Is it EPEs responsibility to keep the Elvis legacy going?

SuspiciousMind - what did you think of Viva Elvis? The future?

SuspiciousMind - what did you think of Viva Elvis? The future?

Poorly done. I've seen better remixes on Youtube by unemployed fans than what the so-called professionals did with that mess.

Back in 2002, you wouldn't have gotten such a release as Prince From Another Planet. You would have gotten a reissue at best. And not even that happened.

I'm not sure I see your argument. Sure, no Madison Square Garden project appeared in 2002 however BMG where not shy of deluxe mainstream Elvis projects 10 years or so ago:

Such A Night - Essential Elvis Vol. 6 (2000)
That's The Way It Is - Special Edition (3 CD) (2000)
Live in Las Vegas (4 CD) (2001)
Today, Tomorrow & Forever (4 CD) (2002)
Close Up (4 CD Box) (2003)

In 2002 An Afternoon In The Garden was only five years old, issued for the 25th anniversary of the show. Perhaps they though doing something for the 30th anniversary was a little too soon.

What I meant was that back then, prior to the 30 Number On Hits album, they didn't promote Elvis' music nor did it chart. They just announced it and released it a short time later. If those above mentioned releases had come out today, most if not all, would have charted and gotten major media exposure the way that other Elvis releases get now.

That's simply not true. I didn't have the internet in 2000 when Such A Night was released. I didn't belong to Elvis fan clubs, societies etc either - and yet I knew that CD was coming out and the date it was coming out. The same is true for each and everyone of the releases that Matthew lists.

I'm also quite intrigued at what this major media exposure is that you're talking about that Elvis albums get today? I must have missed that.

So how did you know that it was coming out? Seriously though, those releases never got media coverage. Unless it was in a musical review magazine or newspaper. There were no TV ads or social media promotions like you see now. I do remember back when Elvis' box set for the 70's masters came out, it got a big article on the front page of the Entertainment section of the USA Today. I remember reading it during my lunch break and gloating at the positive review. But that was about it. With 30 Number One Hits, there was a major marketing campaign behind it which helped get it to #1. Same with Second To None and Elvis By The Presley's which both fared well reaching top #3 and #15 respectfully. But when it came to Tomorrow Is A Long Time, Such A Night, or That's The Way It Is, there were no media coverage, just an ad here and there.

Today, no matter what Elvis release comes out, it gets media attention and some even get a marketing campaign behind them.

Ah yes, every FTD gets full page adverts in the newspapers.

And the reason why there were no "social media" promotions back in 2000 was because they didn't exist. A Facebook page for Live In Las Vegas would have been redundant until Facebook actually existed.

Back in 2002, you wouldn't have gotten such a release as Prince From Another Planet. You would have gotten a reissue at best. And not even that happened.

I'm not sure I see your argument. Sure, no Madison Square Garden project appeared in 2002 however BMG where not shy of deluxe mainstream Elvis projects 10 years or so ago:

Such A Night - Essential Elvis Vol. 6 (2000)
That's The Way It Is - Special Edition (3 CD) (2000)
Live in Las Vegas (4 CD) (2001)
Today, Tomorrow & Forever (4 CD) (2002)
Close Up (4 CD Box) (2003)

In 2002 An Afternoon In The Garden was only five years old, issued for the 25th anniversary of the show. Perhaps they though doing something for the 30th anniversary was a little too soon.

What I meant was that back then, prior to the 30 Number On Hits album, they didn't promote Elvis' music nor did it chart. They just announced it and released it a short time later. If those above mentioned releases had come out today, most if not all, would have charted and gotten major media exposure the way that other Elvis releases get now.

That's simply not true. I didn't have the internet in 2000 when Such A Night was released. I didn't belong to Elvis fan clubs, societies etc either - and yet I knew that CD was coming out and the date it was coming out. The same is true for each and everyone of the releases that Matthew lists.

I'm also quite intrigued at what this major media exposure is that you're talking about that Elvis albums get today? I must have missed that.

