OMG! Elvis Is In The Building, Right Now!

 

A VERY Big Night For Elvis AND Austin!

 

Oh, Yes: Those Stories About Elvis . . .

A insert from"A Guy Named Elvis"

In 1971, in the middle of Tom Jones’ show at the Stardust in Las Vegas, Elvis Presley got up and walked out. The usual arrangement to view a performance like this was for the maître d’ to sit Elvis and the group after the lights went down, and to escort them to the backstage dressing room before the end of the show to avoid being a distraction.

But Elvis was in the habit of drinking lots of Mountain Valley Spring Water, and in the middle of Jones’ show, he had to go to the bathroom. Jerry Schilling, one of the athletic Memphis Mafia, got up to go with him. Presley carried a cane then, both for the look and its potential as an emergency weapon. However, his best defensive move on the bathroom run was speed – Elvis had learned to do a fast power-walk through the lobbies and casinos and showrooms to avoid being stopped, and Jerry could hardly keep up with him…

On our way back from the bathroom, we were walking even faster than we had before. We passed a little lounge where a cover band was playing. Their lead singer was a big burley guy who happened to be in the middle of singing an Elvis tune. The big guy wasn’t bad, but he was overdoing the Elvis vibrato just a bit. Without breaking stride, Elvis said, “Jerry, wait here,” and stormed into the lounge.

He walked right up to the stage, hoisted his cane like he was going to clobber this guy and said, “If you’re gonna do it, do it right.” He gave the crowd in the lounge a great big wink, hopped off the stage, and zoomed right out of there. But the big singer didn’t see the wink – he’d been so startled that he’d fallen over on the stage.

We were cracking up about it all the way back to our table. But no sooner did I get settled in to see the rest of Tom’s show than Elvis leaned over to tell me, “Jerry, go back and invite that guy and his band to come up to the suite after the show.”

#elvispresleyrememberedforev

I'm not quite sure how this happened but somewhere along the line I started reading books about Elvis.

Yes, that Elvis; the guy who is still widely impersonated; Elvis who has left the building; the Elvis.
Well, I've always enjoyed celebrity bios and I love to read about fame and fortune. 

But I was never a Elvis fan -- not really until later. Yes, I could distinguish Blue Suede Shoes from Hound Dog but that's about as far as my interest in or knowledge of Elvis ever went. In fact, I never owned a single Elvis recording of any kind until recently. 

And what I discovered in listening to Elvis on the SeriusXM radio channel dedicated to him is that before anyone did anything, Elvis did everything. He sang all types of music and excelled at most everything he turned to.
Still, why did I read Ginger Alden's Elvis and Ginger, her memoir of her life with Elvis? I'm not quite sure. Curiosity, I suppose.
Ginger was Elvis' last girlfriend. She was with The King the night he died. She claims he intended to marry her. And, it seems she was also lead to believe she would get part of Elvis' estate. None of that happened. For Ginger, Elvis' death represented very bad timing.

After Ginger's account of life with Elvis, I moved on to Child Bride, Suzanne Finlad's story of the life of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, Elvis' only wife and the mother of Elvis' only child, Lisa Marie. Here I learned that Priscilla's maiden name is pronounced bow-lee-ew and that she really was a child bride but also a manipulative young woman who was wise (and likely sexually experienced) beyond her years. She set out to land Elvis and she succeeded. Of course, had all this happened today, Elvis would likely be brought up on charges of child molestation.
Still, once 'Csilla was of age, they did get married. But far from being a "happily ever after" story, the beginning of their marriage was also pretty much the beginning of the end.

Next I turned to Linda Thompson's book, A Little Thing Called Life. Linda was Elvis main squeeze after Priscilla was gone. Linda later married Bruce (Caitlyn) Jenner. Linda got around. She was also married to record producer David Foster and has written a few hit songs. From Linda I learned that Elvis wore those high collars because he was always self conscious about his "skinny little chicken neck" -- that's what his parents called it, anyway. Also, Elvis "honored" Linda's chastity by waiting to consummate the relationship until Linda was ready. But Elvis (one of the world's most sought-after sex symbols) wasn't that much into the sex act itself, anyway. His was always very self-conscious about his performance and feared he would disappoint his partner. After all, women approached him with very high expectations, he figured. So, Elvis mostly preferred cuddling and making out.
Finally, it was onto the newest Elvis book, Being Elvis: A Lonely Life written by British author and music aficionado Ray Connolly. This is a real, honest-to-goodness, clear-eyed, credible biography that follows Elvis from the time of his birth in Tupelo, Mississippi (his twin brother died in child brith) to that hot, awful, August night in Memphis when Elvis Aaron Presley took his last breath at age 42. Here, we get the unvarnished truth about Elvis.

