"Me and a Guy Named Elvis" by Jerry Schilling (2006)

Jerry Schilling was a member of Elvis Presley’s inner circle; known as the Memphis Mafia. He’s also the guy who accompanied Elvis on his trip to meet President Nixon in the White House, arriving unannounced in the early hours of the morning. That episode alone is reason enough to read this book.

Elvis has most often been portrayed as the drug addicted and aging singer who made a stupid deal with Colonel Tom Parker. Many people considered him to have “sold out” by making all those banal movies through the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. But he proved them all wrong when he did the 1968 Christmas special, which became known as the “Comeback Special.” And in many ways it was.

Mr. Schilling’s story of his time with Elvis begins with a game of touch football when Elvis was barely 19 and his first record had just been played on the air in Memphis. Elvis was older than Mr. Schilling and hung out with what was considered a “rough” crowd, including his friend Jerry West who would be at Elvis’ side for his entire career. They were one man short for a 6 man game of touch football and Jerry was selected by Elvis to fill the vacancy. A lifelong friendship was born that day.

Elvis books are a dime a dozen, but Mr. Schilling has a unique story; and perspective; which no other writer can possibly lay claim to. He lived with and worked alongside Elvis from 1954 until his death 23 years later. During that time he was there for all the main events of Elvis’ career. He was a member of the famed “Memphis Mafia” and lived at Graceland with Elvis and Priscilla for years.

The drugs, the excessive spending sprees, creative rages, and all the rest of the things which made Elvis who he was are explored here. And the other, more spiritual side of the man is also chronicled. Elvis was a big reader interested in all philosophies and religions. His grandmother was Jewish and he had Stars of David placed on the memorials for her, as well as in the meditation garden at Graceland. When he was asked why he used to reply, “To make you think man, to make you think.”

His relationship with Colonel Parker is a puzzle to most people, and Mr. Schilling is no exception. He does give him credit for helping to create the Elvis empire, but acknowledges that he was way short on having any respect for Elvis as an artist. He also writes about how good recording material was kept from him by the Colonel unless the songwriters were willing to forgo a portion; if not all of; their royalties.

In the early days it was an honor to have Elvis record something written by someone else, but as the industry changed most artists wrote their own material and songwriters became more reluctant to forgo their own royalties. This same manipulation was happening in relation to his film work, and was also a reason why Elvis was not performing in Europe or the Far East, much to his chagrin.

The book is a not only a very factual account of the remarkable career of Elvis Presley, but also a moving portrait of friendship between two boys from North Memphis. If you are an Elvis fan, or just a student of the music industry, this book will leave you the richer for having read it.

Elvis- Christmas Comeback Show (1968)

This was the ultimate Christmas special in 1968. Elvis had been lying about; making crappy movies for almost 10 years at this point and some folks thought he had lost his edge. Were they ever wrong! In this 72 minute special Elvis goes through every type of entertainment. Between singing, playing guitar, dancing, the production numbers and duets with Ann Margaret; this show represents the all-around entertainment which was the staple of television, especially around holiday times.

But the best part of this show; the part that blew all the naysayers away; comes at about 40 minutes into the show, when Elvis; along with his band; perform a medley of his greatest hits from the 1950’s acoustically and absolutely live. 

The drummer is using sticks on a chair to beat out the rhythm, and Elvis can’t seem to get a neck strap for his guitar. But this is the portion of the show which showed the world that he still had “it”. At one point he simply wiggles a pinky and the audience goes wild, much to the amusement of Elvis. Even the Beatles had to shake their heads to get that kind of reaction.

"I Still Miss Someone" - The Story of a Song.

A lot of people associate this song with Carl Perkins and he is often perceived to be the songwriter on it. But actually, it was written by his close buddy, and one of the “Million Dollar Quartet”, Johnny Cash. The "Million Dollar Quartet" was composed of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. In 1956 these 4 guys changed the course of music; leading to the fusion of Country/Gospel and Rhythm and Blues which became known as Rock and Roll.

Working out of Sun Studios in Memphis, they pumped out a steady stream of musical hits which earned them their nickname. This song, “I Still Miss Someone” is mostly thought to be a Carl Perkins composition; probably because he got the biggest hit with it. But the song is actually written by Johnny Cash and his brother Roy Cash, Jr. and was released as the flip side of “Don’t Take Your Gun to Town” in 1958.

It didn't really move until it was included on “Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash” in 1963. After that, the song became so popular that it is included on just about all of Johnny Cash’s live albums throughout the ‘60’s and ‘70’s.

The song has been recorded by Flatt and Scruggs, Martina McBride with Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Stevie Nicks and Ben King; all of whom placed the song in the top 100. It’s that kind of song. It appeals to almost everyone because we all have someone special whom we still miss, even after a long period of time. There are people in all of our lives we may never see, or hear from, again. But that doesn't mean you don’t carry them in your heart just the same.

There isn't a live version on You Tube, so I used Loretta Lynn’s TV version instead. But below is the link to the actual recording by Carl Perkins. He really manages to make the song his own, and it’s no wonder he is often associated with having written it. My friend Glen Slater e-mailed this song to me recently, reminding me that while Carl may still be missing someone, I still miss Carl Perkins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g157QavEwY

The First Elvis Impersonator

The best thing about this little clip is that Elvis and Johnny Cash were still very much in contact with one another at the time it was made. This video is from the mid-late 1950's when both were still growing in popularity as members of the so-called "Million Dollar Quartet", the group of musicians from Sun Records on which the show of the same name is based. It's a great clip of a fun time in musical history. Also, this may be the first professional "Elvis" impersonator on record!