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We just learned the legendary director/producer Dwight Hemion passed away on Monday, January 28th.

Dwight Hemion, who directed the 1977 CBS Special Elvis in Concert has died aged 81.

In his prolific career, he garnered 47 Emmy nominations in his career and won 18. He is best-known for producing specials with such legends as Julie Andrews, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Frank Sinatra, and Barbra Streisand.

Dwight Hemion created a legacy of television specials, with an exhaustive list of shows featuring Frank Sinatra, Neil Diamond, Pavarotti, Sammy Davis Jr., John Wayne, Barbara Streisand ,Ann Margret and Elvis Presley.

Elvis In Concert was filmed just six weeks before the singer’s death and although the show was original broadcast on television, it has never been officially released on video or DVD.

The new Spankox remix single "Baby Let's Play House" was all over the Belgian and Dutch media this week.

Radio stations and news papers reported about the vinyl-CD. It wasn't the remix that triggered the attention, but the combination of gold old vinyl and a modern CD.

This attached clipping is from De Telegraaf, Holland's most read (3 million readers) news paper.

This is the new 3-CD 'Love Elvis Can Set' featuring 30 tracks and a similar listing to the 2005 'Love Elvis' BMG CD.

'For The Good Times' is still noted as 'previously unreleased Alternate Take 3'.

2008/01/31 Barry Mclean - www.elvisinfonet.com / www.epgold.com

While on the topic of auctions as above - spotted on Ebay an Elvis RCA 78rpm of 'Blue Moon' up for opening bid of $2.5 Million! Genuinely worth around $100 there is not even a description of its condition.

If you have money to burn there are three days to go, no bids as yet!

Different sources mentiontioned like ESSENTIAL ELVIS Magazine advertising a new Star Dvd release with the “Best of Star DVD" .

STAR is “made by fans, for the fans” and they will only CONSIDER such a dvd, when the fans can choose there OWN compilation! So everyone, should get their own “best of” .

2008/01/31 Star / www.epgold.com

1. JESUS CHRIST The Christian Lord and Savior
Miracles: 12,875 and counting.
Omipresent.

2. ELVIS PRESLEY The King
Chance still alive: 24%.
Impersonators: 89,023,642.

3. BARACK OBAMA Freshman senator, Illinois
Pretends to be a moderate.
Contender for the presidency.

4. TEDDY ROOSEVELT 26th U.S. President
Cavalry regiment: Rough Riders.
Trusts busted: countless.

5. ERNEST HEMINGWAY American literary genius
Nickname: Papa.
It is all true.

6. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE English playwright, poet
Lived 1564-1616.
Plays, sonnets, poems and scandal.

7. GEORGE WASHINGTON First President of the U.S.
War inadvertently started: French & Indian.
War inadvertently won: American Revolution.

8. CHARLES DARWIN It's evolution, baby!
Seminal work: "On the Origin of Species."
Vessel: HMS Beagle.

9. LEBRON JAMES King James
Aka: Bron Bron.
Most adversity: "Hummergate" scandal.

10. ABRAHAM LINCOLN 16th U.S. President
Personal demons: Many.
Fateful show: "Our American Cousin."'

Following JAT Productions book, Elvis - Portraits due for release in April will be Elvis Concerts which will be released late 2008.

The cover art picture will be that of the one originally planned for Elvis Portrait's.

Elvis - Portraits - original cover art -- Elvis Concerts will use this image of Elvis for it's cover.

Emmylou Harris and Patty Loveless are among the many musicians appearing on Jim Lauderdale and the Dream Players' upcoming album, Honey Songs.

The country project will be released Feb. 19 on Yep Roc.

Other guests include guitarist James Burton, pianist Glen D. Hardin, bassist Gary Tallent (E Street Band), pedal and lap steel player Al Perkins (Flying Burrito Brothers) and drummer Ron Tutt.

Yall, I heard that 3 Six Mafia and Elvis' duet "In The Gettho from VLV might be comin out on 3 Six' next album this year.

Word on the streets here in the Mtown is that it's gotten rave reviews from Myspace and Youtube and 3SM wants to release it as a single.

This could be the remix that gets Elvis back on urban radio yall!

It would be huge for Elvis' image in the hood!

Click Here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=xAMHysgIYsA&feature=related

Colonel Parker would totally approve when the much anticipated Elvis Multi-Strike online slot machine game was launched by Wagerworks last week - and is proving very popular across the Internet. Based on an original favourite, the Elvis brand is one applauded for quality and success.

The online version features the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll himself, Elvis Presley in a feature-rich slot game that Wagerworks boasts is like playing three games at once, with the chance to multiply payline wins for king-sized awards. Also featured are two bonus rounds where the sounds, sights and songs of the undisputed rock ‘n’ roll legend take players back in time to a memorable Las Vegas of the seventies.

Loaded with features, music and pictures of Elvis Presley, together with memorable video footage of some of his most legendary performances, the new game is already proving to be a big hit with all levels of players.

One of the two unique WagerWorks game Bonus features is the Fan-O-Meter Bonus, which presents players with the chance to bet on the crowd’s rousing applause to an Elvis song of their choice. The player selects a concert displayed on one of five television screens, and during the song the crowd goes into celebratory frenzy at different points in the performance. The Fan-O-Meter at the side of the screen indicates the strength of the applause; the louder the applause, the higher the payout.

In the Photo Memories bonus feature, pressing the Spin button starts an arrow spinning on a record surrounded by a collection of Elvis photos. When the arrow stops on a photo, it adds an award to the player’s bonus total and is replaced with a Collect symbol. As the bonus game progresses, additional arrows are added up to a maximum of eight, and the values of the photos increase. However, as photos are collected, more Collect symbols are added to the record, and if an arrow points to a Collect symbol, the bonus is over. A spokesman for the late Colonel Parker said that The Colonel was turning in his grave for not having thought of this marketing idea first.

Released on the At Last Records import Label is a four track CD entitled "Elvis Et Les Filles". The CD comes in its own in plastic sleeve, the cover is just single sheet of paper.

The CD does not appear to be a CD-R.

Tracklisting:

Don’t Cry Daddy – Elvis and Lisa Marie Presley
In The Ghetto – Elvis and Lisa Marie Presley
If I Can Dream – Elvis and Celine Dion
Love Me Tender – Elvis Presley - Linda Ronstadt

Script About Bill, Monica, and Elvis Circulates Around Hollywood.

While investors debateover Oliver Stone (http://www.variety.com/VR1117979349.html)

film "Bush" a script about President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky has quietly circulated around Hollywood.

Set to Elvis Presley music, "Bill and the Silk Box" is a comedy/drama about the popular President, whose Secret Service
nickname was "Elvis."

"Nothing will be more entertaining than for the Clintons and the Bushes to compete at the box office," said Daniel R. Vovak, a screenwriter and owner of Greenwich Creations. "The challenge of writing the script was juggling the political motivations of the characters with the importance of giving the film broad appeal. The Clinton era needs to be put into proper
perspective, with comedy as its medium."

Vovak said he's open regarding casting, contrasting with Stone's narrow approach of portraying Bush as Josh Brolin. He sees Bill Paxton, David Morse, or Tim Robbins in the role as Bill Clinton. Monica Lewinsky could be played by Amanda Bynes, Nia Vadralos, or Minnie Driver. (Hillary Clinton, the former First Lady, does not have any speaking parts.)

Vovak worked ardently to write the movie based on a true story, doing intense research and interviewing some colorful characters. Through his career, Vovak has met James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, and various reporters and White House photographers. He also had the chance to speak with Paula Jones, with whom the President settled a lawsuit for $850,000.

"Talking with the real-life characters gave me a well-rounded perspective of the former President," said Vovak. "I deduced that Bill is a lonely person in private, which is a consistent theme in Elvis' music, and
a perfect hook for the script."

The plot of the film is from July 1995 through January 1998, while the White House was in turmoil over Paula Jones and a brief government shutdown. Meanwhile, Monica Lewinsky was secretly enticed by gifts from Bill. The script also depicts a scheming White House staff that sends Monica to permanent exile in the Pentagon until she licks her wounds and
returns for a place in United States history.

According to Vovak, he has Japanese representation because of the complexity of Elvis music ownership and their overlapping business interests with Elvis Presley Enterprises. Vovak has also written the
movies: Redeeming Stella, Unsilent Partner, and Whereabouts Unknown.

Media contact:

Daniel R. Vovak, Ghostwriter

Greenwich Creations

DanialVovak@gmail.com , 202-367-4835

http://www.greenwichcreations.com/movies

2008/01/30 PRNewswire-USNewswire / www.epgold.com

The ‘That’s All Right’ Duet remix with Elvis Presley and Lucy Clark has been postponed.

The ‘That’s All Right’ Duet remix due for release this week has been postponed for around 3 weeks.

This is due to a number of factors including, that we cannot get it fast enough to all the music download stores at the same time, meaning it would only be available in limited stores.

Also a delay in the video shoot for the promotional campaign that starts in 3 weeks across radio stations in Europe.

The Mix will be available before the end of February and will also be an additional Radio Edit version different available to the version we already know. So in total there will be 3 mixes of the duet remix. More details to follow.

Note EpGold:

Elvis Express Radio will be airing the new radio edit on it's next all Elvis show, this Friday (1st Feb).

Enjoy
EER-TCE
www.elvis-express.com

Wildfires spread by winds exceeding 50 mph spread through the old Fort Chaffee on Tuesday, engulfing about 150 vacant barracks but sparing the building where Elvis Presley received his military haircut 50 years ago.

Video of the fires showed flames raging sideways rather than upward because of the wind. Elsewhere in Arkansas, the high winds felled trees and knocked out power to about 40,000 homes and businesses.

Sandy Sanders, the former executive director of the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority, said the fires had missed Building 803, where Presley submitted to a buzzcut March 25, 1958.

Some businesses that had moved onto the property since the U.S. military closed the post a decade ago were evacuated and about 20 of those buildings burned, said Dr. Jerry Stewart, the chairman of the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority. No injuries were reported.

The post has housed refugees several times over the years, most recently those from the New Orleans area devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The barracks are inside Fort Smith's city limits, but no residences were in danger, City Administrator Randy Reed said.

"They're old barracks that are no longer in use. These were buildings that were scheduled to come down anyway," Reed said.

Stewart said there were about 600 empty barracks and buildings at the former post and that it would cost an estimated $20 million to demolish them because of worries about asbestos and lead, according to a study of the fort.

Tom Young, chief deputy of the Sebastian County sheriff's office, said the fires started around 11 a.m. and spread quickly.

"Probably within 30 minutes it had quite a bit of the area out there on fire," Young said. "The wind is the main enemy right now. The wind's blowing so hard that it's causing the fires to spread rapidly."

Reed said a grass fire likely spread to the old barracks area because of dry, windy weather. Wind were gusting to 55 mph at midday. The state Forestry Commission said high winds prevented the state from using aerial tankers to fight 31 fires that broke out in the state Monday.

Young said Arkansas 22 in the area was closed. Firefighters asked for help from neighboring counties. "Every fire department in Sebastian County is out working right now," Young said. "It's keeping everybody tied up."

Built in 1941, the 72,000-acre former military base was once the training site for thousands of troops heading overseas during World War II. The installation was closed as an active Army post in 1997. Around that time, about 6,000 acres were declared surplus for private development and the Arkansas National Guard took over security of the remaining 66,000 acres.

Over the past four decades, the post has served three times as a refugee center.

In the mid-1970s, following the end of the Vietnam War and the takeover of South Vietnam by communist North Vietnam, refugees from South Vietnam were housed at Fort Chaffee.

In 1980, it was used to provide housing for refugees from Cuba who arrived in the U.S. in the Mariel Boatlift. A riot among the refugees figured prominently in the campaign for governor that year, and first-term Gov. Bill Clinton lost the election to Republican Frank White.

Most recently, refugees from New Orleans, devastated by Hurricane Katrina, were housed at the post in 2005.

Elsewhere in the state, Entergy Arkansas said 21,000 customers lost power in the Arkansas River Valley because of the high winds; the North Arkansas Electric Cooperative said about 12,000 customers lost power. In western Arkansas, 4,000 Oklahoma Gas & Electric customers at Fort Smith were without power and another 1,400 were without power in Alma and Van Buren.

Little Rock television station KLRT reported that the winds collapsed the roof on an animal shelter at Lonoke, but no animals were hurt.

Elvis’ Close Colleagues Jerry Schilling And Joe Guercio Enter Into Multi-Year Agreements With The Elvis Cruise.

The Elvis Cruise, LLC (the “Cruise”), the only Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) licensed cruise dedicated to the life, times and music of Elvis Presley, has announced that it has signed agreements with Jerry Schilling to act as the Host and Producer of The Elvis Cruise and with Joe Guercio to serve as the Cruises’ Musical Director.

Schilling and Guercio bring decades of professional and personal experience with Elvis Presley to the Cruise’s unique program. In his role as the Cruise’s Host, Schilling, a friend of Elvis for years, is dedicated to making this Elvis experience as authentic and as rich as possible. Guercio, who also was an Elvis close friend and collaborator, will be providing cruisers with the very best in musical production.

“Both Schilling and Guercio were primarily responsible for the various production elements required to make the Cruise a true celebration of Elvis’ music and a tribute to his legacy,” says Michael McKay, Executive Producer of the Cruise.

After meeting Elvis at a local pick up football game in 1954 at the age of 12, Schilling and Elvis became good friends. In 1964 he went to work for Elvis as the youngest member of The Memphis Mafia. Since then, Jerry has spent the last 45 years in the entertainment industry managing such acts as The Beach Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis and Lisa Presley. Some of his TV and film projects include the A&E Biography's on Brian Wilson and Sam Phillips, and co-producing the ABC prime-time television series "ELVIS, the Early Years." Most recently he has released his memoir "Me and A Guy Named Elvis" My Lifelong Friendship with Elvis Presley. Schilling is still involved in developing projects dedicated to experiencing the life and music of Elvis, such as The Elvis Cruise.

“Many people have tried to recreate Elvis, but lost the richness of his soul. So it is exciting to be a part of an experience that has brought that richness and has sought solely to create an entertaining and authentic Elvis experience,” said Schilling. He adds, “I believe Elvis would be proud of what we are doing.”

Best known and admired for his work with Elvis Presley, Guercio has had a prolific career. He was musical director and conductor for Elvis' concert shows from the summer of 1970 to the summer of 1977, when Elvis made his last concert appearance. His other works include: being musical director for the International Hotel in Las Vegas, Diana Ross, Jim Nabors, Florence Henderson, Diahann Carroll, Gladys Knight, Ann-Margret and Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme; being medley arranger for Barbra Streisand’s 1972 hit Sweet Inspiration/Where You Lead; and accompanying blues legend B.B. King to Rome to meet Pope John Paul II and perform in the Vatican's fifth Christmas concert. Guercio's work with Natalie Cole to reunite her on stage in duet with her late father, Nat King Cole, pre-dated her famous early 1990's duet recordings and videos with Mr. Cole.

In addition to being the Musical Director of The Elvis Cruise, Guercio has recently produced The Tanya Tucker Christmas Show.

“Jerry Schilling and Joe Guercio have a genuine personal connection and a history with Elvis Presley. They have put their hearts, souls and wealth of experience into making this program entertaining, authentic and special,” said McKay. “This cruise is the ultimate experience for anyone who admires the work of Elvis, and wishes to mingle and be entertained by the best performers in the music industry.”

The Elvis Cruise, which will embark August 28, 2009, from New Orleans, includes four nights and two afternoons of live onboard entertainment, with each night dedicated to one of the truly spectacular phases of Elvis’ life and career, one afternoon in the Cozumel port of call and many opportunities to interact closely with Elvis’ original cast musical artists.

For more details about the cruise, please visit www.theelviscruise.com , or call 1-800-704-3034.

The King’s onetime queen may be slipping into her blue suede shoes for Dancing with the Stars.

I just got word that Priscilla Presley has signed on, or is close to signing on, to compete in the next season of ABC’s hit dance competition show.

I kid you not.

Nothing's official just yet, but if Ms. Presley goes through with it, the 62-year-old grandmother and former wife of the late Elvis Presley will become the oldest woman to compete on the show. Jane Seymour competed last season at age 56.

The oldest man to do some waltzing is George Hamilton, who gave it a try at age 66 in season two.

I’m told Hamilton’s former Dynasty costar Joan Collins was in talks for some time with Dancing producers, but a deal was never made. Collins is 74!

A rep for the show said she "can't confirm or deny casting rumors for the show." Presley's rep said Presley stated she is not "confirmed to do Dancing." The rep could not confirm nor deny that Presley has been in talks with producers.

Nothing about Mitt Romney brings to mind the hip-swiveling Elvis Presley, but at campaign events along Florida's Gulf Coast this week, the booming thump of Elvis' "A Little Less Conversation" was the musical intro for the crisply pressed and somewhat stiff Romney, now the self-styled Republican presidential candidate of a little more action. "All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me," as the Elvis song goes. "A little more bite and a little less bark, A little less fight and a little more spark."

"America is strong, but Washington is broke," Romney said in a speech in Boca Raton. "This is a time for action and for overcoming the fact that Washington has fundamentally become broken. We simply cannot go on as a nation kicking the ball down the field. It’s time for A Little Less Conversation."

But he’s not the only one to rely on Elvis. Earlier on, Mike Huckabee played bass for much of the morning with his rock-and-roll band “Capitol Offense,” taking the stage at one point with an Elvis impersonator and sang Johnny B. Goode. And last week, Hillary Clinton wore an Elvis Presley purse, when visiting the Peabody Hotel.

It reminds us of the import CD and DVD “Running of President” (Charlotte, N. C., March 20, 1976) where Elvis all of a sudden said: “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to announce that I’m running for President”… If only…

2008/01/30 www.elvismatters.be / www.epgold.com

Faith Hill is set to premiere her performance of Elvis Presley’s classic “That’s All Right,” on Wednesday, January 30th.

After originally recording both “That’s All Right” and “Peace In The Valley” for “Viva Las Vegas,” a 2-hour ABC Network television special honoring the late singer, CMT began airing “Peace In The Valley.” But numerous inquiries were made at faithhill.com requesting “Mama,” and now the Grammy Award winning singer will give the video its online premiere, which can only be seen in its entirety as of 11A.M. EST on www.faithhill.com.

“We recorded “Mama” and “Peace In The Valley,” last year in a completely empty arena, in the round and stripped down, said Faith. “It was a blast. We channeled Elvis by setting the stage as if we were back in 1968 (his comeback special). These songs and being a part of the special reminded me of who he was, what he stood for; he defined what it was and is to be an entertainer.”

The “Viva Las Vegas” special, produced in cooperation with Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc, originally aired on September 18, 2007. The special honored Elvis Presley’s legacy and contribution to contemporary music, and featured some of music’s most influential and talented artists, including Celine Dion, Aerosmith, and Paul McCartney. The complete 2-hour special, which includes Faith’s covers of “That’s All Right Mama” and “Peace in the Valley,” is set for a DVD release in Spring 2008.

For more Faith Hill news and information go to www.faithhill.com

Exclusive on EpGold - Sampler You' Never Walk Alone Take 6

The new „REELTRAX“–label is OUT NOW with a brandnew „77 minutes of listening pleasure“ Import Cd (no Cd-r) entitled „You´ll Never Walk Alone“.

About five years ago the legendary „2001“ label released it´s series „How Great Thou Art Sessions Vol. 1 – 3“ and the content was absolutely fascinating – especially for those who just love to hear how Elvis was working in the studio on „his“ gospel music. Still the three cds suffered quite a bit from rather bad sound.

REELTRAX is now able to present a great variety of HGTA-Outtakes on it´s „You´ll Never Walk Alone“-release in absolutely breathtaking sound – MUCH better than you have heard it before.

And if this would not be enough reason to get the cd while you can: Did you ever hear a complete and uncut 12:32 minutes of the first six takes of the title „You´ll Never Walk Alone“? If not, it is now the chance for it! Needless to say that the sound quality on this real treasure is just perfect! The same goes for the unreleased Take 1 of „We Call On Him“.

„You´ll Never Walk Alone“ contains a 16 page-booklet with all necessary information regarding Elvis´ love for gospel music.

01 – You’ll Never Walk Alone [Takes 1,2,3,4,5,6] – 12:32
02 – We Call On Him [Takes 1,2,3] – 05:47
03 – Run On [Takes 1,2,3,4,5,6] – 10:08
04 – Stand By Me [Takes 8,9,10] – 05:39
05 – Where No one Stands Alone [Takes 1,2] – 05:53
06 – Where No One Stands Alone – workpart [Takes 1,2,3] – 03:42
07 – So High [Takes 2,3] – 02:21
08 – Farther Along ]Takes 1,2] – 04:05
09 – By And By [Takes 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9] – 10:30
10 – Somebody Bigger Than You And I [Takes 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10] – 07:51
11 – If The Lord Wasn’t Walking By My Side [Takes 3,4,5] – 04:04
12 – Statement Ray Walker – 01:05
13 – Statement Joe Moscheo – 01:08
14 – You’ll Never Walk Alone (live July 19, 1975) – 02:21

The next JAT Productions project entitled Portraits,is now adding the back cover as well.

Celebrating twenty years of JAT Productions this special project will be a hardback ALL COLOR BOOK .

This new book is scheduled for the first quarter of 2008.

Live Charity Auction: Friday, February 8th: 5:30 p.m. P.S.T.

February 8th the Grammy Awards Charity Auction, will offer various items of music memorabilia including Elvis's Gretsch guitar used by him during the 1969 Las Vegas Season.

The estimate is $100,000 and will be, as the star lot, auctioned last as Lot #80.

The Gretsch Country Gentleman Guitar was endorsed by Chet Atkins. Elvis, George Harrison and Duane Eddy were among the Country Gentleman Guitar players. Elvis' Gretsch were used both on stage and in the studio. Elvis was photographed extensively with this guitar on opening night at the International in 1969. According to the auction catalogue, there are two models of this guitar. One is housed at Graceland.

After years of filming movies, Presley returned to live performances in Las Vegas at the International (late renamed The Las Vegas Hilton). Rolling Stone called his performance "Supernatural." Accompnaied by a letter of authenticity from Jonathon Taurog, son of Norman Taurog. Norman Taurog was the director of nine Elvis Presley films. Norman Taurog was personally given this guitar by Presley in the 1970s.

TCB, the band that played with the The King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis Presley, in the last years of his carrier are to delight the Bulgarian public with a concert to be staged on January 30. Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)

TCB, the band that played with the The King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis Presley, in the last years of his carrier are to delight the Bulgarian public with a concert to be staged on January 30 in Sofia's National Palace of Culture.

The musicians are to perform a selection of Elvis' greatest hits along with the backup group The Sweet Inspirations, founded in the 1950s by the mother of the pop icon Whitney Houston, Cissy Houston.

The songs will be sung by the special guest of their tour - the Austrian Dennis Jale.

The TCB Band (Takin' Care of Business) is a group of professional musicians,

who formed the core rhythm section of Elvis Presley's band from August 1969 until his death in 1977.

They first appeared live at the King's Las Vegas, Nevada first performance at the Hotel International on July 31, 1969.

The Dutch newspaper 'Eindhovens Dagblad' published an article about the release of the technical innovention of the VinylDisc 'Baby Let's Play House', the remix where you can use the A-side as a single for a recordplayer and the B-side as a regular CD.

The first reactions on the remix where not so positive, but since the release of this item, it has been a popular item for the collectors.

Another buget Cd release by Disky January 25,2008

Trackinglist:

(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear - Jailhouse Rock - All Shook Up - Too Much - Treat Me Nice - Loving You - Playing For Keeps - That's When Your Heartaches Begin - Peace In The Valley - Paralyzed - Party - Mystery Train - Got A Lot Of Lovin' To Do - Trying To Get To You - Lawdy Miss Clawdy - Rip It Up - Long Tall Sally - Old Shep - Blueberry Hill - Have I Told You Lately That I Love You

2008/01/29 Various / www.epgold.com

Dallas-based LAMAR FIKE, one of ELVIS Presley’s legendary “Memphis Mafia” members and currently penning the tome “FIKE: AN UNCOMMON JOURNEY ON ELVIS PRESLEY BOULEVARD” (written with celebrity-author Mark Bego), has formed, effective immediately, DRAWBRIDGE PRODUCTIONS, to “bring under one umbrella” Fike’s many projects, as well as to contain all his “intellectual properties” pertaining to his Presley related projects in the works.

Fike, who ran Presley’s music publishing company (1962-1977), as well as being a principle in a production deal with Jimmy Bowen (while at MCA Records), has written or co-written several tomes in the past relating to his work with Presley, but has now decided to form his own production concern, with business partner Taylor G. Atha.Says Fike, “In addition to the book, there’s also a screenplay in the works based on this book and, I felt at this point, I wanted everything under one banner.”

Fike has also partnered with several financial entities enabling the consolidation of all his activities. Separate deals will be announced at a later date.

2008/01/29 www.timessquaregossip.com / www.epgold.com

Jukebox collector and Luna Park Cafe owner John Bennett poses with some of his cherished machines from the 1940s and '50s at his Jukebox City showroom in Georgetown.

In an era of iPods, Internet radio, DJs and high-tech sound systems, the venerable jukebox is still an object of fascination.

It's hard not to grin when Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock" crackles from the speakers of a 1957 Seeburg jukebox at the Luna Park Cafe, a West Seattle diner caught in a midcentury time warp:

"Let's rock, everybody, let's rock/ Everybody in the whole cell block/ Was dancin' to the jailhouse rock."

Collectors cherish jukeboxes from an era of flamboyant industrial design -- the 1930s, '40s, '50s and '60s. The vintage Seeburg at Luna Park features a glass top, lots of chrome and speakers that resemble the stern of a 1950s Cadillac.

But today's commercial jukebox is more likely to play CDs or download music directly from the Internet -- and take credit cards instead of coins or dollar bills. There may even be a "touch screen" for navigation.

Still, choosing your own music and sharing it with a roomful of people at a bar, cafe or restaurant hasn't lost its allure.

"I just think jukeboxes are cool," says Linda Derschang, managing owner of Linda's Tavern on Capitol Hill.

"I've always been a fan of the dive bar, and a good dive bar has a great jukebox."

Evidence of the jukebox's staying power can be seen all over Seattle, where taverns often have jukeboxes stocked with CDs by such local bands as The Gits, Melvins, Mudhoney and Murder City Devils, as well as national groups Green Day, Radiohead, and the Flaming Lips. And there's always a little Dean Martin, Ray Charles or Johnny Cash.

Singer Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, just released "Jukebox," an album that pays tribute to a bygone era with songs originally recorded by Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Hank Williams and Janis Joplin.

Last year, Amy Winehouse, the bad-girl British singer-songwriter known for her retro coolness, routinely cranked up the jukebox at one of her favorite London bars, playing the soul classics that inspired her. At Linda's Tavern, Winehouse's hit single, "Rehab," was played so frequently on the jukebox that it was driving employees crazy.

"We had to take it off," Derschang said with a smile.

Some history

The modern jukebox is a descendant of coin-operated phonographs that were mass-produced in the 1890s.

By the 1930s, these phonographs became known as "jukeboxes" in the South, where isolated rural shacks (or "jook houses") were used by field workers for drinking and dancing. The term was considered derogatory, and at least one manufacturer, Wurlitzer, resisted its use for decades.

The top brands in the heyday of the jukebox -- the 1930s, '40s, '50s and '60s -- were Rock-Ola (named for founder David C. Rockola), Wurlitzer, Seeburg and AMI.

The most iconic jukebox of the 20th century was the Wurlitzer "bubbler," a glitzy, round-topped machine introduced immediately after World War II. The eye-catching design, which is being reproduced today, featured glowing light panels and bubbling tubes.

In 1950, Seeburg introduced a machine that played vinyl 45s, the latest innovation in sound recording.

Tableside or "wall box" remote selectors became popular in restaurants in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. Today, the devices still can be seen on "Happy Days" reruns and at such retro restaurant chains as Johnny Rockets, where modern technology helps them run smoothly.

In the 1950s, restaurant owners kept jukeboxes humming by asking waitresses to mark quarters with a daub of their nail polish before depositing them. The coins were later returned to the waitresses so they could be reused.

Jukebox scenes were once common in the movies, from "The Wild One," starring Marlon Brando (1953), to "The Accused," with Kelly McGillis and Jodie Foster (1988). My personal favorite is a scene from "Giant," the 1956 epic starring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean, in which cattle rancher Bick Benedict (Hudson) dukes it out with the racist owner of a roadside diner while "The Yellow Rose of Texas" booms from the jukebox.

The old style jukeboxes like the one in "Giant" aren't practical today. Luna Park Cafe is one of the few establishments operating an antique jukebox. The cafe was formerly a tavern with a temperamental vintage jukebox.

"Places like that don't survive in Seattle," said John Bennett, a jukebox collector and owner of Luna Park.

"It's like the old Dog House restaurant. They had a great jukebox, with wall boxes at every table. People today want high-tech, computerized music programming."

Derschang, managing owner of Linda's Tavern, also laments the demise of places like the Dog House.

"We've lost so many of our great dives in Seattle," she said.

P-I pop music critic Gene Stout can be reached at 206-448-8383 or genestout@seattlepi.com

2008/01/28 By Gene Stout - http://seattlepi.nwsource.com / www.epgold.com

In when there is a lot going on in the bootleg world, bootleg-pionier Vic Colonna announces a book about this subject in an interview on the Elvis Information Website. For the fans that are around for some years now, his name is not unknown. Vic released lot's of beautiful imports in a time that everything was still released on vinyl and they even have to invent the word "CD"'.

The book promises to contain lots of interesting stories, straigth from the source. Where did they find the recordings? How where they pressed? How did they reach the fans? What where the reactions? How could the makers keep out of sight of the police?

Colonna expects to be finished with his manuscript in june, and will search for a publisher at that time. An exact release date is not known at this moment.

