The Rock wanted to be Elvis

Dwayne Johnson also known as The Rock is a huge Elvis fan. Here he mentions wanting to be Elvis when he was growing up. I have heard him talk about Elvis a lot and how much of a fan he is. He is even know to bust out singing some Elvis. I was not a big fan of his as a wrestler, but I have changed my opinion of him over the years. He is pretty damn cool.

Ann-Margret talks about Elvis

I ran across this video some time ago and have enjoyed watching it.This is from an interview Ann did in 1994 where she talked about Elvis. She doesn't talk about Elvis all the much. I respect that about her. She could make all kinds of cash talking about the relationship between the two. Though she doesn't talk all that much about Elvis you can tell she cared about him very much. She is pure class and always been on of my favorite people ever.

SUCH A NIGHT

I ran across this live version of Such A Night the other day. It was one of my favorite songs off the Elvis Is Back album. It is not a song Elvis would sing live later on when he returned to the stage. This version if from the 1961 concert in Hawaii to benefit the Pearl Harbour site. I would love to have this entire concert on cd because I would say it was a pretty good one. It was one of the few times Elvis performed live in the early sixties. I know one thing, he still was as good as he was in 58 when he left. Hopefully one day FTD will give this show some work and put it out.

You've got to Fallow That Dream

I have not done a movie review in a long time so I thought I might do one tonight. The movie I am going to discuss is Fallow That Dream. Elvis would start filming the movie in July of 61 and the movie would open in May of 62. The film would be Elvis' ninth and fifth since getting out of the Army. Elvis plays the role of Toby Kwimper. Arthur O'Connell played his father "Pop". They have took in twin boys that are some sort of cousins, a baby girl who is a orphan, and a young lady named Holly whose parents died when she was thirteen. The whole bunch are on their way to Florida for vacation when they run out of gas on a new highway that has not been opened yet and has not got the first thing on the road. So they set up on the side of the road beside the water until someone can come by to help. A government official stops by and gives the family a hard time and Pop says they are homesteading there just to rile the official. Holly seems to like the idea of starting a life here and making her a real home for herself and she expresses this to Toby. They talk Pop into doing that so they decide to stay put. After finding out they have a perfect spot for fishing right in their backyard, they decide to open a business that ties into the fishing. In the meantime the government official had not forgot about the Kwimper's and is hatching a plan to get rid of them. Joanne Moore plays a social worker who the government official has brought in to help plan to run the Kwimpers off. She has a an immediate interest in Toby even though he pays her no mind. That would come back to hurt them later. More problems were beginning to arise for the family. Some traveling gangsters who run a gambling ring have just popped in next door. After they find out that the Kwimper's are homesteading and trying to make their own little town and no government officials had any rule there, they decide to stay. The gangsters try to get the Kwimper's to leave but the family will have none off it. After they have some disagreements about the rowdy ways of the gangsters crowd, they try to get a hit on Toby. It fails of course, and they finally leave after Toby blows up their trailer, which was a total accident. The social worker and government official have been at work to get back at the Kwimper's and they have the twin boys and little girl took away by a children welfare group. The Kwimper's go to court, and they are made out to look really bad by the social worker and official. Though Toby comes in and acts as the lawyer for the family and tells the total truth. The judge sees this was all brought on just to make the Kwimper's look bad and that they are good people and should get the kids back. The young girl Holly(Anne Helm) seems to be interested in Toby throughout the movie but Toby doesn't seem interested in her or any other girl. Finally at the end of the movie she makes a real move and Toby ends up with her in his arms and kissing her. This is an Elvis movies of course you knew he was going to end up with the beautiful girl in the end!

