I was thrilled to find this rare item in Memphis a couple of days ago.  I have very fond memories of seeing this moving film about a very sick young girl (played beautifully by Diane Lane) who begins a pen-pal relationshop with Elvis in the early sixties.  TOUCHED BY LOVE (TO ELVIS WITH LOVE) was based on a true story and is one of the great films with Elvis as a character.  It introduced audiences to a really special young actress, got good reviews but  is unfortunately becoming harder and harder to find.  Here is a scan of the pressbook for any who might remember this lovely little film from 1980. 

For more info on this wonderful hard to find film, visit here:

http://www.elvisinfonet.com/lenacanada.html

A huge kick each Elvis Week is getting to meet people who knew, worked with and loved the man.  Here are a few favorites of the many autographs I have collected in just the past five years.

Many thanks to the staff at Elvis Presley Enterprises for putting on one of the best Elvis Weeks ever. 

FULL REVIEW NEXT WEEK OF THIS VERY SPECIAL SHOW.

Thank you E.P.E. and the whole crew for putting on such an amazing show.  My full review will be coming next week.

“When I first heard Elvis’ voice I just knew that I wasn’t going to work for anybody; and nobody was going to be my boss…Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail.”
-Bob Dylan-

I WILL BE POSTING A DETAILED REPORT ON PRISCILLA’S VISIT NEXT WEEK WHEN I RETURN HOME.

Thank you Priscilla and E.P.E. for a wonderful ending to a great conference.  More thoughts and photos of this historic appearance next week.

I WILL BE POSTING A DETAILED REPORT ON THE FABULOUS CONFERENCE NEXT WEEK WHEN I RETURN HOME.

It was a real dream getting to see two founding members of one of my all time favorite soul groups in person yesterday.  I will be posting more thoughts when I return home next week and have more time to write…in the meantime here are a few shots of two true greats, Myrna and Estelle

It is always a pleasure to have the greatest band in the world in the house and this year’s appearance by the mighty TCB band was a real treat.  After a fascinating sit down interview with Tom Brown I was fortunate enough to get to say hello to the great James Burton again afterwards.  A more detail report on the band’s interview will come next week when I am back at home and have more time to write.

Here are some early shots from the first evening’s concert.

Of the two nights, the second was absolutely the better of the two and featured a moving once in a lifetime performance by The Imperials, The Stamps and The Sweet Inspirations all on the stage together. 

Here are few not so great quality images from the first day of the Insider’s Conference.  It was hosted again by the wonderful Tom Brown from Turner Classic Movies and it included guests Dick Grob, Charles Stone and Loanna Parker (discussing the Colonel). the awesome D.J. Fontana on early years with Elvis, a panel of Co-stars including Chris Noel, Spiritual advisor Larry Gellar, The Brown’s member Maxine Brown and the charming Mary Ann Mobley. 

Tomorrow’s guest include the TCB band, The Sweet Inspirations and Priscilla.  It promises to be pretty extraordinary.

Sunday was an extremely busy day.  This morning we were guests at the very well put together fan club presidents event that included guests Jerry Schilling, Dick Grobe and Sam Thompson.

Next up was the first day of the massive Elvis Expo.  While many of the booths, including several of the most notable, hadn’t been set up, it was already very impressive.  Highlights included seeing two of Elvis’ outtfits from THAT’S THE WAY IT IS and ELVIS AND TOUR, and meeting the very friendly and warm Tanya Lemani who was so memorable as "Little Egypt" in the comback special.  I am really excited about meeting more notables in the next couple of days, including the mighty Sweet Inspirations, and re-introducing myself to the TCB band as well as some other favorites.

We wrapped up the day with a real favorite, the Bears On Tour Scavenger Hunt.  We have been partaking in this event for the last several years and it is always a lot of fun.  Who knows, maybe even one day we will even actually win!  Tomorrow is one of the real highlights of the week, day one of the Insider’s Conference featuring The Sweet Inspirations, the TCB band, Jerry Schilling and Priscilla Presley.

