In his first show at the Pan Pacific Auditorium on October 28th & 29th 1957, Elvis was determined to impress his celebrity-studded audience, and he did. With Hollywood celebrities and their children among the more than nine thousand in attendance, Elvis performed eighteen songs ending with 'Hound Dog'. :dance:

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/1957PanPacificAuditoriumLACA6.jpg

 

After the first show, one headline declared ‘Elvis Presley Will Have To Clean up His Show - Or go to Jail' :o

 

See the article and view the film that the police made of his performance on the 29th October B)

 

http://www.elvispresleymusic.com.au/pictur...auditorium.html

 

Following on from the last post, here's another great article and some cool news clippings

 

Oct. 29, 1957 - Los Angeles

 

When Elvis Presley performed his first live concert in Los Angeles at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium, The Times carried two reviews, perhaps sensing a pivotal moment in American pop music. :cheer:

 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymi...elvis-live.html

 

Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes and Elvis Presley

 

Carl Perkins first heard Elvis Presley singing 'Blue Moon of Kentucky' on the radio in the late Summer of 1954

 

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/carl_perki...ede_shoes.shtml

 

Priscilla Presley - My Life With and Without Elvis Presley – original article from Ladies Home Journal - August, 1973.

 

After five years as the wife of the superstar singer, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley is as much of a mystery woman as she was the day she married him - May 1, 1967. In this, her first interview, she talks about Elvis - their romance, marriage, and divorce - and her life today as a woman alone.

 

http://www.elvispresleymusic.com.au/articl...me_journal.html

 

An interesting article, but I have to confess (and I guess this is true of many who ‘knew’ Elvis), there are parts I take with a pinch of salt ;)

 

Elvis Presley - Lost In Hollywood – by Ernst Jorgensen

 

A great article which has been taken from Ernst’s 'A Life In Music - The Complete Recording Sessions' and details perfectly why Elvis continued to make so many movies and release the subsequent soundtracks during the 1960's. This is a fascinating book detailing Elvis’ recording career and imo, is a must for any Elvis fan who wants to know more about the way Elvis worked in the studio. I actually have two copies, my first is so well thumbed from my continual ‘dipping’ in and out of it, the second is a pristine copy for my book shelf B) Ernst, of course, is the man behind the wonderful releases on the Follow That Dream label.

 

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/lost_in_hollywood.shtml

 

The Unmaking of Elvis Presley: New Reissues 1960-1972

 

Interesting article provoked from the author reading Peter Guralnick's second Elvis Biography, Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley B)

 

http://www.stereophile.com/musicrecordings/751/index.html

 

The Lisa Marie – Convair 880 Jet

 

A great article about Elvis’ famous plane

 

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/lisa_marie...r_880_jet.shtml

 

Not from Elvis Australia, but some great interviews all the same

 

From the FECC forum

 

 

Sonny West spent 16 years “taking care of business” for Elvis Presley, first as his general assistant in Hollywood and later as his head of security as Elvis toured from 1969-1976.

More than 30 years after Elvis’ death, West’s protective instincts haven’t faded as he works to protect the King’s legacy.

“There was a magic about him that once he hooked you, you did not want to let go,” West said about Elvis during a phone interview Thursday afternoon. “He knew that he had it, but he didn’t know why.”

West and another one of Elvis’ friends, Sandi Pichon, will be making an appearance in Wytheville on March 1 at the Wohlfahrt Haus Dinner Theatre’s production of “Memories of the King,” starring Elvis tribute artist Stephen Freeman.

 

Pichon and West will visit with audience members and sign copies of their books about their time with Elvis both before and after the matinee and evening performances on March 1. The pair will also share some of their memories of Elvis during a segment of the performance.

 

In addition, West said he will have DVDs for sale that document some of the stories he plans to share.

This is the second year that the Wohlfahrt Haus has featured an Elvis production by Freeman. But Jill Godfrey, Wohlfahrt Haus’ associate artistic director, said this year’s show has many differences from Freeman’s prior production, calling it “more of a play” about Elvis’ life than just songs, although there still will be plenty of Elvis’ music.

