Elvis Presley Enterprises

Elvis Presley Enterprises and fans help raise $85,000 in Super Bowl benefit

/ TY

One of the stories I’ve enjoyed covering most here on The Mystery Train is Elvis Presley Enterprise’s Super Bowl watch party, held February 6 on the front lawn of Graceland. At $500 a ticket, the catered event benefited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The day also featured Elvis-style football games on the lawn and a silent auction of sports and Elvis items. According to St. Jude, this ultimate Super Bowl party raised nearly $85,000.

As I mentioned Monday, Elvis’ rendition of “That’s All Right” could briefly be heard in the background during the Super Bowl TV broadcast while it played over stadium loudspeakers. I wondered at the time if those partying at Graceland picked up on this.

I decided to contact Elvis Presley Enterprises and find out. It turns out that the attendees did indeed hear Elvis during the game. “We also got emails from fans around the world who also heard the music clip being played,” said Alicia Dean, Media Assistant for EPE.

Dean also cleared up another one of my questions about the event. EPE’s original announcement stated that it was “only the second time an event has been held on the lawn, or anywhere on the property, since Elvis’ passing” (“Super Bowl Watch Party at Graceland to Benefit St. Jude” — Elvis.com). According to Dean, the first event was a party benefiting the TJ Martell Foundation on Ocotober 7, 1994, which was the day before the Elvis Aaron Presley: The Tribute concert at the Pyramid.

Elvis Aaron Presley: The Tribute was a live, pay-per-view television event featuring various music stars performing Elvis songs, including Faith Hill, Chris Isaak, Michael Hutchence, and Cher. It also resulted in the album It’s Now Or Never: The Tribute To Elvis, which contained a few of the songs from the show. Some footage of the concert also appeared in the December 1994 ABC TV special Elvis: The Tribute, hosted by John Stamos.

In life, Elvis always gave time and money to good causes, and EPE has done a terrific job of continuing that tradition over the years since his death. Many of Elvis’ fans have also continued in that spirit as well. As I’ve mentioned before, one organization worth checking out is the Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation, which is run by Lisa Marie Presley and the rest of the EPE management team and includes projects such as Presley Place.

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Elvis Presley plays in Super Bowl XLV

/ TY

I hope the fine folks enjoying the Super Bowl watch party at Graceland yesterday were able to make this out. While watching the game on FOX-TV, I could faintly hear music they picked up from the stadium loudspeakers near the end of the first half.

That is nothing unusual, except this time it was a familiar voice singing “That’s All Right.” It didn’t last long, but it was awesome to hear Elvis playing in the Super Bowl! It was definitely a remix, probably the one from Viva Elvis: The Album. The Green Bay Packers went on to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers to become champions of the National Football League. Elvis Presley Enterprises’ Super Bowl watch party benefited the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

EPE sues Spankox over unauthorized Christmas Remixes album

/ TY / 2 Comments

I remember being slightly surprised last year that Elvis Presley Enterprises had authorized Christmas Remixes, containing dance remixes by DJ Spankox of 1957’s entire Elvis’ Christmas Album. Sure, I could point to the rubber duckies or the potato heads as other examples of severe lapses in judgment when it comes to protecting Elvis’ legacy, but a dance remix version of Elvis’ Christmas Album? Really?

Turns out that EPE may have been just as surprised as I was to hear about the release of the album. In a lawsuit for which they recently won a summary judgment, EPE alleges they gave no such authorization to Spankox (Spankox Sued By EPE – ElvisNews.com).

EPE previously worked with Spankox in an authorized fashion on Re:Versions (2008) and Re:Mixes (2010). Re:Versions had uneven results, though I did enjoy the new take on “Too Much.” The Re:Mixes follow-up was rather poor, with few real highlights – perhaps, only “Hound Dog” (but it is, after all, the power of Elvis’ performance shining through and not the remix itself that makes that one compelling).

Compared to the stellar remix efforts by others on 2010’s Viva Elvis: The Album, 2002’s “A Little Less Conversation,” and 2003’s “Rubberneckin,'” Spankox’s attempts seemed insignificant and worn out. I never bothered to seek out his Christmas Remixes album, and it turns out that I made the right choice. Allegedly attempting to pass off something like that as being an authorized product just isn’t cool.