This movie would end up doing pretty well and would get to as high as #5 at the box office. I have always thought Fallow That Dream was a really good movie and toward the top of the list as far as decent Elvis films and good performance's. Toby is a character that seems to maybe be a little slow, but in face he is just laid back and a lot smarter than giving credit for. Elvis plays a kind of backwoods type of guy but does it in such a charming way you don't really even think about that. I think his speech in the courtroom ranks as one of his two or three best moments on film. This movie has everything I love about Elvis movies. Great scenery, good music, humor, and lots of beautiful women. Arthur O'Connell who plays the father is wonderful and I have always been a big fan of his. Joanne Moore, who I always remember from the Andy Griffith show, was good in her role as well. I can't forget Anne Helm. She's not just knock dead gorgeous like some women of Elvis movies, but she is very pretty. She has a certain innocent vibe about her I always have liked. Her and Elvis dated for a while during filming and got pretty hot and heavy during breaks during filming from what I have heard. I usually do a music review separate so I will not go into much detail about that. The film doesn't contain many songs. Some are a hit and some are a miss but Elvis' voice is great. Overall I give this film very high marks. It is a film I think maybe even the non Elvis fan might enjoy and is worth finding if you have not seen it.

Sound Advice

I am still in a serious Elvis movie marathon. I watched Blue Hawaii about 6 times, Girl Happy a few times yesterday. Today is has been Fallow That Dream and Spinout a few times each. I am hoping to get to do a review on Fallow That Dream tomorrow. Until then enjoy the song below from Fallow That Dream.

VIVA LAS VEGAS TV SPECIAL

Tonight I am going to talk about the TV Special that came on last year called Elvis Viva Las Vegas. The show was to focus on Elvis in Las Vegas. Elvis' friend would talk about being there and such while some of today's stars performed some Elvis tunes. Man, nothing gets me more excited than listening to someone kill and Elvis classic! Anyway lets start with the documentary side of the show. It was alright but nothing special. To any real Elvis fan it was nothing new with no new insight. They only touched the surface of the history that city and Elvis shared. Basically it was Elvis was out of the loop in the 60's, Elvis came back in Vegas, Elvis was the biggest thing in Vegas up to that time, Elvis went downhill, Elvis got caught up in drugs. Blah, blah, blah, same old shit man. I guess for the casual fan or someone who doesn't really know Elvis and his time in Vegas it would be somewhat informative. To me it was nonsense and there was so much more that could have been talked about. The usual suspects were on there from the Elvis circle talking. Joe, GK, and Jerry Schelling. The only Elvis buddies still in the good graces of EPE. Of course Priscilla was on there. Tom Jones actually spoke some on the show. That was interesting for the simple fact I have not seen Tom speak about Elvis and the time they shared in Vegas. Really though he just said we sang in his penthouse to late in the night. Not much more than that. I have never been big on Tom Jones or his music. Just never struck me and I have not been able to see the appeal in it even though many people think he is great. Some other people speak on Elvis and his impact such as 5o Cent, Beyonce, and Dewayne Johnson. That was cool I guess. I liked seeing The Rock speak on Elvis because I know he is a really big fan.
Now for the performances. I am not going to go into detail about every performance. I just didn't like many of them. Though I can't take many people singing any Elvis songs. Some though were just really bad. Maranda Lambert singing Jailhouse Rock was awful! I am sorry, I am sure some people find her talented but she need to leave one of the greatest rock songs ever alone! Instead of the raw out of control feel that the original offers, this has a sloppy somewhat country/pop about it. Though some of the songs I did like a lot. Chris Isaak and Brandi Carlile did a version of Don't Be Cruel that was pretty good. I think Chris Isaak is great and the song had a real good feel about it. Also The Little Willies with Norah Jones did a version of Love Me. Now if anyone else to ever walk the earth had been singing this song I would have been freaking out. Love Me is one of my favorite songs ever. Though Norah Jones is one of my top three favorite artist ever and she did a great job on this song. It was wonderful and it is a version I listen to quite often. Elvis' version is still a lot better, but she puts a great spin on it and it is very enjoyable. Now the only other song on the show that I liked might surprise some. It was In The Ghetto with Three 6 Mafia. It was actually a rap song they did with a nice beat from In The Ghetto that used Elvis' voice in the chorus. I am not a big fan of rap but I do like a few groups and artist a lot. I have been down with Three 6 Mafia since high school. They are from Memphis and some of the baddest producers/rappers ever! I would much rather hear a rap song with Elvis singing the line "In The Ghetto" then hear some hack butcher the real song.
So overall I do not rate this very high but it was worth buying for me just for the three performance's mentioned above which I loved. The information contained on here is alright but if you see it keep in mind a lot of interesting stuff has been left out and it would be worth researching.

