vic colonna

[viccolonna@gmail.com]

viccolonna says: hello sports fans. i am back. back from the dead thanks to paul dowling who somehow tracked me down in my cave in montana where i've been holed up because i thought the feds were still after me. any questions about those records that changed the recording industry? you know, those nineteen single lps, three double lps, and the 4lp box set. they will be answered here while i work on the book that will chronicle those thrilling days of yesteryear. paul has provided me with a laptop and urged me to get in touch because he says some of you actually still care. i only ask one thing of you: if you are a fan of george bush or approve of his policies please kill yourself immediately because we do not want you infecting the gene pool. i saw enough fighting in vietnam and in various african countries during my mercenary days and for what dumbya has done he should right now be hanging from a yardarm or walking the plank to shark–infested waters below. when men were men we would have run this scoundrel out of town on a rail, tarred and feathered. enough of that, before i tell you how i really feel let's talk about the elvis records, those fun days, days when many of you could not get enough of that stuff and kept asking about our next release. yes, we had more records "in the can" when we hung up our rock 'n' roll shoes but those pesky g-men, thanks to the election of ronnie rayguns, forced us to call it a day. i see ernst has carried on the tradition quite capably. he still has some goodies for you, of that i am sure. either that or we had some things he did not. we'll have to see, and if you still have not heard "afternoon jam", what would have been our next record, a great session with elvis and the boys jamming in nbc studios one afternoon during the filming of the '68 comeback, then we will have to petition him to get that out to you all. elvis sings "young love" and "oh, happy day" and it is a treat.

vic

[stupot]

viccolonna says: hello sports fans. i am back. back from the dead thanks to paul dowling who somehow tracked me down in my cave in montana where i've been holed up because i thought the feds were still after me. any questions about those records that changed the recording industry? you know, those nineteen single lps, three double lps, and the 4lp box set. they will be answered here while i work on the book that will chronicle those thrilling days of yesteryear. paul has provided me with a laptop and urged me to get in touch because he says some of you actually still care. i only ask one thing of you: if you are a fan of george bush or approve of his policies please kill yourself immediately because we do not want you infecting the gene pool. i saw enough fighting in vietnam and in various african countries during my mercenary days and for what dumbya has done he should right now be hanging from a yardarm or walking the plank to shark–infested waters below. when men were men we would have run this scoundrel out of town on a rail, tarred and feathered. enough of that, before i tell you how i really feel let's talk about the elvis records, those fun days, days when many of you could not get enough of that stuff and kept asking about our next release. yes, we had more records "in the can" when we hung up our rock 'n' roll shoes but those pesky g-men, thanks to the election of ronnie rayguns, forced us to call it a day. i see ernst has carried on the tradition quite capably. he still has some goodies for you, of that i am sure. either that or we had some things he did not. we'll have to see, and if you still have not heard "afternoon jam", what would have been our next record, a great session with elvis and the boys jamming in nbc studios one afternoon during the filming of the '68 comeback, then we will have to petition him to get that out to you all. elvis sings "young love" and "oh, happy day" and it is a treat.

vic

[Keith F]

I look forward to hearing your stories Vic, along with Ger and Paul's - It must have been one hell of a time back then!

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

How cool is that?
One of my heroes is coming on here and is talking (writing) to us Elvis followers and collectors.
Mr. Colonna my second and third boots, I ever purchased where the "Burbank Sessions Vol 1 and 2. And I have to tell you that I had to tape them for my boss. He played these tapes ever after that.

You certainly were involved in some of the best elvis records that ever came out and you guys cared a lot in putting our absolute high-quality product. I still love to look at the "Hawaiian Benefit" alblum. How great that was with its incredible booklet.
You guys even cared to perfectly copy not only the style but the labes for your "Amiga" releases. I found out, when many years later I purchased an "original Amiga" record.

But I do have a question for you.
You are writing something about that "afternoon" jam, where Elvis sings "Young Love" and "Oh, Happy Day".
There are two jam sessions out, one of June 24 and one of June 25. During one of these jam sessions (rehearsals) he sings a couple of lines of "Young Love" and "Happy Day" - not "Oh Happy Day". So was there only some confusion from your part or does another tape of Elvis jamming truly exist. And if so, what other songs did he do.
Regarding this subject, are you able to shed some light, if that kind of funny version of "It Hurts Me" that El sings for Colonel Parker on his birthday, June 26, does exist on tape? There are pictures available, where you can see Elvis sing to Parker. Elvis is even holding a mike, so eventually this little funny moment was also taped.

Well, take care, good luck on your book and if you find some time to answer, I would be more than glad to hear (read) from you.
All the best and thanks a lot for the wonderful times you gave me, listening to so many incredible records when I was younger, so much younger than today. Upps, I slipped into some Beatles lyrics.

[rickeap]

welcome and thanks for the great records
rick

[Steve_M]

Elvis is even holding a mike, so eventually this little funny moment was also taped.

Holding the mic was so that the assembled party could hear Elvis over whatever system it was hooked up to.

It in no way means it was recorded.

That said, audio recording aside, there's long been rumours of privately filmed footage of this, possibly as part of a keepsake to give the colonel as part of his birthday celebrations.

It was also my birthday, i turned the grand age of 2.

[Little Darlin]

to FECC. I'm really looking forward to your Stories.

[Luuk]

Good to see you here after all those years of great releases. Keep 'em coming, guys.

[PEP]

Hello, wow you are a blast from the past !

Welcome

PEP

[Juan Luis]

Are you a "Beach Boys" fan like Paul?"

[Barry]

Well Well Well, a name from the past glory days of Elvis LP'S.
Vic. If this is really you, it's great to see you on the board.

[Ciscoking]

Hi Vic...welcome aboard...you and Ger...I have greatest respect from you..

