The Pied Piper of Cleveland

[r&b]

Here's the text from my book that describes how Elvis got signed for "Stage Show," which did not involve Bill Randle at all:

". . . a photo of Elvis and a promotional record arrived on the desk of Jack Philbin, executive producer for television comedian Jackie Gleason. It remains a mystery as to who sent the promotional materials, but it may have been Anne Fulchino, publicity director at RCA, who took a personal hand in promoting Elvis.

"Jerry Katz, an agent with MCA Artists, Ltd., a rival of William Morris, represented Gleason and recalls that 'Jack Philbin called me into his office. He showed me the picture and played the record and I said, "He’s swell." He said, "I think we ought to put him on. Let’s go to Gleason," who finally okayed it. I wanted to tie Elvis up for a long time,' which is why Katz retained the option to extend Presley’s run on Stage Show at an increased salary. 'I thought if he took off, we’ve got a real bargain here. It was just a feel. He sure was something different.' Although Gleason later exaggerated his interest in Elvis and his belief in his potential (he reportedly called him 'Brando with a guitar'), he did approve the booking.

"Since Elvis had not signed with any talent agency, Katz asked his friend Steve Yates, an agent who specialized in country and western acts, to approach Elvis’ management with the Stage Show offer. 'Yates was a friend of mine,' Katz said. 'Presley had no agent to negotiate for him, so I gave it to Yates as a gift.' Yates then spoke to Parker, who was interested but demanded a higher fee, which he got. The Stage Show contract, signed on December 19, 1955, committed Elvis to four appearances at $1,250 each, with an option for two more at $1,500 each, which Gleason would have to exercise by February 4, the date of Presley’s second appearance."


No one mentioned Randle being involved in any of this,and no one seemed to know why Randle was chosen to introduce Elvis or who contacted him. I don't know what connections Randle had with television people or specifically CBS or the Gleason people. In any case, Colonel had signed as Elvis' manager by then, so Randle was out of the running on that by the time this was going on, so he would have had no motive to work for Elvis at all. Randle was a well known DJ in Cleveland and New York at the time and he had talked Elvis up for a while in his columns even before the October 1955 shooting of "Pied Piper of Cleveland," so maybe he was chosen on that basis or talked himself into the job. Randle liked getting attention for himself and he would have grabbed a chance for a national TV gig.

I have a question here. Did Elvis & Gleason meet in 1956? Not much is said about that. I know there is a picture of them together on the set of Girls Girls Girls.

[mysterytrainrideson]

I can't for the life of me remember where i read that Randle had something to do with setting up Presley's TV dubut, but i definitely read it. It went something like, Randle got the 1st three appearances and the Col extended the other three. It seems to me that Randle had to have some sort of connection to get the job.

I have been flipping through some of my books on the subject - can't find the one where Randle supposedly set up the 1st three appearances. But here's what Peter Guralnick says in "Last Train" about it:
P. 176-177 "Randle had predicted all but one of the top five best sellers of 1954, discovered Johnny Ray, changed the name of the Crew-Cuts (from the Canadaires) as well as finding them their first hit, drove a jaguar, and made $100,000 a year, with his Saturday-afternoon CBS network in New York the lastest in his series of unprecedented accomplshments".

P. 177 Guralnick says Randle invited Bob Neal to stay over at his hiuse to talk business - they both agreed that TV exposure is what was needed and Randle give Neal a name of a contact for the "Arthur Godfrey Show"

P. 244 Randle used to plug CBS' "Stage Show" on his Saturday-afternoon New York radio network show.

So with all this CBS and TV connections in New York probably lies the answer to his getting the job of introducing Presley on TV. Randle had obviously mentioned to CBS that he had worked with Presley before and of course being a top DJ in the area and promoting "Stage Show" on his radio show. Guessing, they probably said something like "you do the the introductiin because we don't know this Col fellow" or something along those lines. Plus according to Guralnick "Stage Show" was in bad need of ratings, as at the time the ratings was very low and abiut to be withdrawn for a season.

Back to the "Pied Piper" movie. In Ger Rijff's excellent "Memphis Lonesome" book, on P. 23 there is a letter printed to Bill Randle from Al Calder urging Randle to clear 4 songs for the movie shirt in 1958. Sadly, i don't know how to scan things on here so i'll write that letter

R K O M U S I C DIVISION
RKO TELERADIO PICTURES. INC
1440 BROADWAY
NEW YORK 18, N Y

MR. Bill Randle
Station W. E. R. E.
1501 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio

HHOLLYWOOD OFFICE
680 Gower Street
Hollywood, Cal.

Dear Bill;
The following songs must be cleared with the music firms before Universal can released your short. Can you contact the publishers and have them and you a letter to this effect.

Ain't That A Shame
Moments To Remember
Rock Around The Clock
Rock A Beatin Boogie

Also do you still have the written release by Pat Boone, The Four Lads, Bill Haley etc.? These will also be essential before release.

I could work nothing else out with Tom Mead at Universal other than releasing the movie after January 1958. I will get you a letter to this effect and also the areas it will be shown.

If you can expedite the above letter it will help.

Your Sincerely

Al CALDER.

Oh, notice Bill's address in this letter?....Euclid Avenue, where he states he showed a rough edit of the "Piper" movie at Euclid High School in 55 or early 56.

[Channeling Elvis]

I can't for the life of me remember where i read that Randle had something to do with setting up Presley's TV dubut, but i definitely read it. It went something like, Randle got the 1st three appearances and the Col extended the other three. It seems to me that Randle had to have some sort of connection to get the job.