February 7 Update: The official Elvis.com site has posted an item about winning the Spankox lawsuit.

Graceland hosting Super Bowl benefit for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

/ TY

“The thing I keep up with most is professional football. I know all the players. I know all their numbers, who they play for. I’ve had people quiz me on it, just in games when we got nothing to do. And that’s a big thing with me right now. I watch all the games that I can. I get the films from the teams themselves if I can. But next to the entertainment thing, and music, that, I guess would be the biggest.”
–Elvis Presley, August 1962

The front lawn of Graceland will play host to a Super Bowl “watch party” benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (“Super Bowl Watch Party at Graceland to Benefit St. Jude” — Elvis.com).

“The party will mark only the second time an event has been held on the lawn, or anywhere on the property, since Elvis’ passing,” states the official Elvis site. The (American) football Super Bowl game will take place on February 6.

Besides watching the game, the catered event will also feature football games similar to those Elvis and friends once played at Graceland. (I wonder if they will include the use of firecrackers, as those of Elvis allegedly did? Probably not!) There will also be a silent auction of sports and Elvis related items. Tickets are $500.

Elvis was a strong supporter of St. Jude, which was founded by Danny Thomas. In 1964, Elvis donated the USS Potomac, a yacht once owned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to the organization.

NFL playoff games are taking place today between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers (NFC) and the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets (AFC) to determine who will play in this year’s Super Bowl. Does watching the Super Bowl on February 6 on Graceland’s front lawn sound a little cold? Don’t worry, that part will take place “in a heated tent decorated in a style similar to Elvis’ TV room,” according to Elvis.com.

Kudos to Elvis Presley Enterprises for this event and its other efforts to continue Elvis’ “generosity of spirit,” as Lisa Marie Presley once so eloquently called it.

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Additional source: Elvis: Word For Word by Jerry Osborne, Harmony Books, New York, 2000.

And now, a very special announcement….

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Elvis Presley Enterprise’s big tourism push this year for Graceland is centered around the 55th anniversary of Elvis’ many accomplishments in 1956 (“2011 Graceland Tourism Campaign Commemorates 55th Anniversary of Groundbreaking Year” — Elvis.com).

“55th” seems to me like a rather arbitrarily chosen “major anniversary” year, though. Any excuse to keep the focus on 1956, right? The beauty of it is that EPE can pull all of this stuff back out in five years and change the text to say “60th anniversary.”

There have been some rumors lately, however, that Elvis Presley’s career actually extended beyond the years 1954 to 1958. In fact, I’ve looked into them and discovered the rumors to be true. In honor of these historical findings, I’ve decided to choose my own arbitrary Elvis year to focus on in 2011.

And now, a very special announcement….

The Mystery Train will honor the 44th anniversary of 1967 with special features on that Elvis year all throughout 2011.

Generosity of spirit

/ TY

As 2010 draws to a close and we begin looking ahead to 2011, I would like to encourage readers of The Mystery Train Elvis Blog to take a moment to remember those less fortunate than us. There are many worthy organizations out there that need your support, including the American Humane Association and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

One organization that Elvis fans in particular may want to check out is the Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation, which is run by Lisa Marie Presley and the rest of the Elvis Presley Enterprises management team. With projects such as Presley Place, the foundation continues the spirit of giving that Elvis promoted during his life.

Below is a circa 2001 statement from Lisa Marie, which I’ve kept for years.

There are many things about my father, Elvis Presley, that so many others and I can admire eternally. He rose from humble beginnings and when the realization of his dreams and aspirations exceeded all that he had imagined, it gave others hope – a new awareness of their own potential, whatever challenges they might be facing in life. With his success came the accolades and respect he deserved. However, the fame also brought with it a harsh kind of scrutiny and judgment that no one should ever have to experience. The truth of his artistry and his character always rose above this. It always will. His place in our musical and cultural history, and in so many hearts, will always be secure.

One of the very special aspects of Elvis Presley’s character was his generosity of spirit. He expressed it with benefit concerts and charitable donations that were well known by the public. But most of what he did for others was done quietly, without publicity. My father never once forgot what it was like to want, to need, to do without. He spent most of his life bringing happiness to others, endlessly giving to those around him. It is one of the things that I admire most about him.

