WHO MURDERED ELVIS

I was not going to even mention this title, it is really not worth mentioning, but, hey, its been a slow month for Elvis-related news and, frankly, this book cover had me laughing my ass off.  I thought these kinds of ridiculously tawdry titles (Elvis! The Mob!! MURDER!!!!), full of outlandish, unverifiable claims, weren't even published in this day and age. 

The lack of a publisher's name on the book spine leads me to believe this is self-published.

I just found it amusing. 

WHAT NOW MAILE DUVAL

Performance anxiety. Creative block. Call it what you will. I'm stuck.

This used to come so easily.

It's Maile's fault. I think I am moving too fast for her.

Look, it has been a long time since I had an Elvis buddy, a special someone with whom you share a love of all things Elvis, that you can unabashedly obsess over the merits of take 1 of 'Frankie & Johnny" vs the master take used for the soundtrack, that you can analyze and pontificate at length over every single live performance given by Elvis in search of, well, a good performance of a song, yes, maybe some rarity that Elvis performed on stage only a few times, but also clues to Elvis' frame of mind, a glimpse into the metaphysical darkness of existential events (what? Even I don't know where that last bit came from but I am leaving it in).

A long time. 

So it is a bit understandable that I would be overly excited at meeting someone who is not afraid to admit to being an Elvis fan, who listens to Elvis' music on long car trips, who traveled to Graceland of his/her own accord ferchrissakes. And I am positively hyper at the prospect of being able to bequeath onto this new Elvis buddy x-years worth of bootleg collecting.  

My last Elvis buddy (lets call him "G") was the brother of an early ex-Mrs Blofeld's Cat. 

(Actually, there was an Elvis buddy after G, a woman, but, although she was very nice, she was one of those certifiably loony Elvis fans, like she was married to a guy (also a crazy Elvis fan) who modeled his appearance on Elvis, from the pompadour to the 1970s sunglasses and paunch but he was too short to accurately complete the illusion).

In the years I knew G, he was in his most formative, impressionable years (late high school to early college years), somewhat directionless, fatherless. Through a shared a love of movies, an ongoing intense debate as to who was better: Pacino (me) or DeNiro (he), and a taste for the ganja (he was my supplier so he earned a few bucks off of me that way), I was able to introduce him to some culture in my own ways: books to read (I worked in publishing back then, a house with a line of very fine editions of the classics of literature: smoking weed is great but reading Dostoyevsky after smoking some weed is better); jazz music (which, given that G was a confirmed grunge fan, I consider this a personal triumph; I was no expert in jazz, I was learning myself at that time via some jazz encyclopedias from my publishing house and this coincided with cassette tapes being phased off the shelves of the franchise record stores when CDs started to come into vogue so you could always get cassette tapes of jazz really, really cheap); and yes, Elvis and his music (it started with the more outrageous Elvis material, like Elvis' monologues on stage when he was out of his mind but I was able to paint this within the framework of a larger Shakespearean tragedy which made it more interesting to him). 

In order to introduce G to Elvis and jazz and literature, I would make radio shows (actually, these were mix tapes but I'll be damned if I call them that) comprised of carefully programmed music.  Please understand that these shows were thought out, planned, scripted, everything had to flow, be thematically coherent. 

Sadly, any copies I may have had at one time of these radio shows have long since been lost.  All that remains are my notebooks with some draft tracklistings which provide a glimpse of how much I toiled on getting the theme and the flow right (lots of cross outs and lines with arrows indicating move this track up here, that track down there, drop take 7 of "You Don't Know Me" off completely).  

Some greatest hits: one show featured carefully chosen Elvis movie songs bookended by excerpts of Quentin Crisp reading from THE NAKED CIVIL SERVANT - these excerpts served to introduce the Elvis song and would comically comment on, say, take 1 of "Frankie & Johnny" or take 9 of "How Would You Like To Be".

