Interestingly, some alternate takes were used instead of the master recordings. Elvis can be heard ad-libbing What’d I Say at the end of GuitarMan. That version was released as a single and charted at number one Billboard’s Country chart. Elvis only recorded seven songs in the studio in 1972. A lot of his time was spent on live performances on the road and at The Hilton in Las Vegas. Like Burning Love, Always On My Mind would receive the remix treatment. It was the only remixed song on the 1985 album of the same title.
Originally recorded at Sun Studios in 1954, Tomorrow Night remained unreleased by RCA for nine years. Instrumentation and backing vocals were added and the newly mixed song was released on their Elvis For Everyone lp. The album consisted of primarily unreleased recordings and was originally called Elvis’ Anniversary Album, commemorating his tenth year with RCA. The remixed version of Tomorrow Night is shorter than the original. The original undubbed recording was first released on the album Reconsider Baby in 1985.
Other Sun Studio and early RCA recordings were remixed for the 1983 album I Was The One. All 11 songs on this album were remixed. Scotty Moore (lead guitar) and D.J. Fontana (drums) re-recorded their original parts. Due to the popularity of MTV, one of the tracks from the album was made into a music video.
On August 16, 1997 fans were in for a something special. At the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee they were treated to a video of Lisa Marie Presley singing Don’t Cry Daddy in a duet with her famous father. It was shown during “Elvis-The Concert”.
Six of Elvis’ biggest hits make up The Elvis Medley. Segments of Jailhouse Rock, Teddy Bear, Hound Dog, Don’t Be Cruel, Burning Love and Suspicious Minds were spliced together with added instrumentation to create a single song.
A lot of Elvis’ performances have been remixed over the years. Which do you prefer, the original or the remix? The purists may argue that his recordings should not be tampered with. Those who like them can enjoy “new” Elvis recordings - his original vocals with new instrumentation. Regardless, they exist. It can be interesting and fun to listen, compare and even debate.
" Home Sweet Home "
Elvis August 16 Brian Cooper, 2007
It’s almost hard to believe it’s been 3 decades since The King Of Rock ‘n’ Roll “left the building” for the last time. Below is my 30-year timeline by decade regarding Elvis Presley’s music in my life. A lot of his recordings, much like The Beatles, are just plain fun to hear no matter how many times I play them. They are before my time but I’m glad to have been able to experience their respective legacies via session and live recordings as well as concert and movie performances. I can’t explain why, but Elvis’ recordings spoke to me above and beyond those of any other. They still do and probably always will.
8/16/77: Elvis’ death had a major impact on the media and that’s what got my attention, especially an advertisement of a greatest hits album. All of a sudden, his voice and likeness was everywhere; radio, television, posters, magazines and books. I was just 10 years old and barely knew who he was. It was my first experience of an American icon’s passing. One of my first albums was from the 1968 t.v. special, otherwise known as The Comeback Special. He was in great form during these recordings and it remains a favorite. I loved discovering his 1950s recordings with Sun Studios and RCA. Like many, I consider that era to be his greatest work but don’t disregard his later output at all. Many of his best recordings came from the 60s and 70s.
8/16/87: I laughed at the numerous "sightings" and rumors that Elvis was still alive. For the most part, he was considered the punch-line of many jokes, wasn't taken seriously and not respected much as an artist. Well, that's the impression I was getting from various sources including television and radio. I’d stopped collecting in 1985 and would start up again shortly after hearing a local radio program called Elvis Only on WODS Boston 103.3 FM hosted by Jay Gordon; still a great, fun program to listen to. This was my source to the latest rarities being released. A lot of his recordings were as yet unreleased on cd and this was frustrating because that’s the only format I wanted to collect them on.
8/16/97: I was glad to see his catalog of music being treated far better than in recent years, beginning with the 5-cd set "The King Of Rock 'N' Roll: The Complete 50s Masters". His greatest recordings. Elvis as an artist was being taken seriously again and his catalog of recordings from here on in would be treated much better. Many unreleased recordings would be made available to his fans for years to come. Once again, in 1995, I’d stopped collecting and liquidated all of my possessions save for my car to consolidate my debt. Later that year I treated myself to a few box-sets and slowly began collecting again. What sealed my fate was Ernst Jorgensen’s 1997 book, “Elvis Presley: A Life In Music - The Complete Recording Sessions”. That was the best source of information for me and I used it as a template to create my own electronic file for recordings released thereafter not included in the book. In 1990 I took my first of two trips to Memphis to see Graceland with a friend. When we arrived, it was closed and I had visions of Bruce Springsteen jumping the wall and running up to the front door. I came to my senses and decided not to do the same. After all, what’s the sense of being potentially banned when Elvis was no longer with us anyway?!
8/16/07: Before the turn of the century, I’d returned to Graceland with my wife Diana. My favorite part of Graceland is the massive, impressive collection of gold & platinum awards. I also loved visiting Sun Studios. We took side trips to Tupelo to see Elvis’ birthplace and Nashville to see the Grand Old Opry and Nashville’s Studio B. I was fortunate to see the Virtual Elvis concert 3 times, the first being at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in 1998 and twice since at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. With the birth of my son Nicholas, I’ve decided to discontinue collecting. I'd become a serious collector, but not an unrealistic fan placing Elvis on a pedestal far above all others. He was a decent human being with great talent and loads of charisma. The desire to spend any more time, money or effort on my hobby has left me and I’ve sold off all of my collection. Maybe someday I’ll have Sirius satellite radio, which features an all Elvis station. That will be more than enough. Through the years, his music has provided me with countless hours of entertainment and I'll always consider Elvis the greatest rock 'n' roller and my favorite.
Long live The King! 