Saturday was a fairly slow day for us.  After visiting Priceville Cemetery we went to the Tupelo Fan Appreciation Ceremony which was nice and then we made our way up to Memphis.  Crowds had already begun to converge on the town when we arrived in the scortching mid afternoon August heat.  Our afternoon mostly consisted of visiting the shops, walking around and looking at some of the new merchandise.  The evening brough our first walk up of the week where we paid our respects and looked at some of the early bouquet arrivals.  Sunday promises to be a much busier and even hotter day.  Here are a few images from Saturday.

Here is a link to a wonderful new article written by LAST TRAIN TO MEMPHIS and CARELESS LOVE author Peter Guralnick from today’s New York Times.  This is exactly the kind of well thought out and insightful work we need to see more of in the media concerning Elvis.  This is a must read….great job Peter!

http://www.elvis.com/news/full_story.asp?id=1308

With the welcome arrival of the last few remaining unreleased Elvis Presley films on dvd now out, one has to ask the question, where is the Golden Globe award winning 1972 documentary ELVIS ON TOUR?  This moving and penetrating look into Elvis’ world is one of the most essential documents on the man ever released and yet it continues to remain missing in action on Region One disc.  The thirtieth anniversary of Elvis’ tragic passing, not to mention the 25th anniversary of the film itself, seemed like the perfect time for its release, but there are still no definitive plans for it. 

The film, directed by award winning filmmakers Robert Abel and Pierre Adidge, documents Elvis at one of the most pivotal moments in his life and features some of the most intense and personal moments he ever shared with the public.  Featuring portions from one of the most extraordinary sit down interviews he ever gave, along with some of the most volatile and searing concert footage ever shot, ELVIS ON TOUR is a raging and moving film that should have been on dvd long ago. 

With it’s cutting edge split screen montages (overseen by none other that young filmmaker Martin Scorsese right around the time he shot the great BOXCAR BERTHA and just before MEAN STREETS) and unflinching look at an increasingly exhausted Elvis, the film is a fast moving whirlwind of a documentary that chronicals a man burning, still very brightly, at both ends.  Hardcore fans will of course know of the hours of outtake footage that is currently on the collectors market, and seeing that material makes the unavailabilty of a fully loaded up box set special edition of the film even more frustrating. 

Originally released in November of 1972 with the rumored live album called STANDING ROOM ONLY failing to accompany it, ELVIS ON TOUR received mostly positive reviews and did very well for a concert film.  After being ignored critically for most of his movie career, I have always wondered what Elvis must have felt when the film did indeed share the Golden Globe that year for best documentary.  The film was even more succesful in Europe, and specifically Asia, where they were yearning to see Elvis live on stage.  It is worth noting that the worldwide broadcast of ALOHA FROM HAWAII would be taped shortly after the film started to make such waves in Japan during the Christmas of 72. 

While it is arguable whether or not this film is the equal of 1970’s THAT’S THE WAY IT IS, what is not in question is that we are given the opportunity to see Elvis at an increasingly vulnerable point in his life and for all its stengths, THAT’S THE WAY IT IS doesn’t have the devastating emotional impact of ELVIS ON TOUR. 

I urge everyone to sign the ELVIS ON TOUR dvd petition at:

http://www.petitiononline.com/041972/petition.html

At this point even a crisp bare bones presentation of just the film would be most welcome but what we really need is a mulit disc presentation with the input of Abel, Adidge and Scorsese, three men who worked incredibly hard and diligently on this film back in 72 to make it as real and memorable as they could.  They succeeded in capturing one of our great artists at one of his peaks and delivered a really special film that very much needs to be back in the public eye. 

One of the most iconic images in the young Elvis Presley’s life is of coure the Tupelo Hardware store where he was bought his first guitar as a child.    

