Rock History

2006 – The Knack sue Run-D.M.C. for sampling their “My Sharona” on the hit “It’s Tricky.” Nothing unusual there, except that “It’s Tricky” was released two decades ago! Still… it is the principal of the thing.

2004 – The Grey Album, which mixes Jay-Z’s Black Album and the Beatles’ White Album, is made available for free download as part of a “Grey Tuesday” protest. DJ Danger Mouse was barred from releasing the record by EMI, who refused permission to use Beatles samples and threatened legal action.

2000 – LL Cool J is sued by former members of the Furious Five, who allege his 1997 song “4, 3, 2, 1″ sampled their 1979 “Superappin’” without their permission.

2000 – Canadian punk brats Sum 41 release their debut album Half Hour of Power on Big Rig Records. Sample song title: “Grab the Devil By the Horns and F**k Him Up the Ass.”

STP Stone Temple Pilots

1999 – Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland, on probation for a 1997 heroin case, is arrested and faces a hearing for failing to provide a urine sample to his live-in drug treatment center.

1997 – Bob Dylan releases Time Out of Mind. Critics call it a masterpiece this day in rock history!

Time Out of Mind is Bob Dylan’s 30th studio album, released in 1997 by Columbia Records.

For fans and critics, the album marked Dylan’s artistic comeback after he struggled with his musical identity throughout the 1980s, and hadn’t released any original material since the release of Under the Red Sky in 1990. Upon release, Time Out of Mind was hailed as one of the singer-songwriter’s best albums, and it went on to win three Grammy awards, including Album of the Year in 1998. It also made Uncut magazine’s Album of the Year.

The album features a particularly atmospheric sound, the work of producer (and past Dylan collaborator) Daniel Lanois, whose innovative work with carefully placed microphones and strategic mixing was detailed by Dylan in the first volume of his memoirs, Chronicles, Vol. 1. Despite being generally complimentary to Lanois, especially his work on the 1989 album Oh Mercy, Dylan has voiced dissatisfaction with the sound on Time Out of Mind. He has gone on to self-produce his subsequent albums.

Further details

Shortly after completing the album, Dylan became seriously ill with near-fatal pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac around the heart. His forthcoming tour was cancelled, and Dylan spent most of June 1997 in excruciating pain.

Time Out of Mind’s revitalization of Dylan’s career extended all the way to the Grammys where it won multiple awards, including “Album of the Year” in early 1998. It was also voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll. With all the media attention and praise, U.S. sales soon passed platinum, a feat that a Bob Dylan album had not reached in nearly two decades.

Recording sessions

Back in April 1991, Dylan told Paul Zollo that “there was a time when the songs would come three or four at the same time, but those days are long gone…Once in a while, the odd song will come to me like a bulldog at the garden gate and demand to be written. But most of them are rejected out of my mind right away. You get caught up in wondering if anyone really needs to hear it. Maybe a person gets to the point where they have written enough songs. Let someone else write them.”

Dylan’s last album of original material came in 1990′s Under the Red Sky, a critical and commercial disappointment. Since then, he had released two albums of folk covers and a live album of older compositions; yet, there was no signs of any fresh compositions until 1996.

According to Jim Dickinson, Dylan first began writing for Time Out of Mind during the winter of that year. Snowed in on his farm in Minnesota, Dylan phoned his manager, Jeff Kramer, and said, “Well, I’m snowed in, so I’m writing songs. But I’m not going to record them.” Dylan would later change his mind, and he scheduled studio reservations in January of 1997 at Criteria Recording Studios in Miami, Florida. Dylan later admitted that Time Out of Mind was “the first album I’ve done in a while where I’ve protected the songs for a long time.”

Dylan even demoed some of the songs in the studio, something he rarely did. According to drummer Winston Watson, elements of Dylan’s touring band (including Watson himself) were involved in these sessions. Dylan also used these loose, informal sessions to experiment with new ideas and arrangements. At one point during the sessions, Dylan improvised a country-blues riff of indeterminate origin which was later sampled as the backing track for “Dirt Road Blues.” (“He made me pull out the original cassette, sample 16 bars and we all played over that

In a televised interview with Charlie Rose, Lanois recalled Dylan talking “about spending a lot of late nights working on this chapter of work. And, when he finished the words, he believed that the record is done, the record was written. He said, ‘you know, we can do a waltz version, we can do this in 4/4, it can be up, it can be down, it can be these kind of chords, you know whatever we decide to do with it, that’s that.’ But what’s important is that it’s written.”

Dylan continued rewriting lyrics until January 1997, when the official album sessions began. It would mark the second collaboration between Dylan and his chosen producer, Daniel Lanois, who had previously produced Dylan’s 1989 release, Oh Mercy. Lanois had just finished producing Emmylou Harris’s Wrecking Ball when Dylan asked him to produce the sessions for Time Out of Mind. According to Lanois, “What we…did this time was make reference to some old records from the 1950s that Bob really likes because they had a natural depth of field which was not the result of a mixing technique. You get the sense that somebody is in the front singing, a couple of other people are further behind and somebody else is way in the back of the room. So we set up the studio like that.”

“The recording process is very difficult for me,” Dylan conceded. “I lose my inspiration in the studio real easy, and it’s very difficult for me to think that I’m going to eclipse anything I’ve ever done before. I get bored easily, and my mission, which starts out wide, becomes very dim after a few failed takes and this and that.”

By now, new personnel were hired for the album, including slide guitarist Cindy Cashdollar and drummers Jim Keltner and Brian Blade. Both Cashdollar and Blade were hired by Lanois while Dylan brought in Keltner, who had previously toured with Dylan in 1979. Dylan also hired Nashville guitarist Bob Britt, Duke Robillard, organist Augie Meyers, and Jim Dickinson to play at the sessions.

With two different sets of players competing in performance and two producers with conflicting views on how to approach each song, the sessions were far from disciplined. Years later, when asked about Time Out of Mind, Dickinson replied, “I haven’t been able to tell what’s actually happening. I know they were listening to playbacks, I don’t know whether they were trying to mix it or not!

Dickinson does admit that “even with the twelve people playing, it would be, like, an hour to an hour and a half of chaos, and then like eight or ten minutes of just clarity and beauty. During that ten minutes we’d nail it to the wall.

“In the past, when my records were made, the producer, or whoever was in charge of my sessions, felt it was just enough to have me sing an original song,” said Dylan. “There was never enough work put into developing the orchestration, and that always made me feel very disillusioned about recording. Time Out of Mind is more illuminated, rather than just a song and the singing of that song. The arrangements or structures are really an integral part of the whole.”

Lanois admitted some difficulty in producing Dylan. “Well, you just never what you’re going to get. He’s an eccentric man, and you might get something great on the first take, or

In a later interview, Lanois elaborated, saying “Bob and I…would step out into the parking lot because he would never discuss anything openly in front of the band, in terms of intimate details of the songs,” recalled Lanois. “Like the song ‘Standing In The Doorway.’ We were in the parking lot, and I said ‘listen, I love ‘Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands.’ Can we steal that feel for this song?’ And he’d say ‘you think that’d work?’ Then we’d sit on the fender of a truck, in this parking lot in Miami, and I’d often think, if people see this they won’t believe it! Me and Bob Dylan just sitting here, strumming guitars, working out chords for a session!”, let’s try that.’”

Asked why Dylan did not “discuss anything” in front of musicians, Lanois responded, “Well, he doesn’t like too much democracy…he respects my commitment, knows I love him and want the best for him. He also knows he can’t bulldoze me too hard; I’ll put up a fight. So it’s a two-way street.”

In subsequent interviews, Dylan cited Buddy Holly as an influence during the recording sessions. “You know, I don’t really recall exactly what I said about Buddy Holly,” said Dylan, “but while we were recording, every place I turned there was Buddy Holly. You know what I mean? It was one of those things. Every place you turned. You walked down a hallway and you heard Buddy Holly records like ‘That’ll Be the Day.’ Then you’d get in the car to go over to the studio and ‘Rave On’ would be playing. Then you’d walk into this studio and someone’s playing a cassette of ‘It’s So Easy.’ And this would happen day after day after day. Phrases of Buddy Holly songs would just come out of nowhere. It was spooky.

