Along For The Ride

A conversation series featuring my bride and me as we explore Elvis through the music, the movies, and the stories behind them.

Someone Did Not Take Care Of Business | Along For The Ride Ep. 1.7

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While we were still at the beach, The Bride continued interrogating me about my overly long review of Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert from a couple months back. As usual, we took a lot of detours in “Someone Did Not Take Care Of Business,” today’s episode of the Along For The Ride radio show.

Photo: Elvis Presley in EPiC (NEON, 2026)

Among the topics:

  • “The Beat, The Beat, The Beat”
  • “Elvis Presley Arrested”
  • “Hello?” Hy Gardner Calling
  • The Mystery Of The Elvis Presley Youth Center
  • How Many Elvis Movies Are In EPiC?
  • Aspect Ratios
  • Ronnie Tutt Goes Missing & Elvis “Presely” Appears
  • “Shoot That Hollywood Camera”
  • The Junior ROTC
  • “Should Be All On Camera”
  • Recording At Stax Studios
  • Previously Unseen Caveats

The new episode is embedded below, or you can watch it directly on YouTube.

Exclusive outtakes for readers of The Mystery Train

I should note that neither The Bride nor I drink alcohol or anything of that nature. This is just natural us.

A second outtake, and I don’t think I ever got the word right despite The Bride’s attempts to help.

The Trouble With Quibbles (And How To Get Into It) | Along For The Ride Ep. 1.6

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We tried something new on today’s episode of the Along For The Ride radio show. On a whim, we decided to record while on vacation a couple of weeks ago. As we didn’t have our typical setup, we weren’t sure how it would turn out. Once we were back home, we were pleasantly surprised by the results.

In “The Trouble With Quibbles (And How To Get Into It),” the Bride has questions about the massive, overly long review of Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert I posted nearly two months ago. This is one of my favorite installments so far, mostly because of the little detours we take along the way.

Among the topics in this episode are:

  • Behind The Scenes Of The Mystery Train
  • The Elvis Odyssey Series
  • Elvis Tells His Side Of The Story
  • Why Did Sun Records Sell Elvis’ Contract?
  • Elvis: That’s The Way It Is, With And Without Fans
  • Why Did Elvis Use The 2001: A Space Odyssey Theme?
  • The Story Behind “An American Trilogy”
  • EPiC Features The Human Side Of Elvis
  • Did The Truth About Me Live Up To Its Name?
  • Being Along For The Ride
  • EPiC‘s Reuse Of Elvis Audio

The new episode is embedded below, or you can watch it directly on YouTube.

Exclusive bonus for readers of The Mystery Train

An outtake from episode 1.6 is included below.

Looking At Elvis Presley: A Little Golden Book Biography | Along For The Ride Ep. 1.5

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One of the fun things about doing the Along For The Ride radio show with my bride is that she often takes the discussion into areas I wouldn’t typically cover here on The Mystery Train. For instance, I’ve been writing about Elvis for well over 30 years, but I’ve never once talked about the famed peanut butter & banana sandwich.

In today’s episode, “Elvis: His Gift Was Always There,” we review Elvis Presley: A Little Golden Book Biography (2024), which was written by Lisa Rogers and illustrated by Luke Flowers. Among the topics the book inspired are:

  • “Old Shep” & Elvis’ First Performance
  • Elvis’ First Guitar
  • Elvis’ First Recordings
  • “That’s All Right” & Dewey Phillips
  • The Grand Ole Opry Rejection
  • Ed Sullivan & The Polio Vaccine
  • Love Me Tender & Graceland
  • The Jungle Room
  • Elvis’ Fried Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwich
  • Elvis In The Army
  • Airplanes, Horses & Lisa Marie
  • Elvis’ Tiger Jumpsuit

The new episode is embedded below or you can watch it directly on YouTube.

Mentioned in this episode

  1. Atomic Wax (YouTube) | The Mysteries Surrounding Elvis’ Early Guitars
  2. How Lincoln Learned To Read: Elvis In The Dawn
  3. How to make the authentic Elvis fried peanut butter and banana sandwich: Elvis Presley’s longtime Graceland cook, Mary Jenkins

Exclusive bonus for readers of The Mystery Train

An outtake from episode 1.5 is included below.