While I have been to this site many times it is really always amazing to see the reactions of people who haven’t.  Yesterday we happened to be at the store at the same time as a tour bus carrying a group of very friendly European visitors and their excitement was extremely infectious and that made the re-visiting even more special.

Here are a few images I took today of Elvis’ birthplace. 

Elvis Week Is On.  We arrived in Tupelo early this afternoon and were greeted by a 103 degree temperature and humidty you could cut a knife with.  Despite that the drive was nice and my mother and I are very excited about beginning our annual pilgrimage to Memphis for Elvis Week. 

We decided to stop by Tupelo first this time so we can attend the fan appreciation day tomorrow morning.  We spent the afternoon revisiting the birth place as it has been a few years since we have had a chance to come here.  The museum was nice and the renovations that have been done were very well designed.  There was already a pretty large crowd and as usual we were greeted with the warm sound of many delightful accents from all over the world. 

We then re-vistied Tupelo’s famed hardware store where the young Elvis had his first guitar bought for him and for the rest of the evening we are mostly just going to recover from the drive.  I will post some more photos from our first afternoon later this evening and am looking forward to really getting things into full swing tomorrow when we drive into Memphis after the morning ceremony.

This Originally Appeared at My Moon In The Gutter Blog on August 6th 07.

An American Classic Returns

Out this week on DVD is the long awaited release of the David Wolper produced THIS IS ELVIS (1981), a film directed by award winning filmmakers Malcolm Leo and Andrew Solt.
THIS IS ELVIS has been out of the public eye for awhile and it is a very welcome addition to the DVD market. The film, which recounts the life of Elvis Presley, received mostly rave reviews upon its initial release and played throughout the United States in the Spring of 1981. Its New York premiere happened to coincide with The Clash’s famous multi-night stand at Bonds and Joe Strummer, a huge Elvis fan, had photographs taken of them in front of the THIS IS ELVIS marquee.
The film is a moving account of Presley’s life that takes us from his poverty stricken Tupelo, Mississippi beginnings to his tragic death at the age of 42 in Memphis. Unlike most documentaries of this kind the film does not rely on the usual ‘talking head’ interview style but instead tells the story almost exclusively with clips of Presley. There are some dramatic recreations scattered throughout the film and at times an odd voice over narration by an Elvis sound alike but for the most part the film just sticks to clips of the real thing.
THIS IS ELVIS basically works as an introduction to Presley and, as Gene Siskel raved at the time, it’s hard to imagine someone not being a fan after watching this film. David Wolper is one of the most famed documentary producer’s in modern film and THIS IS ELVIS probably recalls his eerie THE LEGEND OF MARILYN MONROE (1964) more than any of his other works. Malcolm Leo was offered the co-directing assignment in 1979 after his work on THE HEROES OF ROCK AND ROLL (1979) had gathered so much attention. Relatively inexperienced Andrew Solt landed the other director’s chair based on his fine research work for 1972’s Golden Globe winning ELVIS ON TOUR.
Working with the full cooperation of Elvis Presley Enterprises, with consultation by both Joe Esposito and Jerry Schilling, Leo and Solt uncovered a lot of footage that had never been seen by the general public.
Among the most thrilling aspects of THIS IS ELVIS back in 1981 was the re-appearance of some of his early tv clips. Performances on everything from The Dorsey Brothers Show to his famous Ed Sullivan appearances are still incredibly invigorating to see. One of the most noteworthy clips is an unhinged HOUND DOG from The Milton Berle Show that caused a great deal of controversy, a lot of which THIS IS ELVIS deals openly with.
The original theatrical version of THIS IS ELVIS was faulty in that it was just too short. It is simply impossible to cover a life in just 101 minutes even though the original version does the job as well as possible. The Home Video version was expanded with an additional 40 plus minutes but it unfortunately censored one scene and removed the sad ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT performance from 77 that caused many intial viewers to break down into tears upon seeing it. Both versions are thankfully available on the dvd set.
THIS IS ELVIS is not perfect. It doesn’t delve deep enough into the man’s musical contributions, it all but ignores his astonishing non-soundtrack work in the Sixties and takes too many liberties editing certain performances. All that said it is still a bracing and moving film that becomes positively chilling in it’s last half hour where we can see Elvis slipping further and further away from us and himself.
The film’s final moments with news footage of the thousands of fans gathered around Graceland the day of his funeral interposed with a powerful and majestic performance of AN AMERICAN TRILOGY from ELVIS ON TOUR is an extremely effective ending to a fine film.

