TCBCast: An Unofficial Elvis Presley Fan Podcast (Justin Gausman)

This week, Gurdip & Justin are joined by longtime TCBCast listener Taylor Gilligan, who provides insight as to how a Gen Z Elvis fan came to be. Then, for Song of the Week, Taylor highlights Elvis' ferocious cover of Rufus Thomas' "Tiger Man," which leads into a discussion about the WDIA fundraiser Elvis performed and met Rufus Thomas at. Gurdip goes searching in the cold "Kentucky Rain," and Justin tackles the song Elvis is known to have performed at his high school talent show, "Till I Waltz Again With You."

Featured Songs of the Week:

Taylor: Tiger Man

Gurdip: Kentucky Rain

Justin: Till I Waltz Again With You (Teresa Brewer)

Special thanks this week to Bill Bryan, who provided a sample of audio of Ted Torres Martin's version of "Till I Waltz Again With You" from the short film "Nobody."

This week, we wrap up our film review of 1956's "Love Me Tender," debate if Elvis' character Clint Reno is an antagonist, and whether the film holds up. Then, Gurdip gets gollied up in a cane and a high starched collar for his Song of the Week, while Justin highlights a 1958 country ballad home recording that includes an unusual cover version - by Vernon Presley, Elvis' dad! All this & more in this week's TCBCast!

Featured Songs of the Week:
Gurdip - A Cane & A High Starched Collar
Justin - I'm Beginning to Forget You

Gurdip and Justin delve into the landmark 1960 recording sessions in which Elvis declared that he was indeed back, both literally from the Army as well as on top of the charts, with the sessions giving him three massive US number one hits in "Stuck On You," "It's Now or Never" and "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" 

As many of our listeners know, Elvis is Back is perhaps Gurdip's favorite Elvis album ever, and these are his favorite sessions, so he's thrilled to bits. Armed with the "Elvis is Back Sessions" FTD, we explore how Elvis had evolved as an entertainer in the two years since his last sessions in Nashville and appraise the choice of material, from covers/reworkings of existing songs that he'd been practicing at home, such as "Soldier Boy," "Like A Baby" and "There's No Tomorrow" as well as wholly new songs written expressly for him, like Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman's first song for him "A Mess of Blues," and, of course, the stunning doo-wop ballad "Fame and Fortune."

Part 1 covers the March session and the first half of the April session, ending with "It's Now or Never." Part 2 will cover the rest of the April session, plus Song of the Week with Ryan!

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy. 

Join the TCBCast gang for part one of the most in-depth analysis of Baz Luhrmann's Elvis yet to be done. In part one, Gurdip, Justin, Ryan and Bec explore how the film sets itself apart by giving the audience a unique, fantastical point of view from which to witness its events, the significance of Captain Marvel's lore to this telling, the use of historical figures to properly contextualize the protagonist's impact, and of course, looking at where the filmmakers chose to bend history and whether those changes serve a greater purpose.

We cannot stress enough how much we recommended that you watch Baz Luhrmann's Elvis before listening to this two-part review. The entire film will be spoiled in service of analyzing the creative choices Baz and his team made. It is currently screening in theatres as of this posting and in the near future will also be coming to HBO Max.

We also highly recommend you consider experiencing the soundtrack to the film, available from RCA Records, via music streaming platforms, digital storefronts, or on compact disc. The musical selections made by the team are incredibly significant to understanding the themes of the film and we think it's important to support all of the performers and songwriters who contributed to this production.

Part 2 is available immediately to TCBCast Patreon supporters at all tiers as an early access episode. It will be released on the main feed in a couple days to give folks a chance to process this one. If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy. Thank you to all of our current Patreon backers.

A different kind of role, a different kind of man! Justin & Gurdip commemorate the 50th anniversary of Elvis' 1969 western Charro! Justin brings Harry Whittington's novelization of the story to compare while Gurdip bemoans the film that could have been. Keeping with the western theme, Justin's trivia questions are all cowboy-related, and his Song of the Week is Marty Robbin's signature epic cowboy ballad (with a surprising Elvis "cover"), while Gurdip lets the good times roll with a 50s pop hit from a couple of Elvis' contemporaries.

Featured Songs of the Week:

Gurdip: Let the Good Times Roll (Shirley & Lee)

Justin: El Paso

EXCELLENT! Justin & Gurdip hop in their phone booth and travel back to 1992, the year that "Hunka Hunka Bill & Ted," an episode featuring Elvis from the short-lived Bill & Ted live action TV series aired. As the review goes on, Justin discovers to his surprise that his child-of-the-80s cohost has little love for Wyld Stallions! Bogus!!!

Then, for Song of the Week, Gurdip takes us "Down in the Alley" for Elvis' down and dirty cover of The Clovers classic, while Justin could listen to Sam Cooke's earworm "Good Times" all night long... and all night. And all niiiiight. And all night. All night long.

Featured Songs of the Week:

Justin: Good Times (Sam Cooke)

Gurdip: Down in the Alley

The star-studded Elvis All-Star Tribute paying homage to the '68 Comeback Special has finally dropped on NBC, so Gurdip & Justin sit down to give it a full review. Justin goes off on a short rant about some of the responses to the special he's seen online from a handful of fans, and then for Song of the Week, Gurdip picks a heartfelt song of love and loss from 1970 while Justin highlights a rare one-off live recording.

Featured Songs of the Week:

Gurdip: I've Lost You

Justin: Suzie-Q

Justin, Gurdip & Hugh continue their review of 1988's "Heartbreak Hotel." The fantasy of Elvis living the domestic life in small town Ohio wears thin as Gurdip laughs off the horrible impersonations and Hugh draws more comparisons between the film and other 80s classics. Justin, meanwhile, goes apoplectic from the leaps in logic and culturally problematic plot points.

Then, to cool everything off, Hugh flies us down to "Blue Hawaii" for Song of the Week. Justin picks the legendary 1972 classic "Always On My Mind" to definitively disprove the film's premise, and For the Millionth and (probably not) the Last Time, Gurdip spotlights an underrated favorite from the early 1960s.

