jueves, 18 de junio de 2015

21st December of 1957. Ryman Auditorium, Nashville 2



Elvis and Hank Snow.
Hank Snow introduced Elvis on October 2, 1954 when he appeared on Hank's portion of the Grand Ole Opry. Colonel Tom Parker was Hank Snow's manager and the two were partners in Hank Snow Enterprises and Jamboree Attractions.Elvis briefly sang Hank's "I'm Gonna Bid My Blues Goodbye' on the MDQ session, and 'I'm Movin On' in 1969.
Jimmy Rodgers Snow,(Hank's Snow son), who was also an entertainer, was with Elvis and other performers in 1955 on Jamboree tours. Jimmy came backstage to say hello.
Elvis invited Jimmy to visit him at Graceland, which Jimmy did flying to Memphis on New Year's Day 1958.
Dressing room of some kind. Hugh Jarrett, tenor Gordon Stoker, Elvis, second tenor Neal Matthews and baritone Hoyt Hawkins. Colonel Parker is sitting to left of this image
Johnny Cash and Elvis , which looks to be taken just after the photo above as Hugh Jarrett dosn't seemed to have moved and can be seen to the right of this photo.
Brenda Lee aged 13 and Elvis .
From Brenda Lee's website it states "Brenda's first Grand Old Opry Performance was in December 1957 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. She met Elvis Presley for the first time. One of Brenda's fondest memories is of appearing on the show with Elvis."
This must be a reference to meeting Elvis backstage.It has been mentioned that Elvis said hello to the audience on this night,but with the script being tight for time,maybe that was done in the commercial break?
Lamar Fike describes it "He stood backstage for a while,and then he walked out front and somebody introduced him to the audience.But that was it" 

Brenda Lee describes the meeting -

I was back in Nashville for my debut performance at the Grand Ole Opry. Elvis Presley was visiting backstage, and the two of us danced together in the wings..

You can bet the cold December air in Nashville's Ryman Auditorium was thick with anticipation that night. Elvis was the hottest thing in the entertainment world and ruled the charts with such smouldering hits as "All Shook Up," "Hound Dog" and "Teddy Bear." I don't care how many other people were there - I swear to you that I was the most excited person in that hall. I looked my best in a crisp gingham dress, a pair of scuffed slip-on flats and a starched white pinafore, but I only had eyes for the King of Rock 'n' Roll. WhenI looked up at him, I grinned from ear to ear.

Elvis had just received his draft notice and was in Nashville to see his manager, Col. Parker. I sang "Bill Bailey, Won't you Please Come Home" for my Opry Debut. But I remember Elvis more vividly than my performance. When he danced with me backstage, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. His hair was dyed jet black, he was wearing dramatic - looking mascara, and when he smiled that curled-lip smile, I thought he was the sexiest thing I'd ever seen.
Faron Young, Mrs Faron Young, Elvis. 

21st December of 1957. Ryman Auditorium, Nashville 1




Gordon Stoker came over to the Colonel's area of Madison to pick up the Jordanaires' Christmas bonus's,amounting to four thousand dollars. Apparently Elvis asked if Gordon was going to the Grand ole opry that night,"If I had some kind of clothes,I'd go with you guys" and Elvis then picked up a Tuxedo outfit from Mallernee's outfitters in Nashville,which Gordon arranged.

Elvis and his group then made their way to the Grand Ole Opry where he didn't perform on stage that saturday evening,but did hang around backstage and meets lots of old friends.

Location:Ryman Auditorium, Nashville.
Date 21st December 1957.
Time: 8.30pm - 9.00pm
Network: NBC radio
Sponsers:Prince Albert Grand
The 950th Grand Ole Opry Christmas show

Line up
Marty Robbins "Jingle Bells"
Rod Brasfield
Brenda Lee "Christy Christmas"
Prince Albert Tobacco commercial
Marty Robbins "Blue Christmas"
Chet Atkins medley "Joy to the world" "Hark the herald angels sing" "Deck The Halls".
Minnie Pearl
Prince Albert Tobacco commercial
Brenda Lee "White Christmas"
Del Wood "Here Comes Santa Claus"
Marty Robbins "Silent Night"
All Photos (most likely) taken by Elmer Williams
The Wilburn Brothers , Teddy Wilburn, Elvis, Doyle Wilburn

Nashville booking Agent Hubert Long , Elvis , Colonel Parker, Faron Young
Ferlin Huskey, Elvis, Faron Young, Hawkshaw Hawkins,Tom Perryman.
Whitey Ford (Duke of Paducah), Elvis, Colonel Parker
These images all look to be in the same place backstage, with the 'Premium Nabisco' promotional materials in the background to the right,and the large sign (ending in xty) behind,which can also be seen below.
Gorden Terry, Elvis, Ray Price.

at the end of 1957.


