Elvis On His 77th Birthday

[erik]

There are a lot of things that can be said about Elvis Presley’s career that were good and bad, but on what would have been his 77th birthday, what say we focus on the good stuff, which clearly outnumbered the bad?

Of particular note is that period between 1967 and 1969 in which he was slowly but surely making his way back from B-movie Purgatory to a career resurrection. Though it still contained some pretty bad movies, it also contained some of the best and most underrated music of his career—not just the hits, but some unbelievable album tracks too.

So here’s this salute to Elvis.

1967:
“Big Boss Man”:
"Hi-Heel Sneakers": www.youtube.comwatch?v=EcaGoozesxw

1968 (Nashville sessions):
“Too Much Monkey Business”:
“U.S. Male”:

1968 (NBC Comeback Special):
“One Night”:
“Tiger Man”:
“If I Can Dream”:

1969 (From Elvis In Memphis):
“Long Black Limousine”:
“Power Of My Love”:
“After Loving You”:

1969 (From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis [2nd LP]):
“Stranger In My Own Home Town”:
“Do You Know Who I Am?”:
“Without Love (There Is Nothing):

And finally, to show that the King is a man who can laugh at himself, here he is flubbing “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” live in Las Vegas on August 26, 1969, and laughing himself almost to death. If you aren’t in stitches at the end of this, well, what can I say?:


NOTE: For purposes of seeing that the board loads up right and fast, I have only posted the links to the YouTube tracks, rather than the videos themselves. Enjoy them just the same, however.

[sliderocker]

Great salute, Erik. The laughing version of AYLT from 1969 is one of my all time favorite Elvis performances. Some people assumed Elvis broke up into a fit of laughter because he was on drugs. The real story was that a man wearing a toupe was attending that particular Vegas show and his toupe fell from his head to the floor. Elvis saw that happen as he was singing AYLT and changed the lyric of the song to reflect what he had just seen: 'Do you gaze at your bald head and wish you had hair?' And then he just lost it from that point on, laughing hysterically as backup vocalist Millie Kirkham carried on with her 'ooh' backing vocal, breaking up Elvis even more. The recording of that performance was one of RCA's first posthumous releases on Elvis, appearing on Vol. 4 (I think) of the "A Legendary Performer" series on Elvis. The pity of that recording was that it wasn't released in Elvis's lifetime. I think he would rather have had that released than the more embarrassing "Having Fun with Elvis On Stage" album. Incredibly, I think RCA slapped a $7.98 price tag on that album, at a time when their music albums were still carrying price tags of $5.98 and $6.98. HFWEOS was another of Parker's hairbrained schemes, a total misfire as few Elvis fans bought the album, much less regular consumers.

[erik]

Yes, it was one of those golden moments in Elvis' career, that hysterically funny faux pas. Every time I hear it, I just can't help laughing; it's one of the most priceless moments in music history. And fortunately, it was eventually preserved for posterity on LP. I mean, the man could be funny when he wanted to; just witness some of the moments in the NBC special when he jammed with his old friends Scotty Moore and D.C. Fontana.

This was a time in Elvis' life when he was really at his best in his mature years. He admitted to Steve Binder, just before they did the NBC special, that he thought he had waited too long and that he might have been forgotten by the fans. And if the Colonel had had his way completely and forced NBC to do a standard Christmas special, Elvis would, in my opinion, have been wiped out. Instead, Binder, with NBC's enthusiastic approval, let Elvis do his own thing, be who he was, and let the whole thing evolve. The end result was not so much a "comeback" as it was a Resurrection--and all without the Colonel's interference. Things like this are what we can be thankful for when it comes to the King (IMHO).

[Dianna]

It's the "ooh ing" from the background singer that really cracked me up. Elvis had a good sense of humor.

[erik]

I have sometimes heard that backup vocal described as a Star Trek-type lounge vocal, and that's a very apt description. In any case, I agree that we can totally discount the notion that Elvis was stoned on something that night. He just seemed to be very loose and glad he was back on a stage, because, not counting the NBC special, prior to his July 31, 1969 debut in Vegas, he hadn't performed in front of an actual audience anywhere in more than eight years.

[sliderocker]

Jan 9, 2012 10:01:49 GMT -5 erik said:

Yes, it was one of those golden moments in Elvis' career, that hysterically funny faux pas. Every time I hear it, I just can't help laughing; it's one of the most priceless moments in music history. And fortunately, it was eventually preserved for posterity on LP. I mean, the man could be funny when he wanted to; just witness some of the moments in the NBC special when he jammed with his old friends Scotty Moore and D.C. Fontana.

This was a time in Elvis' life when he was really at his best in his mature years. He admitted to Steve Binder, just before they did the NBC special, that he thought he had waited too long and that he might have been forgotten by the fans. And if the Colonel had had his way completely and forced NBC to do a standard Christmas special, Elvis would, in my opinion, have been wiped out. Instead, Binder, with NBC's enthusiastic approval, let Elvis do his own thing, be who he was, and let the whole thing evolve. The end result was not so much a "comeback" as it was a Resurrection--and all without the Colonel's interference. Things like this are what we can be thankful for when it comes to the King (IMHO).

Parker was challenged by Binder and a few short months later by Chips Moman and miraculously, came away the loser both times. Or did he? For though Binder and Moman both won their battles with Parker, they both lost their proverbial wars with Parker as they never again worked with Elvis. Parker had a very nasty and vindictive nature whereby he would find a way to oust anyone working to Elvis's benefit. He did it to songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who were quite sympathetic to what Elvis wanted to do, including nonmusical goals. And when they met up with Parker to discuss an idea they had in mind for Elvis, Parker froze them out after telling them Elvis could do their project but only if they were prepared to be financially liable if the project didn't succeed. Leiber and Stoller never again worked closely with Elvis although they would continue to write songs for him. Sad they didn't call Parker's bluff as not only was Elvis on a winning streak, Leiber and Stoller were also on a winning streak as songwriters and whatever their project was they had in mind for Elvis, it probably would've succeeded beyond all of their wildest dreams and much to the chagrin of Parker.