Today we're marking 45 years since the passing of Elvis Presley.

On this episode, Gurdip and Justin take a look at the final recording sessions Elvis Presley ever had, a once-passionate and perfectionist creative now distracted and unfocused for a myriad of reasons, yet still able to pull together five memorable recordings in October 1976.

Then, for Song of the Week, as voted on by TCBCast Patreon backers, Justin jumps back to 1967 to spotlight Elvis's pugilistic cover of Jimmy Reed's "Big Boss Man," while Gurdip stays up late to take a closer listen to the 1973 recording "It's Midnight" off the 1975 album "Promised Land."

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast! Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.

On this episode of TCBCast, Justin & Gurdip talk Shazam and Captain Marvel Jr's influence on Elvis, the prospect of Tom Hanks as Colonel Parker in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis biopic, Gurdip thinks Mexico is a city, and for Song of the Week, Gurdip gets stung by a great 50s hit and Justin tackles one of the few rock'n'roll hits by Elvis influence Roy Hamilton.

Featured Songs of the Week:

Gurdip: I Got Stung

Justin: Don't Let Go (Roy Hamilton)

Ryan, Bec and Justin get together this week to review Elvis' 1961 film "Follow That Dream." Based on Richard Powell's book "Pioneer Go Home," Follow That Dream tells the story of Toby Kwimper (Elvis), his Pop (Arthur O'Connell), their live-in babysitter Holly (Anne Helm) and their band of adopted orphans claiming a homestead and building a business on land set aside in Florida as a nature preserve. Together, they fend off a highway supervisor who wants to cut them off the benefits they receive, a seductive social worker and a gang of mobsters who set up a casino next to their spot. Part 1 covers up to the mid-film musical sequence featuring the title song, "Follow That Dream."

The gang also briefly discuss the new release of archival PJ Proby demos that were submitted for consideration in Elvis' movies: "Presley Style - Lost Elvis Songwriter Demos 1961-1963."

"Follow That Dream" is available on all major streaming services. Richard Powell's "Pioneer Go Home" is also available where all eBooks are sold at the time of this episode's release and is highly recommended.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music/movie history enthusiast. Part 2 of this review is already available in early access for patrons!

Viva Elvis! Viva Ann-Margret! Viva TCBCast! The conclusion of our review of 1964's Viva Las Vegas is here, featuring Ryan Droste! We discuss our takes on director George Sidney, Col. Parker's interference with production, and muses before diving into Song of the Week, in which all three decades of Elvis' career are featured as Ryan heads down the bayou to find some "crawfish," Gurdip "slowly but surely" makes his way to the 60s, and Justin "just pretends" a 1970 recording was a bigger hit than it really was.

Featured Songs of the Week:

Gurdip: Slowly But Surely

Justin: Just Pretend

Ryan: Crawfish

Previously recorded in February 2022 as an exclusive bonus episode for Patreon backers, Gurdip and Justin sat down with iconic-but-deeply-underrated soul singer Chuck Jackson's 1966 Elvis tribute album "Dedicated to the King" and briefly discuss Chuck's lengthy entertainment career as well, including his biggest hit, "Any Day Now."

Sadly, Chuck Jackson passed away at the age of 85 on February 15, 2023, so we are bringing this one out of the archives for all of our listeners to hear on the main feed and appreciate him tackling some of Elvis's greatest hits and knocking them out of the park!

Rest in peace, Chuck!

Video referenced toward the end of the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6ESPMZDwko

As part of our monthly Patreon-exclusive pop culture spin-off TCBCast Now, Ryan Droste joined Justin this month for an extended discussion catching up on his thoughts on the interviews, TV spots and other information that dropped related to Baz Luhrmann's Elvis. That segment is being released here on the main feed as a bonus episode.

FYI This was recorded before Trailer 2 dropped the morning of May 23, we will be doing ANOTHER full-length breakdown bonus episode this week as well, on top of our regularly scheduled episode of TCBCast dropping tomorrow.

TCBCast Now is the monthly spin-off where we talk about  movies, TV, games and music beyond (but surprisingly often connected with) Elvis Presley, including Songs of the Month. This month's songs were "Born in the USA" by Bruce Springsteen and "Diamond Studded Shoes" by Yola. If you would like to hear loads more bonus content, including plenty of exclusive unofficial film commentaries and Elvis-era  album reviews, please consider supporting our show at Patreon.com/TCBCast.

It's been 42 years this week since Elvis passed away in 1977, so for the 77th episode of TCBCast, Justin and Jaime Kay, co-host of The Jungle Room Podcast, sit down for the biggest Elvis-related crossover since the Million Dollar Quartet!

From life as younger Elvis fans, to viewing Elvis as a person vs an icon; from factoids about his movies to the fandom's subsections, and how Elvis might want to be remembered, nothing is off the table in this discussion! Then, for Song of the Week, Jaime tells us all about what makes "One Night of Sin" so steamy while Justin digs into a rarely-heard 1974 live one-off cover of a Roy Hamilton hit.

We want to give a huge thank you to Jaime for coming on TCBCast and we recommend folks check out the Jungle Room Podcast over at https://audioboom.com/channels/4942223 or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or other listening outlets.

Featured Songs of the Week
Justin: You Can Have Her
Jaime: One Night/One Night of Sin

The TCBCast gang is taking it relatively light this week; no main topic but Gurdip and Justin discuss the news about the newly announced Aloha from Hawaii 50th anniversary set from Sony, Gurdip takes a round of trivia, and Justin talks about his trip at the start of the month to visit Jamie Kelley, John Michael Heath and Ryan in Iowa.

Then, for our Songs of the Week, Gurdip sings the praises of "Santa Lucia," which Elvis recorded for "Viva Las Vegas." Meanwhile, Justin spotlights some Elvis memories from Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina, whose 1972 smash throwback hit "Your Mama Don't Dance" is one Elvis would incorporate into "oldies" medleys through 1973-1974. 

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music/movie history enthusiast.