So how did you know that it was coming out? Seriously though, those releases never got media coverage. Unless it was in a musical review magazine or newspaper. There were no TV ads or social media promotions like you see now. I do remember back when Elvis' box set for the 70's masters came out, it got a big article on the front page of the Entertainment section of the USA Today. I remember reading it during my lunch break and gloating at the positive review. But that was about it. With 30 Number One Hits, there was a major marketing campaign behind it which helped get it to #1. Same with Second To None and Elvis By The Presley's which both fared well reaching top #3 and #15 respectfully. But when it came to Tomorrow Is A Long Time, Such A Night, or That's The Way It Is, there were no media coverage, just an ad here and there.

Today, no matter what Elvis release comes out, it gets media attention and some even get a marketing campaign behind them.

Ah yes, every FTD gets full page adverts in the newspapers.

And the reason why there were no "social media" promotions back in 2000 was because they didn't exist. A Facebook page for Live In Las Vegas would have been redundant until Facebook actually existed.

Those releases were mainstream, not FTD label.

Back in 2002, you wouldn't have gotten such a release as Prince From Another Planet. You would have gotten a reissue at best. And not even that happened.

I'm not sure I see your argument. Sure, no Madison Square Garden project appeared in 2002 however BMG where not shy of deluxe mainstream Elvis projects 10 years or so ago:

Such A Night - Essential Elvis Vol. 6 (2000)
That's The Way It Is - Special Edition (3 CD) (2000)
Live in Las Vegas (4 CD) (2001)
Today, Tomorrow & Forever (4 CD) (2002)
Close Up (4 CD Box) (2003)

In 2002 An Afternoon In The Garden was only five years old, issued for the 25th anniversary of the show. Perhaps they though doing something for the 30th anniversary was a little too soon.

What I meant was that back then, prior to the 30 Number On Hits album, they didn't promote Elvis' music nor did it chart. They just announced it and released it a short time later. If those above mentioned releases had come out today, most if not all, would have charted and gotten major media exposure the way that other Elvis releases get now.

That's simply not true. I didn't have the internet in 2000 when Such A Night was released. I didn't belong to Elvis fan clubs, societies etc either - and yet I knew that CD was coming out and the date it was coming out. The same is true for each and everyone of the releases that Matthew lists.

I'm also quite intrigued at what this major media exposure is that you're talking about that Elvis albums get today? I must have missed that.

So how did you know that it was coming out? Seriously though, those releases never got media coverage. Unless it was in a musical review magazine or newspaper. There were no TV ads or social media promotions like you see now. I do remember back when Elvis' box set for the 70's masters came out, it got a big article on the front page of the Entertainment section of the USA Today. I remember reading it during my lunch break and gloating at the positive review. But that was about it. With 30 Number One Hits, there was a major marketing campaign behind it which helped get it to #1. Same with Second To None and Elvis By The Presley's which both fared well reaching top #3 and #15 respectfully. But when it came to Tomorrow Is A Long Time, Such A Night, or That's The Way It Is, there were no media coverage, just an ad here and there.

Today, no matter what Elvis release comes out, it gets media attention and some even get a marketing campaign behind them.

Ah yes, every FTD gets full page adverts in the newspapers.

And the reason why there were no "social media" promotions back in 2000 was because they didn't exist. A Facebook page for Live In Las Vegas would have been redundant until Facebook actually existed.

Those releases were mainstream, not FTD label.

The key thing here is that even if they had no promotion, those items sold well enough for a similar one to be brought out the following year - and in the cases of the boxed sets they were expensive items (for the time). Now, even WITH the promotion you apparantly see (haven't seen any myself), Prince still only lands just inside the top 200.

I'm not entirely sure EPE sees his "legacy" so musically. They sell a lot more than music, and I wonder if it's even their top priority; I doubt it.

Do people get the print catalogs? If you do, you'll see that music is a major afterthought. They are into selling souvenirs. Big time. And I'll admit, I buy them. But I buy mostly music, overall. I don't think that's typical, or you wouldn't see the real estate for the other stuff. The call is really for the "memorabilia." They have a very large Elvis section at Virginia's Gift Shop at Knott's out here, and they sell NO music. You can get whatever you want there, pretty much, but not music. The Elvis section (all official merchandise) is 3 or 4 times the size of any of the other "iconic" stuff they sell. They have James Dean, Marilyn, Beatles, Ali. Elvis's section dwarfs the rest, so they must be doing very well with it.