Karen Shea presents Hillary Clinton an evening bag featuring a photo of a young Elvis Presley. Shea called the bag "a good luck charm for winning Tennessee."

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton met with about 30 supporters this morning at The Peabody before heading to Monumental Baptist Church to address the congregation of Rev. Samuel "Billy" Kyles.

Clinton, wearing a royal blue pantsuit, told the group she was glad to be back home and was happy to be campaigning in Tennessee and Arkansas. "Now, let's take some photos," she said.

Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton, Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, state Sen. Beverly Marrero, state Rep. Jeanne Richardson, County Commissioner Deidre Malone and Property Assessor Rita Clark mingled with supporters waiting for Clinton in the Barclay Room. Clinton spent last night at The Peabody after campaigning in Nashville.

Marrero and Richardson said they are endorsing Clinton and will make an official announcement as early as Monday.

"Meeting Clinton is one of the most wonderful things that ever happened to me, period, end of story," Richardson said afterward. "She is such a great role model for everyone, but particularly for women."

Marrero said she told Clinton she is in the state Senate, a job she finds "exciting and challenging." Marrero said Clinton told her, "That's what I've found."

"She's a pretty charming lady," Marrero said. "All of us who have girls are excited to see a woman in this situation, that we think will be elected the president of the United States in the fall."

Mediator Jocelyn Wurzburg, Happy Jones, Rudi and Caryn Scheidt, Karen Shea, Dr. Nancy Chase, David Cocke, David Upton and Janann Sherman, among others, posed with Clinton in front of a potted plant.

Shea said she presented Clinton with an evening bag featuring a photo of a young Elvis Presley. Shea said the bag was "studded with diamonds - ha." She told Clinton the bag was a good luck charm for winning Tennessee.

Others asked Clinton to sign copies of her books. Clark asked the senator to sign a photograph of Bill and Hillary Clinton taken when he ran for president in 1992. "We were so young," Clinton exclaimed.

Organizer Kimberly Nichols, who was joined by her mother Jean Nichols of Clarksville, said after the event that about 30 people paid the $1,000 minimum to meet and have a photo taken with Clinton. Elected officials were invited by the campaign and did not have to pay. The event was closed to the media.

As she left the fundraiser Wurzburg said she will support "any Democrat who's nominated, but right now our country needs competence. I think the others are competent, but I know she is."

"I was impressed with her energy and charm," said Jones.

After leaving the group on the third floor, Clinton exited through the lobby of The Peabody moments before the daily march of the ducks from the elevator to the fountain.

The crowd in the lobby "half expected" the senator to appear because of all the Secret Service agents present, said Richard Coggins of Oxford, England.

Coggins, now a college instructor in Folsom, Mo., said in 1994 he saw Bill Clinton receive an honorary doctorate from Oxford, where the former president studied while a Rhodes Scholar. Coggins was in Memphis with Lisa Sanders to sightsee. They joined dozens of tourists waiting to see the ducks.

Coggins and Sanders said the duck march drew more interest than the senator's exit. "There were mad camera flashes for the ducks," Sanders said.

PITTSBURGH - In the twilight of a long career that has involved him in the autopsies of the rich and famous, coroner Cyril Wecht finds himself for the second time fighting fraud charges back home.

Wecht, 76, is known for sometimes provocative opinions on high-profile cases including the deaths of Elvis Presley, JonBenet Ramsey and Vincent Foster.

In a trial starting Monday, federal prosecutors will charge that Wecht used resources from his day job as Allegheny County coroner to pursue some of his lucrative private consulting work.

That sideline could all but end if Wecht is convicted of any of the 41 pending counts , let alone the most macabre allegation: that he traded unclaimed cadavers for laboratory space at a university.

Wecht successfully staved off similar accusations in the early 1980s, when he was charged with using county morgue employees to examine slides for his private practice.

The case led to his ouster, although he would later settle a related suit for $200,000 and return in 1996 to serve a second 10-year stint as coroner. He resigned after he was indicted in January 2006.

A jury has been seated for the upcoming fraud trial, which stems from his last term in office and is expected to last about two months.

Prosecutors plan to prove that Wecht used county resources in his private business; defrauded private clients with bogus travel invoices; and submitted falsified mileage receipts to surrounding counties. His attorneys say the charges are either false or amount to minor infractions, such as the improper use of fax machines.

While the initial indictment charged 84 counts, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Stallings recently dropped more than half of them to "streamline" the case for the jury. Wecht's attorneys , led by Jerry McDevitt, the lead attorney for World Wrestling Entertainment , called the gutted indictment signs of a rush to judgment and shoddy investigating.

The trial promises to be combative, not unlike Wecht himself.

In the two years since the charges were filed, Wecht's attorneys have attacked prosecutors for their alleged political biases, although District Judge Arthur Schwab won't allow them to argue political motives to the jury.

They have even accused Schwab of bias. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied their request for a new judge while chiding Schwab for admitting 300,000 pages of documents into evidence over the objections of the defense.

Wecht, meanwhile, continues to be in demand as both a speaker and consultant. Prosecutors say his private practice grossed nearly $9 million from 1997 through 2004.

Even while under indictment, he has consulted on the death of Anna Nicole Smith's son, Daniel; the death of the New York City public advocate's relative at the Phoenix airport; and the reported suicide of the first black mayor-elect in the mostly white town of Westlake, La.

2008/01/28 By Joe Mandak - The Associated Press / www.epgold.com

Sampler 1.47 minute from the upcoming release ‘That’s All Right’ with Elvis Presley and Lucy Clark.

By Special Request from many EpGold readers, here exclusive on EpGold; A sampler (1.47 min) from the upcoming release MRS –NEW DANCE REMIX - Duet ‘That’s All Right’ with Elvis Presley and Lucy Clark.

Tracklisting:

1. THAT'S ALL RIGHT, DANCE ALL NIGHT (RADIO CLUB VERSION)
2. THAT'S ALL RIGHT, DOING IT ALL RIGHT (EXTENDED CLUB MIX)
3. THAT'S ALL RIGHT (ORIGINAL VERSION)

MRS –NEW DANCE REMIX - Duet ‘That’s All Right’ with Elvis Presley and Lucy Clark.

This new release was heard for the first time around the world on the FREE ELVIS EXPRESS RADIO - ON FRIDAY 25th JANUARY 2008.

The single release 29.01.08 through I-Tunes & other online stores.

Tracklisting:

1. THAT'S ALL RIGHT, DANCE ALL NIGHT (RADIO CLUB VERSION)
2. THAT'S ALL RIGHT, DOING IT ALL RIGHT (EXTENDED CLUB MIX)
3. THAT'S ALL RIGHT (ORIGINAL VERSION)

Here you find today reactions from Elvis Fans published on the website ELVIS EXPRESS RADIO - www.elvis-express.com

(26.01.08)
Dawn Richmond
Great show Lee and I loved the new remix. Fingers crossed for a in store release.
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(26.01.08)
Christopher
Another excellent show this week.Thanks for playing the latest remix for us, I really enjoyed it.
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(26.01.08)
Brian Williamson
Great show.......loved the that’s all right remix
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(26.01.08)
Kenny Attrill
In reply to Stanley, I have to say that what Lee said is right...........even the very worst remix is a million times better than any impersonator because it is still Elvis' voice.

So anyone who thinks a remix and an imp is the same thing, is as usual putting the one of a kind voice in the same category as some wailing copycat saddo with no personality or talent of their own
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26.01.08)
Mandy
Excellent show Lee.Loved the remix that's alright dance all night, im certain it will do great.
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26.01.08)
Caroline Bowman
LOVED the show. Lee you are your usual excellent self.What did I think of the remix............actually I thought it was pretty good.
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26.01.08)
Nigel Nichols
Hi Lee, I thought the show was out of this world mate.Well done also to the peeps behind the That’s All Right Mama mix, I thought it was rockin..........hope it comes out as a hard copy single soon.
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(26.01.08)
Kara from Southampton
I have not written before but I have been listening to E.E.R for a few months and think it is brilliant.

I am a younger fan (14) and have just heard the new remix 'That’s All Right, Dance All Night' which I thought was great.

I know that remixes are not for all but myself and my friends do actually like the new sounds and I can assure you that it was an Elvis remix that got me interested in Elvis and the same goes for many of my friends.
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(26.01.08)
Wanda Breen
LOVED the new remix, I hope more and more of Elvis' recordings get brought into the modern era and I just LOVE that the single will include the original version along with the remix,that way the kids get exposed to Elvis' real stuff through the newer stuff.
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(26.01.08)
Jean
Hi Lee,
I loved the new remix...gives Elvis a really modern sound......
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(26.01.08)
Andy L
Hey there.......never heard of this show but checked it out to hear this new remix.Thought the mix was pretty crap but boy I thought your show was great and will sure be listening again.
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(26.01.08)
Alex T
I LOVED THE NEW REMIX..........I think its great that we are getting these remixes now.

With the archives running dry, we need these to take Elvis forward otherwise we will soon get nothing but Elvis' Greatest Hits as FTD stops and no more unreleased material is available.Thanks Lee for such GREAT shows as always.
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(26.01.08)
James Sanders
Lee, the show just keeps getting better and better.Thanks for playing the new mix..........I actually liked it a lot.
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(26.01.08)
Petra Escott
Hello Lee,
Had some friends over tonight and we all listened to your show. I think you have some new listeners now (and they are not Elvis fans) and they all loved the That’s all right and the Baby lets play house remixes and said that they would buy them. I loved it too.
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(26.01.08)
Jimmy Landon
Kickin new remix for a kickin show. Great stuff Lee

Now Listen to the the correct sampler (27 Sec.) of the duet "That's All Right mamma" Dance All Night Radio Club Version.

We welcome you to Ep Gold Web-Shop.com.

You can now take part in the various services we have to offer you and create a free account.

Some of these services include:

Permanent Cart - Any products added to your online cart remain there until you remove them, or check them out.

Address Book - We can now deliver your products to another address other than yours!

This is perfect to send birthday gifts direct to the birthday-person themselves.

Order History - View your history of purchases that you have made with us.

Products Reviews - Share your opinions on products with our other customers.

And free subscribed Newsletter for update on any new Elvis items.

For help with any of our online services, please email the store-owner: elvisinternational@casema.nl

EpGold WebShop

In cooperation with the Southern Comfort / Baxter / Bilko and 2001 import labels the Audionics label will re-issue several old bootleg classics.

The "Request Box" 2CD set will be released March 2008 after which Elvis' March 22, 1975 concert, "A Hot Winter Night", "Goodbye Memphis 76" and April Fool Day (audience recording), "Opening Night 72" and others will see the light.

All releases will be remastered from the original tapes, some of which obtained from The Colonel himself.

The Audionics team will take care of the audio restoration and remastering while the Baxter / Bilko / 2001 team will do the design of the booklets.

2008/01/26 E-Mail / www.epgold.com

Elvis International Shop - The Netherlands.

OPEN: Saturday & Sunday January 26 & 27, 2008 - 1300. PM - 1800 PM.

E-Mail: elvisinternational@casema.nl

The Netherlands : 0251 - 821240
Other Country's Dial : 00 - 31 - 251 - 821240

Since many loyal customers order at the www.epgoldwebshop.com , a personal visit at the Elvis International shop (starting February 1,2008) is possible - only after a appointment is made by e-mail or phone.

2007/01/26 ElvisInternational / www.epgold.com

Elvis Fan, Pediatriac Surgeon, Helps Kids.

A pediatric neurosurgeon turns to the "King" to get through difficult surgeries.

Click Here:

We found an interesting link to a youtube video on the ElvisMatters forum. Judge Judy handles real life courtcases in the reality show that's named after her.

In the episode on the link below, we'll see Sweet Inspiration Myrna Smith who is complaining that her daugther in law refuses to pay a $5000 loan.

Watch this strange story on the link below.

Graceland to Open two New exhibits chronicling key Anniversaries in Elvis Life And offer all new VIP Tour.

Two new exciting exhibitions chronicling two key periods of Elvis’ life – “Private Presley” and “Elvis 68” – are scheduled to open at the Graceland visitor center in March 2008 and will feature many items from the Graceland archives that have never been on display to the general public. Also new this year is an expanded and enhanced VIP Tour.

“Private Presley” covers the time 50 years ago when, at the zenith of his early superstardom, Elvis Presley was inducted into the army. He performed his duties like any other soldier with none of the special treatment his celebrity status might have afforded him. After completing basic training and initial service in Texas, in October 1958 Elvis was sent to Germany where he served until March of 1960. It was during his time abroad that he met his future wife Priscilla Beaulieu.

The “Private Presley” exhibit will include Elvis’ fatigues, dress uniforms, army foot locker and suitcases. Other novel items include the jacket he wore in the 1960 press conference he hosted at Graceland upon returning home, as well as the blue army dress jacket he wore on the train ride home from New York to Memphis and then on the special "Welcome Home, Elvis" edition of Frank Sinatra's television variety program. Another key item never before on display is the cedar chest Elvis kept in the Graceland attic to store both his army clothes and some of his late mother’s belongings.

While in the army, Elvis’ fame continued to grow through the release of music recordings he had made prior to his army induction and on his first furlough, a film he had completed before entering the army, and the publicity and promotion master-minded by his infamous manager Colonel Tom Parker. Upon arriving home from his 18-month stint in Germany, Elvis returned to the recording studio and to his film career. After three benefit concerts in 1961, Elvis did not perform again live in front of an audience until 1968 during the taping of his first television special. This NBC special catapulted his career to new heights and secured his reputation as the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Broadcast as “Singer Presents Elvis,” the program returned Elvis to his roots as a musician and performer after years of movie making and became the season’s top rated special, attracting 42 percent of the television viewing audience.

The “Elvis 68” exhibit will include the white suit Elvis wore for the “If I Can Dream” finale; a black suit he wore during the "club scenes" of the program's big production number; a wristband he wore with the famous black leather outfit (which is part of the permanent exhibitions at Graceland); a red vest worn for promotional photos; and documents relating to the special including tickets to the tapings, photographs and a script. Also included will be a timeline exhibit of events occurring in the United States in 1968 to give historical context to that year in Elvis' life.

The new and expanded VIP Tour will offer an exclusive exhibit featuring several never-before-seen artifacts. The new displays enhance the current VIP Tour allowing visitors the luxury of front of the line privileges, special shuttle service and an all day pass to tour Graceland mansion, the Elvis Presley Automobile Museum, Lisa Marie Airplane Tour, Elvis Jumpsuits: All Access exhibit as well as the two new “Elvis 68” and “Private Presley” exhibits.

It will also feature the first-ever professional photos of Elvis. The Presleys could not afford professional photos of the family, but in 1955 Elvis posed for his first photo shoot with William Speers in Memphis. This portion of the VIP exhibit allows visitors to see the original proofs from that photo shoot including Elvis’ personal handwritten notes indicating his favorites.

Other new displays include a first hand look at a young Elvis during his days at Humes High School through a display of artifacts including his high school diploma, Class of 1953 tassel and high school yearbooks.

Also new to the VIP Tour are artifacts that relate to the personal side of Elvis including the deed to Graceland, a gift from Elvis to his parents, and items from Elvis' personal wardrobe. A fascinating variety of off stage clothing including custom outfits for family dinners and lounging around the house will be displayed in a replica of Elvis' upstairs dressing room. And for the first time ever, the living room furniture from Elvis and Priscilla's honeymoon hideaway in Palm Springs will be on display in the VIP Tour exclusive exhibit.

The working barn behind Graceland is one area that is rarely seen by visitors. The new VIP exhibit will feature items from that space including Elvis' personal saddle, chaps and other artifacts relating to the Presley's equestrian activities, as well as information on the horses that still live at Graceland.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit Elvis.com

2008/01/26 EPE / www.epgold.com

"Elvis" promotes French-fried potato chips in a new Elvis themed commercial from Chile in South America.

The voice, singing "Hound Dog" is from a Chilean impersonator called Deivis Parada.

Watch the commercial on the Chilean Elvis site: http://www.elvispresley.cl/index.php

A COLLECTION OF BEAUTIFUL BALLADS AND TENDER LOVE SONGS.

- 35 REMIXED ELVIS CLIPS!

- FREE ELVIS VALENTINES´ CARD !

- DOLBY DIGITAL SOUND!

- RED DVD CASE!

- RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 1, 2008

I Love You Because - “Elvis love for fans #1”

Are You Lonesome Tonight

Doin The Best I Can

As Long As I Have You

Suppose

I Just Cant Help Believing

Gently

Because of Love

Something

Could I Fall in Love – Alternate Harmony version

I Want You I Need You I Love You – take 16

The Wonder of You

It Hurts Me

True Love

All That I Am – “Elvis love for fans #2”

Love Me – “Live, Through the Years”

There Goes My Everything – take 1

Tender Feeling

68 Ballads

Puppet On A String

I’ll Remember You

Mary in the Morning – take 4

Until It’s Time For You To Go

Today Tomorrow and Forever – Duet with Ann Margret

Do You Know Who I Am

So Close Yet So Far

Almost in Love – remix

Young and Beautiful – remix

Please Don’t Stop Loving Me – remix

Always on My Mind – strings overdub

Pledging My Love - “Elvis love for fans #3”

Memories (alt)

Bonus:

Are You Lonesome Tonight(laughing)

What Now My Love , by popular request, ELVIS THE CONCERT 2002

PRE- ORDER NOW, AND HAVE THIS DVD IN TIME FOR THE PERFECT VALENTINES´ GIFT!!

2008/01/25 Star / www.epgold.com

- Fabric made silver Cdr

- Red cd tray

- Full color 4 page booklet with recording details

- Both the UK and the US sleeve covers, so you can choose your own favorite!

- 12 Fantastic BONUS TRACKS!

- Limited Edition Only

TRACKLIST:

My Baby Left Me - Baby I Don´t Care - Little Sister - Don´t - Wear My Ring Around Your Neck - Paralyzed - Baby Lets Play House - I Was The One - Rip It Up - Young And Beautiful - Ready Teddy -

BONUS TRACKS:

Hound Dog ( stereo remix) - Mystery Train ( stereo remix ) - One Night Of Sin ( extended ´sax ´ stereo remix ) - Blueberry Hill ( ´sax´ stereo remix ) - A Mess Of Blues ( stereo remix ) - I Got A Woman ( stereo remix ) - A Big Hunk O´Love ( stereo remix) - I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell ( stereo remix, take 16 ) - Shake Rattle And Roll/ Flip Flop And Fly ( overdubbed live version from the Dorsey Stage Show, 1956, first released on This Is Elvis soundtrack album ) - Don´t Be Cruel ( same as Shake Rttle and Roll ) - Heartbreak Hotel ( overdubbed live version from the Ed Sullivan Show, 1956, first released on the This Is Elvis soundtrack album ) - The Elvis Medley ( produced by David Briggs).

2008/01/25 E-Mail / www.epgold.com

MRS –NEW DANCE REMIX - Duet ‘That’s All Right’ with Elvis Presley and Lucy Clark.

Most sites still have the incorrect sampler (20 sec.) of the duet "That's All Right mamma" Dance All Night.

Now Listen to the the correct sampler (27 Sec.) of the duet "That's All Right mamma" Dance All Night Radio Club Version.

Hi everybody!

After reading some negative reactions on different forums, I need to clear a few things.

This release is a side project, done in co-operation not an MRS historical classic release. When Joseph Pirzada and I heard the rough mix a few months ago we reacted the same way.

After hearing the final mix, I actually enjoyed doing the mastering. Made sure Elvis voice sounded at his best. All the instruments are really played and not sampled.

We first didn’t want to do it since we want to release only the historical recordings in the best possible sound with all the details as you know from our previous releases.

We discussed it and realized that next coming years many of these kinds of mixes will come to the market. So when it was offered to us we thought this is our chance to have some influence.

It’s a download only and focused on a general market.

We believe that this is a great song and won’t harm the original song having his own right to be played. Basically it’s a new song .That made us doing it.

A 20 sec sample doesn’t tell much so TUNE-IN later today at EpGold and listen to a long edited version of this song.

After hearing it you will want to repeat it like we did and from our MRS background of historical releases it must say something.

MRS will continue their historical releases, we are working on a few new exciting releases .This includes footage and

recordings of which we all thought it didn’t exist or considered lost.

As you can read we have enough in store for you.

If there are any questions please e-mail EpGold elvisinternational@casema.nl and when I can I will reply.

1. THAT'S ALL RIGHT, DANCE ALL NIGHT
(RADIO CLUB VERSION)

2. THAT'S ALL RIGHT, DOING IT ALL RIGHT
(EXTENDED CLUB DANCE MIX)

3. THAT'S ALL RIGHT
(ORIGINAL VERSION)

The next Memphis Recording Service (UK) venture release on 29th January 2008 is a dance remix of a duet ‘That’s All Right’ with Elvis Presley and Lucy Clark. It is exclusively only available on I-Tunes & Music Download Stores around the world (with the exception of the USA).

The sensational US singer Lucy Clark who was originally discovered in the 1980’s by Les Paul and has recorded with the likes of ‘Johnny Cash’ , Reggae artists ‘Sly Dunbar & Robbie Shakespeare’, ‘Keith Richards’, ‘Bon Jovi’ and many more. For more information on Lucy you can visit www.memphisrecordingservice.com for this and for details and sample of the new release.

The new remix is produced by Bob Harris and Clark Enslin (Johnny Cash, "The Great Lost Performance) Executive Producer Joseph Pirzada and is remixed by US producer Bob Harris and Mastered by Real Bouwman (MRS Release: New York RCA Studio 1).

Also available for download, is an extended 9 minute dance version and of course, the original dry version from 1954.

During February, Lucy Clark will be doing a Radio and TV tour of Europe to promote her duet with Elvis and a music video will begin shooting in New York and in New Jersey next week.

In the meantime there is no set date for a physical release except for the download stores.

However, EXCLUSIVE FOR ELVIS FANS wanting to hear a special preview of the mix can do so on Elvis Express Radio www.elvis-express.com where it will have its WORLD PREMIERE on Friday 25th January.

The links for the Music Download stores will be announced on day of release next week, so stay tuned.

Music Mentor Books of York, England are to publish an extensive reference work about rock'n'roll's most influential guitarist and composer, Chuck Berry.

Compiled by world-renowned Norwegian Berry collector and expert, Morten Reff, THE CHUCK BERRY INTERNATIONAL DIRECTORY will appear in four volumes. Each volume will be around 500 pages long and will retail for GBP 24.99 (approx US$ 50.00).

Volume 1 is scheduled for publication on 15 April 2008 and will contain discographies for over 40 countries, plus dozens of rare label and sleeve illustrations.

Volume 2 will be published later in 2008 and will contain details of bootlegs, radio albums, movies, TV shows, video and DVD releases, international tours, Berry's achievements and awards, his songs, roots and influence on other artists, tributes, Chuck Berry in print, fan clubs and websites, plus annotated discographies of keyboard wizard Johnnie Johnson and the ultimate Berry copyist, Eddy Clearwater.

Volumes 3 and 4 will be published in 2009 and consist of a massive listing of around 4,000 cover versions and some 800 soundalikes on record, in the movies and on TV that bear testimony to Berry's immense influence on Western popular music over the past half-century.

For more information, or to order online, visit the publisher's website: http://musicmentor0.tripod.com

Publisher contact

George Groom-White

Music Mentor Books

69 Station Road

Upper Poppleton

YORK YO26 6PZ

Email: music.men@lineone.net

2008/01/25 Music Mentor Books / www.epgold.com

This is the final art cover of next JAT Productions project titled Portraits.

Celebrating twenty years of JAT Productions this special project will be a hardback ALL COLOR BOOK .

This new book is scheduled for the first quarter of 2008.

English as a Second Language classes help immigrants adjust to living in the United States.

Six students sit around a low table, discussing Elvis Presley in halting English. It's Tuesday evening, and most have come to class after a long day of work. Jose Hernandez is still wearing paint-splattered pants from his construction job. The students lean forward as their instructor, Mark Ortega, holds up a picture of The King and asks slowly, "Who has ever heard his music?

The students are a part of Mission: Literacy, a nonprofit organization that provides free English as a Second Language (ESL) classes for adult immigrants. Most of the people at tonight’s class are from Mexico, but Mission: Literacy pupils belong to other immigrant communities as well. Though they come from different parts of the world, they share a common goal: learning English.

Ortega’s question about Elvis is greeted with a pensive silence. The students sit with their pens in their hands, poised to take notes, until Director Pam Pitchford walks by and sings, “Ain’t nothing but a hound dog.” Recognition dawns on the students’ faces and Pitchford continues her task of reorganizing the room. The rent for the Mission: Literacy classroom space went up in October. Because of limited funding, Pitchford is moving the post office she started operating last year into the already cramped Mission: Literacy space to save cash. Boxes are strewn everywhere, and desks are piled high with binders and supplies. Pitchford says funding has been a problem for Mission: Literacy since the program's inception three years ago; donations from businesses and individuals only cover half the program’s operating costs.

Back in the classroom, discussion shifts from '50s pop stars to American culture. Ortega writes the words “culture shock” on a small whiteboard in green marker and holds it up for the students to see. “Was there a part of American culture that took getting used to?” he asks. Maria de la Cruz says the language barrier was an issue for her when she arrived in the United States.

Before taking classes at Mission: Literacy, she encountered problems at stores and hospitals because of her limited English skills. Sometimes she felt discriminated against by English-speakers. Today she’s able to make herself understood. De la Cruz' plans don't end with learning English; with the help of Mission: Literacy, she hopes to become a U.S. citizen.

Tutors like Ortega and Elsie Lujan provide citizenship classes and help immigrants study for the American civics test they will have to take in order to achieve that status. “We’ve had three pass the American citizenship test and be sworn in as citizens,” says Pitchford. Others have gone on to get their GEDs, and many have improved their economic situations as a result of the Mission: Literacy ESL classes. Some, like Jose Luis Valerio, plan on studying at a university or community college when they become proficient in English.

A new student enters the class and introduces himself as Carlos Orellano from Guatemala. He sits further back than the others, and Ortega hands him an English assessment test so he can be placed in a class or scheduled for one-on-one tutoring. While Orellano is taking the quiz, one of the older students shares a joke in Spanish with her neighbor, and the two burst out laughing. Valerio translates the joke for instructor Ortega’s benefit. Ortega, though he grew up with a Spanish-speaking family, understands only a little Spanish.

Mission: Literacy developed out of Pitchford’s masters thesis. After completing her degree in education at UNM, she decided to convert her thesis into an actual program. When she opened Mission: Literacy at the Westside Community Center in 2004, she had two students. Now she has 200, but the organization struggles to accommodate them all with its resource shortage. The biggest challenge? “We desperately need more tutors,” says Pitchford.

With little money, Pitchford says she is unable to pay the tutors a living wage. Most are volunteers, but Ortega and Lujan are part-time employees. Neither has had to get a second job yet, though Ortega says he might have to in the future. Despite their salaries, Ortega and Lujan agree their work is rewarding. While he acknowledges that it can be a challenge to motivate students, Ortega says the most rewarding part of his job is when students come to class “fired up” and are persistent. "We've got all the patience in the world for our students," he says, "but the hardest part for a lot of our students is they're impatient with themselves."

In spite of problems with funding and a shortage of tutors, Mission: Literacy plans to keep expanding its program. Pitchford is excited about starting family literacy classes where parents can bring their children and learn to read to them in English. She says the language barrier often prevents Spanish-speaking-only parents from taking an active role in their child's education, and she hopes family literacy classes will help change this. Pitchford also plans to open other Mission: Literacy locations in the Northeast Heights and the southwest part of town to service immigrants all over the city.

Ortega stresses the impact learning English has on immigrants. "I tell [the students] they need to learn English for their future, for education and job opportunities," he says. "If you only speak one language and it's not English, I believe you're very limited."

2008/01/25 By Kyra Gurney - http://alibi.com / www.epgold.com

This 1997 US RCA Nashville 3:58 promotional CD was distributed as an authentic Elvis item in order to trick media outlets and radio DJ's into listening to it.

In fact, it contains an announcement to promote Sarah Evans and has NO Elvis content.

Despite having no mention of Elvis, this remains a collectable Elvis rarity with a unique Elvis sleeve and custom printed disc! RDJ64880-2

The few copies still in circulation usually change hands for more than US$200.00!

"One of the rarest ever Elvis related collectibles"

(ISBN: 3922823236)

Taschen Publishers releases March 14, 2008 the 192 pages book "Elvis Presley: The Life and Times of the King" by the author F.X. Feeney and Editor Paul Duncan in the Movie Icons series.

Available in German, French and English.

"Elvis Presley would have been the first to laugh at the mad, godlike status he attained after death, but he would have surely identified with the human, gospel-haunted need such adoration rises out of. He shared that need, and courted it.

He could sing and move with a spellbinding violence and grace. Yet his nature was also marked by a startling passivity—an eerily contented lack of ambition at his essence that kept him from growing after his first fiery years of success. That early fire still burns, nevertheless, and his mythical figure remains an omnipresent fixture today.

The Movie Icon series: People talk about Hollywood glamour, about studios that had more stars than there are in heaven, about actors who weren't actors but were icons. Other people talk about these things, TASCHEN shows you.

Movie Icons is a series of photo books that feature the most famous personalities in the history of cinema. These 192-page books are visual biographies of the stars. For each title, series editor Paul Duncan has painstaking selected approximately 150 high quality enigmatic and sumptuous portraits, colorful posters and lobby cards, rare film stills, and previously unpublished candid photos showing the stars as they really are.

These images are accompanied by concise introductory essays by leading film writers; each book also includes a chronology, a filmography, and a bibliography, and is peppered with apposite quotes from the movies and from life."

With Russia's motor industry expanding rapidly today, a group of enthusiasts outside St Petersburg are devoting their lives to restoring car classics.

Some of the cars belonged to real-life legends, among them the first man in space Yury Gagarin, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and the king of rock 'n' roll, Elvis Presley. To get the vehicles running is the main aim and they have to pass modern technical checks.