[erik]

And that, I think, is the whole crux of the matter. The Colonel was out for himself, and not his client. After how Binder and Moman each went behind him and encouraged Elvis to go all-out and give everything he had, he vowed not to be caught like this again. He was an extremely vindictive person, and it cost Elvis greatly. But Elvis was also very insecure, and he seemed to be unable to trust too many people, which I think is something the Colonel preyed upon.

Ironically, the two biggest challenges Elvis had during the 70s were things that the Colonel suggested: the concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York in June 1972; and the Aloha From Hawaii spectacular on January 14, 1973. Both ideas resulted in big record sales. As Recorded Live In Madison Square Garden, released only two weeks after those concerts, hit #11 on the Billboard Album Chart; and Aloha hit #1 (the King's final chart-topping album during his lifetime).

[sliderocker]

Jan 9, 2012 13:24:50 GMT -5 erik said:

I have sometimes heard that backup vocal described as a Star Trek-type lounge vocal, and that's a very apt description. In any case, I agree that we can totally discount the notion that Elvis was stoned on something that night. He just seemed to be very loose and glad he was back on a stage, because, not counting the NBC special, prior to his July 31, 1969 debut in Vegas, he hadn't performed in front of an actual audience anywhere in more than eight years.

He wasn't stoned in 1969 and although many have assumed he was stoned in the 1977 filmed performance of AYLT that was slightly included in his last tv special, he wasn't quite stoned then either. Those who worked for him at that time said he was genuinely sick and in some pain during the filming of the special and didn't want to do the tv special. But, he was contracted to film the tv special and just wanted to get it over with.

But, as for that filmed performance of AYLT - Elvis forgetting the words or coming up with other words during the spoken bridge part of the song, many of the people who managed to see Elvis in person said that when Elvis performed that song, part of his schtick was to goof off on the spoken bridge. Much like his ad libs in "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" ("baby, I'd get down on my knees for you/if the suit wasn't too tight") or "Suspicious Minds" ("I hope this suit don't tear up, baby"), the goofing was intentional and not because he was forgetting the words because he was stoned, though granted, there were some shows where Elvis did sound stoned.

And about that last tv special, it had been mentioned by CBS in their same press release about the Elvis special, that Linda (and several other rock acts) was to have done a tv special for them that never materialized. I've always wondered what happened to that special, if it was produced and why it didn't sir if it was produced? Since seeing the videos on youtube of Linda performing live in Germany, I've wondered if those videos came from her aborted tv special? The film quality is too good to be the work of an amateur.

It seemed like many artists were filming their concerts for tv specials that never aired around that time. The Bee Gees filmed their L.A. concert, which would be released on record as "Here At Last...Bee Gees...Live," but it was said they were unhappy with the filmed version of the concert and nixed plans to allow it to be shown on network tv. And although there's no proof to suggest otherwise, it seemed like every artist or band who had a deal for a tv special cancelled their deals after Elvis's death. It sounds ludicrous to suggest they were spooked but many of those in the entertainment industry have always been a superstitious lot. Linda didn't give the impression of being a superstitious person, so maybe there was another reason elading to the cancellation of her tv special. If it was filmed, it would be great if it could be released as it would be Linda when she was at the height of her popularity.

[Dianna]

what about the time, in concert, elvis was performing karate stunts.. I understand it was for a long time during the concert. I would have been pissed

[sliderocker]

Jan 9, 2012 14:59:07 GMT -5 erik said:

And that, I think, is the whole crux of the matter. The Colonel was out for himself, and not his client. After how Binder and Moman each went behind him and encouraged Elvis to go all-out and give everything he had, he vowed not to be caught like this again. He was an extremely vindictive person, and it cost Elvis greatly. But Elvis was also very insecure, and he seemed to be unable to trust too many people, which I think is something the Colonel preyed upon.

Ironically, the two biggest challenges Elvis had during the 70s were things that the Colonel suggested: the concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York in June 1972; and the Aloha From Hawaii spectacular on January 14, 1973. Both ideas resulted in big record sales. As Recorded Live In Madison Square Garden, released only two weeks after those concerts, hit #11 on the Billboard Album Chart; and Aloha hit #1 (the King's final chart-topping album during his lifetime).

The "Aloha from Hawaii" was Col. Parker's reaction to requests from promoters overseas wanting Elvis to make good on his promise to tour overseas. One Japanese promoter offered to pay Elvis ten million dollars to tour Japan and allow an Elvis tv special to be filmed exclusively for Japanese tv. Similar offers came in from Australia, Great Britain (from promoters and fans alike who desperately wanted Elvis to perform there), and even Middle Eastern countries were clamoring for Elvis. It's worth noting that after the AFH tv special, Parker's next big tv project for Elvis was another tv special about a year after AFH, and Easter tv special in which Elvis would sing all gospel songs. Everyone knows that Elvis was heavily into gospel music but he nixed the idea of a tv special of an all gospel tv special. Perhaps it reeked of Parker's plans for Elvis's 1968 tv special where Elvis would go out to the stage and sing 26 Christmas songs. The picture sleeve for Elvis's 1974 single "I've Got a Thing About You Baby" touted the forthcoming 1974 Easter tv special but obviously it never went beyond the planning stage since Elvis deep-sixed the whole idea.

[sliderocker]

Jan 9, 2012 18:02:00 GMT -5 Dianna said:

what about the time, in concert, elvis was performing karate stunts.. I understand it was for a long time during the concert. I would have been pissed

He did karate stunts during the course of his shows but I don't know how much time he devoted to the stunts. The stunts were an early part of the shows but as time went on and Elvis began dealing with weight issues and health issues, it became more difficult for him to do the stunts. like a lot of guys, he loved karate and as for its inclusion in his concerts, the price of a ticket back in those days didn't amount to much. Some of the tickets where I lived at the time were as little as $5 with front row seats or seats close to the stage going for about $15. So, Elvis did some karate stunts? That was something to complain about? The last concert I attended was at a tribal casino and I paid about $170 for tickets for me and my ex-girlfriend, and the act in question was only on stage for 40 miserly minutes! For that kind of money, there should've been a meet and greet thrown in. I would rather have paid $15 to have seen Elvis on stage singing and doing his karate stuff than the $170 I paid to see one of the shortest concerts I've ever seen in my life.

