Mojo Magazine - Elvis: The Last Mystery / Without You!

[Greg1995]

Fantastic news, Greg!
Big thanks to you, Kevan, and Chris for this incredible discovery!

I'm particularly excited about the interview preceding the songs, as these three songs were frequently performed live, and we're fortunate to have numerous recorded versions of them. I'm also curious about the sound quality, being from a tape recorded by a radio station DJ – it might sound very good.

Here's hoping for more unearthed tapes from Elvis Presley's fantastic 50s era!

Actually Kevan didn't take part in this. It was Chris ,Keith and I. Just for matter of facts.

[mike edwards66]

Fantastic news, Greg!
Big thanks to you, Kevan, and Chris for this incredible discovery!

I'm particularly excited about the interview preceding the songs, as these three songs were frequently performed live, and we're fortunate to have numerous recorded versions of them. I'm also curious about the sound quality, being from a tape recorded by a radio station DJ – it might sound very good.

Here's hoping for more unearthed tapes from Elvis Presley's fantastic 50s era!

Actually Kevan didn't take part in this. It was Chris ,Keith and I. Just for matter of facts.

You guys are the tops.

[YDKM]

Will be nice if this can be released this year!?

[Greg1995]

Will be nice if this can be released this year!?

Let's wait for a full, sexy 100th anniversary. That'd be nice

[YDKM]

Will be nice if this can be released this year!?

Let's wait for a full, sexy 100th anniversary. That'd be nice

Well I will not be alive by then

[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

Will be nice if this can be released this year!?

Let's wait for a full, sexy 100th anniversary. That'd be nice

This year 2024, marks the 70th Anniversary of Elvis That´s All Right! . Couldn´t it be released this coming summer? . Bye for now .

[sweetangeline]

I FORGOT TO REMEMBER TO FORGET online 2012...it was released by Sony on A BOY FROM TUPELO in 2017...correct?? Hope it`s not a 5 year wait

[billyblues]

Thanks, Greg. I just hope it's released sooner rather than later, but it's really, really great to know that, at the very least, there's still effort to obtain and release unreleased material from the 50s, no matter if it's 10 minutes or a whole album of it. Thank you.

[TJ]

I'm particularly excited about the interview preceding the songs, as these three songs were frequently performed live, and we're fortunate to have numerous recorded versions of them.

What three songs? He hasn't given us any titles, other than to say one is a Little Richard song.

[TJ]

I'm particularly excited about the interview preceding the songs, as these three songs were frequently performed live, and we're fortunate to have numerous recorded versions of them.

What three songs? He hasn't given us any titles, other than to say one is a Little Richard song.

OK, I think you're right. I've seen the info on Keith's site. It suggests that the tape is around 10 mins though, not the 16 mins mentioned earlier in this thread.

[kevanbudd]

I am reliably informed the complete demo song still exists and was available when it was discussed and considered for use on the Sun box set.

Gaining permission to use from the owner of the audio source who was very sick at the time was an issue and whether fans would accept it on an Elvis release being a non Elvis track.

It was shortlisted for inclusion.

Kevan Budd.

Thanks once again kevanbudd for sharing inside info as you do many times, it´s cool!

I think the ill family person of the Phillips was Knox Phillips (Sam Phillips eldest son). I recall back in 2011 when he appeared at an Elvis week event saying he had been very ill lately.... . Bye for now .

"Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n' Roll" Documentary Screening Hosted by Peter Guralnick and Knox Phillips 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. The Rose Theater, University of Memphis, 470 University St. August 13th, 2011

Hi Mike,

Yes you were correct - the audio source Ernst had, came from Knox Phillips who was seriously unwell at the time the track was being discussed by Ernst and myself for inclusion on `A boy from Tupelo`.

Kevan Budd.

[kevanbudd]

I had published this on the phoenix forum a short while ago, but for anyone interested

https://www.theelvisforum-phoenix.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8430&p=191001#p191001

- an excerpt from writer Jerry Hopkins previously unpublished research files, which appears to be based on his interviews with Marion around 1970. We hear roughly the same story as per magazine articles but do get some additional details, such as - the sailor was also a songwriter and where he was based at that time, etc.