I have been flipping through some of my books on the subject - can't find the one where Randle supposedly set up the 1st three appearances. But here's what Peter Guralnick says in "Last Train" about it:
P. 176-177 "Randle had predicted all but one of the top five best sellers of 1954, discovered Johnny Ray, changed the name of the Crew-Cuts (from the Canadaires) as well as finding them their first hit, drove a jaguar, and made $100,000 a year, with his Saturday-afternoon CBS network in New York the lastest in his series of unprecedented accomplshments".

P. 177 Guralnick says Randle invited Bob Neal to stay over at his hiuse to talk business - they both agreed that TV exposure is what was needed and Randle give Neal a name of a contact for the "Arthur Godfrey Show"

P. 244 Randle used to plug CBS' "Stage Show" on his Saturday-afternoon New York radio network show.

So with all this CBS and TV connections in New York probably lies the answer to his getting the job of introducing Presley on TV. Randle had obviously mentioned to CBS that he had worked with Presley before and of course being a top DJ in the area and promoting "Stage Show" on his radio show. Guessing, they probably said something like "you do the the introductiin because we don't know this Col fellow" or something along those lines. Plus according to Guralnick "Stage Show" was in bad need of ratings, as at the time the ratings was very low and abiut to be withdrawn for a season.

Back to the "Pied Piper" movie. In Ger Rijff's excellent "Memphis Lonesome" book, on P. 23 there is a letter printed to Bill Randle from Al Calder urging Randle to clear 4 songs for the movie shirt in 1958. Sadly, i don't know how to scan things on here so i'll write that letter

R K O M U S I C DIVISION
RKO TELERADIO PICTURES. INC
1440 BROADWAY
NEW YORK 18, N Y

MR. Bill Randle
Station W. E. R. E.
1501 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio

HHOLLYWOOD OFFICE
680 Gower Street
Hollywood, Cal.

Dear Bill;
The following songs must be cleared with the music firms before Universal can released your short. Can you contact the publishers and have them and you a letter to this effect.

Ain't That A Shame
Moments To Remember
Rock Around The Clock
Rock A Beatin Boogie

Also do you still have the written release by Pat Boone, The Four Lads, Bill Haley etc.? These will also be essential before release.

I could work nothing else out with Tom Mead at Universal other than releasing the movie after January 1958. I will get you a letter to this effect and also the areas it will be shown.

If you can expedite the above letter it will help.

Your Sincerely

Al CALDER.

Oh, notice Bill's address in this letter?....Euclid Avenue, where he states he showed a rough edit of the "Piper" movie at Euclid High School in 55 or early 56.

This is very interesting. I don't have that Riff book and my short search this morning shows that you can't find it anywhere online. Thanks for typing out the contents of the letter.

I'll try to get back to this later, but today is already turning into an avalanche I can't keep up with.

Re: Gleason & Elvis - no; no record they ever met in 1956.

There's no doubt that Randle was involved in the stuff that surrounded Elvis in that late 1955-early 1956 period. He did shoot the "Pied Piper" film, had talked Elvis up in his columns and on radio (probably before anyone else in the north) and was involved in the music industry. And he well may have shown the film in Euclid, as he says. But where is the film?

The best account I've seen of these events is the one you cite from Guralnick's book and you see how convoluted it is. Randle may have been looking for a chance to manage Presley and, even after he signed with Parker, Randle may have thought he had a chance to get Elvis away from him. Randle told a lot of stories and I'm not sure how much to believe. He was with Elvis in Vegas in 1956, for example, and even shot some footage there of him with Liberace, etc. He told me that he brought some gangsters to see Elvis in Vegas, but after seeing Elvis' act they said "we pass," implying that Randle was trying to get them to back some sort of move to buy Elvis' contract (OK, I'm totally speculating here, but this is what Randle told me). He said mobsters had an interest in getting control of artists, and there's likely truth in that.

I'm still looking into this riddle, but it seems to get only more mysterious the deeper you go. I'll let you know if I come up with anything else. Thanks for posting the stuff you are finding.

[poormadpeter]

I can't for the life of me remember where i read that Randle had something to do with setting up Presley's TV dubut, but i definitely read it. It went something like, Randle got the 1st three appearances and the Col extended the other three. It seems to me that Randle had to have some sort of connection to get the job.

I have been flipping through some of my books on the subject - can't find the one where Randle supposedly set up the 1st three appearances. But here's what Peter Guralnick says in "Last Train" about it:
P. 176-177 "Randle had predicted all but one of the top five best sellers of 1954, discovered Johnny Ray, changed the name of the Crew-Cuts (from the Canadaires) as well as finding them their first hit, drove a jaguar, and made $100,000 a year, with his Saturday-afternoon CBS network in New York the lastest in his series of unprecedented accomplshments".

P. 177 Guralnick says Randle invited Bob Neal to stay over at his hiuse to talk business - they both agreed that TV exposure is what was needed and Randle give Neal a name of a contact for the "Arthur Godfrey Show"

P. 244 Randle used to plug CBS' "Stage Show" on his Saturday-afternoon New York radio network show.

So with all this CBS and TV connections in New York probably lies the answer to his getting the job of introducing Presley on TV. Randle had obviously mentioned to CBS that he had worked with Presley before and of course being a top DJ in the area and promoting "Stage Show" on his radio show. Guessing, they probably said something like "you do the the introductiin because we don't know this Col fellow" or something along those lines. Plus according to Guralnick "Stage Show" was in bad need of ratings, as at the time the ratings was very low and abiut to be withdrawn for a season.