Another show was an all poetry special, which featured Elvis songs bookended by the likes of Kerouac and other beats reciting their poetry, Charles Bukowski reading his poetry or William Shatner reading his poetry (!) and yes, Elvis also reciting some poetry ("As I awoke one morning...")!!  Another radio show featured one of Elvis' complete performances, one chock full of his monologues, say the College Park, Maryland show from 1974, chopped up and wrapped with classic jazz music tracks. 

In a way, it was a glorious creative time, in retrospect. 

But I think I am moving too fast with Maile.  

My god, what did I do, I mentioned to Maile that we should each make for the other a mix tape (yes, I used that very phrase, "mix tape"; I am a dork) of our respective favorite Elvis tracks. 

Of course, my mind is on another radio show. My older self is wanting to recapture some part of my younger self that may be long gone. 

I've already made the mistake of just blindly, hurriedly, excitedly ("Wait till Maile hears this, she will love it") making CDs for Maile already, straight copies, and so I have exhausted a good supply of outtakes and live performance tracks. 

Adding to my creative impotence at the moment is a sense I have that Maile is hesitant. Maile is an Elvis fan, one of those true bloods who loves his music, who remembers fondly watching Elvis' movies when just a child. But Maile is not interested in a trip to the dark side. Maile is not interested (yet?) in listening to, say, a tape recording circa 1976 of the last phone conversation between Elvis and Red West, after Elvis had fired Red, or, rather, had his dad fire Red, and Red is trying to to get a woozy, drugged Elvis to admit that what Elvis did was really shitty. Or listening to a phone conversation between Arlene (obviously a former one night stand) and an Elvis who is clearly not interested in talking to her. And forget about College Park, MD 1974 and most of 1977. Believe me, I can understand that only the truly demented Elvis obsessive would have any interest in hearing Jackie Kahane's act or hear the Sweet Inspirations opening set.

So I am working to put together a CD of some Elvis tunes that are on constant play on my Ipod, cherry-picking from the bootlegs so hopefully this will be material Maile hasnt heard before (although with my Elvis collection in such disarray, some on CD, some of which is just digital files on who knows which one of dozens of different portable hard drives) this is taking too long a time

And still I think about introducing Maile to the dark side.

One show I have been listening to of late would be a perfect start. The September 3, 1973 closing show in Vegas. Elvis has not yet descended to the deranged (as he did in September 1974) but he is becoming unhinged.

How else to explain Elvis coming out on stage in this fashion:

Now, look closely. See anything, uh, strange? Yes, I know the sight of Elvis riding on the back of a fat man is strange, but is there anything else peculiar?

Look closer. What is that on...

Yes, there is a monkey on Elvis' back. He is giving a performance with a monkey on his back. Would Maile be curious to know why? How can Maile not be curious to know whether Elvis is even aware that there is a monkey on his back?

And that is just the start of the show. 

I dont want to give away the high points of the show, but one visual bit of business (of which no photos can be found) that wont be appreciated by listening to the recording is that when Elvis starts singing "What Now My Love", a bed (!) is rolled out on stage and Elvis lies down on the bed and sings the song from there.

Believe it or not, there is a good set list for this particular evening but that is actually secondary to what happens on stage.

Would Maile want to know who this "Mario" person is that Elvis mentions during the show? and why exactly does Elvis decide (in mid-song!) to throw down a challenge to Conrad Hilton (the owner of the Hilton Hotel where Elvis happens to be performing) as well as all of the staff? 

How can Maile not be intrigued enough to take a trip to the dark side?

Notes on Double Trouble

I've finally seen it: the infamous scene in which Elvis was forced to sing a version of "Old MacDonald's Farm." It's one of those stereotypically bad scenes that is referenced by those who write about Elvis because it was so outrageous and embarrassing for him. As I watched it, I was embarrassed for him. It wouldn't have been so bad if he and co-star Annette Day were just sitting on the back of a pickup with a bunch of animals. People in movies tend to do that from time to time. It's just when he sings "ee-i-ee-i-oh" and flaps his arms like a chicken and makes horns with his hands to mimic a cow that you cringe on his behalf. (Elvis, wherever you are, I felt your pain.)