Plus the `Without you` story from Marion -

click to enlarge -

Jerry Hopkins notes on Marion and the unknown woman.jpg

Kevan Budd.

[drjohncarpenter]

The reply today from our friend Kevan is to a (slightly edited) post made exactly six years and five months ago:
https://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1610748#p1610748


Always keep the faith.





p.s. here's the unedited post with reply, a little more info there for y'all

Hi there!! .

I am reliably informed the complete demo song still exists and was available when it was discussed and considered for use on the Sun box set.

Gaining permission to use from the owner of the audio source who was very sick at the time was an issue and whether fans would accept it on an Elvis release being a non Elvis track.

It was shortlisted for inclusion.

Kevan Budd.

Thanks once again kevanbudd for sharing inside info as you do many times, it´s cool!

As other replies on page 1 indicate, this is not quite the story. You should read them, including the comments by the person who made the discovery we're talking about, and wrote about it in MOJO magazine, Guy Lambert. Maybe he deserves a thanks. It's cool!

Yes it´s cool & I gave him a like before your suggestion.....Check it out! .

Still I trust Kevan Budd inside info, he was part of the original project . I think the ill family person of the Phillips was Knox Phillips (Sam Phillips eldest son). I recall back in 2011 when he appeared at an Elvis week event saying he had been very ill lately.... . Bye for now .

"Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n' Roll" Documentary Screening Hosted by Peter Guralnick and Knox Phillips 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. The Rose Theater, University of Memphis, 470 University St. August 13th, 2011

Hi Mike,

Yes you were correct - the audio source Ernst had, came from Knox Phillips who was seriously unwell at the time the track was being discussed for inclusion on `A boy from Tupelo`.

Kevan Budd.

[drjohncarpenter]

For those new to this great topic by Guy Lambert, check out the first 4 or 5 pages. A LOT of excellent discussion and information is there.

Also worth noting that the full "Without You" demo has been known for at least 27 years, written with great detail in the 1997 iteration of a terrific book by critic and historian Greil Marcus.

Apparently it was in other people's possession before it landed with Knox Phillips.

Elvis was called back to the studio; Phillips played him the demo. The original Nashville demo has never been released or bootlegged; Keisker kept the only copy, which a few years before her death in 1989, at seventy-two, she gave to her friend John Bakke, professor of communications at Memphis State University. A bit of it can be heard in the BBC documentary “Presley: ‘I Don’t Sing Like Nobody’ ”; heard entire, the performance is ghostly, demanding to be played again and again, as if by so doing one could get to the bottom of it. To listen, now, is to be transported back to the very instant before the beginning of the present age. The unnamed singer’s voice is full of pain and full of acceptance; gliding along the stately lines of the song, reaching for solace, falling short, reaching again. It’s pure Sisyphus—and as Camus said of Sisyphus, one must imagine the singer happy.

- Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music, p. 258.

[drjohncarpenter]

I had published this on the phoenix forum a short while ago, but for anyone interested

https://www.theelvisforum-phoenix.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8430&p=191001#p191001

- an excerpt from writer Jerry Hopkins previously unpublished research files, which appears to be based on his interviews with Marion around 1970. We hear roughly the same story as per magazine articles but do get some additional details, such as - the sailor was also a songwriter and where he was based at that time, etc.

Plus the `Without you` story from Marion -

click to enlarge -

Jerry Hopkins notes on Marion and the unknown woman.jpg

Kevan Budd.

Always nice to see some of the work Hopkins did for his 1971 biography on Presley. I recall when you first mentioned these friends of Marion Keisker who were there that summer day in July 1953, in a topic from about nine years ago.

I added some detail to the information there, which I'm sure you appreciated.

For those who missed it:

I have never heard the story about Marion being with two friends while recording Elvis in 1953, either. I wonder what may be the source for this information.

Sorry I'm a bit late to this thread, the source for Marion with two friends (`a sailor and part time songwriter who used to visit the studio and his mother`, is how they were described - no names are given.) is from an unpublished indepth interview with Marion that I obtained, with others some years ago, around a year ago i shared the key info with Keith for his site and this book.