Check out Chris and Brandi singing Don't Be Cruel

I have not got a chance to be on here due to some very long work days. I am working on landing some new business that could be really big and it was a lot to get done by yesterday. I should be back on here in the next few days. Vince and I are heading to Gainesville to see the Gators play. I have been really into That's The Way It Is disc 2. Here is a video of on of my favorite songs from the DVD.

SPINOUT

Tonight I am going to talk about the movie Spinout. Elvis would make the movie in 1966 and would be his twenty second movie. Elvis would play the part of Mike McCoy. Mike is a guy who travels around playing gigs with his band. He also happens to race cars. Early in the movie Mike captures the attention of a young lady named Cynthia(Shelly Fabares). Her father Howard who owns a company that has ties in racing immediately tries to talk Mike into singing for his daughter for her birthday. The father also has ideas about Mike driving a car for him. Mike is not interested in either. After the powerful father pulls some strings to get Mike to perform for his daughter, Mike has some words for the Howard. While camping out Mike runs into a lady by the name Diana St. Clair. Diana is a beautiful blond author who is writing a book and wants to use Mike as the subject. The attention of these ladies is starting to bother a member of Mike's group. Les is the girl who plays the drums for Mike who has a thing for him though he does not have a clue. After some mind games from Howard that gets Mike to stay in town, Mike sets up shop out of a home next door to Howard and Cynthia. To get Mikes mind off Diana the guys and Les set up Mike to test drive Howard's car. Mike is impressed with the car. Though after a speech from Howard about Mike being good enough to drive his car, but not win his daughter, Mike tells Howard off. At a party Mike is throwing Howard bumps into Diana who is there scoping Mike out. The two hit it off. In the meantime Les is getting some love from a guy who she meets while in town who is really struck on her. Cynthia still hot for Mike is dealing with Philip, he dads assistant who is madly in love with her. All this is of no interest to Mike. Mike has no plans on settling down and is busy partying it up with the girls at his shindig and have a good time. The race finally comes around and Mike ends up getting his car stole by Philip who is trying to prove to Cynthia he is a man by racing. Mike ends up getting in his Deusenberg and joining the race. After the car was out of gas, Mike talked another racer into letting him have his car if the guy got any winnings Mike earned. Mike of course won the race. Mike then has a decision to make, which lady was her going to merry. Mike made the wise decision. He stayed single and let the other guys get the ladies they were in love with. Mike replaced Les with another hot female drummer and he continued on his way.

In my opinion Spinout is a pretty decent movie. Is is middle of the pack, not his worst by far, but not up there with King Creole or Wild In The Country either. The same could be said for the soundtrack as well. I personally like it a lot, but I love all the movie music for the most part, even the bad songs! The soundtrack does offer a good song or two and a few fun tunes. Like most Elvis soundtracks, the good songs are overlooked because of the awful songs that can be found on them as well. As with all Elvis movies it is loaded with beautiful ladies. Shelly Fabares appears for the second of three times in a movie with Elvis. She is one of my favorite actresses ever. She beautiful and plays her part well. Also with Elvis in this movie is Deborah Walley who plays the part of Les. She was not all that found of Elvis when she signed to make this movie. She did not know that much about him. After getting to know him they dated and would become close friends. Deborah greatly admired Elvis and would end up honoring his memory up until the time she passed away. She was always attending Elvis events during Elvis Week and things of that nature. She was a great lady.