About the Loving You Rec.sessions...why didn`t you include all takes on the vinyl..I think they were already availible at that time...or am I wrong..??

Really nice to have you here...along with Ger of course..Hi Ger..how are ya friend..??

[wwelvis]

Yes! As I had mentioned weeks ago...the REAL VIC COLONNA has returned after years of hiding and fighting rebels in Central and South America as well as looking for vinyl rarities for me from these countries!!

He has picked this messageboard for his RETURN!!

He's yours now!!!

VIC RULES!!!

PS Juan baby, no one can like the B BOYS like me!!

[Maurice Carver]

Welcome aboard Vic.
Can you tell me the story of how you got "I Beg Of You"?

[E-Cat]

viccolonna says: hello sports fans. i am back. back from the dead thanks to paul dowling who somehow tracked me down in my cave in montana where i've been holed up because i thought the feds were still after me. any questions about those records that changed the recording industry? they will be answered here while i work on the book that will chronicle those thrilling days of yesteryear.

Welcome back and thx for the great memories!

Since it has been more than 20+ years ago - I hope the book will also cover:

- Details behind the BMG (Baltimore - Miami - Glendale) - operation : (http://tinyurl.com/yq5nu4)
- Details behind the decission to change pressing plant from Burbank to Miami
- Details of unreleased footage / tapes you had access to (btw: what happened to the Nov '72 footage from Hawaii) - hope they survived LA Law ?

[fecc-mechanic]

Vic,

Welcome aboard!

Shhhhh..... Can I have your autograph?

Just joking......... Enjoy your stay at FECC!

[viccolonna@gmail.com]

where to begin? thanks for the interest, all, and i will do my best to address questions. it appears that rapscallion ger ryff, in my absence, released that jam session i mentioned. interesting story on that one is that i heard one michael ochs, brother of phil, had some elvis tape and tracked him down in venice beach. we traded, it was going to be our next release, then the feds showed up and they had no sense of humor.

switched pressing plants to miami? not exactly. for collectors only paul and i decided to "reissue" all those old, and mostly poor quality but still desired by diehard elvis fans, boots that had plain covers with a xeroxed sheet of paper under the shrink wrap, other ones with amateurish covers, etc. there were about 25 in all, and we did not want to insult our customers with such drek so we made about a thousand of each and sold them only wholesale to dealers, mostly in europe, and figured that was enough to trickle down to the fans still searching for them. richard minor, r.i.p., had many of them and paul had virtually all of them. richard was selling some at the time and we purchased some titles from him. the others were pressed in burbank, shipped to a friend in san juan capistrano, and there i spent a couple days addressing and shipping boxes. over 20,000 lps were delivered to that tiny post office and they had a heart attack. let's see: 50 lps to a box, that means some 400 boxes with a total weight of 6 tons. i think they were ready to shutter the doors when they realized, after about my fourth or fifth trip, that i was serious. civil service employees! that means just two things: they are not civil and you get zero service.

thanks for the warm greetings. i will, with paul's able assistance, attempt to tell the story behind all the records in the forthcoming book. some are rather interesting, others border on the realm of fantasy, but it is all true, of that you can be sure. wait until you hear the tale of the "million dollar quartet". talk about intrigue: folk tales, truck stops, midnight rendezvous, and a nazi skinhead thrown in for good measure, all in the shadow of the rocky mountains and the plains of texas. ah, those were good times. we traveled the globe, left no turn unstoned, tracked down every lead, and sure came up with some nice stuff. the greatest pleasure we got was making fans happy. perhaps the best letter i ever got came from a girl in italy, caterina passeri: it had been a while since we had put out anything and i guess she was getting restless and perhaps a tad worried that she had been overlooked or a flyer did not arrive. i opened her letter, a $10 bill fell out, and i read, "in my small but far–reaching elvis world one thing stands true––vic colonna: quality, service, integrity. please send me your next record." sure made me feel good to know li'l ol' me could make someone thousands of miles away smile. sadly, caterina was one of the good who died young, victim of a car accident, but i'll never forget her even though i never met her.

and now i must write some fiction for my creative writing class. not my forte, but i am concocting a children's story that i hope will delight my soon–to–be–five grandson colin. maybe even my granddaughter kaitlyn, now 13. wait a minute, did i say grandchildren? why that would mean i'm… i have to go now and take my geritol.

[Little Darlin]

and now i must write some fiction for my creative writing class. not my forte, but i am concocting a children's story that i hope will delight my soon–to–be–five grandson colin. maybe even my granddaughter kaitlyn, now 13. wait a minute, did i say grandchildren? why that would mean i'm… i have to go now and take my geritol.

Oh Boy .. I sense good reading ahead.

[Juan Luis]

Yes! As I had mentioned weeks ago...the REAL VIC COLONNA has returned after years of hiding and fighting rebels in Central and South America as well as looking for vinyl rarities for me from these countries!!

He has picked this messageboard for his RETURN!!

He's yours now!!!

VIC RULES!!!

PS Juan baby, no one can like the B BOYS like me!!

I knew that BUT had to bait you!!

[E-Cat]

edited

[Little Darlin]

Mr Colonna..

I do know who you are..but ..know very little of your your story. Would you ..if you care to...go right back to the very beginning and tell us your background with the Elvis Bootlegs please?..what made you do it that sort of thing?

[Juan Luis]

edit out.;

[E-Cat]

thx JL

[Ciscoking]

Vic..your book you are talking about..a kind of Volume 2 of Jailhouse Rock Sessions by Cotten/De Witt..??..with background stories..?? Would be great to have an updated version.

[Juan Luis]

[quote="E-Cat"][/quote] I edited out. You could do the same if you want. Sorry if I misinterpreted.