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alienelvisobsession · 2 months

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Elvis' perfectionism 📀

Author's note: Okay, I'm beyond excited with this post, so please take your time reading it. You won't regret a bit.

So, things just got more interesting for me.

If you read my content for a while now, you must be familiar with the fact that I'm a huge fan of "Elvis On Tour" documentary. There's this scene in the middle of the movie where they play instrumental of "Don't Be Cruel" while some 50s pictures of Elvis are "randomly" shown onscreen... well, not as random as one may think.

"Elvis On Tour" is mainly a live concert documentary but it tells Elvis' history as well. His history as a musician is delivered through his own accounts (Elvis talking about his music preferences, his love for gospel music, etc) and by family members' accounts too, such as an interview with Vernon Presley, his father, that is also featured on the film, when Mr. Presley talks about how Elvis' tours in the 50s were wild with all the fans going extremely hysterical over his son.

One of the pictures in particular, displayed during the "throwback scene" in the movie, is immensely significant to the story that documentary meant to tell the viewers. This one right here:

July 3, 1956: On The Train back to Memphis, Tennessee. Photograph by Alfred Wertheimer. Below, other pictures from the same moment. Note the little record player on Elvis' lap, it is important.

The day before those pictures on the train were taken, Elvis had cut some new songs, soon to be released, "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel" are among them, but also "Any Way You Want Me".

Elvis during Studio Sessions for RCA July 2, 1956, at RCA Studios in New York. Photograph by Alfred Wertheimer.

About that recording session, on the precise moment EP was recording "Hound Dog", below is an excerpt from "Elvis Presley: A Life in Music" by Ernst Jorgensen and Peter Guralnick:

This was the session where Elvis’s perfectionist streak first became apparent. From [Steve] Sholes’s point of view several of the earlier takes would have been just fine, and he tried to get the singer to listen to the playbacks, but it was obvious that the singer was marching to his own beat; he wouldn’t rest until he had recorded the song to his own — not anyone else’s — satisfaction. Finally, with thirty-one, Elvis declared himself satisfied, and the room breathed a sigh of relief.

Side note: Before recording the song on studio, Elvis performed "Hound Dog" on the Steve Allen Show, on July 1, 1956. They were all worried about how to turn the live performance into a record, and Elvis was the one who was intensely dedicated to make it work. That's why he took 31 takes to finish working on particular track. It really paid off in the end.

Back to the train pictures on July 3, 1956, the photographer, Alfred Wertheimer, shared his accounts on the moment. He said:

"Elvis in on the train. He had just recorded these three songs but two of them became his third and fourth gold records: "(You Ain't Nothing But A) Hound Dog" was the third and "Don't Be Cruel" was the forth. Here he's listening to it over and over again and over again on the way down to his home [Memphis, Tennessee], and he's listening it on this inexpensive little record player and here, I mean, while the other musicians are horsing around, while Colonel Parker is somewhere else, Elvis keeps listening and listening and listening. He's a serious guy! I asked him 'Why are you listening to it on this tiny little machine with a terrible speaker and you just heard it yesterday on a fourteen inch speaker in a studio, beautiful reproduction?' He says: 'Al...'

"'That's the way my fans listen to my music. That's the way I wanna hear it.'"

— Elvis Presley, July 1956, to Alfred Wertheimer on why listening to newly recorded songs on regular record player before them being released.

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ABOVE: "Elvis On Tour" (1972) snippet with "Throwback scene". Instrumental of "Don't Be Cruel" is playing on the background while pictures from Elvis' early tours are displayed onscreen. The first picture, that one from July 3, 1956, that Mr. Wertheimer shared his memories about.

The footage on that scene from the documentary is from September 9, 1956 on The Ed Sullivan Show. If you'd like to watch the full performance, here it is:

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Well, I don't know about you but I will never see the throwback scene the same way.