With Time Out of Mind, Lanois “produced perhaps the most artificial-sounding album in ‘s canon,” says author Clinton Heylin, who described the album as sounding “like a Lanois CV.” In a March 1999 interview in Guitar World Magazine, Dylan discussed the sound of Time Out of Mind in relation to past works like Highway 61 Revisited, Blood on the Tracks, and Infidels:

“Those records were made a long time ago, and you know, truthfully, records that were made in that day and age all were good. They all had some magic to them because the technology didn’t go beyond what the artist was doing. It was a lot easier to get excellence back in those days on a record than it is now. I made records back then just like a lot of other people who were my age, and we all made good records. Those records seem to cast a long shadow. But how much of it is the technology and how much of it is the talent and influence, I really don’t know. I know you can’t make records that sound that way any more. The high priority is technology now. It’s not the artist or the art. It’s the technology that is coming through. That’s what makes Time Out of Mind… it doesn’t take itself seriously, but then again, the sound is very significant to that record. If that record was made more haphazardly, it wouldn’t have sounded that way. It wouldn’t have had the impact that it did. The guys that helped me make it went out of their way to make a record that sounds like a record played on a record player. There wasn’t any wasted effort on Time Out of Mind, and I don’t think there will be on any more of my records.”

The songs

A few critics, including NPR’s Tim Riley, drew parallels between the album’s title and the Steely Dan song of the same name (first issued on their 1980 album, Gaucho), but the phrase goes back at least to 1596 when Shakespeare used it in Mercutio’s Queen Mab speech in Act 1.4 of Romeo and Juliet.

In a 1997 interview, Dylan said that the songs on Time Out of Mind “naturally hung together because they share a certain skepticism. They’re more concerned with the dread realities of life than the bright and rosy idealism popular today.”

In an article published in The Chicago Tribune on September 28, 1997, Greg Kot writes, “Dylan projects the unease of someone adrift in a world that he ceases to understand, and that ceases to understand him. Yet he finds a strange comfort in his surroundings. ‘You could say I’m on anything but a roll,’ he sings , one of many instances of the album’s gallows humor. The music, anchored by Dylan contemporaries such as pianist Jim Dickinson and organist Augie Myers, hovers like an eerie David Lynch soundtrack and echoes the solo-free groove and grind of Dylan’s ’60s masterpieces. With Lanois’ painterly production giving the songs a three-dimensional depth, the arrangements frame Dylan’s voice as few recent recordings have.

“Dylan does not push his voice beyond its limits, but rather sing-speaks barely above a hush, as though holding an imaginary conversation with a distant lover, perhaps even his long-departed audience. He sings about love gone cold, but until the epic closing song, ‘Highlands,’ that loss never acquires a human face. In this 16+ minute epic, the singer briefly recaptures the conversational, playful and erotically charged tone of his youth.

“If the Dylan of World Gone Wrong echoed Flannery O’Connor, the Dylan of Time Out of Mind evokes playwright Samuel Beckett and his spare, unsentimental poetry of despair. He is confident of only one thing: ‘When you think you’ve lost everything, you find out you can always lose a little more.’

“Not Dark Yet” is arguably the most celebrated song on Time Out of Mind, and is perhaps the clearest example of John Keats’ influence on Dylan’s writing; it is even possible that “Not Dark Yet” was grown out of Keats’ own work. In his book, Dylan’s Visions of Sin, Christopher Ricks, a Boston University professor of humanities, draws parallels between “Not Dark Yet” and the Keats poem Ode to a Nightingale. Broken down line for line, “similar turns of phrase, figures of speech,  felicities of rhyming” can be found throughout “Not Dark Yet” and the Ode. Ricks also argues that “there is a strong affinity with Keats in the way that in the song night colours, darkens, the whole atmosphere while never being spoken of,” just as Keats used winter to color and darken the atmosphere in another poem he wrote, To Autumn. “Dylan’s refrain or burden is ‘It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.’ He bears it and bares it beautifully, with exquisite precision of voice, dry humour, and resilience, all these in the cause of fortitude at life’s going to be brought to an end by death.”

The longest composition ever recorded by Dylan, the 16-minute “Highlands” took its central motif (“My heart’s in the highlands,”) from a chorus in a stall ballad called “The Strong Walls of Derry.” Jim Dickinson later recalled Dylan “leaning over the equipment case working on the lyrics…with a pencil.”

Outtakes

Fifteen compositions were recorded for Time Out of Mind, of which eleven would make the final cut. The four that did not were “Mississippi”, which was re-recorded for “Love and Theft”, “No Turning Back”, the Elizabeth Cotten composition “Shake Sugaree” and, according to Jim Dickinson “the best song there was from the session”, “Girl from the Red River Shore”.

On past albums, some fans have criticized Dylan for some of the creative decisions made with his albums, particularly with song selection. Time Out of Mind was no different except this time the criticism came from colleagues who were disappointed to see their personal favorites left on the shelf. When Dylan accepted the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, he mentioned Columbia Records chairman Don Ienner, who “convinced me to put

Unlike past sessions, none of these outtakes have circulated among collectors, something unprecedented for a Bob Dylan album. “With all of my records, there’s an abundance of material left over – stuff that, for a variety of reasons, doesn’t make the final cut. And other people seem to think they have some kind of right to it. That it’s their property even, which is baffling to me. I mean, you don’t drive a car out of the showroom without paying for it, do you? You don’t leave the supermarket without passing through the check-out with your goods. It’s called stealing. Why the principle should be thought to be any different when it comes to music, I really don’t know.”

According to Dylan, “If you had heard the original recording , you’d see in a second” why it was omitted and recut for Love and Theft. “The song was pretty much laid out intact melodically, lyrically and structurally, but Lanois didn’t see it. Thought it was pedestrian. Took it down the Afro-polyrhythm route – multirhythm drumming, that sort of thing. Polyrhythm has its place, but it doesn’t work for knifelike lyrics trying to convey majesty and heroism.

“Maybe we had worked too hard on other things, I can’t remember,” Dylan continues, “but Lanois can get passionate about what he feels to be true. He’s not above smashing guitars. I never cared about that unless it was one of mine. Things got contentious once in the parking lot. He tried to convince me that the song had to be ‘sexy, sexy and more sexy.’ I know about sexy, too. He reminded me of Sam Phillips, who had once said the same thing to John Prine about a song, but the circumstances were not similar. I tried to explain that the song had more to do with the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights than witch doctors, and just couldn’t be thought of as some kind of ideological voodoo thing. But he had his own way of looking at things, and in the end I had to reject this because I thought too highly of the expressive meaning behind the lyrics to bury them in some steamy cauldron of drum theory. On the performance you’re hearing, the bass is playing a triplet beat, and that adds up to all the multirhythm you need, even in a slow-tempo song. I think Lanois is an excellent producer, though.”

Aftermath

Before the album was officially released, Dylan suffered a serious heart infection called pericarditis. A potentially serious condition (caused by the fungal infection histoplasma capsulatum), it makes breathing very difficult. “It was something called histoplasmosis that came from just accidentally inhaling a bunch of stuff that was out on one of the rivers by where I live,” said Dylan. “Maybe one month, or two to three days out of the year, the banks around the river get all mucky, and then the wind blows and a bunch of swirling mess is in the air. I happened to inhale a bunch of that. That’s what made me sick. It went into my heart area, but it wasn’t anything really attacking my heart.”

“Bob was starting to get a little sick when we were sequencing the album,” recalled Lanois. “We had finished the record but then, at that point, what hit him was fluid around the heart and it probably had been building up for a while.”

Following Dylan’s May 1997 health scare, a number of columnists speculated that the songs on Time Out of Mind were inspired by an increased awareness of his own mortality. This, of course, was despite the fact that all of the songs were completed, recorded, and even mixed before he was hospitalized. Some critics like the Village Voice’s Robert Christgau tried to tame such speculations, with Christgau writing “I’m convinced that Time Out of Mind is in no intrinsic way ‘about death’… the mortality admirers hear in it is their own…The timelessness people hear in it…what Dylan has long aimed for – simple songs inhabited with an assurance that makes them seem classic rather than received.”

In interviews following its release, Dylan, for the most part, downplayed these speculations with much reserve. However, he did give a blunt assessment in a 2001 interview published in The Times Magazine: “Where? Show me…I don’t see it like that. But again, that’s the story of my life…From ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ onwards, people have misconstrued my words. They’ve attached the wrong meanings to them. That’s the status quo. That’s what happens, and there’s nothing to be done about it.”

In the same interview, Dylan re-assessed Time Out of Mind, admitting some dissatisfaction with the results. “My recollection of  is that it was a struggle. A struggle every inch of the way. Ask Daniel Lanois, who was trying to produce the songs. Ask anyone involved in it. They all would say the same. I didn’t trust the touring band I had at the time to do a good job in the studio, and so I hired these outside guys. But with me not knowing them, and them not knowing the music, things kept on taking unexpected turns. Repeatedly, I’d find myself compromising on this to get to that. As a result, though it held together as a collection of songs, that album sounds to me a little off…There’s a sense of some wheels going this way, some wheels going that, but hey, we’re just about getting there…But that’s my truthful memory of it, and that memory overshadows any gratification about its acceptance.”