Marking Elvis Presley's 89th birthday (and 6 years and 300 episodes of TCBCast), Justin, Gurdip, Ryan and Bec gather to give their thoughts on writer-director Sofia Coppola's adaptation of Priscilla Presley's autobiography. The gang dig in and ponder whether it's any better or offers anything more than the other previous depictions of the Elvis & Priscilla story: e.g. the 1988 TV adaptation, the 2005 CBS miniseries, the handful of scenes in Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis"... but ultimately pitting it against its source: Priscilla & Sandra Harmon's original 1985 bestselling book "Elvis & Me."

As we expect most of our listeners will already be familiar with the story of "Elvis & Me," the discussion is more broad, generally covering the main beats. While there is minor discussion on Elvis news at the start, since this particular topic was always going to bit a bit chunkier, the first Songs of the Week of 2024 will arrive on TCBCast 301. 

Warning: this episode contains audio of a fictionalized portrayal of sexual violence from the 1988 TV movie starting at around 2:16:30. Please skip about a minute around there if this may be upsetting for any of our listeners in any way. We apologize for not including a warning in the episode itself as we usually would.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.

As selected by TCBCast Patreon supporters, we're marking the 50th anniversary of Elvis's famous 1972 spring tour and the concert film that resulted from it: the Golden Globe-winning documentary "Elvis On Tour."

Join Justin, Gurdip and Bec as they examine how it holds up 50 years later, reflecting on its place in Elvis's career, and pondering whether the film achieved its intended goals or if a better version of it could have existed.

Part 2 next week will include a wrap-up of our discussion and Songs of the Week!

Timestamps:

0:00 Start

03:55 Listener Feedback

16:00 Main Topic, Part 1

FYI - not "new" - we had some sort of technical hiccup we only just noticed that seemed to have unpublished the except on YouTube and Patreon, just making sure it's reposted!

Gurdip, Justin, Ryan and Bec are back together for the first time since January; the gang is reacting not only to the exciting news from Baz Luhrmann confirming via Instagram that he is in fact still working on a project involving officially unreleased TTWII & EOT footage, but also to the new trailer for Sofia Coppola's "Priscilla," starring Cailee Spaeny, which gave us a better glimpse (and sound) of Jacob Elordi's Elvis, along with more rapidfire scenes to break down. It's not as extensive or thrilling as the Luhrmann trailer breakdowns from last summer, but it was a ton of fun to get together once again to do it! Enjoy!

This week's TCBCast starts off strong with a ton of news from Elvis' birthday, including a new tribute single "The Pledge" by fan musicians Chris Fillmore and Ron Glaser. Justin quizzes Gurdip in the new Trivia Game section and then for the main topic, Professor Ladhar cracks open the history books to March 1956, the week before "Heartbreak Hotel" first appeared on the charts, to see what the pop music landscape was.

Justin's song of the week highlights Elvis' cover of a Statler Bros tune, but then all hell breaks loose when Gurdip pulls out a Johnny Cash crossover hit from SUN that he classifies as rock, but Justin classifies as country, leading to a country music debate you don't want to miss as Justin tries to convince Gurdip he doesn't hate country music, he's just a poser.

Featured Songs of the Week:

Gurdip: Ballad of a Teenage Queen (Johnny Cash)

Justin: Susan When She Tried

This week, Gurdip & Justin are joined by Jaime Kay from the Jungle Room podcast to review the 1981 biopic "Elvis & The Beauty Queen," about Linda Thompson and her relationship with Elvis. As always with Jaime Kay, it's a ton of fun and you never know where it's going to go!

For Song of the Week, Jaime Kay picked the movie track "A Whistling Tune," Gurdip went back to his favorite album for "Girl Next Door Went A-Walking" off "Elvis is Back" and Justin highlights Elvis' rarely-heard home recording of "It's A Sin to Tell A Lie."

If you enjoy TCBCast and would like to support us while receiving early access to episodes, bonus content like film commentaries and Justin's Blue Suede Reviews video essay series, you can support us on Patreon.com/TCBCast.

You can listen to The Jungle Room Podcast on all podcast platforms where TCBCast is, and on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFTDul2tcm4ecDvdTDACuxA

No foolin'! We're taking a look this week at the long and storied history of Elvis impersonators, from as early as 1954 to present day. Many impersonators and tribute artists cut material that had some level of critical, commercial or artistic success, so we especially deep dive those, and we ponder what Elvis would have thought of the ETA phenomenon. Plus, Justin hops on his soapbox.

Then, for Song of the Week, we twist it around and feature two of the songs we like the least. While Justin tries to find the bright side of "Woman Without Love," Gurdip knows where to find the prettiest girl in the whole darn US of A.

Our appearance on the Let It Roll Podcast with Nate Wilcox dropped Monday, March 30, 2020. Thanks so much to Nate for having us on to discuss Peter Guralnick's "Last Train to Memphis." Check that out for some bonus Elvis listening this week! http://www.letitrollpodcast.com/episodes/how-elvis-presley-rose-to-the-top

Featured Songs of the Week:

Justin: Woman Without Love

Gurdip: Three Corn Patches

TCBCast's full topic discussions are back on schedule with a full deep-dive into the life and music of one of Elvis' influences and contemporaries: LaVern Baker. Justin & Gurdip weave in and out of hits like Tweedle Dee and Jim Dandy to lesser-known tracks with Elvis connections such as Hey Memphis and Shake a Hand. For Song of the Week, Justin picks a once-thought-lost alternate movie title song, while Gurdip pulls a bouncy ballad from the King Creole soundtrack.

*****Please note: This episode features a section featuring historical recordings that include explicit language.*****

Featured Songs of the Week:

Gurdip: Young Dreams

Justin: I'm A Roustabout

The epic conclusion of our gigantic, four-part, 6-hour Clambake review episode draws to a close in a wonderful, incredible way as Justin and Rabia finally deliver on what they had foreshadowed to Felix all the way back in the first part: you get to hear someone who mere hours before previously knew only the most basic pop culture knowledge about Elvis Presley, experience the highest highs of the 1968 Comeback Special and in real time, you get to hear the creation of a new Elvis fan. 