I mean, if I'm being honest here, I used to often skip that scene just because I've seen the pictures over and over again and the footage from Ed Sullivan Show as well, so when I watch the film I used to be much more interested on the 1972 live performances, the backstage scenes and so on, but now I know the story of that picture, the scene is a lot more meaningful. That 1972 documentary, friends, is not only about Elvis' performances or the lasting love and adoration from his fans. It has a lot more to do with who Elvis Presley was, specially how he felt about music, and how he gave all of him to please us. The film shows Elvis talking how, in the 70s, after many, many years of experience onstage Elvis still felt anxious before performing. And that picture from the 50s that is shown on the film tell us his dedication to his music was to the extent of listening his records on home record players just to make sure it sounded flawless as it could be... all for us. I fell in love with this documentary, with El, even more. ♥

#elvis presley #elvis #hound dog #elvis on tour #alfred wertheimer #rock and roll history

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alienelvisobsession · 2 months

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ECU Film Ranking Part 1

This will be a 3 part series where after 10 or so movies, I'll rank them in reverse order with 10 being the worst and 1 being the best. My ranks are based on how much I liked the movie, how much I liked Elvis' character, and how well made it was. Each entry will have an explanation so I hope my opinions make sense. If you have any disagreements feel free to share them. Enjoy!

Roustabout

The problem with this movie is simple: it completely misses the point of Charlie's character. When you think about what the movie wants us to believe, Charlie is supposed to be a grown man who's got a chip on his shoulder about being made an orphan and wants his respect. While the movie does show him as pushing back when he's being disrespected, Charlie isn't a jerk who needs to get rid of the chip on his shoulder. If anything Charlie is a saint for having to deal with people who actively hate him. In fact outside of bit characters and Mr. Carver, everyone else is infinitively times worse. How are we supposed to think Charlie needs to learn his lesson when the whole time we're on his side of most confrontations? Overall, it was a good story concept with terrible execution as it a completely wasted potential storylines and an amazing soundtrack.

(John Lennon wrote Revolution 9.)

Wild in the Country

On paper this should be an absolute banger of an Elvis movie: An angry young man who has no faith in himself until he meets someone who inspires him to be better. Too bad the movie felt like it had no idea on how to work with that concept. You get the feeling that each writer had a different story idea but was never able to execute it from start to finish. For instance, the ending was supposed to be tragic but instead became bittersweet in the most mild way possible. Given how this movie initially sets this serious tone where a character's bad actions will have consequences, the ending does a complete 180. Nothing of consequence happens and the movie suffers because of it. If the most intense part of the movie is done and over with in 5 minutes with no time to even digest what happened before we see Glenn go off to college you just sit there thinking "what was the point of that if nothing came out of it?" It's slightly better because at least the first third gave us some of Elvis' best character moments with Glenn giving an emotional monologue about his life.

Love Me Tender

Story wise it's a step up from the other two, but still suffers from executing a vision. The entire 3rd act destroyed whatever character arc Clint had going for him. I get the idea that Clint suddenly turning on Vance and Cathy just because practical strangers filled his head with ideas was something that was added at the last minute to make Elvis more relevant despite an originally smaller role. I can understand Clint being insecure about his manhood and doubting his wife's loyalty, but the execution of that was terrible. Just fix Clint's character arc in the 3rd act, and this movie would've been fine.

Paradise, Hawaiian Style

There's nothing wrong with Rick as a character. The problem's that he's boring. He doesn't have much of a character arc as it's not like him saving Danny showed a new side of him. His womanizing is his character flaw and the driving factor of his irresponsibility. Him rescuing Danny doesn't change that and it definitely doesn't give his romance with Friday any weight as I simply don't believe they have any chemistry. Then again, the only vision this movie had was to showcase actual Hawaii and the Polynesian people. For the 1960s they did that in a pretty respectful way. Drums of the Islands is a great finale song with beautiful visuals. It's a nice finale to conclude an otherwise boring movie. But what a finale it is.