They have some picture books, but absolutely no music. I'm afraid his main "legacy," for the time being, is not necessarily musical. It's visual products: home decorations, clothing (some of it quite pricey), bags, phone cases, notebooks, stuffed animals, key chains . . .

rjm

Sadly, Presley's musical legacy has until very recently been a complete shambles - and for the last decade or so, that has been partly the fault of FTD. The classic album series has prevented many of Presley's original albums from being available at retail level. Whereas the Legacy Edition series would have tackled albums such as How Great Thou Art, His Hand In Mine, Loving You, etc in double disc editions, the FTD classic album of such titles has meant that hasn't happened as mainstream releases. And while Legacy have released Legacy editions of Elvis Is Back, On Stage, Elvis Country and others, they have left much to be desired. Instead of expanding the original album with outtakes, live or private versions of the songs etc, these classic albums have been reduced to nothing more than twofers in nice packaging, and sometimes with bizarre choices as to what album is paired with the main one. In an ideal world, the legacy edition of Elvis Country would have featured outtakes, unedited versions, undubbed versions and live versions of the songs featured on the album - the same goes for From Elvis In Memphis, for example.

In other words, what we gain with FTD is sometimes lost outside of the hardcore fan base. There have been times when not even all of Presley's original albums have been available as mainstream releases. This is still the case, but the situation is getting better, thanks to Original album series (despite its faults) and the recent 20 CD set of original albums. Even so, a number of soundtracks remain unavailable at the present time.

I do believe that it is Sony's duty to keep all of Presley's albums in print at retail level. Presley's is an historically important legacy, and to not even have the original albums in print (no matter how bad they are) is a travesty, and unacceptable. I can't think of another major artist who has any of their original albums out of print. From Dylan through to Sinatra, each and every album is out there for purchase, and at a reasonable price. I'd much rather see the original albums with their original artwork in stores than dozens of compilations from Sony that fail to compliment each other.

Yes, the Prince package is a sign things are moving in the right direction, but with the new remasters already done and ready to go, I see no reason why Presley's complete album catalogue can't be paired up with two albums on a disc at mid-price to make sure that all of Presley's output is there at retail level. A new fan may well want to pick up Pot Luck for a fiver, but whether they are wanting to pay £20 for a dozen or so masters on the FTD edition is another thing altogether. Either way, the way into Presley's music is through the masters, not 2 hours of outtakes.

Musically speaking, EPE owns the rights to '68 Comback Special; Aloha From Hawaii and Elvis In Concert, that's it. The Elvis music catalog is owned by Sony. So yes, memorebelia, souvenirs is their priority. That's their chief money maker.

Musically speaking, EPE owns the rights to '68 Comback Special; Aloha From Hawaii and Elvis In Concert, that's it. The Elvis music catalog is owned by Sony. So yes, memorebelia, souvenirs is their priority. That's their chief money maker.

that sums it up......

Musically speaking, EPE owns the rights to '68 Comback Special; Aloha From Hawaii and Elvis In Concert, that's it. The Elvis music catalog is owned by Sony. So yes, memorabilia, souvenirs is their priority. That's their chief money maker.

That and the mansion tours...

Sadly, Presley's musical legacy has until very recently been a complete shambles - and for the last decade or so, that has been partly the fault of FTD. The classic album series has prevented many of Presley's original albums from being available at retail level. Whereas the Legacy Edition series would have tackled albums such as How Great Thou Art, His Hand In Mine, Loving You, etc in double disc editions, the FTD classic album of such titles has meant that hasn't happened as mainstream releases. And while Legacy have released Legacy editions of Elvis Is Back, On Stage, Elvis Country and others, they have left much to be desired. Instead of expanding the original album with outtakes, live or private versions of the songs etc, these classic albums have been reduced to nothing more than twofers in nice packaging, and sometimes with bizarre choices as to what album is paired with the main one. In an ideal world, the legacy edition of Elvis Country would have featured outtakes, unedited versions, undubbed versions and live versions of the songs featured on the album - the same goes for From Elvis In Memphis, for example.

