RICHMOND NEWS COVER

LOOKING BACK: This picture was taken during rush hour in the middle of number three road in Richmond for the cover of The Richmond News. Is that legal!? 

( Jody Cranston / Janruary 1994 ).
( Looking Back / Richmond News ).

RICHMOND NEWS

Jody Cranston grew up with Elvis and began impersonating
the King as a student at McNair Secondary.

LOOKING BACK: This picture was taken for and appeared in The Richmond News. I did a pose similar to the one Elvis did for King Creole.

We are both the same age in the pictures: twenty two.


( Jody Cranston / Richmond News ).
( Jody Cranston / Elvis Blog ).

RICHMOND REVIEW COVER

Much to the delight of visitors, Elvis made an appearance at last Saturday's 42nd
South Arm Family Festival. Richmond's Jody Cranston, an Elvis Impersonator, was one
of the many acts directed towards adults and their children during the all day festival.

LOOKING BACK: Spring/Summer fairs were a lot of fun.Great sound systems, great crowds! Usually the entertainment would there be to raise money for charity which was the best part.


( Jody Cranston / June 1994 ).
( Looking Back / South Arm ).

ELVIS: HIDDEN GEM #3.

GOT O' LOT OF LIVIN' TO DO.
Shear Presley Dynamite!




THE BACKGROUND - "Got O' Lot Of Livin' To Do" is the climax/grand finally to Elvis' second movie "Loving You". Written by Ben Weisman - who wrote more songs for Elvis then any other song writer, this song was originally recorded on January 12th 1957 with a couple more versions recorded a month later on February 14th. "Got O' Lot Of Livin' To Do" would spend four weeks on the charts and peak at number seventeen. A fast paced number sang with passion and youthful enthusiasm.

MY TAKE - I hold this song/scene in extremely high regard ( I must have seen it literally hundreds/thousands of times ) and think it rivals the much more famous "Jailhouse Rock" production for "the" iconic early Elvis movie production.

"Got O' Lot Of Livin' To Do" is repeated three times throughout "Loving You". But, unlike most movie/musicals it doesn't get more polished during the movie rather, it gets wilder and more raw. - Until the climatic ending when Elvis (Deke Rivers) performs the song in concert to a raucous audience in attendance and on "live" television simultaneously.

More then any other scene from any Elvis movie, the final performance of "Got O' Lot Of Livin' To Do" most resembles an actual Elvis concert in the 50's - Sheer Presley Dynamite!

NOTE - At 1:15 Elvis completely slows the song down for a spectacular finish. This would become a patented "Elvis style" ending for years to come.

( Jody Cranston / Elvis Blog ).

TAILA - THE ELVIS KID!

BACK TO THE FUTURE...
The moment I took this picture, I knew something looked familiar.




( Jody Cranston / Pictures / Video ).
( Taila Cranston / Elvis ).

GREAT ELVIS MOMENT #2

SEE SEE RIDER, THE ALOHA FROM HAWAII SPECIAL.
Elvis performs for 1 Billion people live... and opens with a song from his past.



THE BACKGROUND - On January 14th. 1973 at 12:40am Elvis Presley walked out on stage at the Honolulu International Convention Center and performed before the largest audience in concert history. The 38 year old Entertainer turned in a masterful performance in front of the sold out fans in attendance and the rest of the world by way of satellite.

The "Aloha From Hawaii" concert is considered by many music historians as the pinnacle of Elvis Presley's brilliant career. Elvis obviously performed some of musics greatest moments on record. But he was even better, if that is possible - live. Elvis opens the show of his life with See See Rider, a blues classic from 1924 by Ma Rainey (with a young Louis Armstrong on cornet). Elvis would hear local Blues musicians play this gem as a young boy growing up in Tupelo Mississippi. With his career on the line Elvis goes back to the future.

MY TAKE - With all the great performances from the "Aloha From Special" why didn't I chose one of the more marquee songs like "American Trilogy", "Can't Help Falling In Love" or "Burning Love"? Mainly, I really love the fact that for Elvis' moment of truth: when he confidently steps on stage in front of 1 billion people, he opens with a blues song (taken up tempo) from his musical roots as a child.