With several car manufacturers in St Petersburg thrusting the city to the forefront of modern automobile production, the warehouse is ensuring that along with modern cars, the old classics are still roadworthy.

Only after they’re completely restored, the cars will be shown to the public.

First Look Studios, Inc. is no longer negotiating for the distribution rights of Elvis The Movie starring Kurt Russell and therefore First will not be releasing this title.

2008/01/23 www.elvis.com.au / www.epgold.com

"King Creole/G.I. Blues" 2DVD.

"King Creole/G.I. Blues" 2DVD release: Paramount USA will release a double DVD set featuring these two films on 5 February.

Blue Hawaii/Paradise Hawaiian Style 2DVD.

Blue Hawaii/Paradise Hawaiian Style 2DVD release Paramount USA will release a double DVD set featuring these two films on 5 February

SONY / BMG Gospel Re-issues.

SONY / BMG re-issue the three gospel albums "His Hand In Mine", "How Great Thou Art" and " He Touched Me" on March 11, 2008.

Track Listing His Hand In Mine:

His Hand In Mine
I'm Gonna Walk Dem Golden Stairs
In My Father's House
Milky White Way
Known Only To Him
I Believe In The Man In The Sky
Joshua Fit The Battle
He Knows Just What I Need
Swing Down Sweet Chariot
Mansion Over The Hilltop
If We Never Meet Again
Working On The Building
Peace In The Valley
It's No Secret
I Believe
Take My Hand, Precious Lord

Track Listing How Great Thou Art:

How Great Thou Art
In The Garden
Somebody Bigger Than You And I
Farther Along
Stand By Me
Without Him
So High
Where Could I Go But To The Lord
By And By
If The Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side
Run On
Where No One Stands Alone
Crying In The Chapel
You'll Never Walk Alone
We Call On Him
Who Am I?

Track Listing He Touched Me:

He Touched Me
I've Got Confidence
Amazing Grace
Seeing Is Believing
He Is My Everything
Bosom Of Abraham
An Evening Prayer
Lead Me, Guide Me
There Is No God But God
A Thing Called Love
I, John
Reach Out To Jesus
Only Believe
Put Your Hand In The Hand
I Got A Feelin' in My Body
Help Me

This is volume 10 from the Shake Records import series "Tiger Man - An Alternate Anthology"contains alternate and live versions of Elvis´ songs.

Track listing:

Young And Beautiful (Alternate Take) - Summer Kisses, Winter Tears (Take 25) - Something Blue (Take 6) - Just Tell Her Jim Said Hallo (Take 3) - Wisdom OF The Ages (Take 9) - Am I Ready (Take 2) - Stop, Look And Listen (Take 4 + 5) - Fools Fall In Love (Uedited Master) - Come What May (Take 1) - Stay Away (Uedited, undubbed Master) - U. S. Male ("Fucked Up"-Version, Take 2) - Tiger Man (Original master From The "Elvis Sings Flaming Star" Album) - Onliy Believe (Undubbed Master) - Where Did They Go Lord (Undubbed Master) - The Impossible Dream (Live Version) - I´ll Remember You (Informal Recording) - You Gave Me A Mountain (Informal Recording) - Polk Salad Annie (Informal Recording) - I Can´t Stop Loving You (Informal Recording) - Blue Spanish Eyes (Undubbed Master) - She Wears My Ring (Undubbed Master) - Green, Green Grass Of Home (Undubbed Master) - I Can Help (Undubbed Master) - Mystery Train / Tiger Man (Live Version) - Danny Boy (Unedited Take 7) - That´s All Right (Live Verion) - Way Down (Part Of Take 1 + Take 2) - You Gave Me A Mountain (Live Version) - A Little Less Conversation (From The Motion Picture Soundtrack "Ocean´s Eleven")

The FTD team is working on two new April releases: first is a double CD set on 7”, Elvis – That’s The Way It is, second is a digi pack release with the same songs that were presented on a bonus CD with the TTWII FTD-book.

The book itself, has been deleted from the FTD catalogue.

The exact tracklisting is not yet confirmed.

Ernst: "This does not constitute a policy of releasing all book CD’s as separate re-releases. We will in each case evaluate the demand and historic relevance for such releases."

Although the FTD team of Ernst Jorgenson checks and double checks every detail before going to the printer's, they missed one small thing: the spine of the latest FTD release "Wild In The Country" has a typing error.

It reads Elvis PRESELY (instead of, of course, PRESLEY). FTD is willing to replace the wrong covers by new ones - but that may take some time.

2008/01/22 www.elvismatters.be / www.epgold.com

Monday, January 28th, 20:30 hrs, Paradiso, Amsterdam: 'Poets For Elvis Presley' .

Music preformances by famous dutch artists as: RoseBeef, Ellen ten Damme, Kees Prins (Jiskefet) and others!

Poet Preformances by famous dutch writers such as: Frank van Pamelen, Alex Roeka, Henk Spaan, Jan Boerstoel and others!

PLUS: Bookrelease by John Schoorl & Kees 't Hart: 'Wees NieT Wreed - Gedichten voor Elvis Presley'.

SPECIAL GUEST: PIM MAAS

2008/01/22 Rogier van Luyken / www.epgold.com

We are pleased to announce that Ed Bonja, who worked for Elvis and the Colonel as tour manager and photographer will be joining us as a guest on the Elvis Party Cruise, for details on the other guests booked for the cruise, see below.

Ed will be meeting and mingling with all fans on the cruise be will also be bringing a selection of his stunning Elvis photographs, including several new prints.

Ed Bonja

Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1945, first met Thomas A Parker (not Colonel yet) in Chicago in the late 1940s through his Uncle, Tom Diskin, who was managing a singing trio known as the Little Dickens who were Ed’s aunts. Tom Parker and Tom Diskin met and became friends while their acts were performing on the same shows as they toured around the country. They often visited the Bonjas’ home in Chicago and Los Angeles for Sunday afternoon supper. The entire Bonja family grew up knowing Tom Parker and his wife, Marie, as Uncle Tom (later Uncle Colonel) and Aunt Marie. Of course, the Bonjas were the first kids on the block to know about Elvis Presley, and the Colonel made sure that they had all his records, photos and souvenirs. It was in June of 1964, while working for the Colonel, that Ed first met Elvis at a surprise birthday party Elvis gave for the Colonel at MGM Studios.

After completing his college post-graduate work in 1971, Ed went to work on a full-time basis as an assistant to the Colonel and as the Elvis Presley Show Tour Manager and Photographer until April of 1977. During the 1970’s, Ed’s photographs were used for all the souvenir books, posters, buttons and publicity shots that were seen and sold at Elvis concerts and Las Vegas/Lake Tahoe engagements. Ed’s first record album cover was ELVIS: As Recorded Live At Madison Square Garden, released in June of 1972. His photos appear on the covers of dozens of Elvis’ albums, single sleeves and CDs. In the booklet with the 1970s Box Set (THE ESSENTIAL 70’S MASTERS) RCA/BMG used twenty-six of Ed’s photographs; and four of the five cover shots used for the individual CDs for that set were also Ed’s work. Both the original covers and the more recent remakes of the Elvis’ MOODY BLUE and RAISED ON ROCK cds feature several of Ed’s photographs.

Guests for the Elvis Party Cruise now include:

Ed Bonja - Elvis' tour manager and photographer
Karen Sue Presley - Elvis' first cousin
Paul Larcombe - Winner of the UK's Ultimate Elvis and top ten world finalist in Memphis
Rob Kingsley - Winner of the 2008 European Championships, recently signed to Sony BMG
Colin Paul - Dynamic vocalist and performer, a Graceland favourite and highly regarded with all fans.

The Elvis Party Cruise takes place on May 17, 2008 on Royal Caribbeans brand new Independence of the Seas, which is set to become the third in the spectacular Freedom class of ships. Upon her May 2008 debut in the United Kingdom, she will be the largest ship ever to be home-ported in Europe.

(REELTRAX 47-9600-2)

There are only a few more days before the new „REELTRAX“–label will come up with a brandnew „77 minutes of listening pleasure“ Import Cd entitled „You´ll Never Walk Alone“.

About five years ago the legendary „2001“ label released it´s series „How Great Thou Art Sessions Vol. 1 – 3“ and the content was absolutely fascinating – especially for those who just love to hear how Elvis was working in the studio on „his“ gospel music. Still the three cds suffered quite a bit from rather bad sound.

REELTRAX is now able to present a great variety of HGTA-Outtakes on it´s „You´ll Never Walk Alone“-release in absolutely breathtaking sound – MUCH better than you have heard it before.

And if this would not be enough reason to get the cd while you can: Did you ever hear a complete and uncut 12:32 minutes of the first six takes of the title „You´ll Never Walk Alone“? If not, it is now the chance for it! Needless to say that the sound quality on this real treasure is just perfect! The same goes for the unreleased Take 1 of „We Call On Him“.

„You´ll Never Walk Alone“ contains a 16 page-booklet with all necessary information regarding Elvis´ love for gospel music.

The next issue of the British rock magazine Uncut comes with a bonus CD featuring "Blue Moon" by Elvis.

The CD offers a range of songs that have influenced Bob Dylan, and clearly this is one of them.

It's no secret that Dylan admired Elvis. Proof of which is the tribute song "The Gypsy" which he wrote and recorded after having seen Elvis live on stage in Las Vegas.

The new FTD "Wild in The Country" has been delivered this morning at some dealers, other dealers will follow within a few days. "Husky Dusky Day" (with Hope Lange) is included.

Trackinglist:

Original Soundtrack:

Wild in the Country / Lonely Man / I Slipped I Stumbled I Fell / In My Way / Forget Me Never / Lonely Man (solo) / I Slipped I Stumbled I Fell (low key)

Outtakes:

Lonely Man (take 1) / Wild in the Country (takes 1,2) / Wild in the Country (takes 10,11) / I Slipped I Stumbled I Fell (takes 1,2,3) / Lonely Man (solo, take 1) / In My Way (take 1) / Forget Me Never (takes 2,1) / Lonely Man (take 4) / Lonely Man (solo, takes 2,3) / In My Way (take 2) / In My Way (takes 4,5,6/8) / Wild in the Country (takes 12,13) / Wild in the Country (take 14) / I Slipped I Stumbled I Fell (takes 7,8,9) / I Slipped I Stumbled I Fell (take 11) / Lonely Man (takes 6,7,8) / Lonely Man (takes 11,12) / I Slipped I Stumbled I Fell (takes 14,15,16) / Wild in the Country (take 16) Husky Dusky Day

The 10th and last volume in the Words – The Complete Lyrics series will be released on February 4, 2008.

This volume will contain the lyrics and stories behind each title between WHA and Y.

The 10 volumes in the Words series feature more than 800 songs. All recorded or sung by Elvis Presley.

Ronnie Tutt, Elvis's seventies drummer, is going on a new world tour with Neil Diamond.

The Tour brings the Diamond show to Belgium and the Netherlands, next May.

Elvis covered two songs from the Neil Diamond repertoire: 'Sweet Caroline' and 'And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind'.

Tickets are available thru the local ticketing bureaus - check out Mojo Events for more information.

As Johnny Cash's drummer and road manager for 38 years, he was a steadying force for the Man in Black.

But most of the public didn't latch on to Holland's cool ways until his hair started turning gray.

"I can't believe I played for 50 years and all of the sudden I'm being called 'cool,'" Holland once told a friend. "If I had known that, I would have dyed my hair gray long ago."

Holland is in demand now more than ever. This weekend, for example, he is in Las Vegas as a special guest on a tribute show to Cash.

On Friday, he'll be back in town among friends, helping raise money for the International Rock-A-Billy Hall of Fame and Museum at 105 N. Church St. in downtown Jackson.

They are having a pancake-breakfast fundraiser from 6 to 10 a.m. downtown at the Baker's Rack Restaurant, 205. E. Lafayette St. Holland will begin speaking at 7:30 a.m. about his life on the road with Cash and his early days as a drummer with Carl Perkins. A minimum tax-deductible donation of $5 is requested, and all proceeds will go toward improvements at the hall of fame.

Holland will answer questions, sign autographs, pose for pictures and even play a little music with former Sun Records artist Rayburn Anthony, said Henry Harrison, president of the hall of fame. Johnny Cash's life-size oil portrayal will also be on display.

"We need to raise $130,000 immediately to finish the hall of fame's stage area and install an elevator for handicap accessibility," Harrison said. "Once the elevator is ready, we can develop the second floor of the museum."

Holland is a polished storyteller, recalling his experiences with the likes of Cash, Perkins, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Fabian, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings ... the list seems endless. Holland has performed for U.S. presidents, the queen of England and even traveled with Billy Graham's evangelistic crusades.

It is an incredible saga for a boy born in Saltillo by the Tennessee River in Hardin County. In 1948 his family moved to Bemis in Madison County, and he attended J.B. Young High School.

One of Holland's buddies was Clayton Perkins, brother of Carl Perkins. That led to his first work with drums, playing with the Perkins Brothers Band. And through Carl Perkins, Holland met Cash, Orbison, Lewis and Presley.

In 1960, Cash asked Holland to join his group for two weeks and play drums at shows in Syracuse, N.Y., and Atlantic City, N.J. Holland and his wife, Joyce, were expecting their first child, and Holland was ready to settle down and get out of the music business. He had even lined up a job with a surveyor, he told The Jackson Sun in 1992.

But he agreed to work with Cash for those two weeks, and the rest is history.

It is a rich history that Holland will be happy to share with listeners over a hearty breakfast on Friday.

Lisa Marie apparently visited with the rock band, Glasvegas last month in Edinburgh. Lisa and Priscilla had flown over for the Led Zepplin concert and then met the Scottish band in a pub. It seems Lisa had loved their single, Daddy's Gone which singer James Allan wrote about his parents' break up.

Lisa called the group to tell them the song lyrics really touched her. And that she and her mom listened to the song, Daddy's Gone 8 times in a row. James said: "We met Lisa Marie in an Edinburgh pub. She'd never been to Scotland before. Nobody recognized her, even though she looks like Elvis."

"She'd met Alan McGee in LA and told him how much she loved us. She's got a recording studio at home and she's invited us to record a few tracks with her the next time we tour America."

Glasvegas is made up of James, guitarist Rab Allan, bass player Paul Donoghue and drummer Caroline Mackay. Their new single is, It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry will be released on Valentine's Day.

Here are the lyrics:

How you are my hero
how your never here though
remember times when you put me on your shoulders
how I wish it was forever you would hold us
right now I'm too young to know
how in the future it will affect me when you go
you could have had it all
you, me, and mum y`know
anything was possible

I wont be the lonely one
sitting on my own and sad
a fifty year old
reminiscing what i had

I wont be the lonely one
sitting on my own and sad
forget your dad, he's gone

All I wanted was a kick-a-bout in the park
for you to race me home when it was nearly getting dark
how I could've been yours, and you be mine
it could've been me and you until the end of time
do what you want, when you want
be as fuckin' insincere as you can
what kind of way is that to treat your wife
to see your son on saturdays
what way is that to live your life?

I wont be the lonely one
sitting on my own and sad
a fifty year old
reminiscing what i had

I wont be the lonely one
sitting on my own and sad
forget your dad, he's gone

Elvis 'Rock & Roll Legend' - a new Hallmark CD: News of another combined BMG/Hallmark US release, this time featuring 16 "chart topping Hits" from The king Of Rock and Roll.

It is the usual selection of Elvis hits but does include 'Viva Las Vegas' and the new millennium chart smash "A Little Less Conversation" is also featured.

Interestingly so is 'My Baby Left Me' when surely the only chart topping this track has done in the past 50 years is via rival company M.R.S.!

Track listing:

Heartbreak Hotel
Jailhouse Rock
Hound Dog
Blue Suede Shoes
Don't Be Cruel
All Shook Up
Return To Sender
A Big Hunk O' Love
Good Luck Charm
Little Sister
Viva Las Vegas
A Little Less Conversation
Treat Me Nice
Mean Woman Blues
(Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame
My BabY Left Me

The Essential Collection.

The West End label will release the budget 2 CD set "The Essential Collection" on February 11, 2008 in the UK.

'The Request Box (Cancelled)' - new Import release: A new reissue of the 'Request Box Shows' released 18 years ago by the Bilko label have been announced.

'(Cancelled) The Request Box' will be a double CD featuring the rare recording of Elvis' August 19th & 20th 1975 performances in Las Vegas, where although in poor health Elvis introduced the positive idea of a Request Box for audience song choices.

The season was cancelled after only 5 performances.

From the sensational combination of the two labels Southern Comfort and Audionics, the release date is set for the end of February.

Although only available from audience recordings this upgrade is taken from the original tapes (this not yet another cheap copy) using one of the best audio engineers around.

More than has been previously released, the August 19th Dinner show is complete with over half of the Midnight show also included.

The 20th Dinner show is also complete with a bonus segment from the Midnight performance. Both CDs run the full 80 minutes.

Here is the fascinating story from the introtext from the 16 pages booklet: Cancelled

from the introtext from the 16 pages booklet: Cancelled

It was the early evening of August 20th when we landed at the Las Vegas Airport. For years my lady and I had dreamt of this moment. We were finally going to see Elvis!

We're part of a group of 250 fans travelling from the UK and Europe, organized by the Official Fan Club of Great Britain. Specially chartered coaches - 5 of them - drive the large group to their 'home' for the next seven days - the Holiday Inn on Las Vegas Boulevard.

Early the next morning we take a taxi to the Hilton Hotel in order to confirm our reservations for three Elvis shows on the 24th, 25th and 26th. On the way we spot several large billboards that scream out NOW ELVIS! It's like driving through a Hollywood movie set. Frikkin' incredible! When the taxi pulls up in front of the Hilton Hotel entrance, a feeling of total disbelief overpowers us. Is this really happening? We enter the hotel lobby, look around and freeze. Everywhere we look, hotel employees are pulling down posters and large banners from the walls. What the hell is going on here?, we ask ourselves. Around us are many fans who are crying and comforting each other. In just a few short moments, the sheer joy and excitement that had engulfed us has turned into the feeling of being at a funeral. We walk towards some sobbing fans and ask what is going on. "All shows are cancelled", we're told. "Elvis has taken ill and has left Vegas...!" What?! We feel numb...paralysed. The next few minutes are wiped from my memory. Never have we been so disappointed.

Broken hearted, we take a taxi back to the Holiday Inn where the sad news is beginning to sink in. There are crying fans everywhere.

"How ill is he? Is there any news about his condition?" I'm on the phone with Todd Slaughter from the UK fan club, still in his hotel room. "Not a word from his management. I just learned about it from watching the local TV news", he replies. "I'm going to make some calls and get back to you a.s.a.p., okay?"

Hours pass by and there's still no official news from the Presley management. No telegram, no phone call - nothing. The Colonel knew we were in Vegas. He and Todd had been in contact about the 250 fans coming over to see Elvis in concert. Just like in previous years, when the Colonel would arrange good seating for the fans visiting the showroom. They would be on the telephone with each other on an almost daily basis. The Colonel liked Todd and vice versa. And most of all, the Colonel knew the importance of having a strong and well-organized fan club with thousands of members in England.

After the initial shock of not being able to attend any shows that week, we worry about Elvis' health. When evening falls, still no news. Except that he's been hospitalized at the Baptist Memorial in Memphis. That same evening, Todd asks me if I would be willing to travel to Memphis the next morning to try and find out exactly what is happening? Some reports say it is fatique, while others talk about a serious liver infection. Still no official word from Parker or anyone else connected to the management team...
The next morning I'm back at the Las Vegas Airport waiting for my flight to Memphis. With me is a large shopping bag filled with presents for Elvis from various fans. Among them are a pair of wooden shoes and an Edam cheese...
Some six hours later I find myself in a taxi driving to Baptist Memorial. I ask the driver if he had heard about Elvis being hospitalized yesterday? He nods and asks where I'm from. "Holland", I answer. "You flew in from Holland to see Elvis in hospital?" "No, I flew in from Vegas hoping to see him". He gives me a puzzled look.

Nervous beyond words, I enter the hospital. My mind is racing: what if I actually come face-to-face with Elvis? What do I say? I feel dizzy and my breakfast is playing up seriously. At the desk I ask for Maurice Elliott (Vice President of the hospital), who'd been made aware of my arrival in Memphis via a phone call from Todd earlier that day. We shake hands and he asks me to follow him to the elevator. "How's Elvis? Is he okay?" I stutter my way through various questions. "He's resting", is his reply. "He's doing okay." The two of us leave the elevator and walk towards a room that has two XXL policemen sitting outside. They have walkie talkies and revolvers - the kind that would floor an elephant. After Mr. Elliott explains to the guards the purpose of my visit, one of them makes a call to 'somebody' inside the room behind him. My body shakes and I start having breathing problems. What if... What if he... What if he opens the door?

After a few minutes the door does indeed open to Elvis' private room. It's... It's...Charlie Hodge. Jeez, he's small. I stretch my neck to try to peek through the still half open door, but it's too dark inside to see anything. Charlie closes the door, shakes my hand, gives me his best smile and tells me Elvis is asleep. "But he told me to tell all the stranded fans in Vegas he deeply appreciates their concern and is sorry about not being able to perform his shows. He loves 'em all and hopes to see them in the near future. Right now he needs to rest for a couple of weeks." I hand Charlie the bag with gifts, stutter a few more words and tell him to give Elvis our best wishes, tell him we love him and... Charlie is back inside the room. Disappointed but relieved by the news Elvis is doing okay, we head for the elevator. In the lobby I thank Mr. Elliott for his hospitality and help.

I arrive back in Vegas later that night. Passing through the hotel lobby I spot fans wearing Elvis Summer festival foam hats. On a table are stacked a bunch of 1975 Hilton menus for grabs - the one used as a giveaway for this August engament. It's a cheap-looking thing, sporting an unflattering 'Aloha' picture. In the bar, after having hugged my lady, I break the news to the waiting fans. "Elvis is doing okay. He feels ever so sorry he's not able to perform and sends us all his love and best wishes. Hoorah for Elvis!" Due to being extremely tired from the trip over to Memphis, I feel sarcasm taking over my feeling of sorrow about the whole thing. When Todd tells me that, earlier that afternoon, boxes with souvenir menus, foam hats and 1972 'Elvis Now' pens were delivered to him with compliments from the Colonel, I cant help but laugh out loud! What a classy gesture from the Colonel! Hand the fans a few free peanuts and they'll come running back for more.

Don't forget, this was 1975. We were all a little naive and blind about the things that were happening and events that awaited us in the two years that were to come. That summer of '75 was a sad experience for all of us on that fan club trip. What remains after 33 years are the shows - complete or in part - that were captured on cassette decks by fans in the audience. These recordings reveal Elvis was still in control and singing magificently. At least that much we can still enjoy.

Will the full story of why Elvis left Vegas in such a hurry after just three nights ever be revealed? Time will tell.

The Flying Dutchman

The CD A Wild Weekend in Huntsville ! - Volume Two, featuring the June 1, 1975 afternoon show recorded from the soundboard is out now . We will add a review from Mike Sanders in the near future.

The previous matinee performance in Huntsville was one of the best from this tour, and this one is as good if not BETTER. The sound quality is also superior to the first volume with a fresh, dynamic, lively rocking sound.

This show was possibly the LONGEST recording from this May/June '75 tour , none of the concerts were recorded in their entirety. They started to record over one minute before the start of '' I Got A Woman / Amen '' and ends with the very last note of '' Can't Help Falling In Love ''. The show was completed for your listening pleasure.

There were two songs previously released from this June 1, 1975 AS performance, and for the very first time the COMPLETE performance will be available on CD. This new outing from Madison will come with the usual professionally designed 16-page full color booklet, relevant liner notes and photographs from the actual performance that afternoon in Alabama.

If you enjoyed the first volume then don't miss out A Wild Weekend in Huntsville ! -Volume Two , it might become one of your favorite show from this May / June '75 tour !

Coming soon...Hot August Night featuring the August 12, 1972 MS !!

Track listing :

01 - Introduction: Also Sprach Zarathustra 1:08 ; 02 - C.C. Rider 5:05 * ; 03 - I Got A Woman / Amen 5:53 ; 04 - Love Me 3:28 ; 05 - If You Love Me (Let Me Know) 3:59 ; 06 - Love Me Tender (with false start) 2:30 ; 07 - All Shook Up 1:03 ; 08 - Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel 2:05 ; 09 - The Wonder Of You (with false start) 2:39 ; 10 - Heartbreak Hotel 1:59 * ; 11 - Burning Love 4:01 ; 12 - Introductions by Elvis of vocalists, band 0:38 ; 13 - Johnny B. Goode (James Burton) 0:51 ; 14 - Drum Solo (Ron Tutt) 1:24 ; 15 - Bass solo (Jerry Scheff) 0:46 ; 16 - Piano solo (Glen Hardin) 1:00 ; 17 - Introductions by Elvis of vocalists, orchestra 1:25 ; 18 - School Day (Joe Guercio Orchestra) 1:00 ; 19 - Release Me 2:36 * ; 20 - T-R-O-U-B-L-E 3:28 ; 21 - Why Me Lord? 2:50 ; 22 - How Great Thou Art 2:49 ; 23 - Let Me Be There 3:50 ; 24 - Funny How Time Slips Away (with reprise ) 3:17 ; 25 - Little Darlin' 2:57 ; 26 - Can't Help Falling In Love 1:39 ; 27 - Closing vamp / announcement 1:11 *

All tracks previously un-issued except (*) 10, 19 and: 01 (Murfreesboro, May 6) ; 02 (Murfreesboro, May 6 -> first 3:28 only) ; 27 (Dallas, June 6)

Time = 65:44

2008/01/19 E-Mail / www.epgold.com

1968 Special.

(photo: Steve Binder interviewed in Knokke/Belgium in 2006)

On March 14th, Bones Howe and Steve Binder have been asked to speak with Priscilla and Lisa Marie at the opening of the William S. Paley Festival where the entire festival of television programs will begin with the showing of the '68 Special.

This is a very prestigious event in the United States. It will take place at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. Finally these people get the recognition they deserve.

2008/01/19 Hubert Vindevogel - The United Elvis Presley Society - www.ueps.be / www.epgold.com

In Graceland at the All Access Exhibit, you can see the various jumpsuits Elvis used to wear. They were designed by the late Bill Belew who died earlier this month in California from diabetes.

Bill Belew once said QUOTE, "Elvis had a great body to design for".

Belew designed HUNDREDS of Elvis' jumpsuits with rhinestone and metal studding and matching capes. He also designed the two piece, karate-inspired suits and black leather.

The costumes, which weighed up to 40-pounds, were called flashy, flamboyant, vulgar, gaudy, and sexy.

Fans definitely had an appreciation for Belew's fine detail and artwork.

"It just took a wonderful craftsman to come up with those because I'm sure he had lots of ideas and they were wild. Otherwise that wouldn't have been him," Elvis fan Jean Workman said.

Elvis' fashion influenced a number of other performers like David Bowie, The Jacksons, the Osmonds and Ozzy Osbourne.

And, if you have the money, you can buy a jumpsuit just like Elvis used to wear over at the All-Access Exhibit.

It'll cost you anywhere from $1,300 to $4,000.

Elvis International Shop - The Netherlands.

OPEN: Saturday & Sunday January 19 & 21, 2008 - 1300. PM - 1800 PM.

E-Mail: elvisinternational@casema.nl

The Netherlands : 0251 - 821240
Other Country's Dial : 00 - 31 - 251 - 821240

With FedEx, Memphis has the number one cargo airport in the world. And it turns out the airport and the surrounding area are this region's true engine for economic growth. That's why leading Memphis companies have made improving the airport area a top priority.

Back-hoes remove debris from what will be a new bus terminal at Airways and Brooks within sight of the airport:

"This will be a true multi-modal facility where Greyhound will come in, city buses and it'll be...hopefully in the future...a hub for a larger light rail system," John Lawrence of the airport development corporation said.

John Lawrence serves as director of the new Memphis Airport Area Development Corporation.

It was created by top airport area companies to solve a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. How to set the stage for business growth with enhanced beauty and safety in a hodge-podge unlike any other.

"We have an area that's developed somewhat haphazardly. But that's what we're all here to straighten out," Lawrence said.

For example, orthopedic giant Smith & Nephew's corporate campus sits on Brooks Road hemmed in by a trailer park.

Down Brooks, strip clubs thrive.

But fewer hookers work along Brooks than in years past after a full court press from police and the district attorney.

"Crime statistics are down for the road and the area as a whole around here," Lawrence said.

The focus is now on improving things. Creating a new master plan for growth from the airport, cleaning up Brooks Road all the way to Elvis Presley Boulevard and then South to Graceland.

"I want to give you a comfort level that nothing's changing," Priscilla Presley said.

Priscilla assured Elvis' birthday fans last week that the inside of Graceland mansion will remain undisturbed. But all around Graceland, it's a much different story!

"There are investors all up and down this street looking for new hotel properties," Lawrence said.

The old Howard Johnson's motel is being town down. And just this week, Elvis Presley Enterprises announced the purchase of the Royal Oaks Apartments adjoining Graceland.

It's all part of billionaire Robert Sillerman's plan to transform the area into a Disney-esque mecca. The ultimate Elvis experience.

It's all about growth at Graceland and airport area companies like Medtronic, which has a 180,000 square foot office building in the works.

Just the kind of development Lawrence was hired to encourage.

"Much of what we're doing throughout 2008 is master planning Brooks Road and Elvis Presley Boulevard, creating an identity and a communications plan for this area to let people know they've arrived someplace," Lawrence said.

Taking back this neighborhood might just create the jobs that help Memphis' economy expand and take off!

If your business is near the airport, the Memphis Airport Area Development Corporation wants your help planning the future.

A view of the Hotel Washington room 506 in which Elvis Presley stayed in 1970.