CHRISTMAS DUETS

I have spent some time listening to the duets release. I got pretty much what I expected. Lets start off first with the artist that are on here. It is a pretty good list I guess. Lets be honest, I am not going to favor anyone while they are singing on the same track as Elvis. Some do better than other though on here. Blue Christmas with Martina McBride is the first track, and is probably the one I like the most. It comes closest to somewhat resembling the same song as Elvis did in the 50's. Martina sings pretty well to.I'll Be Home For Christmas by Carrie Underwood and White Christmas by Amy Grant are also alright. Even though I am not a fan of their music, all these ladies can sing pretty well and showcase that on here. Wynonna Judd also sings on Santa Claus Is Back In Town. She does a pretty good job and I really can't say that I was disappointed with hearing her on here. I am actually I fan of hers to some degree and she is a huge Elvis fan. Everyone else on here does an alright job I guess but I wont listen to any of the songs again more than likely. One song really bothered me. That was Marry Christmas Baby with Gretchen Wilson. It is not really because of here because honestly I couldn't even make it to her part. I tried three times and kept pushing the skip button. Song is awful. They new sound is really bad in my opinion and seems to drown out Elvis. This in my opinion is Elvis' best Christmas song. The original had such a nice blues feel and the instrumentals on the track was awesome. My big problem with the whole thing is the new instrumentals on the tracks compaired to the old ones. I am sure a lot of people think the new sounds better. Not to me I think it sounds awful and when it kills the voice of Elvis I have a huge problem with that. Overall I would rate this release 5 on a 1-10 scale. It has some nice vocalist on it and maybe it will gain Elvis some new fans, I don't know. Though the CD has some really bad quality's in this Elvis fans eyes. I for sure will be playing the originals this Christmas.

Track Listing:1. Blue Christmas with Martina McBride2. I'll Be Home For Christmas with Carrie Underwood3. Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) with LeAnn Rimes4. Santa Clause Is Back In Town with Wynonna Judd5. Silent Night with Sara Evans6. White Christmas with Amy Grant7. Merry Christmas Baby with Gretchen Wilson8. O Little Town Of Bethlehem with Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town9. Silver Bells with Anne Murray10. O Come, All Ye Faithful with Olivia Newton-JohnBonus Tracks11. The First Noel (2008) Elvis Presley12. If I Get Home On Christmas Day (2008) Elvis Presley13. Winter Wonderland (2008) Elvis Presley

Also this newest addition to my collection puts my CD count to 145.

Now to put me back in the right frame of mind after listening to this nonsense this weekend, lets listen to the song I was yelling about without the "new and improved" sound and guest on the track.

Elvis Christmas duets.

Last night I was out and picked up the Elvis Christmas duets CD that just came out. If anyone has been reading the blog for anytime they know I was going off about this when I first heard about it. I can't stand the thought of anyone singing with Elvis hardly. Also the rumor of Jessica Simpson being on there lit me up. Not many people can stand side by side with Elvis on a song and hold their own. She has zero talent and would have looked like a fool and butchered a song. Anyway after hearing a few samples I thought I would give it a shot and see what it is all about. I have kinda scanned through it and have mixed feelings on it. Over the weekend I will listen to it all a few times and post a review with my thoughts on it. Fallow the link below to see a video about the making of this album and get some insight from some of the artist on it. It is pretty cool and neat to see these people speak about Elvis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h30z1CuYCkM

Dont give a damn..

I'm not feeling that great and I am highly agitated at the moment. I am about to go watch Jailhouse Rock though. Vince was one of the coolest characters Elvis played in his movie career. A true bad ass, did not give a damn, and cared only about himself. This short clip is one of my favorites from this great movie.

Tom Hanks digs Elvis movies!

This is a clip of Tom Hanks on the David Letterman show a long time ago. He talks about Elvis movies and even mentions Clambake!

