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img src=http://thenoveltyshop.net/sitebuilder/images/family13-19 6x135.jpg Graceland Mansion was home to rock 'n roll idol Elvis Presley. Today it is a National Historic Landmark and the most popular tourist attraction in Memphis, Tennessee.Graceland perches on a hilltop in Whitehaven, a suburb 8 miles from downtown Memphis, Tennessee. During the Civil War, the land was part of a 500-acre farm. The house is a Colonial Revival built in 1939 by Dr. Thomas and Ruth Moore who named it "Graceland" in honor of a family member. The house was used by the Christian Church during the 1950s, and in 1957 Elvis Presley purchased it from the YMCA for just under $102,500. Features of Graceland Mansion: Two-stories Entrance portico with Corinthian columns Tishomingo, a tan-colored Tennessee limestone From 5 to 8 bedrooms As many as 8 bathrooms Elvis Presley's Home Remodeling Soon after purchasing Graceland, Elvis Presley began remodeling and redecorating. He added a racquetball court, a pink Alabama fieldstone wall, and wrought iron gates shaped like giant guitars. The house grew from 10,266 square feet to 17,552 square feet as Elvis Presley added more and more rooms. Graceland also grew more colorful during Elvis Presley's ownership. Presley had the limestone exterior painted blue and gold, and he changed the interior color schemes many times. At the time of Presley's death in 1977, the dominant color was red: red walls, red draperies, red carpets.Graceland Mansion is often mocked for its flashy and often tacky interior decor. But, because of Elvis Presley's importance as a popular American musician, the house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006.Graceland Mansion was turned into a museum after Elvis Presley's death, and today it is the second-most visited home in America behind the White House. Recently the entertainment company CKX paid $114 million to purchase the estate and a large chunk of Elvis Presley Enterprises. Chairman Robert F.X. Sillerman tells reporters that he will overhaul the tourist complex and build a convention hotel, a high-tech museum, and a visitor center as large as a football field. .. .. Family History My Father's AncestorsMy Father's Ancestors: Map and Photo Elvis One of the reasons that I'm taking this trip is to research my family's history. This map shows how my father's ancestors moved across America, including:In RED LINES, his father's ancestors (Leus) who came to Ohio from Switzerland. In BLUE LINES, his mother's ancestors (Planes) who came mainly to Massachusetts and New York from England and, possibly, Holland.My Father's Ancestral Map (Click to enlarge)Photo Essay: My Father's AncestorsAbove left: The marina at Ipswich, Massachusetts, where my ancestors, the Bradstreets and Chaplins, landed from England in the 1630's and 1640's.Above center: My great-great-grandfather Ransom Myers (1842-1897) who, I believe, was of Dutch descent. He fought in the Civil War (see Ransom Myers) and married Hannah Chaplin. Their youngest daughter was Minnie May Myers, my great-grandmother.Above right: At Ransom and Hannah's graves near Mayville, Michigan. The graves of Ransom's parents, Solomon and Charlotte Myers, are nearby.Above left: Minnie May Myers (left) eloped at 16, much to her father Ransom's displeasure. However, Minnie's husband, Everette Plane, died of tuberculosis when she was 28. Heart-broken, Minnie May and her daughter, Minnie May Plane (right), who was eight years old, left Michigan and went to Seattle in 1900. This photo was taken around 1945.Above center: Minnie May Plane married George Leu in Seattle in 1912 and they raised six kids. This is their family around 1929. Those are my grandparents, Minnie May Jr. and George in the back, with Minnie's Aunt Ida on the right. My Dad is the one getting his head rubbed (front left).Above right: The Leus around 1932 at the Seattle Airport. The Morrell Company offered a ride on the company plane to George, a prominent grocer in Seattle, and his family. This was the Leu's first plane ride and everyone went except for George, who was afraid of flying. My Dad, again, is front left wearing a spiffy suit, standing next to his brother Bill.Above left: My grandparents, Minnie and George, standing on either side of their son, my Uncle Bill, who was on the tanker U.S.S. Neosho at Pearl Harbor during the bombing. A few months later, the Neosho was attacked in the Coral Sea by a Japanese dive-bomber and Bill floated on the listing ship for four days before being rescued by a U.S. destroyer (read the whole story on my U.S.S. Neosho Home Page). After the war, he became an engineer for the Great Northern Railroad.Above center: My grandparents at Leu's Market in Skykomish, Washington, around 1950. George moved his family here during the Depression after his store in Seattle failed because of the credit he'd extended to his customers. The family was desperately poor during the Depression but, because of George and Minnie's hard work, they scraped through it.Above right: Three generations at Leu's Market. That's my Dad and Mom with their first child, Doti (my sister). This was taken just before my Dad, who was a Navy Seal, went to China during World War II.Above left: This is the last photo taken of my grandfather, George Leu, sitting in a Rest Home near Seattle in 1965, three months before he died at age 78. His wife, Minnie, had died eight years earlier. This visit, when I was 5 years old, is the only memory that I have of him. Our family, living in Michigan, visited him each summer and my Dad told me that George often cried when we said goodbye.Above right: My grandparent's grave in Monroe, Washington. Minnie May died in 1957, a few years before I was born, so I don't remember her but people tell me she was a vivacious and wonderful person who loved to travel. George was quieter, a hard worker, an avid reader, and he loved kids and baseball. Elvis Presley Memphis, Tenn., Aug. 16 -- REMOVING PRESLEY'S BODY -- A Memphis Funeral Home hearse removes Elvis Presley's body from the Baptist Hospital Tuesday night. The 42-year-old entertainer died earlier Tuesday of a heart attack after being found unconscious at his mansion, "Graceland." Medical authorities said there was no sign that any drug abuse contributed to the singer's death, although he was taking medication for high blood pressure and colon problems. (AP WIREPHOTO) Remembering Elvis On August 16,1977, Elvis Presley died at his Graceland mansion. His countless fans continue to keep his memory alive. He may be gone, but he isnt forgotten. Roses for Elvis Elvis in the late 70s Fans lined up outside Graceland after Elvis death. Officer salutes Elvis as the hearse leaves Graceland. Fans salute Elvis in 1977 Elvis funeral procession Elvis burial. Up close view of Elvis burial The Presley family grave marker Close up of Elvis grave Fans visiting Elvis grave at Graceland Elvis fans taking part in the annual Candlelight Vigil Even after all these years, we still miss you Elvis. Youre always in our hearts. Good-bye, Elvis. A single rose for Elvis Graceland: Home To The King of Rock and Roll Elvis bought Graceland in 1957. Graceland was named after the niece of the original owner, S.E. Toof. Graceland was Elvis refuge from the pressures of performing and the crush of the media. Elvis is buried in the Meditation Garden behind the mansion.Today, Graceland is a major tourist attraction for the Memphis area. Fans from all over the world come to visit it each year. The mansion is also on the National Registry of Historical Places. Also, each year on the anniversary of Elvis death, fans attend the annual candle light vigil. The historical marker in front of Graceland wall Love notes for Elvis on the wall surrounding Graceland Elvis in front of Graceland gates circa 1957 Register of Historical Places sign. Graceland: Home of Elvis Presley. Gracelands front entrance Graceland decked out for Christmas. Fans touring Graceland. Close up of the back of Graceland Side view of the back of Graceland. Vernons office. Gracelands swimming pool. Elvis grave at Graceland. Inside Elvis Castle The entire first floor and basement of Graceland is open to the public for tours. Upon entering the front door, you are essentially taken back to the time when Elvis lived there. From the living room to the Jungle Room, Graceland provides a unique look inside Elvis world.Remember, Elvis always delighted in showing off his home; so, enjoy taking a peek inside his beloved mansion. The Music Room at Graceland. Painting of Elvis on wall of Gracelands living room The living room at Graceland. The dining room at Graceland. The kitchen at Graceland Elvis parents bedroom on the first floor of Graceland. Elvis feather bed. The Pool Room at Graceland. The Jungle Room at Graceland. The TV Room at Graceland. Graceland Wall of Gold Graceland soda fountain. ~~~~~
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~~~~~~~ If Elvis were still alive, he would have turned 71 today. The photo above is a computer simulation of how an older Elvis would appear. Maybe that is why it's a good thing rock stars aspire to "live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse." Who can imagine a 62-year-old Jim Morrison or 63-year-old Jimi Hendrix getting senior discounts at the multiplex?.. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Copied from MySpace.com -- Find me on MySpace and be my friend! 1933 Vernon and Gladys Presley early in their marriage http://www.randomhouse.com/BB/promos/elvisdaybyday/art/1937. jpg1937 Elvis, Gladys, and Vernon http://www.randomhouse.com/BB/promos/elvisdaybyday/art/1939. jpg1939 1941 Elvis, Vernon, and Gladys 1947-48 Seventh grade, Milam Junior High 1953-54 Note that the barely grown-in sideburns have been darkened on this print, which was used as one of Elvis' earliest publicity shots. Scotty Moore believes it was taken when Elvis was in high school or shortly after 1955 Fort Homer Hesterly Armory, Tampa, Florida with his new Martin D-28 1956 At June Juanico's house, Biloxi, Mississippi 1959 With Priscilla, Germany, Winter 1960 Filming Flaming Star, August 1967 Wedding press conference 1968 Stand-up show, 1968 special 1970 Family portrait, December 10 1972 Jacksonville, Florida, afternoon show, April 16 (a virtually identical image was originally to be used as the cover for the never-released Standing Room Only but found a place as the cover for the Madison Sqare Garden album instead) 1973 Aloha show 1. Elvis Presley Childhood & Family background page of Elvis Presley biography site This page is dedicated to providing the site visitor with quality Elvis Presley biography childhood information, Elvis Presley childhood pictures and articles for your entertainment. The contents of this Elvis Presley biography childhood site is written by a fan for his fans.The Childhood of Elvis-The humble beginnings of a Country Boy…. Into Elvis Presley – “The King.”By the time the Depression of the 1930’s dumped an extra load on their backs many people had found that their only real defence in life was a fierce independence and strong family ties that would allow them their only resource and joy. It was in that setting that Vernon Elvis Presley and Gladys Love Smith fell in love."We should have been in school but we eloped," Gladys recalls."We didn’t elope very far. We just went down the road five miles to Vernon and got married.”Elvis inherited his mother’s coloring.Her once blonde hair (later dyed black for effect) and her velvety blue eyes could both snap and smoulder.Both parents had an unpretentious deep natural dignity. They spoke frankly about their lack of formal education but their lively native intelligence made them intriguing conversationalists.1935 the 8th of January, Elvis Aron Presley was born in Tupelo, MississippiNote: The Presley family, including Elvis, spelled his middle name "Aron" throughout his life, although Elvis is said to have considered changing it to "Aaron". His birth certificate and tombstone both read "Aaron".His twin brother Jesse Garon Presley was stillborn. Jesse was buried the following day in Priceville Cemetery in an unmarked grave.Vernon hoed cotton, corn and peas and Gladys worked as a sewing machine operator for Tupelo Garment Company.The couple lived with their in-laws at first, while Vernon drove trucks, sorted lumber and also continued to work crops. Gladys had to quit her job when she became pregnant with Elvis.With Gladys out of work money became scarcer than ever for the young couple.Fortunately a dairy farmer named Orville Bean had loaned Vernon enough money to build a small “shot gun” style home in East Tupelo. The house was completed in time, before Gladys was ready to give birth.The house, raised on stilts to protect it from overflowing Creeks, was a small two roomed shack whose design was called “shot gun” because it was small enough that if the front and back doors were open you could blast a shot gun clear through without hitting anything.Vernon Elvis Presley: "I thank God, He gave us you as our son."Vester Presley: "I'm mighty proud of ma nephew El' the best any man could've had..."During the first year of Elvis’s life a ruthless tornado hit Elvis’s home town of Tupelo and was described as being one of the worst in history, taking many lives and sweeping whole houses into it’s black vortex of destruction.Gladys and Elvis would reminisce about that tornado and both be considering themselves so lucky to have escaped with their lives.Elvis would also remember his twin brother, Jesse Garon. Elvis would alter ponder a sense of incompleteness at having lost a part of himself he could never know.From Elvis’s first moment on earth, until his Mother’s death some twenty three years later, Gladys never stopped worrying about her son’s every waking moment, and when she discovered her boy was a somnambulist (sleepwalker), she then also worried about his sleeping moments. Her love for her son was a fawning, all consuming emotion that never stopped growing.At age three, Vernon was sent to prison for forgery. It seems that Vernon, Travis Smith, and Luther Gable changed the amount of a check from Orville Bean, Vernon's boss, from $3 to $8 and cashed it at a local bank. Vernon pled guilty and was sentenced to three years at Parchment Farms Penitentiary.Vernon's boss, Mr. Bass calls in a note that Vernon signed to borrow money to build the house. Gladys is forced to move in with Vernon's parents. Vernon would only serve eight months. Afterward Vernon's employment was spotty and the family lived just above the poverty line.