Back to the "Pied Piper" movie. In Ger Rijff's excellent "Memphis Lonesome" book, on P. 23 there is a letter printed to Bill Randle from Al Calder urging Randle to clear 4 songs for the movie shirt in 1958. Sadly, i don't know how to scan things on here so i'll write that letter

R K O M U S I C DIVISION
RKO TELERADIO PICTURES. INC
1440 BROADWAY
NEW YORK 18, N Y

MR. Bill Randle
Station W. E. R. E.
1501 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio

HHOLLYWOOD OFFICE
680 Gower Street
Hollywood, Cal.

Dear Bill;
The following songs must be cleared with the music firms before Universal can released your short. Can you contact the publishers and have them and you a letter to this effect.

Ain't That A Shame
Moments To Remember
Rock Around The Clock
Rock A Beatin Boogie

Also do you still have the written release by Pat Boone, The Four Lads, Bill Haley etc.? These will also be essential before release.

I could work nothing else out with Tom Mead at Universal other than releasing the movie after January 1958. I will get you a letter to this effect and also the areas it will be shown.

If you can expedite the above letter it will help.

Your Sincerely

Al CALDER.

Oh, notice Bill's address in this letter?....Euclid Avenue, where he states he showed a rough edit of the "Piper" movie at Euclid High School in 55 or early 56.

This is very interesting. I don't have that Riff book and my short search this morning shows that you can't find it anywhere online. Thanks for typing out the contents of the letter.

I'll try to get back to this later, but today is already turning into an avalanche I can't keep up with.

Re: Gleason & Elvis - no; no record they ever met in 1956.

There's no doubt that Randle was involved in the stuff that surrounded Elvis in that late 1955-early 1956 period. He did shoot the "Pied Piper" film, had talked Elvis up in his columns and on radio (probably before anyone else in the north) and was involved in the music industry. And he well may have shown the film in Euclid, as he says. But where is the film?

The best account I've seen of these events is the one you cite from Guralnick's book and you see how convoluted it is. Randle may have been looking for a chance to manage Presley and, even after he signed with Parker, Randle may have thought he had a chance to get Elvis away from him. Randle told a lot of stories and I'm not sure how much to believe. He was with Elvis in Vegas in 1956, for example, and even shot some footage there of him with Liberace, etc. He told me that he brought some gangsters to see Elvis in Vegas, but after seeing Elvis' act they said "we pass," implying that Randle was trying to get them to back some sort of move to buy Elvis' contract (OK, I'm totally speculating here, but this is what Randle told me). He said mobsters had an interest in getting control of artists, and there's likely truth in that.

I'm still looking into this riddle, but it seems to get only more mysterious the deeper you go. I'll let you know if I come up with anything else. Thanks for posting the stuff you are finding.

The problem with Guralnick's account is that his biography, despite being the best out there, is actually a patchwork of information taken from all kinds of sources - including books written on Elvis ten, twenty or thirty years earlier, and we already know from this thread that new information comes to light, and those older writings on Elvis can't be trusted. The second quote from the book that Mysterytrain gives, about Arthur Godfrey, is probably the most interesting - but it derives from an interview with Randle, who we know can't be trusted as far as he could be thrown. So, alas, that evidence is inadmissible unless someone else was around to back it up.

The letter from 1958 is, of course, of much more interest, and proves the film was still kicking around at that point - it also shows, however, that if this edit of the film is the one that survives, then Elvis won't be in it!

[Channeling Elvis]

I can't for the life of me remember where i read that Randle had something to do with setting up Presley's TV dubut, but i definitely read it. It went something like, Randle got the 1st three appearances and the Col extended the other three. It seems to me that Randle had to have some sort of connection to get the job.

I have been flipping through some of my books on the subject - can't find the one where Randle supposedly set up the 1st three appearances. But here's what Peter Guralnick says in "Last Train" about it:
P. 176-177 "Randle had predicted all but one of the top five best sellers of 1954, discovered Johnny Ray, changed the name of the Crew-Cuts (from the Canadaires) as well as finding them their first hit, drove a jaguar, and made $100,000 a year, with his Saturday-afternoon CBS network in New York the lastest in his series of unprecedented accomplshments".

P. 177 Guralnick says Randle invited Bob Neal to stay over at his hiuse to talk business - they both agreed that TV exposure is what was needed and Randle give Neal a name of a contact for the "Arthur Godfrey Show"

P. 244 Randle used to plug CBS' "Stage Show" on his Saturday-afternoon New York radio network show.

So with all this CBS and TV connections in New York probably lies the answer to his getting the job of introducing Presley on TV. Randle had obviously mentioned to CBS that he had worked with Presley before and of course being a top DJ in the area and promoting "Stage Show" on his radio show. Guessing, they probably said something like "you do the the introductiin because we don't know this Col fellow" or something along those lines. Plus according to Guralnick "Stage Show" was in bad need of ratings, as at the time the ratings was very low and abiut to be withdrawn for a season.

Back to the "Pied Piper" movie. In Ger Rijff's excellent "Memphis Lonesome" book, on P. 23 there is a letter printed to Bill Randle from Al Calder urging Randle to clear 4 songs for the movie shirt in 1958. Sadly, i don't know how to scan things on here so i'll write that letter

R K O M U S I C DIVISION
RKO TELERADIO PICTURES. INC
1440 BROADWAY
NEW YORK 18, N Y

MR. Bill Randle
Station W. E. R. E.
1501 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio

HHOLLYWOOD OFFICE
680 Gower Street
Hollywood, Cal.

