Kurt Russell Plays Elvis

Elvis Presley : Blue Moon of Kentucky

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On February 11, 1979, sixteen years after he met Elvis Presley on the set of It Happened at the World's Fair, his film debut, Kurt Russell starred as the The King in the highly rated ABC television movie "Elvis". It was directed by John Carpenter the year after his slasher film, "Halloween", had become one of the highest earning independent movies in history. This would be the first biopic ever made about Elvis.

"In dealing with Elvis, I'm bringing a lot of my own feelings to it and how I feel about him and how I interpret his life and in that sense I think its a personal film because I really love Elvis a lot. Ive always been a fan for him and I love his music," Carpenter said.

Russell would receive an Emmy nomination for his role. The singing was done by Ronnie McDowell, best known for his 1977 song "The King Is Gone", a tribute to Elvis Presley, who had recently died . Another fun fact: Russell married Season Hubley, the actress who played Priscilla Presley a month later. She is seen at the 2:42 mark in the clip below.

In 2001, Russell would again don the sequin suits to play an Elvis impersonator in the poorly received "3000 Miles to Graceland".

My Heart Stays Cool

Pointer Sisters : Fire

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Bruce Springsteen may have written "Fire" for Elvis Presley and Robert Gordon may have recorded it first, but it was The Pointer Sisters who scored a US#2 hit with the tune, their first Gold single. It was released in October of 1978. If you're keeping score, Manfred Mann's Earth Band hit US#1 with "Blinded By the Light", a Springsteen song; the Sisters hit US#2, and Patti Smith hit US#13 with Springsteen's "Because the Night".  The Boss has so far only peaked at US#23 with "Born to Run".

Bruce had recorded "Fire" for Darkness on the Edge of Town, one of more than 50 songs for the album but when he trimmed the songs down to those that fit thematically, "Fire" was out. On tour in '78, Springsteen played fiery versions of both "Fire" and "Because the Night". So there. 

The next time he wrote a song for somebody else, it was a little tune called "Hungry Heart" for The Ramones. This time Jon Landau convinced Bruce to keep it for himself. Good call. "Hungry Heart" hit US#5 in 1980.

A Long Line of Mourners

Elvis Presley : Long Black Limousine

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The death of Elvis Presley may have left Americans all shook up, but the impact of the King's death had almost no impact on the pop charts where the last single during his lifetime, "Way Down", which stalled at #31, now bounced from #53 back up to #35 . This time "Way Down" would peak at #18.

Compare that to the UK charts where "Way Down" immediately took the #1 spot and was followed with seven more singles making a reappearance on the UK charts:

1. Way Down

39.  It's Now or Never

41. All Shook Up 

43. Crying in the Chapel 

44.  Jailhouse Rock 

46.  Are You Lonesome Tonight 

48.  The Wonder of You 

50.  Return to Sender

Death of the Memphis Monarch

Danny Mirror : I Remember Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley : Unchained Melody

On August 16, 1977 Elvis Presley, the king of rock'n' roll, died. The stunning news swept around the world where he was worshipped by millions of fans.

I was a 13 year old boy riding with a family friend who was negotiating the streets of San Francisco when we heard about the king's death on the radio. She had to pull over. Her eyes filling with tears. 

He had so many fans and yet , after turning "forty and fat", Elvis distanced himself from almost everyone in his life. He died alone in a bathroom in his 23-room mansion, 14-acre estate in Memphis, Tennessee, called Graceland, and is buried there along with his parents and grandmother. 

I visited on winter day in 1995 when I stopped in Memphis on the way to a new job in Colorado. There are messages from fans on the stone wall outside Graceland. His gravesite adorned with flowers year round and I even caught a photo of a man who still dresses like Elvis.

By then I was enough of a fan to know what I liked about Elvis : his comeback albums Elvis Is Back! (1961) and From Elvis in Memphis (1969); his gospel album His Hand in Mine (1960) and everything that makes up The Sun Sessions. At his best, Elvis was an incredibly inventive singer, charming, good looking, sexy, and soulful. 

