February 1961 Charity Shows -> Mysterious!

[drjohncarpenter]

The ball's in their court, as they say.

[drjohncarpenter]

Sadly, I recently learned that Ron Capone passed away a while back.

Whether Brad Suggs or Bob Alexius are still around, I do not know. If so, let's hope someone gets their story, before it's too late.

[bajo]

Some real meat to bite there Doc! Nice input to read!
One can only dream how a prof. recording of those shows would have come off!
When you hear the Hawaii show one can easily imagine what the Memphis shows would have been like!

[Mississippi]

Brad Suggs and Bob Alexius are still around.

Ron Capone died February 3, 2006 - Shreveport, Louisiana. R.I.P.

Mississippi

[drjohncarpenter]

Capone we know about. Can you meet up with the other two for us?

[JamesVRoy]

That surprised me. It must be his wife or daughter that runs his myspace page. When communicating with her before she gave no indication that he had passed and used the term we.

[KiwiAlan]

Best thread in quite a while!

[Kristian Hjelmaas]

Fantastic thread!
Can't believe I've missed it - until now!

Man, if only we could have the recordings of the concerts to go with it...!

Best Regards
Kristian

[drjohncarpenter]

Fantastic thread!
Can't believe I've missed it - until now!

Man, if only we could have the recordings of the concerts to go with it...!

Best Regards
Kristian

So glad you caught it -- remember, if it's by the doc, it means quality.

[keninlincs]

excellent post doc ,a top read

[JamesVRoy]

excellent post doc ,a top read

This was one of the fun threads. The best ones are when there's a collaborative effort, like this, to dig out all the details. There's been a few.

[ekenee]

I am not sure if this is of any importance or not but I thought I would post it anyway and let you decide.
I was thumbing thru some of my old Elvis magazines and came across an interview with DJ Fontana in
issue number 2, of "Elvis Unlimited" back in 1999. DJ seems to contradict a little of what has been stated.

On page 37:

EU: In photo's of the Memphis '61 concerts it seems like there are two drummers....

DJ: No, he was with another band. I saw that picture.
They'd have a show of jugglers, dog-acts, and all kinds of variety that the colonel hired.
They had this band to back all these acts up, and that explains the drummer in the photo.

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So, isn't DJ usually reliable or what do you all make of this?
Did the other drummer just sit there during Elvis' show and NOT play?

[JamesVRoy]

I am not sure if this is of any importance or not but I thought I would post it anyway and let you decide.
I was thumbing thru some of my old Elvis magazines and came across an interview with DJ Fontana in
issue number 2, of "Elvis Unlimited" back in 1999. DJ seems to contradict a little of what has been stated.

On page 37:

EU: In photo's of the Memphis '61 concerts it seems like there are two drummers....

DJ: No, he was with another band. I saw that picture.
They'd have a show of jugglers, dog-acts, and all kinds of variety that the colonel hired.
They had this band to back all these acts up, and that explains the drummer in the photo.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, isn't DJ usually reliable or what do you all make of this?
Did the other drummer just sit there during Elvis' show and NOT play?

Ronnie was part of the band Larry put together for the other acts. They backed up, or at least stayed onstage, for Elvis' performance with his band. I don't know who actually played what.

[drjohncarpenter]

So, isn't DJ usually reliable or what do you all make of this? Did the other drummer just sit there during Elvis' show and NOT play?

Elvis had been using the dual drummer set up since the classic June 1958 Nashville session, and it was the case as recently as the October 1960 date for His Hand In Mine. It would again come into play at Elvis' March 12-13, 1961 Nashville date. There is no reason to think this scenario failed to unfold in Memphis on February 25.

Thus, D.J. is correct that Ron Capone provided percussion to the opening acts, but he mis-remembers the main event. Capone most certainly did NOT sit there and hold his sticks motionless during Elvis' set.

Fontana's recall has been suspect from time-to-time, and it's to be expected. These things happened a long time ago.

[JamesVRoy]

So, isn't DJ usually reliable or what do you all make of this? Did the other drummer just sit there during Elvis' show and NOT play?

Elvis had been using the dual drummer set up since June 1958's Nashville session, and it was the case at the March 25, 1961 Honolulu show as well.

Nope, the only drummer in Honolulu was DJ.

[drjohncarpenter]

Nope, the only drummer in Honolulu was DJ.

Darn it! I always mix up which Nashville guys made that trip -- t'was only Bob and Hank, not Buddy.

Anyway, the point about the dual drum setup still applies.

[JamesVRoy]

Nope, the only drummer in Honolulu was DJ.

Darn it! I always mix up which Nashville guys made that trip -- t'was only Bob and Hank, not Buddy.

Anyway, the point about the dual drum setup still applies.

Bob, Hank, Floyd and Boots.

[drjohncarpenter]

Bob, Hank, Floyd and Boots.

Yes -- and Boots too!

"Reconsider Baby" is a killer live track in Hawaii, Randolph was on FIRE!

Darn it to hell!!

[Juan Luis]

Thanks for KOOL thread Doc!

[drjohncarpenter]

Thanks for KOOL thread Doc!

Thank you kindly!

[LesterB]

I was listening to the March 25th 61 show last night. It really is astonishing. Hound Dog sounds like PUNK ROCK with class.

[The fool]

Is that a movie camera in the background?

[JamesVRoy]

Is that a movie camera in the background?

Yes, it appears to be a 16mm. Its from the hotel though, not the show. Interesting.

[Trevell]

Later, the Memphis Commercial Appeal would amusingly describe Elvis' stage work as "combining elements from Negro cotton field harmony, camp meeting fervor, Hollywood showmanship, beatnik nonchalance, and some of the manipulations of mass psychology."

Haha!! I love that description!!

[drjohncarpenter]

Is that a movie camera in the background?

It sure is -- it's most likely from one of the local TV stations:

WMCT-TV (NBC)
WHBQ-TV (ABC)
WREC-TV (CBS)

Later, the Memphis Commercial Appeal would amusingly describe Elvis' stage work as "combining elements from Negro cotton field harmony, camp meeting fervor, Hollywood showmanship, beatnik nonchalance, and some of the manipulations of mass psychology."

Haha!! I love that description!!

Yes indeed -- that was Elvis!