EW vids and pics

Check out Elvisweek.com. They have some cool pictures and videos of things that went down during EW 08. See what Me, Vince, and all the other wonderful Elvis fans did. The videos are great just stay away from the Elvis tribute artist video, unless you like that kind of junk, uh I mean event. HA HA

OUT IN HOLLYWOOD

Since I got back from EW last month I have not had the time to do any reviews of any of the new FTD's I got. I am hoping get to them all soon. I am going to start out with my favorite one I brought back, Out In Hollywood. I have been wanting this CD for a very long time. It is one of the FTD's that has been discontinued and I was really down I was not able to obtain it. I am a huge fan of the movie music and this is a good CD for the collection. The first night I was in Memphis I was in one of the shops and looked over and saw about five copies of this CD sitting with the others available. I was going nuts! I could not believe they had it. I do not know what they had it, but I was glad they did. I did not see anymore in any of the other shops. So of course I grabbed one up right then. Most of the songs at the time this CD was released had not been put out before. Though I have heard some of these songs before as they came out on other FTD's over the past few years. This has 22 great songs and I love hearing these other takes. The first song on the CD that caught my attention was take 6 of Cross My Heart And Hope To Die. I have heard this before on my Girl Happy FTD but I was still happy to hear it. It has always been on of my favorite movie songs. Take 4 of Lonely Man was pretty key. I do not think I have heard this before. All the songs on here are key, but one really stood out. The vocal overdub of (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care. This is freaking awesome. I have never heard this before and I really dig it. Hearing Elvis' voice while singing all alone with not music just reminded me how great he could sing, but how he could change his style and delivery. This was of course from 1957. It also reminded me how his voice continued to change over the next 20 years. Overall this is a really solid CD in my opinion. If you do not like his movie music or are not into all the recordings overall, it might not be for you. This is not a collection of his best movie music, but it contains some pretty good songs. It has for now made it in my top ten FTD list.

EW pictures

I took so many picture this year I had to share a few more. The picture above is the Overton Shell Park. I can't explain the feeling I got sitting there looking at this place. Knowing Elvis took this stage at 19 and tore the place down. I am so happy they are doing something with this place so people can enjoy the property in the future.
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.

This is the crowd at the crossing the night before we left. I miss it so much. As much as I can;t stand SOME of the people performing, I miss the atmosphere. A big mess of Elvis fans enjoying each other and the work of Elvis Presley, awesome.

More EW pictures

This is some furniture that was in the den at Graceland before Elvis put all the Polynesian style pieces in there.
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.

Liberty Land has been closed and I am very upset I did not get to go when I had the chance some years back. The Mid South Fair has been held on this site for a long time and Elvis frequented it many times. When Liberty Land opened on this site Elvis was known to rent the whole park out many times for himself and his friends in the middle of the night. I am glad I finally found time to go visit the grounds.

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.

EW DAY 7 AND 8

I am going to let you in on some of the things we did our last two days in Memphis. Saturday we went around Memphis looking at places that related to Elvis in some way. We started out at the fairgrounds where we saw the old wooden coaster. Right across the parking lot was the Mid South Coliseum. Elvis performed to sold out shows here many times. A lot of history in this old building. Sad to see it sit and pretty much be useless. The great live album from 73, Elvis Live On Stage In Memphis. It was recorded in 1974 and is honestly one of the best live albums I have ever heard. It has inspired me to make it a point to due a review of it at some point. Anyway next we went out to Lauderdale Courts. This was Elvis' home for a time during his teen years in a very poor part of North Memphis. We saw a few other spots before going down to Beale Street. We visited some shops before going over to the Peabody. It is such a beautiful and historic place I can't wait to go in there every time I am in Memphis. One day I am going to just say the hell with it and throw down the $250 and stay a night or two. Also I had to stop in Lanskys. I knew I would talk myself into buying something probably. As soon as Mr. Lansky saw me he took me right over to a rack to put me in a pink high collar shirt. I quickly told him I had that one so he put me in a black and green one. I has wanted it for a time, and it was on sale. So I had no doubt I was taking it home. I let him do his thing and make his sale and I wore it out of the store. It was cool to know the same guy who dressed Elvis starting in his early days and would continue to do so for the rest of Elvis' life. Then we went back to the room to get cleaned up. We decided to go eat a really nice meal while in Memphis. I took Vince to my favorite restaurant Ruths Chris. It was awesome. A nice filet with a glass of wine did me well. We spent the evening at Graceland crossing at the tent listening to the music and wondering around back and forth to the plaza and in front of Graceland. We did not want to leave knowing it was the last night. Sunday we pretty much messed around in the room until we just had to leave. We had to go back down to Graceland to do some shopping before I left. Vince and I stayed down there several hours as I was just wanting to spend money. I never can make myself leave those shops! I got some awesome stuff though. I will give my overview of the week and share some pictures hopefully tomorrow. Also I got fourteen new CD's so I will be doing a lot of reviews in the next month or so.