Of course he was not at his best in 1977. On stage he was sweating profusely, his prematurely white hair dyed shoe polish black, carrying around several pounds of waste that he couldn't defecate without pain, That's why he died on the toilet in the middle of the night. 

On the tenth anniversary of Elvis's death , I wandered the streets of Charleston, South Carolina asking people for their memories. "He loved his mama," one lady said. "Elvis loved his mama".

Oooh My Head Is Spinnin'

Elvis Presley : Way Down

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On June 19, 1977 CBS Television taped the Elvis Presley concert in Omaha, Nebraska. It would be one of the last concerts the King would ever perform. There are some good moments to be sure, but after paying $750,000 for the rights to a concert special, CBS executives were shocked by how "off", how sweaty and how out of shape Presley seemed.

By this point Presley was heavily medicated for pain. He had serious constipation problems, going weeks without a bowel movement. And yet he would gorge himself on junk food. It is no accident that he died on the toilet two months later. It is also interesting to note that by age 42, Presley's hair was as white as sheet. He dyed it black.

Some highlights from the video below: 

at 8:30 he admits he's nervous to the delight of the fans

at 23:00 he begins handing towels out to screaming women, something he does throughout the show

29:00 he sing "Little Sister" as part of a medley of hits

at 1:00:00 he gives "Hurt" a heartfelt performance that makes you concerned for his heart.

40 Year Itch : The Boss Visits Graceland

  

    On April 29, 1976 , after wrapping up his Memphis concert, Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Floyd hung out backstage. (Floyd had come onstage that night to sing "Raise Your Hand", "Knock on Wood" and "Yum Yum, I Want Some " but not "Big Bird" ) 

    But that wasn't the only big Memphis star Springsteen wanted to meet that night. I'll let the Boss tell the rest of the story ( even if he gets the year wrong).

The entire Memphis Concert: 

40 Year Itch: Let's Get Real, Real Gone

Elvis Presley : Baby Let's Play House

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   By March 21 of 1976, Elvis Presley was literally bigger than ever. He had gained so much weight that in Cincinnati, he split the inseam of his blue studded jumpsuit during an afternoon show ( at 23:00 in the video below) and had to change into a less interesting white one. That show was reviewed by the Cincinnati Post under the headline "Elvis : F-A-T but Fun". The evening show wasn't even fun. A concert-goer wrote the Post complaining that The King of Rock and Roll "looked pale, his eyes were puffy, and he had difficulty talking" and remembering the lyrics. In 17 months he'd be dead.

  

    The next day RCA Records released The Sun Sessions, an album that reminded its listeners that before he ever became a star Elvis Presley was a young revolutionary with more charisma than anyone who would follow. Here is a compilation of singles Presley had recorded in Memphis for Sam Phillips in 1954-55. Today they are almost all considered classics: "That's All Right (Mama)", "Good Rockin' Tonight", "Mystery Train", "Blue Moon" and "Baby Let's Play House" which contained the line John Lennon stole for "Run For Your Life": "I'd rather see you dead little girl than to be with another man". 

  To listen to The Sun Sessions is to hear the birth of rock'n'roll.

40 Year Itch : Hurt Way Down Deep Inside

Elvis Presley : Hurt

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   This week in 1976 Elvis Presley spent five days recording From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee, live in a studio set up at Graceland. The second to last album released in his lifetime, From Elvis contains some of the King's darkest songs, most notably his cover of the 1955 Roy Hamilton hit "Hurt" which was a Top 40 hit in both the US and UK.

   

"If he felt the way he sounded", Dave Marsh wrote of Presley's performance, "the wonder isn't that he had only a year left to live but that he managed to survive that long."

    The album, released in May, also contains covers of Neil Sedaka's "Solitaire", Willie Nelson's "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" and "Danny Boy".

40 Year Itch : Elvis's Worst Album

    It has been described as the ultimate Elvis throw-away and as an "auto wreck that somehow plowed into a carnival freak show". Having Fun With Elvis On Stage is a live recording of Presley monologues and interactions with the audience. 

There is no music. 