Though Elvis had a huge court of jesters, enablers and sycophants, The King was a very lonely man. In some ways, he was just a dirt poor, dejected southern boy who remained largely uneducated and unsophisticated. In other ways, he was a spoiled youngster who grew into an indulged and protected man child who hid his self absorption behind a carefully cultivated image that was reinforced by endless performances and extravagant gifts.
Elvis squandered millions on gifts of cars, jewels, even houses doled out to everyone from his paramours and closest confidants to total strangers. Surrounded by what appeared to be love and admiration, Elvis remained detached, paranoiac and suspicious. He had a fascination with guns and kept a pistol inside each boot while he performed onstage. Regardless of the bodyguards surrounding him, he figured he was ready in case anyone tried to attack him.

And, Elvis was a druggie. It started early on when his mother, Gladys introduced him to uppers (her wight-loss pills) to give him energy to get through all those one night stands. And it just went on from there. An autopsy showed that he had "14 drugs in his body at the time of his death; ten including codeine and Quaaludes in significant toxic numbers," Connolly reports. In fact Elvis regularly took a very powerful drug, Dilaudid to put him to sleep. Then, he had to take uppers to get himself going again.  The cycle went on for decades, and it took it's toll.
Many people associate the very early days of Elvis with his legendary appearances on the Ed Sullivan TV show. Elvis was fortunate to arrive not just at the beginning of rock and roll but at the beginning of the TV era as well. He would be the first to tell you that he was lucky -- lucky in his timing, lucky in the people that he met who helped him get his start, lucky in the way his talent was allowed to emerge.

But even before Ed Sullivan, Elvis appeared on the Jackie Gleason Show. At that time, Gleason told Elvis this: "Elvis, you're going to be a very big star. Here's some advice. Don't hide. Walk in the streets, go to restaurants, but don't hide. Because, if you do, you're going to be the loneliest guy in the world,"
If only Elvis had listened.

Complete List Of 2023 Golden Globe Winners

And here are the winners from last night:

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

The Fabelmans

BEST MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

The Banshees of Inisherin

BEST TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA

House of the Dragon

BEST TELEVISION LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR TELEVISION MOTION PICTURE

The White Lotus, HBO Max

BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Evan Peters, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Amanda Seyfried, The Dropout

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – TEOR TELEVISION
Amanda Seyfried, The Dropout

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – TELEVISION LIMITED SERIES/MOTION PICTURE
Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – TELEVISION LIMITED SERIES/ANTHOLOGY/TV MOVIE
Paul Walter Houser, Black Bird

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin

BEST MOTION PICTURE – NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Argentina, 1985 (Argentina), Amazon Prime Video

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Cate Blanchett, Tár

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – TELEVISION SERIES
Julia Garner, Ozark

BEST ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Zendaya, Euphoria

BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Austin Butler, Elvis (pictured above)

BEST MOTION PICTURE – ANIMATED
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Netflix

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin

BEST ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary

BEST ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Jeremy Allen White, The Bear

EST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
“Naatu Naatu”, RRR
Music by: M.M. Keeravani; Lyrics by: Kala Bhairava, Rahul Sipligunj

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
Justin Hurwitz, Babylon

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – TELEVISION SERIES
Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once

BEST TELEVISION SERIES, MUSIC OR COMEDY
Abbott Elementary

BEST TELEVISION ACTOR, DRAMA
Kevin Costner

Why Elvis, The Movie, Demands Your Attention!

