The Elvis Beat Newsletter

A selection of my writings from The Elvis Beat, my Official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter, originally published in print between 1992 and 1997 during my earliest years of writing about Elvis.

Review – ELVIS: THE LOST PERFORMANCES [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 17 when I wrote this review back in 1992 for The Elvis Beat #2, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

Elvis: The Lost Performances (Turner Home Entertainment), starring Elvis Presley, directed by Patrick Michael Murphy, released June 24, 1992.

“There was a guy who said one time . . . he said, ‘You never stood in that man’s shoes or saw things through his eyes. Or stood and watched with helpless hands while the heart inside you dies. So help your brother along the way, no matter where he starts. For the same God that made you made him, too – these men with broken hearts.’ I’d like to sing a slong along the same line,” Elvis finishes his beautiful speech and the band breaks into “Walk A Mile In My Shoes.”

Elvis: The Lost Performances is by far the best Elvis video ever. Hours of unseen footage from Elvis: That’s The Way It Is (1970) and Elvis On Tour (1972) were rescued from an MGM vault in Kansas, an abandoned salt mine. From this footage, one hour was chosen for The Lost Performances.

Part one gives the viewer a front-row seat at Elvis’ August 1970 engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. These are the most spectacular parts of this video, allowing fans to relive the excitement, or perhaps experience it for the first time. This is Elvis at his best.

The next segment gives a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse of Elvis in rehearsal for the aforementioned concerts. These clips demonstrate Elvis’ magnificent personality and sense of humor. Also of interest, Elvis sings several 1950s songs which have never been released in 1970s versions.

Finally, the clock turns to 1972 and Elvis is spotlighted on tour in Hampton, Virginia, and Greensboro, North Caroline. The highlights of this part are Elvis singing “Are You Lonesome Tonight” and “How Great Thou Art.”

A lot of effort was made to produce this video, and it shows. Turner Entertainment Company and Elvis Presley Enterprises are to be commended for their dedication to releasing “pure” Elvis on this video; the songs have not been cut and there is no annoying narration. It’s just Elvis, and that’s all his fans ever wanted.

This video really shows “the great performances” and no fan should be without it.

Songs:

  1. “Introduction/Walk A Mile In My Shoes”
  2. “The Wonder Of You”
  3. “Don’t Cry Daddy/In The Ghetto”
  4. “There Goes My Everything”
  5. “Make The World Go Away”
  6. “Just Pretend”
  7. “Heartbreak Hotel”
  8. “Twenty Days And Twenty Nights”
  9. “Love Me”
  10. “Hound Dog”
  11. “Don’t Be Cruel”
  12. “I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water”
  13. “I Was The One”
  14. “The Cattle Call”
  15. “Baby, Let’s Play House”
  16. “Don’t”
  17. “Money Honey”
  18. “All Shook Up”
  19. “Teddy Bear/Don’t Be Cruel”
  20. “Are You Lonesome Tonight”
  21. “I Can’t Stop Loving You”
  22. “How Great Thou Art”
  23. “Release Me”
  24. “I Can’t Stop Loving You”

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review – ELVIS: THE GREAT PERFORMANCES (1992 CBS TV version) [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 17 when I wrote this review back in 1992 for The Elvis Beat #2, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

Elvis: The Great Performances (CBS), hosted by Priscilla Presley, directed by Andrew Solt, aired April 24, 1992.

The TV version of Elvis: The Great Performances is not as good as the two volume video versions from 1990 for several reasons.

First of all, the original narration of Elvis’ friend George Klein has been replaced by the phony-sounding narration of Elvis’ ex-wife, Priscilla Presley.

The other problem is that his version contains fewer songs due to the 30 minutes of boring commercials supplied by JC Penney.

The songs it does contain are “great performances,” but they are ruined by being edited and chopped up. However, this is a problem that exists on the videos, too, and all of Andrew Solt’s other Elvis productions. It should be a crime to cut Elvis songs. I would much rather see 10 complete performances instead of 25 bits and pieces.

My advice: See the original video versions of The Great Performances (Volume One: Center Stage and Volume Two: The Man And The Music), or, even better, see a real Elvis video like Elvis: That’s The Way It Is or Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii.

Songs include:

  • “Shake, Rattle, and Roll/Flip, Flop, and Fly”
  • “Heartbreak Hotel”
  • “Blue Suede Shoes”
  • “Hound Dog”
  • “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You”
  • “Ready Teddy”
  • “Love Me Tender”
  • “Don’t Be Cruel”
  • “Got A Lot Of Livin’ To Do”
  • “Teddy Bear”
  • “Jailhouse Rock”
  • “Trouble”
  • “Fame And Fortune”
  • “Return To Sender”
  • “All Shook Up”
  • “If I Can Dream”
  • “Suspicious Minds”
  • “Always On My Mind”
  • “An American Trilogy”
  • “Unchained Melody”
  • “Money Honey”

Rating: 6 out of 10

Volume I, Issue 2: Editor’s Corner [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 17 when I wrote this item back in 1992 for The Elvis Beat #2, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

August 16, 1977: A date burned into the memory of almost every Elvis fan. But rather than dwell on the sadness of that day, fans have instead used it as an annual celebration of his many accomplishments.