Dear Bill;
The following songs must be cleared with the music firms before Universal can released your short. Can you contact the publishers and have them and you a letter to this effect.

Ain't That A Shame
Moments To Remember
Rock Around The Clock
Rock A Beatin Boogie

Also do you still have the written release by Pat Boone, The Four Lads, Bill Haley etc.? These will also be essential before release.

I could work nothing else out with Tom Mead at Universal other than releasing the movie after January 1958. I will get you a letter to this effect and also the areas it will be shown.

If you can expedite the above letter it will help.

Your Sincerely

Al CALDER.

Is there a date on the original letter? Can't tell for sure, but the fact that the only performer NOT mentioned is Elvis, I wonder if his footage was cut, likely because Colonel wouldn't give permission to use it. By this time, he wouldn't have wanted Elvis mixed in with other entertainers, especially competitors, which would imply he was their peer instead of a unique and superior entity. He'd also want total control over use of anything involving Elvis. His usual ploy was to ask a price that was out of reach when he wanted to kill something.

Also, I wonder why/how RKO got involved in a picture that Universal had shot. Calder refers to Universal releasing the film after January 1958, so maybe RKO's role was as a distributor of the film, hence the reference to Calder later notifying Randle of the areas where the film would be shown. If Randle was still trying to get this film out as late as 1958, my guess is that he would have had no chance of getting clearance to use the Elvis footage at that time. Colonel simply would have killed it.

[poormadpeter]

I can't for the life of me remember where i read that Randle had something to do with setting up Presley's TV dubut, but i definitely read it. It went something like, Randle got the 1st three appearances and the Col extended the other three. It seems to me that Randle had to have some sort of connection to get the job.

I have been flipping through some of my books on the subject - can't find the one where Randle supposedly set up the 1st three appearances. But here's what Peter Guralnick says in "Last Train" about it:
P. 176-177 "Randle had predicted all but one of the top five best sellers of 1954, discovered Johnny Ray, changed the name of the Crew-Cuts (from the Canadaires) as well as finding them their first hit, drove a jaguar, and made $100,000 a year, with his Saturday-afternoon CBS network in New York the lastest in his series of unprecedented accomplshments".

P. 177 Guralnick says Randle invited Bob Neal to stay over at his hiuse to talk business - they both agreed that TV exposure is what was needed and Randle give Neal a name of a contact for the "Arthur Godfrey Show"

P. 244 Randle used to plug CBS' "Stage Show" on his Saturday-afternoon New York radio network show.

So with all this CBS and TV connections in New York probably lies the answer to his getting the job of introducing Presley on TV. Randle had obviously mentioned to CBS that he had worked with Presley before and of course being a top DJ in the area and promoting "Stage Show" on his radio show. Guessing, they probably said something like "you do the the introductiin because we don't know this Col fellow" or something along those lines. Plus according to Guralnick "Stage Show" was in bad need of ratings, as at the time the ratings was very low and abiut to be withdrawn for a season.

Back to the "Pied Piper" movie. In Ger Rijff's excellent "Memphis Lonesome" book, on P. 23 there is a letter printed to Bill Randle from Al Calder urging Randle to clear 4 songs for the movie shirt in 1958. Sadly, i don't know how to scan things on here so i'll write that letter

R K O M U S I C DIVISION
RKO TELERADIO PICTURES. INC
1440 BROADWAY
NEW YORK 18, N Y

MR. Bill Randle
Station W. E. R. E.
1501 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio

HHOLLYWOOD OFFICE
680 Gower Street
Hollywood, Cal.

Dear Bill;
The following songs must be cleared with the music firms before Universal can released your short. Can you contact the publishers and have them and you a letter to this effect.

Ain't That A Shame
Moments To Remember
Rock Around The Clock
Rock A Beatin Boogie

Also do you still have the written release by Pat Boone, The Four Lads, Bill Haley etc.? These will also be essential before release.

I could work nothing else out with Tom Mead at Universal other than releasing the movie after January 1958. I will get you a letter to this effect and also the areas it will be shown.

If you can expedite the above letter it will help.

Your Sincerely

Al CALDER.

Is there a date on the original letter? Can't tell for sure, but the fact that the only performer NOT mentioned is Elvis, I wonder if his footage was cut, likely because Colonel wouldn't give permission to use it. By this time, he wouldn't have wanted Elvis mixed in with other entertainers, especially competitors, which would imply he was their peer instead of a unique and superior entity. He'd also want total control over use of anything involving Elvis. His usual ploy was to ask a price that was out of reach when he wanted to kill something.

Also, I wonder why/how RKO got involved in a picture that Universal had shot. Calder refers to Universal releasing the film after January 1958, so maybe RKO's role was as a distributor of the film, hence the reference to Calder later notifying Randle of the areas where the film would be shown. If Randle was still trying to get this film out as late as 1958, my guess is that he would have had no chance of getting clearance to use the Elvis footage at that time. Colonel simply would have killed it.

It's very confusing.

