Elvis Disco

How difficult is it for a contributor to Elvis Unlimited to review an EU-production and not to loose its credibility? Well simply by being honest, I think! And that’s what I intend to do so with this cd that focuses on Elvis’ parents Gladys and Vernon Presley. The producers used a nice concept, but there is nothing really revealing. A lot of the content has already been released previously. Only this time it has been put in a chronological order. Still there are some pieces that show up for the first time.

One of those recordings are for instance Vernon talking to the producers of Elvis On Tour that I had not heard before. It was amazing to hear that Vernon is very accurate, as he really knows all the facts. A little further into the cd Vernon can be heard talking to the press over the telephone, on August 16, 1977. He keeps his cool though he cannot believe it. Vernon was being very ingenuous or had the clear state of mind to protect his son just hours after his death. No he wasn’t overweight, just a little heavier. No Elvis was in a fine shape. No Elvis had no history of heart troubles. No, Elvis was physically strong, he had even played raquetball…

But the most interesting part of this cd are the 2 bonus-tracks. Two telephone conversations taped in 1969 and 1971. And I could not help thinking of Linda Tripp and her tapings of Miss Lewinsky. It is a spooky thing that so many telephone calls were taped without Elvis’ knowledge. Anyway, the first one is from Arlene Cogan, and this woman has a lot of nerve, because she makes a pass at Elvis! “I am having a divorce…I never forgot you…I heard you have a beautiful daughter, I would love to see her one day…did you receive my christmas present ?