No, Elvis Presley never fired his manager,  Colonel Tom Parker from the stage of the International Hotel in Vegas.  And Elvis was not chummy with B.B. King. Also Priscilla likely never begged Elvis to enter rehab for his drug problem and Bobby Kennedy was not murdered while Elvis was taping his landmark, comeback TV special. Furthermore, Elvis did not go into the Army to avoid being jailed for indecency. All of those scenes are depicted in Baz Lurhmann's sweeping new biopic Elvis, now playing in theaters.

But you should still go see the movie because Lurhmann get's a lot right in this stunning spectacle which will unrelentingly hold your attention for nearly three hours with constant movement, quick cuts, split screens, overlapping anguished moments, vintage photos, animated sequences, newspaper headlines, the full-throated screeching of devotees and, of course, endless music. If you thought Lurhmann pulled out all the stops in Moulin Rouge, think again. With Elvis, he shows that he still has plenty of tricks up his sleeve and he uses all of them in a slam bang film that's perfect for the TicTock generation but also dutifully evocative for the rest of us.

This movie is epic. There's no other way to describe it. And yes, it borrows from other movies and other directors and, in its own way, pays homage to them. But it's also a daringly original work. Lurhmann has a a lot of ground to cover here (all 42 years of Elvis' life) and he skips over some key portions (like Elvis' military service in Germany) but he manages to pull it all off by having Colonel Parker (superbly portrayed by Tom Hanks) as the film's narrator. As for Austin Butler's star turn as Elvis, it's simply breathtaking. This is not somebody pretending to be Elvis and this is no impersonation. Rather, this is as close to an inhabitation as you will ever see. Butler assumes the presence of Elvis and delivers the essence of his legendary performer for new generations. Both Hanks and Butler are giving Oscar worthy performances here.

Go see Elvis. And, by all means, see it in a theater on the Big Screen. Nothing else will do this movie justice. As the examination of one iconic personality and his impact on others, this is right up there with Citizen Kane.

One Of The Most Beautiful Songs Ever Recorded!

"I Will Be Home Again" was released on the album Elvis Is Back!. It was written by Bennie Benjamin, Raymond Leveen, and Lou Singer, in 1944. It was the first song that Elvis' army buddy (at the time,) Charlie Hodge, sang harmony with Elvis.

Maybe You Never Knew This About 'The King'

I'm not quite sure how this happened but somewhere along the line I started reading books about Elvis.
Yes, that Elvis; the guy who is still widely impersonated; Elvis who has left the building; theElvis.
Well, I've always enjoyed celebrity bios and I love to read about fame and fortune. But I was never, ever an Elvis fan -- not when Elvis was in his prime, not later and not now. Yes, I could distinguish Blue Suede Shoes from Hound Dog but that's about as far as my interest in or knowledge of Elvis ever went. In fact, I never owned a single Elvis recording of any kind. And I still don't.


So why did I read Ginger Alden's Elvis and Ginger, her memoir of her life with Elvis? I'm not quite sure. Curiosity, I suppose.
Ginger was Elvis' last girlfriend. She was with The King the night he died. She claims he intended to marry her. And, it seems she was also led to believe she would get part of Elvis' estate. None of that happened. For Ginger, Elvis' death represented very bad timing.

After Ginger's account of life with Elvis, I moved on to Child Bride, Suzanne Finlad's story of the life of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, Elvis' only wife and the mother of Elvis' only child, Lisa Marie. Here I learned that Priscilla's maiden name is pronounced bow-lee-ew and that she really was a child bride but also a manipulative young woman who was wise (and likely sexually experienced) beyond her years. She set out to land Elvis and she succeeded. Of course, had all this happened today, Elvis would likely be brought up on charges of child molestation.
Still, once 'Csilla was of age, they did get married. But far from being a "happily ever after" story, the beginning of their marriage was also pretty much the beginning of the end.


Next I turned to Linda Thompson's book, A Little Thing Called Life. Linda was Elvis main squeeze after Priscilla was gone. Linda later married Bruce (Caitlyn) Jenner. Linda got around. She was also married to record producer David Foster and has written a few hit songs. From Linda I learned that Elvis wore those high collars because he was always self conscious about his "skinny little chicken neck" -- that's what his parents called it, anyway. Also, Elvis "honored" Linda's chastity by waiting to consummate the relationship until Linda was ready. But Elvis (one of the world's most sought-after sex symbols) wasn't that much into the sex act itself, anyway. His was always very self-conscious about his performance and feared he would disappoint his partner. After all, women approached him with very high expectations, he figured. So, Elvis mostly preferred cuddling and making out.


