Thursday, August 28, 2008
New Graceland DVD delivers
Monday, August 25, 2008
EW pictures
This old building was the Hotel Chisca. It is close to 100 years old. It was a very nice hotel in its day, though not on par with the Peabody or some of the other fine Memphis hotels. It is connected with Elvis. Dewey Phillips broadcast his "Red, Hot, and Blue" show form here. It is here where he first played Elvis' first record in the summer of 54. He also would interview Elvis here. Elvis visited this place many times. This building is sitting and just going to waste at the moment. Many plans have been batted around for this place but none of them have gained any life that I know of yet. I really wish they would do something with this. More and more places in Memphis that hold significant history for Elvis fans is going to waste. It makes me sad. Vince and I took this picture because we were kind of poking fun of this large crowd taking pictures of all this odd stuff. So I stopped by the first thing and was like, take a picture! I felt the need to post this to show off the shirt. It is the one Mr. Lansky talked me into buying. It is awesome, it is stylish and comfortable. I have the same one that is pink, with the collar black.
IMAGE OF THE WEEK
Mike's top 5
1.Love Me
2.All Shook Up
3.Frankie and Johnny
4.One Night
5.Shake A Hand
Sunday, August 24, 2008
More EW pictures
This was from the night of the vigil. Chris Drummond does something like this every years on the street. He is awesome and he can sing great as well. He is on of my favorite people to see during Elvis Week.
Vince with some guy who was wondering around on Elvis Presley Boulevard the night of the vigil. I have seen him every August for several years now during EW.
This is the Zippin Pippin the oldest wooden coaster in America. It was Elvis' favorite ride and sits at the fairgrounds In Memphis. Liberty Land closed in 2005 and the coaster has not been used since. It is up in the air as what will happen but hopefully something will be done with it and it will be used again.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
DOLL OF THE WEEK
EW 08 pictures
Me posted up by the Clambake movie poster. One of my all time favorite movies and the inspiration for this blogs name.
These trailers sit behind Graceland and are two of many Elvis has for friends and family to stay in. These are the only two that remain from his lifetime and are now are used for offices.
These chairs are from Ellis Auditorium. It was tore down and now the convention center sits on that site. A lot of history when it comes to Elvis happened in Ellis. The center has many of these chairs in it to sit in. For some reason this really fascinated me. I will share more pictures later on.
A look back at Elvis Week 08
I have had to neglect the blog for the most part this week. I have been having to work twelve hour day and then come home and rest. I am going to catch back up hopefully this weekend. Anyway to the week I spent in Memphis. Elvis Week was a blast as usual. The attendance was the smallest It has been in the eight years I have been going. I know it was coming off a anniversary year, which means usually the fallowing year less people show up. Other factors I know caused this but it was still a bit shocking. Although It was still a lot of fun. Music and Movies and Club Elvis at the first of the week was awesome. It was as good as last year. The only thing missing for me was The Dempsey's. I really like them and would not have minded them playing again this year. The Insiders Conference turned out to be pretty awesome as well, even though the first day was pretty slow. I think this is when I really started realizing how much of a difference this year was. The seating was not even half full for either day. The vigil was great and it is the reason we come. The rain did not bother me at all, although I was glad it pretty much stopped when the evening hit. Vince and I had a fun time before we left seeing Memphis and some sites we had not seen before that held meaning to Elvis fans. I bought lots of cool stuff as usual. Overall I got to say I had a blast and I can't wait to go back. I guess I just felt a let down after last year. When I look back on my past Elvis Weeks I point to 08 and 03 as weeks that did not have the same energy and feel. It has to be because those years came off the 25th and 30th anniversary. Those weeks I do not think will ever be topped. For me those were far and away the best weeks I have spent in Memphis. Last year was the best times I have ever had, so no matter what happened this past week it was not going to be the same.
I will say getting to go to the expo and meeting Chris Noel was one of the coolest things ever! She was freaking awesome. Also the Graceland VIP tour was really cool. I only do it every now and then but thought it was worth the money. I actaully saw more around back of the house this time. The last time I did the VIP tour they rushed me around and I hardly could see a thing.
Also a quick rundown of the things I got while in Memphis.
A few Elvis t shirts, Elvis and Priscilla Barbie set, Lansky shirt, The Complete 68 Comeback Special CD set, new Graceland DVD, Elvis Number 1 performances vol 2 DVD, picture of Elvis from It Happened, 56 Gibson instrument form the old Collectors Club collection, How Great Thou Art CD, and many other small things. I was really happy with what I got.
Also I got the fallowing FTD's....
Frankie and Johnny soundtrack,Elvis Sings Memphis, Tennessee, Out In Hollywood, The Impossible Dream,Elvis New Years Eve,and The Way It Was.