WASHINGTON -- A historic hotel in Washington, which has hosted celebrities ranging from Marilyn Monroe to Elvis and served as the setting for Hollywood movies, on Thursday began a liquidation sale before it undergoes a makeover.

When the Hotel Washington, which sits in the shadow of the White House, opened its doors at 9:00 a.m. for start of the sale, several dozen people paid five dollars and went inside, ready to work their way through kitchens, ballrooms, restaurants and bedrooms -- including 506, where The King slept in the 1970s -- to snap up deals.

"This is day one and the sale will go on for three weeks until we are sold out," said Frank Long of International Content Liquidations, which is overseeing the sell-off of the hotel's family jewels.

As bargain-seekers wandered around abandoned ballrooms, sifted through sieves and still greasy chopping boards in the ground-floor kitchen, and eyed the appropriate king-size bed in the room Elvis slept in, a demolition crew was ripping out the guts of other parts of the hotel.

"We won't touch the facade, but will replace the windows," said Jarrett Durney of HITT Contracting, which is carrying out the renovation work, at the end of which the hotel will be reborn as part of the upscale W chain.

The Hotel Washington, which sits opposite the U.S. Treasury building and offers unrivalled views of the White House from its rooftop terrace, opened its doors as the National Hotel in 1917.

It changed its name to Hotel Washington in 1940 and, until it closed its doors on December 31 last year, the building with the Italian renaissance inspired facade had been the longest operating hotel in the U.S. capital, with some of the best views.

Elvis would have had a view of the obelisk-style Washington Monument from his king-size bed in room 506, and from the rooftop terrace, dating couples could peer into the White House. s.

None of the historical or architectural details were of interest to Diane Alvin and Darcelle Stephens as they looked for deals in a suite on the sixth floor.

"We're hotel liquidation followers," Alvin told AFP.

"I'm remodeling my home and am here looking for stuff for my family room, my lunch room. This cute thing, I could put my steaks on," she said, unearthing a metal tray in an oven and adding it to her pile of bargains.

"I try to spend no more than half of what I've seen something being sold for somewhere else," Alvin said, adding: "I know a deal when I see a deal."

The king-size bed in The King's room was going for US$250 (170 euros), or well below retail prices even for smaller beds.

Add a US$40 antique replica writing table to that, and a happy shopper would be checking out of the Hotel Washington with a bill 100 times more than the US$2.95 guests would have paid for a room in 1917.

Shoppers who bought furnishings and memorabilia from the Hotel Washington not only snagged bargains but also earned bragging rights: in addition to Elvis, the hotel has hosted crooners Maurice Chevalier and Frank Sinatra, jazz great Duke Ellington, and a bevy of acting celebrities from Mickey Mouse to Marilyn Monroe.

I lost interest in Elvis Presley after he made the Blue Hawaii film [in 1961] and went to Las Vegas, but in his prime nobody could touch him. Michael Parkinson once asked the famous New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa about the greatest voice she’d ever heard, probably expecting her to name [Luciano] Pavarotti or Maria Callas, but she said: ‘The young Elvis Presley, without any doubt.’

Elvis’s voice was unique. Like so many others he had natural, technical ability, but there was something in the humanity of his voice, and his delivery. He was very influenced by Southern blues, and he helped to prove that you could have this bizarre mixture of country’n’western, blues and folk music. Recordings were very honest in those days, and they stand up remarkably well.

I was an avid collector of Elvis’ early stuff; for a young singer he was an absolute inspiration. I soaked up what he did like blotting paper. It’s the same as being in school - you learn by copying the maestro.

His personality was also extremely endearing. The shaking of his hips was deemed sensational back then, but unlike Little Richard or Chuck Berry his interviews were very self-effacing. He came over as gentle and was generous in his praise of others.

It was immaterial to me that Elvis didn’t write his own songs. Those were very different days, and he selected whatever suited him best from material supplied by publishing houses and teams of writers – all of whom were extremely conscious of his style of delivery.

Although he appeared in some awful movies, Elvis could also be pretty damn good as an actor. Love Me Tender [1956] and Jailhouse Rock [1957] were both really good but King Creole [1958] was my all-time favourite.

Gradually, though, his youthful vigour and uninhibited style began to ebb away. For me, he sang the last time in the movie GI Blues [1960].

Along with the rest of Deep Purple I once had the chance to meet Elvis. The rest of the guys went along, but I couldn’t stand seeing my hero after he’d changed so much.

Those early records are still incredible, though. They can re-mix them and make them hits for the younger generation, and Elvis will always be the King. The reason is simple: He was the greatest singer that ever lived.

Ian Gillan is lead singer with Deep Purple. They tour the UK in April/May.

2008/01/18 www.classicrockmagazine.com / www.epgold.com

Ken Sharp has told EIN: "Earl Brown, who wrote "If I Can Dream", has passed away. He was not only a great songwriter but one of the nicest and kindest people I've ever met. I spent time with him at his home in Sherman Oaks, California (the same home where he wrote "If I Can Dream") and had a great time. I knew he was not well but definitely did not expect this. Please say a prayer for him".

Walter Earl Brown, 1928-2008: Walter Earl Brown, known to his friends as Earl, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in Sherman Oaks, California on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008 after a lengthy illness. Earl had celebrated his 79th birthday on Dec. 25, 2007 with friends. He will be sadly missed by his many friends and relatives across the country.

Earl was born in Salt Lake City, UT on Christmas Day, 1928, to Walter L. and Hattie Earl Brown. Earl’s father, Walter played in a "swing" big band so as a child Earl traveled with his parents, living in several cities. Eventually moving to Logan to be close to his mother's family, Earl attended Woodruff Elementary school. During his years in Logan, Earl made lifelong friendships with Ralph Dunn, his cousin Gerry Earl, as well as many others. Earl had a prolific and illustrious career in show business as a singer, composer, vocal arranger, and writer of special material. His work in television, films, revues, musical recordings and nightclubs began at an early age and continued until his passing. During the 40’s and 50’s Earl is remembered for having been the arranger and singer in the highly acclaimed vocal group The Skylarks.

He wrote a hit song for Elvis Presley in 1968 entitled If I Can Dream, which has been re-recorded by Barry Manilow and others and which was recently performed on American Idol by Celine Dion as a duet, with Elvis resurrected on stage as a holographic image. Earl wrote songs for Dianne Reeves, including the Grammy winning Who’s Minding The Store?, as well as for Frank Sinatra, Mama Cass, Michael Feinstein, and numerous others.

For many years he was the vocal director on many hit variety shows including The Danny Kaye Show, The Dinah Shore Show, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, The Osmonds Brothers Show, The Andy Williams Show, The Carol Burnett Show and many other television programs and specials. Most recently Earl was the vocal arranger and writer of special material for The Palm Springs Follies for the last 13 seasons of the revue.

Earl is survived by cousin Don (Gloria) Earl, Smithfield, UT; cousins-in-law, M. Kae (Ellen Rae) Jeppesen, North Logan, UT; JoAn Earl, Fort Worth, TX, and their families; his "best friend" Ralph (Jackie) Dunn, Logan, UT. He was preceded in death by his parents, aunts, uncles, cousin Carol Jenkins Jeppesen, and his "favorite" cousin and buddy, Gerald E. Earl.

EPE Buys Royal Oaks.

Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. has bought the Royal Oaks Apartments at 1032 Craft Road from Michael E. Reed for $1.6 million.

The Royal Oaks is a 13-building apartment complex built in 1963. The complex has about 80 units and sits on a 5.2-acre lot on the north side of Craft Road west of Elvis Presley Boulevard.

No one answered a phone number for the apartments; an answering machine states it is the number for MBM Properties. Representatives from EPE were not available for comment by press time.

Nearly two years ago, New York-based CKX acquired an 85 percent stake in EPE, with Lisa Marie Presley retaining 15 percent interest.
CKX recently announced a $250 million plan to develop Graceland into a tourism development zone centered on Graceland and spreading to surrounding property.

The plan calls for "building an expanded visitors center, developing new attractions and merchandising shops and building a boutique convention hotel," CKX management wrote in the company's most recent annual report.

2008/01/18 www.elvisunlimited.com / www.epgold.com

Lana Wood, sister of screen legend, Natalie Wood, wrote in her book Natalie A Memoir by Her Sister, of the brief relationship in 1956 between Elvis and Natalie:

Then came Natalie's abortive romance with Elvis Presley. They met, and Elvis flew Natalie to his family in Memphis.

They were to be gone almost a week, but just two days into the great adventure, Natalie called.

"Gladys has wrecked everything," Natalie said, referring to Elvis' domineering, jealous mother. "I don't have a chance. Get me out of this, and fast," Natalie said.

It was agreed that Mother would call Natalie back and ask her to come home because of some family emergency. Natalie's romance with the king of rock fizzled out.

"God, it was awful," she told me later. "He can sing, but he can't do much else."

(Source: Natalie A Memoir by Her Sister, Lana Wood, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1984)

Rescued horses go to Graceland Priscilla Presley adopts animals saved from slaughterhouse by Palermo woman. Max will never be able to thank Carol-Terese Naser for saving his life.

He will never be able to thank Priscilla Presley for adopting him and giving him a new home. Then again, Max is a 3-year-old bay horse.

Max and his brother, Merlin, a magnificent chocolate-colored creature, were scheduled to be slaughtered -- along with four other horses in their family in QuŽbec -- last summer. Naser, who has had horses of her own since she was a child, stepped into action and bought all six horses just days before they were to be taken to the slaughterhouse. "If we hadn't done this when we did, they'd all be long gone," said Naser, of Palermo. "They would've been (killed) in QuŽbec."

Naser and her friend Cathy Cleaveland found out soon enough that it wasn't easy -- or cheap -- to care for six horses. So they decided to start fundraising. "We sent T-shirts to celebrities we knew were passionate about animals," Cleaveland said. "We requested they autograph the shirt, then send it back. We were going to auction them." Country crooner Alan Jackson, former Catwoman Julie Newmar and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" host Ty Pennington, among others, signed and sent back the shirts for auction, Naser said.

Nothing, however, prepared Naser or Cleaveland for the phone call that would change Max's and Merlin's lives. "I answered the phone and Priscilla Presley was on the other end," Cleaveland recalled with a laugh. "I didn't believe it at first." Yes, that Priscilla Presley -- former wife of The King, Elvis Presley.

An animal lover, Presley told the women she wanted to adopt Max and Merlin to give them a permanent home at Graceland, the nearly 14-acre spread, 23-room mansion in Memphis that Elvis shared with Priscilla and their daughter until the couple's divorce in the early 1970s.

"I have always had a bond with horses," Presley said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "Elvis gave me my very first horse. It was the horses that made Graceland home to us." Presley, who called herself "the kid who had to rescue all the animals" growing up, said that when she received the T-shirt from Naser and Cleaveland, the story of the near-slaughter struck her. "It haunted me," Presley said. "I couldn't sleep because I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to do that."

Presley and Naser stayed in close contact over the next several months to work out the details of the horses' arrival at the national landmark. "(Presley) is smart when it comes to animals," Naser said. "She knows the kind of care these horses need. She really gets it." Max arrived at the estate Jan. 10 -- two days after what would have been Elvis Presley's 73rd birthday, Naser said. Merlin will follow in the spring.

Presley, who called Naser's saving act "an unbelievable labor of love," said it is her desire to educate people about horse slaughter, including spreading the word about a national call-in day Tuesday to permanently ban the practice.

"I know the bill (to ban the practice) is stalled right now and I have no idea why," Presley said. "I would urge everyone to call their senators and U.S. representatives about this."

For Naser's part, she hopes people would view the equines as more than just standard farm animals. "(Max and Merlin) are a symbol of horses who escaped the slaughter," she said.

This is the cover of Tiger Man Volume 10 - An Alternate Anthology series.

This volume, is already released and contains 29 alternate studio / live performances.

The group that may or may not own the Zippin Pippin has reached an agreement with one of the companies that wants to develop attractions in and around The Pyramid.

Steve Mulroy of Save Libertyland! Inc. announced Monday afternoon the group has agreed to let the Ericson Group move and renovate the Zippin Pippin roller coaster as part of Greg Ericson’s $250 million plan for The Pyramid, Mud Island and the surrounding riverfront.

The Ericson Group proposal had been known as Pyramid Adventure but recently underwent a name change to Pyramid Harbor. The wooden, 85-year-old roller coaster would be in an amusement park to be built on Mud Island. The island park would be renamed Harbor Island as part of the larger project.

Mulroy, who is also a Shelby County commissioner, estimated moving the Pippin would cost around $1 million and the renovation would cost another $65,000. That is compared to a cost of $25 million for a new steel roller coaster Ericson proposes to run up one side of The Pyramid and inside the structure.

The Herenton administration has been negotiating for nearly three years with Bass Pro Shops to develop The Pyramid. Those negotiations are set to expire at the end of January under a non-binding letter of intent between the city and Bass Pro.

Ericson is scheduled to present his Pyramid Harbor proposal to Memphis City Council members Jan. 22. He presented the plan to County Commission members in December.

The Save Libertyland! group is in a legal dispute with the city of Memphis over who owns the roller coaster, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The roller coaster was sold at auction to the amusement park company Carolina Crossings, which then gave it to Save Libertyland! The city claims as part of the legal dispute that since Save Libertyland! didn’t move the structure off the fairgrounds property in five days, ownership has reverted back to the city.

Ericson said he hopes to reach an agreement with the city to move the nearby Grand Carousel at the former Libertyland theme park to Mud Island as well.

The Billboard chart listings for the week ending January 26, 2008.

Comprehensive Albums: Peace In The Valley: #90
Comprehensive Albums: ELV1S 30 #1 Hits: #151

Pop Catalogue Albums: Peace In The Valley: #4
Pop Catalogue Albums: ELV1S 30 #1 Hits: #17
Pop Catalogue Albums: HitStory: #45

Country Catalogue Albums: ELV1S 30 #1 Hits: #2
Country Catalogue Albums: HitStory: #6
Country Catalogue Albums: Ultimate Gospel: #25

Music Video: Aloha From Hawaii: #16
Music Video: 68 Comeback Special: #19
Music Video: ELV1S #1 Hits Performances: #29
Music Video: He Touched Me Vol. 1 and 2. # 33

2008/01/17 www.elvischarts.com / www.epgold.com

A little later than originally expected, Follow That Dream of Sony/BMG just announced that their new product Wild in The Country will be released in the week of 21/25 january.

All tracks have been remixed and remastered.

Trackinglist:

Original Soundtrack:

Wild in the Country / Lonely Man / I Slipped I Stumbled I Fell / In My Way / Forget Me Never / Lonely Man (solo) / I Slipped I Stumbled I Fell (low key)

The Elvis Presley Memorial Foundation in Tupelo announced Wednesday it bought the building that once housed the First Assembly of God Church in Tupelo, where Elvis and his family once attended services. Wednesday workers removed the building from it's foundation on Berry Street and moved it over to the museum. Coordinators said the church may bring in new visitors and draw in some returning patrons.

“It'll bring a lot of people who have been to our place, now that we have a new venue they'll come back and see it as well and being the original church makes it even more interesting,” Dick Guyton, executive director of the Elvis Presley Memorial Foundation said.

The building has been a house for the past 50 years; coordinators said they have a lot of work ahead of them to renovate the building to look how it did when Elvis attended the church. Guyton said it should be ready just in time for Fan Appreciation Day in August.

(ISBN: 143434083X)

By author Lerma Alcairo Sundita 112 pages "Elvis Lives On!", release date January, 2008.

More details soon.

Synopsis:

An entertaining and insightful one-hour look at the friendly rivalry between Mr. Blue Suede Shoes and Mr. White Buck Shoes, who dominated the pop charts in the 1950s. As Pat himself puts it, "I was the salt and he was the pepper." Included are rare film, TV, and newsreel clips plus revealing interviews with such luminaries as Dick Clark, Tom Jones, Glen Campbell, Kenny Rogers, Phyllis McGuire, Bill Medley, Arlene Dahl, Joe Esposito, Shirley Jones, and the legends themselves: Elvis and Pat Boone.

Renowned songwriter and producer Clyde Otis was pronounced dead at Englewood Hospital on January 8. He was 83 years old.

Best-known for his long and enormously successful collaboration with singer Brook Benton, Clyde Otis was among the most prolific songwriters and producers of the post-war era, making music business history as the first African American A&R executive for
a major label.

Born in Prentice, Mississippi, Otis' early exposure to music was limited -- his family didn't even own a radio -- and he only began composing songs after meeting "Route 66" writer Bobby Troup during a stint in the Marines. Following his discharge, Otis settled in New York City, spending the next eight years enduring a series of day jobs while honing his songwriting at night. He was driving a cab when, in 1954, he overheard one of his fares discussing a party being thrown by music publisher Sidney Kornhauser; Otis convinced the woman to give Kornhauser his song "That's All There Is to That," which became a Top 20 pop hit for Nat "King" Cole in mid-1956.

Upon joining Mercury's A&R staff in 1958, Otis began writing and producing material for Brook Benton; beginning with the number three smash "It's Just a Matter of Time," they teamed for a series of 17 consecutive hits, including "Endlessly," "So Many Ways," "Kiddio," and the novelty favorite "The Boll Weevil Song." Otis also produced a number of duets between Benton and Dinah Washington, among them "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" and "A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall in Love)"; he worked on Washington's solo efforts, as well, most notably the classic "What a Difference a Day Makes." Otis also helmed hits for Sarah Vaughn ("Broken-Hearted Melody"), Timi Yuro (the remarkable "Hurt") and the Diamonds ("The Stroll"),classic rock 'n' roll songs recorded by Elvis Presley such as Ain’t That Loving You Baby and Doncha Think Its Time and in 1962 he alone produced an astounding 33 of Mercury's 51 chart hits.

Upon leaving the label, he briefly tenured at Liberty Records before founding his own publishing firm, the Clyde Otis Music Group, and moving into independent production. Upon relocating to Nashville, Otis produced sessions for country stars Charlie Rich and Sonny James; Elvis Presley Aretha Franklin, Johnny Mathis, and Patti Page all recorded his songs as well.

Over four decades ago, Otis went to visit good friend Sarah Vaughn, who lived in Englewood, NJ and knew that was the place he wanted to raise his family and continue growing the Clyde Otis Music Group. He was the first African-American to "build" a home in the prestigious East Hill section of Englewood, located across the street from his buddy, Dizzy Gillespie.

Otis is survived by his wife, Lourdes, three children; Clyde III, AnaIza and Isidro, five grandchildren and a host of nieces and nephews.

A private service will be held on January 14 in Englewood New Jersey. The family is planning a large musical memorial service to take place in February. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the BMI Foundation. For more information call (212) 586-2000.

GMG Public Relations
Risa Hoag, 845-627-3000
or
Unlimited Contacts
Dedra N. Tate, 201-594-1449

2008/01/17 www.pr-inside.com / www.epgold.com

Sun Records will soon offer a new cool black SUn guitar.

The guitar will have the Sun Logo laser engraved into the wood of the guitar.

It comes with a hard shell case and will retail for $ 399.00

2008/01/17 www.elvisunlimited.com / www.epgold.com

The future of the Zippin Pippin?

The Zippin Pippin is famous for two reasons, it is the oldest wooden rollercoaster in America and it also happened to be Elvis Presley’s favourite fairground ride.

Located at the Mid-South Fairgrounds in Memphis, it has not been used since the park closed in 2005, but earlier this week, the Memphis Heritage met to its future and possible relocation.

No results from this meeting are known yet, but Elvis fans have also campaigned for this coaster to be preserved. When the coaster was working, no fan would want to visit Memphis without experiencing a quick trip around the rickety old tracks, although Elvis would ride the Zippin over and over again, jumping off the ride, standing up… there are health and safety directives to stop you having that sort of fun today!

FX Real Estate and Entertainment Completes Leadership Team.

FX Real Estate and Entertainment Inc. ("FXRE") announced today that Robert F.X. Sillerman and Barry Shier are joining the Company's senior management team, with Mr. Sillerman to serve as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Shier to serve as Chief Operating Officer.

This will be the seventh public company built and run by Mr. Sillerman, adding to the list of six prior successful ventures, including CKX, Inc. (Nasdaq: CKXE), where he continues to serve as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Sillerman has also successfully developed a number of real estate projects, including, most recently, the Temenos Anguilla resort.

Mr. Shier has had a long and prominent career in the hotel and gaming industry, having spent more than 15 years with Mirage Resorts Inc. He most recently served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Golden Nugget Las Vegas Corporation, and Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi.

FXRE is an entertainment-oriented real estate development company with a plan to pursue real estate and entertainment-based projects and attractions throughout the world. The Company owns 17.72 contiguous acres of land located at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue in Las Vegas, Nevada, known as the Park Central Property. FXRE has licensed from Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., and Muhammad Ali Enterprises LLC, the right it to use the intellectual property and certain other assets associated with Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali in the development of its real estate and other entertainment attraction-based projects. FXRE currently anticipates that the development of the Park Central Property will involve multiple elements that incorporate the Elvis Presley assets and theming.

FXRE also expects to play a major role in Elvis Presley Enterprises' plans to redevelop and expand the Graceland attraction as the centerpiece of the Whitehaven section of Memphis, Tennessee. The master plan for this redevelopment incorporates approximately 100 acres surrounding and contiguous to the Graceland mansion property and is expected to include a new visitor center, exhibition space, retail, hotel, convention facilities, public open space and parking on both sides of Elvis Presley Boulevard.

FXRE will develop up to three hotels to be built as part of the Graceland master plan. In the event that the hotel complexes to be developed by the Company become a larger element of the overall project, including becoming more integrated into the visitor and mansion experience, FXRE may expand its relationship with Elvis Presley Enterprises to assume a larger role in the overall development.

"I am enormously excited by the opportunity to further enhance the legacies of Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali through the development of our planned real estate-based projects," said Mr. Sillerman. "I know Barry shares my vision of the opportunities available to us in Las Vegas, Memphis and worldwide and I look forward to working with him to realize our shared vision for the company."

Mr. Shier added, "The opportunity to work with Bob in developing a global, entertainment-centered resort and gaming company, incorporating the essence of Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali, is one of the most exciting undertakings in myprofessional career, and on par with the wonderful associations I have had in the past, with some of the legends in the hotel and gaming industries."

As an expression of his confidence, Mr. Sillerman has agreed to accept no annual cash compensation for serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FXRE, but rather to receive a significant grant of stock options at $20.00 per share, which is twice the price per share to be offered to existing FXRE stockholders in the Company's previously announced rights offering. These options will vest over a five-year period. Mr. Sillerman, together with The Huff Alternative Fund, L.P., a significant stockholder, has also agreed to backstop the rights offering and purchase all shares in the rights offering that are not otherwise subscribed for by stockholders, if any, at the same $10 per share price offered to other stockholders.

In connection with his retention, Mr. Shier has purchased 500,000 shares of the Company's common stock at a price of $5.14 per share, the price at which CKX made its initial investment in the Company and its ownership of the Park Central Property in Las Vegas. Mr. Shier has also received a significant stock option grant at $10.00 per share, with the options vesting ratably over a two-year period, and becoming exercisable at the end of two years.

For more information on Mr. Sillerman's employment agreement, Mr. Shier's employment agreement and Mr. Shier's stock purchase, please see the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K, which is available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

Messrs. Sillerman and Shier are joined in FXRE senior management by Paul Kanavos, the Company's President; Brett Torino, Chairman of the Las Vegas Division; and Thomas P. Benson, who will serve as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Kanavos has worked in real estate and hotel development for more than 20 years, including most recently on the development of Ritz Carltons in South Beach (Miami) and Jupiter, Florida, as well as on the Temenos Resort in Anguilla. Mr. Torino is a long-established developer of commercial, residential and resort properties in Nevada, California, Colorado and Arizona. Mr. Benson will continue to serve as the Chief Financial Officer of CKX, Inc., pending consummation of the CKX's previously announced merger with 19X, Inc., after which Mr. Benson will resign from CKX and assume full time duties with FX Real Estate and Entertainment.

Commencement of Trading on NASDAQ Global Market Shares of common stock of FX Real Estate and Entertainment will commence trading on the NASDAQ Global Market under the trading symbol "FXRE" on January 10, 2008, the date on which shares of its common stock are being distributed by CKX, Inc. to its stockholders, as more fully described below.

Pending Distribution to Stockholders of CKX, Inc.

On January 10, 2008, CKX stockholders of record will receive two shares of FX Real Estate and Entertainment's common stock for every ten shares of CKX common and preferred stock held as of December 31, 2007. The distribution of shares in FX Real Estate and Entertainment is intended to give CKX stockholders an interest in FXRE's location-based exploitation of CKX's Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali assets pursuant to the terms of FXRE's license agreements with CKX and its subsidiaries.

The distribution of FX Real Estate and Entertainment's common stock is being made pursuant to a prospectus of an effective registration statement previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy these securities nor will there by any sale of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

About FX Real Estate and Entertainment

FX Real Estate and Entertainment owns 17.72 contiguous acres of land located at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue in Las Vegas, Nevada, known as the Park Central Property. FXRE intends to pursue a hotel, casino, entertainment, retail, commercial and residential development project on the Park Central Property. FXRE recently entered into license agreements with Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., an 85%-owned subsidiary of CKX, Inc., and Muhammad Ali Enterprises LLC, an 80%-owned subsidiary of CKX, which allows it to use the intellectual property and certain other assets associated with Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali in the development of its real estate and other entertainment attraction-based projects. FXRE currently anticipates that the development of the Park Central Property will involve multiple elements that incorporate the Elvis Presley assets and theming. In addition, the license agreement with Elvis Presley Enterprises grants FXRE the right to develop, and it currently intends to pursue the development of, one or more hotels as part of the master plan of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. to redevelop the Graceland property and surrounding areas in Memphis, Tennessee.

In addition to its interest in the Park Central Property, its plans with respect to a Graceland-based hotel, and its intention to pursue additional real estate and entertainment-based developments using the Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali intellectual property, FXRE, through direct and indirect wholly owned subsidiaries, owns 1,410,363 shares of common stock of Riviera Holdings Corporation, a company that owns and operates the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada and the Blackhawk Casino in Blackhawk, Colorado.

2008/01/16 www.elvisunlimited.com / www.epgold.com

SOON AVAILABLE FROM ´LVC´ RECORDS : ´ELVIS I WAS THE ONE´ - the 1983 remix album!

- Fabric made silver release
- all the original album tracks PLUS rare bonus tracks !
- all tracks digitally remastered
- full color booklet
- RELEASE DATE: february 2008
- more details coming soon!

LVC RECORDS: Legendary Vinyl

Sony BMG will release the Elvis Viva Las Vegas soundtrack CD in Australia. At this time they are planning this for March 1st as long as production proceeds without any problems. The CD includes seven Elvis performances along with other artists including, Bruce Springsteen - Viva Las Vegas, The Little Willies (With Norah Jones) - Love Me and Patti Scialfa - Looking for Elvis.

On September 18, ABC aired one of the most successful Elvis documentaries ever produced. Elvis Viva Las Vegas is the chronicle of Elvis' life during the Vegas years with the focus on his music, his ground-breaking style and his legacy. As Elvis paved the way for today’s performers in Las Vegas, the documentary also featured stellar performances by some of the today’s biggest stars doing their unique interpretations of the Elvis song that had the most influence on them.

This CD is the official soundtrack and features these great performances as well as the original masters by the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Track Listing:

1. Bruce Springsteen - Viva Las Vegas
2. Daughtry - Suspicious Minds
3. Chris Isaak/Brandi Carlile - Love Me Tender
4. Toby Keith/Joe Perry - Mystery Train
5. Faith Hill - Peace in the Valley
6. The Little Willies (Lee Alexander, Jim Campilongo, Norah Jones, Richard Julian, Dan Rieser) - Love Me
7. Miranda Lambert - Jailhouse Rock
8. Elvis Presley - Mystery Train
9. Elvis Presley - Love Me Tender
10. Elvis Presley - Love Me
11. Elvis Presley - Peace in the Valley
12. Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock
13. Elvis Presley - Viva Las Vegas
14. Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds
15. Patti Scialfa - Looking for Elvis

2008/01/16 www.elvis.com.au / www.epgold.com

On the 2007 Bestselling UK Album Artists Elvis is the #10 best selling artist in the UK. On the singles chart Elvis ranks at #27 with sales of 328,373 singles.

If there would have been a chart on most singles on the chart in one year Elvis would probably have topped that with 18 entries.

On the DVD chart Elvis is listed at #21 with the "Comeback Special" DVD and #27 with "The King Of Rock And Roll" compilation DVD.

Top 10 album sellers:

1 Amy Winehouse 2,196,362
2 Leona Lewis 1,550,039
3 Take That 1,485,390
4 Mika 1,174,177
5 Westlife 1,146,556
6 Michael Buble 832,137
7 Eagles 822,000
8 The Killers 795,280
9 Foo Fighters 755,155
10 Elvis Presley 740,901

2008/01/16 www.elvisinfonet.com / www.epgold.com

As a public figure notorious for his appetites, former President Clinton is inhaling humble pie as he campaigns to give wife Hillary a go-ahead victory in Saturday's Nevada presidential caucuses.

The hourlong speeches of Iowa have been halved as Clinton is, in his words, "giving people the opportunity to talk to me." Students at Green Valley High School were invited to fire questions. The ex-president's first-person references were replaced by "we" and former Nevada Gov. Bob Miller, his warm-up man, repeatedly referred to "the Clintons" as if the United States had a co-presidency during the 1990s.

The politician given the code name "Elvis" by security agents early in his first White House run came to life Monday in a city where the real Elvis was a headliner in the 1960s and 1970s. Like Elvis Presley, Bill Clinton prowled the stage and even came down to the same level as the folks.

Released on the Musical Memories label is the 2CD "Portrait Collection" with 50 tracks. The CD was released November 26, 2007 but only just appeared on-line.