“Don’t criticize what you don’t understand, son. You never walked in that man’s shoes.” -Elvis often used this adaptation of a well-known quotation.The Presley’s attended the First Assembly of God Church whose Pentecostal services always included singing.When Elvis turned five and started school, Gladys would walk him there every day and never stopped until he entered high school.Gladys also insisted for him to take his own cutlery to school so as he couldn’t get germs from other students.“When I was a child, ladies and gentlemen, I was a dreamer. I read comic books, and I was the hero of the comic book. I saw movies, and I was the hero in the movie. So every dream I ever dreamed has come true a hundred times... I learned very early in life that: ‘Without a song, the day would never end; without a song, a man ain’t got a friend; without a song, the road would never bend - without a song.' So I keep singing a song. Goodnight. Thank you.” Stefano Gabbana, left, Lisa Marie Presley, second from left, her daughter model Riley Keough, Priscilla Presley, second from right, and Domenico Dolce, right, pose at a party that followed the presentation of the Dolce & Gabbana spring-summer 2005 fashion collection, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Oct. 1, 2004. Elvis Presley took Milan Fashion Week by storm on Tuesday, when Dolce And Gabbana used their latest collection to pay tribute to the iconic singer. A succession of models sashayed down the runway in outfits inspired by the crooner's early career, while a medley of his greatest hits played in the background. The 1961 flick Blue Hawaii made a comeback, with tiny hula-skirts and bright tropical prints much in evidence. A backdrop of palm trees, sand and exotic flowers meanwhile helped to complete the beach effect. For the evening, the Italian duo offered some daring micro-dresses with side-slits so high that matching underwear would be a must. Indeed the flamboyant designers also included some bright pink briefs with diamante studs to complete the look. And the King's personal style was likewise represented with rockabilly suits complemented by white shoes and socks. A youthful Elvis also looked out from a series of t-shirts that were produced with the Presley family's permission Three generations of Presley women: Elvis' granddaugher Riley, his daughter Lisa Marie and ex-wife Priscilla. (Vogue) Elvis' granddaughter, in fashion By Caesar G. Soriano, USA TODAY In her first interview, Elvis Presley's 15-year-old granddaughter, model Danielle Riley Keough, says she has never given much thought to being the heir to the King of Rock 'n' Roll."I didn't really care until I read something that said, 'I guess Elvis Presley's granddaughter won't be eating too many peanut butter and banana sandwiches.' Why do they have to start picking on me already?" Riley, who goes by her middle name, asks in the August issue of Vogue.The cover story and Annie Leibovitz pictorial feature three generations of Elvis' women: ex-wife Priscilla Presley, 59; their only child, Lisa Marie Presley, 36; and Lisa Marie's daughter Riley, whose father is musician Danny Keough.Riley says she caught the fashion bug at age 6 when she saw her mom on the cover of Vogue wearing a Versace dress. "I remember caring what I was going to wear even when I was little."Riley made her modeling debut in February on the Dolce & Gabbana runway in Italy. She says she was so nervous she "couldn't stop shaking."Priscilla says Riley has been a good influence on Lisa Marie, who has been married and divorced three times (Keough, Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage)."We're both here to take care of Lisa. It's really Lisa who's the kid," Priscilla says.Lisa Marie says of Riley: "She's not a bimbo. Nor will she ever be." (June 7, 2004. Thanks to elvis4life)"Soundstage" Lisa Marie Presley & Peter Wolf This episode features the eclectic, dynamic and wonderful Peter Wolf who is best known for his years fronting the J. Geils Band. Wolf's delivery is high velocity all the way with songs including: "Growin' Pain," "Long Way Back Again," "Nothing But The Wheel," "Long Line," "Homework," "Believe in Me," "Sleepless," "Cry One More Time," "All Torn Up" and "Waiting on The Moon." Wolf recently scored a record within Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" with his solo release, "Sleepless." Throughout the evening, his soundscape washes through the audience and locks them into a syncopated, pulsating rhythm. His effervescent energy parallels performers half his age. His soulful vocals and rollicking persona culminate in a performance not to be missed.Singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley introduces audiences to her debut album To Whom It May Concern in an introspective, candid and compelling Soundstage performance. A true highlight of the evening occurs when Lisa Marie is joined on stage by singer/songwriter Shelby Lynne for a stimulating duet of the Beatles "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Other songs "Better Beware," "SOB," "Nobody Noticed It," "Sinking In," "To Whom It May Concern" and "Indifferent" reveal the very modest, human side of Presley and hint at the weight she has carried as heiress to the family legacy. Elvis' daughter does reveal some resemblances. She seems to simply turn her head a certain way, or move her hips at precisely the right moment and the audience is stunned to a hush. But it's the music that they came to hear - confessional, aching and dark - which carries Presley's sometimes shy, but more often seductive performanceThe Sixth Annual Rick Weiss Humanitarian Awards Gala May 1, 2004 The Westin Mission Hills Resort, Rancho Mirage, CA Priscilla Presley, Tom Rollerson and Lisa Marie Presley Michael Lockwood and Lisa Marie Presley ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------(May 27, 2004)Nicolas Cage, Lisa Marie Presley Get LA Divorce LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage and Lisa Marie Presley have completed their divorce, ending lengthy legal proceedings which outlasted the actual marriage.A spokeswoman for Cage confirmed on Tuesday the divorce had become official. A spokeswoman for Presley could not be reached.Cage filed for divorce in November 2002 from his second wife, the only child of Elvis Presley, whom he had married just three months prior.According to an "Extra" report, citing court papers filed on Monday, the two "amicably resolved" their brief marriage, with neither receiving any kind of spousal support and each maintaining all assets acquired prior to their marriage.It was a third marriage for Presley, who was married to Michael Jackson for less than two years and who previously had two children with musician Danny Keogh.Cage was also previously married to actress Patricia Arquette and has currently been linked with 19-year-old former waitress Alice Kim ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------GRAMMY Signature Schools Receive Star-Studded Guests of Honor SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2004-- The GRAMMY(R) Foundation today announced it will have top recording artist participation at the grant ceremonies of many of the GRAMMY Signature Schools -- the National School, the Gold Schools, and the Enterprise School. Brian McKnight, EdwinMcCain, Ray Benson, Lisa Marie Presley, Billy Corgan, and members of the Winans family each have committed to make an appearance at one of the seven events to be held over the next several weeks.Forty-one schools nationwide have been designated GRAMMY Signature Schools for 2004 by the GRAMMY Foundation whose program, presented by 7 UP, recognizes the top public high schools across the U.S. that have made an outstanding commitment to music education during the 2003 - 2004 school year."Honoring these Signature Schools and funding them with the generous donations from 7 UP is positively impacting music programs -- but bringing superstars of the music community to their campuses to interact with the children who are the future of music is an engaging way to inspire them even further," said GRAMMY Foundation and Recording Academy(R) President Neil Portnow.Following are the remaining 2004 GRAMMY Signature School presentations with respective artist participation:Date, School Name and Location, Artist, GRAMMY Signature School Status May 13, Davidson Fine Arts, Augusta, Ga., Edwin McCain, National May 18, Klein High School, Klein, Texas, Ray Benson, Gold May 18, Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor, Mich., Carvin, Carvinand and Juan Winans, Gold May 21, Oxnard High School, Oxnard, Calif., Brian McKnight, Enterprise May 25, Neuqua Valley High School, Naperville, Ill., Billy Corgan, Gold May 26, City High School, Iowa City, Iowa, TBD, Gold June 6, Polytechnic High School, Long Beach, Calif., Lisa Marie Presley, GoldOf the 41 GRAMMY Signature Schools, the top seven have been designated Gold recipients with the best being named the National GRAMMY Signature School. Each will receive a custom award and a monetary grant to benefit its music program. The National GRAMMY Signature School will receive $25,000 and the six remaining Gold schools each will receive $5,000. New for this year, an Enterprise Award category has been added to recognize efforts made by schools that are economically underserved. The GRAMMY Signature Schools Enterprise Award recipient will receive a grant of $50,000 and a custom award. The remaining 33 GRAMMY Signature Schools recipients each will receive a grant award of $1,000 to benefit their music programs and a certificate of recognition(Apr.19, 2004)Indie 103.1, 103rd Day Party at Avalon, CA. on Apr.13 http://lisamarie.at.infoseek.co.jp/lisa2/20040413-Indie103-A valon-07.jpg ------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------- http://LisaMarie.at.infoseek.co.jp Go to Previous Lisa Marie News: 2004 (Jan.-Mar.) 2003 (Jan., Feb.1-20, Feb.21-Mar.15, Mar.16-31, Apr.1-10, Apr.11-20, Apr.21-30, May 1-10, May 11-31, June, July, Aug.-Sep., Oct.-Dec.) Dish Magazine, Diane Sawyer Interview, Larry King Live, MSN Chat, "Rolling Stone" 2002 (Jan.-June, July-Dec.) 2001 (Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, July 1-20, 21-31, Aug., Sep., Oct., Nov.-Dec.) 2000 (Jan., Feb., Mar-Apr., May, June, July-Aug., Sep-Oct., Nov., Dec.) 1999 (Jan.-June, July-Sep., Oct.-Dec.) 1998 (Jan.-June, July-Dec. ) 1997 "VOGUE" (Apr.'96), "Ladies Home Journal" (Aug.'96) Graceland began as the 500-acre Memphis farm of S.E. Toof, a pressman for The Memphis Daily Appeal during the era of the Civil War. Toof’s daughter Grace, inherited the property, and other members of the family named it Graceland. Grace Toof’s niece, Ruth Moore, eventually inherited the land and, in 1939, her husband built the home that’s now known as Graceland Mansion. Because Ruth and her husband, Dr. Thomas D. Moore, wanted to encourage their daughter to mature as a musician, the rooms of the mansion were designed with superior acoustics.The daughter, Rith Marie, who began practicing at the age of four, did not disappoint them. She became the principal harpist for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.When Elvis bought Graceland, he installed two swimming pools and stables. The property was already abundant in trees and foliage, but were added to insure further privacy. Music Gates When 21-year-old Elvis Presley purchased Graceland in 1957, the music gates were not a part of the property. Designed for Elvis by Abe Saucer and custum-built by John Dillars, Jr., of Memphis Doors, Inc., they were added later that year. Today, many visitors pass through the gates on their way up the main drive or they gaze between the bars to catch a glimpse of the mansion without realizing that thet are a significant, even symbolic, part of Elvis lore. While Elvis was alive, fans often gathered at the gates, hoping to see him as he drove through. To this day, countless snapshots circulate among fans that Elvis driving through the gates-sometimes smiling, sometimes waving. At times, Elvis rode one of his horses or his golf cart down to the gates to greet the fans personally and sign autographs. These visits to the gates became a way for Elvis to meet fans in a controlled situation.Fans also enjoyed chatting with the guards stationed in the small guardhouse just inside the gates. Elvis’ family members were often employed as guards, including his uncle Vester Presley, who worked as head guard for over 20 years, beginning in 1957. Sometimes Vester entertained the fans tourists with stories of his famous nephew, or he obligingly posed with them for a photo or two.Meeting at the gates became a bonding experience for many fans, who struck up acquaintanceships and even close friendships over the years. The gates continue to serve this role each year during Tribute Week, when fans from all over the world gather in Memphis to commemorate Elvis’ death. TCB Logo A huge white lightning bold outlined in yellow blazes across the wall of the TV