Ernst Jorgensen Elvis Insiders Chat

Ernst just spent an hour answering various questions posed by Elvis' Insiders on the Graceland website. Here's a - best of - transcript from Elvis Sessions on from the FECC message board for the "Elvis Outsiders".


Question: Could you tell us if you've run across anything on all those tapes that are going to really blow our minds, on a future FTD... like a complete song that was never recorded, or something Elvis spoke?

Ernst Jorgensen: No. We haven't found any new song since we found the other version of Roustabout. But we are still looking.

Ernst Jorgensen: What will be on the Sun CD will be the original version [of That's All Right] without the reverb that RCA added to it.

Question: I was wondering if there are any shows from the 50’s that might be released in the future?

Ernst Jorgensen: Yes... we have one complete show from 1956 that we haven't released yet. There is no release date set at this time.

Ernst Jorgensen: The Sun book is coming out this year or next year.

Question: Have these boxes of paperwork [regarding sales figures] been researched yet and is there any possibility of another major upgrade for the 30th Anniversary of Elvis’ death in 2007?

Ernst Jorgensen: We constantly upgrade with the sales numbers we can find. But you can't blame Sony BMG, we bought RCA in 1986 and we only got what they left. There is a lot of sales information missing and that may never been found.

Question: Now that [Kevan Budd has] had even more time to work with these [Sun] classics can you say whether they will sound even better on your book/CD project?

Ernst Jorgensen: They will not sound any better - but there will be a lot of other [material] that will be just as good that you have not heard in this quality.

Question: will Elvis' last concert be released on the FTD Label? One more question if you don't mind will there be DVDs released as well?

Ernst Jorgensen: I think we will eventually. We are still holding to find a soundboard so we don't have to release the audience recording that we have. FTD has no rights at the present time to release DVDs.

Question: Do we have both you and Roger to look forward to at our EI conference in August?

Ernst Jorgensen: We are still working out details on scheduling.

Question: I’, curious as to what you guys might have planned as far as the ’77 recordings. Also. Is the Elvis On Tour project being pushed back so that it can be released for the big 30th anniversary? We are patiently waiting.

Ernst Jorgensen: The only decisions at this time are that we will release soundboard recordings from 77 covering more shows. And we are discussing releasing the last concert on FTD at some point. As for Elvis On tour... I am impatiently waiting too. I trust something will happen on this issue in the not too distant future.

Question: Besides (maybe) a sneak peek on significant content details on the April releases, can you tell us which of the other rumored FTD releases for the next year are likely and what other new releases we might expect?

Ernst Jorgensen: The April release is pretty straightforward. One is called Made in Memphis and consists of outtakes from 1969, 1973, & 1976. Something for Everybody is the same treatment of the album Elvis is Back. In the classic album series, we are also working on Clambake and Wild in the Country. And on the soundboard side, we are currently putting together a Las Vegas February 1974 album.

Question: Which is your personal favorite [FTD]? If you had to send one to someone, to show them what Elvis is all about, which one would you send?

Ernst Jorgensen: That is difficult. They are all my babies. I think the most surprising and possibly most important was the Jungle Room Sessions. It showed the stage of Elvis's career in a very different and possibly more attractive way.

Question: What is the status of the FTD Sun Era Project?

Ernst Jorgensen: We are still researching and writing so there is no release date yet.

Question: Just wondering if the soundtrack reissues on FTD are at a dead end or if there are enough outtakes for FTD treatments of the remaining albums.

Ernst Jorgensen: We have a number of releases where we don't have extra materials and we are searching for materials for these. But the majority of them will be released as these deluxe CD releases.

Question: Is there any one thing you've been looking for and haven't found.... yet?

Ernst Jorgensen: Shows from the Louisiana Hayride in 1955.

Question: Besides a possible Elvis on Tour special edition -- which I realize BMG doesn't control -- do you have plans for a fresh package that you expect will garner widespread attention (beyond the ranks of us fanatics)?

Ernst Jorgensen: We always are discussing this with EPE and we always are trying to come up with ideas that will attract new fans to the Elvis catalog. But we are not giving away details at this early stage.