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The Name, The Voice, The Icon Elvis 2014

January 22, 2014 | Other

Here is a shot of the first poster from EPE as they start to promote the 2014 Anniversary of the 60 Years Of Rock'N'Roll. The poster features a stunning, colourised Wertheimer photo.

The year-long 2014 celebration started on New Year’s Eve and then Elvis’ birthday on January 8th 2014. The celebrations will also include a 60th Anniversary exhibit which will open at Graceland on March 1, 2014, special events at Graceland, Sun Studio and other locations in Memphis, special entertainment projects, anniversary activities during Elvis Week 2014, 60th Anniversary artwork for licensed products and much more.

EPE has yet to announce the schedule of up-coming events

Source:Elvis Information Network
GEORGE (GK) wrote on January 22, 2014
Love the promotion. Good Job, E.P.E.
sitdown revamped wrote on January 25, 2014
For how long will this be going on? With all my due respect towards Elvis Presley's musical legacy, this makes no sense at all. Rock 'n' Roll did not start via Elvis. E.P.E: Just listen to any r +b music played by afro american artists from 1947 upwards. Elvis considered himself as a part of all that...
AmyD wrote on January 26, 2014
I think it depends on your definition of of Rock 'n' Roll'. When Captain Canary (an expert on Elvis and blues and a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music) posted here he wrote a very interesting piece about how if Rock n Roll is considered a confluence of black and white - highlighting how these influences were manifested in Elvis' Sun sound and beyond (ie beyond but stemming from Elvis), and also taking about technical changes in how guitars were used based upon the technicalities and natural range of Elvis' voice - how indeed it was invented by Elvis at Sun, and how that was different to anything that predated it. I wish I had kept it. Maybe the owners of this site can find it.
Lou A wrote on January 26, 2014
To me Rock and Roll is a mixture of several styles of music - R&B , Country, Pop, Blues , Bluegrass, Gospel etc. You can't ignore the heavy African American influence , but those artists were also being influenced by what was going on around them in other musical forms . For example the Platters singing old 1940's standards, or Chuck Berry basing Maybelline on an old Country tune Ida Red, El,vs did blues and R&B songs but informed them with country licks. Elvis ' version of Mystery Train is a lot differant than Junior Parker , although both are great . I think most of us will agree that Elvis' emergence brought this music into the mainstream. That's when I took notice of it . Incidentally , the poster is really nice.
Deano1 wrote on January 26, 2014
Nice poster! Regardless of whether you consider "Rocket 88" from 1951 or another song the first "Rock and Roll" song, there is little doubt that 1954 was the year rock and roll became popular and found its king. Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock Around The Clock" of course turned on the masses to a new sound with rock and roll's first smash hit and of course Elvis Presley wandered into Sun Records and the magic began. That said, it was 1957 before rock and roll really took over and began to dominate the charts. One only has to look at the #1 hits from the years 1954-1956 to see that 50's pop and even country were still the mainstays on the charts. In those years, Elvis, Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and yes even Pat Boone helped the new sound grow into what it became.
Gorse wrote on January 26, 2014
To use an analogy Elvis is to Rock and Roll what Usain Bolt is to athletics. There were great runners before him but Mr Bolt like Presley took it to incredible heights of popularity and performance.
roytcbintheuk wrote on January 26, 2014
The poster says 60 years of rock n roll which is correct for Elvis it does not say that Elvis invented rock N roll however he was a pioneer of rock n roll which helped black singers to be listened to by a white audience which did not happen until Elvis came along unless you listened to small local radio stations in the US Elvis did truly knock down the door especially in 1956 and if you ask anyone who was the king of rock n roll they would say ELVIS...the name,the voice, the icon.
Steve V wrote on January 26, 2014
Nice but how about something meaningfull to celebrate 60 yrs like some essentail DVD releases? Pictures and posters designs, who cares anymore. We've had enough over the years. Time for something important.
Natha wrote on January 26, 2014
Interesting that everynow and then on this site this discussion is repeated. Although one may question as much as people like, it is ELVIS who is regarded as the man who is seen worldwide as the King of Rock 'n' Roll (the man) and hence the voice of Rock 'n' Roll and definitely the spearhead (icon) of Rock 'n' Roll. There will always be someone who will be called king of RnR, like at some concerts Bill Haley, Chuck Berry etc. but does anyone (and then especially here) question who is the one and only King? Anyway, all people I know from the many ways of life (and that is quite a number) regard Elvis as the key singer, the initiator of RnR as he covered all people, all fields etc. Besides that, Steve Vmakes a good point. Let's hope there will be something special apart from posters, pictures and endless discussion. Something for the eye AND ear so to speak.
Andy_2 wrote on January 26, 2014
just one question Steve, what via DVD could they produce that hasn't been seen before? Even non fans will have seen the black and white clips, the movies, 68 special, Aloha and 70's live clips. Surely that has to come a time when there just isn't anything new to add. As for who created R&R, It's more than just music, it's the attitude, style, the look. That all came from one man so for me yes he created R&R. the poster embodies all of that which no other rock n roller could ever come close to.
Gorse wrote on January 27, 2014
Interesting points Steve and Andy. Yes what is there in the way of audio and video and yes chic pictures and posters have never interested me. Perhaps there is unseen film still to excite us like the Tupelo and Madison releases, the latter Star version release which I have edited to make it enjoyable for myself. I am very hopeful that we will receive at least one big'release' to savour otherwise this will all be a massive disappointment.
Steve V wrote on January 27, 2014
