Author: TY

I don’t really mean to complain

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It feels like it’s been raining for twenty days and twenty nights here, so it’s kind of put me in a funk. To help turn things around, below is my personal ranking of the rain songs that Elvis released during his lifetime.

#1 Kentucky Rain (1969)
Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits, Volume 1

#2 Early Morning Rain (1971)
Elvis Now

#3 All I Needed Was The Rain (1967)
Singer Presents Elvis Singing Flaming Star And Others

#4 When It Rains, It Really Pours (1957)
Elvis For Everyone

#5 Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain (1976)
From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee

Something I noticed when ranking these songs is that all of them are great! None of his rain songs are clunkers.

Until next time, try to stay dry, folks.

P.S.: I didn’t include “rainbow” songs, as that is a slightly different weather phenomenon. We’ll save those for another list.

James Burton: The Early Years coming October 4

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Be on the lookout for a new CD from Ace Records compiling over two dozen James Burton songs, covering his pre-Elvis work (“With A Little Help From His Friends: James Burton Anthology Features Everlys, Nelson, Hazlewood and Buffalo Springfield” — The Second Disc).

Burton first appeared on record in 1956 on the small Ram label, backing Carol Williams on ‘Just For a While,’ and [… i]t wasn’t long before Burton was an in-demand session musician, playing the famous and influential solo on Dale Hawkins’ ‘Susie Q’ in 1957. Within a year, Burton had taken his place alongside Ricky Nelson, building up a body of work that still endures […]. His association with Nelson lasted until 1967; two years later, he would take the stage in Las Vegas with Elvis Presley, where ‘Play it, James’ became a familiar catchphrase of The King’s.” (Source: The Second Disc)

James Burton: The Early Years – 1957-1969 is scheduled for release on October 4. For the complete track listing, follow the initial Second Disc link above. A planned second volume will include some of Burton’s work with Elvis and others.

2011 Emmy Awards to include tribute to 1968’s ELVIS special

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2011’s Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards will include a brief tribute to the 1968 ELVIS television special (“Emmy Awards Special Tribute to Elvis Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special” — Elvis.com).

Steve Binder, the ELVIS special’s producer and director, will appear, as will Priscilla Presley, Elvis’ ex-wife. Binder and Presley will also present four awards. The Creative Arts show tapes September 10 for airing September 17 on REELZCHANNEL.

The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards airs live on FOX the following day, September 18. Though the Creative Arts Emmys will be mentioned, this broadcast will likely not include the ELVIS special.

Notably, the ELVIS special failed to receive any Emmy nominations in 1968, though Binder went on to receive nominations for other projects, including a win in 1977 for the Barry Manilow Special.

Jerry Leiber, 1933-2011

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Jerry Leiber, best known as the lyricist half of renowned songwriting duo Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, passed away yesterday in Los Angeles. He was 78. His place in the Elvis legend cannot be overstated, co-writing such classics as “Jailhouse Rock,” “Love Me,” “Hound Dog,” “Santa Claus Is Back In Town,” “Treat Me Nice,” “Don’t,” “Bossa Nova Baby,” “Trouble,” “Loving You,” and “Baby, I Don’t Care.”

Leiber’s association with American music is not limited to Elvis, though. His list of song credits often reads like the history of rock ‘n’ roll. Other hits include:

  • “Charlie Brown” (The Coasters)
  • “Dance With Me” (The Drifters)
  • “Fools Fall In Love” (The Drifters [later covered by Elvis])
  • “Love Potion #9” (The Clovers; The Coasters)
  • “On Broadway” (The Drifters)
  • “Ruby Baby” (The Drifters)
  • “Saved” (LaVern Baker [later covered by Elvis])
  • “Smokey Joe’s Café” (The Robins)
  • “Stand By Me” (Ben E. King)
  • “There Goes My Baby” (The Drifters)
  • “Yakety Yak” (The Coasters)

For a full list of Leiber & Stoller songs, see their official site.

Leiber is survived by three sons and two granddaughters. My condolences go out to his family and friends.

Related Links
Leiber & Stoller: Official Site
“Christmas Blues” — Elvis Today Blog
“Jerry Leiber – RIP” — For Elvis CD Collectors Forum
“Songwriter Jerry Leiber Dies at 78” — Rolling Stone
“RIP Jerry Leiber: half of one of rock’s greatest songwriting teams” — LA Times
“Jerry Leiber, Prolific Writer of 1950s Hits, Dies at 78” — The New York Times

Elvis Shocker: 1974 Richmond concert is a multi-track recording

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48 Hours To Memphis, capturing Elvis’ March 18, 1974, concert at the Richmond Coliseum in Virginia, will feature a recently discovered 16-track recording of the event.