[erik]

Quote by sliderocker:

The "Aloha from Hawaii" was Col. Parker's reaction to requests from promoters overseas wanting Elvis to make good on his promise to tour overseas. One Japanese promoter offered to pay Elvis ten million dollars to tour Japan and allow an Elvis tv special to be filmed exclusively for Japanese tv. Similar offers came in from Australia, Great Britain (from promoters and fans alike who desperately wanted Elvis to perform there), and even Middle Eastern countries were clamoring for Elvis. It's worth noting that after the AFH tv special, Parker's next big tv project for Elvis was another tv special about a year after AFH, and Easter tv special in which Elvis would sing all gospel songs. Everyone knows that Elvis was heavily into gospel music but he nixed the idea of a tv special of an all gospel tv special. Perhaps it reeked of Parker's plans for Elvis's 1968 tv special where Elvis would go out to the stage and sing 26 Christmas songs.

It wouldn't surprise me. It seems that the Colonel treated his one and only client as a mere "product" or "cash cow", and not a man who was arguably the single most influential pop music icon of the 20th century. Not letting him perform outside America was, in many people's estimation, a colossal blunder, though the Colonel had his reasons...and believe me, they were his--some immigration issues.

And yet, somehow, Elvis did have some solid hits in his last years: "If You Talk In Your Sleep" (#17, August 1974); "Promised Land" (#14, December 1974); "My Boy" (#20, March 1975); "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" (#33, June 1975); "Hurt" (#28, May 1976); "Moody Blue" (#31, March 1977); and "Way Down", the very last Top 40 hit he had while still alive (it was climbing the chart on August 16, 1977, and would peak at #18 in September). Somehow, as poor as his health became at the end, he managed to pull those hits off.

[sliderocker]

Jan 9, 2012 21:32:18 GMT -5 erik said:

It wouldn't surprise me. It seems that the Colonel treated his one and only client as a mere "product" or "cash cow", and not a man who was arguably the single most influential pop music icon of the 20th century. Not letting him perform outside America was, in many people's estimation, a colossal blunder, though the Colonel had his reasons...and believe me, they were his--some immigration issues.

And yet, somehow, Elvis did have some solid hits in his last years: "If You Talk In Your Sleep" (#17, August 1974); "Promised Land" (#14, December 1974); "My Boy" (#20, March 1975); "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" (#33, June 1975); "Hurt" (#28, May 1976); "Moody Blue" (#31, March 1977); and "Way Down", the very last Top 40 hit he had while still alive (it was climbing the chart on August 16, 1977, and would peak at #18 in September). Somehow, as poor as his health became at the end, he managed to pull those hits off.

Parker could've allowed Elvis to have toured overseas without him but Parker didn't trust any others around Elvis to do his bidding, and further, feared others being around Elvis and telling Elvis what a lousy manager he was. Not that Elvis didn't already know that. Allegedly, Elvis was going to dump Parker after the August-September '77 shows but that's not something I truly believe because again, if he didn't trust Parker to do the right thing, why should he have trusted some other manager to have done what Parker didn't do? Unfortunately, I think that with Elvis, he preferred the devil he knew to the devil he didn't know.

Still, Elvis managed to hit the Top 40 on a regular basis even if his albums didn't fo as well. I thought some of those mid-70s singles should've charted higher than what they did, especially "If You Talk In Your Sleep" (another risky, totally different from the norm Elvis tune), "Promised Land," "My Boy" and "Way Down," whose #18 chart ranking still puzzles me to this day as it was on the charts and in the stores when Elvis died, and as with all other available Elvis recordings, all copies were gone in a matter of days if not hours following Elvis's death. Some two and a half million copies that were in the stores, all sold out and yet it did no better than 18? And the tune was being heavily played on the radio, with some stations playing the song every half hour along with many other Elvis songs. It should've logged up enough plays that along with sales, should have put it at the top of Billboard's Top 40 chart.

I've always suspected but have no proof that Billboard discounted the sales and radio airplay of "Way Down" (and other Elvis recordings) that occurred in the wake of Elvis's death, because while some of the other acts in the Top 20 did sell two million copies of their particular record, they did it in the space of the weeks they spent on the chart rather than in a few hours or a few days.

The number of records in the stores was one of the very few things Parker actually got right. RCA was required by Parker to have a minimum of one million copies on each and every Elvis record in the stores. That requirement meant all of Elvis's singles shipped gold from the start. And another requirement for RCA by Parker was that the records couldn't be returned if they didn't sell. Obviously, Elvis sold in high enough numbers and had a huge enough fanbase to justify such a requirement but why all those records didn't all do so well in Billboard is a mystery.

[erik]

You'd kind of think that "Way Down" would have zoomed to #1 in the wake of the King's death, but for whatever reason, that wasn't the case (although it did hit #1 on the country chart [strange], and #1 in the UK). Sometimes, death is not a good publicity tool; and I think the book that his former bodyguards put out two weeks before that blunted some of the edge off of "Way Down". Ironically, Moody Blue, the album which "Way Down" is on, was a huge selling album, actually getting up to #3 in the weeks following Elvis' death. The only two albums ahead of it on the Billboard Album Chart were, if you can believe this, Linda's Simple Dreams at #2, and Fleetwood Mac's Rumors at #1.

In fact, some of Elvis' biggest success during the last decade of his life was on the album chart. The 1968 NBC Special soundtrack hit #8. From Elvis In Memphis got up to #13. From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis reached #12. On Stage: February 1970 got to #13. Elvis Country got to #12. And the posthumous Elvis In Concert, which included his version of "My Way", got to #5. All of these eventually were declared Platinum sellers. And if you count the Christmas albums he put out in 1957 and 1971, you could add another fifteen million in album sales to that total.

I think that, as poorly as the Colonel managed him, as addicted as he was to both a bad manager and bad habits, and for all the hideous films he made in the 1960s, Elvis still made timeless music from storied beginning to bitter end. He just couldn't quit on anything until it finally killed him. This may sound insane to some, but that's who he was; and his legacy, I think, trumps all the bad things by a wide margin.