Track listings

Disc: 1

1. Hound Dog
2. Heartbreak Hotel
3. Love Me
4. Don't Be Cruel
5. Love Me Tender
6. I Want You I Need You
7. My Baby Left Me
8. I Was The One
9. That's Alright
10. Baby Lets Play House
11. Mystery Train
12. Blue Suede Shows
13. I'm Left You're Right She's Gone
14. Tutti Frutti
15. Ready Teddy
16. Any Way You Want Me
17. Money Honey
18. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry
19. Blue Moon
20. Rip It Up
21. Long Tall Sally
22. Shake Rattle And Roll
23. Old Shep
24. Lawdy Miss Clawdy
25. Paralysed

Disc: 2

1. Trying To Get To You
2. Blue Moon Of Kentucky
3. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
4. Good Rockin' Tonight
5. Milk Cow Blues Boogie
6. You're A Heartbreaker
7. I Forgot To Remember To Forget
8. I Love You Because
9. Just Because
10. I'll Never Let You Go
11. I Got A Sweetie (I Got A Woman)
12. Poor Boy
13. We're Gonna Move
14. Let Me
15. Playing For Keeps
16. When My Blue Moon Turn To Gold Again
17. Anyplace Is Paradise
18. So Glad You're Mine
19. I'm Counting On You
20. One Sided Love Affair
21. First In Line
22. How's The World Treating You
23. How Do You Think I Feel
24. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine

2008/01/15 www.amazon.co.uk / www.elvisnews.com / www.epgold.com

August 16th 2008 René Shuman&Angel-Eye are planning a HUGE concert for every R&R fan.

Last August 2007 was a HUGE succes so they decided to have a new concert that will be more HUGE than the August 16th 2007, Valkenburg, The Netherlands.

So keep your eyes on their site, www.always-online.tv and make sure to get your tickets as soon as the sale starts.

Get together for the King of Rock&Roll, Elvis Presley, and remember him like there is no tomorow...

Let's make August 16th 2008 the centre spot in your agenda's and be there!!!!!

You don't want to miss the biggest event ever, do you?

Hereby a Promotion clip for upcoming event of the TCB Band & The Sweet Inspirations with Austrian singer Dennis Jale.

They will perform in Sofia / Bulgaria January 30, 2008 which will close the small tour that also features 2 concerts at the Stadthalle of Vienna January 25 & 26 .

-Including many rare recordings!

recordings from the Hawaiian radio, Aloha From Hawaii, the movies and more...

-Also including tribute radio broadcast from March 19, 1961: Elvis and the colonel pay tribute to the victims of Pearl Harbor 1941.

-limited edition

Listen to:

*2 press conferences *2 complete interviews

*radio promo 'hello to Hawaii' *Elvis talks about the Aloha eagle in Lake Tahoe

*Hawaiian D.J. Tom Moffet calls Elvis in Bad Nauheim, Germany.

*radio broadcast from March 19, 1961 (songs omitted), including special message from Elvis!

& MORE!!

The Gridiron restaurant on Elvis Presley Blvd closed it's doors a few years ago.

It is reported that Elvis used to go there. Many fans would also go to this establishment because Elvis did.

Over the past decade, the quality and service was very bad. It seems to be under going some changes and possibly a face lift.

Suzanna Leigh Leaves Memphis For Palm Springs.

Suzanna Leigh, Elvis' co - star in Paradise,Hawaiian Style will be relocating to Palm Springs, California.

Suzanna had moved to Memphis a few years ago and was very active in Elvis events there.

(Rainbow Records RR-19761112-2)

The press release:

Rainbow Records is going to release a double CD-Set titled „Vegas Variety Volume 2“, containing a complete and nearly 85 minutes long performance of Elvis Presley´s Dec. 11th, 1976 Midnight Show in Las Vegas.

The recording of this show has been taken from an early generation (audience recorded) Cassette-Tape and it has been carefully worked on using professional studio-equipment. So the Producers are again able to present exactly what their aim for this series of classic „Presley-Style“ Vegas-Concerts stands for: a real good performance from Elvis´ very last engagement at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel in good and listenable sound-quality, rounded off by a great 20 page booklet containing a lot of information regarding the show – including a detailed review of the concert written just one day after it took place.

Hear Elvis, who is clearly in a relaxed mood, enjoying himself and doing classy versions of songs like „Trying To Get To You“, „My Way“, „Hurt. Elvis also does spontaneous versions of „Reconsider Baby“ plus a gospel song called „Until Then“.

As a bonus you get even more highlights from the December 76 Las Vegas concerts, such as „I Just Can´t Help Believin´“ from the Opening Show and „Bridge Over Troubled Water“ from the Closing Show. We hope you like our second volume of „Vegas Variety“!

CD 1:

Also Sprach Zarathustra - See See Rider - I Got A Woman / Amen - Love Me - Trying To Get To You - O Sole Mio / It's Now Or Never - Jailhouse Rock - Until Then - Blue Christmas - Softly As I Leave You - Are You Lonesome Tonight? - Introduction Of The Presley Family - My Way - Band Introductions - Early Morning Rain - What'd I Say - Johnny B. Goode & Band Soli - Love Letters - School Days - Introductions Of Celebrities - Hurt

CD 2:

My Heavenly Father - Danny Boy - Walk With Me - Reconsider Baby (False Start) - Reconsider Baby - Can't Help Falling In Love - Closing Vamp

Bonus songs:

I Just Can't Help Believin' (O/S - 02.12.1976)- Fairytale (M/S - 04.12.1976) - Sweet Caroline (M/S - 05.12.1976) - You Better Run / Rock My Sould (07.12.1976) - How Great Thou Art (08.12.1976)- Steamroller Blues (D/S - 10.12.1976) - Little Sister - Bridge Over Troubled Water (C/S - 12.12.1976)

2008/01/14 E-Mail / www.epgold.com

On monday january 28, the collections of poems in the book 'Wees Niet Wreed' (Don't Be Cruel), will be presented to the public.in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

The location is the famous rockhall Paradiso in Amsterdam. Not less than 80 famous Dutch musicians and poets have put their love for Elvis in a poem.

Two weeks before Valentine's Day, this book with 'romantic poems' is released right on time.

It's a pleasure to see that a lot of 'serious' artists are coöperating on this project!

2008/01/14 www.paradiso.nl - www.elvismatters.be / www.epgold.com

For the members of the German Elvis Nachrichten forum this is the second free forum CD.

This CD contains a soundboard recording of Elvis' evening show from December 29, 1976 recorded in Birmingham, Alabama. It comes with a 12 pages booklet.

Track list:

Also Sprach Zarathustra - Opening Vamp - See See Rider - I Got A Woman / Amen - Love Me - Fairytale - You Gave Me A Mountain - Jailhouse Rock - O Sole Mio / It's Now Or Never - Trying To Get To You - My Way - Polk Salad Annie - Introductions - Early Morning Rain - What'd I Say - Johnny B. Goode - Drum Solo - Bass Solo - Piano Solo - E-Piano Solo - Love Letters - School Days - Funny How Time Slips Away - Hurt - Hound Dog - For The Good Times - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Unchained Melody - Mystery Train / Tiger Man - Can't Help Falling In Love - Closing Vamp

This is a new 2 CD set from Sony/BMG Canada.

It features tracks from his first two albums, several singles and some movie songs.

Item Description:

You are bidding on an EXTREMELY RARE ELVIS PRESLEY COLLECTION PACKAGE !!! This one of a kind package includes two recorded live concerts in Omaha, Nebraska (6/19/1977) and Rapid City, South Dakota (6/21/1977) at never seen camera angles. Along with the live concerts this package includes unedited backstage footage that has never been seen by anyone except the original owner of this tape and has never been broadcasted. There is a total of four and one half hours (4 1/2) of unedited black and white footage. In all, the winning bidder will receive the six original 1/2" reels, three VHS tapes that were copied from the originals, as well as two DVD were copied from the VHS Tapes.. The original machine (Sony AV-3650) will also be included with this auction. The machine needs to be repaired to work properly. The actual tape log is also included. The quality of the tapes are spectacular.

The Story Behind the Tapes

The owner of the tapes, Wade Williams, was hired by Smith-Hemion Co. to provide the audio/video for Elvis Presley's last two recorded concerts in Omaha and Rapid City. Mr. Williams was given permission to keep this feed as a memento of his involvement in the show. Elvis unfortunately died six weeks later.

The behind the scenes footage includes various candid dressing room shots of Elvis; his girlfriend, Ginger; and his father, Vernon Presley. All of this footage has never been seen before by the public audience. The concerts contain the original audio mix and camera shots. The electricity and excitement of these concerts is utterly phenomenal. There are approximately 27 different songs that Elvis preformed during these two shows.

The State of the Tapes

These tapes have been in a bank vault for over 30 years. During the mid 1980's Mr. Williams put them on the market for $500,000. This became major entertainment news as the story was featured in The Los Angeles Times as well as various news stations. The Presley Estate has granted permission to sell this unique package. The Presley Estate will not give consent for reproduction as they do not plan to air any more on Elvis visually beyond the 1968 era: thus increasing the value of this rare package. The buyer of this auction must sign an indemnity agreement before receiving the tapes. Once again from the original six tapes, three VHS were copied and then two DVD's were copied from the VHS tapes. All are in immaculate condition.

The Market Value of the Tapes

The tapes have been appraised by well know film historian and archivist, Anthony Slide, over three years ago. In Mr. Slide's expert opinion, he concluded that they can sell as high as $418,000. Once again this appraisal was taken place in August of 2004. The reserve price set for this auction is $200,000.

THIS AUCTION IS FOR SERIOUS BIDDERS ONLY & REQUIRES PREAPPROVAL!!

A private screening is available for a refundable fee of $15,000 paid upfront via Paypal or credit card.

Specifications on this Auction

The winning bidder must pay full amount via wire transfer
A $5,000 deposit must be paid via Paypal or credit card within 24 hours after closing date.
Buyer must sign and have notarized the indemnity agreement prior to receiving the tapes.

It is now 9 years ago that the CBS outtakes are in the pivate collection of Andylon Lensen in color.

ELVIS IN CONCERT 1977 CBS SPECIAL.

An in depth feature wich was published on EpGold in 2002 into the 1977 CBS Special Elvis In Concert, with references to ALL outtakes, footage still to be seen and lots more.

This article by well known and respected author Simon de Wit (King Of Vegas and Auld Lang Syne) will put to rest once and for all all the rumors and misinformation that has been surrounding this special for so many years.

Elvis International Shop - The Netherlands.

OPEN: Saturday & Sunday January 12 & 13, 2008 - 1300. PM - 1800 PM.

E-Mail: elvisinternational@casema.nl

The Netherlands : 0251 - 821240
Other Country's Dial : 00 - 31 - 251 - 821240

Lisa Marie arrived with her entourage to the TAO ultra lounge in Vegas just before 10 PM and sat at a corner table.

The group ordered a bottles of Absolut with Red Bull and grapefruit as mixers.

They only stayed an hour as the gang was exhausted from traveling to Vegas from another trip. They were there to celebrate Elvis' 73rd birthday.

I just finished another venue page I've been working on.

Had a lot of help from my friend Steve with this one. He's got the best pictures.

Check it out: http://scottymoore.net/lubbock.html

Elvis scores another first. The Re: Version of his classic "Baby Let's Play House" as mixed by the Italian DJ Spankox has been released as a new invention and premiered as the 1st release by Elvis on VinylCD (CD and vinyl in one) format on January 8, 2008.

The remix has already reached the #1 spot on Italy's iTunes and Nielsen Soundscan Top Digital Download Charts.

VinylDISC: the new Elvis remix arrives on the revolutionary CD+Vinyl in one.

London, January 12, 2008

A CD that can be played on a turntable. A vinyl record that can be played by a standard CD player. It seems science fiction, instead it’s a true story. The first international release on VinylDISC is the new remix of Elvis Presley's “Baby Let’s Play House” by contemporary DJ/producer Spankox. The VinylDISC combines a CD on one side with vinyl -yes, beautiful black vinyl- on the other. The concept behind VinylDisc is valid, that there are people out there who want to hear their music in pristine digital sound, yet are still drawn to the eclectic analog nature of vinyl, yet want it all on one disc.

Elvis’s “Baby Let’s Play House” (Spankox Re:version) is the first international release on VinylDISC. The record includes a radio version, an extended version and the original remastered Presley song. Also, as bonus, the ringtone version. The radio edit on the 33 rpm vinyl side has been cut with a special and sophisticated “vintage” process to obtain the sound of the records produced in the 50s. So this VinylDISC is indeed a charming collectable item.

The new Elvis Presley’s remixed song Baby Let’s Play House is sitting this week at number two of Italy’s official Nielsen Soundscan Digital Download chart, after Ligabue’s Niente paura and before Alicia Key’s hit No One, now at number three. At number four in the chart sits Eros Ramazzotti’s Non siamo soli followed by Rihanna’s Don’t Stop The Music at five and by Jovanotti’s Fango at six.

Spankox (his real name is Agostino Carollo) is a Verona (Italy) based progressive DJ/producer/composer who most recently wrote and produced the club classic “To The Club” and has produced and remixed tracks for Roxette, Snap! and Vasco Rossi (Italy’s n.1 rockstar) among the others. This release of his treatment to the Elvis classic marks the third time in history that a Presley song that has been remixed by a contemporary DJ/artist will be will mass marketed: the first two, Rubberneckin’ (remixed in 1998 by American DJ Paul Oakenfold) and A Little Less Conversation (remixed in 2003 by Dutch DJ JXL) were wordwide hits, selling millions of copies. The Spankox Re:Version of Baby Let’s Play House will deliver Elvis to a new generation of music fans in an unexpected, cool and compelling way.
For more information please check out: http://www.babyletsplayhouse.com

Photo by U.S. Army - The main gate of Ray Barracks in Friedberg, Germany, is shown here in 1963.

FRIEDBERG, Germany (Army News Service, Jan.10, 2008) - The voice of Elvis Presley echoed through Ray Barracks one last time Monday, returning for a brief moment to his old military stomping grounds.

With Presley's "Hound Dog" reverberating off the cement walls, Lt. Col. Thomas Salo, commander, 102nd Signal Battalion, and Jeurgen Jaeger, 102nd Signal Bn., shut off the main power supply to the KN-4100 telephone switch during a closing ceremony for building 3705 on Ray Barracks.

The barracks were "The King's" home in Friedberg from October 1958 to March 1960 when he served as a member of the 1st Battalion, 32nd Armored Regiment, 3rd Armored Division during his tour in the U.S. Army.

"The historical aspects of this post warranted a ceremony, here in this former home of Elvis," said Salo. "Thousands and thousands of people were able to communicate from lines connected to this building; it is the end of an era."

The massive telephone switch, installed in 1986, enabled 102nd Signal Battalion to provide communications to the Friedberg and Giessen military communities with 400 DSN lines and 20 commercial lines. By 1996 the capacity was bumped up to1400 DSN lines and 40 commercial lines.

"This is not the first communications site to close, and it will not be the last," said Salo.

The garrison closure ceremony for U.S. Army Garrison Giessen, which encompassed Ray Barracks, was held Sept. 28, 2007. And 3705 is the last building on Ray Barracks to be turned over to the Department of Public Works for release back to the host nation, explained James Neufeld, chief of the Operations Management Cell in Hanau.

"It is fitting that commo is the first in and last out," said Salo. "We do not turn off until the last customer is gone. They're gone, so its time to flip the switch."

(Sgt. Elizabeth A. Sheridan serves as NCOIC for 5th Signal Command Public Affairs.)

There are 4 new Re-issue soundboards released by the label BigG on CD from the "Live Soundboard" Collection (following on from the 10 CD boxset last year).

Nothing to get excited about, just cheap re-issue digipacks.

2008/01/11 Bigredgd - Various / www.epgold.com

Music Video: ELV1S #1 Hits Performances: #37
Music Video: Elvis Lives - The 25th Anniversary Concert: #23
Music Video: Aloha From Hawaii: #29

Elvis fell of the Country Catalogue Albums chart, Independent Albums chart, Holiday Albums chart and Hot Holiday Songs chart with his remaining holiday compilations and songs. The ELV1S 30 #1 Hits compilation is the only new entry on the Comprehensive Albums chart.

The Elvis & Friends Radio Show will be celebrating its 30th Anniversary on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008, as creator and host ROCKIN’ RON CADE marks the milestone with a live three-hour broadcast from his Elvis Penthouse Studio Suite on WOGL-FM 98.1 in Philadelphia.

ELVIS & FRIENDS is the longest-running weekly Elvis radio show in America.

ELVIS & FRIENDS creator and host Rockin’ Ron has programmed and written every edition of the show since its first broadcast – and he hasn’t missed a single week in 30 years.

Baseball may have “Iron Man” Cal Ripken who played in a record 2,632 straight games spanning sixteen seasons, but the Elvis World has Rockin’ Ron Cade: 1,560 consecutive weeks over 30 years and counting ….

Rockin’ Ron spotlights Elvis’ music, movies and professional career. No rumors. No gossip. No lies. Just the music and only the facts. He’s been takin’ care of business with tender loving care.

Rockin’ Ron will continue his year-long 30th anniversary celebration on SATURDAY NIGHT, Feb. 9, 2008, with:

A CELEBRATION OF 30 YEARS OF THE ELVIS & FRIENDS RADIO SHOW:

THE ELVIS & FRIENDS TRIBUTE CONCERT

At The Sheraton Bucks County

(Home of the Elvis & Friends Tribute Concert)

400 Oxford Valley Road

Langhorne, Pa.

Performances by Sammy J (International Elvis Tribute Artist) will highlight the 8 p.m.-midnight celebration. Special guest Lisa Lyman will perform her salute to country legend Patsy Cline.

For further information, contact RON CADE at:

MEMPHIS MEMORIES PRODUCTIONS

P.O. BOX 1644

LEVITTOWN, PA. 19058

PHONE: 215 - 269 - 6949

rockinroncade@hotmail.com

http://www.wogl.com/pages/1166866.php

http://www.memphismemoriesproductions.com/index.html

MORE ABOUT ROCKIN' RON CADE and the ELVIS AND FRIENDS SHOW:

ELVIS & FRIENDS is the longest-running weekly Elvis radio show in America.

ELVIS & FRIENDS creator and host Rockin’ Ron has programmed and written every edition of the show since its first broadcast – and he hasn’t missed a single week in 30 years.

Baseball may have “Iron Man” Cal Ripken who played in a record 2,632 straight games spanning sixteen seasons, but the Elvis World has Rockin’ Ron Cade: 1,560 consecutive weeks over 30 years and counting ….

Rockin’ Ron spotlights Elvis’ music, movies and professional career. No rumors. No gossip. No lies.

“In the grand scheme of things, when all is said and done about Elvis, it all comes down to this: Elvis was, is and always will be about the music,” Rockin’ Ron says.

Just the music and only the facts.

“A song like "Kentucky Rain" by Elvis, sounds as fresh today as it did the day it was released. You could play that 50 years from now and it will still sound great. The same for “classic Elvis” stuff like “Jailhouse Rock,” “Hound Dog” and several others.”

Rockin’ Ron has been takin’ care of business (TCB) with tender loving care (TLC).

“One of the things I've tried to bring out on my radio show about Elvis, is the versatility and variety of music he did throughout the years. I continually hear from people who say... “Wow, I didn't know Elvis sang that!”

Early 1978 was somber for Elvis fans, just six months after his passing. Despite the flood of memorabilia and media attention, not all of it portrayed Elvis in the most positive light.

How would the Presley legacy be maintained?

Rockin’ Ron started ELVIS & FRIENDS while working at Philadelphia AM station WRCP because at that time, while Frank Sinatra and The Beatles had radio shows dedicated to their music legacies, there wasn’t an all-Elvis radio program in the Delaware Valley. Rockin’ Ron says he was considering the concept even before Elvis’ passing.

“I just didn’t want anyone to forget him.”

Rockin’ Ron says his goal has been simple: “To remember the music. We give Elvis back to the Elvis fans.”

Rockin’ Ron takes pride that he has based ELVIS & FRIENDS entirely on Presley’s vast catalog of recordings, which has only continued to grow since 1978 with the release of alternate takes, live recordings and the unearthing of recordings no one remembered existed.

“He’s contributed so much to the world, as far as I’m concerned, he’s the greatest entertainer of all time.”

Each week, Rockin’ Ron spotlights an event or theme of Elvis songs with a clever twist: anniversaries of recording sessions and release dates, tributes to songwriters whose work Elvis recorded, or for fun, Elvis songs with girls names in the title, or ones containing the word “blue.”

“One of the things I have tried hard to do is to keep the show fresh. I try to reinvent it every week, with the various features that we do on the show,” Rockin’ Ron says.

The FRIENDS come out to play when Rockin’ Ron spins a song that can have virtually any connection to Elvis. A songwriter’s demo, a comparison version of a tune Elvis also recorded or something recorded by someone who knew or worked with Elvis–or even a singer whose music Elvis enjoyed and The King had in his own personal collection.

"Over the years, I find Elvis' music to be a comfort to me, it has lifted my spirits at times and it has kept me together,” and he cherishes his memories of seeing Elvis in his last area appearance at the Philadelphia Spectrum on May 28, 1977. “I really have admired Elvis professionally, personally and musically for as long as I can remember.”

Rockin’ Ron carved his own niche in the relatively narrow radio universe of 1978 amid fierce competition for airtime to create a successful, multi-hour broadcast: pleasing listeners with its sincere, thoughtful remembrances of the Presley musical legacy, giving radio stations sizable ratings and drawing numerous sponsors.

With the dawn of satellite, Internet and countless other listening options by 2008, Rockin’ Ron hasn’t only retained dedicated listeners from 1978, but has drawn three more generations of Elvis fans.

ELVIS & FRIENDS has won numerous awards and honors, including the 2004 Philadelphia A.I.R. Award for Achievement In Radio for “Best Weekend Show.”

Rockin’ Ron was officially acknowledged and his contribution to Elvis’ enduring legacy was commemorated by GRACELAND and the ESTATE OF ELVIS PRESLEY upon the 25th anniversary of ELVIS & FRIENDS.

A total of eight AM and FM stations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois and Michigan have aired the show during the three-plus decades Rockin’ Ron has kept the Delaware Valley rockin’ and rollin’ by spinning ALL of the hundreds of songs in the Presley catalog commercially released during The King’s lifetime, ALL at least once.

At one point in the mid-80s for many years, Rockin’ Ron hosted and produced two completely different and original broadcasts each week: One for an AM radio station in Philadelphia; the other for a New Jersey AM station.

“I don’t get tired of it, I don’t get sick of it,” Rockin’ Ron says of Elvis’ music. Although he may have played certain Elvis songs thousands of times in his radio career, “I still enjoy them. I really, truly enjoy listening to them.”

Photo:Mark Humphrey-AP - Ken Nelson, left, and the record producer Sam Phillips, both 2001 inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame

Ken Nelson, the record producer behind the twangy Bakersfield Sound made popular by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, died on Sunday at his home in Somis, Calif. He was 96.

He died of natural causes, his daughter told The Associated Press.

Although best known for his work with Mr. Owens and Mr. Haggard, Mr. Nelson also helped reinvent country music when 1950s rock ’n’ rollers like Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins began supplanting perennial hitmakers like Red Foley and Eddy Arnold on the country charts.

Rather than treating the big-beat incursion of Mr. Presley and Mr. Perkins as a threat, Mr. Nelson, then the head of the country division of Capitol Records, saw it as an opportunity to take rural music in a more sophisticated direction.

First he persuaded a rising singer named Sonny James to record “Young Love,” a smooth romantic ballad, which topped both the country and the pop charts in 1957. He also recruited the Jordanaires, the uptown vocal chorus that had already backed Mr. Presley and Mr. James, to sing on “Gone,” a No. 1 country hit for the crooner Ferlin Husky, which reached the pop Top 5.

Both “Young Love” and “Gone” became prototypes for the Nashville Sound, which would give country music more mainstream appeal.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nelson had signed several young rockabilly acts of his own, most notably Gene Vincent and Wanda Jackson. For Mr. Vincent he produced the hiccupping “Be-Bop-a-Lula,” a Top 10 hit on the pop, country and R&B charts in 1956. With Ms. Jackson Mr. Nelson cut the raucous “Let’s Have a Party” in 1960.

A musical omnivore who briefly oversaw the Capitol label’s jazz division as well, Mr. Nelson recorded a broad array of music under the country rubric in his nearly three decades there. The harmony duo the Louvin Brothers, the swing-inflected band of Hank Thompson and the colorful Maddox Brothers & Rose all came under his direction.

Known for being a hands-off producer who let his artists record with their touring bands instead of insisting that they work with studio professionals, Mr. Nelson consistently supervised a roster of acts whose music demonstrated how durable and elastic the country genre could be.

Kenneth F. Nelson was born on Jan. 19, 1911, in Caledonia, Minn. Placed in an orphanage by his mother when he was an infant, he spent his childhood in Chicago, where he would go on to work in a music store and, later, at a radio station, WJJD. Promoted to music director at the station, Mr. Nelson did everything from announcing broadcasts of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to scouting talent for its “hillbilly” variety show, “Suppertime Frolic.”

After serving in the Army during World War II, Mr. Nelson returned to Chicago and WJJD. He also began producing sessions for Capitol, eventually moving to Hollywood in 1948 to work for the label full time. By his retirement in 1976 he had produced around 100 chart-topping country hits, including “The Wild Side of Life,” a No. 1 record for Mr. Thompson for 15 weeks in 1952.

Mr. Owens and Mr. Haggard accounted for more than three dozen of Mr. Nelson’s No. 1 recordings. Many of these were unvarnished, emotionally direct performances that reached beyond country audiences to influence rock acts like the Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Flying Burrito Brothers.

Mr. Nelson’s wife June died in 1984. He is survived by his daughter, Claudia Nelson, and three grandchildren.

A co-founder of the Country Music Association, Mr. Nelson was president of that organization’s board in 1961 and 1962. In 2001 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He published an autobiography, “My First 90 Years Plus 3,” last year.

You can vote for one song from each of the songs featured in each decade. Elvis has several in the 1950's and 'Suspicious Minds' in the 60's.

In order to make the votes count it may be beneficial if we all vote for the same two tracks but ultimately it is your choice.

My choice goes for:

1950's - 'Heartbreak Hotel'

1960's - 'Suspicious Minds'.

It is with the deepest sadness that I must report that we have lost another member of the Elvis family, as well as a beloved Mentor and friend--Bill Belew. Bill lost his fight after a prolonged illness on January 7, 2008. He died of cardiac arrest.

We ask for you to pray for his family and his friend and partner Paul. More information will be added to the site next week upon our returnfrom our business trip to Europe.

In conclusion, and personally speaking, Kim and I are heart broken over the loss of our dear friend of over 20 years. He will be missed deeply. Our love goes to Paul and Bill's family.

"In life there is agony, in death is the nature of things".

God Bless,
Butch Polston

(Butch Polston - George Klein 2007 Photo Copyright: Andy Dumas - Exclusive for EpGold.Com)

"It was a rare occurence to have the pleasure of working with a talent of Bill Belew's caliber. He was a soft spoken and charming gentleman.

My best thoughts to his partner Paul. Our blessings go with Bill."

Gene Doucette

***

I would also like to add that I also had the opportunity to work with Mr.. Belew. He was a terrific guy. Very encouraging, up beat and postive. Not to mention his design talent. He will be greatly missed.

"Over the past 4 year I have been working on a documentary on B&K Enterprises, called 'Fit for a King' - In that time I have become close friends with Butch & Kim Polston & Gene Doucette.

In October 2006 we had the honour of visiting Bill Belew at his home in Palm Springs, to conduct interviews for the documentary. This turned out to be the last interview Bill ever gave.

Bill was a sweet, talented, charming man. It was a thrill to meet and spend time with him. I'm so excited that the documentary is coming out later this year, and everyone can see the amazing story, of these incredibly talented people.'

Andy Dumas

(Jamie Dumas, Billew Belew and Andy Dumas 2006 Photo Copyright: Andy Dumas - Exclusive for EpGold.Com)

“Fit for a King” showcases the close personal relationships B&K Enterprises shares with designer Bill Belew, Presley’s personal designer, and Gene Doucette, who later designed some of the most famous and recognizable stage outfits for Elvis, until his death in 1977.

Containing rare video footage and archival photographs of Elvis wearing his amazing outfits, “Fit for a King” also showcases the risk-taking costume styling and imagery that was part of Presley’s power as a Rock and Roll Icon.

Remember this is the first time Bill Belew and Gene Doucette have gone into this much detail about their years with Elvis, so this is truly a unique documentary, with wonderful stories.

2008/01/11 Butch Polston - www.b-k-enterprises.com - Gene Doucette - Andy Dumas - Andylon Lensen / www.epgold.com

This is a beatiful presented tin-box USA Import package of the "The Very Best Of Love"

The CD contains twelve songs ,5 postcards and an informative booklet with presentable pictures.

The DVD contains backing tracks for karaoke and shows at the same time on screen a couple of hundreds pictures of Elvis.

Track listing CD:

Teddy Bear
Are You Lonesome Tonight
Love Me Tender
It’s Now Or Never
Don’t
Suspicious Minds
Can’t Help Falling In Love
Burning Love
You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me
I’m Yours
It’s Hurts Me
Young And Beautiful

DVD backing tracks:

Suspicious Minds
Teddy Bear
Heartbreak Hotel
I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
One Night
Stuck On You
Can’t Help Falling In Love
Surrender
It’s Now Or Never
Return To Sender
Love Me Tender
Hound Dog

This is the cover art of the "Elvis And Pat Boone: Rockin' Rivals" DVD which is due for release April 3, 2008.

Synopsis:

An entertaining and insightful one-hour look at the friendly rivalry between Mr. Blue Suede Shoes and Mr. White Buck Shoes, who dominated the pop charts in the 1950s.