48 Hours To Memphis (concept cover art)

48 Hours To Memphis (concept cover art)

Instead of the typical soundboard recording most fans expected, it turns out that this is actually a fully mixed, professionally-recorded show. “Taken from a tape copy (2 channels mix-down) of a 16-track recording, the show is complete (with some tape damage that has been fixed/altered),” notes the Elvis In Norway site.

Two days after the Richmond concert, Elvis closed out his tour with a live appearance in Memphis. RCA also recorded that performance at the Mid-South Coliseum in multi-track. It appeared in an edited form a few months later as the album Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis.

Questions abound. Did RCA record Richmond as preparation for that Memphis concert album? Or did RCA originally conceive the album as a tour compilation? How did RCA seemingly lose this multi-track recording and any record that it ever existed?

Sony’s Follow That Dream collectors label will release the CD in September, packaged in an oversized, 7-inch digipack and including a 16-page booklet with photographs from the show.

See below for the tracklisting. Is it September yet? Elvis is coming to town!

Live At The Richmond Coliseum: March 18, 1974
01) Also Sprach Zarathustra/
02) See See Rider
03) I Got A Woman/Amen [edited with Memphis, March 20, 1974]
04) Love Me
05) Tryin’ To Get To You
06) All Shook Up
07) Steamroller Blues
08) Teddy Bear/Don’t Be Cruel
09) Love Me Tender
10) Long Tall Sally/Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On/Your Mama Don’t Dance/Flip, Flop & Fly/Jailhouse Rock/Hound Dog
11) Fever
12) Polk Salad Annie
13) Why Me
14) Suspicious Minds
15) Introductions By Elvis
16) I Can’t Stop Loving You
17) Help Me
18) An American Trilogy
19) Let Me Be There
20) Funny How Time Slips Away
21) Can’t Help Falling In Love/
22) Closing Vamp

Bonus Songs
23) Sweet Caroline [Tulsa, March 1, 1974]
24) Johnny B. Goode [Memphis, March 17, 1974]
25) That’s All Right [Memphis, March 17, 1974]

FTD releases are official products and available from various online stores. They originate in Denmark and then ship to retailers, so there is sometimes a two or three week delay after the release date before the CDs arrive for those of us in the US.

Down that lonely road

/ TY
Elvis Presley, 1935-1977

Elvis Presley: January 8, 1935—August 16, 1977

“Should you go first and I remain for battles to be fought, each thing you’ve touched along the way will be a hallowed spot. I’ll hear your voice, I’ll see your smile, though blindly I may grope. The memory of your helping hand will buoy me on with hope.” –From “Should You Go First” by Albert Roswell, Poems That Touch The Heart, compiled by A. L. Alexander, Doubleday, New York, 1941.

Pump up the volume: Elvis Week 2011 begins

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Elvis Week officially kicks off today in Memphis. Of course, Elvis Week really occurs all over the world – wherever there is an Elvis fan. Most of us take a little extra time to remember and enjoy the music.

If you’re fortunate enough to be in Memphis, I envy you, but also hope you have a fantastic time. Elvis Presley Enterprises and others put on a variety of events, so it always looks like there is something for everybody.

Perusing the schedule, one thing that I’d definitely attend if I was there is Saturday’s screening of the 2000 documentary Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll, which was written and produced by none other than Elvis biographer Peter Guralnick. Guralnick, along with Knox Phillips (Sam’s oldest son), will speak after the film.

In honor of Elvis Week, the O.co (Overstock.com) entertainment blog yesterday featured a fun Elvis infographic. Check it out.

Have a great week, everyone. Remember to crank up the Elvis!

* * *

August 12, 2011, Update: Check out MJ’s fantastic post about visiting Graceland during Elvis Week 2007 on her blog.

Update #2: And here’s another one. This one is from the Elvis Today Blog with Thomas’ memories of Elvis Week 2005. The funny thing is, this was written shortly after Elvis Week 2007 – referenced in MJ’s post above.

August 18, 2011, Final Update: To bring things full circle, here are a couple of great blog posts from Memphis resident Deena Dietrich about Elvis Week 2011.