After Gurdip & Justin discuss the latest FTDs: The Making of King Creole, The Last Tour Volume 2 and The Girl Happy Sessions, the guys answer a handful of listener emails, landing on one from fellow patron Robin, whose visit back to an early TCBCast episode that touched upon the subject of Elvis's Black influences, which conveniently leads us right into our main topic.

For the main discussion, John Michael Heath of EAP Society taps in as we're joined by Preston Lauterbach, author of acclaimed books such as "The Chitlin' Circuit," "Beale Street Dynasty," "Bluff City: The Secret Life of Photographer Ernest Withers" and several others about Black musicians in the early 20th century, whose latest book, "Before Elvis: The African-American Musicians Who Made The King" is being published by Hachette Books on January 7, 2025. Keen-eared Elvis fans may also recognize Preston's voice as an interviewee from 2018's "Elvis Presley: The Searcher." 

Preston's new book examines the life stories of Arthur Crudup, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, Reverend W. Herbert Brewster, Junior Parker and Calvin and Phineas Newborn and numerous other major and minor figures that factor into their stories and complicated, nuanced relationships with Elvis both as a person and as a phenomenon as they impacted him, and he in turn impacted them.

It's a book for Elvis fans and non-fans alike, even Elvis skeptics are sure to find it extremely revealing as Preston thoroughly dispels many rumors and accusations thrown at Elvis over the decades, with receipts, while centering his narrative around lifting and celebrating the voices and life stories of these figures far beyond a mere connection to Elvis. Yet it never shies away from hard truths, all informed by a history of Memphis, the political landscape of the Deep South in the 1950s, inner workings of the record and music publishing industries, and the ways both white and black audiences responded to changing perceptions of artists, genres and influences across the decades.

It's likely to be the most in-depth discussion about the book to be done in its release media cycle, as Preston was extraordinarily generous with his time, answering all our questions, geeking out with us about Memphis music history, and having a thorough discussion that we hope will help this episode stand on its own, well into the future beyond the publication date.

You can learn more about "Before Elvis" and where to buy it at: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/preston-lauterbach/before-elvis/9780306833083/?lens=hachette-books

And you can follow Preston's blog on Substack at: https://thechitlincircuit.substack.com/ 

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.

Ryan and Bec, for their annual team-up and the last TCBCast of 2024, decided to take a listen to Elvis' second album, "Elvis" (also known as "Elvis No. 2" in some regions) which, believe it or not, has not technically been reviewed on TCBCast! Together, they ponder where this sophomore effort, recorded all in a weekend in early September 1956 just as Elvis was preparing to make "Love Me Tender", stacks up by comparison to his iconic debut record.

Bec digs up more info on the recording sessions since the last time these were discussed, including other songs considered and some of Elvis's special celebrity guests who were present on one of the days. Meanwhile, Ryan debates which of the trio of Little Richard covers featured comes closest to matching the incomparable Richard's high bar. But first - Bec springs trivia on Ryan! There's no song of the week this week due to their busy holiday schedules, but after the album discussion, the duo briefly chat about their favorite Elvis Christmas songs and Elvis holiday memories.

Happy New Year to all our listeners!

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.

Merry Clambake!

The entire TCBCast gang is joined by Rabia and Felix from Suddenly: A Frank Sinatra Podcast, Jamie and John from EAP Society, Kristen, Benita and Margarita from Those Elvis Girls, David "Ghosty" Wills from We Say Yeah: A Cliff Richard Podcast, Garrett Cash from "The Beat! With Garrett Cash", and Darin Evans, all in a manner never quite heard before - a non-linear episode intercut across four different discussions!

The TCBCast Gang tackles the movie head on, giving Gurdip, Ryan and Bec (who missed most of the last two Christmases) the chance to voice all their questions about what makes this low-rated Elvis movie so eminently watchable... and also confusing. Meanwhile, Olivia brings her own deep dives. Oh, and most of them are drinking. 

The Suddenly Crew took an experimental approach this year, watching the film "Bake to Front," starting their viewing at the halfway point of the film and working their way back around to the infamous "Clambake" musical sequence as an unintended finale.

Those Elvis Girls discuss what makes Elvis' films fun to watch, what it's like to view his film career while being relatively new to the fandom, and call for #JusticeForClambake!

And a gathering of film buffs get together to explore the year 1967 in film: what the big hits and notable releases were, and how Elvis' film career slots into the overall picture between the fading old Hollywood studio system and the more experimental and independent New Hollywood. Most fun of all, there's an exploration of some of the movies that Elvis Presley himself is known to have watched in 1967.

There's a few surprises in store throughout as well!