This scene appears in Double Trouble, Elvis's twenty-third film, released in 1967. In this adventure, Elvis plays Guy Lambert, a singer who finds himself dating a 17-year-old girl who just won't leave him alone. He tries to break it off with her when he learns her age, but to no avail. They sail from England to Belgium where she is supposed to attend boarding school and where he has gigs with his band. The music quickly gets moved to the back burner as Guy discovers that Jill's (Day) uncle has hired hit men to kill her before she turns 18 so he can get her inheritance. In addition to dodging hit men, Guy and Jill are also being followed by jewel thieves who stashed their cargo in Guy's suitcase during the trip to Belgium. After running to and fro and managing to ditch one of the hit men in an old well in Antwerp, Guy is arrested by the Wiere Brothers, who made cameo appearances as a comical trio of police officers. In the end, everything turns out all right, I guess (kind of an odd ending - you judge for yourself).

Since I commented on the costuming for Spinout in my last post, I'll mention here that Annette Day looks like Little Bo Peep in some scenes of the film, which makes it even more awkward that she's supposed to be a teenager dating an adult man. I didn't notice as many multi-layered costumes for Elvis this time, but his hair bothered me. He was sporting the same do that he had for Frankie and Johnny (1966), which featured a small tuft of hair sticking out in the center of his forehead, like all of the caricatures you see of him. It wouldn't have been so bad if the rest of his hair wasn't all slicked back. The tousled look was good for him, as was the style of having all of the hair slicked straight back. This one was not his best.

Some of the parallels between Elvis's life and this and some of his other films strike me as interesting. First, the idea that an adult man would never dream of dating a teenager. Priscilla was no longer a teenager when this movie came out, but she did live with him when she was one. Second, the man who is single and carefree and is finally convinced (or forced) to settle down and marry. Again, cue reference to Priscilla. Of course it's entirely possible that the writers (if you can bestow that title upon them) were just trying to create what they thought to be a believable story, but you have to wonder if they had any inspiration or, perhaps, encouragement by a certain Colonel - not just for Double Trouble, but for others too. Just food for thought.

(Aside to Blofeld: I bet the outtakes from the Double Trouble soundtrack recording sessions are entertaining. I imagine some 4-letter words during the "Old MacDonald's Farm" tracks. Am I right?)

What's with Elvis's movie wardrobe?

After just having finished Spinout, I have to ask: what's with Elvis's movie wardrobe? In at least two scenes, it looks like he's wearing three shirts - a turtleneck, a crewneck, and a vest - all under a jacket. Perhaps the turtleneck is actually a Dickie, but it still looks silly. This wardrobe style seemed to be the norm from the mid-1960s Elvis movies on. Why the need to cover up so much? It looks particularly dumb when he's singing by a swimming pool and most of the other people are in bathing suits and he's in a button-down shirt and long pants. In Blue Hawaii we saw him shirtless and in tight short shorts. In Girls! Girls! Girls! he wore short-sleeved polo shirts. In Kid Galahad he was bare-chested and just wearing boxing shorts during all of the boxing matches. It is true that his weight yo-yoed a lot in the mid-'60s, but in Spinout he looked pretty darn good to me. Why not show off those muscular legs? I'm sure I'm not the only person who thinks that some of these fluff movies would have been much improved if we saw fewer bikinis and more swimming trunks.

Elvis Movie Progress

As of August 2012, I had seen roughly 2/3 of Elvis's movies. Before you get indignant, let me say that I had seen the best ones and was missing mainly his later ones, with the exception of Kissin' Cousins (1964) and Roustabout (1964), which somehow I had missed before, even though I know the title songs well.

