Restore It

Tennessee (TN) is Elvis' home state. The state of Tennessee is divided into West, Middle and East Tennessee, home to about 7,2 million people. Tennessee has 95 counties, of which Shelby County is located in West-Tennessee. Elvis' hometown, Memphis, is situated in Shelby County, West-Tennessee. 

When Nicolette, Rita and I visited Memphis in 2007, we happen upon one of the few Elvis childhood homes still standing, namely 2414 Lamar Ave.

The Presleys rented 2414 Lamar Ave from May-Nov 1955, after which an extension was added to the front of the house. When we were there, the house was seemingly used as a creche. We couldn't go inside and wished someone would restore it to how it looked like when Elvis lived there. I was sad to hear the place fell victim to a fire in 1923. 

Seemingly Shelby County now owns 2414 Lamar Ave and the mayor seems optimistic to restore it as a new kind of showcase to represent part of Elvis' youth and some of his musical influences.

No. 1

Remember the Elvis CHRISTMAS DUETS CD release of 2008? 

All Elvis/female duets. Yeah, I didn't much like it. But it did break into the US Billboard 200 at No.17. 

And what turns up 4 years later in 2012? Yes, another Christmas compilation, the CLASSIC CHRISTMAS album. Much better album cover! And on it? Material from Elvis' two original Christmas albums, the single If Everyday Was Like Christmas PLUS 2 duets from the 2008 CHRISTMAS DUETS album. 

They DID surprise us with a marvellous promotional video, though: Fantasy Martina McBride and Elvis '68. Guess what? The audio from this video has never been released. 

Fast forward 12 years. Out of nowhere the CLASSIC CHRISTMAS album shoots to No.1 on the Top ROCK Albums Chart.

A tip of the hat to all the new Elvis fans everywhere.  

Elvis In The Making

Director Baz Luhrman, writer/director/producer of the marvellous Elvis (2022) film, has a new Elvis project in the making! We are overjoyed because we've been waiting for an official release of the hours of unseen footage of Elvis' two thrilling rockumentaries for over half a century. It's not that we've not been asking, we have, but to no avail. 

Fortunately for Elvis fans, it seems Lurhman not only gave most fans joy with his 2022 film, but also got a new generation PLUS himself hooked on Elvis. 

According to Baz the film will neither be a documentary nor a concert film, so how it will look like is a mystery. The contents, however, is from unreleased footage of Elvis: That's The Way It Is (1970) and Elvis On Tour (1972). 

Baz recently announced on social media: We HAVE found the footage. We found it, and a lot of it, and sound ... inside, where they were storing it. I will do that extra concert film. 

When Baz was asked if he's seen the footage, he replied: Oh, I've seen a lot of it. It's extraordinary what's there. It shocked even me what is there. And, more importantly, we have the SOUND.

A trailer of this exciting announcement has been released. At long last, it seems the decades long dream of many an Elvis fan may come true.   

Long White Limousene

 In December of 1975 Elvis bought a Lincoln Continental Limousine. One evening when J.D. Sumner, bass singer of Elvis' backup group The Stamps, found himself stranded at Graceland without transportation Elvis gave him the Limousine.

As can be expected, this car is a sought-after collectors item. It had been on display in Mike Moon's museum in the mountain resort city Pigeon Force, Tennessee, after which it was sold in 2019. In the mean time it has returned to the auction block where a real bidding war has unfolded and after 37 bids the hammer has fallen at a nearly staggering R7 million.

Memorial Bench

The Tupelo Elvis Fan Club donated a memorial honouring Elvis' only child, Lisa-Marie, to the Tupelo Elvis Presley Birthplace. Tom Brown, host of the Elvis Tupelo Festival, commented:

Tupelo, for all the Presley's, was a special place, because it was a place that grounded Elvis, that was his home before he became a superstar. Lisa was one of those what would come back, especially while family friend Janelle McComb (1921-2005) was alive. She would come stay with Janelle for days at a time and just be a normal person.

Greatest Singers

In 2008 Rolling Stone magazine published their list of 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time. A panel of 179 "experts" ranked Elvis at #3.