[sliderocker]

Jan 10, 2012 10:10:41 GMT -5 erik said:

You'd kind of think that "Way Down" would have zoomed to #1 in the wake of the King's death, but for whatever reason, that wasn't the case (although it did hit #1 on the country chart [strange], and #1 in the UK). Sometimes, death is not a good publicity tool; and I think the book that his former bodyguards put out two weeks before that blunted some of the edge off of "Way Down". Ironically, Moody Blue, the album which "Way Down" is on, was a huge selling album, actually getting up to #3 in the weeks following Elvis' death. The only two albums ahead of it on the Billboard Album Chart were, if you can believe this, Linda's Simple Dreams at #2, and Fleetwood Mac's Rumors at #1.

In fact, some of Elvis' biggest success during the last decade of his life was on the album chart. The 1968 NBC Special soundtrack hit #8. From Elvis In Memphis got up to #13. From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis reached #12. On Stage: February 1970 got to #13. Elvis Country got to #12. And the posthumous Elvis In Concert, which included his version of "My Way", got to #5. All of these eventually were declared Platinum sellers. And if you count the Christmas albums he put out in 1957 and 1971, you could add another fifteen million in album sales to that total.

I think that, as poorly as the Colonel managed him, as addicted as he was to both a bad manager and bad habits, and for all the hideous films he made in the 1960s, Elvis still made timeless music from storied beginning to bitter end. He just couldn't quit on anything until it finally killed him. This may sound insane to some, but that's who he was; and his legacy, I think, trumps all the bad things by a wide margin.

For the record (pardon the wicked pun), Billboard recently insisted it had no bias against Elvis and his number one tallies. The issue which brought forth that denial was Billboard coming out with a list of the artists with the most number ones, but the list's starting point began in 1964 with the Beatles, thus excluding all of the number ones Elvis earned in the 1950s. Billboard claimed no bias yet a few years before the recent debacle, they took lowered Elvis's total of 18 number ones because two of the number ones were on the same record: Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel. As far as I know, no one has asked Billboard whether they did the same with the Beatles, the only other act to have 45s with both sides credited as number ones. The Beatles's Billboard tally still stands at 20 which indicates their number ones did not get downgraded. Part of my suspicion about Billboard having a bias against Elvis is because they seem to have a personal preference for the Beatles.

Until Elvis died, it was said that Elvis, the Beatles and the Supremes were locked in a three way tie with 18 number ones apiece. After Elvis died, the Beatles sudddenly gained two additional number ones in their tally, despite the fact that none of the reissues issued on them after they broke up reached number one. I did find reference to one of the supposed number ones only making it to number three on the Billboard charts but the reference in question was a records book out of Britain and I've never been able to locate copies of their magazine from that time to verify the accuracy of the book. I don't trust online recreations. It's too easy to twist the facts to read what you want them to say. Because I do believe that Billboard does have questionable practices when it comes to their charts, I don't regard those charts as being honest. And I have to wonder why the artists and record companies place so much faith in the magazine?

RCA/BMG/Sony or whoever they are now has worked on getting Elvis's recordings certified by the RIAA. As of the present, Elvis's tally is 134.5 million albums in the US. The reason behind the drive to get Elvis certified was Garth Brooks, who briefly was ahead of Elvis but Elvis has now pulled away from Brooks. He's still got a ways to catch the Beatles's official total of 174 million (or is it 194 million?) although there are enough Elvis albums (in the form of reissues) out there that have sold under the 500,000 gold radar that if the RIAA had a certification level for albums selling less than 500,000, Elvis's grand total in the US would be somewhere in excess of 220,000,000.

Apparently, there's been something like 255 different reissues on Elvis that have sold more than 200,000 but less than 500,000 in the US. Curiously, one of the recent certifications for Elvis was for the 1971 Camden budget reissue, "I Got Lucky." If I'm remembering rightly, it was awarded a platinum album, meaning of course, a million copies sold. The album was reissued to cd not too long ago but I think the bulk of the sales came from the original release and a subsequent reissue by the Pickwick company.

Elvis definitely made some timeless music and the good outweighs the bad, even though the news media likes to focus on the bad parts of Elvis's life. Elvis inspired thousands of others to follow his rock and roll path, whether they were already musicians (Buddy Holly) or just starting out as musicians (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Keith Richards, et al) He would influence them in much the same way they would influence others on their own. And like the others, his influence is still felt and likely will still be felt for geneations to come. In a sense, he, along with John, George, Buddy and many others achieved an immortality through their music that didn't come to an end just because they died.

[erik]

Here are a few more examples of the King that people rarely hear:

"Love Letters" (#19 hit in August 1966; went to #5 in 1962 for Ketty Lester):

"Tomorrow Is A Long Time" (1966) (written by one Robert Allan Zimmerman, alias Bob Dylan):

"Charro" (the theme to Elvis' final Western film, from 1969; was the B-side of "Memories"):

"Clean Up Your Own Backyard" (#35 in August 1969; from the film THE TROUBLE WITH GIRLS):

"Don't Cry Daddy" (not often played, even though it reached an impressive #6 on the Hot 100 in January 1970, and sold a million):

[sliderocker]

"Tomorrow Is A Long Time" is another favorite Elvis track of mine. I thought Elvis certainly related to the song's lyrics. I like the Scott (Mac) Davis songs as well, especially "Clean Up Your Own Back Yard." I also liked a few songs Elvis did at his last recording session, which took place at Graceland. "Never Again" reminded me of the sadness of Linda's "Try Me Again." (I always wondered why these two people never met?) "For the Heart" and "Way Down" both showed Elvis still had a rock and roll spirit, even if it only rarely came out. His version of "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain" was in a slight rock vein, which was quite a contrast to all the other singers rushing to cover the ballad in the wake of Willie Nelson's hit record of the song.

And then there was the incredible irony of "It's Easy For You," which was the last song on "Moody Blue" and featured opening lyrics that were downight eerie and could've referred to Elvis's death: You may not mind that it's over/but I've a different point of view/even though I am shattered (read as dead)/It's easy for you/You don't have to face the music/you don't have to face the crowds/just go back where you came from/you ain't even right. It was almost as if Tim Rice's lyrics were foretelling Elvis's death while Andrew Lloyd Webber's melancholy music for the song sounded much like a funeral dirge.