As of this episode's release date, "Clambake" can be watched freely (with ads) on TubiTV and Pluto TV in the United States and may be available on a streaming platform in your region as well. The "Clambake" soundtrack is on all major music platforms.

Chapters:

0:00: Start (Part 1 Begins)

9:40: TCBCast Host Intro

32:05: Those Elvis Girls Intro

40:38: "Bake to Front"

50:00: 1967 In Film

1:16:25: An Alternate Opening, Gold Bullion & Sunken Treasure

1:33:53: "Sure Must Have An Awful Long Cord": Mobile Car Phones in 1967

1:42:14: Golddiggers of a Different Sort

1:51:29: GOOP, Baby!

2:06:27: Elvis, the Cinephile

2:29:48: (Part 2 Begins Here) The End of the Hays Code & Elvis' Late-Career Films

2:46:48: Airboats and Costuming Woes

2:54:33: Shelley Fabares

3:08:04: The Women of Clambake

3:21:27: Character Business You Never Noticed + "Slang of Ages"

3:36:41: The Girl I Never Loved, and Other Soundtrack Songs

3:44:23: "With a C..." and Alternate "Confidence" Demos

3:57:06: The Films That Released Alongside Clambake

4:07:00: Magical Mystery Tour, Kiddy Songs and In The Ghetto

4:22:18: "The Magic Word" and Shortnin' Bread

4:35:20: Closing Thoughts - TCBCast Hosts, Film Buffs & Those Elvis Girls

4:43:08: What is a "Clambake Musical"?

4:46:30: Closing Thoughts - EAP Society & Suddenly

4:52:30: Why Clambake? & Finale

Thank you to all our friends who joined in this year. Please make sure to follow their shows:

Suddenly and We Say Yeah can be found on all the same major podcasting platforms as TCBCast. EAP Society can be found at youtube.com/EAPSociety and EAPSociety.com. Those Elvis Girls can be followed at youtube.com/ThoseElvisGirls and instagram.com/Those.Elvis.Girls, and Garrett Cash's radio show "The Beat with Garrett Cash" can be found on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/garrett-cash-635212819.

Justin is joined by John Michael Heath from EAP Society for a thorough examination of the 2008 album "Christmas Duets" which paired Elvis' original vocal tracks from 1957 and 1971 with 1:1 re-creations of the backing tracks and some of the biggest female entertainers in the field of country music at the time: Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Wynonna Judd, Gretchen Wilson and others, as well as bringing in a couple entertainers Elvis himself had been a fan of in the 70s: Olivia Newton-John and Anne Murray. 

Often written off as a mere cash-grab, the duo discuss the careers of the album's producers, the talented studio band brought in to replicate the original arrangements, and several other guests that reveal a more nuanced picture of a likely genuine tribute to Elvis that ended up trying to play things too safe and went awry in the process - and the guys ponder what makes artificial duets work or flop.

They also discuss the exciting news about Peter Guralnick's upcoming book, now officially confirmed as "The Colonel and the King," releasing August 5, 2025. 

For Song of the Week, John's selection of "I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago," the traditional folk song which Elvis used to link the 1970 concept album "Elvis Country," and the version by Brownie McGhee that Elvis is known to have taken inspiration from, suddenly opens doors that lead to the histories behind numerous other Elvis recordings that will blow you mind, including (but not limited to) our other Song of the Week, "Adam and Evil" from "Spinout."

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.

Bec joins Justin for a look back at one of the few Elvis albums she had early in her fandom, the iconic 1959 release "A Date With Elvis." Released while Elvis was overseas in Germany during his military service, "A Date" in some respects serves as a companion piece to the earlier "For LP Fans Only," compiling a handful of tracks previously unavailable on the LP format, while also having a more intriguing and novel design: a gatefold that allowed you to hang the album over and count the days until Elvis' return, or even more photos and thoughts from "Elvis" inside!

And how does this oddball collection of tracks from Sun Records, Jailhouse Rock, Love Me Tender and a random EP hold up as a listening experience? All that and more on this episode!

Then, for Song of the Week, Bec gets in the holiday spirit with "Who Needs Money?" from "Clambake" and Justin doubles down, going deep on Elvis' 1971 version of the traditional 18th century Christmas hymn, "O Come All Ye Faithful."

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.

To celebrate the American Thanksgiving holiday, Gurdip and Justin got together to reflect on the things they're most thankful for about or within the Elvis world, from songs and movies to releases and the fandom, it's a contemplative discussion on this week's show!

For Song of the Week, Gurdip selects the rarely-heard "Britches," which was cut from the 1960 film "Flaming Star," and Justin digs deep on Elvis's 1969 cover of Hank Snow's signature song, "I'm Movin' On."

