Former Elvis bass player Duke Bardwell will be touring Europe next year with stops in Holland, Belgium and Finland. Special guest is singer/songwriter Michael Jarrett, who wrote the beautiful ballad "I'm Leaving" and "I'll Be Home On Christmas Day". Here's the tour schedule so far:
May 2, 2010 - Effenaar, Eindhoven (Holland)
May 3, 2010- Malmitalo, Helsinki (Finland)
May 5, 2010 - Ritz, Vaasa (Finland)
May 6, 2010 - Roma, Antwerp (Belgium)
May 8, 2010 - Het Bolwerk, Sneek (Holland)
Facts: Elvis never liked him and he was a weak bass-player. Listen to the 1974 soundboards. It's so obvious.
Duke is a nice funny guy. This show is really super. There are some videos on YouTube from the tour. I filmed two of the shows in Sweden and I upload a song every now and then. The latest was I'm Leavin' featuring my friend Michael Jarrett. He toured with The Killer in the fifties and are still going strong!
Maybe he's a nice and funny guy,but as a bass player he's average at best.
I dont know anything about playing the bass, but if he was so bad, why did the greatest entertainer in the world use him? He played with Elvis from january 1974 to march-april 75. I have also heard that Elvis dident like him much, but why did he use him so much in that period?
Kenny. The reason he used him is by that time in Elvis's life the drugs were taking over & he probably no longer cared.
All, know your facts. Bardwell joined the TCB band after he got introduced by Ronnie Tutt! Duke knew he wasn't the same level as Jerry Scheff but he can't be blamed for joining, who wouldn't? Elvis gave Duke a hard time and a split was inevitable, but this guy is a true gentleman and if you're interested read some of his in depth interviews about his time with Elvis.
Give the guy a break please.
I'll have to correct you theoldscudder: Elvis evidently cared enough in 1975 to replace Duke's entire contribution (with the exception of 'T-R-O-U-B-L-E' which had been released as a single, prior to the album) to 'Today' and have a new bass part recorded.
Is there a copy of the show that Duke Bardwell sang a few songs during Elvis' concert somewhere? Does anyone know the date of that show? Does it exist? Why did Elvis give him a hard time, besides the fact that he wasn't the greatest bass player? Did he do something to anger Elvis? It seems like odd behavior coming from Elvis who I generally think of as being kind to pretty much all people. Can someone shed some light on this?
If he isnt that good a bass player why did Elvis approve him, did he approve him at all? Why would Elvis put up with someone in his band who wasnt that good? Either way, no point in criticising this guy 35 years on, he played for Elvis, he was one of the few who did.