Did you watch the Elvis Comeback Special Tribute Show last night???
Man, what a line-up of Super Star Guests, paying tribute to The King of Rock And Roll!
Yolanda Adams, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Alessia Cara, Mac Davis, John Fogerty, Josh Groban, Adam Lambert, John Legend, Little Big Town, Jennifer Lopez, Post Malone, Shawn Mendes, Pistol Annies, Darius Rucker, Ed Sheeran, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban were all on hand (along with some vintage footage of The King himself.) I went ahead and taped this one, thinking that would definitely be a keeper!
However, overall I felt it was ho-hum at best. (In fact, I found myself wanting to watch the REAL Elvis Comeback Special instead ... which I'm sure I'll do sometime during this coming week ... although I already know it word-for-word by heart.)
That being said, didn't the vintage clips that NBC interwove throughout the program look ancient and dated??? Elvis himself was still exciting to watch ... but it just seemed that if anyone should have a hi-res quality print of this program it should be NBC.
Despite my "ho-hum" review, when I break it down into the individual performances, I find it hard to criticize much of what went down as individually, most of the performers rose to the occasion and brought their best.
Best performance of the night, hands down, belonged to Carrie Underwood, who did "How Great Thou Art." A big part of who Elvis was (and what Elvis loved) was Gospel Music ... and Carrie tore it up with her rendition of this Elvis favorite. Elvis won three Grammys during his lifetime and all three were for his work in this arena, "How Great Thou Art" being the first in 1967.
That being said, I felt that the entire gospel segment ran far too long ... three songs in all, the other two performed by Yolanda Adams followed by a duet by Carrie and Yolanda ... and NONE of the three were songs that Elvis performed in his own gospel segment of his original television special.
I was also knocked out by the unlikely pairing of Keith Urban and Post Malone on "Baby What You Want Me To Do," one of my favorite segments from the original special and last night. In fact, Urban's take on "Burning Love" was also a highlight ... and anywhere else that Malone chimed in, he totally nailed the feel of The King. (Who would have ever thought!)
Alessia Cara's reading of "Love Me Tender" backed by a 12-piece string section was simply beautiful ... and artists like Adam Lambert, Little Big Town and Dierks Bentley all gave stand-out performances. I'm not a Josh Groban fan ... but what a perfect song choice for him to do "It's Now Or Never" with all its operatic tones. John Legend also tore up the house with his performance of "A Little Less Conversation" ... and wasn't it great to see its composer Mac Davis again after all these years?!?! (Mac definitely looks older ... and maybe even a little frail ... but the moment he opened his mouth to sing, it all came back ... he sounded fantastic and, as the only member of the ensemble to have actually met and worked with Elvis, was a great choice to have onboard. If he could be coerced into touring again, I would definitely want to go!)
Jennifer Lopez did her sexiest best to turn "Heartbreak Hotel" into the millennium version of "Fever" in her skin-tight outfit ... she looked great but honestly some of it walked a fine line between vamp and camp. One of my favorites, John Fogerty, was good ... but just seemed to lack the energy needed to fully pull it off. I even liked Shawn Mendes (singing a little grittier and more uptempo than we're used to) and Darius Rucker, who seemed to be having a ball.
Sadly, the weakest performances of the night belonged to host Blake Shelton ... and that's a real shame because as a former Country Entertainer Of The Year CMA Award Winner, I expected more. (Urban and Bentley out-performed him 20 to 1.)
I found it interesting, too, that the closest thing that Elvis had to family were all there for this All Star Salute television special. Priscilla Presley made several comments about how the original comeback special was the first time she had ever seen Elvis perform live ... and finally understood what all the screaming and excitement was about. She also mentioned seeing "Love Me Tender" at a movie theater when she was around 11 or 12 years old and "thought he was cute." Daughter Lisa Marie was also on hand (although she looked like she would rather have been just about anywhere else) as was Elvis' grand-daughter, actress Riley Keough ... so it was nice to see a united group of family support behind this very special tribute. Steve Binder, who put the original special together, was also on hand chiming in with comments here and there, including one about Elvis lying on his back singing "If I Can Dream," a song written to order to close the original special.
And last night's grand finale of "If I Can Dream," featuring Elvis intercut with several of the tribute artists singing a line or two, was powerful (although Elvis singing it alone and closing the show the way he did on the original special might have been a bit more fitting.) It was clear that Elvis put everything he had into that single performance, one of the greatest of his entire career. He seemed to be actually lost in it, filled with emotion and almost looked spastic at times with the way he was waving his arms about as if he didn't quite know what kind of body language to use to better convey the power of this track. Regardless, it worked .... seeing Elvis sing "If I Can Dream" again to close last night's special proved again that there was no one ... and never will be anyone quite like him. (kk)
I watched TV for the first time in about three months tonight, as I wanted to see the all star tribute to Elvis. I'm sure I watched the original special 50 years ago, but these days I'm lucky if I can remember 50 minutes ago.