With these addition's my CD collection is now up to 144. My FTD collection 36 which is a total 44 counting the ones that are 2 disc. I am focusing on buying only FTD's now unless something is released mainstream that I really feel I need for the collection or if it is an old release I think is cool for some reason.
I am really digging into the Frankie and Johnny soundtrack at the moment and will do a review in the next few days.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Vince's Flippy 5
2. Western Union
3. Can't Help Falling In Love
4. Such An Easy Question
5. Suspicious Minds (TTWII Disc 2)
Monday, August 18, 2008
IMAGE OF THE WEEK
Mike's top 5
1.Love Me
2.I Can Help
3.Please Don't Drag That String Around
4.See See Rider(Aloha From Hawaii version)
5. Lover Doll
EW DAY 7 AND 8
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Back Home
Saturday, August 16, 2008
EW-DAY 6
EW-DAY 5 pictures
Ed Faulkner who played in GI Blues and Tickle. As well as many westerns in the 60's and 70's.
Friday, August 15, 2008
EW-DAY 5
Also the last two days we have went to the Elvis Expo that was being held at the convention center as well. We had free access to it with our tickets to the conference. Vendors, authors, and the conference guest had booths set up. Many of the guests at the conference were there to sell pictures and autographs and such. I would have loved to get some of them but I was not going to fork over $20 to get one. One lady that was willing to pay for was Chris Noel. She played in Girl Happy with Elvis. She is famous for many film and TV roles as well as her work with the solider during the Vietnam War. I have always been a big fan of her and was more than willing to pay for something from her. Plus all her money goes to her charity. I decided on getting a Girl Happy script. She was nice enough to also give me a picture with it and she signed both. She was a super nice lady and if it is possible I am an even bigger fan of hers now. Darlene Tompkins was also there. She appeared In Blue Hawaii and Fun In Acapulco. She is a cool lady and I would like to have had her signature but I had left all my money in the room and was not about to pass up getting Chris to sign something. So my only money went for that. Today was really one of the best days this week. I am really happy I decided to go to the conference despite the first day being pretty slow and dull. We did not really do anything last night except eat and come back to the room to watch swimming. We have not decided what to do today yet. Most importantly tonight is the Vigil. So we will be up all night. We will be back sometime tomorrow to post about today.
Also I do not have my camera on me at the moment. I will be posting some pictures from yesterday at some point though.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
EW-DAY 4
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
EW DAY 3
First they auctioned off doll set number one. That doll was autographed by Cilla and the money was to go to a good cause, Presley Place. The doll ended up going for $6,800! Then they gave out some signed wedding pictures from Elvis and Priscilla's wedding. Finally after an hour and a half, I got my doll. It was the highlight of the week so far. I think these are super cool and look cool. They are limited, so between all the crazy Elvis fans and all the Barbie collectors, these should be in demand and be worth some money. We finally got to start out day at Graceland and do the tour right. We did some of the exhibits first such as the car museum, Sincerely Elvis, and the Jets. Nothing new but still as cool as ever to see that stuff. Then we did the tour of the house the right way. Some cool new stuff in the trophy room and in the bonus room that is the VIP only room. I will go into more detail next week when I get home and post some pictures. We also saw the new Private Presley exhibit. I thought it was really well done. I will go into that more later on as well. Finally we went back to the room for some rest to get ready for second day of Music and Movie's day 2.
The night started off with Terry Mike Jeffrey and Band. He was joined later by some members of the TCB band that played with Elvis as well as the Imperials. It was a pretty good show. I was very excited because Terry played some Elvis movie music. He played Drums Of The Island from Paradise Hawaiian Style. You do not hear that often at Elvis events. Finally we got to what everyone on the lawn came to see, ELVIS! They played the 2001 edition of That's The Way It Is. It was cool seeing it on the big screen. When Elvis broke into Polk Salad Annie I was going nuts. After that was over it was around 11:00 and we were still not done. We went to Club Elvis at the Car museum. It is a dance party with Elvis music. It was pretty cool. Spankox, the DJ who just did the Baby Let's Play House Remix was on hand to do some of his other Elvis remixes. It was a lot of fun, I just wish I could have got there earlier to enjoy more beverages and really get into things. We only had an hour or so when we got there until it ended because it was so late when we got there.