As Pat himself puts it, "I was the salt and he was the pepper." Included are rare film, TV, and newsreel clips plus revealing interviews with such luminaries as Dick Clark, Tom Jones, Glen Campbell, Kenny Rogers, Phyllis McGuire, Bill Medley, Arlene Dahl, Joe Esposito, Shirley Jones, and the legends themselves: Elvis and Pat Boone.

Hallmark will release the CD entitled "Loving You / Best of Elvis" on February 11, 2008 in the UK. It contains two albums on one disc.

Track listing:

Heartbreak Hotel
I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
Blue Moon
Tutti Frutti
All Shook Up
Hound Dog
Too Much
Any Way You Want Me
Don't Be Cruel
Playin' For Keeps
Mean Woman Blues
(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
Loving You
Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do
Lonesome Cowboy
Hot Dog
Party
Blueberry Hill
True Love
Don't Leave Me Now
Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
I Need You So

EPE is proposing a $250 million Graceland expansion on Elvis Presley Boulevard. What will it mean for Memphis?

To paraphrase John Lennon's rearview summary of rock-and-roll history, "Before Elvis, there was nothing" — before Graceland opened as a tourist attraction, there was no Beale Street tourism, no Sun Studios tours, or Stax or Rock 'n' Soul museums. Elvis Presley would have turned 73 on January 8th, and it might be said that he means more to Memphis dead than alive. Music heritage, and Elvis in particular, anchors the tourism industry that generates an estimated $2.4 billion annually in Memphis. Mixed into the print-news coverage of Graceland's opening in 1982 are ads for Memphis tourist attractions that include Confederate Park, Mud Island, and the Magevney House. With all due respect to those attractions, it's hard to imagine a half-million visitors flocking to Memphis to experience them.

To say that the area surrounding Graceland at 3734 Elvis Presley Boulevard has fallen on hard times overlooks an important fact: It didn't have to fall on hard times. Graceland has been there for 25 years. That Graceland manages to attract 600,000 visitors each year to this strip of used-car lots, fleabag motels, and hot-wing stands testifies to the drawing power of its late owner.

But now a transformation unlike any the city has seen since the gentrification of Beale Street is afoot, with a $250 million investment to redevelop Elvis Presley Boulevard. The investor, CKX, Inc. chairman and chief executive officer Robert F.X. Sillerman, summarized the plan, saying, "It's going to be 'Oh, wow,' I can tell you that."

CKX, owner of the American Idol and British Idol TV programs, paid over $100 million for an 85 percent interest in Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) and the commercial rights to the Elvis image nearly three years ago. Lisa Marie Presley retains a 15 percent share of EPE and ownership of the Graceland mansion. Her mother, Elvis' ex-wife Priscilla Presley, sits on the CKX board of directors. The transaction represented Graceland's arrival from locally owned cottage industry to New York media conglomerate. The artist who, in life, symbolized what writer Stanley Booth called "a certain personal freedom that's in the best of the American tradition," has become a corporate icon.

CKX hopes that the city will kick in to support a revitalization of Whitehaven, the neighborhood that strikes many visitors as an unlikely host for the residence of the world's most recognized entertainer. (CKX is merging with another company and cannot discuss its projects with media due to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulations barring such communication because of the pending merger.)

State and local governments have begun the necessary legislative actions to get the project under way. Last year, the Tennessee legislature passed a bill authorizing a tourism development zone (TDZ) in the area. Among the first orders of business for the new Memphis City Council will be the consideration of motions to approve zoning changes necessary to break ground on the Graceland redevelopment.

"I can't speak to the specifics as to what we're looking for from the state," explains Kevin Kern, media relations manager for EPE. "It's going to be first-class and this is going to be a catalyst for revitalization in this neighborhood."

The "Oh, wow" plan includes an 80,000-square-foot visitor's center and a convention-sized hotel. Though the blueprints remain undisclosed, the power of Elvis to revitalize Whitehaven may yet rival the King's own ascent from rags to riches. While the plans should benefit the neighborhood and the local economy, they also represent a gamble for CKX. Can Sillerman, a New York media mogul, maintain the connection between Elvis and his fans and bring a new generation into the fold?

"We obviously want to attract more people here as we grow our attraction. We want to make Graceland a destination where they'll spend more than just a day touring the mansion," Kern says. "Whether it's a retail component or a new restaurant, getting people to stay here longer is part of the formula. Live entertainment could very well be a component."

Humble Beginnings

The Elvis image wasn't always a ticket to prosperity on the Graceland corridor. The first two Elvis souvenir shops opened in the shadow of Graceland during the months following the King's death on August 16, 1977. The Graceland Gift Shop shared space with a turquoise jewelry store at 3771 Elvis Presley Boulevard, and Elvis Presley Souvenirs and Boutique opened in a former record shop and recording studio at 3787 Elvis Presley. The first shop had gone back to its old name, the Wooden Indian, by the next year. The latter held on for five years before closing.

Presley fans flocked to the June 7, 1982, opening of Graceland from as far away as Tokyo, London, and Australia. The first tours of the mansion began at 8:30 that morning. By noon, an overflow crowd had packed the staging area across the street, a scene repeated thousands of times since. While the event demonstrated the King's magnetic pull on fans, the opening drew no recognition from local officials. Then city mayor Wyeth Chandler and county mayor William Morris skipped it. Despite the civic snub, Graceland sold 3,000 tickets that day at $5 apiece and turned many more pilgrims away.

One visitor that day told The Commercial Appeal, "I predict this will be closed in two years. The tourists will kill it. They'll steal everything in sight." Presley's fans shrieked through entire concerts and tore at the King's clothes and hair if they could get close enough. Why would anyone think his lawn, shag carpet, or rhinestone belt buckles would fare better when subjected to 3,000 visitors a day? But fans channeled that fanaticism into reverence, as once screaming fans turned out by the thousands for solemn candlelight vigils every August and awed strolls through the King's halls.

While Presley pilgrims flocked to Graceland from day one, their presence wasn't enough to support satellite enterprises. An Elvis Presley Museum opened a few blocks south of Graceland shortly after the mansion opened to tourists. In addition to an official Elvis memorabilia shop across the street from Graceland, two other Presley swag stores opened nearby. The museum and both unofficial gift shops closed within a year. About the only unlicensed business bearing the King's name that made it was Floyd's Elvis Presley Amoco, a block north of Graceland

Priscilla Presley retained attorney Jack Soden to guide Graceland's 1982 opening. He stayed on board, and today he is chief executive officer of EPE. Graceland owes much of its high profile as a tourist attraction — it's the most visited private residence in the world — to Soden's management, and CKX hasn't disturbed EPE's structure, ensuring local continuity.

David Meets Goliath on the Boulevard

One of the more compelling subplots of the redevelopment story sits smack in the middle of Graceland's plans. Literally. Boulevard Souvenirs, a retailer of licensed Presley memorabilia, is located next door to Graceland. According to an October Memphis Daily News report, EPE offered Rick Roberts, the shop owner, $350,000 for his inventory. Roberts declined. EPE didn't take the rejection well and changed its licensing agreement with official Elvis memorabilia vendors to prevent them from doing business with "unauthorized" vendors within five miles of Graceland. This would include Boulevard Souvenirs, though a recent perusal of their shelves found nothing but official Elvis gear save for a few exceptions in the book aisle.

Both EPE and the Roberts family have chosen to remain mum on the subject of their disagreement, since the litigation is pending.

The dispute may run deeper. The shop and its one-third-acre lot is the only property on either side of the boulevard for nearly a half-mile around Graceland that EPE doesn't own.

Pulling the available information together, one could surmise that Boulevard Souvenirs stands in the way of the proposed new hotel. The AP report about the redevelopment announcement, endorsed by EPE, says that the hotel will share the east side of the boulevard with Graceland. Eight and a half acres of EPE-owned, undeveloped land virtually surrounds the souvenir shop and runs to the border of the Graceland property and into the back of the Boulevard Souvenirs lot.

Though the Roberts own the Boulevard Souvenirs shop and inventory, a St. Louis company, Commercial Development, Inc., owns the property. They did not respond to a request to discuss the future of the property for this story.

If He Builds It, Will They Come?

The success of the new Graceland development depends on fan response. From that overwhelming turnout to see Graceland on its opening day in June 1982 to the phenomena of velvet Elvis paintings, tribute artists, and the death day vigil, Elvismania has been a grassroots affair.

No Memphian not employed by Graceland spends more time with Elvis tourists than Sherman Willmott. His Ultimate Rock-and Roll tours run visitors to music heritage sites popular and obscure, and Willmott does most of his business with Presley pilgrims. He says that he favors the expansion plan and sees it helping more businesses in general. "Elvis fans would love an improved experience around their pilgrimages," Willmott says. "Elvis fans are the biggest driver of tourism to Memphis, and any improvements to the amenities ... will only benefit Graceland as well as the whole area."

Stanley Booth, author of the Memphis music classic Rythm Oil and the definitive account of the Rolling Stones' ill-fated 1970 tour, is uniquely qualified to ponder the cultural significance of Elvis' image and its resonance with fans. By phone from his home in Georgia, Booth says that he sees a certain irony in an independent spirit such as Elvis becoming corporatized.

"I'm not really surprised to see Elvis' image become corporate, because that's the American way," he says. "That's not to say that I approve of it, but it's to be expected. It's easy to deplore the way that he's become a tourist attraction, but Elvis loved his fans and loved being Elvis and occupying that position in the public mind."

"Elvis fans are coming right now without the improvements," Willmott says. "If the whole experience is improved, people will come in larger numbers and stay in that area (as well as Memphis) longer. The thing to remember is that people are coming from all over the world for this experience, and anything that is substandard reflects poorly on their visit and word of mouth for future visits."

A small sampling of visitors from around the world to Graceland on a cold January day provided mixed reactions to the key points Willmott raises.

A couple from Utrecht, Netherlands, who hopped the direct flight from Amsterdam to Memphis on Northwest Airlines, said, "The neighborhood's very nice." They came specifically for the Elvis experience.

Glen Berry stopped his car outside Graceland's stone wall to take a picture. Berry, passing through town on his way to Las Vegas from Toronto, came out of curiosity more than devotion to the King.

"Why did Elvis want to live here?" Berry wondered, referring to the bustling highway that chugs past Graceland. "I would've figured with all his money he'd go out in the country where the beauty is."

Willmott says that it's not unusual for first-time visitors to be surprised by Graceland's location and surroundings. "Everyone wonders why Elvis would have built Graceland amongst the strip malls, fast food joints, and used car dealerships. I explain how the street was when Elvis bought Graceland in the '50s — it was a [two-lane] highway — and that the suburb built up around it. I also explain that a billionaire bought the rights to Graceland and Elvis' image and intends to fix the area up."

According to Kern, "Elvis does a lot of the work [of attracting new fans]. He's the rock star — 34 percent of our visitors each year are [under 35 years old]. Elvis continues to appeal to fans of a younger generation. Elvis is the icon. Seventy-six percent of our 600,000 visitors are first-time visitors."

Alan Sullivan and his wife Linda made their fourth visit to Memphis from Warwick, England. "I hope Sillerman doesn't plan on changing any of this," Alan said, gesturing toward the mansion grounds.

The couple planned a nine-day stay around Elvis' birthday. "Memphis could do more to help itself," Alan said, noting the unreliable public transportation and outdated and incomplete tourist information he found at the Heartbreak Hotel.

"No one comes to Memphis and says out, 'Oh, if the signage on [Elvis Presley] Boulevard weren't so bad, I'd stay another day,'" Willmott says. "The truth is that a better overall experience with the proposed amenities implemented would have an immediate and long-term impact on Elvis' fans' vacations. People are coming from the ends of the earth and save their money to come to Memphis, so a better experience [equals] longer and more visits."

"I don't admire the corporatization of Elvis, but I think his fans can handle it," Booth says.

CKX hopes so. And that's the $250 million question. Booth reflects philosophically when asked about Presley's power to transform his old neighborhood now. "Elvis had a great faith in the future," he says.

2008/01/10 By Preston Lauterbach - photo's: Justin Fox Burks - www.memphisflyer.com / www.epgold.com

Michael Hoey has written a book about his experiences with Elvis and Hollywood.

Elvis screenwriter shares his story.Michael Hoey recently published the book "Elvis, Sherlock & Me, How I Survived Growing Up in Hollywood." Behind him is a poster from the 1944 Sherlock Holmes movie Spider Woman, in which his dad, Denis Hoey, played Inspector Lestrade. His dad was in several Sherlock Holmes movies from 1942-46. Michael Hoey was a screenwriter who worked on numerous Elvis movies.

It took two-and-a-half movies before Elvis stopped addressing screenwriter Michael Hoey as "Mr. Hoey."

Leave it up to The King to be formal with titles.

"It was just part of his background, the southern gentleman being polite," said Hoey, a San Clemente resident who is only four months older than Presley. "It blew me away. We were the exact same age, and here I felt like I was an older man to him!"

Anecdotes about Presley – who would have turned 73 on Jan. 8 - are what you'll find in Hoey's new book reflecting on his work as a Hollywood screenwriter, including six films starring Presley. "Elvis, Sherlock and Me: How I Survived Growing Up in Hollywood" follows Hoey's career as a screenwriter, director, and producer.

The son of English actor Dennis Hoey, best known for his role as Inspector Lestrade in Universal's Sherlock Holmes series, Hoey was born into the movies. Living in Beverly Hills in the 1940s, he remembers sneaking through broken fences onto studio back lots. It wasn't the glamour of Hollywood he found alluring, but the magic of storytelling that seemed to dwell there.

When he was 10 his father took him to the set of a Sherlock Holmes film, where Hoey watched a stuntman leap through a fake plate glass window made of spun sugar. The director gave him a chunk of spun sugar to keep.

"That was what intrigued me," Hoey said.

ON THE SET: Michael Hoey (left) in a shot on the set of Speedway (1966) with Elvis Presley.

He became a part of that storytelling first as an editor, then a screenwriter. He first met Elvis during a wardrobe meeting for 1965's "Tickle Me." It was a polite meeting, but they soon warmed up, and he found Presley to be a boisterous personality with a great sense of humor.

Elvis loved telling jokes and pulling practical jokes – more than once Presley and his entourage, known as the Memphis Mafia, ran through a set tossing water balloons at one another, and sometimes the cast and crew as well. Hoey added that Presley had an appetite to match his personality: He'd send someone for a box of donuts and eat the entire thing himself.

Michael Hoey (right) in a shot on the set of Stay Away, Joe (1968) with cast members including Elvis Presley.

That said, it wasn't easy getting close to The King. Presley often appeared to be aloof; in time, Hoey realized he was terribly shy. He thinks that's why the Memphis Mafia – made up of relatives and army and school buddies – followed him wherever he'd go.

"Between takes, he wouldn't hang around on set. He'd go hang with the guys," Hoey said.

In his book, Hoey writes that Presley would sometimes mistreat his entourage, but he had a softer side, too. Shortly after the birth of his daughter, Lisa Marie, Presley spied Hoey on the set of a film and waved him over. They walked to another set, decorated as a bedroom. Presley laid out five or six photographs of his daughter on the bed, beaming over them and saying "That's my little girl."

Michael Hoey (left) in a shot on the set of Live A Little, Love A Little (1968)with cast members including Elvis Presley.

Though the quality of the films he starred in waxed and waned, Presley was quite a good actor, Hoey said. Movies like "King Creole" and "Live a Little, Love a Little" proved that. Hoey thought Presley was best at humor and fight scenes.

Hoey worked with Presley until 1968. Shortly afterward, Presley returned to a hard-living life on tour, taking diet pills to keep his weight down, and downers to sleep after taking diet pills, Hoey said. The combined addiction is what Hoey believes led to his tragic death.

In his book, Hoey writes more about his reflections on Presley and his own strained relationship with his father. His next book will be about his experiences with the television show "Fame," which he wrote, directed and produced for its first five to six years.

C. F. Martin Commemorative Limited & Special Editions Honor The King of Rock & Roll: Elvis Presley.

Elvis Presley was, is and always will be the King of rock & roll. Influenced by the pop, country, rhythm & blues and gospel music of the early 1950s, he took rock & roll from novelty to mainstream in a brilliant career that included 150 gold, platinum or multi-platinum singles and albums, 149 songs on the Billboard “Hot 100 Pop Chart,” 1,100 concert appearances, 3 television specials, 33 movies and record sales that now surpass one billion worldwide. His death in 1977 at age 42 stunned the world, but so enduring is his popularity that the 1992 United States postage stamp bearing his likeness is the top selling commemorative stamp of all time and Graceland, his home in Memphis, welcomes more than 600,000 visitors each year.

While best known for his singing, Elvis’ guitar playing served him well, especially in the early years of his career. His pulsing, rhythmic strumming was featured on many of his early recordings and on stage in the mid-1950s, when Martin was his guitar. He began with a used 000-18 in 1954, but within months had traded it in for a 1942 Martin D-18. The next year he got a 1955 D-28; fitted with a custom-tooled leather cover with his name across the lower bout, it became perhaps his most recognized acoustic due to the many Elvis concert photos in which it appears.

A Martin also was Elvis’ main acoustic at the end of his career. He played a mid-1970s D-28 during his last concert tour and it was the last guitar he played on stage in June of 1977. The instrument was packed and ready to go back out on the road with Elvis when he died on August 16, 1977; it now resides in the collection at Graceland.

In tribute to Elvis Presley on the 30th anniversary of his passing – also, coincidentally, the 175th anniversary of the Martin Guitar Company – Martin is excited to offer two exceptional commemorative edition guitars fit for the King and his legion of fans. Sporting exclusive appointments throughout, the Martin D-28M and D-28 Elvis Presley Commemorative Editions capture Elvis’ unique charisma.

Limited to just 175 guitars to mark C. F. Martin’s 175th anniversary, the D-28M Elvis Presley Commemorative Limited Edition features rare Madagascar rosewood back and sides (which closely resembles Brazilian rosewood), and an Adirondack spruce top with 5/16” scalloped Adirondack spruce braces for brilliant, powerful tone. Fine black and white inlay lines highlight the Style 28 soundhole rosette and purfling, the latter accented by elegant grained ivoroid binding.

The D-28 Elvis Presley Commemorative Special Edition features back and sides of East Indian rosewood and a top of Carpathian spruce. The combination of these fine tonewoods and 5/16” scalloped top bracing produces a responsive guitar with impressive volume, punch and sustain. The Style 28 rosette is matched by Style 28 purfling around the top and back. The body is bound in grained ivoroid.

The Elvis motif of these Dreadnoughts begins on the polished black ebony headstock just above the nut, where the silhouette of the King and his Martin – modeled after a famous 1956 photograph – are inlaid in mother of pearl and black pearl. Small pearl-bordered abalone star position marker inlays at the 5th, 7th (two), 9th, 15th, and 17th frets on the fingerboard flank Elvis’ signature at the 12th fret. The black Micarta heelcap features his “TCB Lightning Bolt” logo – a design that originated with the “Taking Care of Business” pendants Elvis gave to friends – inlaid in mother of pearl.

Classic 1950s-inspired Martin appointments common to these beautiful guitars include a 1 11/16” neck with diamond volute carved from genuine mahogany and satin finished, Grover deluxe nickel Kluson™ tuners with small oval metal buttons, the old style Martin decal logo on the headstock, black ebony fingerboard and belly bridge, genuine bone nut and saddle, and a flawless polished gloss lacquer finish with vintage-appropriate light amber aging toner on the top. In keeping with their black and white palette, these Limited Editions come with white bridge and end pins topped with black dots, and a polished and beveled black pickguard.

The unique tooled leather guitar cover originally created by Charles Underwood made Elvis’ D-28 instantly recognizable. Therefore, the D-28M Elvis Presley Commemorative Limited Edition is outfitted with a tooled leather guitar cover based upon Charles’ design and is delivered in a special oversized vintage Geib style hardshell case to accommodate the guitar and cover. The D-28 Elvis Presley Commemorative Special Edition may be ordered without the leather guitar cover in a vintage Geib style hardshell case, or with the cover at an extra cost, an upgrade that also includes the oversized case. Factory-installed electronics (those Martin offers without side controls) can be ordered as an extra-cost option. Left-handed instruments may be ordered at no additional cost, though tooling on the leather guitar cover cannot be reversed.

Each D-28M and D-28 Elvis Presley Commemorative Edition guitar bears two interior labels specially designed for these models. The primary interior label for the D-28M Elvis Presley is numbered in sequence with the total number of guitars in the edition, while the primary label for the D-28 Elvis Presley is numbered in sequence without total: both include a holographic, official “Elvis Presley Signature” sticker of authenticity. Authorized C. F. Martin dealers will begin taking orders for the Martin D-28M and D-28 Elvis Presley Commemorative Edition guitars immediately and participating dealers will be listed on the Martin Guitar website at www.martinguitar.com

Rare Elvis Presley Footage on eBay.

The iSold It Sherman Oaks location has been selected to manage the eBay listing for rare, never before seen, backstage footage of Elvis Presley. The eBay listing will begin on Saturday, January 12th 2008 at http://www.isolditso.com

The listing is for 4 1/2 hours of black and white original unedited video and audio of Elvis Presley's last two recorded live concerts in Omaha, Nebraska, June 19, 1977, and Rapid City, South Dakota, on June 21, 1977.

It includes intimate backstage scenes, candid dressing room footage and hallway shots of Elvis, his girlfriend, Ginger Alden, and his father, Vernon Presley. It also includes the presentation of the Full Circle Medallion of Life from the Sioux Indian Reservation. The concerts are unedited and contain the original audio mix and camera shots. The electricity and excitement is utterly phenomenal.

The two concerts include approximately 27 different songs sung by Elvis. At that time, no one dreamed Elvis would die six weeks later. This unedited footage was a direct feed into the recording/audio engineer's truck. The Presley Estate has given the engineer's widow their consent to sell this unique one-of-kind package as a collector's treasure only.

The Estate will not give its consent for reproduction. More information about these special events can be found on numerous places on the internet including the official Elvis website: http://www.elvis.com

The brand new Aloha Picture book ´The Day Elvis came closest to Japan´ is expected in just days for release.

This book contains 100 pages, soft cover, and holds the unseen pictures of a Japanese Music Reporter who attended all 5 Hawaiian shows in November 1972 and January 1973.

The latest CD from memory Records Rock Back The Clock has just been released.

It is a audience recording of Elvis' new years eve concert from December 31. 1975. One of the Elvis shows with the highest attendance ever.

Content:

CD 1:

Also Sprach Zarathustra - See See Rider - I Got A Woman/Amen - Monologue - Love Me - Trying To Get To You - And I Love You So - All Shook Up - Teddy Bear/Don't Be Cruel - Heartbreak Hotel - One Night - You Gave Me A Mountain - Polk Salad Annie - Monologue - Sweet, Sweet Spirit (The Stamps)

CD 2:

Band intro - What'd I Say - Drum Solo - Bass Solo - Piano Solo - Keyboard solo - School Days - My Way - Love Me Tender - Monologue - Auld Lang Syne - How Great Thou Art (w/ reprise) - It's Now Or Never - America - Monologue - Hound Dog - Wooden Hart (part only) - Can't Help Falling In Love - Closing Vamp

Bonus:

Elvis speaks about his New Years Eve show (Seattle, April 26 1976) - Elvis speaks about his New Years Eve show (Atlanta, June 5 1976)

2008/01/09 www.elvisunlimited.com / www.epgold.com

Different from last August, the so-called Aloha Rehearsel Suit was moved back to the Graceland Archive Department.

'Both Aloha suits in one display was just for the 30th Anniversary Week only', chief of the Archive Dept Angie Marchese said.

Maybe we'll do it again sometime - but only for special occasions.' All other suits, of course, were still on display in the various museums on Elvis Presley Boulevard.

Central guest at the annual Cutting of the Birthday Cake this year, was Priscilla Presley who attended the ceremony for the first time.

Cilla thanked the many fans (over a thousand showed up) and promised to make this year 'a year of surprises. We all want you to come back, she sai, so therefore we know what to do.

' One of the first (small) changes takes place in the raquetball building next month, when the 'load of gold' of 2007 is added to the Golden Record Collection.

I just receievd an E-Mail from a dear and close friend of mine and Bill Belew.

Bill Belew passed away yesterday of cardiac arrest. Paul, his roommate called and said he'd been in the hospital for about 7 weeks.

There is probably going to be a memorial service in about a month, but no official funeral service.

Bill Belew, who headed the design team for Elvis Presley's stagewear and much of his personal wardrobe from 1969 to 1977, died of cardiac arrest yesterday after a prolonged illness. In lieu of flowers the family suggests that donations be made to any of a number of Bill's favorite charities per his wishes. A list of those charities and other details will be posted here as soon the family provides the information.

Bill Belew and his design team made an outstanding contribution to the definition of Elvis Presley's personal style on stage and off. Belew designed the now iconic black leather suit Elvis wore for the key components of his all important 1968 "comeback" television special, along with his other outfits for the show. The collaboration continued through the 1970s, including the famous jumpsuits Elvis wore on stage, most notably the American Eagle jumpsuit made for the global television concert event Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii, via Satellite.

"You could be daring as a designer and put anything on Elvis and he could make it work. And the simplest outfits that didn't seem particularly remarkable on the rack transformed into something spectacular when Elvis put them on. He was that beautiful and powerful a presence. As a wardrobe designer Bob Mackie had a perfect muse and a perfect canvas in Cher. I got to have that in Elvis." - Bill Belew

Bill Belew played a special role in Elvis history and was a beloved friend to all of us at Elvis Presley Enterprises. We will miss him.

As part of the 2008 Elvis Insiders Reception, 10 lucky Insiders won an experience of a lifetime. After the annual Elvis birthday proclamation ceremony, they were shuttled back to the Graceland barn for a rare, private tour hosted by Priscilla Presley.

As she welcomed them to the barn she laughed and said, "Come in, you are Insiders aren't you?" As she showed the guests around, she shared many of her memories of fun times at Graceland and with Elvis. Each received a photo of themselves with Priscilla taken next to one of Elvis's saddles.

If you are an Elvis Insider, you can check out some behind-the-scenes photos from this historic event and a great video will be posted soon.

If you are not an Elvis Insider, you are missing out on all the fun. You can find out more and become a member by

In Memory Of His Birthday January 8 - We Miss You Elvis..... 30 years later....

Please Check Out Our Rare "Elvis Footage" Section With More Than 300 Private Footage - Live-Shows - Film Clips - Remix Clips - Outtakes And Much More.....

The Paley Center for Media (formerly The Museum of Television & Radio) will present a fortieth anniversary salute to Elvis Presley’s’68 Comeback Special, kicking off the twenty-fifth annual William S. Paley Television Festival (PaleyFest08) on March 14, 2008. Priscilla Presley will join in the celebration which will include a screening of the special followed by a discussion with Presley.

In his first television special originally broadcasted as Singer Presents Elvis, Elvis Presley, who had spent most of the decade as a film actor, returned to his concert roots exhibiting the charismatic and emotionally charged performing style that secured his reputation as the “King of Rock & Roll.” Taped in June 1968 and aired on December 3 of that year, the program attracted 42 percent of the television viewing audience and became the season’s top-rated special. It stands as one of the great moments in rock history and a stunningly brilliant milestone in Elvis Presley’s career.

PaleyFest08 will be held from March 14 to 27, 2008, at its new location at the historic Cinerama Dome at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood. As previously announced, acclaimed producer/writer Judd Apatow along with two of the new season’s hits, Gossip Girl and Pushing Daisies, are among the honorees at the upcoming PaleyFest08. Additional details and the complete schedule for PaleyFest08 will be announced on Monday, February 4, 2008. Tickets will go on sale to Paley Center Members on Thursday, February 7, 2008. Tickets will be available to the general public beginning the following Sunday, February 10, 2008.

Elvis Presley didn't put Las Vegas on the map, but he did insert the everlasting "Viva" in front of it. So, to celebrate what would have been his 73rd birthday, we're giving Elvis a Vegas map of his own.

CLICK HERE on our interactive map to find the King's favorite places to hold court during his valley sojourns. Elvis' spirit never left these buildings, although many of them have since left us.

Elvis Presley didn't put Las Vegas on the map, but he did insert the everlasting "Viva" in front of it. So, to celebrate what would have been his 73rd birthday, we're giving Elvis a Vegas map of his own.

Below, you'll find the King's favorite places to hold court during his valley sojourns. Elvis' spirit never left these buildings, although many of them have since left us.

AP Photo: Nancy Anderson Today & A collection of magazines and stories about Elvis Presley that Nancy Anderson edited and wrote...

BELL BUCKLE, Tenn. - Hollywood scribe Nancy Anderson wasn't expecting much when she first interviewed Elvis Presley in 1956 on the set of his movie "Love Me Tender."

"I didn't really want to meet Elvis because I had just talked to Fabian (Note EpGold:- Fabian became a well known singer-actor early 60's???) and some of these other teen idols and I thought 'Well, here's one more. He won't even know his name,'" Anderson, now 89 years old and retired, recalled recently.

But it surprisingly led to a friendship with Presley that lasted until his death in 1977 and continues today with family of the late star, who would have turned 73 on Tuesday.

"He was a nice man and a lot brighter than people thought," she says from her home in this bucolic town set amid rolling horse farms and steep wooded hills about 50 miles south of Nashville.

"We'd sit around and talk about the Battle of Shiloh. We'd talk about religion and girls and making movies and Memphis. Just whatever."

First as a freelance writer and later as West Coast editor of Photoplay and other movie magazines, Anderson reported on Hollywood when the glow from its golden age was still fresh and Americans idolized screen legends such as John Wayne, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.

While chronicling the actors and the industry that made them famous, she got to know a lot of them. Spend an hour with her and you'll pick up tidbits only an insider could know about people like Marlon Brando and Ronald Reagan.

"I really liked Elvis a lot. I loved John Wayne. He was good to me. I was very fond of Barbara Stanwyck. And Robert Mitchum I liked real well," she recalls.

Her connection with Presley was a natural. Both came to California from Tennessee — she from Nashville, he from Memphis — and they shared an affinity for Southern culture and history. And of course, they worked in the same industry and knew many of the same people.