Blake Shelton made sense as the host of the show ... too bad he was one of the weaker performers. Of the men, it was Darius Rucker, no contest. Honorable mentions go to Dierks Bentley and Adam Lambert. John Fogerty can still play guitar, but his voice isn't there anymore.
Of the women, who were far better than the men, Jennifer Lopez's take on Heartbreak Hotel was the highlight.
They could have done without the medley in the middle and they should have just shown Elvis singing If I Can Dream. Very weak. I'll look forward to the other comments. Thankyouverymuch.
Jack
kk,
THANKS FOR CLEARING THAT UP REGARDING THE 7-UP AD. YOU’RE THE BEST AT DOING THAT. IF YOU FIND OUT WHO DID THE SPOT, LET ME KNOW.
YOUR FRIEND,
FREDDY BOOM BOOM CANNON
Hi Kent,
Just read your article on Kris Stevens. I didn’t think there was a Kris Erik Stevens album but after reading the comments from you and Clark, I guess there was one after all. I don’t believe The Ides were on it though.
I guess I should have a bit more charitable about Kris’s vocal on Training Wheels. I just listened to it again and it’s actually better than I remembered.
I was a brash 19 year old at the time and that was my take on it when I first heard it! Thanks to Kris Erik for the signed copy that I received recently. I believe it’s in my Hall Of Fame!
I wonder if Kris still has a copy of the original demo we cut … I would love to hear it again (and I don’t have a copy of this track in my personal collection.)
Can you please ask him? Would love to have a copy.
Jimbo
I have asked but haven’t heard anything back yet. Kris Erik has been on our list for a few years now but we’ve rarely heard from him. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have received all this vintage WLS material from his time there. He has had a long and successful career since signing off the airwaves. (The comment from David Lewis about hearing Kris’ voice at the Denver Airport cracked me up … who even KNEW that?!?! Or would recognize the voice as being his?!?!? AMAZING!
March 30th - April 6th – The Flower Power Cruise – line-up includes The Beach Boys, Tommy James and the Shondells, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Jefferson Starship, The Yardbirds, Cheech and Chong, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Chuck Negron (formerly of Three Dog Night), The Family Stone, The Ides Of March (featuring Jim Peterik), The Cyrkle, The Cowsills and more, hosted by Peter Asher
May 25th - 7 Clans Paradise Casino in Red Rock, Oklahoma ... this is a headliner show
August 25th - The Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota – appearing with Blood, Sweat and Tears
August 29th - Woodlands Auditorium, Hot Springs, Arkansas with the Association and the Grass Roots
September 17th Oklahoma State Fair – appearing on The Main Stage with The Buckinghams and The Grass Roots
September 21st - Lynn, Massa – more information TBA
ALSO …
RICK LEVY’S MEMOIR, HIGH IN THE MID ‘60s was the best selling title in December for Crossroad Press and is now in the Ingram Book Distribution System, available to all bookstores and libraries.
AUDIO book coming SOON!!
Fans can order from amazon.com or ricklevy.com
THANKS!
Rick
Also of note, Aerosmith taking up a three month residency in Las Vegas! (This is becoming more and more common these days … and, with tickets available well in advance, the PERFECT way to plan a trip and see an incredible show BEFORE you lose all your money at the tables!!!) kk
I feel like I may have forgotten to tell you about seeing Tony Orlando last week!
He was his usual wonderful self. His band is amazing - and he highlights each one of them.
His exciting news was that there is a Broadway show in the works about his life!!!!!! He had quite the story - working in the Brill Building at age 15, and working with every major star of the time like Carole King, James Taylor and the great groups. And he still puts on one heck of a show!
He had his friend from the South Jersey area, Johnny Petillo, come on and sing a few doo wop songs with him. Johnny sang with The Duprees and Danny and the Juniors at one point. He had a TV show in the Atlantic City area that my daughter used to perform on! 58 years in show business and still going strong!
Eileen
kk:
WPLJ - Scott Shannon's old station (before Coming To WCBS-FM) - has been sold and the format has been changed.
Scott's live fifth anniversary show will be on March 1.
CAREER CHANGE = If Scott Shannon didn't make the move five years ago, he would now be a Preacher instead of a DJ.
https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/184047/emf-buys-wplj-new-york-wyay-atlanta-wrqx-d-c-more-
Frank B.
