Category Archives: ELVIS COMMENTARY MINI-NUGGETS

I haven’t done any Mini-Nuggets for a year now, and I miss it.  They are always fun little stories.  And now, most of them have pictures.  Here are four good ones.

Geraldo Rivera and Elvis:

Last weekend, Fox News did two hours of specials celebrating Geraldo Rivera’s forty years in the TV business.  During his career, Geraldo had several Elvis-related events. 

In 1979, Geraldo Rivera was an investigative reporter on ABC’s news-magazine 20/20.  It had been two years since Elvis died, and Geraldo was aware of the silly stuff going around that Elvis wasn’t really dead.  So, he put together a show called “The Elvis Cover-Up,” and it become 20/20’s highest rated program with 43% of the total network audience.  “The Elvis Cover-Up” also established a TV newsmagazine ratings record that stood for 21 years.  I love the program that finally beat it — Barbara Walters’ exclusive interview with Monica Lewinsky.

Geraldo had so much success with his Elvis show, that he went back to the well a few more times and presented these programs:  “Elvis Cover-Up #2” and “The Legend Sells.”

In 1987 the Geraldo Rivera Show premiered, and it went on for over 2000 episodes.  Geraldo returned to Elvis once more in 1992, when he hosted a group of Elvis Impersonators.  (They weren’t referred to as Elvis Tribute Artists until years later.)  Not to be outshined by his guests, Geraldo hosted the show wearing a white jumpsuit with a gold cape.  It appears to be an original design, not a copy of an Elvis style.  It figures he still has that Elvis jumpsuit hanging in one of his closets.  Do you think he ever puts it on and does a little Karaoke?   I’ll bet he does.

Geraldo Rivera has bragged that he and Elvis are among the small group of people instantly recognized by their first name alone.

Bad News Ladies’ T-Shirt: 

Last week we looked at fifteen Elvis Tees on ShopElvis.com I like.  However, there was also one that just weirds me out.  It is called “Stage Dance Ladies Red T-Shirt.”  Even the name is strange.

Stage Dance Ladies Red T-Shirt

The website says it features a black-tone image of Elvis performing on stage with a yellow streak through the center.  But, look at the image.  Given just a quick look, you might think Elvis is being enveloped by a giant feather, or banana or a phallic symbol.  Who approved this one?  No wonder it was recently marked down by $5.

Bling, Elvis Style:

There was a fantastic piece of Elvis jewelry up for auction in England earlier this year.  This pendant was given to Elvis on closing night of his 1975 run at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel.   The person who gave it to Elvis was Barron Hilton, co-chairman of the Hilton Hotel group.  Later, he would be known as the grandfather of Paris Hilton.

Elvis’ St. Gaudens Gold and Diamond Pendant

At the center of the pendant is an exceptionally rare 1924 St. Gaudens $20 US gold coin, named after the designer, famed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.  It is among the most collectible coins in the world, worth $1,600 to $2,500, depending on rarity and condition.

The larger circle around the coin is 870 grams of solid gold.  There are 12 round-cut brilliant diamonds in a ring around the coin.  And, at the top of the medallion, there are forty round-cut diamonds spelling out E L V I S.  The total weight of the diamonds is 2.60 ct.

The pre-auction estimate was 750,000 to 1,000,000 pounds.  Although the minimum bid was 360,000 pounds, the auction website says the final bid was only 60,000 pounds ($96,000).  I don’t get it.  Sounds too cheap.

Elvis in Rainfall Jumpsuit Wearing his St. Gaudens Gold Medallion

Another Wertheimer Exhibition:

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will unveil its latest exhibit devoted to the King of Rock and Roll — ELVIS 1956.  Here’s what the RockHall website says about it.

As a part of the Museum’s 15th anniversary celebration, ELVIS 1956: Photographs by Alrfred Wertheimer will open to the public on Monday, September 13.  Taken during the year Elvis turned 21, Alfred Wertheimer’s photographs are a remarkable visual record of a defining time for rock and roll’s most enduring figure.

1956 was the year Elvis first appeared in the national consciousness. His RCA records and national TV broadcasts helped make him a star. Alfred Wertheimer, then a young freelance photojournalist, was there to document the extraordinary transition.

ELVIS 1956 is the first and last unguarded look at Elvis, featuring images of him in every aspect of his life—from performance and with the fans, to the recording studio and at home with his family.

©  2010    Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister    All Rights Reserved    www.ElvisBlog.net

Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.

A Name Suggestion for Cirque du Soleil:  While researching the upcoming Cirque show celebrating Elvis, I noticed something about the six permanent Cirque shows in Las Vegas.  They all have one-word (or one-letter) names.

So, you have to figure they will stay with that theme when they name the Elvis production.  I have two suggestions: “E” and “TCB.”  If they already have on “O,” why not an “E”?  That was, after all, what Elvis’ best buddies called him. Seems like a pretty good title for a show that celebrates his life.

