Red Robinson

Robert "Red" Robertson is part of the 50s Elvis story. Red was a Canadian disc jockey and Elvis fan. He was the first DJ to play rock 'n' roll music in Vancouver, Canada. On 31 August 1957 he was also the MC for Elvis' rock 'n' roll concert at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver in front of 25,000 fans.

Robinson taped Elvis' dressing room press conference before the concert. It was released on an album in 1977, named The ELVIS Tapes. 

Red described the Elvis concert in Vancouver as troublesome pandemonium: 

There were policemen there, but not enough of them. Fans furthest away from every corner of the stadium came to the front to get a better look at Elvis and then returned to their seats. However, the gathering in front of the stage, the first five or six people deep, was where the problem was; that was where the fear was. At the end Elvis finished his set and tore down the back stairs. He took off his jacket and handed it to his cousin Gene, who got into the limo. The kids followed the limo while Elvis stayed behind till it was safe for him to get out. 

Lord Elgin

 

Elvis owned this 4-carat gold-filled Lord Elgin wristwatch with black face from spring of 1955 to April of 1956.

He can be seen wearing it on stage during his first national TV appearance on the Stage Show in New York.

Guess who he gifted this watch to? Guitar player Scotty Moore! He did so while he and his band were sitting poolside at the New Frontier Hotel, Las Vegas, on 25 April 1956.

Not long ago this same gold-filled Lord Elgin was sold for a cool R5 million.

In South African terms, that is a pension right there.

An Afternoon In The Grotto

What a fun get-together we had last Saturday afternoon! 

Part of the agenda included a magical discussion re the topic My Top 3 Elvis Gifts Under The Christmas Tree.

Elvis sings, Merry Christmas, Baby ... give me a diamond ring for Christmas ... or not? If our friends and/or family were really nice and could grant us some special Elvis Christmas gift wishes this year, what would they be? ANY item counts, released or unreleased, real or imaginary! 

The wishes of our members included the following:  

1. ELVIS APPAREL. Elvis PJ's, Elvis' dark navy shirt with flowers (1970 rehearsal), the Concha belt, a bracelet with the letter "E", Elvis' red shirt from Blue Hawaii and the '68 Black Leather Suit. 

2. TIME TRAVEL VOUCHERS FROM ELVIS. Best-loved destinations included Christmas Eve at Graceland, a trip in Elvis' bus to Albuquerque, being on set for one of his movies, a live show in Vegas, the taping of the '68 Comeback Special and a cinema - watching movies with Elvis.

3. UNRELEASED MUSIC/FOOTAGE. Most requested were a Gospel LP with our own favourite songs NOT previously recorded by Elvis, DVD/Blu-Ray Extended Editions of the rockumentaries Elvis: That's The Way It Is and Elvis On Tour containing ALL 10 filmed shows in full, plus all rehearsal and behind the scenes footage. It is time.

Diane McBain

Diane McBain was best known for her part in the 1966 Elvis movie, Spinout, one of my Top 3 Elvis  feature films. She played the role of an author who was in the process of writing her new book, titled The Perfect American Male.

McBain, who was 6 years younger than Elvis, said that Elvis was charming and a lovely person to work with. She appreciated that Elvis didn't come on to her, because so many men did throughout her career in Hollywood.

McBain reminisced: We had a really nice friendship on set. He was a spiritual guy, and he love to read anything about being spiritual. I, too was fascinated by those things. So we bonded over that. We used to exchange books on set and we would have conversations all the time about being spiritual. Elvis really wanted to be taken seriously as an actor. He had a lot of trouble trying to convince them into putting him in more serious roles. He embraced our film beautifully and he did a great job on set. He was, of course very special but I don't think he saw himself that way.

First Million Seller

Can you believe the original handwritten lyrics for Heartbreak Hotel was kept?

At the 1955 Disc Jockey Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, (where Elvis was lauded as The Most Promising New Talent In Country Music), songwriter Mae Boren-Axton - known as the Queen Mother of Nashville - told Elvis she was going to write him his first million seller.

Together with Tommy Durden, she did. It was Heartbreak Hotel, which Elvis recorded in Jan 1956.

As you can see, the lyrics is handwritten in pencil and has various additions and corrections, and the lyric sheet is signed at the bottom by both songwriters.

No wonder it recently sold for a cool R3,2 million.