Finally, it was onto the newest Elvis book, Being Elvis: A Lonely Life written by British author and music aficionado Ray Connolly. This is a real, honest-to-goodness, clear-eyed, credible biography that follows Elvis from the time of his birth in Tupelo, Mississippi (his twin brother died in child brith) to that hot, awful, August night in Memphis when Elvis Aaron Presley took his last breath at age 42. Here, we get the unvarnished truth about Elvis.
Though Elvis had a huge court of jesters, enablers and sycophants, The King was a very lonely man. In some ways, he was just a dirt poor, dejected southern boy who remained largely uneducated and unsophisticated. In other ways, he was a spoiled youngster who grew into an indulged and protected man child who hid his self absorption behind a carefully cultivated image that was reinforced by endless performances and extravagant gifts.
Elvis squandered millions on gifts of cars, jewels, even houses doled out to everyone from his paramours and closest confidants to total strangers. Surrounded by what appeared to be love and admiration, Elvis remained detached, paranoiac and suspicious. He had a fascination with guns and kept a pistol inside each boot while he performed onstage. Regardless of the bodyguards surrounding him, he figured he was ready in case anyone tried to attack him.
And, Elvis was a druggie. It started early on when his mother, Gladys introduced him to uppers (her wight-loss pills) to give him energy to get through all those one night stands. And it just went on from there. An autopsy showed that he had "14 drugs in his body at the time of his death; ten including codeine and Quaaludes in significant toxic numbers," Connolly reports. In fact Elvis regularly took a very powerful drug, Dilaudid to put him to sleep. Then, he had to take uppers to get himself going again.  The cycle went on for decades, and it took it's toll.

Many people associate the very early days of Elvis with his legendary appearances on the Ed Sullivan TV show. Elvis was fortunate to arrive not just at the beginning of rock and roll but at the beginning of the TV era as well. He would be the first to tell you that he was lucky -- lucky in his timing, lucky in the people that he met who helped him get his start, lucky in the way his talent was allowed to emerge.
But even before Ed Sullivan, Elvis appeared on the Jackie Gleason Show. At that time, Gleason told Elvis this: "Elvis, you're going to be a very big star. Here's some advice. Don't hide. Walk in the streets, go to restaurants, but don't hide. Because, if you do, you're going to be the loneliest guy in the world,"
If only Elvis had listened.

The Secrets The King Never, Ever Revealed

I'm not quite sure how this happened but somewhere along the line I started reading books about Elvis.
Yes, that Elvis; the guy who is still widely impersonated; Elvis who has left the building; the Elvis.
Well, I've always enjoyed celebrity bios and I love to read about fame and fortune. But I was never, ever an Elvis fan -- not when Elvis was in his prime, not later and not now. Yes, I could distinguish Blue Suede Shoes from Hound Dog but that's about as far as my interest in or knowledge of Elvis ever went. In fact, I never owned a single Elvis recording of any kind. And I still don't.
So why did I read Ginger Alden's Elvis and Ginger, her memoir of her life with Elvis? I'm not quite sure. Curiosity, I suppose.
Ginger was Elvis' last girlfriend. She was with The King the night he died. She claims he intended to marry her. And, it seems she was also lead to believe she would get part of Elvis' estate. None of that happened. For Ginger, Elvis' death represented very bad timing.