In other words, what we gain with FTD is sometimes lost outside of the hardcore fan base. There have been times when not even all of Presley's original albums have been available as mainstream releases. This is still the case, but the situation is getting better, thanks to Original album series (despite its faults) and the recent 20 CD set of original albums. Even so, a number of soundtracks remain unavailable at the present time.

I do believe that it is Sony's duty to keep all of Presley's albums in print at retail level. Presley's is an historically important legacy, and to not even have the original albums in print (no matter how bad they are) is a travesty, and unacceptable. I can't think of another major artist who has any of their original albums out of print. From Dylan through to Sinatra, each and every album is out there for purchase, and at a reasonable price. I'd much rather see the original albums with their original artwork in stores than dozens of compilations from Sony that fail to compliment each other.

Yes, the Prince package is a sign things are moving in the right direction, but with the new remasters already done and ready to go, I see no reason why Presley's complete album catalogue can't be paired up with two albums on a disc at mid-price to make sure that all of Presley's output is there at retail level. A new fan may well want to pick up Pot Luck for a fiver, but whether they are wanting to pay £20 for a dozen or so masters on the FTD edition is another thing altogether. Either way, the way into Presley's music is through the masters, not 2 hours of outtakes.

ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Musically speaking, EPE owns the rights to '68 Comback Special; Aloha From Hawaii and Elvis In Concert, that's it. The Elvis music catalog is owned by Sony. So yes, memorabilia, souvenirs is their priority. That's their chief money maker.

That and the mansion tours...

Yes, those, too.

Sadly, Presley's musical legacy has until very recently been a complete shambles - and for the last decade or so, that has been partly the fault of FTD. The classic album series has prevented many of Presley's original albums from being available at retail level. Whereas the Legacy Edition series would have tackled albums such as How Great Thou Art, His Hand In Mine, Loving You, etc in double disc editions, the FTD classic album of such titles has meant that hasn't happened as mainstream releases. And while Legacy have released Legacy editions of Elvis Is Back, On Stage, Elvis Country and others, they have left much to be desired. Instead of expanding the original album with outtakes, live or private versions of the songs etc, these classic albums have been reduced to nothing more than twofers in nice packaging, and sometimes with bizarre choices as to what album is paired with the main one. In an ideal world, the legacy edition of Elvis Country would have featured outtakes, unedited versions, undubbed versions and live versions of the songs featured on the album - the same goes for From Elvis In Memphis, for example.

In other words, what we gain with FTD is sometimes lost outside of the hardcore fan base. There have been times when not even all of Presley's original albums have been available as mainstream releases. This is still the case, but the situation is getting better, thanks to Original album series (despite its faults) and the recent 20 CD set of original albums. Even so, a number of soundtracks remain unavailable at the present time.

I do believe that it is Sony's duty to keep all of Presley's albums in print at retail level. Presley's is an historically important legacy, and to not even have the original albums in print (no matter how bad they are) is a travesty, and unacceptable. I can't think of another major artist who has any of their original albums out of print. From Dylan through to Sinatra, each and every album is out there for purchase, and at a reasonable price. I'd much rather see the original albums with their original artwork in stores than dozens of compilations from Sony that fail to compliment each other.

Yes, the Prince package is a sign things are moving in the right direction, but with the new remasters already done and ready to go, I see no reason why Presley's complete album catalogue can't be paired up with two albums on a disc at mid-price to make sure that all of Presley's output is there at retail level. A new fan may well want to pick up Pot Luck for a fiver, but whether they are wanting to pay £20 for a dozen or so masters on the FTD edition is another thing altogether. Either way, the way into Presley's music is through the masters, not 2 hours of outtakes.

ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I forgot that some members are unable to read more than one sentence at a time.