In 1999, Guitar World Magazine asked Dylan if Time Out of Mind would have made a satisfactory final release: “No, I don’t think so. I think we are just starting to get my sound on disc, and I think there’s plenty more to do. We just opened up that door at that particular time, and in the passage of time we’ll go back in and extend that. But I didn’t feel like it was an ending to anything. I thought it was more the beginning.”

In 2003, the album was ranked number 408 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Track listing

All songs were written by Bob Dylan.

1. “Love Sick” – 5:21
2. “Dirt Road Blues” – 3:36
3. “Standing in the Doorway” – 7:43
4. “Million Miles” – 5:52
5. “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven” – 5:21
6. “‘Til I Fell in Love with You” – 5:17
7. “Not Dark Yet” – 6:29
8. “Cold Irons Bound” – 7:15
9. “Make You Feel My Love” – 3:32
10. “Can’t Wait” – 5:47
11. “Highlands” – 16:31

Personnel

* Bucky Baxter – acoustic guitar, pedal steel (3,5,7,8)
* Brian Blade – drums (1,3,4,6,7,10)
* Robert Britt – martin acoustic, Fender Stratocaster (3,6,7,8)
* Chris Carrol – assistant engineer
* Cindy Cashdollar – slide guitar (3,5,7)
* Jim Dickensen – keyboards, Wurlitzer electric piano, pump organ (1,2,4,5,6,7,10,11)
* Bob Dylan – guitar, acoustic and electric rhythm lead, harmonica, piano, vocals,producer
* Geoff Gans – art direction
* Tony Garnier – electric bass, acoustic upright bass
* Joe Gastwirt – mastering engineer
* Mark Howard – engineer
* Jim Keltner – drums (1,3,4,5,6,7,10)
* David Kemper – drums on “Cold Irons Bound”
* Jeff Kramer – manager
* Daniel Lanois – guitar, mando-guitar, firebird, martin 0018, gretch gold top, rhythm, lead , producer, photography
* Tony Mangurian – percussion (3,4,10,11)
* Augie Meyers – vox organ combo, hammond b3 organ, accordion
* Susie Q. – photography
* Duke Robillard – guitar, electric l5 gibson (4,5,10)
* Mark Seliger – photography
* Winston Watson – drums on “Dirt Road Blues”

Title

Its title is probably a reference to a speech by Mercutio in Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet (Act 1, Scene 4), but it dates back earlier than this-

Her chariot is an empty hazel-nut
Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub,
Time out o’ mind the fairies’ coachmakers.
And in this state she gallops night by night
Through lovers’ brains, and then they dream of love;

It is included in the “Act of Submission” of the Narragansett Indians from 1644-

Nor can we yield over ourselves unto any, that are subjects themselves in any case; having ourselves been the chief Sachems, or Princes successively, of the country, time out of mind; and for our present and lawfull enacting herof, being so farre remote from His Majestie, wee have, by joynt consent, made choice of foure of his loyall and loving subjects, our trusty and well-beloved friends…

(The World Turned Upside Down, Calloway 1994)

It is also quoted in Greenblatt’s Invisible Bullets from Thomas Harriot’s account of Algonquian Indians:

The disease was so strange, that they neither knew what it was, nor how to cure it; the like by report of the oldest man in the country never happened before, time out of mind

(Invisible Bullets, Greenblatt)

The phrase “Time Out of Mind” is also used on the first pages of Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
It is the last line of the second verse of Warren Zevon’s song “Accidentally Like A Martyr”.
It is also mentioned in Part Two of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and the title of a novel by Richard Cowper.

It is also in W.B Yeats’s 1910 poem: ‘Upon a House shaken by the Land Agitation’, in the lines: ‘How should the world be luckier if this house,/ Where passion and precision have been one/ Time out of mind, became too ruinous/ To breed the lidless eye that loves the sun?’

It is also used in “The Voice”, a poem by Sara Teasdale.
It is also the title of a Steely Dan song from their album Gaucho (album) It is also found in “Dirge Without Music”, a poem by Edna St.Vincent Millay

It is also found in the song “The no where man” by The Veils

The phrase “Time Out of Mind” is a synonym for “time beyond memory”, or “time immemorial”. The Oxford English Dictionary gives quotations for the phrase dating back to 1480, and variants as early as 1407.

1997 – Elvis Week begins in Memphis to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death on August 16.

Elvis Week 2008 Event Calendar & Ticket Information
Saturday, August 9 – Sunday, August 17

Below is the current Elvis Week 2008 calendar of events along with ticket purchase information for each event. Updates to the calendar will be made as additional guests, details and events are confirmed. Please check back often to get the latest updates.

Some ticketed events below are sold through Graceland. Other events are sold through Ticketmaster.

For the Elvis Week Fun Package and other tickets sold through Graceland, the ticket prices below include sales tax. There is a $4.50 per transaction service fee for each order placed through Graceland. This includes orders made over the phone or online orders. Tickets available through Graceland reservations will be on sale through August 5. After August 5, they will be available in person at Graceland Guest Services or at the door of the event, pending availability. All tickets below sold through Ticketmaster will be subject to tax and Ticketmaster fees.
All ticket sales are final and non-refundable.

Please note, if you are ordering your tickets to tour Graceland at the same time as ordering your Elvis Week event tickets, the $4.50 order fee for Graceland tickets is a separate charge from the $4.50 order fee for Elvis Week tickets and will appear as two separate order fees on your final order listing

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SATURDAY, AUGUST 9

26th Annual Elvis Presley International 5K Run to Benefit United Cerebral Palsy
8:00 a.m. Starts at the Graceland gates. Join thousands of Elvis fans and runners in front of Graceland for the 26th Annual Elvis Presley International 5K Run to benefit United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of the Mid-South. Runners and walkers will enjoy more than the typical 5K. More than 2,000 entrants from around the world will join in the family fun while enjoying the festive atmosphere of Elvis Week 2008 and raising money for UCP. After the race, join everyone across from the mansion as UCP hosts one of the best post-race parties in town. Entertainment will be provided by The AIMS Gang, one of the best bands in Memphis. Pre-registration is $20; race day registration is $25. Click here to register for the race online or call Joanie Nuchols at (901) 761-4277.

D&N’s Mardis Gras Beads for Elvis and United Cerebral Palsy
D&N’s Elvis Presley Fan Club invites you to support UCP of the Mid-South and honor Elvis’s memory by purchasing a Guitar Mardis Gras beads for $2. You don’t have to come to Memphis to be a “spirit runner” in the 26th Annual Elvis Presley International 5K Run. You may register as a “spirit runner” to receive the cool “King Creole” Elvis Race Shirt for 2008 and Guitar Mardis Gras beads. Click here to register online or visit D&N’s site for more information.

Elvis Presley – His Home, His Story – DVD Theatrical Premiere
Three screenings: 9:30 a.m., 9:45 a.m., 10:00 a.m. Malco’s Studio on the Square, 2105 Court Avenue, Memphis. Enjoy the theatrical premiere of the new Graceland tour DVD on the big screen. See stunning footage of Graceland while watching the story of Elvis’s life at Graceland and his amazing career. The new DVD features photos from the Graceland archives, home movies and more. Tickets for the event are free, however you must have a ticket to attend. Tickets are now on sale through Graceland Reservations. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 800-238-2000.

Elvis Meetup at Marlowe’s Benefiting the Memphis Humane Society
12:00 noon. Marlowe’s, 4381 Elvis Presley Blvd., Memphis. No cover charge, but attendees must pay for their own food, drinks and tips. Special guests have been invited. Elvis door prizes will be given. RSVP to Sharon Parker by calling 615-830-5126 or emailing elvismeetupatmarlowes@hotmail.com.

Memphis Welcomes the Fans Redbirds Baseball Game
6:10 p.m. AutoZone Park, 200 Union Avenue (corner of Third & Union) in downtown Memphis. On behalf of the citizens of Memphis, grateful to Elvis fans and all they mean to our city, the Memphis Redbirds baseball team and AutoZone Park celebrate Elvis and welcome the Elvis fans to town with this Elvis Week 2008 kick-off event. Enjoy Elvis-themed entertainment, fireworks and more. For more information call 901-721-6000 or visit their web site to buy your tickets today.

Elvis Week Kick-Off Party at EP’s Delta Kitchen
10:00 p.m. – 3:00 a.m. EP’s Delta Kitchen, 126 Beale Street, Memphis. After the Redbirds game, the official kick-off party is at the EP’s Delta Kitchen on Beale Street. The event will feature live music by Elmo and the Shades. General admission is $20. VIP admission is $40 and includes a food buffet. Cash bar. Tickets are now on sale through Graceland Reservations. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 800-238-2000. Please note, this event venue has changed from the original location to EP’s Delta Kitchen, located at 126 Beale Street.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 10

Elvis Gospel Breakfast
8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Elvis Presley Car Museum, Graceland Plaza. Enjoy brunch in the Elvis Presley Car Museum while listening to Elvis Gospel music and watching Elvis videos on the drive-in theater movie screen. Tickets are $33.00 per person. Tickets are now on sale through Graceland Reservations. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 800-238-2000.