Room on the lower floor of Graceland. The lightning bolt represents a part of Elvis’ trademark and motto – “Takin’ Care Of Business in a Flash.” Most often, the motto “Takin’ Care of Business” is represented by the initials TCB pierced by a lightning bolt. This is the version rendered on the tail of the Lisa Marie jetplane, on his tonbstone, and on the necklages given to Elvis’ closest cohorts. The famous ring worn by Elvis features the letters TCB framed by two lightning bolts.For the wall of the TV Room, the initials have been excluded in favor of a simple design that recalls the bright colors and bold patterns of the early 1970’s. A slang phrase from the late 1960’s, “Takin’ Care of Business” was adopted by Elvis around 1970 as a slogan for him and his organization.Many stories, embellished over time, have been handed down by members of his entourage, the Memphis Mafia, explaining why the lightning bolt was added. The design for the logo may have been worked out by Priscilla and Elvis during a plane trip. When Elvis purchased and converted a Convair 880, which he dubbed the Lisa Marie, for his personal use, he had succeeded in creating an almost enclosed world. With the heavily customized jet as his disposal, he could literally move from behind the high walls of Graceland to the stage of his next concert and not encounter an unfamiliar face. Elvis’ master bedroom on the Lisa Marie boasted a queen-size bed and a bathroom with golden fixtures. Like his private bedroom suite at Graceland, the area was off limits to anyone except certain members of the Elvis entourage and then by invitation only. The Lisa Marie was on call 24 hours a day and stood ready to depart at a moment’s notice Elvis purchased the plane on April 18, 1975 for $250,000. He named the plane “Lisa Marie” after his daughter and had the registration number changed to N 880 EP.Tower call name was “880 Echo Pappa”Nickname was “Hound Dog One”Elvis called the plane “The pride of Elvis Presley Airways”Elvis also jokingly refered to it as his “Flying Graceland” Part 2The Hall of Gold, located in the Trophy Room just behind the Graceland mansion, contains the many gold records, awards, and honors that Elvis received as a performing artist. When the mansion was opened to the public in 1982, these records and awards were moved into cases lining the 80-foot hallway to create the illusion of a “Hall of Gold.” At the entrance to the hallway sits a huge color television and stereo console that was given in 1960 by RCA as a reward for selling over 50 million records. The gold and platinum records on display are those that Elvis received during his lifetime. The sheer number of them makes for an impressive sight and immediately conveys the magnitude of Elvis’ recording career.Countries from all over the world honored Elvis with awards, though he performed outside the United States only briefly when he appeared in three Canadian cities in 1957. A huge trophy from RCA’s division in South Africa, featuring a gold record on top and four golden gazelles leaping from the base, celebrates Elvis’ many millionselling records in that country from 1956 to 1960. Other trophies from Japan, Norway, Australia, Germany, Sweden, France, and Belgium acknowledge his international popularity and influence. The hall also contains honors from many music magazines. New Musical Express honored Elvis with a special crystal and gold trophy for repeatedly being named Top World Singer and Top World Entertainer. There were also awards from Billboard and Cash Box, and Photoplay gave him a gold medal to acknowledge his popularity as an actor.While the 160 gold and platinum records in the Hall of Gold make an outstanding visual impact, most of them were the originals presented during Elvis’ lifetime, so the Hall does not represent the most up-to-date tallies of his gold and platinum record status. The new display of gold and platinum records in the old racquetball court is more accurate accounting of his record sales status. The Jungle Room The Jungle Room is an add-on built in the mid-1960’s . It started as a screening in porch. Then was closed in as a den, with paneled walls and carpeted floor and ceiling. They say Elvis spent 30 minutes picking out the furniture for the Jungle Room. The wood and fur armchairs reminded Elvis of Hawaii. A mirror has an exotic feathered frame. The wooden bar is carved in animal and totem figures. Elvis had an indoor waterfall built out of stone. Because of the Jungle Room’s great acoustics, Elvis used it as a rehearsal room as well for recordings. Other Sightnings In Graceland Part 3 Badge Collection Interspersed with Elvis’ collection of firearms in the Trophy Room at Graceland is his assortment of law enforcement badges on the badges. Elvis appreciated and respected law officers and security personel, particulary after they began to protect him from frenzied crowds while touring during the 1950’s. When he began collecting badges, word spread quickly, and various local police departments and security agencies made him an honorary member of their law enforcement fraternities. From the police department of Prince George’s County, Maryland, to the sheriff’s department of Los Angeles, Elvis was honored with badges from all over the country. One of the more interesting stories related to Elvis’ badge collection involved a trip to the seat of America’s government. In December 1970, Elvis boarded a commercial flight bound for Washington, D.C. He then flew from D.C. to Los Angeles, where he picked up friend Jerry Schilling. The pair returned to D.C. and were joined by bodyguard Sonny West. Elvis went to the nation’s capital to drop in on one of the city’s prominent residents..President Richard M. Nixon.Though Elvis told Nixon that he had come beause he was concerned about the youth of the country, he also mentioned that he was interested in getting a federal narcotics bureau badge. He had first asked Bureau of Narcotics Deputy Director John Finlator didn’t feel it was appropiate, so Elvis went over his head. During his impromptu visit to the White House, Elvis presented Nixon with a WW Two Colt.45 and asked the President for the badge he coveted. When Nixon came through with the badge, Elvis was so thrilled he gave the President a bear hug. Firearm Collection Elvis owned an extensive collection of firearms. He simply enjoyed buying, carrying and collecting guns. When he died in 1977, he owned 37 firearms, including rifles, pistols, machine guns, and a sawed off shotgun.Currently on display in the Trophy Room, Elvis’ gun collection features several unique pieces that command attention. A Colt Python. 357 pistol is personalized with Elvis’ TCB Logo in gold just behind the chamber. Despite the hyperbole, Elvis was not a mere fan of firearms; he was a fanatic. Occasionally plagued by death treats during the 1970’s, he took to wearing a derringer strapped to his leg while he was performing. When he attended a private showing of a James Bond movie, he liked to carry his Walther PPK because that was the weapon issued to 007. As he grew more despondent in the last few years of his life, his misadventures with guns increased, casting a dark shadow over a troubled man. Part 4 Elvis’ CarsThe pink Cadillac Fleetwood that Elvis bought for his mother is the car he is most remembered for. Customized for Elvis, the 1955 sedan has become synonymous with the spirit of rock’n‘ roll. When Elvis wanted his new 1956 Cadillac Eldorado painted purple, he squashed a hanful of grapes on the fender and asked the customizing firm to match the color. Upon delivery, the firm sprinkled grape drink into the carpet so it would even smell purple. Car customizer George Barris converted a 1960 Cadillac Sedan Limousine into a tricked-out roading roadhog for Elvis. Coated with ten layers of diamond-dust gold pearl paint, the car featured gold-plated bumpers and hubcaps. The interior included a record player, telephones, television, and shoe buffer. Meditation GardenMeditation Garden is the final resting place for Elvis and his immediate family. His mother, Gladys Love Smith Presley, his father, Vernon Elvis Presley, and his grandmother, Minnie Mae Presley, are buried next to Elvis in this small garden that was originally intended as a tranquil retreat for the residenys of Graceland. Elvis was fascinated by Eastern pkilosophies and religions during the 1960’s, and he had Medication Garden built as a place for contemplation, despite its close proximity to the swimming pool. Elvis was originally interred in a mausoleum at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, but a few weeks after his burial, a group of men were arrested for trying to steal his body for randsom. Vernon received special permission to remove the bodies of his son and first wife to the grounds at Graceland. Gladys’ original monument was also moved and placed at the edge of Meditation Garden. Vernon was buried there in 1979, and Minnie Mae followed in 1980. A ground plaque in memory of Elvis’ twin brother, Jessie Garon, is located nearby. If Meditation Garden became more than the serene site that Elvis had intended, then it is also more than his final resting place. Fans solemny walk around the graves, silently pondering the impact of Elvis on their lives. They leave handmade or special-ordered floral arrangements in every possible design, with Graceland dutifully exhibts for a select period of time. Not long after Graceland was opened to the public, a fan visited Meditation Garden and left behind a little wooden cross with a note pinned to it. The note read: "From the womb of your loving motherTo the hearts of your loving fansTo the arms of our Savior JesusWith whom you do now stand.” .. Before there was Elvis, there was nothing by Mira Oberman Tue Aug 14, 12:14 PM ETMEMPHIS, United States (AFP) - A poor Southern white boy who brought black music into the mainstream, Elvis Presley made rock 'n' roll the international language of pop.ADVERTISEMENT He was not the first to blend country with blues, but Elvis was the one to smash through the social conservatism and segregation of the 1950's and get white kids to shake their hips.He changed the way people thought about music and made an indelible mark on American culture."Ask anyone. If it hadn't been for Elvis, I don't know where popular music would be," Elton John once said."He was the one that started it all off, and he was definitely the start of it for me."While he may have been eclipsed by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones as the rebel turned into a square with his rhinestone-studded jumpsuits, Elvis continues to shape popular music three decades after his death."People are influenced by him whether they know it or not," James Henke, chief curator at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, said in an interview."He defined what it meant to be a rock star."Before the pot belly and the sweat-stained silk scarves, before the pills, he was "Elvis the Pelvis."He was sexy. He was dangerous. But he was still, as Ed Sullivan said, "a real decent, fine boy."The combination of virulent sexuality, boy-next-door good manners, incredible stage presence and an ambitious manager propelled Elvis into television specials, films, blockbuster concerts and merchandising."You can thank or blame Elvis for the fact that a musical artist has to be this full performer and a carefully tended musical and social persona," said Jeff Melnick, a professor at Babson College and the editor of the Journal of Popular Music Studies."Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna... these folks all took in the notion that you create a brand where they buy the music and the movie and the t-shirts," he told AFP.Elvis remains the best-selling solo artist of all time with over a billion records sold worldwide and continues to generate around 50 million dollars a year.He was prolific, and his music was diverse. While his rich voice is unmistakable, there is no prototypical Elvis sound. His 23-year career spanned rockabilly, gospel, ballads, country, folk and even jazz.Satellite radio station Sirius has an entire channel devoted to playing the 150 albums and singles that have been certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.But while he may have influenced generations of musicians, his iconic status does not carry the same kind of contemporary popularity as the Beatles or the Doors, whose songs get more airplay on traditional radio.Elvis might have been the originator of cool, but he became far too mainstream in his later years to compete with the counter-culture revolutionaries of the late 1960's and 1970's who continue to enthrall generations of rebellious teenagers."Part of it is that there was the whole fat Las Vegas period and the bad movies," said Henke of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."But I don't think you can underestimate how powerful his music has been."While Elvis scored a huge hit a few years back with a remix of "A Little Less Conversation" that was used in Nike's multimillion dollar World Cup advertising campaign, his estate has been reluctant to allow his music to be reworked."This is classic music, we don't want to get too trigger happy with it," said Jack Soden, chief executive officer of Elvis Presley Enterprises.An aggressive global marketing campaign is underway to mark the 30th anniversary of his death on Thursday and expectations are high for sales of newly reissued CD box sets, "deluxe edition" DVD releases of Elvis films."A lot has been written and said about why he was so great, but I think the best way to appreciate his greatness is just to go back and play some of the old records," Huey Lewis once said."Time has a way of being very unkind to old records, but Elvis' keep getting better and better."