EPiC: The Fun-Loving Side Of Elvis | Along For The Ride Ep. 1.4

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ALONG FOR THE RIDE episode 1.4 is now available from The Mystery Train

Who was Elvis Presley? Many have tried to answer this question. Baz Luhrmann took a swing at it in 2022 with his ELVIS biopic. Despite Austin Butler’s incredible performance, something seemed to be lacking in its presentation of Elvis for me.

Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, released earlier this year, taps into what was missing by using documentary footage of the real Elvis, who was a lot more playful than his dramatic counterpart. My bride enjoyed this aspect of EPiC as well.

Concluding our discussion of EPiC, episode 1.4 of Along For The Ride explores:

  • Poking fun at Elvis
  • Elvis & the Beatles
  • Bras, underwear, & wild crowds in Hampton Roads
  • Stage fright & turning the house lights up
  • Lying on the stage floor
  • Writing songs & improvising lyrics
  • EPiC trivia
  • Elvis & the Jordanaires
  • “I Just Can’t Help Believin'”
  • Gospel, faith, & pressure

The new episode is embedded below or you can watch it directly on YouTube.

Exclusive bonus for readers of The Mystery Train

An outtake from episode 1.4 is included below.

EPiC: It’s Elvis’ Movie That He Didn’t Get To See | Along For The Ride Ep. 1.3

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ALONG FOR THE RIDE episode 1.3 is now available from The Mystery Train

Continuing our discussion of Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, episode 1.3 of Along For The Ride turns to:

  • Elvis’ early critics
  • The difference between his younger self and his more polished public persona
  • His friendships and inner circle
  • His approach to live performance
  • The personal struggles reflected in the film
  • The musicians behind the music
  • The missing credits of EPiC

Along the way, we consider what EPiC reveals about who Elvis was and the message that still comes through today.

The third episode is embedded below or you can watch it directly on YouTube.

Mentioned in This Episode

  1. The Elvis Workshop (YouTube) | “The Fly” reference episode
  2. The Elvis Today Blog | Elvis’ name on his microphone reference post

Exclusive bonus for readers of The Mystery Train

An outtake from episode 1.3 is included below.

EPiC: Through Elvis’ Voice | Along For The Ride Ep. 1.2

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ALONG FOR THE RIDE episode 2 is now available from The Mystery Train (underlying radio image created by generative AI)

In episode 2 of the Along For The Ride radio show, our discussion of Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert continues with topics including:

  • Elvis’ Onstage Humor
  • “Polk Salad Annie”
  • “I Like Elvis” & “I Hate Elvis” Buttons
  • The Strange Dog Scene
  • Elvis’ Jumpsuits & Capes
  • The TCB Band
  • Elvis’ Compassion

The second episode is embedded below or you can jump directly to YouTube.

Exclusive bonus for readers of The Mystery Train

Listen to an outtake from episode 2 below, where Elvis takes over as producer.

The Mystery Train Presents: Along For The Ride

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ALONG FOR THE RIDE episode 1 is now available from The Mystery Train (underlying radio image created by generative AI)

We’ve been working on something here at The Mystery Train for the last six weeks, and I’m excited finally to be able to share it with you.

Not long after we saw Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert back in February, my bride came up with the idea for an online radio show or podcast that we would co-host on The Mystery Train. The concept grew directly out of real conversations we were already having after the film. Neither of us had ever done anything like this, so much research ensued.

The underlying idea of Along For The Ride is simple: My bride is literally along for the ride with a lifelong Elvis fan as her husband. She has now seen EPiC in theaters with me twice, and projects like that naturally spark questions for her. Along For The Ride gives you a chance to listen in on those unscripted conversations.

I am not an “Elvis expert.” However, I have been listening to his music, watching his performances and movies, and reading about him for just about my entire life. Her fresh perspective often helps me see Elvis and his world in new ways.

The first episode is embedded below or you can jump directly to YouTube.

Exclusive bonus for readers of The Mystery Train

All I had to say was, “. . . . Baz Luhrmann used audio from Bono of the band U2. . . .” That doesn’t sound so difficult, does it? Play my attempt below.