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If you love Elvis and the Happy Days Rock 'n Roll he
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Elvis by the Presleys
continues to feed our never-ending desire to hear more, know more
about The King
by Daniel Hines
Publisher, America's Seniors at TodaysSeniorsNetwork.com
 It seems we just can't get enough of
Elvis...and the Elvis by the Presleys double CD is sure to become a
'must-have' CD for the legion of The King's fans.
And, I think I know the reason
why.
It is hard for those who weren't around when Presley broke on the
scene to understand the impact he had. I have always told people
that it is like being Dorothy in Wizard of Oz...when we go to bed,
we are in a black and white world in Kansas, and when we wake up,
we're in a Technicolor magic kingdom.
That's the way it was with Elvis.
He wasn't that much older than a lot of us when we first heard him.
I went crazy, purchasing the Sun records (at one time, I had all the
original 45 RPMs...I can't stand to visit eBay to see what my
investment might have become). Then we followed him to RCA and
finally to and through the Army.
While Time Magazine and others belittled him, we knew the
truth--Elvis was and still is the real thing.
And, even though we grew up with
him, saw his movies and TV shows, I have to admit that I really
never saw him in person. And that's why even today I pine for
one particular lost opportunity.
I had three weeks before
interviewed Johnny Cash on a freelance job that I thought would be
the first step in making me the next Rex Reed, allowing me to end my
humdrum PR job.
It was while traveling to Ft.
Wayne for the PR job that I had my 'brush' with Elvis.
As I walked out of the hotel,
there was a busload emptying out an entourage unlike anything that I
had ever seen before--beautiful show girls, long-haired musicians,
dancers, singers...I and my photographer stood there like the rubes
we were--it was the touring Elvis show.
Perhaps this would be our chance
to meet and interview The Great One...so we staggered back into the
hotel lobby and watched, hoping to get a glimpse of The King.
I left a message requesting an interview, taking care to mention
that I had recently interviewed his Sun label compatriot Johnny.
Then we waited and waited.
Finally, the Memphis Mafia came in, read my note, turned and looked
at us and then walked away.
But I was not to be foiled.
We would simply call the front desk and ask for Elvis' room...duh!
"No one by that name is registered here..."
The fallback plan was to go to
each floor in the hotel. We quickly found out that the top
four floors were blocked off by security guards, so that ended my
dreams of meeting Elvis.
And, like many others of my
generation, I can remember vividly the day he died.
I didn't think much about it until
years later when I was doing the PR for a nationwide series of
visits to agricultural research facilities for about forty
agricultural scientists. One of the stops was Memphis.
Since these were all highly educated people, I polled them on what
they would like to do with their free time.
Stopping at Graceland was the
unanimous choice. And therein lies the secret of Elvis.
He was a musical genius, and had a
great voice. He made us smile. We have made love to his
music. He remains forever young.
The magic of Elvis by the
Presleys is that the producers have understood that down deep we
all wanted that one opportunity to be close to Elvis, and they have
fulfilled that need. The bonus CD has some previously unreleased
numbers, many of which we hear Elvis talking, laughing and joking
around. And the songs on the 'traditional' album contain the songs
that provide an intimate look at the songs that friends and family
members believe provide a dimension defines Elvis.
And, while I don't have the Sun
records anymore, I have a vast collection of Elvis songs. I
listen from time to time on the All Elvis station of Sirius.
But, as I listen to an album like
Elvis by the Presleys, I still wish that I could go back in
time to that hotel lobby, waiting like a kid for Elvis (who, I found
out later entered through the kitchen). I can't do that, but
Elvis by the Presleys is a pretty good substitute.
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