[erik]

Quote by sliderocker:

I also liked a few songs Elvis did at his last recording session, which took place at Graceland. "Never Again" reminded me of the sadness of Linda's "Try Me Again." (I always wondered why these two people never met?) "For the Heart" and "Way Down" both showed Elvis still had a rock and roll spirit, even if it only rarely came out.

I think Elvis knew about Linda, probably even before her career exploded into superstardom in 1975. But by that time, he was no longer what he had been to aspiring youngsters in the 1950s like Linda. Too much touring, too much Vegas, far too many pills, and a manager who didn't seem to give a rat's a** about anything but the almighty dollar had worn him down. It would probably have broken her heart to see this man, an artist who had as big an influence on her career as anybody, in that shape; and even if that hadn't been the case, I think Linda was too modest to want to meet with him. And realistically, the best thing she ever did in giving her props to Elvis was to cover the King's 1956 classic "Love Me Tender" following his untimely demise in 1977,

[sliderocker]

Jan 13, 2012 10:32:29 GMT -5 erik said:

I think Elvis knew about Linda, probably even before her career exploded into superstardom in 1975. But by that time, he was no longer what he had been to aspiring youngsters in the 1950s like Linda. Too much touring, too much Vegas, far too many pills, and a manager who didn't seem to give a rat's a** about anything but the almighty dollar had worn him down. It would probably have broken her heart to see this man, an artist who had as big an influence on her career as anybody, in that shape; and even if that hadn't been the case, I think Linda was too modest to want to meet with him. And realistically, the best thing she ever did in giving her props to Elvis was to cover the King's 1956 classic "Love Me Tender" following his untimely demise in 1977,

Given Elvis spent a lot of time in Los Angeles and Hollywood during all of the 60s, he probably was aware of her to some degree. Whether the two ever met each other in the 60s has never been mentioned by anyone, but I don't know that it should be ruled out. Elvis met many of his fellow artists while on the movie sets, in Las Vegas and even at the recording studio. He rarely initiated the visit but he almost always accomodated the celebrities who wanted to meet him.

When I first saw "Elvis: That's the Way It Is," I thought I saw Linda during one of the filmed shots of the audience, but have watched it since then and though the scenes of the audience have some celebrities that can be seen, I've come to the conclusion Linda wasn't there when the movie was filmed.

Linda's cover of "Love Me Tender" was a nice nod to Elvis and I recall when bootleggers combined her version with Elvis's version, it created a lot of demand for the record companies to create a "duet" record from the two versions, much like what had been done for Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand on "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." It was said that Linda's version was in the same key as Elvis's but what wasn't in the same key were the two record companies in coming to an agreement. RCA nixed a 45 being released on Asylum and Asylum nixed a 45 being released on RCA. I always thought they should've just reached a compromise about splitting the profits 50/50 and made it available because the demand was great. But, corporate greed on both sides and a refusal to cooperate totally screwed up any chances for a single release.

[erik]

Quote by sliderocker re. Elvis/Linda melding of "Love Me Tender":

Linda's cover of "Love Me Tender" was a nice nod to Elvis and I recall when bootleggers combined her version with Elvis's version, it created a lot of demand for the record companies to create a "duet" record from the two versions, much like what had been done for Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand on "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." It was said that Linda's version was in the same key as Elvis's but what wasn't in the same key were the two record companies in coming to an agreement. RCA nixed a 45 being released on Asylum and Asylum nixed a 45 being released on RCA. I always thought they should've just reached a compromise about splitting the profits 50/50 and made it available because the demand was great. But, corporate greed on both sides and a refusal to cooperate totally screwed up any chances for a single release.

I believe it was an enterprising DJ in St. Louis who had the bright idea to splice the two versions of "Love Me Tender" together; and a lot of stations got a hold of it and wanted it released. That never happened, of course (legitimately, anyway), but I think the blame probably could go more to the Colonel than either to Asylum or RCA. He was always something of...how can I say this any more delicately...a shyster.

[sliderocker]

Jan 14, 2012 12:32:45 GMT -5 erik said:

I believe it was an enterprising DJ in St. Louis who had the bright idea to splice the two versions of "Love Me Tender" together; and a lot of stations got a hold of it and wanted it released. That never happened, of course (legitimately, anyway), but I think the blame probably could go more to the Colonel than either to Asylum or RCA. He was always something of...how can I say this any more delicately...a shyster.

It's conceivable Parker did weigh in on the idea and I could see him putting his foot down with a definite no, unless Linda, her record company and management all agreed to forego any royalties. But, as I recall, both RCA and Asylum wanted to release the "duet" between Linda and Elvis, but each wanted to be the label that would've released the one time only 45. Both labels refused to concede to the other, so a pairing of the two greatest singers never happened.

A few years ago, RCA/BMG/Sony released a Christmas collection of duets between Elvis and a handful of female performers. Interesting and intriguing idea but there was no Linda. Olivia Newton-John was on the album, so the reason for the snub (if it was a snub) couldn't have been because the record company considered Linda passe. Maybe she was never approached or possibly turned the idea down if she was offered? Regardless, I thought it was a bad idea mostly as the record company added some "new instrumentation" to accomodate the female performers. It was a bad idea also because to me, Linda was the only one worthy enough to sing "with" Elvis. I thought Olivia was a good second choice although her vocal contribution seemed to be totally overwhelmed by Elvis and the original choir backing. Maybe they should've allowed her a different Elvis Christmas song?

[erik]

I don't think this splicing of female singers onto Elvis' classic Christmas stuff really works for me, either. To my ears, it was rather irritating to hear Martina McBride's voice jump in on the second verse of "Blue Christmas" on the version that I heard a couple of times this past holiday (most of the other times, though, I heard just Elvis himself).

In general, among other problems I think the Colonel had, one of them was rock and roll itself. He didn't seem to think it would last more than a few years, which is a big reason why he forced his only client into that rotten treadmill of 1960s B-movie musicals. Naturally, he was wrong on both counts...but given how much money those films made, despite their deplorable quality, he didn't seem to give a damn, and he made sure Elvis didn't express any displeasure.