After Ginger's account of life with Elvis, I moved on to Child Bride, Suzanne Finlad's story of the life of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, Elvis' only wife and the mother of Elvis' only child, Lisa Marie. Here I learned that Priscilla's maiden name is pronounced bow-lee-ew and that she really was a child bride but also a manipulative young woman who was wise (and likely sexually experienced) beyond her years. She set out to land Elvis and she succeeded. Of course, had all this happened today, Elvis would likely be brought up on charges of child molestation.
Still, once 'Csilla was of age, they did get married. But far from being a "happily ever after" story, the beginning of their marriage was also pretty much the beginning of the end.
Next I turned to Linda Thompson's book, A Little Thing Called Life. Linda was Elvis main squeeze after Priscilla was gone. Linda later married Bruce (Caitlyn) Jenner. Linda got around. She was also married to record producer David Foster and has written a few hit songs. From Linda I learned that Elvis wore those high collars because he was always self conscious about his "skinny little chicken neck" -- that's what his parents called it, anyway. Also, Elvis "honored" Linda's chastity by waiting to consummate the relationship until Linda was ready. But Elvis (one of the world's most sought-after sex symbols) wasn't that much into the sex act itself, anyway. His was always very self-conscious about his performance and feared he would disappoint his partner. After all, women approached him with very high expectations, he figured. So, Elvis mostly preferred cuddling and making out.
Finally, it was onto the newest Elvis book, Being Elvis: A Lonely Life written by British author and music aficionado Ray Connolly. This is a real, honest-to-goodness, clear-eyed, credible biography that follows Elvis from the time of his birth in Tupelo, Mississippi (his twin brother died in child brith) to that hot, awful, August night in Memphis when Elvis Aaron Presley took his last breath at age 42. Here, we get the unvarnished truth about Elvis.
Though Elvis had a huge court of jesters, enablers and sycophants, The King was a very lonely man. In some ways, he was just a dirt poor, dejected southern boy who remained largely uneducated and unsophisticated. In other ways, he was a spoiled youngster who grew into an indulged and protected man child who hid his self absorption behind a carefully cultivated image that was reinforced by endless performances and extravagant gifts.
Elvis squandered millions on gifts of cars, jewels, even houses doled out to everyone from his paramours and closest confidants to total strangers. Surrounded by what appeared to be love and admiration, Elvis remained detached, paranoiac and suspicious. He had a fascination with guns and kept a pistol inside each boot while he performed onstage. Regardless of the bodyguards surrounding him, he figured he was ready in case anyone tried to attack him.
And, Elvis was a druggie. It started early on when his mother, Gladys introduced him to uppers (her wight-loss pills) to give him energy to get through all those one night stands. And it just went on from there. An autopsy showed that he had "14 drugs in his body at the time of his death; ten including codeine and Quaaludes in significant toxic numbers," Connolly reports. In fact Elvis regularly took a very powerful drug, Dilaudid to put him to sleep. Then, he had to take uppers to get himself going again.  The cycle went on for decades, and it took it's toll.
Many people associate the very early days of Elvis with his legendary appearances on the Ed Sullivan TV show. Elvis was fortunate to arrive not just at the beginning of rock and roll but at the beginning of the TV era as well. He would be the first to tell you that he was lucky -- lucky in his timing, lucky in the people that he met who helped him get his start, lucky in the way his talent was allowed to emerge.
But even before Ed Sullivan, Elvis appeared on the Jackie Gleason Show. At that time, Gleason told Elvis this: "Elvis, you're going to be a very big star. Here's some advice. Don't hide. Walk in the streets, go to restaurants, but don't hide. Because, if you do, you're going to be the loneliest guy in the world,"
If only Elvis had listened.

Inside A Private World Of Fame, Fortune

We had almost forgotten these.
Almost.
These are extraordinary artifacts from some of the most legendary stars and public figures ever. We photographed them a few years ago in Manhattan shortly before they were auctioned off at a major auction house on the upper east side.
We thought we'd share them with you now.

These are the actual Ten Commandments that Moses (Charlton Heston) accepted from God in the epic Cecil B. DeMille movie of the same name. 

An engraved cigarette case presented to Clark Gable by producer David O. Selznick upon the completion of the movie Gone With The Wind.

Frank Sinatra's silver chain-link Cartier watch.

A handwritten letter from Joe DiMaggio to Marilyn Monroe. To him she was "Merlyn."

A not-so-flattering photograph of Marilyn Monroe apparently taken near the end of her life.

The presidential seal on the blue lap blanket from the presidential limousine that transported President John F. Kennedy through Dallas on the day he was assassinated.

A gold and diamond pendant that Elvis Presley wore around his neck when he toured in concert. The pendant is displayed by the vivacious Carole Cirucci.