The original trailer for the film featured a still photograph of John Lennon in the Seventies wearing an Elvis button and when Yoko Ono saw THIS IS ELVIS shortly after Lennon’s murder she contacted Leo and Solt and commissioned them to do the equally powerful IMAGINE: JOHN LENNON (1988).
The double disc dvd set is labeled a special edition but it is pretty bare bones. Disc One contains a sharp looking Widescreen print of the original theatrical version, the film’s trailer and a nine minute promotional featurette featuring Esposito, Schilling, Solt and Leo on the grounds of Graceland back in 81. The second disc contains the extended print and it is presented full screen and basically looks like a port from the old VHS copy.

I decided to highlight this release due to not only the fact that I think it is a fine film, but I also think it is a perfect introduction to Elvis Presley. An introduction that might just scratch the surface but also one that will make almost any viewer want to dig deeper.

This article originally appeared at my Moon In The Gutter on 01/28/07

It seems like every great artist has at least one album in their catalogue that is universally ignored due to the greatness of the album that proceeded it. How often is The Stones’ "Goat Heads Soup" mentioned in the shadow of "Exile On Main St." or how about the third Oasis platter "Be Here Now" after :"What’s The Story Morning Glory?" All the great ones from The Beatles and The Beach Boys up to The White Stripes and Radiohead have made great works that have suffered simply due to comparison.
January and February of 1969 is a month that occupies a special place in rock history, specifically 6 days in January and 5 days in February. These 11 days would mark the legendary Elvis Presley American Studio sessions in Memphis, Tennessee. Much has been written about these sessions, Elvis Costello would label the performances supernatural and I’m not sure a better word could have been chosen to describe them.
The American sessions are the sound of an artist at not only his absolute peak but reaching past it. Elvis in that studio is Picasso in his Blue Period and Hemingway writing Old Man And The Sea. This is the sound of a man coming out of a self imposed shell and re-discovering magic, a man getting his soul back against all obstacles.
There has never been a voice as pure as Elvis’ during these sessions. Rumor has it that he had a cold early on when in one night he layed down "Long Black Limousine", "This is The Story" and "Wearin That Loved On Look". Listening to these songs you can hear the sound of a man shaking off the shackles of a long imprisonment, the voice that Dylan said would break you out of your own prison. No-one has ever been as good as Elvis in these hours of recording.
To many rock and music historians the only album that came out of these sessions was "From Elvis in Memphis". It’s the album that typically pops up on the great all time albums lists and it is the lp that is remembered. It is often overlooked that there was a second album, a work that has long since almost vanished into obscurity even though it features some of the greatest performances of Elvis Presley’s career.
"Back In Memphis", with it’s dark live photo of Elvis looking like a ghost coming back for war, was originally issued as part of a set called "From Vegas To Memphis". One record recorded live in Vegas while the studio sessions lay nearly hidden in the back sleeve. History has placed these ten tracks as near outtakes to the great "From Elvis In Memphis" sides but a closer inspection not only reveals ten great tracks but one of the most cohesive records Elvis ever delivered.
The opening, Eddie Rabbit penned, track "Inherit The Wind" sets the tone. Like other albums I have focused on in this series, from "Watertown" to "Houston", we are dealing with a man in isolation. Backed by the incredible American studio house band, including the great Reggie Young on guitar, Elvis is in top from here. The backing female vocals give the song a strange feel that is complimented by the string section that producer Chips Moman would add on later. The song’s odd time signatures coupled with Moman’s production gives the song a perfect swaying feel that is punctuated by Elvis’ reminder of what it’s like to indeed Inherit the Wind.