Godfrey said having Pichon and West make an appearance at the show gives the production more believability.

 

“It just makes it a little more credible,” she said.

Pichon, who lives in Slidell, La., said during a phone interview Monday that she got connected with the Wohlfahrt Haus through her friend Linda Lee of Independence, who is a fan of Freeman’s performances.

Having a play about Elvis’ life along with a performance of some of his songs makes Freeman’s production unusual, Pichon said.

“It’s an interesting concept and to me that’s what sets him apart,” Pichon said, adding that she’s looking forward to seeing Freeman perform for the first time. “When you’re in our position, you hear way too many Elvis tribute artists.”

 

Nevertheless, Pichon said every Elvis tribute artist that she’s seen perform, even ones that didn’t capture him perfectly, helps to keep Elvis’ legacy alive.

“Most of them really have a good heart and they love Elvis,” Pichon said. “I know that in their heart they’re doing something that’s a tribute.”

Pichon added that she doesn’t necessarily look for someone who tries to completely mimic Elvis.

Often, she said, the voice is more important than the costume or the sideburns.

“You can’t improve on the original,” Pichon said. “It’s supposed to be a tribute and not an impersonation…I look for a person’s individuality to show through.”

 

Pichon and West had two extremely different experiences during their respective first meetings with Elvis.

West, now 69, first met Elvis in 1958 through his cousin, Red West, at one of Elvis’ famous skating parties where they played a game dubbed “War” – which West described as a combination of “roller derby, wrestling and football.”

Although West, who now lives in Hendersonville, Tenn., said he had a reputation as a “tough guy” from his youth growing up in the Lamar Terrace housing development in Memphis, Tenn., on the first night he met Elvis he recalled getting beaten up by a girl with much better skating abilities than he had.

West and Elvis hit it off, though, and Elvis overlooked West’s less-than-intimidating “War” performance when he later put his trust in West to protect him on tour.

 

Pichon, on the other hand, was just an 11-year-old girl in 1956 when she heard about the up-and-coming star that lived at 1034 Audubon Drive, two miles from her home.

Having heard that Elvis was welcoming toward the neighborhood kids, Pichon showed up at his house.

“I’d never seen anything like him before because he was so beautiful,” she said. “He just had such a sweet personality.”

Taking Elvis at his word to “come back any time,” Pichon said that over the next year, until her family moved to Florida, she regularly stopped by the Presley house after school, often visiting with Elvis’ mom, Gladys, even when Elvis was out of town.

“We had no idea of the magnitude of where he was going at that point,” she said.

 

As West and Elvis were making movies in Hollywood during the 1960s, Pichon went on with her life.

In 1972, though, Pichon went to a concert and Red West recognized her as the little girl who used to visit Elvis. From 1972-1977, Pichon estimated that she saw 150 Elvis concerts, often getting invited up to Elvis’ hotel suite after the show to chat with Elvis and his friends.

“I guess I was a fan who became a friend,” Pichon said, adding that she doesn’t want to mischaracterize herself as being closer to Elvis than she actually was. “I never asked for more than I received.”

Even as he became a larger-than-life star, Pichon said Elvis stayed humble.

“He never took it for granted that people knew who he was.” Pichon recalled. “He would always say, ‘Hello, I’m Elvis Presley.’”

West said the fans sometimes presented more of a security challenge than violent would-be assassins.

He said people often would be so eager to touch Elvis or get his attention that they would cause him unintentional harm. He detailed his memory of one female fan who grabbed Elvis’ hair as he tried to enter a cab, causing Elvis to bang his head on the car.

 

West added that protecting Elvis often involved using smarts more than brute strength, from knowing the signs people exhibited before they rushed Elvis to making sure police detained people who made death threats to Elvis before the performer even reached town.

“There’s more to being a bodyguard than just being a big, bad dude,” West said.

