Saturday, January 04, 2014

January 04 - Elvis At The Dome and Oklahoma City

New footage of a performance Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore, Bill Black and DJ Fontana did on April 19, 1956 in Oklahoma City turned up on YouTube. The footage of Elvis Presley starts at 8:35.

Elvis: 1970 In The Dome

JAT Publishing will release the book, "Elvis: 1970 In The Dome" mid-January. This book, written by Joseph A. Tunzi, focuses on Elvis' legendary concert at The Dome with more than 160 unpublished pictures. Also includes photos from the January 27 to February 23rd 1970 'On Stage' season at the Las Vegas Hilton. As a bonus is a DVD that includes footage from the press conference.

Phil Everly Died

Phil Everly, who with his brother Don made up the most revered vocal duo of the rock-music era, their exquisite harmonies profoundly influencing the Beatles, the Beach Boys and countless younger rock, folk and country singers, died Friday in Burbank, CA. of complications from chronic pulmonary disease the result of a lifetime of cigarette smoking. He was 74. 

You could argue that while Elvis Presley was the king of rock`n'roll, Phil and Don Everly were its troubled princes. They sang dark songs hidden behind deceptively pleasing harmonies and were perfect interpreters of the twitchy hearts of millions of baby boomer teens coming of age in the 1950s and `60s looking to express themselves beyond the simple platitudes of the pop music of the day.

During the height of their popularity in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Everly Brothers had nearly three dozen hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, among them “Cathy’s Clown,” “Wake Up Little Susie,” “Bye Bye Love,” “When Will I Be Loved” and “All I Have to Do Is Dream.” 

It was when the Everly Brothers were taken up by the Cadence record label that their careers began to take off. In 1957 they recorded Felice and Boudleaux Bryant’s 'Bye Bye Love' on which Phil and Don played guitars alongside Chet Atkins. The song was an immediate hit, and established the brothers as the first successful pop act to come out of Nashville. They followed this success in the same year with 'Wake Up Little Susie', 'All

I Have to Do Is Dream' and 'Devoted to You' and by were one of the most famous pop acts worldwide along with Elvis, Pat Boone and Ricky Nelson. 
After the release of 'Let It Be Me' in 1959, the Everlys moved to Warner Bros Records. 'Cathy’s Clown' remained at No 1 in America for five weeks in 1960 selling more than eight million copies worldwide. 

Elvis was well-aware of the delight of the close harmonies of The Everly Brothers recordings. When he arrived at Nashville's RCA StudioB on March 20th 1960 for his 'Elvis Is Back!' sessions, just 2 days earlier Elvis' new studio band (Nashville’s outstanding 'A Team') had just worked with The Everlys recording their #1 pop classic 'Cathy's Clown’. 
In his personal record collection Elvis owned the Everly's 'All I Have To Do Is Dream', 'That'll Be the Day' and the 1967 single 'Bowling Green' if not more. 
In 1970 Elvis recorded his own version of their magnificent 'Let It Be Me' for his 'On-Stage' album - while the Everly's key composers Felice and Boudleaux Bryant also wrote 'How's The World Treating You' and 'She Wears My Ring' which Elvis would also record.  

Coincidentally in the fifties Elvis also dated Hollywood starlet Venetia Stevenson  who would later marry Don Everly in 1962. 

(Source: JAP Publishing / Elvis Australia / FECC / Oklahoma Historical Society / Elvis Information Network)