Apparently Col. Tom Parker discovered if Elvis never actually sang a song, RCA Records wouldn't own the rights. So the album was released, in October of 1974, on Parker's own Box Car Records label...with a deceptive cover. Eventually RCA did get the rights to the album. The label was responsible for the tag at the top right: " A Talking Album Only"

40 Year Itch : Aloha From Hawaii

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On January 14, 1973, just half an hour past midnight, Elvis Presley made TV history when his concert was beamed live via satellite from the Honolulu International Center Arena  to Australia, Thailand, Japan and many other countries. 40 in all. European nations watched on a delayed basis. Because it was the same day as Super Bowl VII,  NBC broadcast the concert April 4, 1973 where it was reportedly seen by more people than those who watched the first man step onto the moon.




 Colonel Tom Parker got the idea of a satellite concert from Nixon's televised visit to China. He told reporters a billion people would see Elvis perform.
To prepare for the concert, Elvis lost more than 20 pounds training with his Kung Fu master Kang Rhee.

Following the "Also Sprach Zarathrustra" intro,  Elvis , wearing his "American Eagle" jump suit, stepped in front of 6000 fans on a huge stage and put on one of the best shows in his life. The stage was built with a runway which allowed Elvis to walk out into the audience, kiss the ladies and wipe his sweat off onto anything they handed him. He was tan. He was playful. He sang 24 songs including hits "Burning Love", "Suspicious Minds" and "Hound Dog" and covers from George Harrison ("Something"), James Taylor ("Steamroller Blues") and Marty Robbins ("You Gave Me a Mountain").

After the show Elvis met the actor he singled out during the concert, Jack Lord of "Hawaii 5-0". The two agreed to meet for dinner at Lord's house and began a friendship that lasted until the King's death.

40 Year Itch: Aloha From Hawaii Press Conference

On November 20, 1972 reporters gathered at the Hawaiian Village Hotel where Elvis Presley announced he'd be performing a live concert called "Aloha From Hawaii" on January 14, 1973 that would be beamed around the world via satellite.He also announced the concert would also raise money for the local Kui Lee Cancer Fund. If the King seemed a bit off, he may have been tired. Elvis had performed three shows on November 17 and 18.

 

 To prepare for the concert Elvis rehearsed like mad and lost about 20 pounds by dieting and training with his Karate master Kang Rhee.

Reporters were told about a billion people in 40 different countries would see the live broadcast. More than saw the moon landing. That's probably not even close. In fact, most Americans didn't get to see the concert until April of 1972 when NBC broadcast the concert.

40 Year Itch: King Of The Garden

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Elvis may not generate the polymorphously perverse hysteria the Rolling Stones arouse, he may not move around and jump into the air and wiggle his hips as much as he used to, but he's come through superstardom without forgetting what it means to rock, that's the important thing. So everybody gets enough of what they want to get what they need.
-Bob Palmer, Rolling Stone

On June 10 and 11 of 1972, Elvis Presley performed four sold out shows at Madison Square Garden, his first live appearance before a live NYC crowd since 1956. In the audience: George Harrison, John Lennon, Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon, David Bowie ( with red hair and a padded space suit), the entire band Ten Years After, Jerry Leiber,Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen who had just signed his first record contract with Columbia Records earlier that week.



After the audience endured "toothless old men hawking Elvis pennants, Elvis posters, albums of Elvis pictures" , the singing of the Sweet Inspirations and an awful comedian, the show begins with the epic  "Also Sprach Zarathustra" .

Elvis comes out as the TCB band ( led by guitarist James Burton)  rocks out on "That's All Right".The show ends with the emcee announcing "Elvis has left the building"

In between, the 37 year old singer showed everyone there he was still the king.