Pichon and West said they never expected Elvis to still be so important to so many people even 30 years after his death.

West recalled thinking at a gathering honoring Elvis five years after his death that people would probably soon move on and that Elvis’ influence would begin to fade.

“It got more and more for the simple reason that I did not take into consideration that he would get so many new fans,” West said.

Now as people who knew Elvis firsthand start to age, West said it’s imperative to share the stories of what Elvis was really like.

“I loved the man very much,” West said. “He had such a tremendous influence on me.

 

 

For ticket information to see the March 1 productions with West and Pichon or any of the other Elvis shows go to http://www.wohlfahrthaus.com or call (276) 223-0891 or (888) 950-3382.

Nate Hubbard can be reached at 228-6611 or nhubbard@wythenews.com.

 

And another :cheer:

 

Don’t know the original source of this interview that I found on another forum, but it’s great to hear Glen D. Hardin talk about life with Elvis. He’s a lovely guy who’s still rocking with TCB Band :dance:

 

Q : Tell us about the first time you met Elvis and what was that like?

A : I met him the first time when I went to an audition to play the Las Vegas show. I didn't go the first time in 1969. But I, after that, Larry Muhoberac, playing the piano before me, for reasons of his own, didn't want to go on the road anymore. Anyway, the boys in the band leaned on me and wanted to come and do it, so I went down for a little audition. I can't remember when it was. It was in L.A. somewhere. And, I met him. It was very easy. I enjoyed his company very much. It was very easy. We just sit down and ran through a few of his old numbers and of course, I pretty well knew. Y'know. I grew up with his music like everyone else. And, we had a pretty good time. It didn't take very long. And, he knew that I was friends of all the boys in the band. And, so we auditioned for just a little while. And, he said, "Man, I really like how you play." He said "Let's go out in the hallway and make a deal." So, we stepped out in the hall and chatted for just a minute about it, about money and whatever. And, shook hands and that was it.

 

Q : Doing the filming of "Thats The Way It Is," was Elvis really up for that show? Tell us a little bit about the rehearsal. Tell us memories about when he goofed off.

 

A : Oh, he goofed off an awful lot. He enjoyed. First off, he enjoyed being together with everybody. He liked to hang out with the boys and the singers and everybody. We got a lot of work done, but we did goofed off a lot. We arm wrestled and send out for pizza. Just hang out and have a good time. It was always very easy.

 

Q : I heard Elvis ate pizzas without the crust? Is that right?

 

A : I don't remember.

 

Q : Elvis used to throw water on you. What started all that when you played piano for him?

 

A : Well, he would throw water in my direction and some time it would connect. But, the first time he did that, I brought an umbrella up to the very next show. Had it sitting right up there on the piano. And, of course, he thought that was wonderfully funny. And he didn't throw water until I didn't bring the umbrella. And, as soon as he didn't see the umbrella there again, he started throwing water again.

 

Q : Wasn't the intro with the piano with "I Cant Stop Loving You" and "Release Me," pretty close together?

 

A : Yeah, he asked for "I Cant Stop Loving You," and I played the intro to "Release Me," which is just about the same thing. And, it was just pretty funny. He made fun of me and all that.

 

Q : He pulled practical jokes on all the guys?

 

A : So many things. Y'know, when you worked with him, you had to keep your eyes on him. You had to watch him very carefully because he was all over the place. Y'know, walked over to way over to the far side of the stage. You really had to watch him or you'd miss something. Because he had a lot of body language. Y'know, and, the funny thing was if you did watch him, he was very easy to read and you'd always know what was going on.

 

Q : Did Elvis ever tell you what he wanted or did he just went by your playing?

 

A : I don't ever remember him telling me to change anything. I'm sure he would have if he wanted it different and I'd do that for him. But, he was usually just very easy. He liked the way we played and we usually just sit down and hit a groove and just do it.

 

Q : You made arrangements for Elvis?