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After touring to Graceland, Prime Minister Koizumi commented, "My dream came true." President Bush said of his visit, "First of all, my presence here shows it's never too late to come to Graceland. Laura and I are -- we've known Elvis Presley since we were growing up. He's obviously a major part of our music history. He had an international reputation. His reputation was so strong that he attracted the attention of the now Prime Minister of Japan." People lined Elvis Presley Boulevard to welcome President Bush and Prime Minister Koizumi to Memphis. President Bush and Prime Minister Koizumi visited the Racquetball Court at Graceland Priscilla Presley, President Bush, Prime Minister Koizumi, Lisa Marie Presley, and First Lady Laura Bush take time to pose for a picture in the Jungle Room. Prime Minister Koizumi and President Bush spoke to the media and shared some laughs while in the Jungle Room. Supporters of President Bush and Prime Minister Koizumi waved signs to welcome the world leaders to Memphis. People lined Elvis Presley Boulevard to get a glimpse at President Bush and Prime Minister Koizumi's arrival at Graceland Priscilla Presley, Laura Bush, and Lisa Marie Presley look on as President Bush and Prime Minister Koizumi talk about their visit to Graceland. ..
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Music:

Some songs appear more than once due to live concert recordings or television show recordings. 1954 Blue Moon, Blue Moon of Kentucky, Good Rockin' Tonight, Milkcow Blues Boogies, That's All Right, Trying to Get to You 1955 Baby, Let's Play House, I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone Mystery Train, You're a Heartbreaker 1956 Any Way You Want Me (That's How I Will Be), Blue Suede Shoes, Don't Be Cruel, Flip Flop and Fly, Heartbreak Hotel, Hound Dog, I Got a Woman, I Want You, I Need You, I Love You, I Was the One, Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Love Me, Love Me Tender, Money Honey, My Baby Left Me Paralyzed, Reddy Teddy, Rip It Up, Shake Rattle and Roll, Too Much We're Gonna Move, When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again 1957 All Shook Up , (You're So Square) Baby, I Don't Care, Blueberry Hill, Don't Leave Me Now, Got a Lot o' Livin' to Do, I Beg of You, I Want to Be Free, It Is No Secret, Jailhouse Rock, Loving You, Mean Woman Blues, One Night Peace in the Valley, Take My Hand, Precious Lord (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear, Treat Me Nice, When It Rains It Really Pours, Young and Beautiful 1958 A Big Hunk o' Love, Blue Christmas, Crawfish Danny, Hard Headed Woman, I Need Your Love Tonight, King Creole, My Wish Came True, Santa Claus Is Back in Town, Trouble, Wear My Ring Around Your Neck 1959 No recordings due to military service in West Germany 1960 Ain't That Loving You Baby, Are You Lonesome Tonight?, Fame and Fortune, A Fool Such As I, G.I. Blues, His Hand in Mine, It's Now or Never, Joshua Fit the Battle, Reconsider Baby, Stuck on You, Such a Night, Swing Down, Sweet Chariot , Working on the Building 1961 Blue Hawaii, Can't Help Falling in Love with You, Crying in the Chapel, Follow That Dream Good Luck Charm, (Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame, I Feel So Bad Little Sister 1962 King of the Whole Wide World, Return to Sender, She's Not You, Suspicion 1963 C'mon Everybody, (You're the) Devil in Disguise, One BrokenHeart for Sale, Please Don't Drag That String Around, Viva Las Vegas, What'd I Say 1964 It Hurts Me, Little Egypt, Memphis, Tennessee 1965 Elvis made no recordings this year 1966 Down in the Valley, How Great Thou Art, If Everyday Was Like Christmas, I'll Be Back, Long Legged Girl (with the Short Dress On), Spinout, Stand by Me, Stop Look and Listen, Tomorrow Is a Long Time, Where Could I Go But to the Lord? 1967 Big Boss Man, Guitar Man, Hi-Heel Sneakers, Let Yourself Go, You Don't Know Me 1968 Baby, What You Want Me to Do?, Blue Christmas, Can't Help Falling in Love, If I Can Dream, Lawdy, Miss Clawdy, One Night, Too Much Monkey Business, Trouble/Guitar Man U.S. Male,Where Could I Go But to the Lord? 1969 After Loving You, Any Day Now, I'm Movin' On, In the Ghetto, It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin', Kentucky Rain, Long Black Limousine, Only the Strong Survive, Stranger in My Own Home Town, Suspicious Minds, Wearin' That Love, On Look Without Love (There Is Nothing) 1970 Bridge over Troubled Water, Got My Mojo Workin', I Was Born About 10,000 Years Ago,I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water, It's Your Baby, You Rock It, Make the World Go Away, Snowbird 1971 Amazing Grace,Bosom of Abraham,Don't Think Twice...It's Alright, Early Morning Rain, For Lovin' Me,He Touched Me If I Get Home on Christmas Day, I'll Be Home on Christmas Day, Merry Christmas Baby,Put Your Hand in the Hand 1972 An American Trilogy,Burning Love 1973 Are You Sincere, Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues, I've Got a Thing About You Baby, Johnny B. Goode, My Boy Promised Land, Raised on Rock, Steamroller Blues, You Gave Me a Mountain 1974 Green Green Grass of Home, I Can Help, Shake a Hand 1976 Hurt Moody Blue, Pledging My Love, She Thinks I Still Care, Way Down 1977 Elvis made no recordings in this the last year of his life~~~~~

Movies:

Elvis' MoviesLove Me Tender : (1956) Loving You : (1957) Jailhouse Rock: (1957) King Creole: (1958) G.I. Blues: (1960) Flaming Star: (1960) Wild In The Country: (1961) Blue Hawaii: (1961) Follow That Dream: (1962) Kid Galahad: (1962) Girls! Girls! Girls!: (1962) It Happened at the World's Fair: (1962) Fun in Acapulco: (1963) Viva Las Vegas: (1963) Kissin' Counsins: (1963) Roustabout: (1964) Girl Happy: (1964) Tickle Me: (1964) Harum Scarum: (1965) Frankie and Johnny: (1965) Paradise, Hawaiian Style: (1966) Double Trouble: (1966) Easy Come, Easy Go: (1966) Clambake: (1967) Speedway:(1967) Stay Away, Joe:(1967) Live A Little, Love A Little: (1968) Charro: (1968) The Trouble with Girls: (1968) Change of Habit: (1969)

Television:

Previous page | Home Elvis Articles Elvis Presley Articles---------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------- Interview with Charlie Hodge By: Elvis Australia - April 9, 2005 Source: EWJEmail this article Printer friendly page Charlie Hodge & Elvis Presley from the book 'Elvis In Munich' Q : First off, give us a little background about yourself before you got in the army and met Elvis.A : Well, I was like Elvis in a lot of ways. I wanted to be in a gospel quartet. And I went out to the Stamp School of Music when I graduated school and met a young man out there named Bill Gather. And we formed a quartet together, sang together about a year before we broke up. And then I worked for another group for a short period of time. And we happened to work with a group called the Foggy River Boys on the ABC network on the Ozark Jubilee. And they needed a lead singer. So, they hired me. And at 20 years old, I went on network television. And that's how I met Elvis. We played Memphis with Red Foley. And he came backstage and met Mr. Foley and then over to meet my quartet. And I didn't see him again until we both were drafted in the military.The Foggy River Boys always ran out on stage to begin their show. I started carrying an empty Coke case out on stage with me to stand on. I was only five feet and three inches tall. The other guys towered over me if I didn't have something to stand on top of. The Foggy River Boys The Coke case gave the audience a reason to chuckle. It had them on my side from the start.And that was the way Elvis and his cousin, Billy, saw me singing on the Ozark Jubilee show at the auditorium in Memphis, just before we both were drafted. Elvis saw me standing on an old crate, singing. The memory always gave him a chuckle. And Elvis liked to have people around him who knew how to bring a chuckle to the world."Every great person in history has had a kind of court jester, or a comedian, around him," Elvis told me once. He's always had someone who can make him laugh. "The comic can get away with saying just about anything to him - and he can say anything he wants to his jester and the guy won't get mad at him."That was to be part of my job for Elvis.Q : Tell us about that meeting in the army. Charlie Hodge & Elvis Presley A : When I met him again, I was at Fort Hood. I never was stationed with Elvis. I was in 15th. Cavalry there. And when I found out where he was, I went over and renewed my acquaintance. I said, "I'm Charlie Hodge. I was the lead singer with the Foggy River Boys". And he said, "Hey, man, I used to watch you every Saturday night on TV, you know". And I think our friendship was a natural friendship, because when we met there at Fort Hood and got on the ship going to Europe, we knew the same people in the gospel field. We knew the same people in the country field. We knew the same gospel songs. We were singing songs together on the way to Germany.Q : Tell us about the days of you and Elvis in basic training.A : Well, at basic training, I didn't see him very much. Like I said, I would see him briefly, say on a Saturday morning, and he would be going back, because he was living off post with his parents. And so, I'd only see him briefly. George Klein and some of the guys who would come and visit him there. And going up on Fort Hood to New Jersey on the train, I'd go up and sit and talk with Elvis. And that's where our friendship began just talking about people we knew in the field. You know, like Wanda Jackson was on our show. And she was Miss Rockabilly. And Elvis always wanted to date her you know. And so we had a lot to talk about.Q : So, when Elvis went to Germany, you were over there with him too. Elvis Presley & Charlie Hodge A : Yes, but again, I wasn't stationed with him. And Elvis took me over and said, "Charlie, just watch the paper, and you'll know where I am". Well, the first weekend I was able to get off post... They keep you in quarantine for a while when you first get there, and you can't leave the post. So, I went up to the Park Hotel. It's the first one that he stayed there. And I called up from the lobby, and Lamar Fike answered the phone. And I said, "Hello, Is Elvis there? This is Charlie Hodge". And Lamar said, "Charlie Hodge?" And I heard Elvis yell, "Yeah, Charlie, come on up". And so, that's how we got together after we got to Germany. And then every weekend, almost the whole time we was in Germany, I was up at his house there. And I was at first at the Park Hotel. And then he rented the top floor at the Grunewald Hotel, a small family hotel. And we had a few parties and things there and almost burnt down the hotel one time. One time, we were playing a game, and Elvis went in his bedroom and locked the door. And we piled up paper out there and set it on fire. We were going to burn him out of there. And so anyway, that's what got him out of that hotel. And he rented a house. And that's where he more or less settled into a family type life because it was a home.Q : So, would you play piano and Elvis did... Priscilla, Lisa, Elvis & Charlie A : We had a piano in there after he got there a while. At first, we only had a guitar. But then he got a piano in there. And we would sing on weekends. On Sundays, he wanted to go play touch football. And a bunch of the guys would come over, Joe and guys that were in his outfit there. I never did play, because I was too little. I get hurt.Q : Were there when Joe first came over?A : Yeah, Joe and I began to see each other there around like the Sundays when we was there. And then Joe and I were bunkmates on the way back after we got out of the army. And then, of course, he was going to work for Elvis then. And I came up from my home in Decatur, Alabama, after visiting my parents, to see Elvis because he wanted me to record a song with him on his first album. And that was the first singing we ever did together on record which was the Elvis Is Back album. We did a duet called "I Will Be Home Again" which was from an old Golden Gate spiritual album. And we started singing that in Germany.Q : So, were you there the night Priscilla came in?A : Yes, I was. Yes, I was. And when she left that evening when she was over there, he looked at me, and he said, "Charlie, did you see the structure of her face?" He said, "It's like almost like everything I've ever looked for in a woman." And her dad, at that time, was a captain. And eventually, different ones of us would ride with each other going up to take her back to the post when she'd come down to visit Elvis. But that first meeting with Priscilla was something else. Like I said, he was just in enraptured, you know, looking at her. And like I said, he had expressed himself after she left by look at her bone structure.Q : So, did he just walk over and introduce her?A : Yes, Elvis would