With respect to Elvis and Linda--the one person I can think of who might know for sure whether the King knew of Linda would probably be his daughter Lisa Marie, who once name-dropped Linda as an influence on her own music career.

[sliderocker]

Martina McBride has never been one of my favorite singers and her vocals on Elvis's "Blue Christmas" was definitely irritating to me as well. Not to mention the fact the video from Elvis's 1968 comeback special in which she was edited in as part of the proceedings was no less irritating. And maybe even more irritating. Luckily, the radio stations I heard playing "Blue Christmas" opted for Elvis alone and that even included the country stations that have no trouble adding a Martina McBride song into their play list. In fact, I don't think any of the radio stations here played any of the songs from the Christmas duet album, despite it being a big seller when it was released.

You're right about what Col. Parker thought about rock and roll not lasting. He didn't even like the music and as for the movies, all he cared about was that the movie studios paid Elvis a million dollars per movie plus a percentage of the profits, and that there be enough songs in the movies for a soundtrack album and that Elvis's publishing companies got all of the publishing on the songs. He didn't care what the movies were about, as far as the script and story were about, only that the movies didn't keep the fans away. The movie musicals did better at the box office than the straight dramas that had few songs in them. Had "Flaming Star," "Wild In the Country" and "Charro," the three movies with the fewest songs in them, been more financially successful than the movie musicals, Parker probably would've jumped on that train. Whatever made the most money was the route he wanted to follow, so the fans bear some of the responsibility for helping keep Elvis in the movie musicals. That said, some of the movie musicals were worse than others. "Kissin' Cousins," "Harum Scarum," "Paradise, Hawaiian Style," "Easy Come, Easy Go" and "Speedway" immediately come to mind as being some of the worst offenders.

It's possible Lisa might be the one eprson who would know whether her dad knew of Linda. Someone once mentioned many years ago they were shocked to see David Cassidy albums in Elvis's album collection. David Cassidy? Yikes! But, no wait a minute. The albums didn't exactly belong to him. They were Lisa's albums, albums that Elvis had bought for her because she had liked Cassidy, much like she had liked Elton John and had his albums in her collection at Graceland. Elvis did have a rather large record collection himself, which included all music genres, and I could see him having Linda's albums in his collection. I'm not sure why Graceland would've put a Cassidy album for public display as, no offense to Cassidy, I just couldn't have seen Elvis being a fan of his. Then again, who knws???

[erik]

Quote by sliderocker re. Elvis' 60s movies:

Whatever made the most money was the route he wanted to follow, so the fans bear some of the responsibility for helping keep Elvis in the movie musicals. That said, some of the movie musicals were worse than others. "Kissin' Cousins," "Harum Scarum," "Paradise, Hawaiian Style," "Easy Come, Easy Go" and "Speedway" immediately come to mind as being some of the worst offenders.

Then again it also goes back to the Colonel. Since he wouldn't let Elvis tour again until 1970, the movies were the fans' only avenues to the King. And since much of Elvis' recording time was taken up with doing movie songs that, to put it mildly, weren't "Hound Dog" quality, that's the music they were saddled with (although I would add that the title song of "Kissin' Cousins" is a heck of a lot better than the movie [IMHO]). The fans, and Elvis, were both held hostage by the Colonel.

When producer Felton Jarvis came into Elvis' life in 1966, though, things did change. During that period between 1966 and '68, with Jarvis handling things, the quality of songs did grow: "Love Letters"; "Tomorrow Is A Long Time"; "Big Boss Man"; "U.S. Male"; "Guitar Man"; "Too Much Monkey Business." Here was material that was much more of Elvis' stripe, not "Do The Clam" or "Queenie Wahine's Papaya." This period eventually would lead to the NBC special, and then to Chips Moman in '69.

[sliderocker]

Jan 15, 2012 13:26:06 GMT -5 erik said:

Then again it also goes back to the Colonel. Since he wouldn't let Elvis tour again until 1970, the movies were the fans' only avenues to the King. And since much of Elvis' recording time was taken up with doing movie songs that, to put it mildly, weren't "Hound Dog" quality, that's the music they were saddled with (although I would add that the title song of "Kissin' Cousins" is a heck of a lot better than the movie [IMHO]). The fans, and Elvis, were both held hostage by the Colonel.

When producer Felton Jarvis came into Elvis' life in 1966, though, things did change. During that period between 1966 and '68, with Jarvis handling things, the quality of songs did grow: "Love Letters"; "Tomorrow Is A Long Time"; "Big Boss Man"; "U.S. Male"; "Guitar Man"; "Too Much Monkey Business." Here was material that was much more of Elvis' stripe, not "Do The Clam" or "Queenie Wahine's Papaya." This period eventually would lead to the NBC special, and then to Chips Moman in '69.

I blame Parker for the majority of things that went wrong in Elvis's professional life. He knew Elvis wanted to stretch as an actor but he kept him in the lightweight movies musicals. He knew Elvis didn't really care if they had 25%, 50% or 100% of the publishing on the songs and when Elvis shut that avenue off by becoming so hesitant to return to the recording studio, Parker started focusing on having RCA release one live recording after another. Parker literally had a one track mind and when his grand schemes for Elvis didn't pan out, it was never his fault and he compensated for the failures by charging Elvis more in the way of management commission. Elvis either should've let Parker go or reduced his management commission to such a low figure that Parker either quit or came up with something that would've pleased Elvis as an artist.

Felton Jarvis was a good match for Elvis, though he worked a lot of the technical side of the recordings, much as the predecessors before him had been the technical side. Elvis selected the songs he wanted to do and worked out the arrangements with the musicians and conveyed to Jarvis the sound he wanted. I recall reading about him getting all upset on one occasion when he got some tapes back from RCA on album that was going to be released and his vocals were up front with the backing vocalists and the music remixed from the way he wanted it. He wasn't happy with what he heard and had the recording re-remixed back to the way he wanted them. I don't think RCA messed with his recordings after that, but Jarvis could generally keep Elvis in a good mood, even when Parker was at the studio and hassling songwriters and publishers over getting a percentage.