Naturally, given our guests, Song of the Week is Sinatra themed. Justin starts off by taking Frank's time machine back to 1960 for the iconic TV moment when Elvis tackled the elder artist's 1957 smash "Witchcraft" and everyone gushes over how great the two sound together, harmonizing on "Love Me Tender." And Rabia closes things out with an attempt to cut through the cliche and noise around Frank Sinatra's signature hit, Elvis's famous cover, common misunderstandings around Sinatra's comments about Elvis, and pondering whether "My Way" belongs now only to the selfish individualists who constantly claim it... or if it can be reclaimed by the truly courageous.

We hope you have enjoyed the journey. As Felix says... "Merry Clambake!"

Suddenly: A Frank Sinatra Podcast is available on all major platforms you'll find TCBCast on.

Our 2-part interview with musician & Elvis expert Jamie Kelley concludes with continued discussion about Tribute Artists, the challenges and successes of Jamie's Just Awesome Karaoke project, Elvis' art as a vocal interpreter, and finally we round out the show with three Songs of the Week from across the 1960s.

Be sure to check out Jamie's work at jamiekelleymusic.com as well as his projects justawesomekaraoke.com and paisleycrazy.com.

Songs of the Week
Justin - Wearin' That Loved On Look
Gurdip - Almost Always True
Jamie Kelley - Fools Fall in Love

The TCBCast gang is off for one week, but we've got something special from the archives: one of our earliest previously Patreon-exclusive unofficial commentaries, for the 1992 heavily-Elvis-inspired rom-com "Honeymoon in Vegas" starring Nicolas Cage, Sarah Jessica Parker and James Caan, written & directed by Andrew Bergman (Blazing Saddles, The Freshman) with a soundtrack jam-packed with covers of Elvis songs and the movie itself containing numerous original Elvis recordings as well.

Gurdip and Justin sat down with the film back in early 2021 for the first time in years to see if it held up. "Honeymoon in Vegas" is, as of this upload in 2024, available to buy digitally on a handful of platforms including Apple & Amazon - or you can do like we hosts did and cue up our old DVDs (or even VHS!) to watch along - or just enjoy the listen! And let us know if you watched it when it first came out. whether you've seen it recently, or if you're a fan of the Elvis-inspired soundtrack, as always you can email us at tcbcast@gmail.com

If you enjoyed this, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast! Patrons get exclusive access to an archive of three years of bonus content just like this, with more commentaries, bonus movie and album reviews, early access to new episodes and more! If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music/movie history enthusiast.

This week, Justin & Gurdip review the first two episodes of the 1990 ABC TV Series "Elvis," starring Michael St. Gerard. Gurdip saw it when it first aired - has it held up? Justin, on the other hand, was just a baby at the time and hadn't seen it in years either; does it live up to the expectations?

The guys read three emails from listeners, and then for Song of the Week, Gurdip "supposes" Elvis genuinely appreciated a gem from the Speedway soundtrack, and Justin highlights an upbeat, deep cut country track from the Promised Land LP - and asks for help finding a cover by another 70s country act that seems to have disappeared from the internet!

Featured Songs of the Week:

Gurdip: Suppose

Justin: Thinking About You

Elvis's shortest album (with the longest title) also known later as simply "Elvis Sings Flaming Star," was one of the earliest LPs Justin ever owned, so the guys are taking a not-so-objective look at this 1968 promo release that brought together a number of then-previously-unreleased cuts, including Tiger Man, Too Much Monkey Business, Do the Vega and more!

Then for Song of the Week, Justin was so taken with the Fun in Acapulco soundtrack recently that he decided to highlight "Vino, Dinero Y Amor" and its pop-opera sound, and Gurdip follows up with a favorite movie tune of his own, 1956's "Let Me" from the film "Love Me Tender."

As Justin continues his reviews of the RCA Albums Collection box set from 2016, with one bonus episode per day for six days, he examines the push and pull between albums accompanying movies starring Elvis, and Elvis' non-soundtrack material. Does Justin agree that the early '60s indeed hold "Something for Everybody" or do albums like "Kissin' Cousins" make him say "Once is Enough"?

If you haven't heard these reviews before, or not in a while, this series will help get you up to speed on Justin's thoughts on most of Elvis' albums. 

Tomorrow's episode will cover albums from 1964-1967!

Justin and Bec pull out all the stops for a thorough exploration of the remaining Nashville studio sessions from 1970: June 6, 7 & 8 as well as the brief September 22, 1970, session where Elvis laid down four more tracks to polish off "Elvis Country" and prepare a single. As they begin to sense the material's strength (and Elvis' interest) waning, they ponder whether the "marathon" approach may have done more harm than good in the long run. There are still numerous highs, like much of the material that landed on the country record, but there's also... "Life."

This episode's main topic is extra jam-packed so there's no Song of the Week this week, just a buttload of fun and thoughtful discussion about the huge pile of music Elvis & the band laid down that year, and how it was released throughout the rest of 1970, 1971 and even sprinkled a bit into 1972. 

Want to hear a wonderfully curated collection of Elvis' 1970 session material? We highly recommend Sony's "From Elvis in Nashville" 4-disc box set from 2020, as of this posting still available physically, digitally and on streaming, and most of the final masters can be heard on the streaming versions of the albums "That's The Way It Is," "Elvis Country," and "Love Letters from Elvis" with a handful more on "Elvis Now." 

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy. 

This week marks the third anniversary of TCBCast, and we start off wrapping up our in-depth discussion about Elvis & the Beatles with Antony Rotunno from Glass Onion: On John Lennon. We finally dig into all the various songs Elvis did that were originally written & recorded by the Beatles, some of the Elvis-related songs The Beatles performed, and compare their feature film acting performances before finally closing out with Antony posing a twist to his trademark final question from Glass Onion interviews: what do we think Elvis would have done if he'd lived?

For the 250th Elvis song covered on TCBCast, Gurdip highlights "You're A Heartbreaker" from the SUN era, while Justin tells the story of a legendary-yet-rediscovered acetate from the same year, 1954, the contents of which led to young Elvis Presley being invited to record at Sun under more professional circumstances in the first place.

