Elvis Presley

Jay Leno's Garage: Cars and Music
The likeable talkshow host & car enthusiast met Sammy Hagar, Brad Paisley, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Kelly Rowland, talked about car songs like Little Red Corvette and Little Deuce Coupe, but most amusingly visited a mobile museum dedicated to Elvis Presley. In a bizarrely small space, for $10, visitors can see assorted memorabilia from Elvis' skillet, his TCB necklace, and some bottled water. Only in America...

Was watching Leo Sayer being interviewed this morning, plugging his imminent UK tour, and among other news, he told of having spoken to Elvis Presley the night before he died. Supposedly, Elvis raved about "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" and invited him over to come and make music.
But next morning, he was dead

There have been many shows & some repeats to mark the 40th anniversary of the great man's death.

Joanna Lumley - Elvis and Me
This 2015 show was in some ways a glorified plug for that album which featured his vocals added to an orchestral production. Jo met Priscilla Presley and was shown around Graceland. Jo also met some of his friends from Tupelo, the DJ George Klein, an early girlfriend in Dixie Locke, the clothes shop owner Hal Lansky whose father helped provide his clothes, and so on. It did make a change to see and understand his Tupelo upbringing in rough parts of town, and then the blues influence in Memphis, where he made his own recordings at first. Jo's conclusion was that the death of his mother around the time of his time as a GI had a detrimental effect (understandably) as he was close to his mother, and the dubious Colonel Tom provided a dominating fatherly guide.

The World's Most Photographed - Elvis Presley
Part of a 2005 series, this half-hour considered those who took pictures of the raw untrained Elvis, before Colonel Tom started clamping down the rough edges of his image and put him in crap movies. It did point up that his mother died 19 years and 2 days before her son.

The Seven Ages of Elvis
A quirky new effort which looked at his career in 7 stages: Elvis the Child, Elvis the Pelvis, Elvis the Soldier, Hollywood Elvis, '68 Comeback Elvis, Vegas Elvis and Dead Elvis. Many of the familiar faces like Mike Stoller and DJ Fontana were present and correct, and looking pretty ill in some cases. What struck me was that having escaped from his movie slough of despond with the 68 comeback, he was then trapped on a live treadmill instead, accelerating his decline. Such a sad waste.

Elvis: The Rebirth of the King
With this being the 50th anniversary of the '68 Comeback Special, this doc focused on how the special rescued his career from the stranglehold of Colonel Tom Parker, and how he was inspired by Roy Hamilton to move into a fresher musical direction. The problem was that any success became short-lived, and once Parker contracted Elvis into long runs at Vegas, he was in an even worse state than he had been in his movies, with the inevitable, tragic consequence.

National Enquirer Investigates... Death of a King
Amusing if uninspiring account of the usual story, with only hairstylist Larry Geller speaking up from the contingent of people who actually met & knew Elvis. The usual stories of whether he might have faked his death, and the degree of drug-taking involved, competed with allegations that the Mafia took him out because he was part of a US government sting operation, or that he committed suicide. Perhaps the freshest story, to me, was the person who claimed that she was the real Lisa Marie Presley, having been substituted for safety when young and packed off to Sweden, safe from retaliation. It was debunked in court, but the idea of a real child being replaced has been a topic of fantasy from less rational times onwards.

His drummer DJ Fontana has died at the age of 87 

The drummer, whose full name was Dominic Joseph Fontana, played on more than 450 Elvis songs, including Hound Dog and Jailhouse Rock.
He also featured on Elvis's legendary 1968 TV show, which has become known as the '68 Comeback Special.

He was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2009 and joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later that year in the sideman category.

He was the last surviving member of Elvis' band, and he passed away in his sleep. I always thought he came across well. RIP

Celebrity Mysteries: Elvis Presley - Is The King Truly Dead?
Dear oh dear. Was it really his body in the coffin, or a wax dummy? Why was the funeral so soon after his death? Why was his middle name mis-spelled on the tombstone? Why did he withdraw $1m the day before? Similarly, why take out a huge insurance policy? Was he spotted booking a flight to Argentina under an alias? Was it a different body in the autopsy? Was he the target of the Mafia, in relation to work for the FBI? Was there a DNA mix-up? Did he tell an audience that he'd look better dead?
The short answer to all this is - yes, he is.

Elvis and the Girl From Vienna
James Forsher told the story of his mother Trude, who briefly became secretary to Colonel Tom & Elvis at the time of his early movies and before he went into the Army. But her marriage was in difficulties, and she and her husband wanted to go their separate ways. The so-called Colonel felt this would reflect badly on his client, and warned her she'd be fired if it happened. But it did, and that was the end of her association. She went on to work in television development and do quite well.

Elvis Presley: The Searcher
Lengthy two-part effort using the technique of hearing the voices of contributors whilst showing clips of Elvis in illustration. This could cover some of the speech being old (such as those long dead). Some of the more interesting voices came from performers like Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty who had plenty to say at various points. There was much scorn for the Colonel's idea of good business, although not really hammering home the point that his short-term thinking meant disaster in the long-term. Elvis seems to get a twice-yearly burst of these sorts of docs, marking his birthday and his deathday.