"I think I probably reminded him of his mother," said Anderson, who was 16 years Presley's senior. "That's when everybody was making fun of Elvis and I didn't. I think I understood him better."

Over the years, she'd get calls from the star's manager, "Colonel" Tom Parker, who'd ask her if she wanted to visit Presley. Later, Presley would invite her to his concerts (she still has a scarf he gave her at one of them). Anderson also became close with Presley's wife, Priscilla, his father, Vernon, and his stepmother, Dee. She hasn't heard from Priscilla for a few years, but she still gets occasional phone calls from Dee.

Anderson last saw Presley around the time she left Hollywood to return with her husband to Tennessee, where she wrote about country music for a while before retiring. It was the 1970s and she went to see him in Lake Tahoe, Nev., where they spoke in his dressing room. He looked ill, she said, and it wasn't long after that that he died.

"Dee (Presley) called me and wanted to know if I wanted to go to the funeral with her. I said 'I can't, Dee. I'm going to Hawaii that day,'" she recalled. "I didn't want to go to the funeral, and so I went to Hawaii."

These days, Anderson enjoys reading history and watching old movies. She prefers to remember Hollywood and its leading men and women the way they used to be, when they were suave and charming and under contract with the big studios.

Today's crop doesn't impress her.

"There's not a John Wayne or a Robert Mitchum in the bunch," she sighs.

2008/01/08 By John Gerome - AP Entertainment Writer / www.epgold.com

ElvisMatters is proud to announce the Dutch translation of the best seller "The Gospel Side of Elvis" by Joe Moscheo, with preface by Priscilla.

It's the first time that an indepth book by a former member of Elvis's muscial entourage is translated in Dutch.

The book hits the shelves next March: 180 pages, soft cover. Soon a Swedish version will be made available too.

The Mississippi RiverKings of the Central Hockey League are pleased to announce that the RiverKings will be celebrating Elvis’s birthday on Saturday, January 12, 2008 at the DeSoto Civic Center, located in Southaven, Mississippi.

The RiverKings will have Elvis music, film clips ,and themed intermissions to celebrate the day. Also, the RiverKings will be wearing commemorative Elvis Presley “Jailhouse Rock” hockey jerseys during the game, which will be auctioned off live after the game.

The Madison import label will release shortly after the soon-to-be released A Wild Weekend in Huntsville ! - Volume two a CD titled Hot August Night featuring the August 12, 1972 Midnight Show as recorded from the soundboard live at the Las Vegas Hilton. Elvis was in great form physically and vocally ,and delivered an excellent performance in the Hilton Showroom that night. This packaging will contain a superb 16 page booklet with liner notes and color photographs. This concert features a few previously released performances but for the first time available unedited. A great show in excellent sound quality.....don't miss it !

1- Introduction: Also Sprach Zarathustra ; 2- C.C. Rider ; 3- I Got A Woman / Amen ; 4- Proud Mary ; 5- Never Been To Spain ; 6- Until It's Time For You To Go ; 7- You've Lost That Loving Feeling ; 8- Polk Salad Annie ; 9- What Now My Love ; 10- Fever ; 11- Love Me ; 12 - Blue Suede Shoes ; 13- One Night ; 14- All Shook Up ; 15- Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel ; 16- Heartbreak Hotel ; 17- Hound Dog ; 18- For The Good Times ; 19- Suspicious Minds ; 20- Band introductions ; 21- My Way ; 22- An American Trilogy ; 23- A Big Hunk 'O Love ; 24- Tiger Man (opening only) ; 25- Can't Help Falling In Love ; 26- Closing Vamp

Picture shows producer Björn with the TCB guys after the show in Uddevalla 2007.

On Elvis 73rd birthday, tuesday 8th of January (what a perfect timing!), the tickets to TCB-Bands shown in Uddevalla Sweden will be released.

As a tradition, (the bands third time in Uddevalla!) the concert will be held at the Östrabo theatre in Uddevalla.

Tickets are priced at 375 Sek + servicefee, and will be sold by Uddevallas turistcenter, telephone 0522-99720, int. +46 522 99720 or mail info@uddevalla.com

Date and time for the concert will be, wednesday 16th of april 8pm, lobby will be open from 6pm, and as usually there will be salestables packed with everyting Elvis you can think of!

Fronting the band in Uddevalla will be the fantastic singer Bobo Moreno (DK/US) who played with the band on several occasions through the years.

Welcome!

The annual Sam Phillips Music Celebration is under way in the Shoals, celebrating the Florence native's colossal influence on the course of popular music in the 20th century.

It's been more than 50 years since Sam Phillips first recorded a young unknown singer who would go on to shake up the world with a brand of music called rock 'n' roll, but the influence of those recordings and many others reverberates even today.

Phillips, of Florence, first recorded Elvis Presley in 1954. The Mississippi truck driver, fresh out of high school, had what Phillps was looking for - a white man who could sing with a black man's soul. The rest, as they say, is history.

It seems that Phillips, who died in 2003 at the age of 80, was born to be a world shaker. He left Florence in the late 1940s and opened Memphis Recording Service as a way to not only supplement his disc jockey income but to indulge his lifelong fascination with sound. He was soon recording the blues artists working Memphis clubs looking for a break. Howlin' Wolf, Rufus Thomas and B.B. King, then largely unknown, made some of their first recordings with Phillips. In 1951, Phillips produced a record by Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats - "Rocket 88" - that some music historians say was the first rock 'n' roll record. With the meteoric success of Presley, Phillips formed Sun Records and soon had a stable of artists who shaped a radical new pop music. Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Charlie Rich and others unleashed music like no one had heard - and it was an instant hit with young listeners. It's influence continues to this day in the independent music makers who tap into the spirit of freedom that Phillips cherished.

The celebration of Phillips' music continues today with a noon showing of the A&E biography "Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll," at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. It will be screened again on Friday. Then, at 8 p.m. this evening, the Muscle Shoals to Music Row performance at Fizz lounge in the Holiday Inn will feature T. Graham Brown and Jimmy Hall. On Friday at 8 p.m., "The Official Sam Jam" kicks off at the Shoals Theater with the Paul Thorn Band performance. The celebration culminates Saturday at the Marriott Shoals Resort & Conference Center. From 6-8 p.m., acoustic music rooms will feature the Christian Turner Trio, Michelle Malone and Jason D. Williams. At 9 p.m., members of Nashville's Muzik Mafia, including John Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Shannon Lawson, James Otto, Jon Nicholson and Cowboy Troy will perform.

The Phillips music celebration gets bigger every year - a sign that his pioneering spirit still lives.

SAM PHILLIPS, legendary owner of Sun Records and the producer who put the names of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich and Jerry Lee Lewis, etc, on the charts . . . died at little after 7 p.m. July 30, 2003 in a Memphis hospital. Phillips, 80, had been ill most of the year, in and out of the hospital. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital Wednesday night, but it was too late, he was already dead.

Phillips founded Memphis' Sun Records back in 1952. He's the man who brought us the sounds of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and many other musicians. Phillips sold the company in 1969 and has been focusing on the radio stations he owned in Alabama since then. Sam was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the 1980's, and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. He leaves two sons, Knox & Jerry.

2008/01/06 TimesDaily.com - www.rockabillyhall.com / www.epgold.com

With Warner Brothers’ backing, Sony’s Blu-ray high-definition format now has about 70 percent of the DVD market locked up.

LOS ANGELES — The high-definition DVD war is all but over.

Hollywood’s squabble over which of two technologies will replace standard DVDs skewed in the direction of the Sony Corporation on Friday, with Warner Brothers casting the deciding vote in favor of the company’s Blu-ray discs over the rival format, HD DVD.

In some ways, the fight is a replay of the VHS versus Betamax battle of the 1980s. This time, however, the Sony product appears to have prevailed.

“The overwhelming industry opinion is that this decides the format battle in favor of Blu-ray,” said Richard Doherty, research director at the Envisioneering Group, a market research firm in Seaford, N.Y.

Behind the studio’s decision are industrywide fears about the sagging home entertainment market, which has bruised the movie industry in recent years as piracy, competition from video games and the Internet, and soaring costs have cut into profitability. Analysts predict that domestic DVD sales fell by nearly 3 percent in 2007, partly because of confusion in the marketplace over the various formats.

HD DVD, however, is not dead. Two major studios, Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures, have deals in place to continue releasing their movies exclusively on HD DVD, as does DreamWorks Animation. Warner Brothers, part of Time Warner, will also continue to release its titles on both formats until the end of May.

But by supporting Blu-ray, Warner Brothers, the largest player in the $42 billion global home entertainment market, makes it next to impossible for HD DVD to recover the early momentum it achieved.

While the specifics of the Blu-ray and HD DVD skirmish might be of interest only to insiders, the consequences of deciding a winner are not. Consumers have been largely sitting on the sidelines, waiting to buy high-definition players until they see which will have the most titles available. Retailers have been complaining about having to devote space to three kinds of DVDs. And the movie business has delayed tapping a lucrative new market worth billions. High-definition discs sell for a 25 percent premium.

“Consolidating into one format is something that we felt was necessary for the health of the industry,” Barry M. Meyer, the chief executive of Warner Brothers, said in a telephone interview. “The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger.”

In addition to Sony, a consortium of other electronics makers back Blu-ray. For Sony, Warner’s decision is a chance to rewrite history: the company faltered in its introduction of Betamax in the consumer market in the 1980s. Many analysts say the HD DVD players now risk becoming the equivalent of Betamax machines, which died out in large part because it became harder for consumers to find Betamax movies as studios shifted allegiance to VHS.

With Warner on board, Blu-ray now has about 70 percent of the market locked up; Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox, MGM, Lionsgate and, of course, Sony are all on Blu-ray’s team. Warner Brothers has some of the bigger releases in 2008, including “Speed Racer,” the Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” and the sixth Harry Potter installment.

“This doesn’t necessarily kill the HD DVD format, but it definitely deals it a severe blow,” said Paul Erickson, an analyst at the NPD Group’s DisplaySearch. “When a consumer asks a store clerk which format to buy, that clerk is now going to have a hard time arguing for HD DVD.”

In a prepared statement, Toshiba said it was “quite surprised” and “particularly disappointed” by Warner’s decision. “We will assess the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies,” the company said. Universal Pictures declined to comment.

Warner Brothers has been courted for months by both sides. Toshiba dispatched Yoshihide Fujii, the executive in charge of its HD DVD business, to the studio three times in recent months, according to Time Warner executives who were granted anonymity because the negotiations were confidential. Sony has aimed even higher: Howard Stringer, the conglomerate’s chief executive, has leaned on Jeffrey Bewkes, the new chief executive of Time Warner.

Money was an issue. Toshiba offered to pay Warner Brothers substantial incentives to come down on its side — just as it gave Paramount and DreamWorks Animation a combined $150 million in financial incentives for their business, according to two executives with knowledge of the talks who asked not to be identified.

Kevin Tsujihara, president of the Warner Brothers Home Entertainment Group, declined to comment on whether any payments were offered for support of Blu-ray. “This market is absolutely critical to our future growth,” he said in a telephone interview. “You couldn’t put a number on that.”

For his part, Mr. Meyer said, “We’re not in this for a short-term financial hit.”

Which high-definition technology is better has been the subject of intense debate in Hollywood and electronics circles for years. HD DVD players have been much cheaper than Blu-ray machines, but Blu-ray discs have more storage space and more advanced protections against piracy. Both versions deliver sharp resolution.

Consumers were inundated with marketing from both sides during the recent holiday season. Wal-Mart, as part of a temporary promotion, offered Toshiba players for under $100. Sony and its retailing partners, including Best Buy, responded by dropping prices on Blu-ray players, although not to the same level. Blu-ray players can now be purchased for under $300.

Still, Blu-ray was emerging as a front-runner as early as August. Blu-ray titles have sharply outsold HD DVD offerings — by as much 2 to 1, according to some analysts — and some retailers like Target started stocking only Blu-ray players. Blockbuster said last summer that it would carry Blu-ray exclusively.

“We’ve been monitoring the situation with consumers for a while now and they have clearly made their choice,” Mr. Meyer said. “We followed.”

2008/01/06 By Brooks Barnes - www.nytimes.com / www.epgold.com

Sony/BMG Canada is releasing Love Elvis--3 CD COLLECTOR'S TIN as part of its Valentine's Day promotion.

The set includes an unreleased/rare alternate version of For The Good Times.

2008/01/06 Barry McLean - www.elvisinfonet.com / www.epgold.com

Platinum Deluxe Media (MP MEDIA) will release the "Early Elvis" on January 8, 2008 in Germany while "The Legend Lives On" 3 CD box will be released by the Golden Stars label in France on January 28, 2007.

This is the complete artwork of the soundtrack for the ABC television special featuring Elvis Presley and a cast of celebrity performers like Miranda Lambert, Daughtry, Chris Isaak, Brandi Carlile, Toby Keith, Joe Perry, Faith Hill, Norah Jones, The Little Willies, Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen. This CD was released January 2, 2008.

Track listing

Viva Las Vegas - Bruce Springsteen
Suspicious Minds - Daughtry
Love Me Tender - Chris Isaak / Brandi Carlile
Mystery Train - Toby Keith / Joe Perry
(There'll Be) Peace In the Valley (For Me) - Faith Hill
Love Me - The Little Willies
Jailhouse Rock - Miranda Lambert
Mystery Train - Elvis Presley
Love Me Tender - Elvis Presley
Love Me - Elvis Presley
(There'll Be) Peace In the Valley (For Me) - Elvis Presley
Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
Viva Las Vegas - Elvis Presley
Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley
Looking For Elvis - Patti Scialfa

2008/01/06 www.amazon.de - Ebay - www.elvisnews.com / www.epgold.com

Elvis Presley fans are gearing up for activities in Memphis that will celebrate the "King of Rock and Roll's" birthday through the weekend and ending Tuesday.

Activities in Memphis will include a concert of Elvis' music tonight, a reception and tour at Graceland Sunday, a scavenger hunt at Graceland Monday and a gospel tribute to Elvis Tuesday.

Henry Harrison, president of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, on Thursday said Presley and the late rockabilly legend Carl Perkins were "closely united.''

Both singers had hits wth their recordings of "Blue Suede Shoes,'' a song written and recorded first by Perkins.
"They were friends, and they recorded at Sun Records during the same time period; they recorded the same style of music, and according to the music historians in America Way magazine, Elvis and Carl Perkins were the two artists who were highly influential in starting a new style of music in the United States," Harrison said. "And it was called rockabilly.

"Their friendship was not only on stage, but it was also a personal friendship," Harrison said.

Presley was born on Jan. 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Miss. He died Aug. 16, 1977, of a heart attack at his Graceland mansion in Memphis. He was 42. Presley would be 73 Tuesday had he lived.

Harrison said he doesn't plan to attend any of the birthday activities but is planning to attend events in August observing Presley's death.

The International Rockabilly Music Festival is held each August in Jackson just three days prior to the start of Memphis events observing Presley's death, Harrison said.

The August festival in Jackson draws rockabilly fans who go on to attend events in Memphis.

"January will not be as big as August," Harrison said. "We've already sold tickets to people for the August celebration."

The Elvis Birthday Pops Concert will be held at 8 p.m. tonight at The Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, located at 255 N. Main St., in downtown Memphis. It will feature the Memphis Symphony Orchestra presenting a concert of Elvis music performed from the original music charts from Elvis Presley's concert tours, according to elvis.com.

The Terry Mike Jeffrey Band will perform as the rhythm section, with lead vocals by Terry Mike Jeffrey. Special guest starts are members of Elvis's original TCB Band: James Burton, Glen D. Hardin and Ronnie Tutt.

The ''bears on tour'' scavenger hunt at Graceland will be held from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. Monday at Graceland Mansion, according to the Web site. It will feature special exhibits from the Graceland Archives that will be in place inside the residential area of the mansion.

On Tuesday, fans are asked to join the D&N's Elvis Presley Fan Club at the gates of Graceland at midnight on Elvis's birthday to sing gospel songs and happy birthday, the Web site said.

The Hall of Fame is located at 105 N. Church St. in Jackson and celebrates icons like Presley and Carl Perkins, also known as the "Godfather of Rockabilly." To learn more about Presley birthday events, visit elvis.com.

With the holidays over Elvis dropped out of a lot of charts. Last week he was listed eleven times more on different charts with mainly Christmas releases but also with his "Ultimate Gospel" and "ELV1S 30 #1 Hits" compilation.

New on the import market is the CD 'Moody Blue'. The producers made it a 'blue' project, including a blue (factory made) disc, blue cover, blue jumpsuit and blue CD box.

The first pressing was limited to 100 copies, but is already sold out. A second pressing, according to our sources, is in the making.

Track List:

MOODY BLUE ( take 3)

UNCHAINED MELODY ( 06-21-1977)

PLEDGING MY LOVE ( unedited master)

LET ME BE THERE ( 06-10-1975)

SHE THINKS I STILL CARE ( take 2B)

LITTLE DARLIN´ (05-06-1975)

IF YOU LOVE ME ( 05-06-1975)

HELL HAVE TO GO ( rough master mix)

WAY DOWN ( take 2)

ITS EASY FOR YOU ( take 1)

MOODY BLUE ( 02-11-1977)

SHE THINKS I STILL CARE ( take 10)

WAY DOWN ( false start/master)

UNCHAINED MELODY ( 02-20-1977)

PLEDGING MY LOVE ( take 3)

Note EpGold: This Limited Edition CD was released in friendly association with STAR Entertainment.

2008/01/05 www.elvismatters.be / www.epgold.com

Some counts dropped against pathologist.

PITTSBURGH - A federal judge allowed prosecutors Friday to drop many counts filed against a celebrity pathologist to simplify their misconduct case, but they won't be able to refile the charges later if they wish.

Cyril Wecht, 76, is accused of using his public office and Allegheny County staff to benefit his multimillion-dollar private pathology practice before resigning as medical examiner in January 2006.

Wecht, famous for his investigations in the cases of Elvis Presley, JonBenet Ramsey and others, remains a consultant, pundit and expert on high-profile cases. He also conducts autopsies-for-hire in several Pennsylvania counties.

Federal prosecutors filed a motion last month to drop 43 of 84 counts to "streamline" their case, but they also wanted to retain the right to refile the charges.

Wecht's attorneys contend the dropped charges were false and shoddily investigated, and argued that eliminating them would let prosecutors hide weak parts of their case.

The attorneys also said dismissing the counts while allowing prosecutors to refile them would have unfairly left Wecht open to future prosecution.

U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab agreed on the latter point in a ruling Friday.

"It simply would not be fair to Dr. Wecht, at this late stage of the proceedings, to allow the specter of future prosecution on the dismissed counts to hang over his head throughout jury selection and trial," Schwab wrote.

Government prosecutors declined to comment on the ruling.

Said Wecht attorney Jerry McDevitt: "We're pleased with the judge's ruling. We feel it was the only correct thing to do under the circumstances."

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Thursday and testimony to start Jan. 28.

After a successful stint in January of 2007 that raised over $200, the King of Rock n’ Roll will return for a one week engagement at the Huntley Area Public Library. On Tuesday, January 8th, the Friends of the Huntley Area Public Library will hold a special week-long book sale to celebrate what would be Elvis’ 73rd birthday. All sale proceeds will go to the Friends of the Library Fund.

The sale is fueled by generous donations of Elvis books from patrons and the library’s hardworking Corner Book volunteers, spearheaded by Huntley resident Phyllis Balk.

The fantastic mix of over 40 Elvis novels and coffee table books includes: “E is for Elvis”, The Illustrated Elvis”, “Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley”, “Elvis: A Life in Pictures”, “Elvis: His Life from A to Z”, “Elvis: His Life & Music” and “The Death of Elvis”.

So “Don’t Be Cruel”, and visit the Huntley Area Public Library from January 8th through the 14th to choose from over 40 Elvis books, each individually priced. You’ll even get to experience the King in person (or a reasonable impersonator – library page, Josh Ranieri) from 1 - 3 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon.

The Friends of the Huntley Library is a nonprofit group which actively promotes community awareness of materials, services and programs that the library has to offer. They help expand library resources by funding programs, and by purchasing new equipment.

A 3 CD budget box set entitled "Loving You" will be released on January 14, 2008.

Disc 2

Jailhouse Rock
Young And Beautiful
I Want To Be Free
Don't Leave Me Now
(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care
Mean Woman Blues
(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
Loving You
Got A Lot Of Livin' To Do!
Lonesome Cowboy
Hot Dog
Party
True Love
Blueberry Hill
Don't Leave Me Now
Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?
I Need You So

Disc 3

All Shook Up
Too Much
When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold
I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
I Was The One
How Do You Think I Feel?
Paralyzed
Trying To Get To You
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You)
Love Me
Playing For Keeps
Anyway You Want Me (That's How I Will Be)
How's The World Treating You?
Anyplace Is Paradise
One-Sided Love Affair
So Glad You're Mine
I Forgot To Remember To Forget
Love Me Tender

"ALL SHOOK UP" - U.K. Premiere of the hit Broadway musical comedy inspired by and featuring the songs of Elvis Presley book by Joe Dipietro.

“The best retro rock show since grease.” (NBC-TV) Combining all the hits of legendary, Elvis Presley with a sure-fire rock ’n’ roll story, 'All Shook Up' tells the romantic tale of how a young girl’s dreams become reality when a mysterious, leather-jacketed stranger arrives and turns the town upside down with his hip-swivelin’, lip-curlin’ and sexy song singin’ and how he helps a small town to discover the magic of romance and the power of rock 'n' roll, changing their lives forever.

Take a hilarious and clever script and an incredible score of Elvis classics such as 'Heartbreak Hotel', 'Burning Love', 'Jailhouse Rock', 'Blue Suede Shoes', 'It’s Now or Never' and 'Don’t be Cruel' and you've got this well tuned, high energy, musical that has recently taken Broadway by storm - a musical that guarantees to have the entire family jumpin’ out of their blue suede shoes...! Wednesday 13th - Saturday 16th February 2008 at 7.45pm and 3.00pm (sat only)Kenneth More Theatre, Oakfield Road, Ilford, Essex£12 (£10.50theatre club members), (£8.50 matinee only)for tickets and further information contact 0208 553 4466 or 01708 458262. TICKETS ARE ON SALE FROM TUESDAY 15th JANUARY SO BOOK EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT...

Elvis International Shop - The Netherlands.

OPEN: Saturday & Sunday January 5 & 6, 2008 - 1300. PM - 1800 PM.

E-Mail: elvisinternational@casema.nl

The Netherlands : 0251 - 821240
Other Country's Dial : 00 - 31 - 251 - 821240

TUPELO, Miss. --A Mississippi Blues Trail marker will be placed at the Tupelo birthplace of legendary musician Elvis Presley on Tuesday, on what would have been his 73rd birthday.

"By all accounts, Elvis Presley was the single greatest influence on modern day rock 'n roll in America, and much of his musical inspiration drew on the Mississippi blues," Gov. Haley Barbour said in a statement Friday.

The ceremony will honor the king of rock 'n' roll for his for his contribution to Mississippi and America's blues heritage.

The event is sponsored by the Mississippi Development Authority's Tourism Heritage Trails Program, the Mississippi Blues Commission, the Tupelo Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Elvis Presley Birthplace Museum.

Presley's early recordings helped revolutionize popular music with a unique mix of blues and country music, which led many rock 'n roll artists to follow his lead.

Presley first encountered the blues in Tupelo, and it remained central to his music throughout his career. According to Mississippi blues legend Big Joe Williams, Presley listened in particular to Tupelo blues guitarist Lonnie Williams.

Presley and his family lived in several homes in Tupelo that were next to black neighborhoods. A young Elvis and his friends would often hear the sounds of blues and gospel streaming out of churches, clubs and other venues.

Throughout his career blues continued to be a main element in his live performances until his death at Graceland on Aug. 16, 1977. He is buried in a small garden beside the famous white-columned house in Memphis.

The Elvis Effect.

The "Elvis Effect" has impacted individual rock 'n' rollers of diverse eras and styles in many ways, as they each sought to follow in Presley's big footsteps to fame and fortune.

American television idol Ricky Nelson turned to rock music as a second career back in the mid-1950s, because he was intensely jealous that his teenage girlfriend was more impressed by Elvis records than his own hit TV series.

Welsh rocker Tom Jones borrowed many of his stage moves from Presley's early hip swiveling days.

Billy Idol aspired to be the Elvis Presley of the punk era. He stole Presley's sneer and recorded the song, "King Rocker," with his early British pub band Generation X as a tribute to the iconic 50s rocker.

"The Elvis Effect" has had impact on Calumet Region music folks as well.

The following comments are excerpted from various interviews done both recently and over the years with a handful of regional musicians who have engaged in conversation about the whys and wherefores of "The Elvis Effect."

"It was his voice. Elvis' voice just reached out and grabbed you," said Art Of War guitarist Bill Stone, who learned to play guitar and sing to Presley's 1961 hit, "Little Sister."

"I still think Elvis has one of, if not the greatest voices in rock music. He started out singing gospel and blues and then moved on to do the rock stuff," Stone said. "Watch the old footage of Elvis on television, where he was filmed from the waist up. Elvis was the first one to dare to put it out there. He was the first rocker to dance and move. Parents thought he was dangerous and vulgar, but he was just feeling the music. People are still feeling his music all these years later, because of that passion he had."

Buck Daddy guitarist/frontman Randy Anderson, who remembers playing air guitar as a child to Elvis music, said, "I don't think you can be in rock 'n' roll and not feel a debt to Elvis.

"I only knew Elvis from his movies when I was little and I hated his movies," Anderson said. "But then I saw his 68 Comeback Special. Seeing him in his black leather and rocking as hard as he did that night, made me understand what he was really all about. I've been a fan of his music ever since.

"There is no doubt that Elvis played a part in my becoming a musician later in life."

Singer/songwriter Steve Vansak of Gary, who includes Presley's "Suspicious Minds" in his live shows, became a Presley fan at the age of 8 while vacationing with a friend's family in Michigan the day Elvis died.

"We went to a local record store and I saw a big display for Elvis' (then) new Moody Blue' album," he said. "I wanted to buy it, but only had so much allowance money to last the whole vacation. Elvis died that afternoon and stores everywhere were sold out of Moody Blue' and all of his records for several weeks.

"There were rockers before Elvis, but it took him to bring the music into the mainstream," Vansak said. "Elvis had the voice, the moves and most of all the charisma. He was electrifying to watch. Elvis was the vehicle that made it possible for the rest of us to do what we do."

Singer/songwriter Randy McKay, half of the region rock duo, Randy & Naomi, agreed with Vansak's sentiment about Elvis being the one to open the door.

"Little Richard and others were doing the music before Elvis, but he was the first one who connected with a white audience," McKay said. "Doing that opened the flood gates. Rock 'n' roll just couldn't be stopped after that. I'm not really a big Elvis fan, but I think anyone who plays in a rock band owes him respect for what he accomplished."

Don Baron, frontman of Bravo Johnny and hair metal revue Metalicous, said Elvis was the earliest musical influence he can remember as a kid.

"I became an Elvis fan through my dad," he said. "My dad would play his live concert tapes in the car.

"Just hearing women scream for him and the way the audience responded to him, you couldn't help but be mesmerized. As a kid I didn't understand the whole sexuality aspect of Elvis, but I knew he was connecting in a special way with those people watching him. Then later when I saw his TV specials and saw the charisma and intensity of his concert performances, it all made sense."

Baron turned to Elvis when he first started performing. One of his first on-stage gimmicks with the first incarnation of Bravo Johnny was wearing rhinestone and sequined painters coveralls and doing a parody of "Blue Suede Shoes" and "All Shook Up."

"I poked fun at Elvis on stage, but I've always respected what he did for rock 'n' roll," Baron said.

Dave "Biscuit" Miller, bassist and namesake of the region-based blues band, Biscuit & The Mix, said, "He was the first white guy that ever moved like that. As a little kid, I grew up watching Elvis and James Brown doing their thing on stage and I would try to dance and move like them. Then later when I got into the blues, I learned how Elvis covered blues songs like 'Hound Dog' by Big Mama Thornton and 'That's All Right Mama' by Arthur 'Big Boy' Cruddup and realized why I liked his music so much."

Miller spent much of his youth in the South and feels Presley's humble beginnings has much to do with his lasting popularity. "Elvis proved to everyone that even the most common folk can see their dreams come true. He was a poor kid born in a sharecropper's shack who became the King of Rock 'n' Roll!

"There is so much more to Elvis' music than the couple of songs you hear played on the oldies station," he said, citing Presley's passionate cover of Tony Joe White's "Polk Salad Annie" as being one example of the King at his best. "It's mind-boggling how amazing and how captivating he was when he really got his teeth into a song like that."

Miller feels "the integrity of his music and his charisma" has kept Presley relevant three decades after his death. "There's nobody who can keep a person's eyes glued to them the way Elvis did. He was a natural born performer and truly one of a kind."

This writer was first introduced to Presley's music in the mid-1960s via my older sister Marie's adoration of him.

A few days after Elvis died on August 16, 1977, a harsh and nasty letter about his passing that was published in The Times' "Letters To The Editor" section, prompted my sitting down at a typewriter for the first time. The rebuttal became this writer's first ever published piece of writing

Thirty years later and now well into a journalism career, Elvis still has me sitting here at the keyboard firing off words to The Times.

Chalk it all up to "The Elvis Effect."

We just recieved the information that the new announced Cd "Elvis - The Rockin' Days" Limited Edition is cancelled , since the issue on what "song" is a public domain on recording or not.

Finally this CLASSIC album is released on cd, with a full colour 4 page booklet, and 2 bonus tracks, this one is a must for your collection!

Digitally Remastered Sound. FACTORY PRESSED!!