In 2023, 15 years later, the same magazine published their list of 200 Greatest Singers Of All Time, ranking Elvis at #17.

It did not take long for the first commotion to appear when Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman blasted Rolling Stone for placing Bob Dylan over Elvis on the list.

But the fun really started when fans of Michael Jackson saw their idol ranked at #86. The reaction of an MJ fan on twitter was gold: 

Eighty. Six. Delete your account. Destroy your servers. Take all existing magazines out of print. Throw them in a bon fire. File for chapter 11. Vacate your office. Demolish the building. Apologize to the world. Repent. Leave the planet for good.

I couldn't have said it better. 

Grammy Award Songs

Elvis, the King of Rock 'n' Roll, won only 3 Grammy Awards for his music. All for Gospel. How can that be? 

The Grammys were founded in 1958. Elvis' heyday was from 1956-1957. Easy to see how he missed out on some possible major Rock 'n Roll Grammys. In total Elvis received 16 Grammy Nominations of which 6 were for Singles. 

If we dive into his Single Nominations, we found that he received two nominations each in the 50s, 60s and 70s, covering the R&B, Pop, Gospel and C&W genres. Once again, no Rock 'n Roll nominations in sight.

GRAMMY NOMINATED SINGLES

Elvis received the following Grammy Nominations for his Singles:

50s 

• A Fool Such As I: Record Of The Year
• A Big Hunk O' Love: Best R&B Performance / Best Top 40 Artist Performance.

60s 

• Are You Lonesome Tonight: Best Pop Single Performance / Best Male Vocal  Performance / Record Of The Year 
• You'll Never Walk Alone: Best Sacred Performance.

70s

• How Great Thou Art (Live, 1974): Best Inspirational Performance - WIN. 
• Softly, As I Leave You (Live, Posthumous): Best Male C&W Performance.

Aloha From Hawaii

In 2023 we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1st worldwide satellite concert by ONE man. 

Some interesting tidbits surrounding this historical broadcast:

1. There were other satellite concerts before and after Elvis. 
2. The satellite transmitting the concert signal belonged to NBC and was very costly to hire.  
3. The stage was made in L.A. and shipped to Hawaii.  
4. When Nani Lee, the wife of Kui Lee, heard of Elvis' concert for her charity foundation, she went  straight to the doctor for tranquilizers.
5. No money is to be charged for a TV audience, so donations were asked for each ticket.        
6. Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite was the most expensive TV concert of its time at $2,5 million.
7. The rehearsal concert would be recorded at 20h30 on January 12, 1973 but by 19h00 6,000 fans had already stormed the venue and crammed into the available 5,300 seats. 
8. Elvis wanted a suit that said America. Ideas included the outline of a map or the star-spangled banner, but eventually the decision went to the national bird. 
9. The live broadcast had to be shy of 1 hour, after which the satellite feed would be cut off, so Elvis organised for Joe Esposito to be at the side of the stage with a flashlight to indicate when 10 minutes were left.
10. The sound equipment of NBC and RCA combined overloaded the power. Two hours before the rehearsal concert the lights flickered on and off and the sound engineers went to borrow extra equipment from the Navy. A few minutes before the start of the show, there was a hum in the sound system, caused by the stage lights, and lead plates were obtained, again from the Navy, to counteract this.

There are many more fun facts, especially the 1.5 billion people having watched the broadcast, amongst others South Africa. (NOT!) At this point in time? Sure! The Parker marketing machine did the trick, though, and it's all now part of Elvis lore.

Private Presley Returns

In 2013 Bovim Ballet presented the stunning rock-ballet Private Presley in Cape Town and Johannesburg, to critical acclaim. Some of our club members attended the show repeatedly, especially because Bovim made use of Elvis' own recordings as musical backdrop. What more can you ask for, than to hear Elvis' extraordinary voice during a superior show? Except for Elvis appearing himself, this is as good as it gets! 
   