Memorial Luncheon for Bill Burk
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Marlowe’s, 4381 Elvis Presley Blvd., Memphis. Celebrate the life of Bill Burk at a special Elvis Week memorial luncheon. All of Bill’s friends – the fans and the famous – have been invited to come to remember Bill and share memories. An open mic will be available for comments, stories, songs, poems, photos…whatever you would like to do. There will also be a special presentation to Bill’s family. Everyone in attendance will receive a special memento. Reservations are a must. Tickets are $15 and include your lunch and beverage. Please send your check, made out to Nancie Craft, to her at 6607 Cindy Lane, Houston, TX 77088. Part of the ticket includes a donation in Bill’s name to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

Graceland Scavenger Hunt – Bears on Tour
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Starting at the Graceland Ticket Office. Guests are invited to tour Graceland Mansion (no audio tour) and the Elvis Presley Automobile Museum while simultaneously participating in a trivia scavenger hunt. Adult and junior versions of the scavenger hunt will be available. Prizes for both adult and junior versions to be announced. All ticket holders receive a complimentary limited-edition Elvis bear from Limited Treasures. Admission: $29.00 Adults; $14.00 children 7-12. Tickets are now on sale through Graceland Reservations. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 800-238-2000.

Club Elvis
8:00 p.m. – 12:00 Midnight. Elvis Presley Car Museum, Graceland Plaza. Come hang out and enjoy a private party with your fellow Elvis fans. A disc jockey spins Elvis records for your listening and dancing pleasure. Cash bar featuring adult beverages (ID’s checked) and soft drinks. Outdoor smoking area designated – no smoking inside. A wristband ticket allows you to come and go from Club Elvis as much as you like during the evening in order for you to enjoy all the other activities on the property. Admission $25.00. Tickets are now on sale through Graceland Reservations. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 800-238-2000.

MONDAY, AUGUST 11

A Celebration of Fans – Fan Club Presidents’ Event
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, 255 North Main Street, downtown Memphis. Join Elvis Presley fan club presidents from independent Elvis fan clubs from around the world at this special event. At this year’s August Fan Club Presidents’ Event, Elvis Presley Enterprises will open the doors to let more people know about the amazing work that fan clubs do. For the August 2008 fan club presidents’ event, the public will be invited to purchase tickets to the attend the event and hear from some of the fan clubs who work hard to continue on Elvis’s name and memory. All fans are invited to attend this event where they can learn more about what official Elvis Presley fan clubs do, while also enjoying a program of EPE company updates, special announcements and a special guests. This year’s special guests for the Elvis Presley Fan Club Presidents’ Event will be members of The Imperials – Joe Moscheo, Terry Blackwood and Sherman Andrus. The Imperials sang backup vocals for Elvis in Vegas. The event this year will spotlight the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County and EPE will be collecting donations for the organization at the door of the event. Click here for a wish list of donation items. Elvis Presley fan club presidents’ will receive an invitation to the event directly from EPE in early June to reserve their complimentary ticket for the event and do not need to call Graceland Reservations. Tickets for additional fan club members and the general public are $8.00 and can be reserved through Graceland Reservations. Tickets are now on sale through Graceland Reservations. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 800-238-2000.

Elvis Week Memphis Meetup & Meet ‘n’ Greet
12:30 p.m. Downtown Marriott’s Magnolia Grille Restaurant on the main level. It is a buffet-style lunch at $12.99 per person. Seating is limited to 50, so please email Gigi at ballester_gigi@yahoo.com if you are planning on attending.  This event will benefit the Todd Morgan Sound Fuzion Performance Enrichment Fund. They will be collecting donations for the fund. Anyone not attending can mail a check for donation to Gigi. Email Gigi Ballester at ballester_gigi@yahoo.com for details.

Music and Movies at Graceland – Day One
7:00 p.m. (Gates open at 5:30 p.m.) Front lawn, Graceland Mansion. Bring your lawn chair or a blanket and make yourself at home on the front lawn of Graceland to enjoy a live concert by Andy Childs and his band while the sun begins to set. Then, stay for a screening of Jailhouse Rock under the stars. Refreshments available in a vendor area outside the mansion gates. Food, beverages and coolers may not be brought onto the mansion grounds. Also during Music and Movies will be a celebration of the launch of Elvis: Viva Las Vegas, with clips from the special and appearances by Jerry Schilling and George Klein. For more information about Elvis: Viva Las Vegas and to enter the sweepstakes, click here. For more about Jailhouse Rock on DVD and other Elvis Warner Home Video releases, visit www.elvisondvd.com. One day Music and Movie admission is $44.00. If you plan on attending both days of Music and Movies, you can purchase a two day ticket for $75.00  Tickets are now on sale through Graceland Reservations. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 800-238-2000. In addition, you can purchase special VIP seating for this event by purchasing the Elvis Week Fun Package. A special rate is also available for groups of 15 or more who purchase tickets for this event in one transaction. Groups of 15 or more will receive a discount of $5.00 off each one night ticket or $10.00 off each two night ticket. Tickets must be purchased in one transaction, via phone only and all tickets will need to be picked up by same person who placed order. To order at the group rate, contact Graceland Reservations at 800- 238-2000 or 901-332-3322.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12

Malco Theatre’s Elvis Film Fest 5
Presented by The DeHart Group
9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Studio on the Square, 2105 Court Avenue, Memphis. Celebrate the 5th anniversary of the now-legendary Elvis Film Fest with special showings of King Creole, GI Blues, Blue Hawaii, Girls!Girls!Girls! and Paradise Hawaiian Style. Admission is $5.00 per film and all proceeds benefit the Todd Morgan Sound Fuzion Performance Enrichment Fund at the University of Memphis. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 6, at www.malco.com and the Malco theatre box office. So, make a date to take a memorable trip down memory lane with your friends from the The DeHart Group and Malco Theatres.

Elvis Presley Fan Club Reception at The MED
10:00 a.m. The MED’s cafeteria. For more information, contact Marsha Evans at 901-545-6405 or email mevans@the-med.org.

The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest Meet ‘n’ Greet
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. EP’s Delta Kitchen, 126 Beale Street. Private event reserved for those who have purchased the platinum seating package for the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest. Please note, this event has moved from its original location to EP’s Delta Kitchen, located at 126 Beale Street.

Shawn Klush in Concert
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, 255 North Main Street, downtown Memphis. Enjoy an amazing concert by 2007 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest winner Shawn Klush. Opening act will by comedian Sammy Shore, who opened for Elvis in Las Vegas in 1969-1972. Tickets are $30.00 and $22.00.  Tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 901-525-1515.

Music and Movies at Graceland – Day 2
7:00 p.m. (Gates open at 5:30 p.m.) Front lawn, Graceland Mansion. Bring your lawn chair or a blanket and make yourself at home on the front lawn of Graceland to enjoy a live concert by Terry Mike Jeffrey & Band, members of the TCB Band and The Imperials. Then, stay for a screening of Elvis – That’s The Way It Is under the stars. Refreshments available in a vendor area outside the mansion gates. Food, beverages and coolers may not be brought onto the mansion grounds. For more about Elvis – That’s The Way It Is on DVD and other Elvis Warner Home Video releases, visit www.elvisondvd.com. One day Music and Movie admission is $44.00. If you plan on attending both days of Music and Movies, you can purchase a two day ticket for $75.00. Tickets are now on sale through Graceland Reservations. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 800-238-2000. In addition, you can purchase special VIP seating for this event by purchasing the Elvis Week Fun Package. A special rate is also available for groups of 15 or more who purchase tickets for this event in one transaction. Groups of 15 or more will receive a discount of $5.00 off each one night ticket or $10.00 off each two night ticket. Tickets must be purchased in one transaction, via phone only and all tickets will need to be picked up by same person who placed order. To order at the group rate, contact Graceland Reservations at 800- 238-2000 or 901-332-3322.

Club Elvis
9:30 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. Elvis Presley Car Museum, Graceland Plaza. Come hang out and enjoy a private party with your fellow Elvis fans. A disc jockey spins Elvis records for your listening and dancing pleasure. Cash bar featuring adult beverages (ID’s checked) and soft drinks. Outdoor smoking area designated – no smoking inside. A wristband ticket allows you to come and go from Club Elvis as much as you like during the evening in order for you to enjoy all the other activities on the property. Admission $25.00. Tickets are now on sale through Graceland Reservations. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 800-238-2000.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13

Elvis Expo 2008 – Day 1
9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. South Hall, Memphis Cook Convention Center, 255 North Main Street, downtown Memphis. . The ultimate Elvis tradeshow with more than 75 booths and 35,000 square feet of Elvis that includes all the latest Elvis music, movies, merchandise, celebrity autograph sessions, authors, artists and photographers, and lots of Elvis freebies and samples. Admission is $15.00 per day. Elvis Insiders Conference attendees are admitted free by showing their conference badge. Tickets are now on sale through Graceland Reservations. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 800-238-2000.