 

A : Well, I did a lot of their orchestra stuff, mostly. Stuff like "American Trilogy," "The Wonder of You," "I Can't Stop Loving You," "You've Lost That Loving Feeling." A whole lot. I can't remember all of them. But, it was a lot of music.

 

Q : What was it like touring with Elvis?

 

A : It was fun. Y'know. We had a standing invitation to come up and hang out every night. On the road or in Las Vegas or to Palm Springs. We all lived in California. And, so that made it fun, always had somewhere to go and hang out. Cause everybody in town would be there, most of time, y'know. So that was fun. It was very tiring to be on tour because we never had a day off.

 

Q : Tell us about a typical tour. A rundown on how you prepared, got on the road, the hotels. Was it the same?

 

A : It was mostly the same year after year. If he was going to do some new songs we would usually get together in L.A. or somewhere and rehearse and run through them a bit. And, iron everything out. Then we had our band and singers. We had our airplane and Elvis had his. And, the colonel had his. And, of course we always were invited to ride in Elvis airplane if we wanted to and we did that quite often.

 

Q : You played at the Astrodome with Elvis. Tell us the logistics of the building. Did you have a tough time with the sound bouncing back?

 

A : It was difficult to play in the Astrodome because it was just so big, y'know. And, they had us on a silly little old flattrailer that they brought us out in the middle of the ring around and finally to a stop. Yeah, there was music coming back at us and y'know, when we'd do a song, it seemed like it would take a few seconds for the applause. You didn't know if they were reacting or not. Then, finally, you'd hear it. And, also you felt like you were sitting out there playing by yourself. Y'know, there was not any surrounding sound. So, it was really difficult to play.

 

Q : Did you guys ever have your monitors kicked up to hear yourselves?

 

A : We always had a very strange monitor set up. It was just kind of one big mix. You couldn't really get what you might want. But, I could usually make out okay. I could hear myself a little bit and I would just wing it. Y'know.

 

Q : Was the Aloha concert just another concert or did you have to prepare for that?

 

A : No, the Aloha Special was very special. We worked on a bunch of new songs for it. We actually went to Hawaii and played a few months before we did the real show. So, we had worked on it and perfected it and rehearsed a bit in Honolulu. I think we went over and had several days, maybe a week, close to a week to get ready and do it. But, everybody had a feeling that it was a very special thing y'know because it went out live to the far east. And, it was real enjoyable to do. But, y'know, we started shootin' the show at two thirty in the morning. That's kind of a strange time to start a concert. That's because it went out live to the far east.

 

Q : What was Elvis like in his preparation for the Hawaii show? Was he up for it?

 

A : Yeah, he was very much for it. He had lost a little bit of weight. He wasn't very heavy or anything but he lost a few pounds. He was very trim. And, he was in very good voice. He was feeling good and doing well.

 

Q : What was Elvis feelings about the show after it aired?

 

A : Well, I never heard him say but, I'm sure he was pleased with it. I'm pretty sure it was. I know I was. I thought it was a great show.

 

Q : How was the Vegas shows like? Was it tough? Was it any different?

 

A : Yeah. Very different. In Las Vegas, we'd do two shows a night. When we first started doing it, we'd go over there and do a whole month. Y'know, so, that was very tiring. I mean it was just such a routine we'd fall into, y'know. We stayed up all night and sleep all day. And, it gets very boring y'know. After about three days in Las Vegas, it's enough, y'know.

 

Q : How was the audience and Elvis? Did he have fun with his audience?

 

A : He did, especially in Las Vegas, he had a lot of fun with his audience because he was very close to them. They were right there in front of us. So, he would kibbitz with the audience a lot. Kiss a lot of girls. Walk up and down. He was very close to the audience there.

 

Q : Was it a lot looser in Las Vegas?

 

A : Yeah. Very loose in Las Vegas.

 

Q : Did a lot of people come up to his suite? Would celebrities come to hang out?