Elvis and the Memphis Mafia
Amusing, though melancholic, story of how Elvis put together a band of friends to give him someone to turn to in the absence of his mother. Some of them think he was forced to marry Priscilla against his wishes (!). He burnt too much midnight oil, larking in Vegas nightlife. He was naïve about his drug abuse - how much recreation did he need? He was temperamental, had many flings, received death threats. The so-called Colonel was a ferocious gambler. Perhaps a lighter moment came when hairdresser Larry Geller was brought in by Elvis to discuss spiritual matters - as other "mafiosas" felt he was a bad influence! A rather sobering graphic at the end listed how several of those interviewed had died now (though not Larry).

Elvis: The Missing Years
Chiefly the Army years, which involved 2-3 guys who enlisted with Elvis talking about how they got on, how he kept on with music, and looked for love.

Elvis: The Missing Years - At The Movies
Additional to the above, a run-through of some of his songs from his films. Entertainingly, the compilers omitted any of his big hits, possibly for rights reasons, which did at least allow some of the lesser lights to shine that bit brighter for once.

Rock N Roll RoadTrip w/Sammy Hagar - One Bourbon, One Santo, One Beer
Sam went to Graceland, and chatted to Angie Marshall about assorted memorabilia and exhibits; jumpsuits, the gold lame suit, clothes from the '68 special, rare rings etc.
The bulk of the show was an interview with George Thorogood about his career, his early success, his big hits, getting an early thumbs-up from David Geffen, how Elvis made an impact even in North Delaware on the young George, how he's kept a band together for 45 years by paying them respectfully. They played "Move It On Over" to finish, and George gave Sammy a "White Fang" guitar.

misery guts wrote:National Enquirer Investigates... Death of a King
Amusing if uninspiring account of the usual story, with only hairstylist Larry Geller speaking up from the contingent of people who actually met & knew Elvis. The usual stories of whether he might have faked his death, and the degree of drug-taking involved, competed with allegations that the Mafia took him out because he was part of a US government sting operation, or that he committed suicide. Perhaps the freshest story, to me, was the person who claimed that she was the real Lisa Marie Presley, having been substituted for safety when young and packed off to Sweden, safe from retaliation. It was debunked in court, but the idea of a real child being replaced has been a topic of fantasy from less rational times onwards.

Storyville - Scandalous! The True Story of the National Enquirer
I thought there might be more music elements to this, but the only one really was the tale of how the NE got the photo of the dead Elvis in his coffin (imagination and money, much as you'd expect).

Tragic news that his sole grandson, Ben Keough, has died. He was 27:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53387574

RIP 

Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii
A lengthy musical experience, as the sequinned white jumpsuit gets its big chance, and Elvis brings the hits, and throws in covers like Something and My Way and Johnny B Goode and Fever. He could have moved with the times in the 1970s instead of being stuck in aspic.

Elvis's Greatest Moments
Another "top 30" rundown featuring the same sorts of celebrities and "fans" with the occasional biographer to add legitimacy, plus vintage clips. The top 3 were his death, his commercial afterlife, and Heartbreak Hotel. So, rather less organised than some.

TOTP2
An Elvis special from 1997, marking the 20th anniversary of his death. As the show was still then in its more organised years, there were some predictable moments (the Stylistics, Alison Moyet), but also the less so (Bryan Ferry, Cher), and closed with some vintage stuff of the man himself.

Ronnie Tutt, a drummer in Elvis' band during his later Vegas years, has died at 83. RIP 

The Frank Sinatra Timex Hour - Welcome Home, Elvis
The last in a series, as Frank sings a few, lets Sammy Davis Jr sing and do impressions, has Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford around too, not to mention daughter Nancy, oh, and he lets Elvis make his first post-army telly appearance, singing Stuck On You, not to mention the famous medley with Frank.

Eilbheas
A Gaelic language drama from 2008, with Sean Macleod as an aspiring punk in 1977 who gets visited by Elvis just after the big man dies. Elvis, played by Greg Hemphill, encourages Sean to sort out his family issues, and ensures Sean makes it to the all-important talent contest to perform his self-penned anthem "Get lost, ghost". Quite straightforward in the end, but emotional with it.

There's a new biopic of the fella out, went down well at the Cannes Film Festival.

Our Lives: Mad About Elvis
The 4-day festival at Porthcawl in South Wales, some of the tribute/impersonators discussed, some old, some young, some deluded. All popular (sort of).

misery guts wrote:Elvis: The Missing Years
Chiefly the Army years, which involved 2-3 guys who enlisted with Elvis talking about how they got on, how he kept on with music, and looked for love.

Private Elvis
Can't swear to it, but this one felt (and sounds) like the above. Some folk who were enlisted at the same time as Elvis, some whom he met at different billets, his secretary, and the "Dutch Elvis", Pim Maas, offered some variety from the tales of what a decent, diligent bloke Elvis was.

ELVIS: That's The Way It Is
Might have seen this before but not for a very long time. The 2000 remastering of a film made around 1970 as he was starting out in Vegas. The first third sees rehearsals on material including versions of Bridge Over Troubled Water and Get Back, and even the Bee Gees' Words. The later live stuff has rather more of his familiar hits, a memorably creepy version of Love Me Tender which involves him snogging numerous ladies in the crowd, and the occasional otherwise forgotten number like Polk Salad Annie.

misery guts wrote:Tragic news that his sole grandson, Ben Keough, has died. He was 27:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53387574

RIP 

More shocking and sad news today as Lisa Marie Presley has been confirmed dead. She was only 54. She'd had a busy and mixed life in the shadow of her father. RIP