Clambake

As much as I love Scott's character arc, the songs are a mixed bag and the production at times is bad. I also wasn't that enthused about Scott and Dianne's relationship as I thought Dianne was boring. The side characters are fine but again nothing to write home about. I do think that if this was given more time it would've been better, but as it stands it's not at all the worst story. The ballads keep the soundtrack from being completely terrible. It's in general a very mediocre movie with an amazing character arc.

(Joe DiMaggio wore the number 5.)

Production wise this is easily the worst one as some of the effects are so bottom of the barrel of what they wanted to achieve. The story had elements that would've been amazing but simply never expanded on them. However, JODIE IS PEAK. Way more interesting than Josh and easily could've been the main character. The revelation that he's not Pappy's son alone should've been talked about in the movie as opposed to being a throwaway line. His ballad for Midge easily the best song in the movie. Such a shame this movie was rushed out. I genuinely think if they had Elvis just be Jodie, it would've been an absolute banger. The side characters have more personality than Josh and it carries what would've otherwise been a boring movie.

Jailhouse Rock

This movie is ICONIC but character wise Vince falls a bit flat and I have mixed opinion his relationship with Peggy. Vince waffling between liking Peggy and being cold to her is strange. Especially since Peggy simply disappears for a long period of time. When they get together at the end it's like all of the justification for why things were forgiven happened off screen as opposed to naturally seeing it play out. If you simply boil it down to a cocky young man falling off his pedestal and opening up to people, then the movie works. It's very well made but there are still wrinkles that keep it from being in my top 3.

(2 and 3 are interchangeable. They're about even so the difference is simply what I like a little bit more today.)

GI Blues

Story wise I don't see anything that's really wrong with this movie. I think Tulsa is a good character. Any criticisms I have boils down to how I would've written the same story but in a different way. I guess the one criticism I do have is that we get the lie reveal plot element over in done with so little time, that there was no point of even including it. Overall, it's still a well made and enjoyable movie but it doesn't blow me away.

Girl Happy

This is low key one of the best stories in an Elvis movie. It does the lie reveal cliche right as it gives this plot element enough time to develop, climax and then resolve itself naturally. Nothing about this is forced therefore everyone involved feels like they're real people. The point of the conflict is that Rusty is supposed to watch Valerie without her knowing that he's been asked to watch her. If Valerie knew, then she wouldn't want to be around him and would only become more sneaky. The emotional conflict of her finding him and Deena together isn't anyone's fault as it wasn't like anyone wanted to act out of malice. Everyone reacted within reason and despite the miscommunication, this is a situation where telling the truth would've only complicated things. You feel bad for everyone involved and regardless of who you think is in the right, you can totally understand where the other side is coming from. The songs are still very much a mixed bag and that's why I can't put it as my number one, but as a love story it's very underrated.

(You know I had to do this lol.)

Loving You

What can I say it's Elvis' story if he had an actual happy ending. As much as I don't like how Glenda is as a character the ending makes you think she will change. Deke is such a lovable character and it only makes you wonder why he doesn't have a lot of friends. I was angry for Deke when he just forgave Glenda that quickly by coming back. I'm not sure if it's simply because that's who Deke is, or if it's on the writers for not showing us his thought process. It's similar to my criticisms for GI Blues segment. It's simply a matter of "good concept, I just would've executed it a little differently". The songs are all functional to amazing. The movie is very well made as it doesn't feel the need to blast you in the face with color. If anything Deke going from generic "farmer's clothes" to a vibrant white/red combo is so fitting. When Deke is on stage he really comes to life. Even in his regular clothes, it's like they added a brightness to them. Unintentional I'm sure but it's incredible how Deke's clothes reflect his rise from nothing. He goes from being lonely and having low self esteem to feeling joy knowing he isn't alone anymore. Such a shame it's lost in the shuffle of his other 50s movies. This one definitely stands out on its own.

AN: Thank you all for following along with my reviews. If I missed a tag I'm real sorry.

