WELCOME TO MY WORLD WE LL BE TOGETHER WE RE COMING IN LOADED WE RE GONNA MOVE WESTERN UNION WHAT A WONDERFUL LIFE WHAT EVERY WOMAN LIVES FOR
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Elvis Scrapbooks -- Part 1
Throughout his life, Elvis? adoring fans expressed their devotion by attending his concerts, buying his records, joining fan clubs, and keeping Elvis scrapbooks. Look at the teenager below showing off her thick Elvis scrapbook to two friends. At that point in her life, do you think she had any other possession she considered as valuable and precious as that Elvis book?
Twenty years ago, I bought an Elvis scrapbook at a record show. One of the vendors had it in a box with a bunch of Elvis albums. I took it home and studied all the pages. Then I put it away in a cabinet crammed full of Elvis memorabilia. I?ve probably pulled it out two more times since then and looked through all the pages again.
Then, last week a friend of mine showed me a box of old albums he got from his mom. It was about 2/3 Elvis music, but it also had some old Johnny Cash, and Fabian, and a bunch of worthless stuff. All the potentially valuable albums had been played to death and were in less than ideal shape.
However, in a bit of d�j� vu, there was also an Elvis scrapbook in the box. My friend let me take it home and photograph all the pages. So, this week, we will look at the efforts of a true Elvis fan. She was also a big Priscilla fan, as you will soon see. Here is her Elvis scrapbook.
The cover has a black ink drawing of Elvis. It was done by Dave Green, but I have been unable to find out anything about him. I wonder if he was a high school friend with artistic talent who drew it for her. In any case, it?s a pretty good job.
Page 1 is all about young Elvis. There?s the familiar toddler shot of Elvis in a pose with his hat at a rakish angle. This photo has since been on the cover of an Elvis CD. And last year, they came out with a T-shirt featuring this little Elvis wearing the famous 70s sunglasses.
Just below is a non-descript photo of Elvis at a 1956 recording session.
To the right is young boy Elvis, again wearing a hat, but also two six-shooters in holsters. Something about this picture has intrigued me for years. Did you notice the two things that foretell aspects of Elvis? future stage appearance? Look at that big, wide belt. It reminds you of the ones Elvis had with his jumpsuits, doesn?t it? And look at his eyes. If he?s not wearing eye make-up, what else would make his eyes look like that? It?s been documented that Elvis wore eyeliner while performing at concerts in the 50s. This is no casual photo. It was posed, and I?m betting Elvis decided to dress up his eyes a bit for the shoot. So, here are two things Elvis preferred as a kid that he carried forward and used as a performer years later.
Next is a rare photo of Elvis being weighed in Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas after he was inducted into the Army. The photographer lined up the shot perfectly. But how weird must that moment have been for Elvis? Maybe it didn?t bother him after being in the spotlight for the previous four years and having a million photographs taken. However, it does belie the belief that life in the Army for Elvis would be just like any other soldier.
Finally, there is a somewhat familiar photo of Elvis and his mother, Gladys. I wish somebody that knows Photoshop would give Gladys a little bit of a smile. She always looks so sad. If she were happy, this would be such a cool photo.
Page 2 has just one photo ? Bill Haley and Elvis. Do you younger readers know anything about Bill Haley? He was a country singer who slid on over to Rockabilly and Rock and Roll, and he was at the top of the heap until Elvis took over. One look at this picture shows you why the kids dumped him and flocked to Elvis. I love Bill Haley?s music, but look at that hair-do and bow-tie. Then look at Elvis? hair and outfit. No contest.
Page 3 has four mid-fifties photos. Natalie Wood was Elvis? first Hollywood girlfriend, and she was a beauty. She travelled back with Elvis to Memphis after the filming of Love Me Tender, and stayed for a week in Graceland during her visit. The second photo was taken in Tampa, Florida in July 1955. EPE has used this photo in various merchandising efforts.
Next is a rere right profile of Elvis showing the slicked back hair of his duck tail style. The last photo is Elvis in a convertible in 1957. I think this shot was snapped during the filming of Loving You, and the girl may be his co-star Lizabeth Scott.
Page 4 features all Army photos. The small photo at the top is nothing special, but the second larger one is a good color shot of Elvis in uniform. I like the line under the picture. It says Elvis fans thought they?d lost him forever once he entered the Army. Happily, he came back to us.