Elvis performs See See Rider perfectly and for the rest on hour and a half concert Elvis is at the height of his artistic powers and delivers a show for the ages. Elvis effortlessly transitions from his original hits to his (at the time) modern day classics. But, it shall always be noted that when the stakes were never higher, Elvis reaches into his past and sentimentally opens with now immortal: See See Rider.

( Jody Cranston / Great Elvis Moment #2 ).
( Jody Cranston / Elvis Blog ).

ELVIS ARON PRESLEY.

HIS NAME WAS ELVIS ARON PRESLEY. He began life in Tupelo, Mississippi. He became a superstar, a fantasy figure, an idol.

HIS NAME WAS ELVIS ARON PRESLEY. He was eighteen and he walked into the of the Memphis Recording Service to record a personal record for his mother. He changed the sound of popular music forever.

HIS NAME WAS ELVIS ARON PRESLEY. He was twenty and RCA Records signed him to a recording contract for $35,000. His records have sold over 500,000,000 copies around the world.

HIS NAME WAS ELVIS ARON PRESLEY. He was twenty-one and he received $10,000 for performing in his hometown, and he gave it back to the people of Tupelo. He raised $100,000 in a benefit concert to help complete the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial honoring seamen who died at Pearl Harbor.

HIS NAME WAS ELVIS ARON PRESLEY. He was twenty-one and he stared in his first movie. He made thirty-one movies and became one of Hollywood's top box office attractions.

HIS NAME WAS ELVIS ARON PRESLEY. He was twenty-one and he made his television debut on CBS as a guest with the Dorsey Brothers. His own NBC-TV special "Aloha from Hawaii", via satellite, was viewed by an estimated one billion people.

HIS NAME WAS ELVIS ARON PRESLEY. He was twenty-one and he made his first Las Vegas appearance with Freddy Martin at the new Frontier Hotel. He became one of the highest paid performers in the history of Las Vegas in sellout appearances at the International Hotel.

HIS NAME WAS ELVIS ARON PRESLEY. He was twenty-one and he toured the south to the increasing enthusiasm of his teenage following. His concert tours were seen by millions of fans from Seattle, Washington to New York's Madison Square Garden, he never played to an unsold seat.

HIS NAME WAS ELVIS ARON PRESLEY. His is the story of a raw talent that became magic for millions of people. His is the story of humble beginnings, a growth in style and stage presence and warmth. It is the story of an almost unbelievable charisma, a unique personal power that inspired a kind of awe among his fans - and there are millions of them.

HIS NAME, ELVIS ARON PRESLEY: the man whose recorded voice has been heard by more people around the world then that of any other performing artist...the man who is known to all those people who have heard that voice simply as - ELVIS.

THE BACKGROUND - In 1980 RCA released an 8 record collectors set called "Elvis Aron Presley". My Mom Helen, purchased one which I still have today. There was a lot of hype surrounding this release and "Elvis Aron Presley" delivered. Never before released singles, interviews, live recordings and even movie song outtakes made the Platinum Album with the striking gold signature across the front (see Picture above) a treasure for any collector.

MY TAKE - I played the 8 records endlessly for about a year and really enjoyed the adversity of the material. I still listen to my favorite parts to this day, when I get a chance. But, what I liked the best about "Elvis Aron Presley" was the packaging. Each of the records came with a large picture from the records era. There is also a booklet with some interesting miscellaneous items which includes a poem (above) that I couldn't find anywhere else.

There have been poems written about Elvis before, Bono's "American David" comes to mind. But, the poem included in "Elvis Aron Presley" is one of my all time favorites, it is strait to the point and strangely haunting (it is also: unemotional and quotes statistics - just the way I like my poetry).

The 1980 RCA release "Elvis Aron Presley" is one of my prized Elvis possessions. I wonder if Taila will enjoy it as much as I did.

( Jody Cranston / 1980 Elvis Aron Presley RCA Release ).
( Jody Cranston / Elvis Blog ).