ELVIS NEW YARS EVE

I am going to review one of the FTD's I picked up in August when I was in Memphis. It is a 2 disc live show from December 31 1976 in Pittsburgh PA. The common perception from many people has Elvis had lost it in his later years. While it is true that he did show some odd behavior at times and at other times was not in good health and it affected his show, he still brought it on most nights. These CD's are kinda of rough sounding but it is a historic moment and I am glad to have it. Elvis actually rolled up into Pittsburgh looking pretty good and in good spirits. Elvis has been in bad shape towards the last of 76 and his last Vegas shows were pretty poor from what I have heard. When this concert rolled around he had turned it around, like he always did when he REALLY WANTED TO! As I said the sound it not that great, as it was recorded by a fan in attendance. You still can hear Elvis well, and his voice sound great and he seems to be having a good time. Elvis would sing almost 30 songs over a two hour period and he is good from beginning to end. The first CD has 16 songs on it and a few songs that standout to me are My Way and Trying To Get To You. My Way is done beautifully and Trying To Get To You as a cool vibe to it and it is the best version I can remember hearing from the later tours. The second disc has 17 songs on it. Love Letters is awesome and Elvis' voice is top notch. Hurt is also good, and I enjoy hearing this live. I have always loved this song. Reconsider Baby is also sung, one of my favorite songs Elvis did live. It does not match some of the other live versions from earlier in the decade, but it is pretty good. Also Elvis bust into Rags To Riches at the piano. It is awesome! I have never heard this live before and from what I know it is the only time he done it on stage. Overall I give this FTD very high marks just because of the great show Elvis puts on. it really does show he still could bring it to the stage despite the troubles he was going through and his bad health. Despite the bad sound quality I highly recommend this for any Elvis fan.

Above is footage from the show of Elvis singing Hurt. Just awesome! I wish I could have been there to see it.

YOU'LL THINK OF ME

I have been playing this song over and over today. I bet I listened to it 20 times! This was recorded in 1969 and is one of my favorite Elvis tunes from the late sixties.

BLUE MOON

I have been gone for a time now. This last weekend my life revolved around football and so far this week I have had a hard time at work and have pretty much crashed when I got home. I have a lot to write about though because I have been going over and over a live concert during the days that I was to review. I also got the DVD of the Vegas special that aired on ABC and I'm going to watch it and review it as well. One of the guys on that DVD is Chris Isaak who is a huge Elvis fan. He is one of the few people I have heard sing one of Elvis' songs and I actually like it. I am a fan of Chris' own stuff as well. This video here I found is of him performing at an Elvis tribute a long time ago singing Blue Moon. Blue Moon has always been one of my favorite songs from the Sun era and Chris does it well. Watch and enjoy! I will be back with more tomorrow hopefully.

When My Blue Moon Turns Gold Agian

I have not been on here at all this week. I am still highly agitated over last weekends disaster in The Swamp and I have been working like crazy. In the next few days I hope to post a lot on here and hopefully Florida wins this weekend and I get out of my funk. Enjoy this video below of this clip from the last Sullivan appearance. I have been listening to this song a lot the last few days.

Fun In Acapulco

I have always been a big fan of Elvis' movie Fun In Acapulco. It is not one of his better films as far as script or his performance, but it for some reason has always been at the top of my favorites list. This is the first movie and soundtrack of the early 60's I would just consider alright. Though some of the music in my opinion is very fun and enjoyable even if someone that had as much talent as Elvis should have not been singing it. One of my favorite songs from the movie is I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here. Below is a alternate take. It defiantly is a little different then the one released as anyone who has heard this song as much as I have can tell. I still like the original release a little better. Though this version is pretty cool as well. Watch this cool video and listen to this song as you see some cool pictures from the movie as well.

AIN'T THAT LOVING YOU BABY

The song of the day today on Elvis News is Ain't That Loving You Baby. The original version was a more slow tempo song, but later a fast version was released. After reading some comments on Elvis News it got me to thinking which version I liked the best. I think it has to be faster one. I remember discovering it way back when I first got my 50's Masters box set. I would listen to it over and over. It is a great song either way. Elvis is the 50's is hard to beat.

Slow Version



Fast Version

Naked Gun

The Naked Gun movies have always been some of my favorite movies. I loved them as a kid. Of course I was smitten by Cilla, and still am. They are so funny and never get old. I crack up every time I watch them. The second one was my favorite one and I got to watch it for the first time in a long time last weekend. This is my favorite part of the movie. Damn Priscilla was beautiful!

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.