 

A : Yeah. A lot of people that were in town. People appearing in other places. celebrities. And, he always told us that we could bring any of our friends that we wanted to. He was very generous, y'know. He would always come over and say hello to our friends and talk to them. There was a big bar up there. He didn't drink but there was always plenty to drink up there. It was a great place to be. It was such a huge suite up there. He'd hang out until he got bored with it and he'd just go to bed but the party would just go right on, y'know. So, we'd just watch the sun come up there on the 30th floor. It's beautiful with those mountains back there y'know.

 

Q : I interviewed Glen Campbell, Kenny Rogers and Mac Davis. Do you have any memories of them visiting Elvis?

 

A : Yeah, I think, I remember Mac Davis being around a time or two. I remember Kenny being around. I know all three of those guys.

 

Q : What would Elvis like to do in his suite? Did he sing or just like to talk?

 

A : A lot of both. Most of the time we like to sit around and talk and have a good time. Tell stories. Sometimes he'd talk about being in the army. I'd talk about being in the navy. Y'know, it was just one big boys club is what it was.

 

Q : Do you remember when three guys jumped up on stage and do you know the story? Can you tell us about that?

 

A : Yeah, three guys in Las Vegas, I'm not sure what that was all about. Someone said they wanted to shake his hand but I'm not sure of that. But, anyway, Red and Sonny West were spun into action really quick and took care of that matter.

 

Q : Did the guy take a swing at Elvis?

 

A : I think he kind of lunged at him or something. Maybe, he did want to just shake his hand, I don't know. But, he didn't get very far.

 

Q : How about the death threats against Elvis? Were you around when they did that?

 

A : I think there was some death threats. I'm not sure if it was a serious matter or not. I guess it's always serious when it's a death threat. It might have been somebody who wanted to be in on the party and they weren't invited. Or something, I don't know. I think the FBI was in on it. They were looking around. Seeing what was going on.

 

Q : Was Elvis very concerned about that.

 

A : He talked about it but I don't know if he was real concerned because he had a lot of security around him.

 

Q : In Vegas, do you remember any pranks that he pulled? He seemed to have a little more time to do something like that.

 

A : I can't remember, he did so many things. He would change the set list. We had always had a set list to follow but you could be sure that's not what's going to happen.

 

Q : What was it that Elvis would throw you off guard and do whatever song he wanted to?

 

A : He might just go out into it, just a capella. Y'know. We'd jump in and catch him. It might be some song he never recorded, y'know. Just some old song that he liked. And, we were very good about having it covered.

 

Q : Elvis really throw you off during rehearsals? I just want to cover his sense of humor and funny stuff he might have said.

 

A : Well, he did play "Stump the Band" all the time. But, we watched him so carefully that he really appreciated the fact that we were really hard to stump.

 

Q : When was the last time you saw Elvis?

 

A : The last live concert I did with him was New Year's Eve 1975 at Pontiac Stadium up in Michigan. But, did go to Graceland in March of 76 to make an album with him there. We recorded two albums there at different times.

 

Q : Tell us about the Pontiac show. Actually that was the biggest crowd Elvis ever played for?

 

A : I don't know, but it was a very big crowd. It was a huge place. What I remember about that Pontiac stadium was that it was so cold, I mean, it was just incredibly cold. Wish I knew how cold it was. My hands didn't work. It didn't matter because nobody elses worked either. It was just real hard to play and the audience was so far away and it seemed so unreal. And it was just painfully cold.

 

Q : Wasn't the band in the orchestra pit and Elvis didn't like that? I heard stories about that.

 

A : He was up on some kind of a riser and we were on a lower level all the way around. And, It wasn't a very comfortable set-up. Y'know. I'm sure it wasn't comfortable for him. And, it wasn't for us. It made it difficult, y'know. We needed to be right behind him and in a group. Then it's much better.

 

Q : Tell us about how Elvis felt about Memphis?

 

A : Well, I guess he loved Memphis. I guess because he always lived here, y'know. He spent a lot of time in L.A., of course. But, he spent a lot of time here. So, I'm sure he liked Memphis a lot.