In January 1957, RKO stopped making films, and the ones still in the can were no longer distributed by them either. Those remaining films were mostly (but not all) released by Universal. But the letter (or the letter heading) suggests the film was owned by RKO and not Universal. We know that isn't true...UNLESS Randle was telling the truth when he said he paid for extra footage to be shot and that he owned the rights to that extra footage. Then he could have come to a deal with RKO who, ironically, were looking to distribute it through Universal! However, we would assume by the "after January 1958" comment in the letter than it came from 1957, but the fact RKO were in trouble from the very beginning of that year, perhaps it was as early as 1956? We do know that Al Calder left RKO Music in September 1957, and so the letter must have been written prior to that, as the following short article appeared in Billboard on Sept 9, 1957 (apologies for the highlighting):

calder.JPG

But it's even more complicated than that! The letter comes from RKO Music, which had recently acquired the Unique label...which Priscilla Wright had recorded for. Is this where the link with RKO and the Pied Piper started? Possibly, but the problem here is that the RKO music division had no interest in rock 'n' roll - not only no interest, but they positively went out of their way to have nothing to do with it. Instead, their catalogue of performers was made up of surviving vaudeville entertainers and ancient jazz musicians. The list of the albums they released can be found here: http://www.bsnpubs.com/nyc/rko/rko-unique.html. By around 1960, RKO-Unique had also been run into the ground. If they hated rock 'n' music so much, why/how did they acquire the film (if they did) and why would they liaise with Randle, a disc jockey most associated with the music they wanted nothing to do with?

Nothing makes sense.

[Channeling Elvis]

Nothing makes sense.

Well, to again quote Sydney Greenstreet (this time from The Maltese Falcon), "That's the one truth about it."

[mysterytrainrideson]

I can't for the life of me remember where i read that Randle had something to do with setting up Presley's TV dubut, but i definitely read it. It went something like, Randle got the 1st three appearances and the Col extended the other three. It seems to me that Randle had to have some sort of connection to get the job.

I have been flipping through some of my books on the subject - can't find the one where Randle supposedly set up the 1st three appearances. But here's what Peter Guralnick says in "Last Train" about it:
P. 176-177 "Randle had predicted all but one of the top five best sellers of 1954, discovered Johnny Ray, changed the name of the Crew-Cuts (from the Canadaires) as well as finding them their first hit, drove a jaguar, and made $100,000 a year, with his Saturday-afternoon CBS network in New York the lastest in his series of unprecedented accomplshments".

P. 177 Guralnick says Randle invited Bob Neal to stay over at his hiuse to talk business - they both agreed that TV exposure is what was needed and Randle give Neal a name of a contact for the "Arthur Godfrey Show"

P. 244 Randle used to plug CBS' "Stage Show" on his Saturday-afternoon New York radio network show.

So with all this CBS and TV connections in New York probably lies the answer to his getting the job of introducing Presley on TV. Randle had obviously mentioned to CBS that he had worked with Presley before and of course being a top DJ in the area and promoting "Stage Show" on his radio show. Guessing, they probably said something like "you do the the introductiin because we don't know this Col fellow" or something along those lines. Plus according to Guralnick "Stage Show" was in bad need of ratings, as at the time the ratings was very low and abiut to be withdrawn for a season.

Back to the "Pied Piper" movie. In Ger Rijff's excellent "Memphis Lonesome" book, on P. 23 there is a letter printed to Bill Randle from Al Calder urging Randle to clear 4 songs for the movie shirt in 1958. Sadly, i don't know how to scan things on here so i'll write that letter

R K O M U S I C DIVISION
RKO TELERADIO PICTURES. INC
1440 BROADWAY
NEW YORK 18, N Y

MR. Bill Randle
Station W. E. R. E.
1501 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio

HHOLLYWOOD OFFICE
680 Gower Street
Hollywood, Cal.

Dear Bill;
The following songs must be cleared with the music firms before Universal can released your short. Can you contact the publishers and have them and you a letter to this effect.

Ain't That A Shame
Moments To Remember
Rock Around The Clock
Rock A Beatin Boogie

Also do you still have the written release by Pat Boone, The Four Lads, Bill Haley etc.? These will also be essential before release.

I could work nothing else out with Tom Mead at Universal other than releasing the movie after January 1958. I will get you a letter to this effect and also the areas it will be shown.

If you can expedite the above letter it will help.

Your Sincerely

Al CALDER.

Is there a date on the original letter? Can't tell for sure, but the fact that the only performer NOT mentioned is Elvis, I wonder if his footage was cut, likely because Colonel wouldn't give permission to use it. By this time, he wouldn't have wanted Elvis mixed in with other entertainers, especially competitors, which would imply he was their peer instead of a unique and superior entity. He'd also want total control over use of anything involving Elvis. His usual ploy was to ask a price that was out of reach when he wanted to kill something.

Also, I wonder why/how RKO got involved in a picture that Universal had shot. Calder refers to Universal releasing the film after January 1958, so maybe RKO's role was as a distributor of the film, hence the reference to Calder later notifying Randle of the areas where the film would be shown. If Randle was still trying to get this film out as late as 1958, my guess is that he would have had no chance of getting clearance to use the Elvis footage at that time. Colonel simply would have killed it.

Can't see any date on the original letter. Judging by the letter it was Randle's intention to release the movie by this point without Presley, because he probably knew he wouldn't get the clearances from Presley's management.

How and why the movie didn't go ahead, even without Presley, is another mystery -- maybe Randle couldn't get the clearances on the songs mentioned in the letter, who know's.

[londonflash]

This has been a most fascinating thread, so thanks to all of you guys for your contributions and thoughts.