Huge thanks to Antony for the wonderful conversation, representing John Lennon and the Beatles' legacy, and for all his talent. Please be sure to check out Glass Onion: On John Lennon at https://soundcloud.com/glassonionjlpod, it's very highly recommended!

Songs of the Week:

Gurdip: You're A Heartbreaker

Justin: Without You (Jimmy Sweeney)

NOTE: As mentioned at the top of the show, we have launched a Patreon where you can help support the show and receive additional bonus content, including NEW episodes of the Blue Suede Reviews video series, TCBCast Now, Elvis & 50s-related movie commentaries by us, opportunities to vote on upcoming topics and Songs of the Week, and more! Visit Patreon.com/TCBCast for more details. We appreciate your support!

Gurdip and Justin, freshly reinvigorated, nostalgically dig up their very first box sets that served as their gateways to Elvis's discography: 1985's 50 Years, 50 Hits for Gurdip and 1999's Artist of the Century for me, and compare/contrast the packages, realizing that whether decked out with liner notes or bare-bones design, the music is powerful enough to speak for itself. To really bask in the nostalgia, you'll even get to hear Justin pick up live, exactly where he left off listening to one of the tapes countless years ago.

For Song of the Week, Gurdip marches to the beat of his own drum... because he's feeling the "G.I. Blues" tackling the title song of Elvis's 1960 film. Justin, on the other hand, taking a cue from the main topic looking back at their formative Elvis fan years, finally selects 1973's "Raised on Rock" since we all know Gurdip wasn't going to!

Timestamps:

0:00 Start/News

7:30 Main Topic

51:50 SotW: G.I Blues

1:01:33 SotW: Raised on Rock

Every artist has a few clunkers to go with their most innovative, emotional and resonant hits, and with a catalogue as big as Elvis', both Gurdip & Justin have a handful they skip over. We're bracing for the angry emails as we highlight the songs that aren't likely to be featured as Songs of the Week.

Then Gurdip digs into the history behind Elvis's 1958 hit cover of a Hank Snow tune while Elvis' searing hot 1972 hit version of a Dennis Linde song is Justin's pick for Song of the Week.

Songs of the Week
Justin - Burning Love
Gurdip - A Fool Such As I

Gurdip and Justin continue their discussion of 1967's "Double Trouble" as this infamous Elvis film finally introduces its more zany comedic elements with The Wiere Brothers, Helene Winston's grabby "Gerda" and a goofy Captain and First Mate intent on blowing up their own ship. The wacky side characters liven up the back half of the story - though the script remains equally as confusing and its attempts at absurdity flounder. 

But - what if there's a twist to the story of Double Trouble that no one's ever pondered before that may make revisiting the film a bit more tolerable in the future? Justin's come up with a theory that may change the way you view the movie, though definitely not intended by the filmmakers!

Song of the Week will return next week with our episode on the history of Elvis's Extended Play records!

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.

Garrett Cash rejoins Justin for Part 3 of the epic Elvis and Country Music saga as they start by breaking down the Nashville Sound, the members of the Nashville A-Team and the state of country music in the early 60s as the establishment puts up artificial barriers in an attempt to shun Elvis Presley and his irreversible influence.

Then, Elvis arrives home from the military and we find him both fully embracing, and influencing, the evolution of the Nashville Sound through the early 1960s. There's a brief sidebar in the mid-60s to discuss the folk movement, what Bob Dylan's producer had to do with Elvis movie songs, and Elvis' place in the evolution of the genre of country-rock. 1966 then marks the arrival of country producer Felton Jarvis to Elvis' RCA sessions before delving into the "quiet comeback" era as Elvis goes hard into traditional country both at home, in the studio and in his movies in the lead-up to the 1968 Comeback. 

This episode close just before hitting American Sound, as Garrett & Justin decide they want to do that material the justice it deserves, but not before setting everyone up to better appreciate what Elvis and Chips were going for by exploring the links between country and soul music. This episode sets out to try to do some impossible tasks in a limited amount of recording time available, making it perhaps one of the most information-dense episodes of TCBCast yet. 

You can find more of Garrett on "The Beat! With Garrett Cash" on SoundCloud at: https://soundcloud.com/garrett-cash-635212819

As well as on the Let It Roll Podcast miniseries "Holy Roll" at: https://letitrollpodcast.substack.com/p/let-it-roll-with-garrett-cash 

In late October 2023 we will be releasing a YouTube and Spotify playlist with as many songs featured on this series as possible. Stay tuned to our social media pages for details. This series would not be possible without the support of TCBCast Patreon backers, thank you to all of our patrons!

This is not remotely comprehensive or in any order whatsoever but among some of the key resources that we found useful for this 3rd episode are:

Ken Burns’ Country Music - Documentary, Book & Soundtrack

Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick

Looking Back to See: A Country Music Memoir by Maxine Brown

John Gilliland's Pop Chronicles & The Pop Chronicles Interviews via University of North Texas: https://digital.library.unt.edu/explore/collections/JGPC/

Cocaine and Rhinestones: "The Nashville A-Team" by Tyler Mahan Coe: https://cocaineandrhinestones.com/nashville-a-team 

Goldmine Magazine: "Dylan producer Bob Johnston recalls lifetime of musical memories" by Patrick Prince: https://www.goldminemag.com/features/dylan-producer-bob-johnston-recalls-lifetime-of-musical-memories 

Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity by Richard Peterson

Writing for the King by Ken Sharp

Elvis Presley: A Life in Music by Ernst Jorgensen

Holler: "Solomon Burke: The Country Star?" By Marcus K. Dowling: https://holler.country/feature/solomon-burke-the-country-star

The Nashville Sound by Paul Hemphill

How Nashville Became Music City, USA by Michael Kosser

Director Baz Luhrmann has revealed the first initial glimpses of the new biographical film, apparently titled "TCB," set to be released on his social media accounts as part of his Elvis Monday series of posts, so Justin & Gurdip immediately hopped on a call as soon as possible to record initial reactions and speculations.

Gurdip and Bec get together for a rollicking TCBCast featuring listener feedback, trivia and a brief discussion on Riley Keough's latest hit show, Amazon's "Daisy Jones and the Six" before digging into their main topic: what Elvis "deep cuts" they would suggest to new fans! Rest assured, though, even longtime fans might enjoy hearing what picks they spotlight! 