Guests confirmed to appear in the showroom are: actress Darlene Tompkins, who appeared with Elvis in the movies Blue Hawaii and Fun in Acapulco; dancer Tanya Lemani George, who appeared in Elvis’s 1968 television special; Joanne Cash, singer; The Imperials, gospel group and backup vocals for Elvis in Vegas; Celeste Yarnall, Elvis co-star in Live A Little, Love a Little; DJ Fontana, Elvis’s original drummer, who worked with him from 1955-1968; Chris Noel, who appeared with Elvis in Girl Happy; Charles Stone, who helped arrange tour schedules and security for Elvis in the ’70s; Marian Cocke, Elvis’s friend and private nurse from 1975-1977; Sandi Pichon, an Elvis fan who became a REAL Elvis Insider by getting to know and socialize with Elvis and his inner circle of friends; Edward Faulkner, Elvis’s co-star in GI Blues and Tickle Me; Francine York, Elvis’s co-star in Tickle Me; Nancy Rooks, Elvis’s maid and Author of Inside Graceland: Elvis’ Maid Remembers. Cydney Miller, Elvis fan and current Mrs. Tennessee, representing the state in the Mrs. America pageant. More guests to be announced.

The Official Elvis Insiders Conference – Day 1
10:00 a.m. – 4 p.m. Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, 255 North Main Street, downtown Memphis. Hosted by Tom Brown, Vice President of Original Production at Turner Classic Movies. Enjoy two full days of special guests and programming put together by Elvis Presley Enterprises, including on-stage interviews with people who were part of Elvis’s life and career. Conference attendees will receive a welcome kit loaded with Elvis-themed gifts and everyone will win a door prize. The Elvis Expo 2008 will be open nearby and admission to the showroom is included with your Elvis Insiders Conference ticket. Tickets are $85.00 for a two-day ticket.  Tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 901-525-1515. In addition, you can purchase special VIP seating for this event by purchasing the Elvis Week Fun Package. Click here for details on the Elvis Week Fun Package.

Special guests for August 13: Dixie Locke Emmons, who dated Elvis early in his career; Mike Stoller, part of the Leiber/Stoller song writing team who wrote “Jailhouse Rock”, “King Creole”, “Hound Dog”, “Treat Me Nice”, “Love Me” and many more; Sammy Shore, comedian who opened for Elvis from 1969-1972 in Las Vegas; Celeste Yarnall, Elvis’s co-star in Live A Little, Love A Little; Francine York, Elvis’s co-star in Tickle Me; Edward Faulkner, Elvis’s co-star in GI Blues and Tickle Me .

Special guests for August 14: Robert F.X. Sillerman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CKX Inc., parent company of Elvis Presley Enterprises; Susan Henning, appeared in Live A Little, Love A Little and the ’68 Special; Joe Guercio, Elvis’s musical director and conductor for concerts from the summer of 1970 to the summer of 1977; Jerry Schilling, one of Elvis’s closest friends; Steve Binder, producer of Elvis’s ’68 Special.

D&N’s Humes Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction
4:30 – 5:30 PM Silent Auction; 5:30 Dinner. Humes Room at Club Superior, 159 Beale Street, Memphis. D&N’s Elvis Presley Fan Club invites you to join them for a fabulous 3 course dinner in the private Humes Room at Club Superior. Enjoy the large collection of Humes memorabilia, including unique items of Humes famous graduate, Elvis Presley, formerly displayed at Anna’s Steakhouse. Silent auction benefiting Elvis’s Alma Mater, Humes. Advance ticket purchase only. Reserved seating. Tickets are $35 per person. Mail checks to: Nancie Craft, 6607 Cindy Lane, Houston, TX 77008. Please enclose a self addressed, stamped envelope for tickets to be mailed. Click here for more information.

Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest Semifinals
7:00 p.m. Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, 255 North Main Street, downtown Memphis. Semifinal round of competition for the 2008 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest. Attendees to the show will see the best Elvis tribute artists from around the world performing and competing on stage for their chance to move onto the finals round on August 14. Elvis Tribute Artists will receive their chance to showcase their talents and why they should be named Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist of 2008. Finalists chosen from these rounds will return on August 14th to compete for the title of Elvis Tribute Artist of the Year. The Exspence Account Band will perform with the contestants. Visit the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest page to find out about the finalists.

Tickets are only available in a set that includes one ticket to the semifinals on August 13 and one ticket to the finals on August 14. Platinum package seating for the event is $140.00 and includes a special Meet ‘n’ Greet with the semifinalists. (Tickets for the Meet ‘n’ Greet will not be mailed out with the semifinals/finals tickets. Ticket holders who are entitled to attend the Meet ‘n’ Greet will just need to show ID at EP’s Delta Kitchen on August 12.) Gold package seating is $80.00. Silver package seating is $50.00. Tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 901-525-1515.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14

Elvis Expo 2008 – Day 2
9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. South Hall, Memphis Cook Convention Center, 255 North Main Street, downtown Memphis.  The ultimate Elvis tradeshow with more than 75 booths and 35,000 square feet of Elvis that includes all the latest Elvis music, movies, merchandise, celebrity autograph sessions, authors, artists and photographers, and lots of Elvis freebies and samples. Elvis Expo special guest information coming soon. Admission is $15.00 per day. Elvis Insiders Conference attendees are admitted free by showing their conference badge. Tickets are now on sale through Graceland Reservations. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 800-238-2000.

Guests confirmed to appear in the showroom are: actress Darlene Tompkins, who appeared with Elvis in the movies Blue Hawaii and Fun in Acapulco; dancer Tanya Lemani George, who appeared in Elvis’s 1968 television special; Joanne Cash, singer; The Imperials, gospel group and backup vocals for Elvis in Vegas; Celeste Yarnall, Elvis co-star in Live A Little, Love a Little; DJ Fontana, Elvis’s original drummer, who worked with him from 1955-1968; Chris Noel, who appeared with Elvis in Girl Happy; Charles Stone, who helped arrange tour schedules and security for Elvis in the ’70s; Marian Cocke, Elvis’s friend and private nurse from 1975-1977; Sandi Pichon, an Elvis fan who became a REAL Elvis Insider by getting to know and socialize with Elvis and his inner circle of friends; Edward Faulkner, Elvis’s co-star in GI Blues and Tickle Me; Francine York, Elvis’s co-star in Tickle Me; Nancy Rooks, Elvis’s maid and Author of Inside Graceland: Elvis’ Maid Remembers. Cydney Miller, Elvis fan and current Mrs. Tennessee, representing the state in the Mrs. America pageant. More guests to be announced.

The Official Elvis Insiders Conference – Day 2
10:00 a.m. – 4 p.m. Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, 255 North Main Street, downtown Memphis. Hosted by Tom Brown, Vice President of Original Production at Turner Classic Movies. Enjoy two full days of special guests and programming put together by Elvis Presley Enterprises, including on-stage interviews with people who were part of Elvis’s life and career. Conference attendees will receive a welcome kit loaded with Elvis-themed gifts and everyone will win a door prize. The Elvis Expo 2008 will be open nearby and admission to the showroom is included with your Elvis Insiders Conference ticket. Tickets are $85.00 for a two-day ticket. Tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 901-525-1515. In addition, you can purchase special VIP seating for this event by purchasing the Elvis Week Fun Package. Click here for details on the Elvis Week Fun Package.

Special guests for August 13: Dixie Locke Emmons, who dated Elvis early in his career; Mike Stoller, part of the Leiber/Stoller song writing team who wrote “Jailhouse Rock”, “King Creole”, “Hound Dog”, “Treat Me Nice”, “Love Me” and many more; Sammy Shore, comedian who opened for Elvis from 1969-1972 in Las Vegas; Celeste Yarnall, Elvis’s co-star in Live A Little, Love A Little; Francine York, Elvis’s co-star in Tickle Me; Edward Faulkner, Elvis’s co-star in GI Blues and Tickle Me .

Special guests for August 14: Robert F.X. Sillerman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CKX Inc., parent company of Elvis Presley Enterprises; Susan Henning, appeared in Live A Little, Love A Little and the ’68 Special; Joe Guercio, Elvis’s musical director and conductor for concerts from the summer of 1970 to the summer of 1977; Jerry Schilling, one of Elvis’s closest friends; Steve Binder, producer of Elvis’s ’68 Special.

Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest Finals
7:00 p.m. Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, 255 North Main Street, downtown Memphis. The finals of the 2008 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest. Top finalists from semifinals on August 13 compete for the title of Elvis Tribute Artist of 2008. Elvis Tribute Artists will receive their chance to showcase their talents and why they should be named Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist of 2008. The Exspence Account Band will perform with the contestants. Visit the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest page to find out about the finalists.

Tickets are only available in a set that includes one ticket to the semifinals on August 13 and one ticket to the finals on August 14. Platinum package seating for the event is $140.00 and includes a special Meet ‘n’ Greet with the semifinalists. (Tickets for the Meet ‘n’ Greet will not be mailed out with the semifinals/finals tickets. Ticket holders who are entitled to attend the Meet ‘n’ Greet will just need to show ID at EP’s Delta Kitchen on August 12.) Gold package seating is $80.00. Silver package seating is $50.00. Tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 901-525-1515.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 15

Blue Hawaii Breakfast at Graceland with Darlene Tompkins – SOLD OUT
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Elvis Presley Car Museum, Graceland Plaza. Have breakfast in the Elvis Presley Car Museum while enjoying Elvis music and watching Elvis videos on the drive-in theater movie screen. Darlene Tompkins, who co-starred with Elvis in Blue Hawaii and Fun in Acapulco, will be the special guest at breakfast and  will meet ‘n’ greet with fans and sign autographs. This event is now sold out.

Elvis Presley – His Home, His Story – DVD Theatrical Premiere
Three screenings: 9:30 a.m., 9:45 a.m., 10:00 a.m. Malco’s Studio on the Square, 2105 Court Avenue, Memphis. Enjoy the theatrical premiere of the new Graceland tour DVD on the big screen. See stunning footage of Graceland while watching the story of Elvis’s life at Graceland and his amazing career. The new DVD features photos from the Graceland archives, home movies and more. Tickets for the event are free, however you must have a ticket to attend. Tickets are now on sale through Graceland Reservations. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 800-238-2000.

David Garibaldi’s Rhythm and Hue Performance Art Show
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Graceland Plaza. World famous artist David Garibaldi will be showcasing his “Rhythm and Hue” performance art show, where he creates 6-foot portraits of pop icons in under 7 minutes to music. David will also be available to meet fans during an autograph session following his performance from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Special pieces and artwork in addition to Garibaldi’s new coffee table book will be available for purchase at Graceland during the performance and signing session. Free.

Presley Place Open House and Tours
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Les Passees Center for Children and Families and Presley Place, 715 St. Paul Ave, Memphis. Free of charge. During this open house and tour, see Presley Place, a 12-unit apartment property affiliated with MIFA Housing Opportunities. This program provides transitional housing for families who have been homeless, as well as valuable life skills education to help them live independently and productively. Supported by the Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation and Elvis fans across the globe, Presley Place has been a safe haven for more than 100 families since its inception in July 2001. You can also see the Elvis Music room, which has inspired young people for years, as well as meet families who have lived at Presley Place. Other activities and refreshments will also be available. This event is sponsored by the Jennings Osborne family of Arkansas. For more information, contact MIFA at 901-529-4544.

Mass In Memory of Elvis Presley
3:00 p.m. St. Paul Catholic Church, 1425 E. Shelby Drive, Memphis, TN 38116. On the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mother, St. Paul Catholic Church will celebrate a special Mass for the repose of the soul of Elvis Presley. St. Paul Church is located at 1425 E. Shelby Drive (south of Graceland–approx. 2 1/2 miles). Recorded music: 2:15 p.m. Choir: 2:45 p.m. Mass: 3:00 p.m. Come together to pray and remember Elvis. Spaghetti Dinner follows.

Candlelight Vigil
8:30 p.m. Gates of Graceland Mansion. After an opening ceremony at the gates of the Graceland Mansion property, fans are invited to walk up the driveway to Elvis’s gravesite and back down carrying a candle in quiet remembrance. Free admission. No tickets or reservations. Gates remain open until all who wish to participate in the procession have done so, which typically takes until the early morning hours of August 16, the anniversary date of Elvis’s passing. Free secured parking at the Graceland visitor center complex after 6:00 p.m. Prior to Elvis Week, posted here will be a link to the text of the special information and guidelines flyer for the Vigil that is handed out at Graceland during Elvis Week.

Can’t be here for the Vigil? Enjoy live coverage from Graceland by Elvis Radio/Sirius Satellite 13. They also will have special Elvis programming throughout Elvis Week.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16

George Klein’s Elvis Memorial Service
12:00 noon. Main Theatre Building, University of Memphis. Free admission. Annual event hosted by George Klein, longtime friend of Elvis. Speakers will include friends and family of Elvis and celebrity guests. For more information, contact the U of M Department of Communication at (901) 678-2565.

Elvis: From Broadway to Memphis with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra
Two Shows: Matinee Show – 2:00 p.m. Evening Show – 8:00 p.m. Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, 255 North Main Street, downtown Memphis. An all new, never-before-seen show! Enjoy a sophisticated and fun celebration of Elvis music with Leah Hocking, from the Broadway cast of “All Shook Up” and Austin Miller, television and Broadway star. The show will also star Elvis Presley, via video, accompanied by live music on stage during some special segments of the show. All will be accompanied by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Included in the exciting show will be Elvis fan favorites, The Dempseys and lots of surprises. Tickets to the matinee event are $70.00, $50.00 and $30.00. Tickets to the evening show are $125.00, $85.00, $65.00 and $45.00. Tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 901-525-1515. (The special $125.00 ticket package includes access to the rehearsal of Elvis: Broadway to Memphis on August 15, a seat in the orchestra pit section, a reception during intermission of the show with light hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar, a complimentary Elvis Insiders membership or renewal, a special collectible lanyard from the event and two Elvis champagne flutes. All package items (excluding ticket) will be available for pickup at Graceland on August 8-16 from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.)

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17

Elvis Gospel Breakfast
8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Elvis Presley Car Museum, Graceland Plaza. Enjoy brunch in the Elvis Presley Car Museum while listening to Elvis Gospel music and watching Elvis videos on the drive-in theater movie screen. Tickets are $33.00 per person. Tickets are now on sale through Graceland Reservations. Click here to purchase your tickets online or call 800-238-2000.

MULTIPLE DATE EVENTS

Morning and Evening Walk-ups for Meditation Garden
Daily throughout the year, there is a special period of time for free admission walk-up visits to the Meditation Garden at Graceland. The summer hours for free walk-ups are 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. daily, then the garden becomes part of the regular ticketed Graceland tour. There will be no morning walk-ups on the morning of August 16 due to the Candlelight Vigil. As a special courtesy to fans, there is always an additional schedule of evening walk-up times during Elvis Week. Evening walk-up times will be from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on August 9, 10, 13, 14 & 16.

Elvis Week Entertainment Tent at Graceland Crossing Sponsored by Elvis Collector’s Edition Tins
August 8-16. Continuous presentation of Elvis music performed live by various singers and bands, plus other activities. Children and youth karaoke also featured. Free admission. A detailed schedule will be available at the Elvis Week information table in the Graceland Plaza as Elvis Week begins.

Elvis Week Art Contest & Exhibit
August 9-15. Ticket office pavilion in Graceland Plaza. Free admission to view this exhibition of Elvis-themed artwork from amateur and professional artists from around the world. Click here for a Art Contest Rules, Guidelines and Entry Form for artists who would like to submit their work. Deadline to submit artwork is July 31.

Children’s Elvis Week Art Activities
August 9: 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and August 10: 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Ticket office pavilion in Graceland Plaza. Children will get the opportunity to create Elvis art to hang in the 2008 Elvis Week Art Contest & Exhibit as part of the exhibit only category. Each participant will receive a certificate of participation. Free.

Kids Karaoke
August 9: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 pm; August 12: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 pm. Elvis Week Entertainment Tent sponsored by Elvis Collector’s Edition Tins, Graceland Crossing. Children and youth aged 2 to 17 are invited to perform karaoke Elvis songs. Free admission to perform and to be in the audience.

Children’s Activities
August 11-15. 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Graceland Ticket Pavilion. Craft activities for children aged 2 to 12. Free.

Elvis Fan Club Festival
August 12-16. 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Airport Inn, 1441 E. Brooks Rd., Memphis. Free admision. This year is the 30th anniversary of the original Elvis Fan Club Festival. Vegas atmosphere with EPE, Inc. items from 1956 to present. Continuous Elvis music.

Artwork of Betty Harper Exhibit
August 13 & 14: 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Everything Elvis, Graceland Crossing. Betty will be exhibiting her artwork and meeting fans.

Tours of The MED and Elvis Presley Trauma Center
August 12-17. Contact Marsha Evans at 901-545-6405 or mevans@the-med.org for details.

1996 – Blues guitarist Johnny “Guitar” Watson dies while touring Japan.

b. 3rd February 1935, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

d. 17th May 1996, Yokohama, Japan.