It's a wonder Elvis' legacy didn't die after 1978 with the trash RCA was releasing..."Elvis sings for children & grown-ups too!", Half baked releases like "He walks beside me". "Our memories of Elvis" vol 1 AND 2. My husband was just saying the other day that RCA was marketing Elvis in 1975 and 1976 like he was already dead. Then after he died RCA gave us crumbs to buy. "The Elvis Medley" album, "Guitar Man" .....the only decent release for the collector and fan base was "Elvis aron Presley" in 1980 and the "Golden Celebration" set in 1985. The years after he died were indeed lean pickings.

sgoodyear62, some of the RCA & RCA-related releases after his death proved to be very popular.
Here are 5 that you overlooked or maybe weren't aware of -

1977 - Elvis in Concert, 3X Platinum
1977 - The Elvis Presley Story, 2X Platinum (5-LP set) scroll down >> http://www.elvisspecialties.com/catalog ... 148097.htm
1978 - Memories of Elvis, Gold (5-LP set) scroll down >> http://www.elvisspecialties.com/catalog ... 148102.htm
1978 - Elvis - A Legendary Performer Volume 3, Gold
1981 - This Is Elvis, Gold

It has to come to and end! But, it's amazing that there still is essential releases to collect, like the recent Prince set. There are still FTD's to collect. I'm in as long as it lasts. And, I have my collection to listen to and to watch for as long as I live. More than enough for me!
ELVIS is a household name around the globe, along with Disney, Coca Cola and The Beatles. Does it really have to be so much more.........

Hello,

I think "responsibility" is the wrong word when describing EPE and Elvis' legacy. However, I do think that EPE does have a vested interest in keeping his legacy alive, as does Sony Music and anyone who has any memorabilia pertaining to Elvis in their personal collection, whether it be rare tapes, photographs, records, video and film or even documents and correspondences. They all play a part in the telling of his legacy. I think, at some point in time, what will ultimately matter, as far as Elvis' lasting legacy will be the music and the films / television specials. Everything else will still have a place but on a much smaller scale. Some people bitch about the Elvis ducks and such products sold by EPE, but in a way, isn't some of those products appealing to a certain demographic, thus keeping Elvis' name out there. How may Bobby Darin ducks have you seen lately? Or Chuck Berry? I'm not saying that I exactly condone the ducks and such products. It's just that EPE has to do what it has to do to function as a company. It would be great if they would pump out a series of books, almost like an Encyclopedia Brittanica just on Elvis Presley and be able to survive on that. Maybe a book devoted to each individual film and television special as well as a book devoted to each year of his career with one additional book devoted to 1935-1953. Given their archives of photos and documents, they probably could realistically do it. But I doubt that they would want to invest the time, energy and money into a project such as that. Just as EPE hasn't actually announced any firm plans for an "anthology." It's another pipe dream project.

Daryl

It's a wonder Elvis' legacy didn't die after 1978 with the trash RCA was releasing..."Elvis sings for children & grown-ups too!", Half baked releases like "He walks beside me". "Our memories of Elvis" vol 1 AND 2. My husband was just saying the other day that RCA was marketing Elvis in 1975 and 1976 like he was already dead. Then after he died RCA gave us crumbs to buy. "The Elvis Medley" album, "Guitar Man" .....the only decent release for the collector and fan base was "Elvis aron Presley" in 1980 and the "Golden Celebration" set in 1985. The years after he died were indeed lean pickings.

sgoodyear62, some of the RCA & RCA-related releases after his death proved to be very popular.
Here are 5 that you overlooked or maybe weren't aware of -

1977 - Elvis in Concert, 3X Platinum
1977 - The Elvis Presley Story, 2X Platinum (5-LP set) scroll down >> http://www.elvisspecialties.com/catalog ... 148097.htm
1978 - Memories of Elvis, Gold (5-LP set) scroll down >> http://www.elvisspecialties.com/catalog ... 148102.htm
1978 - Elvis - A Legendary Performer Volume 3, Gold
1981 - This Is Elvis, Gold

Got them all, but the bootleggers were giving us more and some of the cover art was even better than what RCA was doing at the time. the cover of "A dog's life" outdid anything RCA was putting out.

Elvis' music may one day fade and be forgotten with time, but his legacy is forever engraved into history and here to stay.

Elvis' music may one day fade and be forgotten with time, but his legacy is forever engraved into history and here to stay.

I doubt that his music will one day fade and be forgotten because that is the major part of his life and career that built his legacy

... the cover of "A dog's life" outdid anything RCA was putting out.

Elvis nipping Nipper's ear >> http://www.bootlegzone.com/album.php?na ... section=30.