We’ve seen two Classic Rock stations switch over to religious stations in the past few months here in Chicago … seems to be a new trend of sorts. (Makes you kinda miss Jack-FM, doesn’t it?!?!) kk
When the Wings “Wild Life” LP was released, the song that got the most play up here in Brew Town was “Bip Bop”. Heard that much more than “Love Is Strange.”
Ken
Yep, we heard that one quite a bit, too. Actually for being a pretty much critically panned album (it’s still hard to listen to!), quite a few tracks got airplay on the various stations here … “Bip Bop,” “Love Is Strange,” “Some People Never Know” and “Tomorrow” were all in regular rotation for awhile … as well as occasional spins of “Mumbo,” “Dear Friend,” “I Am Your Singer” and the title track.
In hindsight it’s really amazing how quickly Wings grew from these rather humble beginnings … but then again look at the driving force behind them! (kk)
Hi Kent -
Thanks for adding me to the list - it's going to take me a while to catch up, but it'll be fun!
I don't live in Chicago, but usually after reading about all the cool concerts that happen there, I often wish I did!
I'm in Rhode Island, currently involved in a music project that I wonder if you'll be interested in. We have a ways to go, but basically our dear friend, Donald Campbell Jr., Rhode Island Rocker, leader of The Promise (tough to miss on the Southern New England Circuit in the late seventies and all of the eighties, perennial opening act for John Cafferty / Beaver Brown) passed away in 2017 and left behind tons of unreleased songs that I think would be a treat for any fan of classic rock / singer-songwriter, what have you. The Promise never released a record but did record a lot and received some local radio play. After the band folded, Don started writing and recording demos for other artists, attempting to tap into the nineties country market. He fell ill in the early nineties but kept recording until at least 2003. After his death, my brother George and I, Don's best friends, scoured his house and found over a hundred cassettes full of gems. Last March I started cataloging every song on every tape, cleaning them up using Audacity. His guitarist in the Promise, Nat Sisco, caught wind of this and asked to work on some of the songs. So far, using Pro Logic, he's done a "Free As A Bird" on 16 tracks (although better than that, IMHO) and there's no stopping now. I just purchased a used Tascam 8 Track Analog recorder, which is the same one Don used for his best demos, so things are going to get better and better.
One of my friends asked me "Do you think the music is so good because it is, or because he was your friend?"
A good question … and I guess we won't know until we know. We hope to have a release by the end of the year and I'll be happy to send you a CD if you're interested.
Sorry, that was kind of long, but I'm so happy to be doing this for Don and those who loved him, and I'm hoping that there are others who will love his music.
Thanks, Kent,
David Bauerle
It’s funny because I remember at the time, growing up here in the ‘60’s, our two big radio giants, WLS and WCFL, would devote a lot of airplay promoting some of our local groups such as The Buckinghams, The New Colony Six, The Cryan’ Shames, The Ides Of March, The Shadows Of Knight, etc., by playing their music on the air and promoting their concert appearances.
I loved so much of this music and used to get asked a similar question all the time … do you love it because it’s “local” … or do you love it because it’s good?
To this day I would maintain that I firmly believe most of this music stands up well and deserved to compete on an even level with the best music and artists out at the time … and NOT because these groups were from Chicago but because this music was simply that good.
The Buckinghams, of course, went on to enjoy the greatest national success … The Ides of March would score their biggest hit after the ‘70’s had ended when “Vehicle” drove its way up to the top of the charts … and leader Jim Peterik has proven his talent time and time again through both Survivor and all of the other artists he has written hit songs for.
Most would agree that The Shadows Of Knight’s version of “Gloria” is the definitive version, even though it originated with Van Morrison and Them (and was later covered by just about everybody, including The Doors.)
The New Colony Six (my personal favorites from this era) scored an incredible 17 Top 40 Hits here in Chicago, two of which (“I Will Always Think About You” and “Things I’d Like To Say”) also made The National Top 20. They also wrote and performed all of their own material … and that was a big thing back in the ‘60’s.
The group that was left out of the mix was The Cryan’ Shames … and that’s a REAL cryin’ shame because their best work is nothing short of outstanding. I absolutely put their versions of “Sugar And Spice” and “Up On The Roof” as well as “I Wanna Meet You,” “It Could Be We’re In Love” and “Greenburg, Glickstein, Charles David Smith And Jones” up against ANYTHING else released during this timeframe … every one of these tracks should have been a National Top 20 Hit (or better.)
I’m personally not familiar with The Promise … but it sounds like they had their own audience out on the east coast … and if you feel that passionate about their music, I say go with your instincts and do what you can to introduce them to the rest of the world. Who knows … they just might develop their own fan following. (Sad after the passing of Donald Campbell … but at least it’s a way for his legacy to live on.)
I say go for it, David … and keep us posted! (kk)