Back Home

Just got back from Memphis a few minutes ago. Sorry no updates yesterday. Vince and I stayed pretty busy trying to soak up the last full day In Memphis. I will be back tomorrow to give a rundown of what we got into Saturday and today. I will give my overall thoughts on the week and share a few of my pictures sometime this week when I can get time. I am already counting the days to go back to Memphis. I am pretty sure I am going to go back In January for Elvis' birthday.

EW-DAY 6

Yesterday we did not get into anything during the day. Went down to Graceland to do some shopping then came back and caught a few hours of sleep. We got down to Graceland for the Vigil at around 6:30. It was raining and would continue to rain for and hour or so. The vigil started at about 8:30. The crowed was probably the smallest I can remember in the eight years I have been coming out here. I got in line at about 8:00 and was off the hill by 11:00. We stayed in the plaza for another three or four hours listening to Elvis music and soaking up the atmosphere. That's all I have for now. I am getting ready to hit the town to see some sites. It was a great night last night. The main purpose of coming to Memphis is to honor Elvis. It feels great that we got to do that. Though it is sad as well, because it means we are pretty much done here. We will have to leave tomorrow. I think I have decided though I am for sure coming back in January.

EW-DAY 5 pictures

Here are some of my pictures I didn't get to post from Thursday from day 2 of the conference. Above is a picture of Joe Guercio and Jerry Schilling.
Ed Faulkner who played in GI Blues and Tickle. As well as many westerns in the 60's and 70's.

Ed Faulkner, Francine York, and Celeste Yarnell. All played in movies with Elvis. These are a few of my favorites from the day. I have many more I will post in the coming week after I get home.

EW-DAY 5

Yesterday was day 2 of the Insiders Conference. I was not all that impressed at the first day as a whole even though a few of the guests really stood out as people I would want to see. Day 2 was so much better. I thought the whole day was pretty good from start to finish. Robert Sillerman was answering some question via video. It was interesting to hear his thoughts and plans of the future of EPE. I have never had a problem though some fans seem to really question where the company is going since he took over. I thought he presented himself well and should have put some people minds to ease. Jerry Schilling and Joe Guercio was on hand to talk about Vegas and touring with Elvis. Susan Henning took the stage next to talk about the 68 special and her time on the set of Live A Little, Love A Little. I had never heard her speak, just bits on paper from Interviews. She has just now started to speak of her time with Elvis. It was interesting but I really have mixed feeling on her. Larry Hamby from Sony BMG was on hand to talk about the Elvis Christmas Duets Albums. I might have changed my mind a little about that, but I will save that rant for later. Ed Faulkenr(GI Blues, Tickle Me), Celesta Yarnall(Live A Little), and Francine York(Tickle Me) were on hand to talk about Elvis and making movies with him. I was excited to see Ed because he also played in many John Wayne movies which I am also a big fan of. I enjoyed hearing from all of them as they had nice things to say about Elvis and many wonderful stories. Celesta was a real treat because I have always been a big fan of her and she really was close to Elvis during the time they spent together working.
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.

EW-DAY 4

Yesterday was the first day of the Elvis Insiders Conference. I was wondering how it would be this year. I was not all that excited about most of the guests but a few I was. The first guest was the lady I was posted here above, Dixie Locke Emmons. She dated Elvis beginning in January of 1954 and they were together until she finally realized they were going different directions and it would be best to come to the conclusion they would be best served to separate paths. She has never spoke all that much about Elvis before. The book Last Train To Memphis was the first time she had really gone into length about her and Elvis at that time in her life. I was so glad I got to hear her today. Speaking of Elvis before he had got his break and how his life was back then. We have a pretty clear idea of what was going on, but to hear someone that was actually there was a treat. Mike Stoller from the writing team Liber and Stoller writing team that wrote over twenty hits for Elvis. I had pretty much heard everything he said before in other interviews but it was neat to see him in person. He went on about he did not like what Elvis did with Hound Dog and about him being in Jailhouse Rock. Sammy Shore, who was a comedian who opened for Elvis in Vegas. I had never heard him speak before, but I could done without him. Richard Sterban from the Oak Ridge boys was on hand. He was with The Stamps during the early to mid seventies. He talked about Elvis and JD. He was pretty good to listen to. The Imperials showed up and talked for a bit. Other guests that showed up for a few minutes where DJ Spankox,DJ Fontana, Joe Petruccio,Lowell Hays, Joanne Cash, and Miss Tennessee Cydney Miller. DJ Fontana was awesome as usuall. Cydney Miller is a huge Elvis fan and an Elvis insider so it was neat to hear from her. Also she is really freaking hot. Other than that I could have done without all the other. Also the other thing I really enjoyed about the day was listening to an Interview Dick Clark did with Elvis over the phone when he was in Germany. I had not heard it in a long time and this was the first time I hear it at full length. After that we rested and got some food and spent the evening at Graceland Crossing. I have to cut it short because we have to leave for day two on the Conference. One of us will be back late tonight or tomorrow morning with the details of today's conference and out overall thoughts on the two days.