Tracks:

TUTTI FRUTTI/KING CREOLE/BLUE SUEDE SHOES/DON’T BE CRUEL HARD HEADED WOMAN/I GOT STUNG/RIP IT UP (ALT TAKE)/ READY TEDDY/ALL SHOOK UP/LONG TALL SALLY/MEAN WOMAN BLUES/ DIXIELAND ROCK/SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL/JAILHOUSE ROCK( TAKES 3,4,5)

Price 14,95 euros

Set to open in 2009 on Las Vegas Blvd. between the Monte Carlo and the Bellagio.

Currently, there are five permanent Cirque du Soleil shows that you can catch in Las Vegas, and in the near future, that number will grow to six. Not long after opening The Beatles - Love show at the Mirage, Cirque du Soleil released news of a like show in the works. The Cirque du Soleil Elvis show will be produced in cooperation with CKX, which is a media and entertainment company that owns the rights to the name, likeness and image of Elvis Presley. The show is slated to tour the country when it is ready to go, at least until it’s permanent home is established at the MGM City Center Hotel Casino, which is slated to open in 2009. It is sure to have plenty of hip-swaying moves and classic Elvis songs. Whether you love Elvis or are just a casual fan, the Las Vegas Elvis show is sure to strike a chord somewhere within.

The Las Vegas Elvis Cirque du Soleil production will be much like The Beatles - Love show, in that it will focus on the life and career of The King. The show is intended as a tribute to Elvis, who reached an iconic status in Las Vegas. While the definitive arrangement of the Cirque du Soleil Elvis show has yet to be released, the basic idea is that the show will chronicle his life without just throwing an Elvis impersonator onto the stage. There are already plenty of those in Las Vegas, and while they may have their place, this show will be more spectacular and no doubt employ the artistry and imagination that Cirque du Soleil is known for. Many of Elvis’s biggest fans appreciate his presence in Vegas, and the chief executive of CKX puts it best when he says, “...you can’t really think about Las Vegas without considering Cirque du Soleil”, and the same goes for Elvis. Elvis is documented to have performed at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel 837 times between the years of 1969 and 1976. One of Cirque du Soleil’s founders has stated that their mission with this new Elvis Las Vegas show is to honor the excitement and energy that Elvis brought to Vegas, and perhaps no production company does excitement better than Cirque du Soleil.

As the Cirque du Soleil Elvis show is still in its concept stage, one can only imagine how Cirque du Soleil will go about evoking The King’s image throughout the show. One thing that is certain, is that it will be a spectacular show that will have Elvis fans of all degrees smiling on one heck of a career. Cirque du Soleil does plan to employ its brand of high-energy performers, as well as a list of talented singers and musicians to bring the Las Vegas Elvis show alive. Much like the Beatles show, the Cirque du Soleil Elvis show will likely diverge from wowing with its acrobatics in favor of presenting a song and dance venture that will surely highlight some of Presley’s signature moves. Helping to sensationalize the show even more, the latest multimedia sound and lighting technology will be used in the show in an overall attempt to promote a more quality emotional bond with audience members. When the Las Vegas Elvis show opens at the impressive City Center, it will distinguish an undeniable link between the city’s past and its future.

It is presumed that Cirque du Soleil Elvis tickets will be a hot commodity when the show comes to fruition, and while Cirque du Soleil Elvis tickets are currently unavailable, if you want to be one of the first people to see the show, then you might continue checking for their release. Cirque du Soleil Elvis tickets will be made available for purchase online and at the City Center box office and chances are that you won’t find any of them floating around in the discount Las Vegas show tickets bin early on.

Artist Biography:

Simply put, Elvis Presley is a legend. It’s hard to sum up his life with a word, but there are words that come to mind. Sensational, unique, charismatic and sensual are just some of the words that describe Elvis Aaron Presley, who was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. Elvis was born a twin, however his brother to be was stillborn, leaving Elvis as an only child. Moving with his parents to Memphis, Tennessee in 1948, Elvis would gain inspiration and influence from the music of the time, both pop and country, and from the gospel music that he would hear at church. As a teenager, his time spent hanging out on Beale Street introduced him to black R&B sounds, and by 1954, Elvis was merging his influences at his first sessions at the historic Sun Records studio. By the year 1956, Elvis was an international phenomenon, and he would go on to ignore racial barriers, bringing a fresh approach to the American music and cultural scenes. Songs like “Jailhouse Rock” and “Love Me Tender” are examples of the timeless hits that Elvis performed, whether on television or in concert. Elvis was a prominent actor as well as a musician, and he starred in 33 films and his televised music concerts broke all kinds of records. Elvis is purported to have sold more albums globally than any other performer, and he has gone gold, platinum or multi-platinum more than any other artist before or after. There is no twentieth century pop-culture icon quite like Elvis, and it is likely that his image will endure for many years to come.

Elvis Presley at the Top of the official Nielsen Soundscan Digital Download chart in Italy with new remix of Baby Let’s Play House

London, January 4th, 2008

The brand new Elvis Presley’s remixed song Baby Let’s Play House, available for download exclusively from iTunes, has reached today the number one spot of Italy’s official Nielsen Soundscan Digital Download chart, knocking down Alicia Key’s hit No One, now at number three. At number two in the chart sits Ligabue’s Niente paura, while Eros Ramazzotti’s Non siamo soli is at number four, followed by Jovanotti’s Fango at five. Elvis entered the chart four weeks ago and climbed to the top thanks to new and old fans that purchased the track after the news of this excellent new remixed song by contemporary DJ/producer Spankox started to circulate on the Internet and on the press. This is the first time in history that Elvis is “The King” of an official national download chart.

Italy’s number one radio network Radio Deejay has been giving airplay to the track since the beginning of December, bringing first the song to the masses and boosting the downloads. “This new remix by Spankox is much nicer than JXL’s remix of A Little Less Conversation” – said Radio Deejay’s famous dj-musician Nikki who played the track first – because it respects more the feel of the original song”.

Canada, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway will be the first territories to release the CD single in January and the reaction has been a mix of delight, surprise and respect.

“Initially, we're always wary of anything that involves altering Elvis' master recordings in any way, but this Spankox Re:Version is fantastic and just blew us away” said Tom Holzen, President of EP Ltd.

“The Spankox Re:Version of Baby Let’s Play House will deliver Elvis to a new generation of music fans in an unexpected, cool and compelling way,” said Edward Johnson, Brand Partnership Marketing Manager of ELPR Inc.

Spankox (his real name is Agostino Carollo)

is a Verona (Italy) based progressive DJ/producer/composer who most recently wrote and produced the club classic “To The Club” and has produced and remixed tracks for Roxette, Snap! and Vasco Rossi (Italy’s n.1 rockstar) among the others. This release of his treatment to the Elvis classic marks the third time in history that a Presley song that has been remixed by a contemporary DJ/artist will be will mass marketed: the first two, Rubberneckin’ (remixed in 1998 by American DJ Paul Oakenfold) and A Little Less Conversation (remixed in 2003 by Dutch DJ JXL) were wordwide hits, selling millions of copies.

Elvis Presley’s Baby Let’s Play House (Spankox Re:Version) is already available for download exclusively from iTunes in Canada, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Spain, Holland, Belgium and UK (where it’s already one of the most popular Elvis’ downloads) and will be available in other territories soon.

After the digital release, the physical release of the record, that in Italy is set for January 8th to celebrate Elvis birthday, will be on a brand new media called VinylDisc: it’s a special compact disc playable by a normal CD player but also by a traditional 33rpm turntable. Elvis’ Baby Let’s Play House will be the world’s first commercial release on this new interesting media that like the old 45 rpm singles has one A side (Vinyl) and one B side (CD). The packaging of this original Elvis Presley’s VinylCD, which is indeed a charming collectable item and will be a world’s first, will also be very special and will resemble that of a 12” vinyl. It will include a radio edit version, an extended version and the original remastered Presley song. Also, as bonus, the ringtone. The fantastic videoclip of the track, filmed in the USA and in Ibiza, can be already watched on YouTUBE.

For more information please check out: http://www.babyletsplayhouse.com

For additional press material or photos contact: luca@everness.com

Larry will be in Memphis for the official launch of his landmark book, Leaves of Elvis’ Garden during the celebration of Elvis’ birthday (January 8). Check back for additions to his schedule.

January 5: Larry's book signing at Lansky's store at The Peabody Hotel (1:00-3:00PM).

January 5: Larry will be a guest at the Meetup Dinner Saturday afternoon (4:30-7:00PM) at the EP Delta on Beale Street.

January 6: Larry will be the guest on Elvis Radio (Sirius Satellite Radio) at 5:00 PM, broadcasting from Graceland.

January 6: Elvis Insiders Reception and Tour Sunday evening (7:00 PM – 9:00 PM).
The reception is held for members of The Official Elvis Insiders. They are able to enjoy a reception throughout Graceland plaza and an evening tour of the mansion. During the event, Larry will be available for fans to come through and meet him and purchase a personalized signed copy of the book.

January 7: Fan Club Presidents’ Event - University of Memphis (10:00 AM – 1:00 PM).

Larry will be on stage for 30 minutes speaking to the fan club presidents, with stories and anecdotes about Elvis, and he will answer questions from the attendees. Following this, Larry will be available to sign autographs, including photographs and for the purchase of a personalized signed copy of the book.

2008/01/04 www.elvisunlimited / www.epgold.com

On the FECC forum there is a discussion on Ernst Jørgensen's SUN project.

Ernst Jørgensen posted several reply's which give some insight in what to expect.

Sorry for dropping out on all of you. The flu caught me and I have been enjoying 72 hours of the wrong kind of fever. I have tried to catch up with some of the questions and issues, so at least you have some feed back for now. More to come!

Ekenee: I take your point on the pictures in THE WAY IT WAS. It was done like this because at the time we couldn’t make many of the color pictures bigger. They were so-called ”freeze-frames” – meaning pictures taken out of the DVD that Turner had us use. We didn’t have enough color photography for the project. I must however say that some space is needed to make a book look good – otherwise it would be just a photo album, and MANY of these SUN pictures do not have a technical quality that justifies a large reproduction

ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK. There are several people correcting me on this issue, saying they told me it existed. One very reliable source mentioned hearing it on the phone. ( Note EpGold: Elvis singing Live At The Lousiana Hayride "Rock Around The Clock/Good Rockin' Tonight" as a medley) Sorry, I did not mean to ignore that – I had forgotten. I have at no time been close to hearing this myself, and if nobody knows where it is, it’s impossible to track it down. Anybody with a lead?

Steve M. mentions that KING OF THE JUNGLE knows about footage from Dec 28, 1954. There are other pieces out there that are in private hands and NOT for sale. We can’t force collectors to release their materials.

MEMPHIS FLASH: Outtakes of GOOD ROCKIN TONIGHT. We have a few seconds of one – that’s all. I don’t know where you got the idea of “several outtakes” from?

ELVIS PRESLEY SCRAPBOOK. Acetate rights. An interesting comment about owners. That’s an original way you look at that. MY HAPPINESS has been on several PD releases and so have the others to some extent. I’m wondering where you got that perspective from, since I know of nobody who paid SONY/BMG for the use I’LL NEVER STAND IN YOUR WAY and IT WOULDN’T BE THE SAME. Since you know that MRS paid Ed Leek, I assume you know whether he paid Sony/BMG as well. What is really surprising here is that John Singleton recently told me that I still have to licensee MY HAPPINESS from his company (not Ed Leek), and he would certainly have mentioned if SONY/BMG had abused any deals. Anyway, the Singletons are very reasonable people and have supported this project from the beginning.

KIWIALAN. The book will be printed in 5.000 copies – that’s the ceiling for FTD books except for THE WAY IT WAS. It’s likely to sell about 3.000 copies in the first year. I know of no publishing house that would want to distribute it, or for that matter grant me control of how it would look. Additionally I don’t know of a publishing house that would pay anything like what has been invested in the research and acquisitions related to this project.

HI DAN. I loved those pictures. Fantastic. Can’t wait to show them to the family. Thanks a lot.

On a closing note for today, my topic will be Daryl’s postings.

Daryl, I have had many people criticizing and ridiculing both the company I work for and myself over the years. It can be annoying, but so can bad weather. What is inexcusable in what you bring to the Forum, is that you deliberately spread incorrect information in order to discredit us. Somebody recently send me a collection of some of your postings from the last few months, and the amount of distorted information you present as facts, may legally not be a criminal offense, but morally it is offending.

Most people on the board will have no way of checking whether your so-called facts are true or not, and deliberately misleading us all is exactly the opposite of the intention of the this and other fan forums. Since this is not about Roger’s and my employment situation, or “GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!” outtakes let me stay with the issues related to the SUN book:

First of all let me know if you ever did write a book, I would love to have a look at it.

Then why am I so preoccupied with Joey’s book, with Stanley’s and the two MRS publications?
I have studied every book that I could find on this subject, so why not these 4. They are all recent, much discussed on this board, and consequently I expected many board members to know them. That’s two reasons. A third one was to learn from them – the positive and the negative. As for the first two I know that they represent years and years of research, and the main thing to learn from them is to take their defined universes (Hayride & Texas) and try to do the same detailed research for the entire period and territory.

They both showed me how far you can get if you put your mind to it. As for the two very handsomely packaged MRS releases, you ask me why mine takes so long to put together when MRS could do 2 volumes in such a short time.

“It’s because it takes much longer to research than it does to design “. And don’t go using this against the MRS releases – each release is what it is and if people enjoy then why not let them.

I assure you at Sony/BMG we also spent more time on the 50’es box set than on Elvis At The Movies – but I stand up for both of them.

Especially for you I made a count of how many photos were acquired for the SUN book in 2007 – meaning these wouldn’t have been in the book if it came out last year – the number is 73. We also found out what Elvis did on about 20 more dates during the period – maybe not overwhelming to you, but that is what research is about.

I do the SUN book in my spare time – not during my employment hours SONY/BMG/FTD, and although Roger and I have the most wonderful jobs we can imagine, we certainly don’t work just 40-hour weeks.

Thanks for all your writings – I will try and bring some more answers in the next few days.

Ernst

-----------------

Quick note on Tiger Man and SUN notes

1) Sam Phillips kept NO notes on Elvis' recordings - I knew Sam quite well, and we have discussed these issues several times. Sam never mentioned any unreleased titles. When I asked him about titles he always said he couldn't remember.

2) The Marion Keisker notes mentioned in some E-mails were FAKE from A-Z.

3) The Steve Sholes notes do not mention TIGER MAN. The very little room left for speculation is a tape described as containing ""THat's All Right" and two other selections." This could suggest two unknown Elvis recordings, and one could of course be "Tiger Man". However Steve Sholes had a large knowledge of R&B, and I assume that he would have recognized "Tiger MAn". It could also be that Sam (as so often) had used an old tape to record "THat'S All RIght" on, and the "two other selections" were by some other artist. The tape was destroyed in 1959

4) The last angle I can come up with is to speculate as to why Elvis did include it in the 68 Special. It seems all other songs were from his own past, but that's obviously not proof of anything.

The notes from Steve Sholes do not give any recordings dates, and several pf the session dates we have all know for some many years, seems to be wrong.

Ernst

Mystery Train / Love My Baby Recorded November 1, 1953 at 706 Union ave. Memphis TN

LAST MOTORCYCLE IN THE ELVIS PRESLEY 30th ANNIVERSARY SIGNATURE MOTORCYCLE COLLECTION TO BE AUCTIONED ON EBAY.

CLOSING DATE OF AUCTION SET FOR JANUARY 8, 2008 - ELVIS’ BIRTHDAY.
Proceeds to benefit Presley Place in Memphis, TN

Bruce Rossmeyer, CEO of 13 Harley-Davidson® locations including the World’s Largest Harley-Davidson dealership located in Daytona, Florida and Graceland® Harley-Davidson, proudly announces that bikes numbered 1-29 in the “Elvis Presley 30th Anniversary Signature Motorcycle Collection,” have all successfully sold. The last bike in the series, bike number 30, will be auctioned in an online sale via Ebay Motors to benefit Presley Place, a provider of transitional housing for homeless families in Memphis, TN. To search for the bike on Ebay Motors , use this item number to quickly locate the auction: 260198936556 . To learn more about Presley Place, click here.

Elvis Presley not only left behind a great musical legacy behind, but contributed to the popularity of Harley-Davidson® motorcycles through his well-know passion for the bikes. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of Presley’s passing, Rossmeyer Harley-Davidson® recreated the personalized 1957 Black Harley-Davidson FLH model that Presley once owned. With only 30 of these motorcycles being customized and individually serial numbered from one to 30 with the coveted 30th being auctioned here on Ebay, each motorcycle in the elite Elvis Presley Anniversary Bike Signature Series will capture Presley’s passion for motorcycles. Motorcycles numbered 1-29 were delivered at the front steps of the Graceland Mansion on August 15th during Elvis Week.

Although designed to replicate the 1957 model that Elvis owned and appearing as a classic custom vintage bike, the motorcycles will feature a 2007 Softail® chassis and drive train maintaining all of today’s engineering and safety features.

Rossmeyer Harley-Davidson® has also partnered with renowned Harley-Davidson® painter David Uhl and Harley-Davidson® sculptor Jeff Decker, who created unique pieces that will be included in the winning bid for the 30th Elvis Presley Anniversary Bikes. Each exclusive piece created by Uhl and Decker was numbered from one to 30 and has been paired with the corresponding motorcycle.

Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. will begin the auction with a minimum bid of $58,815. The closing date of the auction is January 8, 2008, which is also Elvis’ birthday.

Cover Story: Discover the real Elvis, according to Memphis Mafia insider Jerry Schilling.

We did an interview with Joe Moscheo, of the Imperials. In case you´re interested, here is the link:

Here is the cover art - probable a slipcase - for the 2008 re-issue of the "Love Elvis" compilation which is due for release January 14, 2008.

Track List

Are You Lonesome Tonight?
Can't Help Falling In Love
Always On My Mind
It's Now Or Never
Love Me Tender
I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
Don't
(Now And Then There's) A Fool Such As I
Any Way You Want Me
Surrender
Hawaiian Wedding Song
Doin' The Best I Can
Fever
It Hurts Me
I Just Cant Help Believin'
The Wonder Of You
Let It Be Me
It's Impossible
For The Good Times
There Goes My Everything
And I Love You So
You Don't Have To Say You Love Me
Unchained Melody
If I Can Dream

New U.K. DVD Announcements.

Due for re-issue on March 3, 2008 in the U.K. is the region 2 double DVD set "Elvis Presley: The Legend In Concert" with a running time of 72 minutes.

The double DVD and CD set "Elvis Presley: Collector's Box Set" is due for release March 24, 2008 in the U.K.

Announced as "coming soon" in the U.K. is the region 2 DVD "Elvis Presley: Music Box Biographical Collection"

Synopsis:

The "Music Box Biographical Collection" presents the full story of Elvis Presley, the undisputed 'King'. From humble beginnings to superstardom and a premature death, the Elvis Presley story is one which will entertain audiences of all ages. His music is as popular as ever and he recently scored the 100th UK No. 1 with the re-released 'One Night/I Got Stung'. The Elvis story is told by the people that new him and features rare archive footage courtesy of private collections around the world. So get this DVD and let yourself get all shook up.

Two more CDs we found on the U.K. on-line shop of PLAY. No further information is given.

Track List

Disc 1

Hound Dog
Heartbreak Hotel
Love Me
Don't Be Cruel
Love Me Tender
I Want You I Need You
My Baby Left Me
I Was The One
That's Alright
Baby Lets Play House
Mystery Train
Blue Suede Shoes
I'm Left, Your Right She's Gone
Tutti Frutti
Ready Teddy
Any Way You Want Me
Money Honey
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry
Blue Moon
Rip It Up
Long Tall Sally
Shake Rattle And Roll
Old Shep
Lawdy Miss Clawdy
Paralysed

Disc 2

Trying To Get To You
Blue Moon Of Kentucky
I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
Good Rockin Tonight
Milk Cow Blues Boogie
You're A Heartbreaker
I Forgot To Remember To Forget
I Love You Because
Just Because
I'll Never Let You Go
I Got A Sweetie [I Got A Woman]
Poor Boy
We're Gonna Move
Let Me
Playing For Keeps
When My Blue Moon Turn To Gold Again
Anyplace Is Paradise
So Glad You're Mine
I'm Counting On You
One Sided Love Affair
First In Line
How's The World Treating You
How Do You Think I Feel
I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine (Alternative Version)
Baby Lets Play House (Live)

Track List

Disc 1

Hound Dog
Just Because
Blue Moon Of Kentucky
I Got A Woman
Love Me Tender
Long Tall Sally
Baby Let's Play House
Old Shep
My Baby Left Me
I'm Counting On You
Poor Boy
Paralyzed
I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
Mystery Train
Ready Teddy
Let Me
Rip It Up
I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone
Anyplace Is Paradise
We're Gonna Move

Disc 2

Blue Suede Shoes
I Love You Because
Heartbreak Hotel
When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again
One Sided Love Affair
How Do You Think I Feel
Love Me
Blue Moon
I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
So Glad You're Mine
Don't Be Cruel
Good Rockin' Tonight
Money Honey
That's All Right
How's The World Treating You
Tutti Frutti
I Forgot To Remember To Forget
First In Line
I'll Never Let You Go
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry

The King.

Track List

Disc 1

Heartbreak Hotel
Blue Suede Shoes
Hound Dog
Tutti Frutti
Long Tall Sally
That's All Right
Blue Moon Of Kentucky
Don't Be Cruel
Rip It Up
Ready Teddy
Shake, Rattle And Roll
Good Rockin' Tonight
Baby Let's Play House
Mystery Train
I Got A Woman
Money Honey
My Baby Left Me
Lawdy, Miss Clawdy

Disc 2

Jailhouse Rock (Elvis Sings Songs From 'Jailhouse Rock')
Young And Beautiful
I Want To Be Free
Don't Leave Me Now
(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care
Mean Woman Blues (Elvis Sings Songs From 'Loving You')
(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
Loving You
Got A Lot Of Livin' To Do!
Lonesome Cowboy
Hot Dog
Party
True Love (Bonus Track)
Blueberry Hill (Bonus Track)
Don't Leave Me Now (Bonus Track)
Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? (Bonus Track)
I Need You So (Bonus Track)

2008/01/03 www.play.com - www.elvisnews.com / www.epgold.com

MOODY BLUE

THE ALTERNATE ALBUM

Moody Blue ( take 3) - Unchained Melody ( 06-21-1977) - Pledging My Love ( unedited master) - Let Me Be There ( 06-10-1975) - She Thinks I Still Care ( Alternate Take 2B) - Little Darlin´ ( 05-06-1975) - If You Love Me ( Let Me Know) ( 05-06-1975) - He´ll Have To Go ( rough -mix master)- Way Down ( alternate take 2 ) - It´s Easy For You ( alternate take 1) - Moody Blue ( 02-21-1977) - She Thinks I Still Care ( alternate Take 10) - Way Down ( false start / master) - Unchained Melody ( 02-20-1977) - Pledging My Love ( alternate take 3).

NOW AVAILABLE !!!! ( This Limited Edition CD was released in friendly association with STAR Entertainment)

Finally this CLASSIC album is released on cd, with a full colour 4 page booklet, and 2 bonus tracks, this one is a must for your collection!

Digitally Remastered Sound. FACTORY PRESSED!!

Tracks:

Price 14,95 euros

Back in December of 1986, I flew to Denver, Colorado to interview the great recording engineer Bill Porter known for recording artists Elvis Presley ( Elvis Is Back - His Hand In Mine ), the Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer, Homer and Jethro, Ann-Margaret, and Buddy Rich and many others...

Click Here: http://www.musicangle.com/feat.php?id=140&page=0

Vincent Paterson - Director of Cirque Du Soleil's 'Elvis'

Director/Choreographer, Vincent Paterson is an impressive force in nearly every element of the entertainment industry including film, world theater and Broadway, rock and roll tours, opera, music videos, television, and commercials.

Vincent directed and choreographed Berlin’s first original production of the musical, Cabaret, at Bar Jeder-Vernunft, a mirror-tent from 1914. He directed the critically successful Manon for the Los Angeles Opera, which starred Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon, conducted by Placido Domingo. Vincent’s initiation into the opera world was his direction of the DVD, Anna Netrebko: The Woman, The Voice. A no-holds-barred interview with Netrebko is interspersed with five classical arias visualized in an MTV format. This opera DVD earned him a nomination for “Best TV Arts Program” at the Montreaux Film Festival, has reached “gold” status and is the top selling classical DVD in European history.

Vincent earned a Drama-Logue award for Outstanding Director for Gangsta Love, set in an actual boxing club. He directed The National BlackLight Theater of Prague’s Gulliver’s Travels. Vincent received a Tony nomination for choreographing Hal Prince’s Kiss of the Spiderwoman. He choreographed London's West End production of Lenny for director, Sir Peter Hall, starring Eddie Izzard and LA Opera’s Grand Duchess for director Garry Marshall.

Vincent directed (with 100 cameras) and choreographed the musical sequences in Lars Von Trier's film, Dancer In The Dark, which captured the Palme d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Paterson choreographed, among others, the feature films The Birdcage and Closer for director Mike Nichols and Evita for director Alan Parker. Threnody, Vincent's dance-film memorial to the September 11th tragedy, won the Gold Jury Award at the Houston Worldwide Film Festival. It was produced and shot by renowned director, Joe Pytka.

The TNT Telefilm, In Search of Dr. Seuss, which Vincent directed, received seven Emmy nominations. He choreographed ABC's, South Pacific, starring Glenn Close, as well as several Academy and Grammy Awards programs.

Vincent has collaborated with Michael Jackson and Madonna on numerous projects including directing and choreographing Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour which was the centerpiece for the documentary, Truth or Dare. He created Madonna’s legendary “Marie Antoinette”/Vogue performance for MTV. Vincent directed & choreographed the Bad Tour for Jackson as well as conceiving and choreographing Smooth Criminal and many other Jackson music videos and live performances. He directed Michael Jackson's video, Blood on the Dance Floor, shot by famed DP Conrad Hall.

He has choreographed over 200 commercials including commercial campaigns for Pepsi, GE, Rubbermaid and NIKE, directed commercial campaigns for Payless and El Pollo Loco, Dharma and Greg and a documentary for Project Angel Food.

Vincent is featured in the best selling, Smithsonian publication, Masters of Movement: Portrait’s of America’s Greatest Choreographers.

Elvis Unlimited visited the former Overton Shell today. Renovations are in full force. The Mortimer Levitt Foundation is funding the project along with the city of Memphis.

The project cost is 1 million dollars and is expected to be done by the spring of this year. The Levitt Foundation will then provide an additional 1.75 million to operate the Shell for 5 years.

It will be renamed The Levitt Pavilion For The Performing Arts at Overton Park. The new Pavilion will have 50 free concerts a year featuring local talent and special guests.

The new Shell will have handicapped bathrooms and a special seating area for the handicapped as well. The benches have been removed and there will be no seats replacing them. Rather, people can bring lawn chairs or blankets for shows.

The fencing around the Shell has been removed and donated to a local shelter.

On each side of the stage will be a 6 foot screen with 24 bit surround sound. The Shell itself will be painted completely gold, the rainbow removed and across the top will read, Levitt Pavilion At Overton Park.

The Shell opened in 1936 and closed in 2004. It will reopen just months from now.

"Elvis 2008 Fun-Shaped Wall Calendar" changes each month the form of each picture.

Proper Records Label releases February 1, 2008 a CD-Box with old released material from Elvis.

CD 1:

That's All Right - Blue Moon Of Kentucky - Hearts Of Stone - That's All Right - Tweedle Dee - Money Honey - Blue Moon Of Kentucky - I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine - That's All Right - There's Good Rockin' Tonight - Baby Let's Play House - Blue Moon Of Kentucky - I Got A Woman - Tweedle Dee - I'm Left You're Right She's Gone - Baby Let's Play House - Maybelline - That's All Right - Heartbreak Hotel - Long Tall Sally - I Was The One - Money Honey - I Got A Woman - Blue Suede Shoes - Hound Dog - I Was The One - Love Me Tender - Hound Dog - I Want You I Need You I Love You - Hound Dog

CD 2:

That's All Right - Blue Moon Of Kentucky - Good Rockin' Tonight - I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine - Milkcow Blues Boogie - You're A Heartbreaker - Baby Let's Play House - I'm Left You're Right She's Gone - Mystery Train - I Forgot To Remember To Forget - Heartbreak Hotel - I Was The One - Blue Suede Shoes - Tutti Frutti - I Got A Woman - Just Because - I'm Counting On You - One Sided Love Affair - Tryin' To Get To You - I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry - I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darling) - Blue Moon - Money Honey - I Want You I Need You I Love You - Hound Dog - Don't Be Cruel - My Baby Left Me

CD 3:

I Love You Because - Lawdy Miss Clawdy - Shake Rattle & Roll - Love Me Tender - Anyway You Want Me - Rip It Up - Love Me - When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again - Long Tall Sally - First In Line - Paralyzed - So Glad You're Mine - Old Shep - Ready Teddy - Anyplace Is Paradise - How's The World Treating You - How Do You Think I Feel? - Let Me - Poor Boy - We're Gonna Move - Playing For Keeps - Too Much - All Shook Up - That's When Your Heartaches Begin - (There'll Be)peace In The Valley - It Is No Secret (What God Can Do) - I Believe - Take My Hand Precious Lord

CD 4:

I Need You So - Have I Told You Lately That I Love You - Blueberry Hill - Is It So Strange - Teddy Bear - Loving You - Mean Woman Blues - Got A Lot Of Livin' To Do - Lonesome Cowboy - Hot Dog - (Let's Have A) Party - True Love - Don't Leave Me Now (1) - Jailhouse Rock - Treat Me Nice - Young & Beautiful - I Want To Be Free - Don't Leave Me Now (2) - Baby I Don't Care - Santa Claus Is Back In Town - White Christmas - Here Comes Santa Claus - I'll Be Home For Christmas - Blue Christmas - Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me) - O Little Town Of Bethlehem - Silent Night