 

Q : When was the last time you saw Elvis?

 

A : It would have been in March of 76 when I went to Graceland to do that album.

 

Q : Can you tell us how was Elvis recording at his own home?

 

A : He just wanted to be comfortable and they brought a recording, a mobile unit truck y'know, parked in the backyard and run the wires and microphones and things into the house. And set it up as best they could. It was a pretty good place to record. It was comfortable.

 

Q : Did Elvis ever change mood in the studio, different color lights, the way he dressed, police outfit, etc.?

 

A : Well, he did come down in a policemans uniform. I think it was that March. He showed up one night, I mean, in a complete uniform, the hat, the tie and everything. It was pretty funny. I think he showed up about four a.m. and sung til noon. And, we were wore out.

 

Q : Did he ever get different clothes at Graceland for you guys to wear?

 

A : I wasn't there when he passed out the clothes. But, he did that one night he took everybody up there and started putting clothes on them. It was pretty funny they said.

 

Q : Where were you when you found out Elvis passed away?

 

A : Actually, I was in Memphis. I was here playing a concert with Emmylou Harris and we opened for Willie Nelson. And, I came down to the coffee shop sometime in the morning. And, a friend of mine told me that and I just couldn't believe it. Y'know. I just couldn't believe it. I was dumbfounded like everyone else. I thought about it for awhile but I didn't go over to Graceland or anything because I knew that there were people from all over the world and it was just going to be a madhouse, which it was. Yknow.

 

Q : Thanks a lot for your memories of Elvis.

 

Another article on Elvis Australia, this time about Elvis and Jackie Wilson B)

 

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/jackie_wil...s_presley.shtml

 

The Lisa Marie – Convair 880 Jet

 

A great article about Elvis’ famous plane

 

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/lisa_marie...r_880_jet.shtml

Following on from this article about the 'Lisa Marie'

 

Elvis adds ‘Lisa Marie’ to his fleet of planes – original newspaper article from the Memphis Press-Scimitar November 1975

 

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/elvis_adds..._to_fleet.shtml

 

Elvis buys manager $1.2 million plane – original newspaper article from the Memphis Commercial Appeal July 27th 1975

 

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/elvis_buys...ger_plane.shtml

 

Actor Pat Harrington talks about Elvis:

 

Pat Harrington co-starred with Elvis in Easy Come, Easy Go. He is perhaps best known for his role as Dwayne "Schneider" in the long running sitcom "One Day At A Time":

 

DF: You were in a film with Elvis Presley, Easy Come, Easy Go (1967). Any good Elvis stories?

 

PH: When I did Easy Come, Easy Go, Elvis was at the top of his game. That's when he was the Elvis that we all know. He was lean -- 168 pounds, 160 pounds -- lean! He was quick and fast, and he was into all that karate stuff.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/patharrington_eceg.jpg

The difficulty with Elvis was that he was surrounded by nine guys named "Red." Red Jones and Red Brown and RedBrown-Jones, you know, those guys. So you couldn't get close to Elvis.

 

When we did a scene, then I had him to myself. He would never get it on the first take or the 10th, but eventually he'd get it. We would talk in between, and I said to him, "Elvis, I can make you laugh." He'd say, "Oh, you can't make me laugh." And I'd say, "Yes, I can." So he said, "All right, next take." And I said, "Next take is going to be tough for you. [The shot's] going to be over my shoulder on you."

 

So the scene starts and I flared my nostrils just a little bit -- nobody else could see that except him. And he started to laugh uncontrollably.

 

DF: And nobody else could see it because the shot was on him--

 

PH: Nobody could see it!

 

DF: Did he have a little more respect for your comedic abilities afterwards?