Since August, I have watched the following films:
The aforementioned Kissin' Cousins and Roustabout
Girl Happy (1965)
Tickle Me (1965)
Paradise Hawaiian Style (1966)
Easy Come, Easy Go (1967)
The Trouble with Girls (1969)

Before seeing all of these, I thought I had seen Paradise Hawaiian Style but not Tickle Me. It turns out it was the other way around! I just knew the opening theme to Paradise, but the rest of the movie was not familiar at all. Maybe I saw part of it on TV once? On the other hand, I felt major movie deja vu when I watched Tickle Me (and not just because there were scantily-clad girls falling all over Elvis while he was singing). The part that convinced me I'd seen the movie before was when Elvis, his love interest, and the nerdy guy are all trapped in that old hotel and the weird monsters in masks are chasing them all over the place. That's when I knew - that part of the movie was too strange to forget!

Of all of these films, clearly Tickle Me has the soundtrack advantage because a new movie soundtrack was not recorded and, instead, songs were picked up from Elvis is Back! (1960), Something for Everybody (1961), Pot Luck (1962), and the Fun in Acapulco soundtrack (1963). "It's a Long Lonely Highway," one of my favorites, was recorded in 1963 as well and is listed in the Kissin' Cousins soundtrack as a bonus track that was not featured in the film. Some of my favorite songs from the early '60s are represented here, but the fact that the soundtrack is a random compilation of previously-released music makes the soundtrack rather disjointed. It may have been Peter Guralnick who pointed out that the Viva Las Vegas soundtrack (1964) is the only one that resembles a regular musical soundtrack in that it serves to move the plot forward. The Tickle Me soundtrack, while full of great tunes, doesn't serve any purpose in the movie other than to be forms of entertainment for the women at the fat camp.

The title theme in Roustabout is one of those songs that I can I just break into singing, because it's a song I heard a lot growing up on The Essential '60s Masters: Volume II. Other than that tune, the only other really interesting one on the soundtrack is "Little Egypt," though upon close scrutiny of the lyrics you cringe at the racism of the "ying-ying" line (which my sister had to point out as she was watching that part of the movie with me). I've come to accept some of the un-P.C. aspects of Elvis's songs as par for the course when you're dealing with 1950s and 1960s pop culture. I don't condone racism or sexism at all, but if I were to refuse to listen to any Elvis music or watch any of his movies that included one or both of these offenses, I wouldn't be able to watch any of the films, and there would be a bunch of songs I'd have to exclude from my library. I don't believe that Elvis was a racist; I do believe that there were many occasions where he was sexist, but so were a lot of men of his generation. Not to say that it's acceptable, but it's a flaw of his that I have come to accept in order to appreciate the broader impact of his personality and music on our culture.

The Trouble with Girls was an odd duck of sorts, though it had a semi-interesting plot. The odd part is that Elvis was very serious in this film, not the brooding kind of seriousness found in Jailhouse Rock (1957) or Roustabout, but just grown-up serious. It was nice to see a talented co-star (Marlyn Mason). As much as the Colonel wanted Elvis's films to focus exclusively on his client's talent, I think the films in which Elvis had a co-star with similar singing abilities helped balance the pictures and made them seem less like Elvis showcases and more like true films. I'll refer back to Viva Las Vegas and say that Ann-Margret was probably his best co-star in this regard. My favorite song in The Trouble with Girls is "Swing Down Sweet Chariot," originally from the album His Hand in Mine (1960). Though the song works well in the context of the plot - a gospel group needed a fill-in singer for its performance at the festival - Elvis's character seemed out of place singing and moving like he did, based on what we had seen of him throughout the rest of the movie. Elvis's movements were also kind of jerky, like he was trying to imitate the moves that had been so natural to him when he was younger. (Is this his fault or the fault of the choreographer? I don't know.)