Of course, “TCB” stands for Taking Care of Business, which has become synonymous with Elvis.  And, it already has a ready-made logo with Elvis’ design of the famous pendant.  I’ll stick my neck out and predict Cirque du Soleil will choose either “E” or “TCB” as the name of their new Elvis show in Las Vegas.  If you have any good suggestions, add them using Comments below.

The Real Guitar Man:  Country music star Jerry Reed died just over a year ago.  You may know he wrote two songs Elvis recorded:  “U.S. Male” and “Guitar Man.”  There is a good story about why Reed also played the guitar part on the latter.  The studio musicians were unable to duplicate the sounds Reed had laid down on his own earlier recording of “Guitar Man.”  Producer Felton Jarvis advised Elvis, “Well. You’re gonna have to get Reed in here to play on it, then.  He’s a fingerpicker, and these guys don’t have any idea what he’s doing because he does all this weird stuff, anyway.  He tunes them strings so weird.”

After Reed was quickly summoned to the Nashville studio, he turned the E-string down and the B-string up and nailed the intro in his easily identifiable personal style.

Elvis Column Takes Back Most Popular Spot From Michael Jackson:  On July 28, I posted an article titled “Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie.”  I knew his death that day would pique people’s interest, so I assumed the article would do well on Google and bring lots of hits to ElvisBlog.  Boy, was that right.  For the next two months, more folks linked to the site because of that article than any other.  After a while, this started to bother me, because ElvisBlog was created for Elvis fans, not Michael Jackson fans.  Finally, on August 26, order was restored and an old Elvis article took back the top spot as the favorite ElvisBlog article.  It was “Another Chance to Vote on Elvis Images,” originally posted on June 29, 2008.  I think I’ll do a Part 2 on that topic and see if we can push Michael Jackson even farther down the list.

We Missed Col. Parker’s 100th Birthday:  One thing very big in Elvisworld is the celebration of anniversaries.  For example, the 50th anniversary of his first recording, or the 40th anniversary of the ’68 Comeback Special.  Graceland uses the anniversaries to draw more visitors, magazines cover them right on schedule, and ElvisBlog uses them as inspirations for new stories.  So, how did I miss the 100th anniversary of Col. Parker’s birthday?  Maybe, I just didn’t care.  Nobody else did either, it seems.  (For the record, he was born on June 26, 1909).

Elvis’ manager was never a real Colonel, and his real name was not Tom Parker.  He was born Andreas van Kujik, and he illegally immigrated to the USA from Holland at age seventeen. He quickly joined the US Army (Can you do that when you’re an illegal alien?).  

After leaving the Army, he took the name of a commanding officer, Tom Parker.  Sixteen years later, he was well established as Tom Parker and was promoting Country singer Eddy Arnold, when he got Governor Jimmy Davis of Louisiana to give him the honorary title of “Colonel.” 

Here’s a short story that is so typical of Col. Parker.  When Elvis toured Canada in 1957, Parker sold “I Love Elvis” buttons to the adoring fans.  However, there were plenty of Elvis detracters around, so he covered all bases by selling “I Hate Elvis” buttons, too.

Just Plain Ol’ Elvis:  As filming began in 1961 on the movie “Kid Galahad,” Elvis’ buddies presented him with a director’s chair.  Stamped on the back was Mr. Presley.  Elvis hated the formality of it, even though the Director assured him that it was “only the best for our star.”  Elvis wanted to be treated like one of the boys, and the chair destroyed that image.  Soon, a new chair replaced it.  In bold print on the bright red canvas back were the words JUST PLAIN OL’ ELVIS.  He liked that one a lot.

I Stand Corrected:  Back on December 7, 2008, I posted this in Elvis Commentary Mini-Nuggets # 13:

Frank Sinatra Quotes about Elvis:  Look how Frank Sinatra changed his opinion of Elvis over the years.

1956 – “His kind of music is deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac.  It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people.”

1977 – “There have been many accolades uttered about Elvis’ talent and performances over the years, all of which I agree wholeheartedly.  I shall miss him dearly as a friend.  He was a warm, considerate and generous man.”

The comparison was intended to provide a little ironic humor, but it appears I may have been guilty of spreading mis-facts about Elvis on the internet.  My friend and fellow Elvis blogger Alan Hanson called me on this in his August 13 article on Elvis-History-Blog.com.  He presents a pretty good case that the 1956 quote was not accurate.  Alan backed up his assessment by reproducing two paragraphs of Frank Sinatra quotes from the October 28, 1957, edition of the Los Angeles Mirror News.  Here is a portion of that:

“…Naturally I refer to the bulk of rock ’n’ roll.  It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people… It is sung, played and written for the most part by cretinous goons… this rancid-smelling aphrodisiac I deplore.”

So, Sinatra actually slammed all of Rock & Roll.  I guess he gave Elvis a pass and didn’t include him with those cretinous goons.

©  2009    Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister    All Rights Reserved    www.ElvisBlog.net