The other small photo shows Elvis pointing to his new Sergeant strips after getting promoted on February 11, 1960. For a complete explanation of the ranks Elvis achieved in the Army, click here. The last shot is Vernon with Elvis in his dress uniform. The medals on Elvis? chest are for expert marksmanship ? one for rifle and pistol, the other for sharpshooting with a carbine.
Page 5 contains three pictures that are rather familiar. The exception would be the first one, which shows Elvis in an Army uniform. However, this is not from real life. The large American flag background gives it away as a shot on the set of G I Blues. The marriage reception photo of Elvis and Priscilla has gotten a lot of mileage over the years, same as that black leather picture from the ?68 Comeback Special.
The last photo shows Lisa and Elvis in a wonderful pose. The text under the photo says Elvis spent the last night of his life playing with Lisa after giving her a special present. I wasn?t aware of this, so I looked it up in Elvis: Day By Day by Peter Guralnick and Ernst Jorgensen. They say Elvis spent his last night watching TV until 10:30, and then going to the dentist to have his teeth cleaned and two small cavities filled. (Only Elvis would have a dentist appointment at 10:30 at night.) They report he wore a black DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) sweatsuit with two .45s stuck in his waistband.
It would be nice if the story about Lisa were true, but you?ve got to admit, Elvis spending the last night of his life getting his teeth cleaned while packing heat is just classic Elvis lore.
Page 6 is not about Elvis, as you can see. It is a large color photo of Priscilla, and there are three more later on (plus some newspaper photos in black and white). Unfortunately, they all show signs of age. I have never seen any of them before, and they all appear to be glamour photos done by a professional. Certainly, that?s not everyday apparel Priscilla is wearing. She looks great in all four photos, but you?ll have to wait for Elvis Scrapbooks - Part 2 to see the others.
� 2010 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net
Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.
IT S A MATTER OF TIME IT S A SIN IT S A SIN TO TELL A LIE IT S A WONDERFUL WORLD IT S BEEN SO LONG DARLING IT S CARNIVAL TIME IT S DIFF RENT NOW
Elvis Presley Blog ? A New Look
Today I changed the theme for the Elvis Presley Blog and I hope you all will like it. The previous theme felt a little too busy for me and I wanted to find something more simple and straight forward. Something that focussed on content more then the theme. I hope I?ve found it with this [...]
Elvis Presley Blog – A New Look is a post from: My Elvis Presley Blog
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Happy 6th Birthday, ElvisBlog
The first week in February marks the 6th birthday of ElvisBlog. Elvis fans seem to be discovering the site at ever increasing rates, so several milestones have been reached. If you don?t want to read a little bragging about this blog, scroll down to a fun article, ?Reagan, Obama, and Elvis.?
The first milestone occurred when the 2010 year-end numbers came in. ElvisBlog had 728,833 hits as measured by total page views, more than double the 2009 total.
Elvis? birthday, January 8, is always the biggest day of the year for visitors to the site, and this year, ElvisBlog had a phenomenal total of 13,306 hits on that day.
Boosted by that one day record, January 2011 was the best month ever, finishing over another milestone with 100,371 hits.
The website www.visualizetraffic.com reports that ElvisBlog gets a daily average of 1047 visitors. It?s pretty cool to know a thousand people read your stuff every day.
Thank you to everyone for your continued support.