Hollywood Starlet Embraces Life Of Cloistered Nun

Dolores Hart stunned Hollywood in 1963, when after ten highly successful feature films, she chose to enter a contemplative monastery. Now, fifty years later, Mother Dolores gives this fascinating account of her life, with co-author and life-long friend, Richard DeNeut.

Dolores was a bright and beautiful college student when she made her film debut with Elvis Presley in Paramount's 1957 Loving You. She acted in nine more movies with other big stars such as Montgomery Clift, Anthony Quinn and Myrna Loy. She also gave a Tony-nominated performance in the Broadway play The Pleasure of His Company and appeared in television shows, including The Virginian and Playhouse 90. An important chapter in her life occurred while playing Saint Clare in the movie Francis of Assisi, which was filmed on location in Italy.

Born Dolores Hicks to a complicated and colorful Chicago family, Mother Dolores has travelled a charmed yet challenging road in her journey toward God, serenity and, yes, love. She entered the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut, at the peak of her career, not in order to leave the glamorous world of acting she had dreamed of since childhood, but in order to answer a mysterious call she heard with the "ear of the heart". While contracted for another film and engaged to be married, she abandoned everything to become a bride of Christ.

Elvis: Rare Photos Now On View!

Elvis is in the house at the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, suburban Philadelphia. 
These are striking, large-format photos of Elvis at 21 -- more than 50 of them by photographer Alfred Wertheimer. The show runs through May 15.

Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer.
Freelance photojournalist Alfred Wertheimer was hired by RCA Victor in 1956 to shoot promotional images of recently signed 21-year-old recording artist Elvis Presley. Wertheimer's instincts were to "tag along" with the artist after the assignment and the resulting images provide us with a look at Elvis before he exploded onto the scene and became one of the most exciting performers of his time.
Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer was developed collaboratively by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery and the Govinda Gallery. Elvis at 21 will travel to museums around the country through 2013.
Wertheimer had unparalleled access and documented Elvis on the road, backstage, in concert, in the recording studio and at home in Memphis, Tenn. "Colonel" Tom Parker, Elvis' manager, restricted contact just a short time later. The photographs document a remarkable time when Elvis could sit alone at a drugstore lunch counter.
"Henri Cartier-Bresson was known for photographing the decisive moment, that moment when everything falls into place," said Wertheimer. "But I was more interested in the moments just before or just after the decisive moment."
Wertheimer was up close to capture a flirtatious encounter with a young woman backstage in Richmond, Va. He was in the New York City recording studio on the historic day Elvis recorded "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog." Both songs hit No. 1 on the charts, the first and only time a single record would achieve this distinction.
Wertheimer also joined Elvis after the recording session as he traveled home to Memphis by train. One image shows Elvis as just part of the crowd surrounding a lunch vendor on a train platform during a brief stop on the 27-hour trip. The anonymity he had during this stop was short-lived; the trip followed a busy few months when Elvis appeared on the television shows "Stage Show," "The Milton Berle Show" and "The Steve Allen Show." The photographs of a concert in Russwood Park on his return to Memphis show a young man who now had to have a police escort to get through the crowd of fans between his car and the stadium.
Elvis at 21 is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalog, titled "Elvis 1956," available in the Museum shop.

Hunka Burnin Love

Yes, I was around when Elvis was in his prime.

And yes, I even remember some of his early hits. And I saw him on the Ed Sullivan Show (only from the waist up, of course).

But I was never a big Elvis fan.

It wasn't that I disliked Elvis. It's just that I never really connected with him or his music.

And I've never bought into these Elvis recreation shows.

But . . . Mike Helms of Fort Mill, South Carolina performs as Elvis at Skillets Cafe here in Hilton Head every summer and he's wonderful. And so, through Mike I've really come to appreciate Elvis' music.

Mike is very faithful to the look, the sound and the mannerisms of Elvis and, above all, he has a wonderful voice. He knows how to sing the songs of Elvis.

His show doesn't caricature Elvis. It's true to The King and his music and it's also lots of fun.

In addition to his Thursday night gigs at Skillets Mike also performs on Friday nights at Coligny Plaza here on the island. And Mike always draws a big crowd. Last night I was once again part of that crowd.

So, if you're down this way don't miss Mike's performance as "The Big E." It's truly a memorable, entertaining evening!