do that. Yes, he would come in. He went over and said, "Hello, I'm Elvis Presley". I swear, that's he'd do when somebody new came in. You know, he was always friendly. But he could stand his ground if he needed to.Q : So, did Priscilla come to visit Elvis a lot?A : Her father allowed it as long as she was brought over there at a certain time and brought home by a certain time. And Elvis, of course, having to go get up in the morning about 5:30 and go for reveille and all whatever they do over there. Would have Lamar or one of the other guys or sometimes his father would take her back to their post where she lived up there with her father.Q : You seemed to be there to really comfort him and talk to him.A : Not till we were on the train. You know, I comforted him all the way over on the ship, as matter of fact. I didn't see him right after his mother had taken ill and until he came back. We didn't see each other again until we were on the train going to New Jersey. And then we were just talking about people we knew. But on the ship going over, they put him sergeant quarters so that other soldiers wouldn't bother him for autographs all the time. So, he requested that I be up there with him. And I said, "Well, I can't just go up there". I said, "You got to ask the commander". And the commander told him, he said, "Well, after everybodys settled, yeah, he can move up there". So, I moved into the sergeants quarters with and was there like all the way across the ocean. We put on a show on there. They usually put on three, but we put on five. And Elvis didn't sing, but he played piano for some of those that did sing. And of course, everybody was watching him while he was doing it. But I would hear him at night...Q : You heard Elvis dreaming.A : On the way over to Germany, on the ship, I could hear Elvis start dreaming sometimes at night. And I'd get out of my bunk and sit down and start talking to him and maybe joking with him a little bit, get him in a little better mood. And then he'd kind of drift off to sleep. He said, years later, "Charlie, if it hadn't been for you", he said, "You kept me sane all the way across the ocean". And he said, "Then you did the same thing for my father when he got over here," Because of the jokes that I'd tell and everything, because Elvis like to hear me tell stories and jokes. Elvis Presley in Paris. From the book ' Elvis A Paris'. Q : You had experience with Elvis in Paris.A : Yeah. We went there. Lamar Fike called me and said that Elvis was getting a 15-day leave. He said, "Can you get a 15-day leave, Charles?" And I said, "Yeah, I think I could. I'll go see". So, I went and asked my sergeant. And he said, "Yeah, you can have one". And I told him that Elvis wanted me to go to Paris with him. So, we did. We went up to another city for a couple of days. And then, we caught a train and went to Paris. And when we got there, we went to see the guy that handled Elvis' music, publicist Freddy Bienstock. And one of the owners of the thing... I can't tell you his name right now. But anyway before we could go to bed or anything, we got there early in the morning and they took us up on a hill overlooking Paris. They wanted us to see that. And we were so tired. And it was cold. And then we stayed at the Prince De Galles Hotel. And we went to a different club down there, the Lido de Paris, the Moulin Rouge.And then there was a little place behind where the Lido de Paris was called the Bantu on a back street. And you go all the way through the building over to that street. And that's where all the entertainers in town went after the shows. And so, we'd go over there and hang out. And Dorothy Kilgallan was over there wanting to get an interview with Elvis. So, we come up, and I remember saying, and guy came out and said, "There's a newspaper reporter, Dorothy Kilgallan". Elvis said, "Charlie, you and Lamar and Rex go in there and just see what's going on". So, we just went in and sat down and didn't even look over there. And the kids there were wonderful in the service. She said, "I understand Elvis Presley comes in". They said, "Really? When was that?" You know, they protected him. And then when she would leave, we would go out, and Elvis would come then, and we'd set over there, you know. Elvis Presley. From the book 'A Date With Elvis - Army Days Revisited'. And there was one time that one of the soldiers was talking to this girl, or what he thought was a girl. Because one of the people that was in the show come over and said, "Elvis, that soldier, that's not a girl he's with. That's a man in drag". And so Elvis went over and said, "Hey, look, Ace". He called everybody Ace in those days. And he said, "Now, look, Ace, now don't get excited. It's just get up and leave". He said, "That's not a girl, that's - you're having a drink with - that's a man". And the soldier said, "Really, Elvis?" He said, "Yes. Don't cause us any... Just get up and leave". And Elvis went back and sat down. And the guy got up and left.There was another thing. We come out of there one night. We'd been to some show. And a guy stopped, and he said, "Gee, I'd just like to tell you". Because Elvis always wore his uniform when going out. He said, "I'd like to tell you that it's nice to see young men that will stay in the army and be in the military for their country". He said, "I think that's wonderful". He said, "Yes, thank you very much". And he gave Elvis his name. He said, "My name is so-and-so". And Elvis said, "Well, my name is Elvis Presley". And the guy took him by the hand and pulled him out in the light and said, "By God, you are". Oh, but we really had a lot of fun.We had one instance where we were dating some of the show girls in Lido de Paris. And we were up in a suite one afternoon. And Elvis would get up. And it looked like a banquet for breakfast. Because all those show girls were coming over there. And they'd come in, and we'd just order up some more breakfast. I mean, you ordered like ten dozen eggs. You know, it was just a banquet there. And everybody would come and eat breakfast. We got a call from the guy at Lido and said, "Listen". "You mind sending the girls over here. We got to start the show in a few minutes".Q : Are there any other times in Paris that come to mind?A : Well, there was one time when Rex Mansfield who was a good friend of Elvis' was over there. He eventually married Elvis' secretary. He and Elvis and I would sing gospel songs together. And Rex sang tenor. Elvis would sing, and I'd sing baritone. Or Elvis would sing tenor sometimes, and I'd sing lead. Because he liked to sing harmony. And we got in the back of this car. And we were doing "Beyond the Reef" or one of those songs like that. It was going from the Eiffel Tower to the Arc de Triomphe and turn around and come back. And we'd just sing it all the time, same songs mainly, over and over. And then we'd go back up again. And we'd have a thing to go in to see Lido, because we had reservations that night. And Elvis stopped the car and said, "Lamar, go in and cancel the reservations. We're going to sing for a while". And we went up and down there singing all night. But he liked to do things like that.Q : So, what was it like to be with Elvis at the Champs Elysees? Isn't that where he found out Mario Lanza had passed away.?A : I don't recall. No. But we were staying in a little hotel just off the Champs Elysees. They called it Prince De Galle. It was right around the corner. And it was interesting. They told Elvis, "Now Elvis, you can go for a walk here in Paris. Because it's not to the French nature to bother celebrities when they're over here". So, we thought, great. We went out for a walk. So, we just rounded that curve going down the Champs Elysees and you would have thought that Charles De Gaulle had just driven up. The people swarmed around Elvis. And we literally pushed our way till we got to the theater, bought tickets, went in, called the driver. He come around the back, and we went through the theater and out the back and back to the hotel. That ended our walking around in Paris. Elvis Presley. From the book 'A Date With Elvis - Army Days Revisited'. Q : When did Elvis ask you to come work for him?A : This was after we got back out of the army. And I came to Memphis to do the album with him, the Elvis Is Back album. Joe Esposito was already working for him at that time and was made foreman of the group, because Joe did something... On the trip that I missed to Paris, Joe went with him. And Joe did something that no one had ever done for Elvis. And that's when they'd pay a bill or something, Joe would get all the receipts. And Elvis said, "Why are you doing that?" And Joe said, "Well, you can count this off on your income taxes." Well, nobody had ever done that for Elvis. I mean, all his friends and hanger-ons and whatever just spend the money and enjoy it, you know. And so, he saw a man of value there. And he asked Joe to go to work for him.And when I went up there, I wasn't working, you know. I just stayed there at the house. And we went up to Nashville, did the session. And then we came back, and they went down to Florida to do the Frank Sinatra TV show. And I went to Alabama because I wanted to spend some more time with my parents. And then I came back. And we went and recorded the second half of the album. And then Elvis was going to go to Hollywood to do the movie he did just after he came out, 'G.I. Blues'. And I was down at the train station. I even left my clothes at his house. And I was down there. And Elvis looked down, and he says, "Do you want to go to Hollywood?" I said, "Why not?" I said, "But I want to have my clothes here. They're out at your house". He said, "We'll buy you some out there. Get on the train". And so that's how it started.Q : Could you mention the RCA studio in Nashville, and what it was like recording there?A : Well, I had recorded at Studio B with Homer and Jethro when I was with the Foggy River Boys. I was on the Ozark Jubilee and knew Chet Atkins briefly from him being a guest on the summer months on Eddy Arnold's TV show. But when we went there the first time, I think the Jordanaires and some of the other musicians were here just this new guy with Elvis. "What's he doing?" You know, and then I'm out there singing a duet with him. No one had ever sang a full duet with Elvis like we did on album, 'I Will Be Home Again'. And I think everybody was a little suspicious at first. In fact, I think the Colonel, until he got to know me better, thought that I was going to try to use Elvis to further my career. Because the Colonel was a suspicious man knowing my background of being on the Ozark Jubilee and everything. But I didn't try to use Elvis.Q : What were the recording sessions like with Elvis?A : I'd never seen such a relaxed situation. Elvis would go in there, and he might get to the piano and start singing. And maybe the Jordanaires would come around, or we'd do something until he was comfortable, you know. And then he'd be ready to record. But I'd never seen anything like that. Usually like when we went in to do our sessions for Decca and went in there to do this session with Homer and Jethro, you went in there all business. You know, you'd go in and do your songs and get out. But there Elvis was. And we went in there about I guess about 7:00 or 8:00 at night and then didn't start recording till almost 10:00. And then, it was all night long up until I guess about 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning or something like that. And it felt like it was fun. It was relaxed. And Elvis had people around him who were very creative. And somebody would have an idea, and they would give it a try and see if it fits, you know. Elvis was wide open to suggestions. I mean, they stayed as close as the demonstration record as they could. But they came up with some great ideas that were used. Charlie Hodge & Elvis Presley from the book 'Elvis In Munich' Q : Tell us about Elvis' train trip out to Hollywood. Did he talk about some of the movies he wanted to make? And how was it when you arrived?A : Well, I know even in Germany, he talked about that he would like to do most serious movies. And I think he had it within him too. Going out on the train, though, to California, it was amazing to me. Every little whistle stop where trains no longer stopped there was mobs of people all the way across the United States of America. Every little whistle stop. And they'd be waving when the train went by, because they knew Elvis was on there. But at every whistle stop in every town, all the way out there. And then when we got there, to Los Angeles, they put us in about five or six different cars. And each car went in a different direction. And they didn't know which one Elvis was in, so they didn't know which one to follow. And then we, of course, went through the hotel there in Beverly Hills.Q : Which hotel was it?A : The Beverly Wilshire. Well, it's a famous place in Hollywood. You could go down to the coffee shop there and see almost any star might be sitting down and having coffee. I never will forget... Of course, I'd been overseas and hadn't seen him here, but Soupy Sales was in one day and sat down. And he said, "This is Soupy Sales". Oh, I forgot who it was. And I said, "Well, nice to meet you. What do you do?" And there he was a big star on television. And then he went and told me. I said, "I'm sorry. I just got back from Europe, two years in the army, I dont know what's going on in television here". And I apologize. He said, "It's all right", you know.Q : Elvis didn't stay long in a hotel before he rented a home, right?A : Well, we stayed there for a little bit. And there were residents who lived in that hotel. And we used to get into little water battles. And we'd start out with water guns. And that wouldn't be enough. Then we'd get glasses of water to drip on each other. And then we'd start putting heads on it with shaving cream, just any wild idea. And I think one time we came in water was dripping from the ceiling, you know. And somebody ran down the hall, and somebody had given Elvis an old, cheap guitar. And he threw it down the hall, and the lady looked out and ducked back in, because it went right by her head and broke in all pieces when it hit down there. Well, not long after that, we began looking for a house. I don't think they wanted us to stay there much longer.Q : What was the first house in Los Angeles?A : It was the Perugia Way house. And it was a round house, more or less. And you could walk all the way around the garden inside the house. And it was unique. And, you know, it was right on the fairway of the golf course there. That's where Elvis met the Beatles at that house when they came over.Q : What films do you think Elvis really enjoyed making after he came back from the army?A : Well, I remember once in 'Charro', which is one of the movies he didn't sing in, and we were back off location, and we were in the studio. And they had the house sitting there. And they were setting up the scene. And Elvis was standing over at the end of the porch. And I walked over there. And he looked down. And he says, "Charlie, I'm beginning to feel like this character". So, the depth was there for Elvis to do some serious acting. But what they were giving him were actually B musicals. Charlie Hodge & Elvis Presley from the book 'Elvis In Munich' Q : Did Elvis tell you what type of film he really wanted to do?A : Well, you can't say that, what kind of picture he wanted to do, he would have to, like anyone else, see the script and then see if it's good. You know, and somebody would bring him maybe something. But everything had to go through the Colonel to bring him anything. And the Colonel... In fact, I'll tell you what. I did the Dick Clark movie with Kurt Russell. And Shelley Winters played his mother in that film. And she said she saw Elvis's test, and heard Hal Wallis talking to Colonel Parker. And he said, "Colonel, we think Elvis can do some really serious acting". And this is Hal Wallis, the producer, unless you want to keep doing these B musicals. And the Colonel supposedly said, "Well, these musicals is what's making us money. So, we'll just do them". And Elvis was never consulted about it. Now, that's what Shelley told me on the set when we were doing that.Q : I'd like to talk about a couple of locations. 'Blue Hawaii'. How was it when you guys went over there?A : I didn't go. I was in Vegas that time working in Nevada. Now, I helped them do the soundtrack. And then I had to go in Nevada and work. And the guys all went to Hawaii. And then when they came back, Red and I were renting a house together at the time. And I know he invited everybody over from there, and we had kind of a luau there at the house Red and us had rented down in Hollywood.Q : Did you have a favorite film to work on with Elvis?A : Well, we had a lot of fun on a lot of films. I mean, in between Elvis being in a scene or something, again, we'd have water battles. And we'd do things in order to shoot firecrackers, something like that. I remember once when Elvis was doing some movie, and we started this water battle and everything. And I was standing around the end of the trailer. Elvis had a dressing room trailer that they pull from different locations. And I was standing there waiting for somebody to come out. Well, Red West had taken two buckets of water and crawled to the top of that studio. And I'm sitting there waiting. And all of the sudden, a bucket of water hit me right all over my head. And when I looked up, the second one got me right in the face. And then I went to wardrobe and got a dry shirt. And I hung my shirt up. And I went over there about 30 minutes later, it was still ringing wet. And we broke for lunch. And when we come back after lunch, it was still soaking wet. Well, I went around. About an hour later I come, it's still soaking wet. Well, this time I shot around the trailer, and I stopped and looked back where my shirt was hanging. And Elvis had one of these pumps, you know, that they use to keep the greenery looking good on the set. They keep it wet so it looks real and everything. Every time I'd walk away, he's go pump it up and drown my shirt again. So, it was him keeping it wet all the time. But that's the type of thing we'd do just for fun.Q : When was the pie fight?A : Yeah. We were doing something and on a picture one time. And we had this director that Elvis didn't really care for. Because he could sit and do his jokes with his cronies, so to speak. But Elvis would be cutting up and come over, You know, we're trying to do a picture here. And I think that's when Elvis said, "Look, the only reason I do these pictures, as silly as they are, is to have some fun. The day I can't have any fun, You won't be working". Because Elvis, in the 60's, honest to God, kept Hollywood alive. Everyone else was shooting their pictures outside this country in different locations and everything. And Hollywood was hurting. They had movies. And Elvis was the only one that wasn't leaving town. He was doing movies right in Hollywood. Elvis & Ann-Margret in Viva Las Vegas. Q : What were Elvis's favorite co-stars like Ann-Margret and Shelley Fabares?A : Shelley Fabares I think was probably his favorite star. I mean, I seen them just start a scene sometime, and Elvis would be singing. And there would be a P in the song (Puppet On A String). And when he'd say the P in the song, her hair would go... And they got to laughing. And Norman Taurog, Elvis's favorite director, by the way, just sent them home. He said, "We'll shoot around you. Go home". And they came back the next day and finally got it shot. But loved doing things with Shelley. He loved, like when we did the movie with Frank Sinatra's daughter, Nancy, Elvis was a lot of fun. Yeah. That was a lot of fun. He did with Bill Bixby, you know, we did the country movies with him. And that was so much fun, you know, because Bixby said that what he did on 'My Favorite Martian', used to, like as soon as the scenes over, they grabbed their bicycles and just leave the set and get away from it, you know. and the things we were doing were the things that were break to relax you while you're waiting for them to set up. Because sometimes it would be 45 minutes or an hour before they'd get the scene set to shoot again. It's only three minutes long. Elvis & Shelley Fabares in Spinout. Q : What about 'Stay Away, Joe'?A : We used to get like $29 a day being an extra. But if one of the stars touch you, you got $100 that day. And not only that, they pushed me of to the thing, and then one of them poured a beer over me. So, I got a wet check on top of that. I want to tell you this though. Because all the guys had become extras except me. And Elvis said you got to get you an extra card. And this is when I'd come back full time after I'd stopped working with Wakely. So, I go down, join the union, get my extra card and everything.And I'm in this scene. And I'm playing piano. And Elvis sings (We'll Be Together) in Spanish. Which, by the way, he had me go learn it phonetically. And then when he was in make-up in the mornings, I would do everything phonetically for him to learn it for the picture. So then, I started cutting up because my backs to the camera. And I'm playing... And Elvis is singing, Un dos des remos siempre por siempre. And I'm singing like Louis Armstrong, Un dos des remos... And if you watch that scene, they cut it all to pieces. Because Elvis would be doing something, and they had bust out laughing. Well then, they'd have to cut and set it up for another angle. And the same thing, he never did tell them... And he'd bust out laughing again. He never did tell the director what was causing him to break up. But it was me just sitting there having fun, you know. At the end of that scene, he stood up and he went ha-ha, but you can't hear it. Because I stood up, and I said, "My, my, Mr. Elvis, that certainly was nice".Q : That was at Paramount then.A : Yeah, well we liked to have fun on the sets. And like I said, I'd been in front of television before and then if trying to make movies is this easy shoot I was going to have some fun.Q : Do you remember celebrities like Pat Boone and Johnny Mathis coming to visit Elvis?A : Yeah. Well, in fact, I've really known Pat Boone longer than I have Elvis. Because he married Red Foley's daughter. And I used to date Red Foley's youngest daughter. So, me and Pat Boone could have been brother-in-laws. But I've known Pat that long. Yes, he liked Pat and like the singing. It's a different style and everything. But Pat had a nice living, and he was a nice man.Q : I wanted a little line on Pat and Elvis.A : Well, I like went down to Warner a couple of times to Pat's house. And they invited me to have with them. And so, I knew the girls when they were just babies. But I had met them before. I know we did... We were in Berea, Kentucky, Red Foley's home town. And Pat was there for the solo too. So, I had been around Pat and worked some with him.Q : What did Elvis think of Hollywood?A : Well, I think that he thought there's a lot of phonies there, because that's the reason he wanted his friends around him. When he started back shooting again in movies and everything, he wanted all the fellows to become extras.Q : Did Elvis and you guys get out some in those days?A : I remember one time Red West told us about a club out in... which became famous later. They shot a lot of movies, the Palomino Club. And the first night we went out there, and we pulled up there, two or three guys come rolling out the front like that, you know. We said, "Oh-oh, it's a fight". We just cranked up and left there. Now, later on, there was a place that we used to go down called the Red Velvet. And we knew the people who owned it. And Elvis didn't go down there, but all the guys used to go down there. It was a place for them to go relax where they could feel safe too. You know, like I said, it was in those days the Palomino and out in that area was a very rough area. Later on, it became a little more modern and everything. And a lot of big stars started playing there. In fact, that's where I met James Burton. I used to go out there and sit in sometime and sing or do a comedy. James would come out there and sit in, because he was working with Ricky Nelson then. Glen D. Hardin was there too, the house piano player. And so, it worked out good, because when Elvis came time for us to go to Vegas and everything, I remember Lamar Fike, he was so serious, man. He said, "Who in the heck is Elvis going to get on guitar, because Scotty doesn't even play anymore?" I said, "James Burton". And he turned, and he said, "You're right". And that's what happened. That's how that thing started.Because I was going to Reno and Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe working for Harrah's Club. And I was learning pacing a show. I didn't realize that at the time. When it came time for Elvis to start in Vegas again, I had the experience of laying out our shows. And we talked through what we should do on each number and everything. And just my experience on the road with Jimmy Wakely gave me what I needed to do for Elvis later. I've said this before to people. I said, God put me... He let me do what I wanted to do when I first started, which was in gospel quartet. Then he put me where he wanted me. Because there I was in the military, and then I'm with Elvis in Hollywood. And then I'm with Wakely in the Nevada circuit learning pacing, timing and all that which became Elvis's show."How are going to finish a show like this?" Elvis said one day during rehearsal. "It would be beautiful - and different - if you ended with a ballad like 'Can't Help Falling In Love'," I said. "Then