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Post by erik on Feb 6, 2019 12:30:47 GMT -5
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Post by sliderocker on Feb 7, 2019 13:47:08 GMT -5
Another sad loss in the Elvis world. This comes on the heels of the death of actress Julie Adams, who co-starred with Elvis in "Tickle Me", and who came to Graceland only a year or two ago to share her memories of working with Elvis. George Klein was a friend of Elvis', no question about that.
He risked his career as a DJ when Elvis was driving back home from Hollywood and heard George play Tom Jones' version of "Green, Green Grass of Home." The song hit Elvis emotionally, close to the heart. And he had his buddies call George up to tell him to play it again. And again. And again. And George complied, risking his job because his station's rotation rules stipulated a song could only be played once every four hours or so. I'm sure George had to explain to his bosses just who he was playing the song for, that it was a very special request. And if pressed, he could've told them it was a fair trade because they could boast Elvis listened to their radio station.
Elvis finally recorded the song, in Hollywood, in March 1975, in his next to last major recording session. He was backed by his stage band, by Voice - the group he had put together, and by Mary and Ginger Holliday, the sisters who had added their voices to his American Sound recordings, most notably on "In the Ghetto" and "Suspicious Minds." One of the fascinating bits about Mary and Ginger is that they kept a record of all their recording sessions as backing vocalists. And they have worked with almost every major artist who recorded in the 60s and 70s, including Linda, with whom they did at least one tour with. What a fascinating book they could have if they chose to write a book. And their stories?
George sometimes had a tendency to exaggerate his involvement in the stories he knew about Elvis, but not always. He was pivotal, along with Marty Lacker in getting Elvis to record at American Sound Studios in Memphis. If that was all he did, his place in Elvis history would've been assured. But, he did much more for Elvis and he tended to understate on those stories. I'm not sure why he was given to exaggeration on other Elvis stories. Maybe he really was involved, much more than what others said he was? One of the sad ironies about the men who made up Memphis Mafia was how they broke up into two groups: those who were on the outs with Elvis' estate and those who remained on good terms. George remained on good terms, so that didn't sit well with some of those who were on the outs.
With George now gone, Jerry Schilling is the last man standing of those who were with Elvis in the 60s until the end. (The Memphis Mafia did not exist in the 1950s.) So, the number of people who knew Elvis shrinks by the year. Many of his co-stars and musical contemporaries and followers are gone. Eventually, there will be no one who could tell anyone about Elvis, and he will become more myth than reality - even though it will always be his music that is his legacy.
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Post by erik on Feb 7, 2019 14:39:07 GMT -5
I think Klein mentions in his memoir about his memories of Elvis that the dismissal of Elvis' road crew (Scotty Moore; DJ Fontana; Bill Black) by the Colonel in 1957 was the first time Klein knew of where he thought the Colonel was dead wrong about Elvis and his music. And I don't think there was any doubt that part of his friendship with Elvis included keeping the King up on all the musical happenings, which he had to do from Memphis since Elvis spent more than his fair share of time on Hollywood soundstages for much of the 1960s.
Maybe Klein was guilty of a bit of aggrandizement, but the same could be said of a lot of others in Elvis' entourage as well. And he seemed to have largely fond memories of The King, even towards the end, when he knew that Elvis' health was failing. Elvis was fortunate to have Klein for a friend, even with having a miserly Colonel Tom Parker for a manger.
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Post by musedeva on Feb 7, 2019 16:01:11 GMT -5
WOW!! Fascinating! did Linda ever have a "Tucson Mafia"?.....hahahahha.....I guess not since her fams were cops, right?
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Post by erik on Feb 7, 2019 19:10:35 GMT -5
Quote by musedava:
Ahhhhhhh....kind of doubt it. Whatever "mafia" Linda might have had was probably based here in L.A.
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