No Song of the Week this week as this episode was wrangled together quickly to cover while Justin is out, but it's nearly a full-length episode as is - enjoy hearing Gurdip and Bec go toe to toe!

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music history and movie enthusiast.

Justin & Gurdip start off 2021 and Season 4 of TCBCast reacting to Peloton's new exclusive Elvis remixes, then examining the first five chapters of the infamous 1977 book "Elvis: What Happened" by Steve Dunleavy, Dave Hebler and Red & Sonny West, as selected by TCBCast listeners.

Justin points out the importance of context; particularly Dunleavy's long history in the right-wing tabloid media sphere, but also acknowledging his strength as a writer. Gurdip ponders whether the karate experts in the book are really as lethal as they say, and both guys consider the deeper moral questions raised by the book. Is there a difference between excusing or simply acknowledging Elvis' behavior, and can you do either while also celebrating his cultural contributions? And how are the most salacious stories Dunleavy used to shock America's perception of Elvis tied in with broader socio-political issues, such as America's modern opioid problem and the hyper-masculine culture Elvis grew up in? All heady stuff for a first glance, and not something we typically cover. From here on out, we'll be reviewing the book roughly one chapter per episode while other main topics resume. 

(A Personal note from Justin: Please let us know what you think of our approach to this content. As we discuss in the show, we are here to examine how and why historical events happened, and how they're specifically depicted in this telling. We trust our listeners to participate in thoughtful and respectful discussion about the contents of this ongoing segment.)

For Song of the Week, Justin starts 2021 off with an affirmative, uplifting deep cut from 60 years ago, the beautiful "Starting Today." Gurdip, on the other hand, highlights "Don't Ask Me Why" from 1958's King Creole soundtrack.

Justin and Ryan crack open the drinks and sit down in front of the TV for an afternoon of watching race cars drive the same huge oval hundreds of times in a row. They happen to spy Elvis as Steve Grayson, stock car driver, in 1968's Speedway, as voted by our TCBCast Patreon supporters. Co-starring Nancy Sinatra and Bill Bixby among a cast of mid-60s guest stars, including several real stock car/NASCAR drivers, as the last film utilizing (and at times subverting) the typical Elvis movie formula, does it hold up better when isolated from the preceding 10-film slog? What to make of it in contrast to its its closest cousin in Elvis' filmography, 1964's Viva Las Vegas? And how does Justin really feel about "He's Your Uncle, Not Your Dad"?

Part 2 next week will feature the conclusion of our review, plus our Songs of the Week. Expect to join us tomorrow (17/2/22) to hear our reactions to the first full trailer for Baz Luhrmann's Elvis biopic.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music history and movie enthusiast.

Timestamps:

0:00 Start

01:30 News

03:40 Listener Feedback

18:00 Main Topic, Part 1

Guest host Garrett Cash and Justin begin Part 4 of Elvis and Country Music journey right where they left off: Elvis’ iconic 1969 sessions at Memphis producer Chips Moman’s American Sound, which provide Elvis his first country hits – as the industry considered them – in a decade. They then trace Elvis’ path from Las Vegas, where he brings together the finest country-rock band ever assembled in the TCB Band, back to Nashville where he not only embraces the “Countrypolitan” evolution of the Nashville sound, but pays homage to the genre’s diverse pop, blues, and folk roots with his only concept album, an artistic triumph which fully showcased how Elvis viewed the history of country music, with its many lineages all under one banner: “Elvis Country.”

Our hosts also take sidebars to reflect on women’s rising voices in country music during this period, the development of a movement within Nashville that came to be dubbed “outlaw country,” and songwriters such as Mac Davis, Dallas Frazier, Lee Hazlewood, and Dennis Linde, whose “Burning Love” once again drives home the failings, inherent flaws and revealing biases in the way we discuss genre using the music industry’s classifications; a “rock” hit from a “country” writer, originally recorded by “soul” singer Arthur Alexander.

Finally, we arrive in Hawaii, where – as Jimmie Rodgers once reminded us – everybody does “it.” What is “it,” exactly? Sure seems like country music, since “Aloha from Hawaii” is jam-packed with it! And what to make of Elvis’ interpretation of country writer Mickey Newbury’s “An American Trilogy?” All that and more – next week’s episode (we promise it’ll be shorter!) will take us from Elvis’ 1973 Stax Sessions all the way to the morning of August 16, 1977.

You can find more of Garrett on "The Beat! With Garrett Cash" on SoundCloud at: https://soundcloud.com/garrett-cash-635212819

As well as on the Let It Roll Podcast miniseries "Holy Roll" at: https://letitrollpodcast.substack.com/p/let-it-roll-with-garrett-cash 

In late October 2023 we will be releasing a YouTube and Spotify playlist with as many songs featured on this series as possible. Stay tuned to our social media pages for details. This series would not be possible without the support of TCBCast Patreon backers, thank you to all of our patrons!

This is not remotely comprehensive or in any order whatsoever but among some of the key resources that we found useful for this 4th episode are:

Ken Burns’ Country Music - Documentary, Book & Soundtrack

Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick

Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick

Elvis Presley: A Life in Music by Ernst Jorgensen

How Nashville Became Music City USA by Michael Kosser

Cocaine and Rhinestones: "Dallas Frazier: Can’t Get There from Here" by Tyler Mahan Coe: https://cocaineandrhinestones.com/dallas-frazier

Cocaine and Rhinestones: “Billy Sherill’s Nashville Sound” by Tyler Mahan Coe: https://cocaineandrhinestones.com/billy-sherrill

Gurdip is back! The guys discuss the latest FTD releases, early reviews of "Priscilla" and listener feedback before Justin is joined for a brief Elvis chat by young Elvis fan Mal, of TCB Discussions (instagram.com/tcbdiscussions), who has been posting and blogging about Elvis, his career, his life and his influences. It's a very loose talk, but Justin picks her brain on how she became an Elvis fan during the height of pandemic lockdowns, and her journey as a fan these past couple years. You can visit Mal's blog as well over at https://tcbdiscussions.wixsite.com/tcbdiscussions

Gurdip re-joins for Song of the Week and he settles in with the Mexican-flavored crooner ballad "You Can't Say No In Acapulco" from 1963's Fun in Acapulco, while Justin finally close a 5-and-a-half-year-long gap, finally tackling the song he'd originally intended to feature way back on Episode 5... and digs into Elvis's 1968 collaboration with Jerry Reed on Chuck Berry's 1956 hit "Too Much Monkey Business," the lyrical changes Elvis made from the original, and of course, the 1980 overdubbed "Guitar Man" version.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music/movie history enthusiast.