Tagging: @arrolyn1114, @thedaisymaisy, @that-hotdog, @peaceloveelvis, @imaginationlast, @fuzzymusic94, @helen06dreamer, @sfull12345, @briefpandatimemachine, @alittlemoreelvis, @lynettethemadscientist, @motht-eeth, @ash-omalley, @spooky-hazex, @teamnefarious, @blighted-star, @ab4eva, @oh-my-front-door, @father-of-2cats, @atleastpleasetelephone, @xanatenshi, @crazymadpassionatelove, @burnthheparaphilia, @aliengoth3, @smokeymountainboy, @stormie-ryan23

@yksuwyksud, @tacozebra051, @alienelvisobsession, @vintageoldsoul, @ohmygiddd, @lovininapinkcadillac, @stephthestallion, @mistyspresley, @bisexualwvtson, @ahundredlifetime, @karel-in-wonderland, @elvispresleywife, @georgefairbrother, @moonchild-daniella, @musiclover712, @worldofyns, @sillybookmarks, @g00d2balive, @leighpc, @generoustreemystic, @peskybedtime, @thetaoofzoe, @renegadewarrior, @vintagepresley, @tupelomiss, @myradiaz, @pinkcaddyconfessions, @kiankiwi, @presley72elvis, @delulubutidontcare, @januarypresley1969, @livelaughelvis, @hooked-on-elvis, @slayingjd, @ilivebecauseiamforced, @dusintv, @cattcb, @eapep, @jaqueline19997, @richardslady121, @iloveelvis2, @lett-them-eatt-cake, @if-i-can-dream-of-elvis, and @lookingforrainbows.

#Elvis films #elvis #elvis presely

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alienelvisobsession · 2 months

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Elvis defending co-star

— Behind the scenes: "Kissin' Cousins" (released in 1964)

PICTURE: Elvis and Cynthia Pepper in "Kissin' Cousins" (1964)

Producer of "Kissin' Cousins" (1964) and "Harum Scarum" (1965), Sam Katzman was a well-known "quickie" film producer and director, and apparently he was not a particular easy person to deal with.

NOTE: Beforehand, I'd like to say that with this post I do not intend attesting anything on Sam Katzman personality neither on his relationship with the full crew during Elvis' movie productions he was the producer, let alone during Mr. Katzman's career in Hollywood as a whole. This post is about the one incident in which Elvis was a nice guy to one of his female co-stars, using his influence and position to help them when needed. Whether the kind of behavior as told further on this post was typical for Mr. Katzman or not, or if he and Elvis got along well or not, I am not able to have a say on the matter for it is not of my knowledge in depth. Without further ado, let's read what happened in 1963 during the film production:

Cynthia Pepper, Elvis' co-star in "Kissin' Cousins", released her memoir book, "Pigtails, Presley & Pepper", in 2014. A significant part of the book is devoted to Elvis and the film production, which took place from October 13 to November 14, 1963. She mentions Sam Katzman as a joker who no one really took seriously.

Regarding one incident during "Kissin' Cousins" production time, Ms. Pepper told the following:

Mr. Katzman did one particular thing to me that I didn't find amusing at all. One morning on the set in front of everyone he said to me, in a loud enough voice for all to hear: "Cynthia, why didn't you wake me up when the alarm went off this morning?" ... They (the crew) knew that he was a kidder and didn't take Mr. Katzman seriously but he was the guy paying the bills, so they laughed. Elvis, bless his heart, quickly took Mr. Katzman aside and quietly told him: "Knock it off. You're embarrassing her." Needless to say, the incident never happened again.

Source: elvisinfonet.com

Elvis and Cynthia Pepper in "Kissin' Cousins" (1964)

#elvis #elvis movie #elvis presley

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alienelvisobsession · 2 months

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I have one more pic of this adorable sweetcheeks tummy boy, but it’s watermarked…

A little bit of pudgy belly appreciation, after watching Paradise, Hawaiian Style last night.

#i could just eat him up #he's so cute here #and gorgeous #to be fair the last one is more hand appreciation #he should have been topless in this film more #ugh

#elvis presley #elvis

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alienelvisobsession · 2 months

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My crush….

