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Monthly Archive for June, 2008

Elvis in the Movies

Published
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Elvis Fan
on June 29, 2008
in Elvis Presley, Music and Rock 'n' Roll
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Top Elvis Movies to Rent This Weekend
Elvis Presley was better known as a singer and entertainer but he also worked in films. In his lifetime, Elvis made 33 films; 31 were feature films and 2 were documentaries about his life as a performer. Although most of his films were box office successes, almost all of them were panned by many critics. But really, who cares? If you’re watching an Elvis film, would you really mind? Here are some of the top Elvis movies you might want to rent on video night:

Viva Las Vegas
Elvis means Vegas and Vegas, of course, means Elvis. ‘Viva Las Vegas’ is arguably the best of the films Elvis made after he was discharged from the Army. This is pure Vegas entertainment; glitzy, glossy and full of bubble gum fun. Elvis plays a race car driver opposite Ann Margaret’s character. The plot is lean (it’s an Elvis movie, remember?) but just sit back and enjoy the songs, dance, race car scenes and the incomparable Elvis-Ann Margaret chemistry.

King Creole
If you want the film that had the least bad reviews, this is the Elvis movie you should watch. In fact, this is probably the movie that gave us a peek at the talent behind the emerging legend that is Elvis. Originally intended for James Dean, the lead role that Elvis played showed his acting prowess best. It is another musical (we’re not sure if the studio was playing it safe at the time or merely capitalizing on what Elvis did best) but it has its great moments. Based on the novel ‘A Stone for Danny Fisher’ by Harold Robbins, King Creole can be a little bit over-the-top at times but it is an enjoyable movie starring Elvis in a serious role.

Jailhouse Rock
Elvis goes to jail! If you want the raw ‘56 or ‘57 Elvis with the pencil pants, this should give you a good look at a man during the first precious stages of his entertaining ability and good looks. He plays Vince Everett, a young man who goes to prison for accidentally killing another man in a brawl. The prison is where Vince learns to sing and play the guitar, with a little help from his cellmate.

After his release, he decides to use his new-found talent and become a professional singer and performer. This is the movie with that famous ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and ‘You’re So Square’ musical performances. You’ll love the songs in this film and Elvis, of course, along with his equally pretty lead actress. Although you’ll find a colorized version of the film, try the black and white version to appreciate the original effect.

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Elvis Presley The Ladies Man

Published
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Elvis Fan
on June 26, 2008
in Elvis Presley, Music and Rock 'n' Roll
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Of Elvis’ many girls: who were the ones always on his mind?

Elvis Presley was a ladies man. He had relationships with a wide range of women in his lifetime. From thin to buxom, tall to short, and redhead to blonde, he spent time with all types of women. He had affairs with country girls, foxy women, and lovely superstars.

Well, Elvis had often been associated with promiscuousness and machismo. And not a few people, some of which were members of The King’s inner circle of friends, bear witness not only to Elvis’ power over girls but to his countless sexual exploits as well.

Early Girlfriends

Early Elvis girlfriends include June Juanico and Judy Spreckels who are adamant about pronouncing their relationship with Elvis as only platonic friendships and that there were no sexual relationships with him whatsoever.

League Of Stars

There are allegations about the late legend’s one-night affair with a famous Hollywood siren named Marilyn Monroe. While many quarters simply dismiss this claim as nothing but a rumor, the possibility was likely.

Cassandra Peterson, an American actress famous for her role as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark also dated Elvis. But she claimed that it happened only once and that they didn’t do anything but talk.

Peggy Lipton Jones, an American socialite and actress, briefly dated Elvis but their relationship ended abruptly when she tried to persuade The King to affiliate with the Church of Scientology. She is convinced that he was, in essence, impotent due to the amount of drugs he used.

Other Elvis girls included Lori Williams who described Elvis as a perfect gentleman and a very sweet guy. Cybill Shepherd, an American actress, declared that she slept with Elvis. Ann-Margaret, a Swedish-American superstar, refers to Elvis as her soul mate; but many people dismiss this as a publicity stunt to increase public interest for her film with Elvis in 1963.

The One Who Got Hooked

And finally, comes Priscilla Ann Beaulieu who eventually married Elvis in 1967 after years of engagement. The couple divorced in 1973. They had a daughter, Lisa Marie, who can also be considered as one, if not the most, beloved of Elvis’ girls.

So what attracted these women to Elvis Presley? They sure knew that a relationship with The King wouldn’t be a typical love affair given his career and fame. Everybody knew too that no woman would ever have Elvis for herself because there was competition with his career and with other women.