It's a bit of a low energy (but high information!) week as Justin heals up from a pinched nerve and the guys dig into Elvis' first 1957 studio recordings. In a year most notable for "Loving You," "Jailhouse Rock," and the controversial Christmas album, how was Elvis really evolving musically in his secular, non-film material? That's what the guys hope to find out. Then, for Song of the Week, Gurdip surprises with a short ditty from Wild in the Country while Justin takes inspiration from a listener to hit up a sweeping, underrated 1970 ballad.

Featured Songs of the Week:

Gurdip: Husky Dusky Day

Justin: I'll Never Know

This episode, Gurdip & Justin are tackling a topic selected by TCBCast Patreon supporters. Since over the years so many Elvis fans have often pinned business decisions on his estate when there are many other stakeholders, the suggestion was to do an explainer of who owns what in the Elvis world, from his personal effects to his music publishing interests, from his movies to his mansion, it's all covered in this episode and as far as we know is accurate to the date of this release.

There may be some slight historical inaccuracies due to some context or changeovers being left out, the emphasis was on getting it pared down to a simple list of who owns what *today*, and information was largely derived from swaths of press releases online from key stakeholders, so we apologize if there any omissions.

Then, for Song of the Week, Gurdip surprises everyone by picking "The Lady Loves Me," the main duet between Elvis & Ann-Margret from 1964's "Viva Las Vegas." Meanwhile, Justin bids "The Last Farewell," highlighting Elvis' 1976 cover of the Roger Whittaker ballad.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. In the month of April we produced over 17.5 hours of new early access or exclusive content for patrons, including film commentaries, new episodes of Blue Suede Reviews and TCBCast Now, and much much more. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review on Apple Podcasts or share our show on social media. Every positive review helps our rankings so that other likeminded listeners can find us. Thanks!

Ryan Droste returns to join Justin & Gurdip looking at the 1963 movie "It Happened At the World's Fair." Starring Elvis, Vicky Tiu, Gary Lockwood, and Joan O'Brien, and set again the real Century 21 Exposition in Seattle, does this forward-looking film hold up when looking back? 

Songs of the Week and the conclusion to our review will come next week but our finale to the TCBCast Book Club will be dropping into your feed as a bonus this week.

TCBCast Patreon supporters not only have early access to TCBCast 169 and the Book Club finale bonus, but we also just released Justin's 72-minute, two-part video essay on the 1962 film "Kid Galahad."

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review on Apple Podcasts or share our show on social media. Every positive review helps our rankings so that other likeminded listeners can find us. Thanks!

Part 5 of the Elvis and Country Music miniseries brings the curtain down on the 1970s. Justin and Garrett Cash begin by discussing the state of pop music and country-pop crossovers in the '70s and the history of Country Music Month before stopping off at Stax Studios in Memphis as Elvis lays down the tracks that would comprise the albums "Raised on Rock," "Good Times" and "Promised Land" and those accompanying albums' singles.

1974 is a pit stop to discuss the country industry backlash to Olivia Newton-John and Elvis' live covers of her iconic country hits, on the way to the "Today" album, which reflected more contemporary and diverse country sounds in a way that "Elvis Country" had not.

Finally, we arrive in 1976 and the guys try to pick up the pieces of the Jungle Room sessions and the of-the-era pop arrangements slathered over the country songs featured on "From Elvis Presley Boulevard" and "Moody Blue" before ending on - what else? The final two songs Elvis Presley ever sang on this earth.

Next week, alongside the finale exploring Elvis' posthumous country legacy, we will be releasing both YouTube and Spotify playlist with as many songs featured on this series as possible. Stay tuned to our social media pages for details. This series would not be possible without the support of TCBCast Patreon backers, thank you to all of our patrons!

You can find more of Garrett on "The Beat! With Garrett Cash" on SoundCloud at: https://soundcloud.com/garrett-cash-635212819

As well as on the Let It Roll Podcast miniseries "Holy Roll" at: https://letitrollpodcast.substack.com/p/let-it-roll-with-garrett-cash 

This is not remotely comprehensive or in any order whatsoever but among some of the key resources that we found useful for this 5th episode are:

Ken Burns’ Country Music - Documentary, Book & Soundtrack

Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick

Elvis Presley: A Life in Music by Ernst Jorgensen

How Nashville Became Music City USA by Michael Kosser

https://www.npr.org/2007/02/18/7484160/the-conservative-evolution-of-country-music

https://www.goldminemag.com/articles/the-happiest-man-alive-ivory-joe-hunter

https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/olivia-newton-john-played-a-pivotal-role-in-country-music-rip/

We're back with a focus on the music! This week, Justin walks us song by song through the influence of Roy Hamilton on Elvis. Later, Gurdip & Justin change the Song of the Week rules to give us more to talk about every episode, then highlight a 1958 hit and a non-Elvis song.

Songs of the Week
Justin - Ol' Man River (Roy Hamilton)
Gurdip - I Need Your Love Tonight

Justin & Gurdip explore the life and music of pianist Dudley Brooks, the jazz pianist who came into Elvis' life through his feature films, and put his own distinctive stamp on Elvis' sound in the 50s and early 60s. We also explore Dudley's a few non-Elvis cuts from his career as a songwriter, most famously the holiday hit "Everybody's Waiting for the Man with the Bag."