 

PH: No...he was pissed! [* Don't think pissed means the same in America as it does here. Don't think drink is involved :unsure: ]

 

Complete Interview Pat Harrington: http://allday.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/02/26/701886.aspx

 

Mary Ann Mobley Remembers the King

 

Mary Ann Mobley the former Ole Miss majorette, Miss Mississippi and Miss America who was the co-star of two 1965 Elvis movies. 'The first day I came onto the set I was nervous because it was my first movie... I thought I was not pretty enough to be in movies, but I loved doing musicals' ... But the first day, Elvis said, 'Where's Mary Ann's chair?' And in the twinkling of an eye, so to speak, a chair with my name on it miraculously appeared. And I felt accepted'.

 

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/interview_...nn_mobley.shtml

 

 

Mary Ann Mobley Remembers the King

 

Mary Ann Mobley the former Ole Miss majorette, Miss Mississippi and Miss America who was the co-star of two 1965 Elvis movies. 'The first day I came onto the set I was nervous because it was my first movie... I thought I was not pretty enough to be in movies, but I loved doing musicals' ... But the first day, Elvis said, 'Where's Mary Ann's chair?' And in the twinkling of an eye, so to speak, a chair with my name on it miraculously appeared. And I felt accepted'.

 

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/interview_...nn_mobley.shtml

 

 

Well she got his chair, and i got his knee :yahoo:

 

 

 

 

Otis Blackwell and Elvis

 

Otis Blackwell was reportedly a very quiet man. Yet in truth he didn't need to speak much, as his wonderful songs spoke in volumes. 'Don't Be Cruel', 'All Shook Up', 'Paralyzed' and 'Great Balls Of Fire' are among the rock and roll treasures he created'

 

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/otis_blackwell.shtml

 

Writing for the King: The Songs and the Writers Behind Them

 

'Any good singer that's smart knows where his material comes from and then where to go get it', adds Fike. 'It's a business. Elvis was respectful of the writers. He loved Mort Shuman, Doc Pomus stuff and Mike Stoller and Jerry's Leiber stuff. He also liked Don Robertson's music, which was very country. When material came in from any of those writers, he would listen to it real fast'.

 

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/writing_fo...ken_sharp.shtml

 

Elvis always made the songs his own. :cheer: I love to listen to alot of his gospel music. :wub:

Couple more interviews B)

 

Wanda Jackson owes a debt to Elvis Presley

I just want you all to know that without the encouragement of Elvis Presley, I may never have even recorded rock 'n' roll or rockabilly'. Wanda Jackson

 

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/wanda_jackson.shtml

 

Interview with Wanda

 

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/interview_...a_jackson.shtml

 

Interview with Dr. Lester Hoffman - Elvis' Dentist

 

Interview with Elvis' dentist, Dr. Lester Hoffman who first met Elvis just after he had come back from Hawaii, from making Blue Hawaii. 'It was my day out of the office, the girl called me and said, There's a phone call, somebody said Elvis Presley needs a dentist'. The last known photo of Elvis Presley - August 16, 1977 was taken as he was returning from a visit with Dr. Hoffman.

 

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/interview_...r_hoffman.shtml

 

Elvis Duets Interview With George Klein

 

Scott Jenkins interviewed George Klein this week about the Elvis Duets tape George has possession of with recordings of Help Me with Larry Gatlin, Guitar Man with Jerry Reed and Blue Suede Shoes with Carl Perkins. George reveals if the Elvis recording of Blue Suede Shoes used is a live or studio recording and tells us that this was a totally different project, it was to be called Elvis and Friends.

 

Articles by Scott Jenkins

 

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/george_kle...interview.shtml

 

More news on the GK Duets

 

Sony BMG Have Elvis Duets Tape

Ernst Jørgensen has told us that Sony BMG have the Elvis Duets tapes. Ernst told us today 'George Klein has already approached SONY/BMG on this issue. We have told him that we are not interested in buying his tape, as we already paid for these sessions and have the tapes ourselves. I don't understand why Mr. Klein brings up this issue again. Obviously all rights are with SONY/BMG and the various singers'.

 

Elvis News - By: Elvis Australia (Source: Ernst Jogensen) March 24, 2008