A little bit of pudgy belly appreciation, after watching Paradise, Hawaiian Style last night.

#i could just eat him up #he's so cute here #and gorgeous #to be fair the last one is more hand appreciation #he should have been topless in this film more #ugh

#elvis #elvis presley

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alienelvisobsession · 2 months

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Imo Daddy was banging a lady and he put that cushion there to muffle the sound, as @joons already said in the comments! 🤪 Btw, Elvis performed at the Nassau Coliseum in 73, 75 and 77. Choose your date. Oh and the watermark is from a famous pap who famously got hit by MarlonBrando once lmao…

😳

#elvis #elvis presley #lolololol

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alienelvisobsession · 2 months

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MOTIVATION for today :)

#elvis #elvis presley #elvis memes #aloha from hawaii #meme

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alienelvisobsession · 2 months

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[BEHIND THE RECORD - Elvis onstage from 1969 to 1977] "I Can't Stop Loving You"

Written and composed by country singer Don Gibson, who first recorded it in 1957, RCA Victor released "I Can't Stop Loving You" in 1958, and it became a country hit single. The song was covered by many artists over the years, most notable one being Ray Charles, in 1962, due to how he turned the tune into a No. 1 single on the Billboard chart.

Elvis Presley performed the song in many iconic concerts of his career - from 1969 into the 70s.

The first time Elvis Presley was recorded singing "I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU" was during one of the American Sound Studio sessions, on February 1969. It wasn't an official recording tho. A jam version of the tune was recorded while EP was warming up with his musicians so they could cut the songs that would be released in his LPs for the times following — "From Elvis In Memphis" being the album this recording session was intending to create at first.

Not long after this recording session, "I Can't Stop Loving You" was worked up as a number to Elvis' concerts. Rearranged, the song gained a more dramatic tone than we can listen to from how it originally sounded in Elvis' voice at the recording taped at the American Sound Studio previously, so from this moment on Elvis would perform the tune in quite a few iconic concerts of the latter era of his career, the very start being during his comeback to live performances on July/August 1969, onstage at the International Hotel's showroom in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Soundboard audios with "I Can't Stop Loving You" recorded during his concerts, including in 1969, were released on some his live albums throughout the years, such as "FROM MEMPHIS TO VEGAS (IN PERSON)" [recorded in 1969], "ELVIS AS RECORDED AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN" (recorded in 1972) and "ELVIS: RECORDED LIVE ON STAGE IN MEMPHIS" (recorded in 1974).

Live performances of Elvis singing the song were also officially taped, and they are very known to the fans for obvious reasons because they are part of some of the most notable moments of Elvis' history as a performer.

First official taping of EP performing "I Can't Stop Loving You" live took place during one of his engagement seasons at the International Hotel on August, 1970, as released on "Elvis: That's The Way It Is" documentary, then again on April 1972, filmed for "Elvis On Tour" documentary, and not long after that another performance of this tune was filmed during the "Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite" concert, on January 1973.

BUT, BEFORE WE CAN GO TO THOSE FOOTAGES, HAVE YOU LISTENED TO THE JAM VERSION RECORDED IN STUDIO IN 1969?

— NOTE FROM AUTHOR I love sharing Elvis' performances of the same song over the years, but what I would really love you to listen to now is the 1969 jam version of the song we're talking about, for it sounds so different from the live performances the fans are already very familiar with. I didn't knew about this recording until a few days ago and I loved it so much that this track is the reason why I needed to talk about this song. You will read about the moment EP was recording this song soon after.

Elvis Presley in the waiting room of the American Sound Studio, early 1969.

▼ FEBRUARY, 1969: "I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU", RECORDED AT THE AMERICAN SOUND STUDIO, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.