Johnny Guitar Watson’s career went back to the early 50′s in Houston.

As a teenager, Johnny played with various artists including Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland.

His father played piano, which also became Johnny’s first instrument.

Johnny left Houston for Los Angeles when he was only 15 years old.

He played piano with Chuck Higgins’ band when he recorded ‘Motorhead Baby’ for the Combo imprint in 1952.

Johnny also performed the vocal chores on that song.

On seeing Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown perform, he convinced himself that he had to play guitar.

He inherited a guitar from his grandfather, a preacher, on the condition that he did not play the blues on it .

Johnny later admitted that ‘that was the first thing I played’.

He was listed as Young John Watson when he signed with Federal in 1953.

There he recorded ‘Space Guitar’, utilising reverberation and feedback, an unusual technique at the time.

Johnny also recorded ‘Motorhead Baby’ at the time (a song he also recorded for Federal with the Amos Milburn Band).

He then relocated to the Bihari Brothers’ RPM label in 1955.

Under saxist Maxwell Davis’s supervision, he released the songs ‘Hot Little Mama’, ‘Too Tired’, and ‘Oh Baby’.

‘Someone Cares for Me’ and ‘Three Hours Past Midnight’ followed.

Johnny had his first hit in 1955 for RPM with a cover of the Earl King song ‘Those Lonely Lonely Nights’, which hit the U.S. R & B ‘ Top 10.

He also recorded with the Olympics, Don And Dewey and Little Richard at the time.

In 1957, the song ‘Gangster Of Love’ gave him a minor hit on the west coast on the Keen imprint.

That tune was later to be adopted by Steve Miller.

Johnny recorded singles for the Class imprint (including ‘One Kiss’), the Goth label, Arvee and the Escort label.

He also worked with Johnny Otis at the King label during the early ’60s.

Johnny re-recorded ‘Gangster Of Love’ for the same label and reached the charts in 1962 with his blues ballad ‘Cuttin’ In’, a song recorded with string accompaniment.

In 1963 he recorded ‘I Cried For You’, an album with his own renditions of ‘Polkadots And Moonbeams’ and ‘Witchcraft’.

An association with Larry Williams followed, and in 1965 they toured England and recorded an album for Decca.

This pairing achieved their first vocal hit with ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’ in 1967.

In the Seventies, Johnny recorded two soulful funk albums for the Fantasy label, (Listen and ‘I Don’t Want To Be Alone, Stranger’) with keyboardist Andre Lewis (who later toured with Frank Zappa).

He also contributed to Frank Zappa’s album ‘One Size Fits All’ in 1975.

By 1976, Johnny released ‘Ain’t That A Bitch’ on DJM Records, an album that was to change his recording career.

The dancer, ‘I Need It’, became an enormous Pop and R & B hit both sides of the Atlantic and paved the way for further successful album offerings.

Johnny produced, played bass, keyboards and drums on the album and a further six albums appeared on the DJM imprint.

In 1981, he relocated to A & M Records, although the resulting releases were not critically acclaimed.

Johnny released ‘Strike On Computers’ at the end of the 80′s and had an appearance at London’s Town & Country Club in 1987.

In the 90′s his music was sampled by Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr Dre, and the album ‘Bow Wow’ made the U.S. charts (an association with Toni Tony Tone).

Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson died of a heart attack whilst performing at the Yokohama Blues Cafe in Japan on the 17th May 1996.

An excellent retrospective was released in 2005, called ‘The Funk Anthology’.

Enigma

1991 – Enigma went to No.1 for one week on the UK singles chart with ‘Sadness Part One’.

As Enigma is primarily an electronic music production, I assume you had a long standing interest in this area, so what artists influenced you to explore this direction right from the start? Influences, I’d have to say that I’ve always loved synthesisers, these are my toys. I have always been interested in electronic music and I started with the Minimoog and the legendary ones through to the generations of electronic equipment.

Did any artist/s in particular inspire you to pick up those instruments? Not really because I studied concert piano, so I’m a keyboarder all of my life.

So where did the original concept for Enigma derive? It was very simple, because I wanted to listen to a kind of special instrumental music but I couldn’t buy it so I did it by myself.

And incorporating Gregorian chants and eastern instruments? Yeah, it was more a question of ideology because the first record was based on this conflict between sexuality and the church, so it was very simple to use this as a sound logo of the Catholic Church. But I tell you what, sound philosophy yes? The sound is combined with the ideology of the records, but it’s nothing fixed, it’s coming along during the work, becoming clearer and clearer how I can transport my sound vision.

It’s never been contrived? No, I’m doing it very instinctively. Ok, in the back of my mind I am thinking about many things and I have a certain target of where I want to go and where I want to arrive, but how it will be at the end? As I always say, all the roads are going to Rome, which way I choose at the end is a question that is decided during the journey.

Is it true to say that Enigma is a one-man band, and that you’re involved in every aspect of the creation and production yourself? Yeah, it was from the very first day a one-man band; there were only some guest musicians for vocals or for guitars. On the new record I didn’t have the impression that I need some other vocalists, so I sing by myself and there are artificial voices, synthetic voices.

And the artwork on the new album looks quite interesting. It’s beautiful; it’s beautiful.

Yes, this big machine covered in leaves entwining it. The machine is from the British Museum of Marine… or something like that, it’s an old measurement instrument used from the past centuries.

Did you have a hand in designing the artwork? No, no, no, I have an excellent art director, which I’m very happy with.

And regarding lyrical content, there seems to be a lot less than on previous albums? I don’t know – it came how it came, so there’s no concrete messages. I don’t know; it was how it was, but I didn’t have the need to speak more. There’s not too much message behind the lyrical content this time, it’s more like a modern alchemist dream, who is dreaming about other galaxies – between science fiction and a visionary attitude.

How would you say A Posteriori differs from other Enigma albums then? I think the Enigma feeling, the emotion, the bloodline is still here, but transported in a completely different way. The sound and the structure of the songs are different to the albums before and I try to reduce the sound, not to be so bombastic as before. I wanted to go back a little bit to the simplicity of Enigma one.

It sounds quite different to me, perhaps more like a film soundtrack? Yes, but I always said I am doing soundtracks without pictures, the pictures are coming into your mind.

Has it been a struggle breaking away from the loops and samples of the previous Enigma style? It depends on the record you see because I always wanted to have a kind of lead sound, in brackets, lead sound for each album. So for the first one it was Gregorian charts, the second one the ethnic chants, the third was a mixture between both of them. Four was the classic stuff – the Carmina Burana from Carl Orff, fifth had nothing special as a sound leader, but in the new one I think the complete sound is a unit you know? And I think it’s the most compact Enigma album concerning the sound.

So it’s just a natural progression. I have to, because if not I get bored and music is my passion and I do it with all my love and all my energy, and it’s boring to copy myself so I will never do it.

Living in Ibiza, has the club scene there ever had an impact on you? Not at all, since I moved here to Ibiza in 1989 I may have been in a club for 1 hour every 3 years or something.

When Enigma was first successful you were in your early thirties? Yes.

So is there a difference between writing an album before you’ve sold 30 million album and then after? No, not at all. Because I’m doing it like if it’s my first album ever, and also with the same energy and with the same enthusiasm. And I’m happy like a little kid if it sounds how I like it and how I wanted to have it.

And you feel no external pressure to move the project in a particular direction? No pressure at all. And this rhythm of say every two and a half to three years, the albums are reflecting what I want to do in a certain period of my life, but life is not changing so dramatically in one year so that I could have something new. It has to be first born the idea, the basic idea, and then I transform it into music.

When you make music do you ever get excited about fulfilling what you perceive to be the desires of the audience? No, I have no idea what are the desires of my audience. I want to have an influence over everything even the single choices. Even if people say I’m nuts, I don’t care a bit because success is on my side.

When you’re creating a track, what’s the starting point? It’s each time different, one song can be testing a new keyboard; I like a sound and I start to play around and then woof, suddenly I have the base for a song. Other times I have a melody in my mind, other times I have maybe some lyrics, so it’s completely different, there’s no basic formula. There are songs maybe where the drum loop is important for me, and other ones where the drum loop is only like a rhythm machine and nothing important.

“I think the Enigma feeling, the emotion, the bloodline is still here, but transported in a completely different way.”

What are using the studio – are you working increasingly with computer software? Yes, because I reduced completely my huge studio and now I don’t have (laughs), so I made a little transportable studio with a monitoring system with everything included. So it’s reduced basically on the level of a quad processor with all the plug-ins that you have inside and that’s maybe 90% of the record. For the rest, I probably have only two auxiliary synthesisers, the Korg Oasis and the Roland V-Synth XT, but they were used only a little bit. But there are no effect machines or nothing; everything is plug-ins.