"This is The Story" follows, and this as mentioned dates from that first historic night Elvis stepped into American studios. The tragic tone is set here for the album, and when Elvis sings ‘but the words that I’m reading could apply to myself’ we realise why he didn’t have to be a songwriter, once he sang a song it was his, they were his autobiography.
Percy Mayfield’s startling "Stranger In My Own Hometown" follows. This is the most rocking track on the album and the most haunting. This is the sound of a man confronting a city that had witnessed the assignation of Martin Luther King less than a year earlier. Elvis’ sorrow at this event has been recounted by both Celeste Yarnall and Jerry Schilling, perhaps more than "If I Can Dream" this is his reaction to it. It’s an explosive, surging performance that stands with his greatest work. The song’s ferocious climax features one of the strangest horn arrangements ever put on vinyl and Elvis screaming off mike ‘Blow your brains out.’ He would revisit this song later in his career and re-invent the idea of a blues man in a frightening laid back chronicle of alienation and despair. Anyone who doesn’t understand the genius of Elvis Presley should listen to this song.
"Just a Little Bit Of Green" and Elvis’ lovely reading of Neil Diamond’s great "And The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind" are sublime examples of sixties pop at his best. More importantly the album never loses it’s chronicling of a man who has denied love. Every track leads up to the album’s final upcoming declaration making this, even more than I’m 10,000 Years Old, the great Elvis concept album.
Bobby Russell’s dark and brooding Do You Know I Am with it’s near whispered vocal and far-away tambourine is the calm at the center of the storm. The regret and longing are starting to kick in and it’s the perfect opener for a side that’s yearning for forgiveness.
Ned Miller’s "From A Jack To A King" was one of Elvis’ fathers Vernons favorites. The most playful and country sounding song on the album still fits in perfectly with the idea of lost love and Elvis delivers a slyly comical rendition that provide a brief respite from the darkness that would follow.
"The Fair’s Moving On" would provide the album with some of it’s most haunting imagery, with it’s portraits of a packing and vanishing carnival and love affair. Bobby Wood’s piano playing is particularly impressive as is Moman’s kaleidoscope production that surrounds Presley’s soulful vocal.
"Back in Memphis" concludes with two of Elvis’ most impressive and greatest performances. Mort Shuman’s "You’ll Think Of Me" opens with Reggie Young on Sitar instead of guitar and it’s that instrument that takes the lead throughout the song, providing an exotic counterpoint to the perhaps the most soulful vocal performance Elvis ever gave. The song was used as the b-side to the legendary "Suspicious Minds" and had remained all but hidden in the years since it’s release. It is perhaps the great lost jewel in Elvis’ crown, listening to it now it’s hard to imagine a singer more in tune with all that a song can symbolically give. No-one, not even Sinatra at his most impassioned, has melded together with a song like this one. This song is Elvis Presley.
The album closes with Danny Small’s "Without Love", and we find our narrator (and I would say Elvis himself) realizing that ‘without love, I am nothing at all’. With Bobby Wood again on piano, we find Elvis at his rawest. Paul Westerberg would later write, ‘Remember me, I used to wear my heart on my sleeve’, and he could have easily been describing Elvis singing this song. Recorded on the final night of the January sessions, and shortly before "Suspicious Minds", it gives the album an uncommonly powerful conclusion. We are still with the same person from "Inherit The Wind" but we have witnessed him changing and ultimately growing. Of all of the concept albums that have gained fame, perhaps only The Pretty Things "S.F. Sorrow" came to such a resonate and deceptively simple conclusion.

Back In Memphis is out of print in the United States. You can find the songs on "Suspic