into a hard rock walk-off with a vamp. That way, they'll never know you ended a concert on a ballad." "That's different, all right," Elvis said. "Can't Help Falling In Love" became his signature song, the one he ended on, and he never changed it. I remembered Jimmy Wakely ending his show on a ballad like that, sometimes. It was beautiful and now it was a part of Elvis.Priscilla and LisaQ : Can you tell us about when Priscilla first came?A : Well, she was still very young. And so the deal was that she would stay with Elvis's parents. And he would see that she went to school, which she did. She got a good education. And I don't believe he ever touched her till they were married. I believe that with all my heart.Q : So with Priscilla, can you tell us about when they got married?"A : Well, I knew about it because I was driving the Colonel to Palm Springs. And a lot of the guys thought I was going to Palm Springs, and we really were going to Vegas. The Colonel set that up at the Aladdin Hotel. And I was told I wasn't to say anything, as Joe was told. He said "You guys can't say anything". So, nobody knew it. When we got there and everything was set up, I knew I wasn't going to be able to be in the wedding. Because they had set up one room to be in. And there was just room enough for the immediate family and Joe and Marty as best men. And it didn't bother me, but the rest of the guys really got upset, because they thought they was all going to get to be at the wedding. But they all were at the wedding breakfast, which I thought was fine, you know. I knew couldn't everybody be in there. But some of those people really got upset. I'm sorry they did, because it wasn't meant to upset anyone. It was just the Colonel doing what he always tried to do with Elvis, and that was keeping something like that, a wedding, from becoming a circus. He wanted Elvis to have that. And then there was the wedding breakfast where the Colonel could control the media. So, it was done very well. The Colonel knew what he was doing.Q : Could you mention the honeymoon at Palm Springs?A : Well, we were staying in an Egyptian modern house Elvis was renting at that time. And I remember this. You know, we come back there after the wedding and just hung around there. I don't remember that much about it. Because truthfully, I was kind of busy with the Colonel and everything and some of the other guys too. So I was just glad it was over with, you know.Q : Then you had another reception in Memphis.A : Yes. He did that for all of his relatives and friends in Memphis who weren't able to attend the wedding breakfast. He and Priscilla both dressed up in the wedding gown and he in his tuxedo. And everybody came. And in something like that I just stayed out of the way.Q : Can you tell us about the Circle G Ranch and how Elvis came to get that?A : Well, Elvis had taken, and he and Priscilla into riding horses a lot. And he only had like 13 acres there at Graceland. And there would ride around. So, he started looking for a place. And they found this place just across the state line down there that was 165 acres. And this guy was willing to sell it. And Elvis bought it so he could have his horses down there. And he had 165 acres to ride on. Well, they had some Gertrudis cattle there that came with it. And so the guy that looked after the cattle ended up putting a fence across there between Elvis's trailer and the rest of the farm. And so, Elvis sold all the Gertrudis cattle. But that was where we had an awful lot of fun. And Elvis loved to get out. He's wear a big old jacket, a western jacket and his cowboy hat, you know. And I know before we left, I got so tickled at Graceland. He was going along and putting everybodys name on the stall where their horse was. And he said, Daddys. He didn't say Vernon. He put Daddys, Priscillas, Mine. He didn't put... He named it Mine.And then we got down there, and at first, I know, they had a place over there to keep the horse. And Elvis said, "Well, we got to build new". And I said, "No, Elvis, that barn's okay". I said, "All it needs is paint. If you paint it white, it'll be fine". And that's what he did. So, it saved him from having to spend some extra money which I always tried to do and Joe always tried to do. Because we knew when people was trying to get him to spend money on things. And that's another thing we'd do to is some time one guy knew Elvis had bought everybody Cadillacs. So, he went up and they picked him out a fine looking Cadillac and everything. And he come back down there and Elvis called me in the room. He said, "I was going to buy Steve a car as a wedding gift. He wants a Cadillac. What do you think?" I said, "On his salary, he can't afford the insurance on that, Elvis". He said, "That's what I think. I wanted to give him a Pontiac or something like that". I said, "It would be much better". So he ended up getting a Pontiac.Q : You guys took care of Elvis.A : Well, you had to, because you could see people who were going to... Yeah, like there was this one guy there that was for a while, his wife was divorced. And she was hitting him for alimony. And he wouldn't pay her any more alimony. And yet he was hinting to Elvis about a house he wanted to buy, figuring Elvis would buy it and give it to him. So, you let Elvis know about those things.Q : Didn't Elvis actually live in a trailer there for a while?A : Oh, at the ranch, all the time. Well, when we were out at the ranch, they had a hundred-year-old house there that had been restored and was beautiful. But Elvis had bought all the guys trailers and had put cement slabs all along the fence. And he bought himself a trailer and one for his grandmother. And Alan Fortas who made like kind of foreman of the ranch, he let him and his wife live in that hundred-year-old house that had been restored and everything. He lived in a trailer. That's where Lisa Marie was conceived.Q : Do you remember Elvis's reaction when he learned he became a father?A : Well, I don't remember the exact time he said it. I remember when he said she's pregnant. Because at that time, we were in the Trousdale Estate house. And everything was family. We knew that, you know, Elvis's cousin Patsy... I know her husband G.G. was living there with us, because G.G. could handle Elvis's clothes and everything. And Patsy could be a companion to Priscilla. And Patsy, by the way, was Elvis's double first cousin, you know, two brothers married two sisters. And so it was just a family thing around the table that we'd have. And one of my favorite times was when we lived in that house. But that house there, Joe and Joannie used to come up, and it like a family, you know. Because it was a round table. And the Colonel and Mr. Diskin would come up and sit there. And the Colonel would tell some of his carney stories and have us laughing and everything. And it was really a fun family time. And it was more like a family and not like a group of boys at a boys club. You know, and it was my favorite time.So, I think probably Joe and I knew about before any of the rest of the guys. Because, you know, you find out about those things. I never will forget when we was going to the hospital the morning when she felt she had to go and have the baby. And Jerry Schilling... I said, "Now, Jerry, where are we going?" He said, "Methodist Hospital". I said, "No, Jerry, Baptist". He said, "Charlie, I swear I thought..." I said, "Jerry, let me be wrong. You drive to the Baptist Hospital". And then on the car, on the way to the hospital, we had a phone in the car. I said, "Call Joe". And so, call Joe. He was in Los Angeles. And Joe got on the phone, and I told him. "We're on the way to the hospital". He said, "You tell her not to have that baby till I get there". And she didn't. He got in time for the baby to be born. Yeah.Q : I'm sure when the baby was born, Elvis was very elated.A : Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, it's just... You know, there's not an experience like that anywhere. That, you know, she was like my niece or something, because we were that tight as a family. And I felt like it was a miracle or something like that. I know Lisa Marie asked me one time when I used to go pick her up at Priscilla's house and bring her to the house in Hominy Hills there, I'd bring her there for the weekend. And she asked me one time. She said, "Charlie, are you my uncle or what?" And I said, "Probably what".Q : Did Elvis have nicknames for Lisa?A : Well, he called her an Injun and different little names like that. Mine for her was Punkin. In fact, I wrote a book. And it says in the front of it, 'For Punkin'. And Lisa asked me one time, she said, "What's Punkin?" I said, "It's a southern pronunciation of pumpkin". And I said, "And that's what we call like little children is Punkin". She said, "Oh" and then no more comment.Q : What was Lisa's favorite things to do around Graceland when she was a little girl?A : She had some children her own age to play with. And Elvis slept all day. And she just more or less ran wild. I mean, she did what she wanted to. I remember they used to take Pepsi-Colas and put sugar in them, you know, and shake them up and drink them, things like that. I remember one time his Aunt Delta who took care of the house for Elvis. She said, "Charlie, can you get Lisa Marie to go take a bath?" She said, "She won't do it for me". And I think Joe and I was the only one that could handle her this way. I went over, and I said, "Lisa, let's come on". She said, "What?" I said, "Come on upstairs. I'm going upstairs and give you a bath. You won't do one for Delta. So, I'm going up and give you a bath. And when your daddy wakes up, I'm going to tell him who done it". She said, "You don't have to do that, Charlie. I'll take a bath".The ComebackQ : Was Elvis nervous about coming back to Vegas?A : Yes, he had a bad experience on that the Dorsey Brothers Show. And that was that Elvis heard women scream, he stopped for a minute. Well, the orchestras way back then, when everythings going in meter. When come back in, it wasn't with the orchestra. And that spooked him. So, when we did start back, we had some fellows that I knew like Billy Strange who was -- I had worked on when I was a guest on Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, and his managers, TV show at that time. And I knew Billy and knew he and Elvis would get along. And when we first did the '68 comeback, we had the full orchestra and a choir in the same room. Elvis said, "Charlie, I can't read music. I don't know when to come in". I said, "Don't worry. I'll tell Billy to turn to you when it's time to come in". And I said, "After you do that a few times, you'll feel when it's natural to come in". And he said, "Okay". He trusted me on it. And I told Billy. And so, when it come time for him to start singing on like the first thing, Billy turned to him like that. And after that, Elvis was home free. He was comfortable working with the orchestra again, because he had a conductor working with him.Q : How was Elvis working with Steven Binder on the 68 Special?A : The Colonel wanted that to be a Christmas show. And Steve Binder, over a period of time, talking with Elvis and what he thought it should be, it evolved into what it was. But Elvis was very much in control. I mean, he knew what was going on. And he knew these people and what they were trying. Like some of the numbers he did he felt were just like the movies he's been doing, you know, where they'd choreograph him and had a fight scene like that.When the sit down portion in the circle, when they first did that, they had us out there by ourselves. And the fans were back about 30 yards there, or something like that. And Elvis just talking softly, said, "Man, I don't like this being this far from the audience". I said, "Well, it's your show. Ask them if they want to come down here". And Elvis stood up and said, "You all want to come and sit down around here?" And the director said, "No". It was too lake. They were all down there around him. And that and the gospel segment was the most popular part of the 68 Comeback.Q : Talking about the 1968 Special, did the Colonel come around to supporting Steve Binder?A : Yes, he did. Well, the Colonel finally came around -- saw that Elvis was agreeing with Steve Binder. And the Colonel didn't want to seem to disagree with Elvis. They would never do that in front of anybody anyway. And so he just came around slowly. But he kept his finger in by telling them, say, yeah, remember this now. And he'd keep them back also. I remember on time that the producer went up to Colonel Parker, and he said, "Colonel, Do you think you could tell Elvis to use a lighter dye on his hair? It's just too black". Colonel said, "I don't think I'll do that". Said, "Just let's come on, let's go back over to the studios". And he left. Well, the guy went up, and