The Right Beer to Drink With Peanut Butter and Nanner Sandwiches: According to an expert at www.beerinator.com, the beer that matches up best with Elvis’ favorite sandwich is Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. He goes on to say: “I think Young’s Double Chocolate Stout would blend perfectly with the banana fruitiness, and it would compliment the slight roasty nutty flavor from the peanut butter. The toasty outsides of the sandwich would also befriend the hints of bitterness left on your tongue from the last sip of Stout. I’m fairly positive that Elvis would have lived a little bit longer if he had enjoyed this concoction alongside his favorite sandwich.” Yeah, right. Compliments on your slight roasty nutty idea.
That Was Embarrassing: Did you know that Elvis once split the pants of his jumpsuit during a concert? Give yourself an A in Elvis triviaif you knew it happened on March 21, 1976, in Cincinnati. Give yourself an A+ if you knew he was singing “Polk Salad Annie” when it happened.
More Than Just Elvis Wigs: A few weeks ago, Elvisblog featured some of the items you can purchase for an Elvis Halloween costume. While searching for Elvis wigs, I came across something totally unexpected – a Priscilla Presley wig. Offered by www.worldofwigs.com, the Priscilla wig goes for $44.95 and is described as, “Long hair with lots of volume in the crown.” Here’s the really strange part: it’s available in a choice of colors, including blond. Seems to me that if you bought a blond Priscilla Presley wig for your Halloween costume, nobody would ever guess who you were trying to look like.
National Elvis Presley Day: Believe it or not, a resolution was introduced in the 97th Congress to proclaim January 8 as “National Elvis Presley Day.” In 1978, a fan named Patricia Ann Emanule started a campaign to get Elvis a day of honor and remembrance. Her efforts paid off on June 23, 1981 when Representative Ford of Tennessee introduced H.J. RES. 296 to “provide for the designation of January 8, 1982, as National Elvis Presley Day.” The resolution was referred to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service. Although the bill died in committee, sixteen governors did proclaim January 8 as Elvis Presley Day in their states. Tennessee has continued to make that proclamation each year.
Now That’s What I Call Memorabilia: In the mid-1950s, the Gulf Hills Golf Club and Resort in Ocean Springs, Mississippi was a favorite getaway spot for Elvis. Earlier this year, the suite where Elvis stayed was remodeled and redecorated and renamed the “Love Me Tender Suite.” For a mere $1,000 a night, you can party and sleep where Elvis once did. The suite is a three-bedroom wing with a mezzanine and a parlor with an upholstered bar. According to Gulf Hills General Manager Donna Brown, “No children are allowed because it is furnished with antiques and irreplaceable memorabilia, like an ashtray from the Pink Pony Lounge where he performed on the grounds.” Wow, I’d sure pay $1,000 a night to be surrounded by treasures like that.
Practice What You Preach – NOT: Back in 1956, when denouncing Elvis was common among the nation’s preachers, one of the most vocal was Rev. Bob Gray, pastor of the Trinity Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida. A photo of Rev. Gray preaching against the sensuality of Elvis’ music appeared in an edition of Life magazine. Gray declared that Elvis had “achieved a new low in spiritual degeneracy.” Well, it looks like Rev. Gray achieved his own spiritual degeneracy. He died last week – one week before he was to stand trial for molesting several girls while he was a pastor. What a creep!
The Lure of Elvis Festivals: (Editors Note: I have an old high school buddy named Jim Lane who has been an oldies music fan for more than fifty years but never made it to Elvis Week until 2007. He spent a bunch of money and saw everything. Jim was so impressed that two months later he attended another Elvis festival. Not only that, he was so moved he wrote an article about it. I am happy to show it here.)
During the weekend of October 12-14, 2007, over a thousand people attended the fifteenth annual ELVIS FANtasy Fest at Woodland Park in Portage, Indiana. Sponsored by Taking Care of Presley (TCP) charity, the celebration had the theme “Raised on Rock,” the name of the 1973 album that Elvis recorded at Stax Studios in Memphis.
In addition to games and vendor exhibits, Friday night featured a spaghetti dinner, a jam by Showcase Artists who were former FANtasy Fest ETA competition winners, and a sock hop hosted by deejay Steve Christopher.
Saturday kicked off with classic cars cruising down Elvis Presley Boulevard followed by a welcome to special guests. Then the ETA competition sessions got underway featuring 14 candidates from as far away as Branson, Missouri, and Orlando, Florida. Three junior Elvis ETAs also wowed the crowd. An overflow audience attended an evening concert featuring Showcase Artists Irv Cass, Dwight Icenhower, Quentin Flagg, Robert Washington, and Stephen Kabakos, backed by the Change of Habit Showband.
On Sunday the finals of the ETA competition took place with a nine-person panel ultimately naming Ted Torres the winner and Curt Lechner the first runner-up. The final event was a Grand March by Special Olympics athletes. Last year's event raised $22,000 for the Special Olympics, and FANtasy Fest chairperson Kay Lipps expects this year’s proceeds to by equally bountiful. “We try to carry on Elvis Presley's giving spirit,” she said.
© 2007 Philip R Arnold All Rights Reserved www.elvisblog.net
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