This year, Elvis fans from across the world will brave the August heat of the South and converge on the city of Memphis to mark the fifteenth anniversary of his passing. Crowds are expected to surpass the enormous amount that made the tenth anniversary excursion in 1987, displaying once again Elvis’ great influence on so many people.

But even more fans across the world will be “celebrating” at their homes, rather than his. Each marking the day in his or her own special way.

1992 has already been an incredible year for Elvis fans. It has seen: The release of a new 1970s concert video and a 5 CD 1950s set, and the official commencement of a 1993 Elvis stamp.

35 years from now, when there are six or seven Elvis stamps and all audio and video material has been officially released, as fans mark the 50th anniversary they will look back at 1992 as a landmark year when a new dedication to quality Elvis releases began and Elvis finally began to receive some of the recognition he so justly deserved.

If you are one of the fortunate people going to Memphis to experience Elvis Week ’92, I would like to wish you a safe and wonderful trip. Although this is a new club, and thus limited to an extent, I have tried my best to make this a very special issue of The Elvis Beat to show my respect and admiration for Elvis. I hope you enjoy it.

Elvis lives on in the 90s [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 17 when I wrote this article back in 1992 for The Elvis Beat #2, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

1992 is a revolutionary year for Elvis on CD. With the release of ELVIS: The King Of Rock ‘n’ Roll – The Complete 50s Masters, a 5-CD set containing 140 songs, and the new “Elvis In The 90s” series, RCA seems to have finally made a commitment to release quality Elvis recordings in the CD format.

The “Elvis In The 90s” series is dedicated to bringing back all of the key albums yet to be released on CD or which have been deleted from the RCA catalog completely. Also planned for the future are boxed sets for this 1960s and 1970s material. Work on this massive project is expected to be finished by 1996.

Below is an incomplete list of Elvis CDs released within the last year. Due to the large number of discs currently being released, the list is not up-to-date.

Elvis’ New CDs

  • ELVIS: The King Of Rock ‘n’ Roll – The Complete 50s Masters (5 CDs)
  • Collectors Gold (3 CDs)
  • The Lost Album
  • ELVIS – NBC TV Special
  • On Stage
  • He Touched Me
  • As Recorded At Madison Square Garden
  • Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite
  • Elvis Today
  • Elvis In Concert

Looking Back: 1982 [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 17 when I wrote this item back in 1992 for The Elvis Beat #2, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

On June 7, 1982, Graceland opened its doors to the public for the first time. A decade later, over six million people have gone through the music gates and experienced the life of Elvis.

New releases examine two phases of Elvis’ career [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 17 when I wrote this article back in 1992 for The Elvis Beat #2, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

Wednesday, June 24, was, perhaps, the best day for Elvis fans in the past 15 years. It marked the debut of two long-awaited releases.

The first new release is RCA’s ELVIS: The King Of Rock ‘n’ Roll – The Complete 50s Masters (List Price: $79.98), a five-CD set which contains every master studio take recorded in the 1950s, several alternate takes, live tracks, and previously unreleased material (140 songs in all). 500,000 units were pre-shipped to record stores.

Included are “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin,” the songs an 18-year-old Elvis paid to record for his mother in 1953.

The other release is even more monumental. The Turner Entertainment video Elvis: The Lost Performances (List Price: $19.98) contains an hour’s worth of never-before-seen outtakes from the 1970s concert movies Elvis: That’s The Way It Is and Elvis On Tour. 25 songs are performed on this video. See review on page 6.

[The Elvis Beat newsletter] And the winner is. . .

/ TY

I was 17 when I wrote this article back in 1992 for The Elvis Beat #2, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

“Here are the results. . . . It is the ‘young Elvis’ by a mile,” former US Postmaster General Anthony Frank announced on June 4 at Graceland in front of a huge crowd of Elvis fans.

In the month of April, over one million people voted for their “favorite” Elvis. The 50s Elvis defeated the 70s version by a wide 3-to-1 margin. The winning artwork was painted by Mark Stutzman of Maryland.

Also present at the ceremony was Priscilla Presley, who said, “I think that of all the awards and honors that he has received, and he has received many during his lifetime, I’m confident to say this would probably be the most special award for him. Elvis loved his fans very, very much, and I think that he would have just been totally overwhelmed by all of your support. And I think that having you celebrate here at Graceland would have been very special for him, too.”

The “Elvis Presley Postage Stamp Campaign” began in 1983 and was spearheaded by Ms. Pat Geiger of Vermont. She says that she voted for the 70s Elvis. “As Elvis grew older he got better looking and became a more polished performer. That’s the way I remember him,” she said. Nevertheless, she said she was “delirious” over the Elvis stamp anyway.

She also defended Elvis against critics who feel he doesn’t deserve a stamp. “They don’t honor people for their private lives,” she said. “If they did, a lot of them would never have gotten stamps – Ernest Hemingway and WC Fields are two examples. You honor these people for their accomplishments and the impact they made on the world. Elvis known by his first name all over the world. Only the name ‘Elvis’ appears on the stamp. It doesn’t say ‘Elvis Presley.'”

The stamp’s first day of issue will be January 8, the 58th anniversary of his birth. It will be available in single sheets of 40 stampes each for $11.60.

(Quotes obtained from ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC news.)

Election Results

50s Elvis: 851,200 (75.4%)

70s Elvis: 277,723 (24.6%)

The winner is: ELVIS (100%)