[erik]

Quote by sliderocker:

I recall reading about him getting all upset on one occasion when he got some tapes back from RCA on album that was going to be released and his vocals were up front with the backing vocalists and the music remixed from the way he wanted it. He wasn't happy with what he heard and had the recording re-remixed back to the way he wanted them.

Yes, and that happened more than a few times, because the Colonel wanted Elvis' voice out front, while Elvis wanted to sound like he was a part of the band there. It was a bone of contention that only got resolved when Jarvis took over. Elvis, before the drug habit really overtook him in the early 1970s, really knew a lot more about producing than most people realized; and when he worked with Jarvis, and Chips Moman, he was working with guys who worked on his own wavelength.

What Elvis needed, however, was a manager who looked out for his interests, and that's definitely not what the Colonel was. He needed someone along the lines of, say, Brian Epstein or Peter Asher, who got what both they and, more importantly, their clients deserved. He clearly didn't have that with the Colonel; and what you have, even with the billion-plus in record sales, were a lot of missed opportunities (IMHO).

[sliderocker]

Jan 16, 2012 14:52:47 GMT -5 erik said:

Yes, and that happened more than a few times, because the Colonel wanted Elvis' voice out front, while Elvis wanted to sound like he was a part of the band there. It was a bone of contention that only got resolved when Jarvis took over. Elvis, before the drug habit really overtook him in the early 1970s, really knew a lot more about producing than most people realized; and when he worked with Jarvis, and Chips Moman, he was working with guys who worked on his own wavelength.

What Elvis needed, however, was a manager who looked out for his interests, and that's definitely not what the Colonel was. He needed someone along the lines of, say, Brian Epstein or Peter Asher, who got what both they and, more importantly, their clients deserved. He clearly didn't have that with the Colonel; and what you have, even with the billion-plus in record sales, were a lot of missed opportunities (IMHO).

What a lot of people don't realize about Elvis that in addition to functioning as producer at his own sessions, he also contributed as a musician, usually on guitar, from the 50s straight through the early to mid 60s, but then backed away for the most part, only occasionally playing guitar, piano or even an occasional bass guitar. I think he became self-conscious about his own playing in the mid-60s and that was why he backed away. That or the movie soundtrack songs depressed him to the point that he didn't want to contribute more to the songs than he had to.

Then again, I saw a curious comment from Emmylou Harris in the 90s about an unnamed "they" taking Elvis's guitar away from him and not letting him play on his sessions. No doubt the "they" reference was to Parker but it also could've been a reference to the Nashville establishment's way of recording, which was to always use professional session musicians rather than rely on the artists and their bands. I couldn't imagine anyone telling Elvis what he could or couldn't do on his own recording session but given the way he rolled with the flow on the movies that came his way, he might have done what was asked of him without any resistance. But, it was said that if you wanted to get on Elvis's bad side, all you had to do was criticize his skills as a musician. He wasn't as sharp a professional guitarist as what James Burton is, but neither was he quite the amateur some made him out to be. He continued to play occasionally on his recording sessions, right up to the last one when he played bass on "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain."

I don't know if Elvis would've benefitted as much if he had had Brian Epstein as his manager. At the time of Brian's death, three years into the Beatles's superstardom, he was dealing with some business issues related to the selling of Beatles merchandise. He had formed a company called Seltaeb to handle the non-recording merchandise but at the time of his death, the profits either had yet to materialize or weren't as great as what had been promised to the investers. Epstein was also worrying over the possibility the Beatles were going to dump him as manager, as when he got them signed to EMI, he didn't get them as good of a royalty deal as what the Rolling Stones had been given in return for signing with Decca/London. The Rolling Stones had apparently been given an artist royalty of something like seventy-five cents per album whereas the artist royalty for the Beatles was much lower. And they didn't want to be second to no one, especially to their peers.

Peter, having been an artist himself, would've been a good choice for managing Elvis, but I have to wonder if Elvis would've listened, because Asher didn't get into management until he was 25 or so and had signed James Taylor to Apple, which could have been a conflict of interest because he worked for Apple himself in the A&R division. But, James Taylor didn't achieve any success on Apple and wouldn't have success until signed to Warners a little over a year later. Then again, having worked both sides gave Asher an advantage in dealing with the record companies and that could've worked greatly to Elvis's benefit.

[erik]

A lot of the books I have read about Elvis where many of his fellow musicians have been interviewed said that he could play guitar, bass, or piano quite well, and pretty much without a whole lot of practice (see those in-the-round segments of the NBC special). So if Emmy is right at all about this "they" taking him away from the guitar (and I have reason to believe she's right about this; likely some RCA toadie, or even the Colonel himself), they got on Elvis' bad side. And you don't ever want to get on his bad side ("If you're lookin' for Trouble/you came to the right place", indeed).

Maybe for pure merchandising of Elvis-related paraphernalia in the early years, the Colonel did a lot of things right. In the end, though, he was a carny and a con man.

Elvis did come close to firing the Colonel in 1974, and some of his Memphis Mafia friends had suggested Jerry Weintraub, who managed Frank Sinatra and John Denver. That would have been a good choice, but, when Elvis saw the Colonel's bill of what it would take to get rid of him, which was a whopping $2 million (money that Elvis, thanks to his spending sprees, didn't exactly have), he went right back and made up with the Colonel.

It's dreadful to say it, but the more I think about it, the more I have come to believe that maybe Elvis couldn't really be managed by anybody...at least not in a way that could benefit him. He was too deferential to, and too trusting of, the Colonel, who was twenty-five years older than Elvis, if you can believe that. When you get that situation, the results can be catastrophic (IMHO).