The inclusion of the two children was interesting, especially since one was white and one was black and it seems to be accepted that they're best friends. This surprises me since the film takes place in the 1920s and the film was made at the end of a decade of racial violence that culminated with the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. the year before. Given the racist and sexist elements in his earlier films, this film seems to take a step forward toward racial acceptance. As a student of history, it's interesting to me to analyze how the events going on in the outside world influence popular culture. Of course, the mother of the little girl is still portrayed as a whore because she is single and, therefore, is prone to fool around with a local married man. Clearly not all stereotypes could be abandoned.

Speaking of children, the girl in Paradise Hawaiian Style (Donna Butterworth) was quite talented. I can imagine that Elvis might have felt unhappy about singing with a child because he might have interpreted it as another way that people were making fun of him, but I think she was a good addition to the cast. I think the scene in which dogs are climbing all over him in a helicopter and he's singing "A Dog's Life" would have been much more embarrassing.  Other than the cute scenes between Jan (the little girl) and Elvis, the rest of the movie plays like a typical Elvis movie, in which there's a scheme to start a new business and Elvis chases oodles of women while attempting this endeavor. Of the Hawaii movies, Blue Hawaii (1961) remains my favorite.

Given the length of this post already, I'll just say that I thought Kissin' Cousins was goofy and that Girl Happy failed to live up to its title. Elvis seemed the least crazy about girls in this movie. Shelley Fabares was a good part of the cast, as she falls into the category of talented co-stars. It was funny to watch Gary Crosby, who looked like a younger version of his father, Bing, just with more hair.

Only 5 movies to go! Stay tuned!

Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite Deluxe DVD, Disc 1

One of the purchases I made at Graceland during my trip last month was the new deluxe DVD set of the Aloha from Hawaii special recorded in January of 1973. It's a two-disc set that includes a short video of Elvis arriving in Hawaii via helicopter on January 9 and being greeted by fans and Hawaiian performers, a rehearsal concert from January 12, and the Aloha concert as it was broadcast around the world on January 14 on Disc 1 and then the post-concert "insert" songs session from January 14 for the U.S. broadcast, which didn't air until April 4, 1973, and the U.S. version of the broadcast on Disc 2. Thus far I have only watched Disc 1 in its entirety, but I wanted to get down some notes before I forgot what I wanted to say.

Elvis Arrives and Greets Fans:
This film shows that Elvis still has a faithful following and that people will still try their hardest to touch him, to get a piece of him. A lot of younger fans greet him, people who were probably children when he got started in the 1950s, and there are also children present. The diversity of the fans shows Elvis's universal appeal and sows the seed for the longevity of Elvis's popularity. Not that his fans in the 1950s weren't faithful, but the fact that he is still attracting new fans almost 20 years after starting his career while retaining the original ones is a powerful statement. (Of course, I think about the enduring legacy of Elvis's music and personality a lot, being a fan who became a fan after he passed away.)

It is also interesting to watch Elvis's interaction with his fans in this video. He seems a little out of it, or perhaps just apprehensive, when he arrives. He kind of gazes around at the crowd, but looks kind of bewildered. Is it jet lag? Is it drug-induced? Is he just worried/scared? It's hard to know without getting inside his head or being privy to the events of the day. He does seem somewhat afraid of the fans. He goes over to greet them, and does shake some of their hands, but their aggressive attempts to touch him and even grab him makes him reluctant to get too close, understandably. You wonder if he became more cautious with time, after having experienced so many "maulings" by fans since the '50s. Overall, it's just a strange interaction between a shy, reluctant man and his screaming fans.

Rehearsal Concert:
I have to disagree with the author of the liner notes, Dave Marsh's, assessment of the rehearsal concert. Marsh writes,

The best version of these songs, though, comes from the night before, the "rehearsal show," where Elvis looks lean, acts loose and lets go musically as he rarely did. ... It's a shame it has taken so long for this show to find its public, because there isn't a better record, in video, film or audio, of what Elvis did once he'd standardized the '70s show and began touring with it regularly. Elvis radiates healthiness, but more important, he sings fabulously, and the ritual he and the audience enact has a depth of feeling on both sides. The main ritual though is the byplay between Elvis and the musicians, who are clearly having a ball, especially at the beginning where there are ample opportunities for Burton to tear off with many of the rock 'n' roll riffs he helped invent.