Song starts at 0:35

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Album: American Sound 1969 (2019)

It was an American Studio tradition: paying tribute to the chief with a rendition of “This Time,” a Chips Moman-penned hit for Troy Shondell in 1961. Elvis had heard about the rite, and he serenaded his producer at the start of the February session with the few lines that he knew, segueing into Don Gibson’s “It’s My Way,” a song he had asked Freddy to check out the year before. Plunking along on his acoustic guitar, laughing at his own mistakes but singing his heart out, he drew the band into another Don Gibson number, “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” which he would transform into a dramatic show-stopper six month later in Las Vegas. Excerpt from "Elvis Presley: A Life In Music" by Ernst Jorgensen and Peter Guralnick.

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— NOTE FROM AUTHOR COOL, ISN'T IT? 😍 Have you heard the 1969 jam session version before? Don't know about you but I just can't stop loving it. So, now let's hear how that baby sound onstage.

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[FOOTAGE]

LIVE PERFORMANCES OVER THE YEARS

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REHEARSAL ▼

July, 1970.

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LIVE ONSTAGE ▼

"Elvis: That's The Way It Is" (August 1970) "Elvis On Tour" (April 1972)

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"Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite" (January 14, 1973)

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RECORDED LIVE ▼

Live at Convention Center Arena, San Antonio, TX (April 18, 1972)

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Live at Madison Square Garden (June 10, 1972)

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High Sierra Theatre at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, Nevada (May 13, 1973)

Live at Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, TN - March 1974

Song starts at 0:38:

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I can never get enough of how Elvis' history is so amazing. ♥

What are your thoughts about the jam version of "I Can't Stop Loving You" by EP? I'd love to hear from you.

By the way, do you like this track-to-track-history posts? I've written some so far but I have some others I'd like to share too. If you have any requests, any Elvis Presley songs you'd like to know more about the recording sessions or comparisons of the times a same tune was performed live by Elvis over the years, feel free to hit me with it. I sure will have great fun researching it for you.

#elvis presley #elvis #elvis history

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alienelvisobsession · 3 months

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look at him

#elvis in a box

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alienelvisobsession · 3 months

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"When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again"

— ELVIS' VOICE, BEFORE AND AFTER: Elvis singing the same tune, first at the verge of turning 22 years old and then at his 33 years old.

Again, one of my favorite Elvis songs. Whenever I listen to Elvis singing this on the '68 comeback special I feel like it's such a blessing. Really! Watching your fav artist performing the songs you love the most is always delightful, and testifying the way he's creating something new, overcoming himself, it's just the most!

Some people will say Elvis' aging voice didn't fit the tunes he recorded in the fifties, but for me his performances of the same song over the years shouldn't be compared in a "this is better/no it isn't" kind of way, because they are not the same indeed.

Elvis surely sounded quite different performing "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again" in 1968, and the variation on the sound is not only due to his voice itself. The 50s recording of that song it's a typical 50s tune with the characteristic "doo-wop" background singing (by The Jordanaires), while the late 60s performance is an acoustic version, a jam session, with the only background singer being Charlie Hodge and no "doo-wop" at all is added to it. It's sounds different, but in good way. Elvis' hoarse, full-bodied voice is just magnificent sounding. Maybe, just maybe Elvis' voice was indeed so strong by 1968 that it would be more of a fit to a more sensual song among his 50s recordings, such as "Paralyzed" or "Anyplace In Paradise" - both from the same album where "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again" comes from (Elvis' 2nd studio LP) - but I appreciate very much the way the song sounds in his matured voice anyway.

I like sharing those before and after performances of the same tune just out of fun, because I appreciate all of them and I think Elvis added to the tune when he sounded different performing the same song quite a few years after when the tune was first recorded by him. You can pick your favorite, sure, but speaking bad about one of the performances is not fair since they are so nonequivalent. I prefer Elvis' mature voice, always, but I do love both performances.

“When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again" (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show), January 6, 1957:

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“When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again" (Live on the NBC "Singer Presents Elvis" TV Special — "'68 Comeback Special" — taped on June 27, 1968.

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#elvis #elvis presley #elvis history

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