[PetriTCB]

There is coming a book called Elvis Sessions IV. In an interview done by Elvis Information Network with Joseph A. Tunzi there was this question and answer:
"EIN: The Pied Piper of Cleveland video. What do you know about this? Is it in the hands of one of the super-collectors as some claim?
JAT: I have a partner in Elvis Sessions IV and he wishes to remain anonymous. He’s not a producer of any Elvis product. But I think everyone will know exactly what The Pied Piper of Cleveland film was all about after Elvis Sessions IV comes out."

Do you believe to know the truth about the movie after reading that book?

[r&b]

There is coming a book called Elvis Sessions IV. In an interview done by Elvis Information Network with Joseph A. Tunzi there was this question and answer:
"EIN: The Pied Piper of Cleveland video. What do you know about this? Is it in the hands of one of the super-collectors as some claim?
JAT: I have a partner in Elvis Sessions IV and he wishes to remain anonymous. He’s not a producer of any Elvis product. But I think everyone will know exactly what The Pied Piper of Cleveland film was all about after Elvis Sessions IV comes out."

Do you believe to know the truth about the movie after reading that book?

Well Tunzi also claimed his Hot Shots & Cool Clips DVDs were spectacular and contained a lot of rare footage.

[poormadpeter]

I can't for the life of me remember where i read that Randle had something to do with setting up Presley's TV dubut, but i definitely read it. It went something like, Randle got the 1st three appearances and the Col extended the other three. It seems to me that Randle had to have some sort of connection to get the job.

I have been flipping through some of my books on the subject - can't find the one where Randle supposedly set up the 1st three appearances. But here's what Peter Guralnick says in "Last Train" about it:
P. 176-177 "Randle had predicted all but one of the top five best sellers of 1954, discovered Johnny Ray, changed the name of the Crew-Cuts (from the Canadaires) as well as finding them their first hit, drove a jaguar, and made $100,000 a year, with his Saturday-afternoon CBS network in New York the lastest in his series of unprecedented accomplshments".

P. 177 Guralnick says Randle invited Bob Neal to stay over at his hiuse to talk business - they both agreed that TV exposure is what was needed and Randle give Neal a name of a contact for the "Arthur Godfrey Show"

P. 244 Randle used to plug CBS' "Stage Show" on his Saturday-afternoon New York radio network show.

So with all this CBS and TV connections in New York probably lies the answer to his getting the job of introducing Presley on TV. Randle had obviously mentioned to CBS that he had worked with Presley before and of course being a top DJ in the area and promoting "Stage Show" on his radio show. Guessing, they probably said something like "you do the the introductiin because we don't know this Col fellow" or something along those lines. Plus according to Guralnick "Stage Show" was in bad need of ratings, as at the time the ratings was very low and abiut to be withdrawn for a season.

Back to the "Pied Piper" movie. In Ger Rijff's excellent "Memphis Lonesome" book, on P. 23 there is a letter printed to Bill Randle from Al Calder urging Randle to clear 4 songs for the movie shirt in 1958. Sadly, i don't know how to scan things on here so i'll write that letter

R K O M U S I C DIVISION
RKO TELERADIO PICTURES. INC
1440 BROADWAY
NEW YORK 18, N Y

MR. Bill Randle
Station W. E. R. E.
1501 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio

HHOLLYWOOD OFFICE
680 Gower Street
Hollywood, Cal.

Dear Bill;
The following songs must be cleared with the music firms before Universal can released your short. Can you contact the publishers and have them and you a letter to this effect.

Ain't That A Shame
Moments To Remember
Rock Around The Clock
Rock A Beatin Boogie

Also do you still have the written release by Pat Boone, The Four Lads, Bill Haley etc.? These will also be essential before release.

I could work nothing else out with Tom Mead at Universal other than releasing the movie after January 1958. I will get you a letter to this effect and also the areas it will be shown.

If you can expedite the above letter it will help.

Your Sincerely

Al CALDER.

Is there a date on the original letter? Can't tell for sure, but the fact that the only performer NOT mentioned is Elvis, I wonder if his footage was cut, likely because Colonel wouldn't give permission to use it. By this time, he wouldn't have wanted Elvis mixed in with other entertainers, especially competitors, which would imply he was their peer instead of a unique and superior entity. He'd also want total control over use of anything involving Elvis. His usual ploy was to ask a price that was out of reach when he wanted to kill something.

Also, I wonder why/how RKO got involved in a picture that Universal had shot. Calder refers to Universal releasing the film after January 1958, so maybe RKO's role was as a distributor of the film, hence the reference to Calder later notifying Randle of the areas where the film would be shown. If Randle was still trying to get this film out as late as 1958, my guess is that he would have had no chance of getting clearance to use the Elvis footage at that time. Colonel simply would have killed it.

Can't see any date on the original letter. Judging by the letter it was Randle's intention to release the movie by this point without Presley, because he probably knew he wouldn't get the clearances from Presley's management.

How and why the movie didn't go ahead, even without Presley, is another mystery -- maybe Randle couldn't get the clearances on the songs mentioned in the letter, who know's.

Well, if it was linked with RKO, that might be the very reason - they effectively called a halt to all productions in January 1957, and everything unfinished at that time remained unfinished.

[Channeling Elvis]

Well, if it was linked with RKO, that might be the very reason - they effectively called a halt to all productions in January 1957, and everything unfinished at that time remained unfinished.

I got dizzy trying to follow the history of what became of RKO on the Wikipedia entry for RKO, but its holdings seem to have been disbursed among several companies, some of which were later liquidated or acquired by other companies. It's like trying to follow a shell game, where you have to keep your eye on the elusive pea, which you can't see.