I will concede that Elvis looked good in this performance - the bloated look of the later years was not present here. That's where our agreement ends. It's not that this show is bad, but Elvis is clearly holding back because it's just a rehearsal, not the worldwide broadcast. He forgets most of the words of "Burning Love" and just keeps singing the same verse over and over. I would have thought this would have been one of the easier songs for him to remember, since he had just recorded it in 1972. He kind of breezes through the old standards, like "Love Me" and "Hound Dog." He really only puts energy into songs that are meaningful to him, like "You Gave Me a Mountain," "I'll Remember You," and "An American Trilogy." The concert does improve as it gets going, but all in all, I wouldn't say that this was an outstanding performance. The audience is certainly enthusiastic, probably because many of them were likely seeing him for the first time, unless they were wealthy enough to get onto the mainland to see some of his Vegas shows or other tours. He does the usual scarf-throwing and kissing during the show, but the electricity that I love about Elvis and that was present in some of the other concert videos (namely the '68 comeback and That's the Way It Is) is not present here. One nice moment is when Elvis tells the audience that they helped raise $75,000 for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund and he expresses his appreciation. Kui Lee was the Hawaiian composer who wrote "I'll Remember You" and died of cancer at age 33.

Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii Concert:
The actual concert is executed better than the rehearsal, but it does not carry the same level of energy as the aforementioned '68 special or That's the Way It Is. Again, the strongest performances are of the more meaningful songs, though the audience clearly enjoys everything. I think some of Elvis's reserve may have come from nerves, knowing that this concert was being broadcast to Australia, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, The Philippines, South Vietnam, and other countries. It was then seen on a delayed basis in approximately 30 European countries shortly after. According to the Deluxe DVD notes, "In all, it was seen in about forty countries by 1-to-1.5 billion people. A global smash. Entertainment events presented live via satellite are common today, but in 1973, this was a first. Never before had one performer held the world's attention in such a way."

To me, the concert is worth viewing if, like me, you want to see every video ever made of Elvis, and/or if you want to see one of his many history-making performances. It is also interesting to see what the rest of the world saw (which I will compare to the U.S. broadcast version in another post). Like the rehearsal, Elvis does warm up as the concert goes on and he becomes more comfortable. Many Elvis documentaries use the performance of "An American Trilogy" as their choice clip from this special, and it is one of his strongest performances in this concert. The emotion and soul that made Elvis's performances so memorable come through in this song.

Overall, this DVD is a great addition to the Elvis archive, but it is not one that I am sure to watch over and over again in its entirety. Thanks to the DVD menu, I'll be able to re-watch the best songs over and over, but I cannot imagine that this DVD will get as much repeat-play as some of my other Elvis DVDs. I hate to be unenthusiastic about anything Elvis did, but the rehearsal concert and worldwide broadcast just did not grab me like his other performances. I was very excited to get this special edition DVD to find gems that I hadn't seen before, but it ended up coming up a little short.

More to come when I watch Disc 2.

This says it all

Last night, while reading Careless Love, I came across this quote from Jake Hess, the former lead singer of the Statesmen, member of the Imperials, and Elvis's idol, who recorded with Elvis in the spring of 1966. It encapsulates what I love most about Elvis and his music:

Elvis was one of those individuals, when he sang a song, he just seemed to live every word of it. There's other people that have a voice that's maybe as great or greater than Presley's, I don't know, but he had that certain something that everyone searches for all during their lifetime. You know, he sang a lot with his eyes closed, and I think the reason for that was because he [wanted] to have a picture in mind at all times; if something was distracting him to where he couldn't put his heart into what he was doing, he would close his eyes, so he could get that picture of what he was talking about. That's the reason he communicated with the audience so well. (232)