He used the stage, he worked to the people. The ones in front, in the best seats, the ones in back, and up in the peanut galleries. He turned, he moved, and when a girl threw a handkerchief on the stage, he wiped his forehead with it and threw it back, a gift of sweat from an earthy god..
- Chris Chase New York Times


SET LIST
1. Introduction "Also sprach zarathustra"

2. That`s all right






3. Proud mary
4. Never been to spain
5. You don`t have to say you love me
6. You`ve lost that lovin` feelin`

7. Polk salad annie



8. Love me
9. All shook up
10. Heartbreak hotel
11. Medley (let me be your) teddy bear - don`t be cruel
12. Love me tender
13. The impossible dream
14. Introductions by elvis
15. Hound dog
16. Suspicious minds
17. For the good times
18. American trilogy
19 Funny how time slips away
20. I can`t stop loving you
21. Can`t help falling in love
22. End theme

Friday night, at Madison Square Garden, Elvis ... stood there at the end, his arms stretched out, the great gold cloak giving him wings, a champion, the only one in his class.
 -Chris Chase, New York Times

 One of the entire shows can be heard here.

 

40 Years Ago Today : Elvis On Tour

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"My daddy had seen a lot of people who played guitars and stuff and didn't work. So he told me, you should make up your mind about either playing guitar or being an electrician. I never saw a guitar player that was worth a damn." - Elvis Presley, opening lines of Elvis On Tour


The concert footage in the 33rd and final Elvis Presley movie, Elvis On Tour, was mostly shot April 9, 1972 in Hampton Roads, Virginia. The King --who received a million dollars to take part in the film--came out wearing his "blue nail" one piece sequined suit and entertained his audience with the following songs:

See See Rider
Proud Mary
Never Been To Spain
You Gave Me A Mountain
Until It's Time For You To Go
Polk Salad Annie
Love Me (in the classic  movie outtake below, Elvis does NOT ignore the underwear tossed on stage)


 All Shook Up
Teddy Bear
Don't Be Cruel
Jailhouse Rock
One Night
Hound Dog
Help Me Make It Through The Night
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Suspicious Minds
An American Trilogy
For The Good Times
How Great Thou Art
Lawdy Miss Clawdy
A Big Hunk Of Love
Funny How Time Slips Away
Can't Help Falling In Love

The Hampton Roads newspaper, The Daily Press sent reviewer, Kathy Wells - now Kathy Van Mullekom, the gardening columnist - who exclaimed that the performance of "the living legend" wouldn't be forgotten and that it "left sweet memories of a dashing hero."

Check out the trailer for ELVIS ON TOUR




Among the editors working on the film: Martin Scorsese, who oversaw the montages between the concert footage. Three other April concerts were filmed for Elvis On Tour including those in Richmond, Greensboro and San Antonio. Each one ended with the announcer telling the crowd: "Elvis has left the building".

Though still in fighting shape, Elvis gained weight on the tour. He'd soon become addicted to Demerol.  Friends say he never recovered from his separation with his wife Priscilla. The King died in 1977.

40 Years Ago Today: A Hunk, A Hunk Of Burning Love

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On this day in 1972, Elvis Presley recorded his final Top Ten hit "Burning Love". The song would rise all the way to #2 before getting blocked from the top spot by "My Ding A Ling", an egregious novelty hit by another rock n roll veteran Chuck Berry. (And yet you can buy the song on Elvis's 30#1 Hits collection.



Presley reportedly did not care for the song which was first recorded by Arthur "You Better Move On" Alexander in 1971.

The song was written by Nashville recluse Dennis Linde whose 1973 version sounds like something John Fogerty might have put out in the mid 80's. Linde played guitar on the Elvis single and alos wrote "Goodbye Earl" for the Dixie Chicks.

40 Years Ago: Esso's "Rock Star" Commercial

[Buy Elvis Now]

Elvis Now , a collection of studio tracks recorded over a two year period, is released February 20, 1972. The album includes songs by Gordon Lightfoot, Kris Kristofferson and Buffy Sainte-Marie.

Elvis is on the Edge of Reality (1968)

Just wanted to share this bizarre clip from one of Elvis Presley's least remembered movies, Live a Little, Love a Little. It's the last movie directed by Norm Taurog who made a number of movies with The King including It Happened at the World's Fair, Girls! Girls! Girls!, Blue Hawaii and G.I. Blues.

The song is written by the same team that wrote a lot of Elvis schlock during his movie era. And yes, that's Dick Sargent of Bewitched fame in this druggy dream sequence.