To those of our listeners in the United States - Happy Thanksgiving!

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.

Gurdip, Ryan, Olivia, Bec and Justin discuss at length the new Netflix documentary directed by acclaimed sports doc filmmaker Jason Hehir, "Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley," purportedly about the making of the 1968 Comeback Special.

Following in the wake of the special's prominence in Baz Luhrmann's 2022 biopic and the Paramount Plus documentary "Reinventing Elvis," the gang is surprised to learn this is an unchallenging, conventional retelling of Elvis' life story leading up to 1968 intended for the most casual of potential viewers. There's a few new bits of footage, thoughtful contributions from the small group of talking heads and a fairly well-constructed first half, but the TCBCast crew's smaller grievances about certain inaccuracies, exclusions or lack of nuance begin to pile up around the midpoint until the whole thing topples over in its coverage of the special itself, culminating in an outburst over the way the film handles the special's iconic finale.

So, the crew all went back to rewatch the original 1968 broadcast version of "Singer Presents Elvis" - complete with original sponsor advertisements - which we have not revisited on TCBCast properly since 2018, and reflect on both the special itself, the incredible work of its extremely under-recognized crew who made it possible for Elvis to shine, and whether the documentary captures what was so great about the NBC special in a way that is useful or insightful. 

"Return of the King" is streaming via Netflix, the 50th anniversary version of the "Comeback" Special is available on Apple TV or purchasable on digital distribution platforms, and an original broadcast version of the special, intact with Singer Sewing Company commercials, has also been made available on the Internet Archive. The video clip we mention near the end of the show is viewable on EAP Society's YouTube channel.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.

Justin and Bec wrap their discussion on the recorded and filmed rehearsals undertaken for the Las Vegas engagement documented in the feature film "That's The Way It Is". The duo continues through July and August 1970's rehearsal dates, right up to August 10, the day Elvis would take the stage in front of paying customers, and reflect on the insights into Elvis and his band's creative processes along the way.

Then Gurdip taps in for Song of the Week, selecting the rowdy gospel number "If the Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side", which Elvis cut for his "How Great Thou Art" album. Justin's Song of the Week is Elvis's 1970 version of Joe South's plea for empathy and understanding, "Walk A Mile in My Shoes."

Our primary resource for this episode was the content contained within the Follow That Dream release "That's The Way It Is: 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition" including the book by David English and Pal Granlund. 

Don't forget that the Netflix documentary "Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley" releases today, November 13, 2024 on Netflix. We intend to have a full-group discussion soon!

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.

Justin and Bec begin to explore the recordings that remain from the rehearsals leading up to the August 1970 concerts that would become the centerpiece of the 1970 documentary film "That's The Way It Is." The film's director, Denis Sanders, was fascinated by Elvis as a creative force and wanted audiences to get a glimpse of his working process - some of which briefly appeared in the final film, some surfaced in the MGM collection "The Lost Performances" and further material in the Special Edition re-edit of the film from 2001 - but despite several official releases of select material and numerous bootlegs over the years, it wasn't until 2020 that Sony's FTD sub-label officially released the vast majority of the audio of the TTWII rehearsals for the most ardent fans to hear and learn from.

In this first part, the duo only cover the first two days of rehearsals filmed & recorded, July 14-15, 1970, but also lay the groundwork for the more dense back portion of the rehearsals. Our next episode will cover the rest from July and August 1970 as well as Songs of the Week from Gurdip and Justin.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.

Justin and Bec have a relaxed discussion about all the exciting Elvis news from within the last week or so, including the trailer for "Return of the King," a behind the scenes preview from Layered Reality's upcoming Elvis Evolution show, Ernst Jorgensen's experimentation with Peter Jackson's MAL de-mixing technology and more. Plus, Elvis trivia returns for a week!

For Song of the Week, Bec tackles the romantic "Speedway" ballad "Who Are You? (Who Am I?)" then Justin - just for the laugh of doing them both in a single episode - digs into the understated but similarly named 1969 gospel number "Who Am I?"

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy. 

Olivia joins Justin for their thoughts on the TV special Riley Keough did with Oprah, filmed at Graceland, Riley's Graceland Q&A, and the rest of Lisa Marie's book now that things have started to finally settle.

The duo also answers a bunch of listener feedback, discuss dialogue edits on "The Last Tours, Volume 1" FTD, and a recent video Olivia watched about one of Elvis' Ed Sullivan performances of Hound Dog.

For Song of the Week, Justin selects Elvis's cover of the Waylon Jennings hit "You Asked Me To," and ponders the implications of a minor lyrical change Elvis made in his final version. Olivia highlights Elvis's 1976 recording of Larry Gatlin's "Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall." 

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.