 
So here we are at the end of 1957.

Elvis picks up his draft notice on December the 20th and is pictured at Graceland.The christmas tree is in the background and It looks to be dark outside. Later that evening ,Friday 20th December 1957, Elvis drove a rented truck for the 200 mile trip from Memphis to Nashville, with Cliff Cleaves and Lamar Fike , Billy Smith,following in the Lincoln.
Saturday 21st December 1957,1215 Gallatin Road South Madison,Tennessee 37115
Elvis give's the Colonel Parker his christmas Present,a BMW red Isetta sports car.
"It is snug" observed Colonel Parker.
The nashville press were on hand to gets Elvis's thoughts on Military service. Elvis tried on some military clothes provided by a photographer - George Barker , from 'The Tennessean'
"The uncomfortable feel of GI tweeds draws a grimace from Elvis Presley as he tries on, just for fun, a set of fatigues given to him by a photographer as a Christmas present. Presley came to Nashville to distribute some presents of his own. Photo taken 12/21/1957.
Image
"I guess I'll be wearing this stuff for real,soon" Elvis remarked to reporters.




jueves, 23 de abril de 2015

ANALYSIS OF THE GRACELAND DEAL



 
 
Source: Sherwin Willmott, The Memphis Flyer, 21 Dec 2004
In 1979 Memphis Mayor Wyeth Chandler wanted the city to buy Graceland (asking price rumored to be $10-11 million). Jack Soden's business partner, who handled Lisa Marie Presley's estate for Priscilla Presley, wanted to sell Graceland in 1981. It is a good thing for Lisa Marie Presley that neither got their wish.
Soden's business partner, Morgan Maxfield, died an untimely death in a private jet crash over Labor Day weekend in 1981, leaving Soden to pursue his vision of opening Graceland to a very hungry public.
When Soden took over Graceland and began the formation of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Graceland itself had hemorrhaged money. Colonel Parker's 'accounting' for Vernon Presley had bled the estate dry.
The IRS wanted a big chunk of change from the estate, too. Fans wanted to visit Graceland, but security costs and upkeep kept the estate finances in negative territory to the tune of approximately $500,000 a year. Elvis' reputation had taken a beating during the Dr. George Nichopolous trial as well as from the tawdry details of Albert Goldman's book Elvis.
Elvis' world did not look so good. Elvis' chronicler Bill Burk wrote in June, 1982: 'When Graceland swings its doors open Monday, it will be like the founding of a new industry in Memphis.' And right he was! Admission was $5.00 a head and thousands of fans (and fanatics) lined up every morning for the new tour. Graceland could handle three thousand per day, and in the first year Elvis Presley Enterprises took in $1.35 million. Cash poured through the doors.
The next task Soden had was to corral all of the unlicensed Elvis products on the market and create a new paradigm for the intellectual property (trademark and copyrights) of a celebrity's image. Soden and company did not just re-write the book on the celebrity image business; they created the rules of the industry. There is no doubt that they were the force behind the 1984 Tennessee statute regarding Protection of Personal Rights.
EPE has used its war chest and lawyers to pursue the rights of Elvis' image to the ends of the earth, sometimes at a major negative publicity cost. Seldom has Soden's team lost, and when they have, it has been over inconsequential financial circumstances. Their litigiousness has made hucksters reconsider illegally using the King's image and has increased the negotiation value of the estate with any legitimate licensees. Twenty-two years later, Elvis' image is restored.
EPE's business is intact, running like a well-oiled machine and clearing $12 million a year in profit (a surprising figure, given the very few music rights available to EPE for Elvis' biggest hits, an unfortunate Colonel Parker legacy). EPE has just negotiated a sweetheart deal for Lisa Marie Presley. Presley's new benefactor is media mogul Robert Sillerman, who made a massive fortune selling his concert company SFX to Clear Channel for over $4 billion in 2000. Presley will receive $53 million in cash; $25 million in debt assumption; and $22 million in preferred stock of SillermanÕs new company as well as 500,000 shares in common stock of SillermanÕs new company. She will still own 15% of Elvis Presley Enterprises, which Sillerman is buying.
What did Presley have to give up for this treasure trove of receivables? She keeps her father's personal effects and Graceland, which is a great p.r. move to appease the zealotlike Elvis fans as well as a physical and emotional tie to her father. She will continue to license the use of Graceland and these effects through EPE to Sillerman's company. She merely extends the licensing capabilities from EPE to Sillerman's company for worldwide promotion and exploitation. In effect she is giving the rights to Elvis' image, those that EPE has accrued and has been licensing worldwide, to Sillerman's new company for a huge chunk of change plus approximately 15% of Sillerman's new company.
If Sillerman creates a bigger licensing market for Elvis, she will profit nicely. If not, she will have received almost 8.5 times EPE's net profit per year for those rights. Although all employees of EPE are listed as remaining, were he to retire after this deal, Soden could smile, knowing that he had mastered the art of the Colonel Parker deal, getting far more than ever imaginable from the use of Elvis. So Sillerman got taken on this deal, eh? Not exactly. Sillerman has enough resources and capital to take Elvis to the ends of the earth, where Elvis has not yet reached his potential.
Translation: Graceland will still be Elvis' home base, but hello to Japan, China, and Europe, where Elvis is extremely well-known and his image use is very under-served. Not mentioned in the deal but certainly implicit is that Elvis the image has just become the star attraction and calling card in a new entertainment company. Sillerman will undoubtably use the Elvis image as bait to attract licenses from other celebrities (and their estates) alive and dead ('Hey, kiddo, if it's good enough for the King, you can't go wrong with Sillerman'). It would be hard to argue that the #1 entertainment image in the world is a bad one with which to begin a company.
Most media buyers will take Sillerman's calls just on the Elvis name, even if they were not familiar with the mega-entrepreneur previous to this deal. Memphis probably will not notice much difference in the use of the image, but other countries will most likely see a much higher presence of the King in all media formatsOne thing concerning the deal that gives Presley watcher's pause is Lisa Marie herself. How has EPE built $25 million worth of debt on the basis of $12 million in net profit per year?
Obviously her marriage to Michael Jackson taught her the profligate ways of Hollywood. Or perhaps this deal will merely cover some sort of massive Scientology debt she owes. Ms. Presley is approaching her maximum spending years, and if she continues to spend more than she makes, this deal would merely be a one time stopgap.
Either way, once the dust has cleared on this deal, Lisa Marie pockets $50 million, erases her debt, keeps the house, and becomes a large shareholder in a company destined to succeed with the worldÕs number one entertainment image in the growing industry of celebrity licensing. In her press release Lisa Marie Presley's quote is a big disappointment, making this deal sound like it is in her father's interest: "My greatest responsibility to my father is to preserve and protect his legacy."
Au contraire! This deal is about maximizing Ms. Presley's financial interests with the prospects that visitations to Graceland may continue to slow down with the aging of the '50s generation of rock 'n roll fans. Maximizing the return on Elvis and his image has been the focus point of Elvis' career since the Colonel got hold of him, and this deal is no different, albeit a sweet once-in-a lifetime one that the Colonel himself would be proud of. Indeed it is good to be the king's daughter!
 



