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Those Salt Mines Have Swingin’ Doors | Along For The Ride Ep. 1.10

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PHOTO: Elvis Presley sings “How Great Thou Art” at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton Roads, Virginia, on April 9, 1972, as seen in EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (2026, NEON). The documentary prominently features several songs of inspiration.

Picking up right where “Elvis Is Having Fun” left off, The Bride in today’s episode of Along For The Ride continues her look at my overly long review of Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert. Her unscripted comments and questions lead to topics including:

  • Elvis varying up his show
  • EPiC on home media
  • Luhrmann’s creative understanding of Elvis
  • “How Great Thou Art”
  • Previously unseen Elvis
  • Gospel in EPiC
  • Elvis’ musical statements

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

Exclusive outtakes for readers of The Mystery Train

In this outtake from episode 1.10 of Along For The Ride, recorded in a hotel room at the beach, we are interrupted again by happy yet uninvited guests.

If you’ve already watched the episode, you’ll know that we both struggled with the outro this time. Though I left portions of it in the final episode for fun, here is the unedited version. And here is where I remind you that neither of us drinks alcohol or does anything of that nature. This is all natural.

“He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what He has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.”
Psalm 40:3 NLT

August 16, 1977 | Along For The Ride Ep. 1.9

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In a special Elvis Week episode of the Along For The Ride radio show, we discuss my memories of August 16, 1977, the day Elvis Presley passed away. We also look at some of my mom’s Elvis records from the 1950s and talk about what they mean to me.

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

Exclusive outtake for readers of The Mystery Train

In this outtake from today’s episode of Along For The Ride, I struggle saying the outro.

Elvis Is Having Fun | Along For The Ride Ep. 1.8

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“Elvis Is Having Fun,” today’s episode of the Along For The Ride radio show, was recorded while we were still on vacation at the beach. The Bride continued her journey through my overly long review of Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert.

Photo: Elvis Presley in EPiC (NEON, 2026)

Among the topics:

  • Elvis’ Opening Acts
  • “Mystery Train/Tiger Man”
  • Sammy Davis Jr.
  • EPiC’s Editing
  • Denise Sanchez | Make-A-Wish
  • The Biggest Necktie Ever
  • Bill Baize
  • “Burning Love” & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Salt Mine Footage
  • How long did Elvis wear that bra on his head?

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

Exclusive outtake for readers of The Mystery Train

We have discussed the possibility of having guests on Along For The Ride. However, these particular guests were uninvited.

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.