In his own tradition of giving, we have created the Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation to do good works for the community and to honor my father’s memory in ways that I know would make him very proud.”
–Lisa Marie Presley

Lisa Marie sums up her father better in three simple paragraphs than perhaps anyone ever has in the last 75 years.

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Thank you, Elvis. You’re still bringing us happiness.

Viva Elvis “Burning Love” video fails to ignite, while Elvis.com makes embarrassing mistake (Conductor’s Reflections #7)

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The official Elvis Presley Enterprises site reports that the folks behind Viva Elvis: The Album have released a new music video for “Burning Love.” Sadly, the Elvis.com news item states, “The video features archival footage of Elvis’ iconic Las Vegas performance.”

Uh, hello official Elvis site? Are you there? That footage is from Elvis’ iconic Aloha From Hawaii performances. You know, the ones that Elvis Presley Enterprises owns and occasionally promotes on DVD? The Aloha From Hawaii concerts took place, oddly enough, in Hawaii. White jumpsuit does not always equal Vegas. E! and other idiotic entertainment sites make this kind of mistake all of the time, but the official Elvis site should know better.

I loved the Viva Elvis album, including this track, so I figured I’d check this video out (“Burning Love” from Viva Elvis: The Album video — YouTube). First of all, it is miles ahead of the horrible video released last month for the otherwise incredible Viva Elvis version of “Suspicious Minds.” At least this “Burning Love” video doesn’t shy away from featuring footage of Elvis singing the song.

The first video, on the other hand, would have you believe that Elvis sang “Suspicious Minds” during the ELVIS (’68 Comeback) special. “Because, like, black leather is just so much cooler than a white jumpsuit,” was their way of thinking, I’m sure. That video mostly stars shadowy images of either 1968 Elvis or, it appears at times, an elvis impersonator dancing around on the screen. At least, that’s what I remember of it. I couldn’t bare to watch that thing twice.

By the way, they could have actually featured “archival footage of Elvis’ iconic Las Vegas performance” of this song. There was a fantastic 1970 version of “Suspicious Minds” filmed in Las Vegas for That’s The Way It Is. Granted, Elvis Presley Enterprises doesn’t own that movie footage (they only own Elvis’ three 1968-1977 television specials), but I’m sure they could have worked something out with Warner Home Video. They cross-promoted and worked together on Warner’s recent Elvis On Tour release, after all.

Though it may represent a switch in the targeted market for Viva Elvis: The Album from newcomers to established fans, I love the fact that this “Burning Love” video actually embraces the jumpsuited Elvis as he appeared in the Aloha concerts. Elvis did not die in 1968 (or, worse, 1958), despite what some would have you believe.

What doesn’t work for me at all, though, is the juxtaposition of Viva Elvis musicians thrown into the Aloha footage. Perhaps it is because I have watched the real Aloha so many times, but there is no illusion established that these people are all playing together on stage. It looks like you are watching two different concerts at once. Maybe that’s one of the problems some fans have with Viva Elvis: The Album. I guess the visual mash-ups bother me more for some reason than the audio ones.

The “Burning Love” video also suffers from a bit of the same problem as “Don’t Be Cruel” on the 2010 version of Elvis On Tour. About halfway through “Burning Love,” the video producers decide to cut to Elvis dramatically taking off his guitar (in reality, from the end of the song). This allows Elvis to move around freely, dance a bit, and interact with the audience. Suddenly, he is back with guitar at the end of the song – and then dramatically removes it again for the song finale. Ugh.

It makes Elvis look silly to apparently do this guitar removal bit twice in this “Burning Love” video – much like hearing Elvis apparently sing his funny “Please let’s forget the past, before I kick your —” line twice for “Don’t Be Cruel” did in the 2010 Elvis On Tour. That’s the problem with the realm of video and audio trickery. Some people do not know how to properly use the toys.

If they just had to show him with the guitar again, why not at least show him putting the guitar back on first? Then, just have him leave the guitar on when the song ended. The footage was there to do both, using elements from “See See Rider.”

The whole thing just seems sloppy, cheap, and rushed. At least it’s better than “Suspicious Minds,” though.