DOLL OF THE WEEK

Mariana Hill played in two movies with Elvis. She has a small part in Roustabout. She had a much bigger role in Paradise, Hawaiian Style. I thought he character was pretty good and I enjoyed her parts with Elvis. The "Scratch My Back" number is awesome.

EW 08 pictures

I am going to share some of my pictures of the next few days I took in Memphis. The first one is from night one of Music and Movies when we watched Jailhouse Rock. Seeing Elvis on the big screen is awesome but seeing Judy Tyler on it was pretty sweet too. She was so beautiful. Love seeing her. I though this shot was pretty cool.
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.

Vince's Flippy 5

1. Young And Beautiful
2. Western Union
3. Can't Help Falling In Love
4. Such An Easy Question
5. Suspicious Minds (TTWII Disc 2)

IMAGE OF THE WEEK

I am always glad to go to Graceland. It feels like my second home every time I walk in. This year was extra exciting because the leather jacket from the movie It Happened At The Worlds Fair was on display. I have never got to see this. I am so glad to know they still have this in the archives. As you can tell by my name I am a huge fan of the character Mike Edwards from It Happened. One reason is his cool duds. This jacket was the staple of the wardrobe from this movie which was around $20,000. This jacket alone cost $10,000. Notice the name Mike Edwards on the jacket.

Mike's top 5

My top five favorite Elvis songs at the moment are....

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

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.