Sorry I have no pictures from the event. No flash photography in the museum and the pictures I got are not that good. They are not even worth posting. Tomorrow is day one of the Elvis Insiders conference. It should be a lot of fun. I will be back with a post on it at some point. For now I am off to sleep. I hope this makes sense and I did not leave anything out. I am running on no sleep and I have been partaking in some beer drinking.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Vince's Top 5
2. Ready Teddy
3. Western Union
4. Such An Easy Question
5. Don't Be Cruel
Mike's top five
1.Love Me
2.King Creole
3.All Shook Up
4.Blue River
5.Release Me
EW-DAY 2(part 2)
Monday, August 11, 2008
EW- DAY 2(part 1)
Today we got up and went down to Graceland to pick up our tickets for the events we are taking part in this week. We browsed some of the shops and I am already mulling over what five FTD's to get. After going to get some food we decided to drive down the road and check out the property Elvis owned at one time in Horn Lake. Circle G was the name Elvis gave the property when he bought it in 1966. He owned the property until the early seventies. It span over 100 acres when Elvis owned if my memory serves me right. The property is pretty run down at the moment. You can't get up to it, we has to stop on the side of the road to take this picture. Not much more can been seen from what I can tell. I am glad I went anyway and that Vince got to see it. We are taking a break for a moment but out day is nowhere close to being over. We are heading back down to Graceland Crossing later to hang at the tent. Later tonight is night one of Music and Movies on the lawn of Graceland. Tonight Jailhouse Rock will be playing on the big screen. I am excited since it is some of the best work Elvis did in movies. It has always been one of my personal favorites as well.
EW-DAY 1
Friday, August 8, 2008
DOLL OF THE WEEK
Thursday, August 7, 2008
A little over 50 hours...
Sunday the 10th
1:30am- Leave for the M Town!
Arrive In Memphis and shop some and find a bar to watch NASCAR
Go hang at Graceland
Monday the 11th
Tour Memphis for Elvis related sites(Humes, Eagles Nest, Pop Tunes, etc.)
Movies and Music at Graceland
Tuesday the 12th
Graceland tour, pretty much all day. We are doing the VIP tour so we will tour the house over and over and over.
Movies and Music at Graceland
Club Elvis
Wednesday the 13th
Elvis Insiders Conference Day 1
Elvis Expo
Thurday the 14th
Elvis Insiders Conference Day 2
Elvis expo
Friday the 15th
Golfing possibly
Tour Memphis some more
Candlelight Vigil
Saturday the 16th
Sun Studio
Possibly go to Tupelo
go to Ruth's Chris
Sunday the 17th
Shop and spend lots of cash on Elvis stuff
See whatever we need to see we have not got to yet in Memphis
Head back home
Of course we are going to be at the tent every night. Many other things we will be getting into. Check back and see what we are doing since we will post as much as we can.
A Few New Additions To My Elvis Collection
I recently have had a few new additions to my Elvis collection, slowly but surely it's geting bigger. First I purchased the new Mcfarlene figure which was the 68 comeback figure with Elvis in his white suit. Later on I found a killer deal on a 3D wall art movie poster for "Elvis On Tour" also brought out by Mcfarlene toys. I found an awesome deal on the Mcafarlene rockabilly Elvis Figure on Amazon and purchased it, then a friend over the internet shot me an email of an ebay item that was the the 1993 Hasboro 68 Comeback Doll for $15!!! WHAT A STEAL!, I finally recieved it in the mail today. The last two additions are really kool as well, the first one is a book called Elvis American Idol which is really cool, it has a bunch of cool facts abnout huge events and some really good info, Last, a lady at work gave me a memorial magazine that was printed in 1977 after his death, it's in ok condition but I thought it was a cool addition. Remember to be sure to check back during our ELVIS WEEK 08 romp, it's gonna be awesome.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Retraction...
Fallow up to my last post...
Partial track listing (not in sequence): "I'll Be Home For Christmas" with Carrie Underwood "Blue Christmas" with Martina McBride "Here Comes Santa Claus" with LeAnn Rimes "Silent Night"with Sara Evans "Merry Christmas Baby" with Gretchen Wilson "Silver Bells" with Anne Murray "White Christmas" with Amy Grant "O Little Town" with Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town “Santa Claus Is Back In Town” with Wynonna Judd.
Maybe the songs with Carrie, Martina, Amy, and Wynonna turn out alright. I actually like Wynonna. Not only is she cool and a big Elvis lover, she is pretty good. I have the Judd's Greatest Hits! Some of these people are pretty good. I just do not think I can ever listen to a song with someone singing with Elvis, it is a let down. I am rambling on about this. I have to let it go. I need not to get off on Gretchen Wilson next!
Elvis duet album for Christmas
Terrible stuff! I mean, not the sound of cat's being killed bad, but on the same track as this man?
Elvis Week!!!
In just a couple days Mike and I are heading to Memphis for Elvis Week 2008. I went to Elvis Week last year but was only able to stay for only 4 days, this year is gonna my first full Elvis Week. Last year was amazing, the day spent at Graceland was by far my favorite day and to top it off we got to be in the first crowd ever to see movies and music at Graceland. This year is gonna be freaking 10 times better. I'm so excited to experience my first candlelight vigil. Be sure to check back each day where we will blog about our day and hopefully post videos every day of our experience. STAY TUNED!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Mike's top 5
1.Love Me
2.Let It Be Me
3.All Shook Up
4.Stuck On You
5.Polk Salad Annie