From a technical point of view, this ballet is ground breaking in that the cast had to incorporate an entirely new technique to sustain the girl dancers through some difficult 1950s and 60s technical dance styles. In my experience, if any choreographer of an Elvis performance is/becomes an Elvis fan, it shows. Here is what Sean Bovim says - in part - of his journey in creating this show, as stated in the 2013 program booklet: 

Embracing all that Elvis achieved as well as his reluctance to fame, I was able to delve into his private life and discover a dance vocabulary to portray the era that he lived in and the many iconic moments that made the singer one of rock 'n' roll's greatest legends.

Although the star's life was cut short, he jammed more into his 42 years than most, having recorded more than 700 songs and starred in over 30 movies. As a result I have had to be selective as to what I am able to portray. 

This daunting yet rewarding job has led me to reflect on the more intimate, but also fun-loving side of Elvis, revealing memorable nuggets of his life. 'Private Presley' looks through a window into the life of the star from the mid 1950s through the early 1970s. Through my research on Elvis' life as well as becoming far more familiar with his songs, I just Can't Help Falling In Love with the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

Now this sensational production is back! We've gotten word from the Bovim Ballet manager, François Arzul, that they are taking the show to Johannesburg for a 3-week season at Joburg Theatre. And it is being followed by another 3-week season at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town from 9-28 November 2015. 

In my opinion, with a two-act set, a cast of more than 20 top-notch dancers plus more than 40 of Elvis' most memorable songs (including a few rare gems), this modern ballet will (again) knock the socks off of audiences.

As Francois concludes, hope to see you all at the show! 

Photos: The Bovim Ballet

Best. Elvis. Tribute. Ever.

A BIG thank you to The Steyn Family Band, for bringing the Nicholis Louw Elvis On My Mind Show to Cape Town. Boy, did the Quarry rock!

This morning, spontaneous feedback from EPFCA members found their way to our local Whatsapp group:

Was I pleasantly surprised by the Elvis Tribute yesterday evening! Thank you for encouraging us to attend the show. Nicholis is actually a really good singer.

It was awesome. The band is incredible. I yearn for more tributes to Elvis' music where nary a jumpsuit is in sight. We have to support such rarities in bigger numbers.

I loved the show and now have a different perspective on Nicholis.

Recently the following tongue-in-cheek saying did the rounds on the social media: "I don't judge people based on race, religion, gender or sexuality. I judge people on whether or not they're an ELVIS fan!" In the same vein I want to add that I like and admire any performer in their own right in our country who is a fan of Elvis and his music, because anyone who "gets it", must be a great human being.  

On Saturday night, Nicholis' love and respect for his musical hero came to the forefront in what he said about Elvis, as well as how he said it, coupled with the unique presentation of the music. Elvis was the punk rocker of his time and Nicholis and The Steyn Family Band proved it!

Photo: The Steyn Family Band

Elvis On My Mind

In our beloved country we literally have few to no tributes to Elvis' music where jumpsuits are not involved. Luckily, one such eventuality will eventuate in Cape Town, shortly.

The place to be on Saturday 26 September 2015 at 7 p.m. is the Hillcrest Quarry Wine Estate, Durbanville Hills, where The Steyn Family Band will present pop superstar Nicholis Louw in his ELVIS ON MY MIND show, entertaining us with all of Elvis' most popular songs.

Seats are unreserved, the doors will open at 6 p.m., tickets are R120 p.p. and available at Computicket.

So, C'mon Everybody, let's put on our Blue Suede Shoes, hop in our pink Cadillacs and Have A Party Down In The ... Quarry!

Does Elvis Still Matter?

"No Elvis, probably no Beatles, no Rolling Stones, no Bowie, no U2, no T Rex. I doubt even guys like Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, and Chuck Berry would have ever had the high-profile careers they had without Elvis crashing the party.

Would most of us even care who Bill Monroe is without Elvis' cover of Blue Moon of Kentucky? He may not have invented rock and roll, but he was the first guy to break the sound barrier, and he is still sending a sonic boom through our society that will never be reversed. And they didn't film him originally from the waist up only for nothing!"

- William Michael Smith, Houston Press.