Pictures from Memphis

This is the "Millionaires Suit" from the movie Clambake I discussed a few weeks ago on here. I still have not figured out if this is the real suit Elvis has in the movie or not. As I said I know one had been cut up into small pieces to be sold with and Elvis album. I do know this suit is not EPE's, but it being loaned to them by a couple from Memphis. I am still going to research this at some point. It was pretty cool to see it anyway, I have always been curious about this outfit.

This is the Blue Hawaii part of the Elvis In Hollywood exhibit. Blue Hawaii has always been on of my favorite movies. It was very cool to see some of this stuff that is tied in with the movie.

Two of the horses from Graceland.

This is me getting my picture took in front of the sign at the entrance across from Graceland. It is a tradition for Vince and I to get our pictures took in front of it.

Our weekend in Memphis

Well Vince and I had a good time in Memphis even if it was way too short of a trip. We left at about 1:30 in the morning Friday and arrived in Memphis at about 9:00. We went straight to Graceland after getting a quick bite to eat. It was just opening up for tours and we just walked around and checked out all the shops. We spent the afternoon going to some stores in Horn Lake. We finally got to check in at the Heartbreak Hotel about 3:30 so we could get a little rest before the meet and greet with Darlene Tompkins and the screening of Blue Hawaii. Darlene spoke some before the movie came on about the movie and Elvis. The movie started and Darlene kind of mixed with the crowd and spoke some about things throughout the movie. Unfortunately I missed a good portion of the movie because I was out in the hall on the phone tending to some things going on back home. After the movie we got some food and headed back to the room. We turned on the 24 hour Elvis channel the hotel had and watched Girl Happy as we went to sleep. We both could barley function by that time!
Saturday we got up pretty early and headed over to Graceland for our VIP tour. Going up to the mansion was as great as it always is. This was my thirteenth time and it was as moving as the first time I ever went in. As soon as I step into that house I just get the best feeling. You feel so welcomed and know Elvis would be glad you were there. I can't really come close to describing it. The reason for this big weekend trip was to see the new exhibits. The special VIP only Graceland exhibit was very cool. A lot of the same stuff as usual was in the room but a lot of stuff had been added as well. Old documents, receipts, letters, and such telling the history of the home. I was very fascinated by this. The thing that intrigued me the most was some of the receipts from when Elvis redecorated Graceland after he has purchased it. It kind of gives you insight of how the house looked and the feel it might have had. I was trying to imagine that anyway. You could really tell he was going all out and was for sure making good on his promise to give his mother the nicest home in town. The automobile museum also had two new additions to it. They added another Rolls Royce Elvis owned as well as a 6-door Mercedes Benz limousine featured in the movie Elvis on Tour. I has seen the limo last EW at the expo, but I had never seen the Rolls. That was a pretty sharp car. Another new thing added was the exhibit Elvis Lives: The King and Pop Culture. It was loaded with books, collectibles, cd's, movies, and more that has to do with Elvis over the years. The last exhibit was called Elvis In Hollywood. This was my favorite part of the tour because I am such a big fan of his movies. It showcases all 33 movies and documentaries Elvis made. Some cool stuff from Jailhouse Rock, Clambake, Viva Las Vegas, and Blue Hawaii I never have seen are on display. I was very excited over getting to see that stuff. After spending way too much money on cd's we finally started to make our way home late Saturday.
Overall it was a great trip. I am glad we decided to go. It was very tiring(I am still dead tired!) and I was a little preoccupied by some other stuff but I don't regret going. I really can't wait to go back in August. I picked up some new FTD's while out in Memphis. No way I was going to be in those shops and not buy a few. Nevada Lights,On Tour,Blue Hawaii,Kid Galahad, Elvis Today,Raised On Rock, and Wild In The Country was added to the collection. I have really enjoyed what I have got to hear from them. I will be doing some reviews on here for sure.
That puts my cd collection up to 157. I am really getting it built up now!

BACK FROM MEMPHIS

Vince and I made it back from Memphis late last night. I am totally worn out but it was a lot of fun. I will be back at some point to post but I am tired and have to deal with some family stuff. I will get rested up and come back later.

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

Audubon Drive

This video was took in 2002 inside a house Elvis once owned in Memphis on Audubon Drive. This was the first house Elvis actually bought. It was his gift to his mom. It is a cool home and was once owned by Mike Freeman and his former wife. Mike is the coolest. He does tours and such of Memphis and Tupelo. Anyway no the house has been sold since. This house has a strong connection to Elvis because this is where he lived from 56-57 when he was taking over the world of entertainment. The inside for the most part is like it was when Elvis lived there. Many of the things in the house are things from the 50's similar to what Elvis had in the house. The glass trophy case if you notice is one of the many things Elvis had done when he moved into the house. He also added a pool in the back that never worked right when he was there. It was there until a short time ago when it was tore up and filled in by the people that bought it. A producer out of Nashville bought the house and has had done work to it and was going to donate it to a college to run a musical education class out of it or something. It almost got into the hands of some psychic and I was not comfortable about that. I did not go by the house this year but I was our there in 07 and it looked great and work was still being done on the outside. Anyway check this video out and hear Wink Martindale as he interviews Elvis in the 1950's. This is pretty cool.

Eagle's Nest or not?