[sliderocker]

D.J. Fontana once said that Elvis played drums on one of his early 60s songs but I can't recall if he either couldn't remember which song it was or if he even named the song in question. Fontana, as well as many of the other musicians who worked for Elvis or played with Elvis, as well as his associates, said he knew enough as a musician about the guitars, drums, bass and keyboards to explain to the musicians what he was wanting. As for taking Elvis off the guitar in the recording studio, given his recording habit was to lay down his vocal at the same time as the band was laying down the rhythm tracks, because of the potential for his guitar bleeding onto the track(s) being used to record his vocal, I can understand to some degree why they discouraged him from playing as a musician. That said, he did show up from time to time as a musician on his recordings. He played piano and acoustic guitar on a couple of the Memphis '69 tracks and maybe electric guitar on another track. The playing sounds similar to his guitar playing on the various live versions of "Little Sister/Get Back" from 1970. One of the Memphis musicians who played guitar on the sessions openly criticized his guitar playing on the '69 sessions and he took the criticism without blowing up at the musician. That's something I wouldn't have done as to me, it across as disrespectful. The Memphis musicians had an amazing track record of hits, so I guess they felt they could speak freely but Elvis had the bigger track record and openly knocking him was risky, even though the same musicians said he was very much a down to earth person and easy to get along with.

As for the Colonel doing some things right, it may seem strange to say given all we've discussed here, but I think setting up the music publishing companies wasn't a bad idea. I wish someone had done that on Linda's behalf. What was wrong with the idea wasn't the idea itself but the way Col. Parker and his associates ran them. In the early days, they had 100% of the publishing on the majority of the songs but they screwed the songwriters royally. Singer Charlie Daniels cowrote the song "It Hurts Me," one of his earliest songwriting credits. It was a million seller, meaning given the royalty given at the time, he should've expected to split $10,000 at the minimum but he later said all he made was about $500. Col. Greed took everything else. Based on the then publishing royalty of two cents, split 50/50 between publishers and writers, it's surprising Daniels and cowriter Bob Johnston (or Johnston's wife, Joy Byers) didn't sue Parker over the unpaid publishing royalties. (Johnston later claimed he wrote the songs credited to his wife, but his wife is a songwriter herself and could've written the songs credited to her that Elvis recorded.) It was said Elvis didn't approve of Parker taking royalty money from the songwriters and adding his name occasionally to the credits and ordered both practices stopped. I don't think Parker truly stopped the practice of taking as much of the publishing money as he could get - think he probably kept doing it away from Elvis's sight. However, Parker stopped adding Elvis's name to the songwriting credits but as much as what he was taking from the writers, they may as well as signed over all of the writing credit to Elvis.

Regarding the 1974 incident in which Elvis fired Parker, I've heard that Jerry Weintraub was ready to step in and take over the management reins. Pity it didn't happen as he probably could've gotten Parker's two million dollar bill thrown out of court, if it had even gotten that far. Parker had a fear of the courts, of being discovered as the illegal alien he was. But, even barring that discovery in court, he would had to have shown to the court that he was entitled to the management fees he was claiming I'm not sure he could've shown to the court's satisfaction that he was entitled to as much as he was claiming. He undersold Elvis on the Vegas and concert tours - Elvis shoul;d've been making $500,000 to $1,000,000 minimum per concert - instead he was making between $100,000 and $250,000 per concert before expenses and Parker's 50% commissions. Parker didn't press RCA for audits of their books to verify the accuracy and integrity of the royalties paid, didn't press RCA to renegotiate Elvis's artist royalty rate. Elvis's royalty stayed the same from 1956 until his death in 1977: eleven cents per single and fifty cents per album. You'd think Parker would've insisted on a built-in rising artist royalty fee which would've matched or exceeded the highest royalty being paid rto another artist or band. Instead, it was keep things as they were, no need to worry. Parker also never sought a producer's royalty for Elvis, depriving him of even more income. Elvis was dollar poor because of Parker's shoddy business practices on his behalf, so I think Parker would've come up the loser if Elvis had taken on another manager and Parker wanted to pursue the matter in court. But, Elvis was talked out of letting Parker go by his own father, who hated the thought of Elvis losing any money and possibly never again making that kind of money. As if that would've ever happened.

Likewise, I think that with Elvis and Parker, the deal was that Parker was the known devil and Elvis preferred the devil he knew to the devils he didn't know. Based on what I've heard Elvis's associates say and what they themselves said about Parker, Elvis despised and hated Parker and wanted to be rid of him. I've also heard a story (never confirmed) concerning the never-to-be August-September '77 tour that Parker was going to be dumped as manager, so that Elvis could take a year or two off to get rested and get well, schedule a recording session or two during that time and then finally work out the details for a world tour. It was also said that Elvis had discovered Parker's non-US citizenship status sometime during 1977 and that discovery gave him the leverage he needed to rid himself of Parker. Still, I couldn't see it happening because Parker had built up so much distrust in Elvis that even if Elvis dumped him, it was possible Elvis couldn't completely trust another manager. Not even someone like a Jerry Weintraub or a Peter Asher. As long as Parker could manipulate Elvis's fears, he had nothing to worry about.

[erik]

Quote by sliderocker:

One of the Memphis musicians who played guitar on the sessions openly criticized his guitar playing on the '69 sessions and he took the criticism without blowing up at the musician. That's something I wouldn't have done as to me, it across as disrespectful. The Memphis musicians had an amazing track record of hits, so I guess they felt they could speak freely but Elvis had the bigger track record and openly knocking him was risky, even though the same musicians said he was very much a down to earth person and easy to get along with.

I agree it definitely was a risky thing for the guy to do. However, it's clear that Elvis did get along with those guys, since they "jammed" on "I'll Hold You In My Heart" (with Elvis on piano), and on "Stranger In My Home Town", much like what happened on the NBC special. I think the reason there was no blow-up on Elvis' part was probably due to him being too enthusiastic about the sessions to feel insulted. There are many moments on those recordings where you can tell he was just really involved in the recording process in ways he had not been since perhaps 1961. The enthusiasm he shows on "Stranger" is so infectious, it's unreal.

Elvis knew that the Colonel's practices of swindling from outside songwriters was a debilitating thing to both the songwriters and to himself, but unfortunately Elvis felt too beholden to the man, and for far too long. I agree that if Elvis had been able to complete that late summer '77 tour of his, he would probably have given the Colonel his walking papers, and taken a year off to detox and rest. He sure didn't need to tour as much as he did during those last seven years of his life; he could have just done one big national tour over a period of two months per year, and had the rest of the time either to rest or to record. And he didn't need to do Vegas all the time; that was every bit as debilitating to Elvis' reputation in the 70s as the movies had been in the 60s, and it was all the Colonel's doing.