FRIDAY MOVIE SUGGESTION NIGHT PRESENTS:"THIS IS ELVIS"!

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The decision for this week's tribute to the late Elvis Presley left me with either suggesting his 1969 Las Vegas Concert film "That's the Way It Is"--that marked the end of his film career of 33 movies, and the beginning of over 7 years of grueling nationwide tours that were literally "over-the-top" by any musicians' description. Beyond the fact that 30 years have passed, is how Presley toured. He went on the road with a full band, Soprano Kathy Westmoreland, back-up singers The Sweet Inspirations, J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, Conductor Joe Guercio and an entire orchestra with a comic (usually Jackie Kahane) as an opening act. The alternative film I considered is a very dated "Elvis On Tour". Ultimately, I decided to go with the Andrew Solt and Malcolm Leo production of "THIS IS ELVIS" because it is important for anyone who truly loves Rock and Roll to know the full story of just how this young kid from the poor side of Tupelo, Mississippi gradually became the "Greatest entertainer in the world". Narrated by the late Ral Donner, based on input from Elvis's Road Manager Joe Esposito and assistant Jerry Schilling, while not a commercial success, the film has recently been reformatted and expanded in its new re-release. Thus, it comes as close as possible to taking the viewer into Presley's private world; his pressures and conflicts, his enormous talent, and the meteoric rise from the heights of the 1968 "Comeback" Television performance to his 1973 "Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite" viewed by 36 countries and 1.8 billion people, to the eventual end of Elvis' life. Here we are shown glimpses of actual film footage of one of Presley's final concerts in Rapid City, South Dakota where his Manager Colonel Tom Parker egregiously negotiated the filming of a CBS concert, despite "The King's" appearance and failing health. It is a cautionary tale of drug use and a life blown out of proportion. As Sheryl Crow would later say, "We learned from Elvis how not to tour and how not to be managed". Today, Elvis is being rediscovered by an entirely new generation. Statistically, the majority of tourists who pass through the gates of Graceland (as I have twice) to tour Elvis' home in Memphis, Tennessee are age 30 or younger. This is an American story about a true Legend--and it is the complete story. It is hard to believe Elvis died at the age of 42, and even harder to fathom that his death was 30 years ago today. This was part of the beginning of Rock and Roll! The film opens on the night before an 11 city Northeast tour. As the film opens, Elvis and girlfriend Ginger Alden pull into Graceland in his Stutz Bearcat for what would become Elvis' final night. What an amazing story this is!

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ENJOY!