he said, "Elvis, you think you could do your hair just a little lighter? It's just too dark". He said, "What do you mean it's too dark". He said, "I don't say nothing about that damn toupee you got on and how bad it looks". And just backed the guy down.Q : When the Special was finished, did Elvis seem really pleased with it?A : Yes, it did. Like I said, he liked the sit down portion and the gospel bit. Because those were comfortable things to do. The other things were a lot like the movie. Because they were poorly choreographed. But it still was probably the most watched special of the year when it come on.Q : Which brings us to 1969, and you helped with a lot of the preparation of Elvis coming back.A : We all did. We had a group of people, especially Joe and I hope so myself, that could think. He didn't have to tell us to do anything. We could do it. So, I'd be working with music and everything. And Joe would be sitting over there timing the songs, about how long each song lasts. Because that's where you got to pace the solos according to how much time you got there, when it adds up. And so, we had that going for us, that Joe was over there taking care of business without being told. And I was doing what I had to do, whatever it was. And we used to sit and go through songs for a picture or for just a recording however. And we'd sit and listen to songs. Like Red West and I would do it. And, you know, sometimes Joe would be around, and we'd listen to these records. Because Elvis didn't want to listen to all of them. I mean, you get a hundred songs then for a 12-song album. And sometimes 200. And you'd go through those, and we'd try to save the ones that we thought were very good, fair, terrible and so forth. So, Elvis would just listen to the ones that we thought were real good. And then he would select ones from that what he thought would fit the scene.You know, and we had a lot of scenes because like some songs are good for the picture, but they're not good played on the radio. Like there was a song called "The Walls Have Ears". But you had to see the movie to see the walls bouncing back and forth and, you know, things coming off of there and everything. You can't see that on a record. And that was the only bad thing about having some of the recordings that was done on recording sessions for pictures. And "Stay Away Joe" was so funny to me. We was cutting out the session. And Elvis had a song in there where he had to sing to a bull. Moo, moo, moo, you little fadoo. Well, when they played the demo, Scotty Moore looked over to Elvis and said, "Elvis, has it come to this?" Yeah, and Elvis just busted out laughing. "Dominic".Q : In Vegas at the International Hotel, how was it that opening night?A : Well, the first time Elvis played Vegas, he didn't do very well. Because in those days, see there was many adults in there. And all his fans were under age, couldn't get into casinos. And he failed. And Merv Griffin ended up the sings star of the show, because he was a band singer in that orchestra at that time that was there. So, Elvis was concerned about that. But again, when we was recording for the 68 Comeback, he got comfortable with an orchestra. And too, I think one of the things that helped Elvis want to get back on stage and get back touring again was he and Tom Jones became very good friends, I mean, very good friends. And he'd see Tom doing his act up there. And he thought, well, "I can do mine". You know, I'm sure he thought that even though he never expressed it that way. But that must have been something he looked at and said, "Well, gee, I think I may be able to try back". And that 68 Comeback helped set it up.And so, when we started into Vegas, the first thing we did is we had all these musicians, like James Burton. When we got to RCA, RCA had a list of the hot guitar players in town. And top of the list was James Burton. But I'll tell you who was before that, the top guitar player was Glen Campbell. And he played on some of Elvis's sessions before he became a star on movie things. But James Burton. And then, James would suggest somebody, because he knows who's the good recording, who's the good basses. That's how we got Jerry Scheff. I think Scheff suggested Ronnie Tutt. And they all became the nucleus of band. It really the band was this. It was Ronnie Tutt on drums, Jerry Scheff on bass, Glen D. Hardin on piano. At first, we had another piano player Larry Mahoberac, but he just went through the first time. And Glen D. came in later. But that was the nucleus of the band.I wanted the other guy, John Wilkinson, who played rhythm guitar in the band... I wanted to balance out the look of the band up there. Because without John there, it would have been top heavy on this side and just James over there by himself. It wasn't necessarily for me to be there or for John to be there. But Elvis wanted us there or wanted me there. And I wanted to balance the picture. Because I'm looking in my minds eye at what the people are going to be looking at. And it worked. We ended up at one time there, I know, during those last tours, over the years, you wouldn't know we'd done this many songs, but we had over 500 orchestrations for songs that we had done on stage. It changed that much. It was an interesting thing one time to the Colonel.Q : Elvis had nicknames for all you guys. Do you recall those nicknames?A : Well, I know Joe was Charmin Carmen. And they used to say that except for Burton, he called me Slewfoot. But I think that was one time in 17 years. Because it was always. Actually, he never said Charlie. If you listen to my introductions on his live performance. "And the guy who plays guitar and sings higher than me, Cholly Hodge". That's C-H-O-L-L-Y, Cholly Hodge, you know. This house on Goethe Street in Bad Nauheim was rented for the rest of his army days ==Hotel Grunewald, Bad Nauheim, was the next hotel where Elvis rented some rooms for a few weeks ==Entrance to thefriedberg army base,now.


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Wise men say only fools, only fools rush in But l, but l, I can't help falling in Love with youShall I stay, would it be, would it be a sin If I can't help falling in love with you Like a never flows surely to the sea Darling, so it goes, some things remount to be Take my hand, take my whole life too For I can't help falling in love with you For I can't help falling in love with you

Books:

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Heroes:

WAS HIS MOTHER GLADYS LOVE PRESLEY http://www.loveforelvis.com/Gladys-L-Presley.jpg President Bush, far left, and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi pose for a photo with Lisa... Bush Takes Koizumi for Tour of Graceland Friday, June 30, 2006 2:59 PM EDT The Associated Press By JENNIFER LOVENMEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — President Bush's going-away present to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was some kind of "Good Luck Charm." Amid the ceramic monkeys, floor-and-ceiling green shag carpet and animal-head armrests of Graceland's Jungle Room, the delighted prime minister just couldn't hold back the Elvis lines.All it took was a simple invitation from Bush."You're a pretty good Elvis singer," the president said, in an obvious prompt to his guest. Bush knew what was coming, having previously experienced Koizumi's tendency to burst into song when it comes to the late rock 'n' roll legend who is the Japanese leader's undisputed musical hero.Koizumi quickly complied. "Love me tender," he sang. "Wise men say, ..Only fools rush in.' "Enter the special tour guides for the two leaders' private tour of Graceland: Presley's only child and heir, Lisa Marie, and her mother, Priscilla. "I want you, I love you," remarked Koizumi, spouting more Elvis tunes. Draping his arm around Lisa Marie, he crooned some more: "Hold me close, hold me tight."It was the kind of Friday Graceland has never seen.The Bush-Koizumi tour through the Memphis manse wrapped up two days of consultations between the staunch allies. Koizumi's visit saw military pomp, the tinkling of crystal at a black-tie dinner and two hours of discussions on Iraq, North Korea, U.S. beef exports and other weighty matters in the Oval Office.But their outing to Graceland, with its oddity quotient and celebrity patina, was the most-anticipated portion. It drew an enormous traveling press corps to accompany the men. Even Bush termed it "an unusual experience."Swiveling hips, spangled jumpsuits and gaudy interiors aren't Bush's usual style. And this is a president who routinely skips even the most awe-inspiring destinations on his speed-travels — such as India's Taj Mahal.So it's a sign of his affinity for the Japanese leader that Bush took Koizumi to a tourist hotspot, and by plane, no less, five years to the day after they first met. Aides said the president decided a Graceland tour was the perfect way, along with a gift of a jukebox loaded with Elvis hits, to bid adieu to a leader who is departing office in September after being one of his most ardent defenders on the world stage."This visit here shows that not only am I personally fond of the prime minister, but that the ties between our peoples are very strong as well," Bush said after the tour, in front of the white-columned, two-story colonial and a pink Cadillac on its drive."My dream came true," said Koizumi, donning gold-rimmed sunglasses as the pair walked to the motorcade waiting to take them to a lunch of Memphis barbeque.On the way there, they made an unscheduled stop at the National Civil Rights Museum at the hotel where the Rev. Martin Luther King. Jr. was assassinated in 1968. Bush and Koizumi greeted excited children and then went aside.The mood for the day was set when the public address system on Air Force One played "Love Me Tender" and "Don't Be Cruel" and other Elvis songs. DVDs of Elvis movies were available for viewing. And stewards brought out that Elvis culinary favorite — grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches, each with 36 grams of fat. The two leaders passed on the sandwiches. Bush drank coffee and Koizumi drank green tea."I'm feeling a little heavy," groaned White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten, one of the few presidential aides who braved the breakfast treat. "I so rarely fry my peanut butter sandwiches."White House press secretary Tony Snow — wearing gold-rimmed plastic sunglasses — did his best, meanwhile, to fuel lingering conspiracy theories that the singer never died, saying that Bush and Koizumi were likely to go to Elvis' "alleged grave site." In fact, Graceland spokesman David Beckwith said the "meditation garden" near the swimming pool where Elvis is buried was the chosen place for the two allies to have some "private time."The pair saw what most visitors see: the Jungle Room, famously furnished with a 30-minute shopping spree, and the glossy black baby-grand piano near the living room's white, 15-foot sofa, and hundreds of gold records, outfits and guitars in the home's museums.Also like others, they weren't allowed a peek at the private upstairs quarters, including the bedroom and bath where Elvis died of heart disease and drug abuse in 1977.The trip to an outside-the-Beltway locale recalls state visits earlier in Bush's presidency.In 2001, Bush took Mexican President Vicente Fox to Toledo, Ohio, where the two addressed Hispanic voters the day after their state visit at the White House.The next year, then-Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski also saw his state visit capped with an out-of-town journey. He accompanied Bush to a Polish cultural center in the Detroit suburbs for traditional fare and an audience with the area's large Polish-American — and heavily Roman Catholic — community.The trips with Fox and Kwasniewski served Bush's domestic politics as well as global concerns. They were aimed at helping the president with key U.S. voting constituencies in battleground states even while the ride on Air Force One and close-up look at American life wowed his guests.Bush has always favored a more casual brand of diplomacy, holding fewer lavish state dinners than his predecessors and looking for personal touches whenever he can.For instance, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, like Bush an avid bike rider, was treated to a two-wheel jaunt around the Camp David presidential retreat earlier this month.Koizumi's treatment goes several steps further, making a visit to the president's Texas ranch no longer the premier reward for a foreign friend.

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A friend A Friend is a TreasureA friend is someone we turn to,when our spirits need a lift.A friend is someone we treasure,for our friendship is a gift.A friend is someone who fills our lives,with bea...
Posted by elvis on Thu, 16 Feb 2006 03:52:00 PST