More speculation: If RKO was only acting as distributor of the film, then another company could have been found to distribute it after RKO shut down. Universal shot the film, but there is no record of the film anywhere in Universal's records or vaults. Randle claimed to own the film and to have later sold it. The letter is addressed to Randle, not Universal, indicating that the film was his to distribute and that he had some sort of control over the film. However, the letter also refers to Universal determining when the film would be available for release. So, maybe Randle was in some sort of partnership arrangement with Universal to produce the film and that RKO had been selected to distribute it to theaters. For some reason the film was never released, possibly because Randle was not able to get the clearances listed in the letter or obtaining them was prohibitively expensive. Randle claimed to have put some of his own money into the film and Universal had to have incurred some expense as well. Additional costs for clearances or licenses to use music may have become prohibitively expensive and all of those involved may have decided (at some point) that they would probably lose money on the film and decided to cut their losses. Also, by 1958, how many people would have paid to see a film with Bill Haley and Pat Boone? Haley was still recording, but was pretty much a has-been on the rock scene. Boone was still around, too, and had score 5 straight top-10 hits in Billboard from October 1957 to mid-1958, including #1 with "April Love," but not really on the cutting edge of rock music and would not have been enough of an attraction on his own to put the film over. These guys were not the big deal they had been in 1955 and, if Elvis' footage was cut from the film, how much appeal would it have had? And remember that that film had been shot in 1955 as a way to promote up and coming or established young rock stars. The film would have totally lost that appeal by 1958 and people seeing it in theaters may have wondered why it was even being shown, especially without Elvis. The Elvis footage would have been of interest because of Elvis' status as the King by then and they may have been able to reconstruct the film with Elvis at the center, focusing on this early glimpse of the future star, with the other acts presented as interesting, too, but peripheral. We don't know what state the film was in at that point, but such a reconfiguration may have required additional editing and thus more costs.

So the answer may be in the long delay getting this film ready for release; more than 2 years according to this letter (I'm assuming the letter was written some time late in 1957, but that's just a guess). If Randle hadn't even gotten clearances for the songs by then, what was he doing with the film all that time? Or, what was Universal doing with it?

[poormadpeter]

Well, if it was linked with RKO, that might be the very reason - they effectively called a halt to all productions in January 1957, and everything unfinished at that time remained unfinished.

I got dizzy trying to follow the history of what became of RKO on the Wikipedia entry for RKO, but its holdings seem to have been disbursed among several companies, some of which were later liquidated or acquired by other companies. It's like trying to follow a shell game, where you have to keep your eye on the elusive pea, which you can't see.

More speculation: If RKO was only acting as distributor of the film, then another company could have been found to distribute it after RKO shut down. Universal shot the film, but there is no record of the film anywhere in Universal's records or vaults. Randle claimed to own the film and to have later sold it. The letter is addressed to Randle, not Universal, indicating that the film was his to distribute and that he had some sort of control over the film. However, the letter also refers to Universal determining when the film would be available for release. So, maybe Randle was in some sort of partnership arrangement with Universal to produce the film and that RKO had been selected to distribute it to theaters. For some reason the film was never released, possibly because Randle was not able to get the clearances listed in the letter or obtaining them was prohibitively expensive. Randle claimed to have put some of his own money into the film and Universal had to have incurred some expense as well. Additional costs for clearances or licenses to use music may have become prohibitively expensive and all of those involved may have decided (at some point) that they would probably lose money on the film and decided to cut their losses. Also, by 1958, how many people would have paid to see a film with Bill Haley and Pat Boone? Haley was still recording, but was pretty much a has-been on the rock scene. Boone was still around, too, and had score 5 straight top-10 hits in Billboard from October 1957 to mid-1958, including #1 with "April Love," but not really on the cutting edge of rock music and would not have been enough of an attraction on his own to put the film over. These guys were not the big deal they had been in 1955 and, if Elvis' footage was cut from the film, how much appeal would it have had? And remember that that film had been shot in 1955 as a way to promote up and coming or established young rock stars. The film would have totally lost that appeal by 1958 and people seeing it in theaters may have wondered why it was even being shown, especially without Elvis. The Elvis footage would have been of interest because of Elvis' status as the King by then and they may have been able to reconstruct the film with Elvis at the center, focusing on this early glimpse of the future star, with the other acts presented as interesting, too, but peripheral. We don't know what state the film was in at that point, but such a reconfiguration may have required additional editing and thus more costs.

So the answer may be in the long delay getting this film ready for release; more than 2 years according to this letter (I'm assuming the letter was written some time late in 1957, but that's just a guess). If Randle hadn't even gotten clearances for the songs by then, what was he doing with the film all that time? Or, what was Universal doing with it?

The letter couldn't have been written late in 1957, because RKO was effectively wrapped up by then. Also, Calder left RKO in September 1957. So, it had to really be in the first half of 1957 or the very end of 1956 - I would guess the latter in all honesty, given the significant changes at RKO in January 1957 I don't think they would even be contemplating dealing with the hassle that this particular film had attached to it.

Universal became the distributors of many RKO features during 1956/7. My guess is that Randle DID pay for extra footage to be shot (he has to have told the truth about something), and it was that footage that he was trying to put out with RKO (and not the footage that Universal paid for). That Universal would have been the distributors is possibly just a coincidence caused by RKO's business woes at the time.

The letter than Mysterytrain posted is possibly the best clue yet as to what happened to the footage - however, it also means that, even if the footage is found by whoever owns the rights to RKO material now, Elvis is not going to be anywhere in that particular footage.

