That could have gone very wrong.
Related posts:
June 30, 2006
"On Broadway"
That could have gone very wrong.
Related posts:
The power of Elvis
(AP PHOTO) Priscilla, far right, and Lisa Marie Presley greet President Bush and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.From the article:
Amid the ceramic monkeys, floor-and-ceiling green shag carpet and animal-head armrests of Graceland's Jungle Room, the delighted prime minister just couldn't hold back the Elvis lines.
"You're a pretty good Elvis singer," the president said, in an obvious prompt to his guest. Bush knew what was coming, having previously experienced Koizumi's tendency to burst into song when it comes to the late rock 'n' roll legend who is the Japanese leader's undisputed musical hero.
Koizumi quickly complied.
Draping his arm around Lisa Marie, he went on. "Hold me close, hold me tight," the prime minister crooned.
This is interesting footage of Elvis fandom in Japan, complete with a bit of Koizumi doing a pretty decent job of singing "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You." He recorded a CD of Elvis songs that went on to have huge sales in Japan.
No access to the GracelandCam™ today:
"Elvis.com webcams will be offline Thursday, June 29 at 5:00 p.m. to Friday, June 30 at 5:00 p.m. central time."
I'll bet there's some irritated tourists in Memphis today! Oh well, go to SunStudio or the STAX Museum of American Soul Music instead.
The great, Elvis picture site, Candid Central, has new scans of rare photgraphs:
Previous Graceland posts:
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi wears Elvis style sunglasses during his tour of Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley, accompanied by President Bush, not pictured, in Memphis, Tenn., Friday, June 30, 2006. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
June 29, 2006
In the days before cable...
Paul Anka added English lyrics to the melody of a French song, "Comme d'habitude," thus giving Frank Sinatra his theme song for the final phase of his forty-plus year career. Sinatra wasn't crazy about "My Way," but it was a pretty big hit for him in 1969. I really don't like it very much, either. It's one of those songs, like "Hey Jude," that some fans just endure.
This is video of a bizarre finale to a television special Anka did in 1977. It features him sitting at a piano, while big stars of the time appear (like ghostly apparitions) to duet with him. I'm sure having it appear as if each celebrity was actually in the same room with Anka is the result of cutting edge, television video technology of the time. But I doubt many viewers, even in 1977, believed Anka and "special guest" were together.Let me explain that this is made from a videotape recorded copy of the show someone made (back in '77) on what looks like a television receiving the program via an antennae. So, the picture quality fluctuates. Those born after the dawn of cable and satellite TV have no idea. It's definitely old school. The cumulative effect of the cheesy 70s video trickery and poor TV reception gives the whole thing a sort of surreal, ghostly appearance. It probably doesn't help that eight of the twelve (nine if you count Jim Henson) celebrity co-stars is dead.
"Player-With-Yourselves-Club"Telly Savalas.....Phil Hartman
Telly Savalas: Hi! I'm Telly Savalas. And if you're like me, you like to be near the action. And when there isn't any action, then you gotta make your own. And, baby, that's when you need to join.. [holds up card ] ..the Player-With-Yourselves Club. That's right, baby! The Player-With-Yourselves Club card entitles you to masturbation privileges at hotels all over the world. In cities like Milan, Paris, and Monte Carlo.
Just flash the card, and you'll get the kind of perks reserved for players only!
Like unlimited Kleenex! I'm talking two-ply, baby!
Custom-made squeak-free beds, and extra-large "Do Not Disturb" signs.
Plus: access to an international library of skin magazines, and all the latest videotapes cued up to the good parts, baby! 'Cause players don't have time to fast-forward!
And you don't have to stay overnight, pal. With the Player-With-Yourselves card, you can book a room for stays as short as fifteen minutes. In and out, baby, 'cause you gotta fly!
So, what are you waiting for? Take it from Telly - this card opens a lot of doors! Well, I gotta go. I have a date with a Marilyn Chambers classic. [ kisses videotape ] Oh, yeah.. ohhhh, yeah!!
Announcer: The Players-With-Yourselves Club Card. Teenagers eligible, except in Florida.
Telly Savalas: Who loves yourself, baby?
I still think that's hilarious.
Be it Hendrix, McCartney, or Kermit the Frog, get it right, will you, please?
June 28, 2006
Atticus Finch had a potty mouth
On July 6, I will have been blogging for exactly a year. It has been an interesting experience. The best part, beyond any doubt, has been the people I've "met," and the contacts I've made by communicating via email and/or comments. Why do this (blogging) if your published posts simply go off into an empty vacuum (I feel most of the time like that's where mine go)? But I figure if there is good content, someone eventually might find something they're searching for, or interested in, through Google or other search engines. So even if posts float off into space when released, at least they're still "out there," as part of the web.
Someone emailed me yesterday with some cool pictures and information about Sinatra and the Chrysler Imperial endorsements he did back in the early 1980s. This person found Exquisitely Bored via a Google search for "1981 Chrysler Imperial," one of the results being my "Sinatra pushes the Chrysler Imperial" post.
From his email to me:
I live in Windsor, Ontario, where the 1981-83 Imperials were made and in Aug. 1980 Frank and Gregory Peck came here with their wives to the Chrysler plant to help Iacocca introduce the car...Lee gave each of them an Imperial. About two months later, Peck called Iacocca and told him to come and "pick up his piece of sh*t", because he was having so many problems with the fuel injection system and the non-closing moonroof (I knew they were crap!).
Supposedly though Sinatra's widow still owns his Imperial. Iacocca would go on to send Frank a new Chrysler model every year, but he usually then gave them away to charity.
If not for this blog, I probably would have never known about any of that. Here are pictures of the Sinatra Edition Chrysler Imperial the emailer owns:
I have attached some photos of my 81 Sinatra Edition originally bought in
Evansville, Indiana. It has 20,000 miles on it and runs like a charm.
I'm not a car guy, so this is the really sweet part of the deal. His email continues:
The buyer of this edition also received a set of sixteen Sinatra cassettes in two holder trays that would fit into the special floor counsel, and came in a specially made Mark Cross carrying case and dust bag. The cassettes in my set are all still sealed.
Only 517 Sinatra editions were made in '81 and '82 between the U.S. and Canada. All Imperial buyers also received a special Mark Cross "thank you" package from Chrysler that included a Cartier key blank, key fob, umbrella and portfolio. Such a shame so few were bought back then. They are pretty worthless as a collectible automobile even though they are so rare.
Thanks, Windsor!
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