EW DAY 3

Today we were out early and down at Graceland a little after 8:00. We had a ticket for the VIP tour. For you that have not been to Graceland, or have not done the VIP tour, a short explanation. It means you can tour the mansion and all the exhibits as many times as you want. You get to see an extra room, see the back of the property, and straight to the front of the line access. Anyway we were in a bind today. The Elvis and Priscilla barbies went on sale today at 10:00. Our tour was at 9:15. They has a ceremony for the unavailing of the dolls with an auction for doll set number one and then you could buy one of the first one's to come straight from Graceland. I had to be part of this. I had been wanting these dolls for a long time now. I was not going to order one from the Internet or get one in another store. No, I had to have one of the first ones from Graceland. So we went up to the house and just rushed in and out quick like. We got back in like 20 minutes, which is way fast. It usually takes me an hour or two to go through the house. We charged down to the place where the Barbies were going to be sold to get in line.
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.

EW-DAY 2(part 2)

Last night was day one of Movies and Music at Graceland. The night started off with a performances from Andy Child's and his band. He was pretty good and sang many songs. Then Jerry Schilling and George Klein came out to talk a bit and introduce a preview of the new DVD about Elvis in Vegas. Jerry talked a bit about the making of the show. George talked some about Elvis making Jailhouse Rock and his role in the movie. Anytime you get to hear GK talk it is a treat. Finally we got to the movie. Seeing Jailhouse Rock on the big screen was awesome. Getting to do it on the the front lawn of Graceland with all the other Elvis fans it pretty special. We finished the night off at the tent listening to some people sing Elvis music. I was pretty worn out and was ready for the day to end actually. I could not even find the energy to get on here and post. Sorry we have not pictures at the moment to post. Something is wrong with the blog and it will not process our pictures for us. We will hopefully have some from the event tonight along with pictures from what we do today. We have a busy day today. We are about to head out for our Graceland tour and then we have night two of Music and Movies at Graceland.

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

We finally are in Memphis for Elvis Week. We left early Sunday at about 2:00 in the morning. We arrived In Memphis at around 8:00 in the morning and spent the morning in Horn Lake shopping and then went back to the room to catch some rest. We had only slept two hours of the last 30 or so. After a short nap we went down to Graceland Crossing to browse the shops and listen to some music at the tent. Not much that was exciting today going on for us but we will be getting in full swing of things tomorrow. I have already spent money though. I ran across the Out In Hollywood FTD. This CD sounds good and has many alternate takes that I have not heard. I have been screaming about wanting this for a long time because it is one of the older releases and had been discontinued. They happened to have about five copies in one of the shops at Graceland and I had to get it right away. For now that is it from us. We are going to get some rest so we are good to go tomorrow. We will be back this evening to share our adventures from day two in Memphis.

DOLL OF THE WEEK

Celeste Yarnall is the doll of the week. She was in the movie Live A Little, Love A Little. She will be appearing at this years Elvis Insiders conference. I can't wait to her talk about Elvis and working with him.

A little over 50 hours...

until Vince and I leave for Memphis. I have been to Elvis week every year since 2001 and I am looking forward to this one I think more than any other. Probably due to the face I need to get away from work for a week more than ever, but either way I am super excited. I am going to post a soft schedule of some of the things Vince and I will be doing next week. I am sure things might change slightly and we might do more things than expected.

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.

15 days

Fifteen more days until we leave for Memphis. Pretty much everything is set except when we are leaving for sure, maybe Saturday, maybe Sunday. EW can't get here fast enough. I am ready to enjoy Memphis, the Elvis fans, and drop a bunch of cash on Elvis stuff.

30 days!

It is only 30 days until EW. I am having a fit. I am ready to go and it is going to be a long 30 days.

44 days to go

44 days until I will be in Memphis. August can't get here fast enough, I am going to be out of town most of the month. I have not got a chance to blog tonight because Vince and I was trying to map out a route in Memphis of places we are going to see. I will be back tomorrow to blog about something or another.