Has it been a challenge to switch over, having previously been reliant on hardware? No, basically the decision was very easy for me because I realised I’m using less and less everyday the huge equipment that I had. So I said why the hell have 55 kilometres of cables and they always have a bug somewhere? And it’s reduced now so I can do everything including mastering with my transportable machine. But I tell you, the amount of failures and bugs was reduced by 90%, so I could really make music and not moan with the software (laughs).

So you find that the technology is enhancing the whole experience and allowing your creativity to come to the fore? Exactly, exactly, exactly, so I didn’t have to squeeze my mind in such little ways about technical problems this time – so the decision to reduce the equipment was absolutely correct. But I’m missing nothing, so it’s not that I castrated myself, not at all.

You can tell by listening to A Posteriori that you’re not led by the technology. Without this technology I wouldn’t be able to have this equipment that I always dreamed of having, but I’m not a slave to the technology. The machines have to do what I want!

Unfortunately, with a lot of electronic music nowadays the reverse is often true. Absolutely, that’s the reason why I wanted to make a pure synthesiser album but in a way that does not sound at all like synthesiser music that was done in the past or present. And I think it’s correct to pretend that it sounds different, it’s not sounding so synthetic and so cold, like maybe people are used to if they hear the term electronic music – so the clichι goes completely the other way.

Is there still considerable motivation there for you to continue making many more Enigma albums? I always said, if I have an idea and I have the feeling that I can fulfil my targets – and I can keep the quality level high and have the feeling I’m still good enough for my own baby, then I will do some other records. But I never know. It’s always from one record to the other because I have first of all to be happy with myself and if I can’t do it so there will be no Enigma albums anymore, but I think that number seven will be for sure.

Do you feel the massive success of Enigma has made it difficult to match people’s expectations? No, not at all because it was extremely risky from the very first moment. It was never fulfilling the needs of the market and of the marketing machinery, so it was against a lot from the very first moment. I know, because I’m realist enough to know that the goal is at a very high level to fulfil each time, first of all for myself. It’s difficult to find a new way, not to have the impression that the project is standing still, that something is moving – there has to be an evolution in the project. But now if I hear all the six albums in a row, I must say that the way is fine because each one has its own identity without losing… say, the basic spirit.

Have you ever written an Enigma album that you weren’t entirely happy with, in retrospect? No, all of them are exactly… I couldn’t put them better. And that’s very important for me because then I can’t argue with myself, y’know “oh I miss this or miss that”. For my taste and for what I wanted to reach it was excellent for the period of time when I did it.

And of course many artists have attempted to imitate the Enigma sound? Yes.

I’m sure you’re aware of artists such as Enya and Deep Forest maybe. Do you think they achieved their goals? Phew (laughs). I don’t know if they achieved their goals or not.

I’m sure you’ve heard of Delerium? No.

Never? Never. I listen to music but I tell you, I’m also fixed on what I what I can get on my satellite dish if it’s on MTV or, I don’t know what music radio programmes, and so on. I don’t have the chance to listen to a lot of other music.

You’re so busy writing and recording that you don’t have the patience to listen to anything else? Oh, I have the patience but when I go into the final phase of record production I avoid listening to other things because I don’t want to be inspired – inspired subconsciously that is. I have to do exactly the opposite of what other people are doing. I have to go my own way, at least concerning Enigma.

“I’m not a slave to the technology. The machines have to do what I want!”

1990 – 2 Live Crew release their “Banned in the U.S.A.” single. Bruce Springsteen approved the sample of his “Born in the U.S.A.”

1988 – Abba sue Mercury Records after their song “Money Money Money” is sampled by English comedian Harry Enfield for his single “Loadsamoney (Doin’ Up the House).”

1973 – Drummer Gene Krupa dies of leukemia at the age of 64.

Gene Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an influential American jazz and big band drummer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.

Biography

Eugene Bertram Krupa was born to Polish parents in Chicago, Illinois. He began playing professionally in the mid 1920s with bands in Wisconsin. He broke into the Chicago scene in 1927, when he was picked by MCA to become a member of “Thelma Terry and Her Playboys”, the first notable American Jazz band (outside of all-girl bands) to be led by a female musician. The Playboys were the house band at The Golden Pumpkin nightclub in Chicago and also toured extensively throughout the eastern and central United States.

Krupa made his first recordings in 1927, with a band under the leadership of banjoist Eddie Condon and “fixer” (and sometime singer, who did not appear on the records), Red McKenzie: along with other recordings beginning in 1924 by musicians known in the “Chicago” scene such as Bix Beiderbecke, these sides are examples of white “Chicago Style” jazz. The numbers recorded at that session were: ‘China Boy’, ‘Sugar’, ‘Nobody’s Sweetheart’ and ‘Liza’. The McKenzie – Condon sides are also notable for being the first records to feature a full drum kit. Eddie Condon describes what happened in the Okeh studio on that day (in ‘We Called It Music’ – pub: Peter Davis, 1948):
”     Mezzrow (Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow) was helping Krupa set up his drums. ‘What are you going to do with those?’ Rockwell (Okeh’s ‘A&R’ man in the 1920′s) asked. ‘Play them,’ Krupa said simply. Rockwell shook his head. ‘You can’t do that,’ he said. ‘You’ll ruin our equipment. All we’ve ever used on records are snare drums and cymbals.’ Krupa, who had been practicing every day at home, looked crushed. ‘How about letting us try them?’ I asked. ‘The drums are the backbone of the band. They hold us up.’ I could see that Rockwell was leery of the whole business; drums or no drums, I figured, we are probably going to get tossed out. ‘Let the kids try it’, McKenzie said. ‘If they go wrong I’ll take the rap’. I didn’t know until long afterwards that Red had guaranteed our pay for the job’…

Quietly we waited for the playback. When it came, pounding out through the big speaker, we listened stiffly for a moment. We had never been an audience for ourselves…Rockwell came out of the control-room smiling. ‘We’ll have to get some more of this… (Rockwell nodded towards Krupa): didn’t bother the equipment at all,’ he said. ‘I think we’ve got something,’.
”

Krupa also appeared on six recordings made by the Thelma Terry band in 1928..

Krupa studied with Sanford A. Moeller.

In 1929 he moved to New York City and worked with the band of Red Nichols. In 1934 he joined Benny Goodman’s band, where his featured drum work — especially on the hit “Sing, Sing, Sing” — made him a national celebrity. In 1938, after a public fight with Goodman at the Earl Theater in Philadelphia, he left Goodman to launch his own band and had several hits with singer Anita O’Day and trumpeter Roy Eldridge. Krupa made a memorable cameo appearance in the 1941 film Ball of Fire, in which he and his band performed an extended version of the hit Drum Boogie.

Gene Krupa Drive in Yonkers, NY

In 1943, Krupa was arrested for possession of marijuana and was given a 3 month jail sentence. After his release, Krupa reorganized his band with a big string section, featuring Charlie Ventura on sax. It was one of the largest dance bands of the era, sometimes containing up to forty musicians. He gradually cut down the size of the band in the late 1940s, and from 1951 on led a trio or quartet, often featuring the multi-instrumentalist Eddie Shu on tenor sax, clarinet and harmonica. He appeared regularly with the Jazz At the Philharmonic shows.
Death

He continued to perform in the 1960s even in famous clubs like the Metropole near Times Square in New York. Krupa retired in the late 1960s, although he occasionally played in public in the early 1970s until shortly before his death from leukemia and heart failure in Yonkers, New York at age sixty-four. He was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Calumet City, Illinois.

Many consider Krupa to be one of the most influential drummers of the 20th century, particularly regarding the development of the drum kit. But he made history in 1927 as the first kit drummer ever to record using a bass drum pedal. His drum method was published in 1938 and immediately became the standard text. He is also credited with inventing the rim shot on the snare drum.

Krupa in the 1930s prominently featured Slingerland drums. At Krupa’s urging, Slingerland developed tom-toms with tuneable top and bottom heads, which immediately became important elements of virtually every drummer’s set-up. Krupa also developed and popularised many of the cymbal techniques that became standards. His collaboration with Armand Zildjian of the Avedis Zildjian Company developed the hi-hat stand and standardized the names and uses of the ride cymbal, the crash cymbal, the splash cymbal, the pang cymbal and the swish cymbal.

The British techno-rock group Apollo 440 had a hit with “Krupa” which featured the sampled phrase from the movie Taxi Driver; “Now back to Gene Krupa’s syncopated style.” The song itself is an electronic dance track written in the style of Gene Krupa, giving the impression of Krupa’s style in the form of a 1990s dance track, blending his musical idioms with a modern song using samples and synthesised basslines.

Krupa was featured in the 1946 Warner Bros. cartoon Book Revue in which a rotoscoped version of Krupa’s drumming is used in an impromptu jam session.