For years now I have thought the above building was the site of the what was once known as

The Eagle's Nest. The Eagle's Nest was a a nightclub in the 50's that mostly middle class white folks came to to enjoy drinking and country and western music. Elvis, Scotty, and Bill performed there many times in 1954. The Eagle's Nest was part of a two story building that had a dance floor on the second floor where people would dance and such and live acts would perform from time to time. The first floor housed a 24 hour restaurant, the only one in Memphis at the time. It also has dressing rooms for the pool that sat outside. The place sounds so damn cool. Just once more reason to wish I was a teenager in Memphis in the early 50's. Anyway for years now I had saw in several books that this was the site on the Eagle's Nest and some even said this was the actual building. So for a while I thought it was. A few years ago I had heard things saying that this was not the actual building and the old site had been torn down and very long time ago. Some said it was at this site, and some said it was across the street. The building in the picture shown above that was last know as the Americana is on the corner of Lamar and Winchester. On Scotty Moore's website they have some information on this and his thoughts on where the old place once stood. I really do not know what to think about this because I have heard about twenty different stories on this but it stands to reason that the old building in the picture above was not the old club. Sad, because I feel that one more of the significant places in Elvis history and Memphis is gone. The few places that stand to this day I love to visit because I feel like I am getting to see and know a little of the real Elvis at 19 and 20 and how it was like for him back then. Anyway be sure to check out Scotty's site to see more on this and some great rare picture from the Eagle's Nest.

http://scottymoore.net/eaglesnest.html

DOLL OF THE WEEK

Cybill Shepherd is our doll of the week. She is from the great city of Memphis and of course dated Elvis for a short time. I have always thought she was crazy as hell but she was pretty hot back in her day. Not so much now though.

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.

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.

Today In Elvis History

July 4, 1956 Elvis arrived in Memphis just coming off a trip to New York which he had appeared on the Steve Allen show and also had a recording session in which he made some of the best music ever. Anyway, Elvis would hop off his train and walk across town to his home on Audubon and spend the day with his girlfriend and family. That night he put on a show at Russwood Park which was one of his greatest ever. This is the concert which he announced no one was gonna change him. He was pissed about the way he was treated on Allen's show and came home and tore the freakin place down. I have heard stories about people blocks away feeling what was going on in that park with all the noise and such. If I could go back and see some of Elvis performances they would almost all be the 50's and this would be at the top of my list. Just listening to the stories you know that it was really special.

New DVD Now Available

The new 2 disc DVD of Elvis Presley's Graceland is now available. I have been waiting on this for a long time. This set shows off the home and tells the history of the property. Elvis and his career is discussed at length as well. Footage from home movies and many rare photos are shown in this with many other bonus features. I never got the old DVD and i held off getting for the last year because I knew this was coming. I have to have this. When I get to missing Memphis and Graceland and I can throw it in and feel a little bit better.

EW calender is starting to fill up

64 days to go! I am so ready to go to Memphis. Vince and I booked our VIP tour for Graceland during Elvis Week and we are pretty much got every day packed with stuff to do. I am afraid we are not going to get to do all we want in the eight days we are out there. We have a couple more things to iron out but we are almost set on what is going down for the week.

Tony on live from Graceland

Tony Stewart was at Graceland in Memphis yesterday to do his radio show and be special host for Elvis radio channel 13 on Sirius. I was able to catch the first few minutes of the show and the last ten or fifteen minutes of the show. It seemed pretty cool. I wish I could have listened tho the whole thing. Stewart got to tour the house of course, but it was not his first trip to the house. It was his third time from what I understand. I came away thinking Tony was very good at show as well and would not mind hearing it if I had Sirius. Tony is pretty cool and did a great job. I understand he digs Elvis and they makes him even cooler. He still is not as cool as Junior though, no one is.

100 days to go!

100 days until EW 08 is here. I can't wait. Vince and I are super excited. We have pretty much got a set schedule, which we will share shortly when we get a few small things ironed out we are working on. Below is a picture from EW 07. This is Elvis Presley Boulevard about three hours before the vigil. It is amazing to see all the people who show up that night. Last year was a damn pile of people, but it was amazing. Wouldn't trade that memory for anything. Even though it was about 198 degrees and I thought I was going go die of heatstroke during the 12 hours I was out there.

BILL BURK

Bill Burk has passed away. Bill met Elvis in 1957 and they were friends until Elvis passed away. Bill has written books and countless articles on Elvis. Bill was one of the good guys when it comes to people in the Elvis world. He will be sadly missed. Below is a message from Bill's wife Connie. It comes from Elvis Information Network.

It is with such great and abiding sadness that I am telling you that Bill passed away peacefully today at Baptist Hospital at 10:10 am, surrounded by his 3 children -- Gary, Jennifer, Randy -- and me.
He had irreversable brain damage from cardiac arrest suffered Monday afternoon, and it was his living will that he not be kept alive artificially in a situation like that.

It is terribly painful for those of us left behind, who will miss him so dearly, but Bill is now in a much better place.

Services will be at Memphis Funeral Home, Poplar Avenue. Visitation on Sunday, April 27, 3-6 pm. Service Monday, April 28, 1 pm. Burial at West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery at a later date next week.

We ask that any memorials be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, www.stjude.org, in Bill's name.

Thank you for all your prayers and support throughout Bill's illness. We both truly appreciated it!
Connie