[mysterytrainrideson]

The letter than Mysterytrain posted is possibly the best clue yet as to what happened to the footage - however, it also means that, even if the footage is found by whoever owns the rights to RKO material now, Elvis is not going to be anywhere in that particular footage.

But it MIGHT lead us to where the Presley footage is....besides, Randles planned release of the movie, without Presley, was never finished, as far as we know.

[mysterytrainrideson]

Here's a thought:

With all this controvesy and complexity about the film, wonder if it'll be one of those cases that the film has been under our noses all the time.

[G.I. Blues]

Please be so kind to enlighten us and explain.

[mysterytrainrideson]

Please be so kind to enlighten us and explain.

Just a crazy thought really.

Ever been looking for something around the house, looking and digging through all the draws, lifting up cushions, looking under the bed, moving furniture etc and it's been on the top shelf right under your nose all the time? Kinda like that.....

There is one group of people that could really help out on looking for this film, if they got up off their a$$'s and realized the importance of this footage, is EPE. They have access to any amount of stuff.....as GuyLambert said several pages back, there's correspondance in the Graceland archives date in July '56 from the Col concerning the movie. But you know what EPE are like, they couldn't careless and they are only interested in selling tacky merchandise - they couldn't tell the differance between "Mystery Train" and "The Last Farewell".

[poormadpeter]

Please be so kind to enlighten us and explain.

Just a crazy thought really.

Ever been looking for something around the house, looking and digging through all the draws, lifting up cushions, looking under the bed, moving furniture etc and it's been on the top shelf right under your nose all the time? Kinda like that.....

There is one group of people that could really help out on looking for this film, if they got up off their a$$'s and realized the importance of this footage, is EPE. They have access to any amount of stuff.....as GuyLambert said several pages back, there's correspondance in the Graceland archives date in July '56 from the Col concerning the movie. But you know what EPE are like, they couldn't careless and they are only interested in selling tacky merchandise - they couldn't tell the differance between "Mystery Train" and "The Last Farewell".

You make it sound as if they're looking for a book they left in a drawer somewhere. How exactly do you think EPE should go about hunting for this film that is probably in an unmarked film can?

[mike edwards66]

How exactly do you think EPE should go about hunting for this film that is probably in an unmarked film can?

Well, they could start with all the unmarked film cans.

[sweetangeline]

How exactly do you think EPE should go about hunting for this film that is probably in an unmarked film can?

Well, they could start with all the unmarked film cans.

...well that`s my chuckle for the day

[G.I. Blues]

Please be so kind to enlighten us and explain.

Just a crazy thought really.

Ever been looking for something around the house, looking and digging through all the draws, lifting up cushions, looking under the bed, moving furniture etc and it's been on the top shelf right under your nose all the time? Kinda like that.....

There is one group of people that could really help out on looking for this film, if they got up off their a$$'s and realized the importance of this footage, is EPE. They have access to any amount of stuff.....as GuyLambert said several pages back, there's correspondance in the Graceland archives date in July '56 from the Col concerning the movie. But you know what EPE are like, they couldn't careless and they are only interested in selling tacky merchandise - they couldn't tell the differance between "Mystery Train" and "The Last Farewell".

Yes sure, but if it is so obvious, where is it?

LOL, can't tell the difference between Mystery Train and The Last Farewell. THAT WAS A GOOD ONE!

[G.I. Blues]

How exactly do you think EPE should go about hunting for this film that is probably in an unmarked film can?

Well, they could start with all the unmarked film cans.

Oh, just release those films on BlueRay and we'll identify for free. Deal?

[mysterytrainrideson]

Please be so kind to enlighten us and explain.

Just a crazy thought really.

Ever been looking for something around the house, looking and digging through all the draws, lifting up cushions, looking under the bed, moving furniture etc and it's been on the top shelf right under your nose all the time? Kinda like that.....

There is one group of people that could really help out on looking for this film, if they got up off their a$$'s and realized the importance of this footage, is EPE. They have access to any amount of stuff.....as GuyLambert said several pages back, there's correspondance in the Graceland archives date in July '56 from the Col concerning the movie. But you know what EPE are like, they couldn't careless and they are only interested in selling tacky merchandise - they couldn't tell the differance between "Mystery Train" and "The Last Farewell".

Yes sure, but if it is so obvious, where is it

LOL, can't tell the difference between Mystery Train and The Last Farewell. THAT WAS A GOOD ONE!

As i say, just a crazy thought. Wish we did know where it is.

Bet you can't tell the difference between the two songs

[G.I. Blues]

Please be so kind to enlighten us and explain.

Just a crazy thought really.

Ever been looking for something around the house, looking and digging through all the draws, lifting up cushions, looking under the bed, moving furniture etc and it's been on the top shelf right under your nose all the time? Kinda like that.....

There is one group of people that could really help out on looking for this film, if they got up off their a$$'s and realized the importance of this footage, is EPE. They have access to any amount of stuff.....as GuyLambert said several pages back, there's correspondance in the Graceland archives date in July '56 from the Col concerning the movie. But you know what EPE are like, they couldn't careless and they are only interested in selling tacky merchandise - they couldn't tell the differance between "Mystery Train" and "The Last Farewell".

Yes sure, but if it is so obvious, where is it

LOL, can't tell the difference between Mystery Train and The Last Farewell. THAT WAS A GOOD ONE!

As i say, just a crazy thought. Wish we did know where it is.

Bet you can't tell the difference between the two songs

Pardon Sir? Do you imply that I don't know the difference between the two songs?