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Celebrate Elvis - Volume 1

January 02, 2007 | Book
Joe Esposito will come with a new book series entitled "Celebrating Elvis". The first volume is due for release and will contain 104 pages in paperback format (ISBN: 0977894533).

Book Excerpts:

"Celebrate Elvis" is just that...a celebration of Elvis's career, his life and his legacy. Loaded with fun stories, interviews, trivia and contributions from you, the fans.

"Celebrate Elvis" is an uplifting feel-good book that enlightens, entertains and informs!


What Really Happened?
This section focuses on stories, rumors or lies that were told over the years. Listen to the answer Joe Esposito gives for a few of them.

Reporter: Mr. Esposito, It was written somewhere by people closest to Elvis that he suffered a perforated eardrum while being around big cannons at Fort Hood. The army took notice and quickly pulled Elvis out of tanks and directly into the scouts. Is this really how Elvis became a scout driver?

Joe Esposito: Ah, that story is not true at all. He did not have a perforated ear. He never did, ok. His ears were hurting every time the tank barrels would discharge a round. I'll put it that way. It was just way too loud for him and it was physically hurting his ears. The word probably got back to one of the sergeants in charge, and he in turn probably recommended that they make him a scout to preserve his hearing since he was a world-class entertainer.

I think it's time to explain what happens when a person has a perforated eardrum to once and for all put this rumor in the trash were it belongs. According to medical doctors, the symptoms for ear perforation are among other things: moderate to severe imbalance, ringing in the ears, loss of hearing joined by chronic headaches so severe you wouldn't care if the local pet shop cut your hair. So my question about this rumor is this. If the rumor were true, then why did we not see Elvis suffering from any of these symptoms while he was giving the famous departure TV interview going to Germany? Better yet, would we have seen Elvis carrying his duffle bag on his shoulder down the walkway without assistance? He was supposed to be suffering from imbalance remember? Since we are on a roll let's not forget seeing Elvis cheerfully singing in the shower while water was pounding into his ears in a scene from G.I. Blues shortly after he left the service. I think that if the perforated ear nonsense were true, we more than likely would have seen Elvis in the shower with a Space helmet.

What Really Happened?
Reporter: Joe, it was said that while Elvis was in Germany he listened to a lot of European music, especially Mario Lanza, which was a major influence on him recording his version of "O Sole Mio" that he re-titled, "It's Now Or Never." Do you know if Elvis was heading into the crooner direction with his music as RCA stated in an interview while Elvis was still in the army?

Joe Esposito: Elvis listened to a lot of music while he was in the service. He wasn't just listening to Mario Lanza because he was over there. Elvis always listened to Mario Lanza. He listened to a variety of opera singers. He loved people with great voices. As far as O Sole Mio, Its Now Or Never, or Surrender, all of those were strong Italian songs. He really enjoyed singing powerful songs like that because he could use that great voice of his. He also really loved meaningful ballads. He would rather sing those instead of just playing ole rock 'n' roll, you know, "Tutti Frutti" and stuff like that. You saw a big difference in him when he sang the ballads. But he always listened to opera, gospel or country basically everything really and not just one style while he was in Europe.

Reporter: So the statement RCA made about Elvis heading into the crooner direction with his music when he got back to the States was not correct?

Joe Esposito: Well, I don't know where RCA came up with that idea. There's no truth to that whatsoever. Someone I guess in the PR department decided to throw that out there. No, he was never going to change his style.

What Really Happened?
Reporter: There are rumors when Elvis was in the Army in Germany that Elvis and the Sergeant he was driving for got so cold one night during maneuvers that they pulled a tarp over the Jeep as the engine of the Jeep was running to stay warm. Is it true that the Army used the publicized tonsillitis hospital visit to cover up the fact that Elvis almost died from Carbon Monoxide poisoning resulting from the fumes that came into the Jeep from a hole in the floorboard?

Joe Esposito: The Unit that we were in Germany used to go into the field quite a bit. One night in the winter, Elvis was out on maneuvers as a scout driver and he and the Sergeant decided to pull over to the side to take a little nap. So, they covered the jeep with a tarp and left the motor running so they could warm up to the heat of the engine. So, after awhile they passed out from the carbon monoxide gas, which is as you know, quite deadly. Now, here is the strange part. While Elvis and the Sergeant were lying there unconscious, a really strong wind came and blew the tarp off the jeep. That's what saved their lives. That really happened. They didn't pull the tarp off themselves as so many people believe. As for the tonsillitis, well, he got that because of the extreme cold out on maneuvers. So, he went to the hospital to get that taken care of. So, the story that it was a cover up was not true. However, it is true about the gas and the tarp and everything. But the strangest damn thing about it is that the wind blew the tarp off. Talk about divine intervention.

Ask Joe
In these segments Joe answers fan questions.
Here are a few examples of some of the questions Joe has answered in Celebrate Elvis.

*We have a letter here from Richard Thompson from Oregon that says:
Joe I just came across a site that shows you and Charlie Hodge giving an interview on the eve of Elvis' death in which you stated that you found him on the bed instead of in the bathroom as you now claim. Could you please clear this up?

*A letter from Jeff Aron that asks:
Hi Joe, can you tell me if Elvis ever saw any of the footage that was filmed for the 1977 CBS special? If so, what was his reaction to it?

*A letter from Tracy Mallory in Daytona Florida that says:
Joe I was always wondering why if Elvis loved his mother as much as everyone say's; is he not buried next to her at Graceland?

*A letter from Margaret Hoffstaedter in Germany asks:
Joe is it true that Elvis once gave a song he was to record away to...

Celebrate Elvis also includes private stories shared between Joe Esposito and his right hand man Daniel Lombardy as they discuss off beat topics in the intimate and candid segment "Up Close and personal."

Relax and settle in as Joe and Daniel discuss topics such as:

The Recording Session at Graceland along with the machine gun story.
*Elvis during the filming of "That's The Way It Is."
*Elvis running loose on the Fairgrounds.
*Karate sessions around the house.
*Shooting Snakes in Mississippi.
*The Stitches of Roustabout
*The night Graceland almost burned down to the ground and many many more intimate recollections and stories.

In our effort to share the Elvis spirit with your friends and family we have loaded Celebrate Elvis down with Elvis fun trivia and factoids that will keep you entertained for hours!

In addition to answering emails and questions, you will also find several Elvis Fans in the Spotlight in each volume in our reality themed segment "Fan spotlight".

One word about the objective of creating the Celebrate Elvis series was to involve the fans in the project on several levels one of them being the moving segment titled "Always On My Mind" in which fans pour their hearts and souls out about how they really feel about Elvis and his music and the overwhelming loss they still feel to this day. These are real stories from Elvis fans from Topeka Kansas, Barcelona Spain
Source:Elvis Information Network

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mature_elvis_fan75 wrote on January 02, 2007
Another item i will gladly let pass by!