The `Mother` who Marion is an aquaintence of is also mentioned as running into Marion in town and asking about `the kid with the sideburns` and mentioning the day he recorded `My happiness` and how much his singing had an effect on her and if anything had happened since, this second meeting happened the day before or the day of Elvis attempting `without you` Marion states. These details are also covered in the `Ultimate sessions book`.

Kevan Budd

Interesting stuff.

These must be interviews Jerry Hopkins did when he was researching his biography of Elvis in 1970, yeah?

To make sure the dating is correct:

7-18-1953 (Sat) - Marion had a friend and his mom hanging out while she worked that day
6-26-1954 (Sat) - Marion runs into the mom, who asks about "the kid with the sideburns"

The 1953 vignette just adds more credence to the belief that Sam Phillips was not at 706 Union the day Elvis cut "My Happiness." We also have Elvis' own statement as well.

[Greg1995]

To continue discussion on the topic:

There is a second unpublished reel-to-reel tape. I have a short audio excerpt of one song from this tape (it doesn't match any other version we have) , a video of the tape being played and also a tape box picture. It's from 1956. Unfortunately, the owner is unreachable at this point.

And also, I have even another owner contact info who most probably possess a radio station reel-to-reel recording from 1955 (or by Ernst' comment dating back even to 1954). With the details I was given and other circumstances, I have no doubt it's real. I haven't heard anything from the tape, though. This owner is unfortunately also unreachable at this point.

But I (and other members of the research team) are working hard on this.

[sweetangeline]

when you say "unreachable" are you stating that the owner does not want to negotiate?? thanks

[Greg1995]

when you say "unreachable" are you stating that the owner does not want to negotiate?? thanks

What I mean is that one owner does not reply, and the conversation with the second one felt through.

Unfortunately. But I am not surrendering that quickly.

[TJ]

Greg, it's quite significant news to have previously unheard '50s audio confirmed. Why not start a topic dedicated to it? Those who aren't particularly interested in this topic probably don't even know about the discovery.

[drjohncarpenter]

Greg, it's quite significant news to have previously unheard '50s audio confirmed. Why not start a topic dedicated to it? Those who aren't particularly interested in this topic probably don't even know about the discovery.

It cannot be confirmed if the audio is unheard.

Do agree, a new topic should be covering all this talk, instead of shoehorning onto Guy Lambert's topic here.

I made that suggestion earlier but it disappeared, for some reason.

[Stevenson]

Greg, it's quite significant news to have previously unheard '50s audio confirmed. Why not start a topic dedicated to it? Those who aren't particularly interested in this topic probably don't even know about the discovery.

It cannot be confirmed if the audio is unheard.

Do agree, a new topic should be covering all this talk, instead of shoehorning onto Guy Lambert's topic here.

I made that suggestion earlier but it disappeared, for some reason.

You're not a sheriff here, so stop acting like one. It's telling and it's annoying.

[AndrewJ]

It cannot be confirmed if the audio is unheard.

Do agree, a new topic should be covering all this talk, instead of shoehorning onto Guy Lambert's topic here.

I made that suggestion earlier but it disappeared, for some reason.

I also made a post suggesting the likely date of this tape - but that has also disappeared

[Greg1995]

It cannot be confirmed if the audio is unheard.

Do agree, a new topic should be covering all this talk, instead of shoehorning onto Guy Lambert's topic here.

I made that suggestion earlier but it disappeared, for some reason.

I also made a post suggesting the likely date of this tape - but that has also disappeared

We settled that we don't want detailed information to be spread around online, hence the removal of some earlier posts and this will continue if any such posts happen in the future.

I ask all of you to respect it. Thank you.

[drjohncarpenter]

It cannot be confirmed if the audio is unheard.

Do agree, a new topic should be covering all this talk, instead of shoehorning onto Guy Lambert's topic here.

I made that suggestion earlier but it disappeared, for some reason.

I also made a post suggesting the likely date of this tape - but that has also disappeared

You and me, we're just a couple of sheriffs here.

We kindly type our opinions, then get attacked for them by dupki.

[drjohncarpenter]

We settled that we don't want detailed information to be spread around online, hence the removal of some earlier posts and this will continue if any such posts happen.

I ask all of you to respect it. Thank you.

Yes, detailed information should be relegated to just one website, amirite?