Elvis’ girls all came to him as if under a spell maybe not because of his wealth or fame. Perhaps, it was because he simply knew how to treat them right.

Elvis Presley Videos

Published
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Elvis Fan
on June 23, 2008
in Elvis Presley, Music and Rock 'n' Roll
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Videos of Elvis: A Kings Life on a Roll

Perhaps one of the most celebrated singers and actors throughout entertainment history was Elvis Presley. Nobody can deny the kind of charisma and distinct voice this man possessed that catapulted him to international stardom.

So its not surprising that the current generation is looking for Elvis Presley imprints, especially online. Its easy. After all, there are a lot of Elvis Presley videos.

Frank Sinatra and Elvis

Las Vegas used to have two bankable names in its early days. These were Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. One of the most popular videos on the World Wide Web is the performance of the King and the Old Blue Eyes singing Witchcraft and Love Me Tender together.

Elvis Presley, the Lover

While the King of Rock and Roll was at his finest, he married the lovely and young Priscilla in 1967. His wedding and his personal life were documented extensively in a variety of videos that you can find online.

Elvis in Military Draft

Just barely two years into his music career, Elvis was called to be drafted into the military from Tennessee, his home state. He was later assigned in Germany, where it was alleged he started taking drugs such as amphetamines. It wasn’t until two years after his service that he got back on stage.

The Actor

Elvis trivia suggests that singing was just his way of surviving, but his ultimate dream was to be an actor. One of the most famous movies was King Creole, which was shown in 1958. He starred as a rebellious and young Danny Fisher.

Unchained Melody and Blue Christmas

It’s never been a question that Elvis has sung many songs that catapulted his name to fame and remained to enthrall peoples fascination even until today. But if there’s one song that has stuck in everyone’s minds, it will be his soulful and strong rendition of Unchained Melody.
On the other hand, why do people do get blue during the holiday season? Perhaps you can blame a portion of it on Elvis. His Blue Christmas continues to provide some passive moments for lovers and non-lovers alike throughout the ages. You can search for his performances of the classic hit songs on popular video sharing sites on the Internet.

Elvis Impersonators

Because Elvis was such an interesting character in history, a lot of people love to imitate him. You can find them in Las Vegas chapels officiating express weddings or in bars all over Las Vegas. Or you can watch their performances on your own PC.

Relive Elvis as many times as you want with searchable online videos.

Elvis and His Album Collection

Published
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Elvis Fan
on June 20, 2008
in Elvis Presley, Music and Rock 'n' Roll
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Elvis Presley Enterprises and Graceland have both catalogued The King’s record collection with over 1000 singles and albums that fill up a list of 24 pages.

When he was alive, Elvis Presley loved listening to opera stars such as Enrico Caruso and Mario Lanza. However, there is only one Lanza recording in Elvis’ collection. The record is black rhythm and blues and a bit of black and white gospel.

For the fans benefit, Elvis Presley Enterprises has catalogued the recording collection by title and alphabetically arranged it based on the last name of the artists. The exact number for every category may not be available instantly though. This is because a lot of the solo and group artists who started out as gospel singers have crossed over into other genres such as rhythm, blues and pop.

Friends Know Best
However, Elvis’ friends commented that they had no need for the list in order for them to know that his favorites were gospel recordings simply because this is what he loved to play to them. He preferred close harmony above all.

Elvis favorite groups included the Harmonizing Four and Golden Gate, Jimmy Hones, Mahalia Jackson and Jake Hess (who later formed the Imperials.) That close harmony was what made him a fan of The Platters and Ink Spots. He also favored love songs.

In his album collection, rock bands are quite rare. There were four albums by the Beatles and albums from the Turtles and Chicago but Elvis preferred soloists over groups.

Favorite Women Singers
There are few female singers in Elvis Presley’s album collection but his friends claimed that his favorites were Anne Murray (because she had a distinctive and clear voice), Vicki Carr, Della Reese, Mahalia Jackson, Bobbie Gentry, Dionne Warwick, Leslie Uggams, the Andrews Sisters, the McGuire Sisters, Tim Yuro and the Sweet Inspirations, who were once his back-up group.

Elvis was a balladeer and a rocker but he wasn’t much of a jazz fan but he owned a Duke Ellington album in his collection. There are classical music albums from Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart.

It’s interesting to know that an artist who has influenced contemporary artists was also influenced by artists of his own time. He was also influenced by those who came before him. Art truly surpasses time and through this Elvis Presley album collection, we got into the inner workings of The Kings ears.