Andy - you serious? For starters how about all known 50's live TV footage ?(but not Sullivan again) Dorseys, Allen, Berle and as a bonus feature with other 50's live clips silent or otherwise. That would make one nice little package. How about a DVD or blu ray upgrade for TTWII with unseen footage still held by Turner? Although I dont watch his movies (other than his first 7 and Viva), Im sure there are fans that want blu-ray upgrades on some titles. And once and for all, how about a DVD anthology done on Elvis that is similar to The Beatles Anthology which was now 20 years ago!. There is much that can be done for the home video market while fans are still around to care about it. Frankly, Im quite upset that the only people putting out DVDs are folks like Tunzi or other bootleggers who seem to recycle old footage with 30 seconds of new footage and charge ridiculous prices. To me, this market is still open for good product. But like CDs, the home video market is not what it once was, so the opportunity for all this may have passed sadly by and thats the biggest crime of all. That the greed and pettiness of certain holders of footage could not get their act together and put out decent packages that I have described.
Gorse wrote on January 27, 2014
Hi Steve you make some very good points and I agree with you almost 100%. I know you don't have much time for Star but I don't think 15 dollars is too much to pay for their DVD's (although a few are below standard) as they give much pleasure to me and many other fans. I think you have a better chance of seeing an Anthology from them and not from official sources as they know their stuff and have an insight into what fans want, which if up to the standard of some of their work on Viva Elvis could be terrific
Andy_2 wrote on January 27, 2014
ok Steve I get what you mean but apart from unseen TTWII footage or On tour it's all been seen a million times and is available across various releases so to put it all on one package while agree would be nice would still mean we would be paying again for something we have and something we've seen a million times before. Sorry but I think with the zillion releases over the years the time has gone where an Anthology could be released and actually mean anything. It's been overkill for too long now and I'm afraid it's too late. Who on here doesn't own copies of the Dorsey, Berle or Allen shows? Nice idea an Anthology but don't see the point now.
Andy_2 wrote on January 27, 2014
As for the poster, I thinks it's great.
Gorse wrote on January 28, 2014
Hi Andy, I have nearly all the main cocncert films and many imports in my collection but it would sure be nice to have the criitical performances and story on two or three DVD's with a commentary by a guy with the same vocal tones as George Klein as used on The Great Performances volume 1 - Centre Stage. I would be prepared to pay more than a few bucks for that release.
Andy_2 wrote on January 28, 2014
Hi Gorse, once upon a time I would have said the same thing but everything is out there (Sullivan, deluxe 68 special, aloha) so putting these together in one box set is just duplication. Can't the 60 year celebration be just that, celebrating what he gave us and not an excuse for re releasing stuff and asking the fans to pay again for what they already have.
Steve V wrote on January 29, 2014
There have been no 'official' releases of any of his TV appearances in the 50's except for Ed Sullivan. This is what I'm talking about. Sure we all have them or seen them, but on different bootleg vidoes or documentaries. I dont think I am asking too much here when I say official releases of these shows in one set would be very nice to have. I think it would be better than a poster.
Lou A wrote on January 30, 2014
Steve , I think your right about all of your proposed releases. Also, the idea of an Anthology is to tell Elvis story in a chronological , well organized way . It worked well with the Beatles evan though most of the material used for thier Anthology was already "out there ". It makes sense to take all of the existing Elvis footage and organize it that way. It would make a heck of a release . And the TTWII , On Tour , and 1950's TV packages are long overdue. Let's get this stuff while were all alive to enjoy it!
Steve V wrote on January 30, 2014
Lou A, you got my point entirely. If not for the 60th, then when? The 100th when we are not around to enjoy it? Unfort, it could be already too late as less & less people care about cd & dvd mainstream releases.
Andy_2 wrote on January 30, 2014
Steve I get your point and it's something that should have been done a long time ago. It's just now I can click on youtube and watch any clip and that's the way of the world now. Everything is readily available even the recent clips of Hawaii live in 57 was on youtube in no time. I get it but I just think time has passed.
Lou A wrote on January 31, 2014
I still think these projects can be commercially viable. They just re -eleased KId Gallahad and Blue Hawaii for he umpteenth time ,and DVD packages combining Warner Brothers and Paramount movies for the first time ever will be released in the spring. . So there must be an audience for Elvis material. The releases just keep coming and coming, so someone must be buying them . I think a well produced and well promoted Anthology would sell. Loon at the recent Elvis Best Songs double CD release in England - it's close to platinum. An Anthology would be a worlwide release and would sell accordingly. This project would be the way future generations wanting to find out about Elvis would learn all about him . The thing is the powers that be need to get on this soon or it WILL be too late .
Natha wrote on February 03, 2014
I fully agree with the suggetsion of Steve V. It would indeed be a great thing to have it all nicely packed and mind you only when it is as complete as possible. Of course every now and then something new might pop up, but then we have the internet. Yes, the CD and DVD era seems to be almost over. So therefore this is the time to do it. Although I have discovered the vastness of the ELVIS Legacy on the internet, still I enjoy having the actual, physical cd or dvd. I am not so clever with the modern techniques and put things nicely together, like I guess some of the fans here. So I don't mind to pay for the work of others doing this job for me! And it will be nice to show to friends who are really interested in seeing the King performing.