lunes, 20 de abril de 2015

More Pictures



 

 
Justin Tubb, Elvis
Thursday, February 9, 1956
Backstage at the Carolina Theater, Spartanburg, SC

Elvis was said to have performed or at least attended the after show jamboree in Ernest Tubb's record shop after his appearance at the Opry in 1954. Tubb at one time was managed by Oscar Davis who was an associate and advance man for the Colonel and saw Elvis perform at the Eagles nest. Tubb's son Justin toured with Elvis in the early part of 56.
August 5, 1956, Tampa, Florida, photo by Bruce Roberts (Tampa Tribune).

Bruce Roberts (Tampa Tribune) was sent to the National Guard Armory to photograph Elvis: "It was a slow news day at the Tampa Tribune and the city editor sent me over to the National Guard Armory to photograph a new singer that 'Colonel Parker' had just found and thought was the hottest thing around. The Colonel and the city editor were friends and I suspected this was just a way to get the Colonel's latest protégée's picture in the newspaper. Imagine my surprise when I found the place packed with girls. They were all there to see a kid named 'Elvis.' A couple of the girls who couldn't get in waved to him through the chain link fence and he smiled back. Just a small gesture from this charming young man conjured up dreamy looks on their pretty faces. The show was outstanding and the girls went crazy. But we couldn't use the photos because the editor said it was something about the way he moved his hips that was just too suggestive…."

2 above are from Buffalo, April 1, 1957

Elvis' first single to hit a national chart



Elvis' first single to hit a national chart was "Baby Let's Play House"/"I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" on Sun Records, in the summer of 1955. It was his fourth release on Sun and it stayed on the chart for 15 weeks. A clean copy of that 45 rpm single today can be worth $3,000 and up

 
 

some pics


 
June 8, 56 at the Shrine Auditorium in LA

Taken at the Hotel Claridge, Memphis TN, 25th February 1961.
Being presented with a plaque from RCA for selling over 75 million records