Phil Arnold
Original Elvis Blogmeister... ElvisBlog
JUST PRETEND JUST TELL HER JIM SAID HELLO KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OF IT KENTUCKY RAIN KING CREOLE KING OF THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD KISMET
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Elvis Sings Blue Christmas on New Verizon Commercial
Elvis lives still? Amazing it is that even 32 years after his death, his voice and his spirit are still with us, marketable with continued commercial appeal. Elvis Presley was and is truly endless? Elvis Sings Blue Christmas on New Verizon Commercial is a post from: My Elvis Presley Blog
Elvis Sings Blue Christmas on New Verizon Commercial is a post from: My Elvis Presley Blog
MEMORIES MEMPHIS TENNESSEE MEN WITH BROKEN HEART short poem MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY MEXICO MILKCOW BLUES BOOGIE MILKY WHITE WAY
Elvis Sings Blue Christmas on New Verizon Commercial
Elvis lives still? Amazing it is that even 32 years after his death, his voice and his spirit are still with us, marketable with continued commercial appeal. Elvis Presley was and is truly endless? Elvis Sings Blue Christmas on New Verizon Commercial is a post from: My Elvis Presley Blog
Elvis Sings Blue Christmas on New Verizon Commercial is a post from: My Elvis Presley Blog
elvis presley awards elvis presley background elvis presley weight elvis presley corpse I ASK THE LORD HE S ONLY A PRAYER AWAY I BEG OF YOU I BELIEVE
Friday, February 25, 2011
Elvis Sings Blue Christmas on New Verizon Commercial
Elvis lives still? Amazing it is that even 32 years after his death, his voice and his spirit are still with us, marketable with continued commercial appeal. Elvis Presley was and is truly endless? Elvis Sings Blue Christmas on New Verizon Commercial is a post from: My Elvis Presley Blog
Elvis Sings Blue Christmas on New Verizon Commercial is a post from: My Elvis Presley Blog
HE LL HAVE TO GO HELP ME HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS RIGHT DOWN SANTA CLAUS LANE HE S ONLY A PRAYER AWAY I ASK THE LORD HE S YOUR UNCLE NOT YOUR DAD HEY HEY HEY
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Reagan, Obama, and Elvis
Lately, there has been much in the press about Barack Obama?s shift to the center. He is said to be thinking and sounding a lot like Ronald Reagan. This, plus the 100th anniversary of Reagan?s birthday on February 6, has even prompted news magazines to pair the two presidents on their covers.
Current Time magazine cover featuring Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama
One thing the press hasn?t mentioned is that both presidents have been Elvis fans, and that they?ve worn clothing to give them that Elvis look.
Obama favors the young Elvis gold lam� coat from 1957. Reagan looks great in the 1973 Aloha from Hawaii American Eagle jumpsuit. Some clever folks did a nice job on Photoshop making these shots.
Do you know how many presidents Elvis met? Of course there was Nixon in 1970. Lesser known is that Elvis met both Jimmy Carter and George H W Bush ? before they became presidents.
Jimmy Carter was the Governor of Georgia when he and Rosalyn visited Elvis backstage after a June 1973 concert in Atlanta. George H W Bush was UN Ambassador when he was the guest speaker at the dinner where Elvis was honored as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of 1971.
John F Kennedy was one president Elvis never met, but a Photoshop jockey with questionable taste did try to give us picture simulating an occasion when they got together.
� 2010 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net
Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc
IN YOUR ARMS INDESCRIBABLY BLUE INHERIT THE WIND IS IT SO STRANGE ISLAND OF LOVE KAUAI IT AIN T NO BIG THING BUT IT S GROWING IT FEELS SO RIGHT
Elvis Presley and His Music From the Heart
Gen Wright asked: When Elvis began putting together his collection of music for his comeback, he was able to reflect on many years of a great range of popular American music, including his own and that of other people.Elvis was blessed with a natural talent to sing just about anything, but he also needed to [...]
SHAKE RATTLE AND ROLL SHAKE THAT TAMBOURINE SHE THINKS I STILL CARE SHE WEARS MY RING SHE S A MACHINE SHE S NOT YOU SHOPPIN AROUND
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
My Elvis Presley Blog Returns!
Hello Again Faithful Readers. I say faithful because if you?re reading this after waiting for nearly 5 months for new content, you must be completely faithful. I?ve been away. Not from my computer or home or any physical location but away from this blog about my fascination with the love affair I am having with [...]
My Elvis Presley Blog Returns! is a post from: My Elvis Presley Blog
PLEDGING MY LOVE POCKETFUL OF RAINBOWS POISON IVY LEAGUE POLK SALAD ANNIE POOR BOY POOR MAN S GOLD POWER OF MY LOVE
Monday, February 21, 2011
Backstage With Elvis
Theresea Hughes asked: Elvis often enjoyed causal meetings with celebrities like Marty Allen, Tom Jones, Bobby Darin, Jack Lord, Buddy Hacket, and Jean Rivers.In the early days Elvis also enjoyed the company of Sammy Davis Jr. and in later years enjoyed the company of Sammy Davis Jr. and his wife.At one of Elvis’s movie nights [...]
I WILL BE TRUE I WONDER I WONDER I WONDER IF EVERYDAY WAS LIKE CHRISTMAS IF I CAN DREAM IF I GET HOME ON CHRISTMAS DAY IF I LOVED YOU IF I WERE YOU
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
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