Then, for Song of the Week, Justin shines a light on "Up Above My Head" from the 68 Special, and the unique influence of Sister Rosetta Tharpe on rock and roll. Gurdip selects "Any Way You Want Me," the ballad recorded at the same session that produced "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel." We take a detour when Gurdip discovers a remix of the song somehow connected to the official Elvis YouTube Channel (we'll dive more into that in the news next week; upon further post-show investigation, it's actually from an unofficial European remix album from 2012).

If you'd like to support TCBCast and receive early access to episodes, bonus content like video movie reviews and film commentaries, and the chance to vote on upcoming topics Songs of the Week, please consider supporting us on Patreon at Patreon.com/TCBCast.

This is it! The review you've been waiting for! Gurdip and Justin dive deep into HBO's Elvis Presley: The Searcher to break down its storytelling, cinematography, music selection, creative choices and more! You will not find a more in-depth review of The Searcher out there! Then, for Song of the Week, Justin brings to light the story behind an unfinished Elvis song from 1969 while Gurdip highlights a fan favorite movie track from "Kid Galahad."

Songs of the Week
Justin - A Poor Man's Gold
Gurdip - King of the Whole Wide World

Bec joins Justin for a very loose, silly, and not-remotely-serious discussion about some of our least favorite Elvis songs and performances. Not "the worst," just some of the ones that don't hit us in quite the same way they might hit everyone else. The subject is so spirited that there are both giggle fits and strong disagreements!

For Song of the Week, Justin revisits one of the songs he featured on his very first "least favorite" list, and makes amends with "Golden Coins" from the "Harum Scarum" soundtrack. Bec, on the other hand, calls attention to an unironically passionate and thrilling 1970 vocal turn from Elvis on the very underrated "The Sound of Your Cry" and its session outtakes (coincidentally, both songs this week are from the SAME songwriters!!)

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music/movie history enthusiast.

Justin was unexpectedly ill just ahead of the planned recording an "Elvis On Tour" episode as picked by our Patreon supporters, so Gurdip and Bec instead rally together for an impromptu discussion of some of their all-time favorite Elvis songs that put an extra pep in their step, as well as answer listener emails.

No Song of the Week this week; Patreon-picked Songs will feature on our EOT 2-parter.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music history and movie enthusiast.

Timestamps:

0:00 Start

02:10 Listener Feedback

24:15 Main Topic

As voted upon by the TCBCast Patreon community, Gurdip & Justin are taking an in-depth look at not only 1977's "Moody Blue" album, the last released before Elvis' death that August, but also the scheduled January 1977 sessions that Elvis failed to record at, and the demos for songs planned to be recorded then.

Then, for the patron-voted Songs of the Week, Gurdip tackles the heavily doo-wop inspired "Don't" from 1957, while Justin digs into Elvis' rocking 1969 cover of Percy Mayfield's "Stranger In My Town Hometown."

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music and movie enthusiast.

The TCBCast crossovers continue as Gurdip & Justin are joined by "Talking Elvis" co-hosts, Ian & Vince for a lively discussion about all things Elvis, including their history keeping the Elvis flame alive in the UK. Gurdip takes the hotseat next to Ian and Vince for a trivia showdown, and then, for Song of the Week, the guys turn the keys to the TCBCast car over to Talking Elvis!

Vince selects the funereal "Long Black Limousine" from 1969, and surprises with an earlier soul version that Elvis likely took influence from. Finally, Ian feels his temperature rising higher and higher, as he finishes off the episode with Elvis' cover of the OTHER song about getting all hot and bothered: the classic Little Willie John/Peggy Lee tune, "Fever."

Featured Songs of the Week:

Vince: Long Black Limousine

Ian: Fever

In this thrilling conclusion to the review of Harum Scarum, Justin loses it to "Golden Coins," discuss the aftermath of the film's release, and the TCBCast team finally answers whether they think this is Elvis' Worst Movie. (Spoiler: You might be surprised!) For Song of the Week, guest host Ryan Droste picks a near-miss Springsteen song that could have been an Elvis classic, Gurdip tackles a country-rock hit from '61 and Justin closes the episode highlighting one of Elvis' biggest post-50s rockers.

Featured Songs of the Week:

Gurdip: Little Sister

Justin: (You're the) Devil in Disguise

Ryan: Fire (Bruce Springsteen/Pointer Sisters)

On day three of his review of the the RCA Albums Collection box set from 2016... between utterly baffling "Elvis for Everyone" and the gamut of movie soundtracks... well, let's just say Justin isn't looking forward to revisiting "Double Trouble" anytime soon. But there's light at the end of the tunnel as bonus tracks on "Spinout" and the "How Great Thou Art" album let Elvis fans in on a secret: he's on his way to a comeback.

If you haven't heard these reviews before, or not in a while, this series will help get you up to speed on Justin's thoughts on most of Elvis' albums. 

Tomorrow's episode will cover albums from 1968-1970, including arguably some of the best and most artistically satisfying of Elvis' career!

This week, Justin & Gurdip dig into a little bit of information on Elvis' attendance at a Juneteenth celebration night at Libertyland in Memphis on June 19, 1956, and then look at his chart placement with "Heartbreak Hotel" and "I Want You I Need You I Love You" among his peers on the R&B best sellers chart from three days earlier, June 16. Gurdip's right at home listening to classics by Little Richard, Clyde McPhatter and Fats Domino, but Justin reveals to Gurdip's dismay that he's not the biggest fan of one of the singles featured on the chart.

Then, for Song of the Week, Gurdip keeps the early rock & roll theme going by highlighting Elvis' live cover of Chuck Berry's country-influenced smash "Maybelline." Justin, meanwhile, goes in the complete opposite direction and makes perhaps the strongest case ever made for the oft-maligned "Speedway" cut "He's Your Uncle, Not Your Dad," including an in-depth lyrical breakdown of all its references. You will not find a more thorough analysis of this song anywhere else but TCBCast, we can definitely promise you that. Whether that's a good thing remains to be seen.

Featured Songs of the Week:

Gurdip: Maybelline

Justin: He's Your Uncle, Not Your Dad

Andreas van Kuijk. Thomas A. Parker. The Colonel.

As selected by TCBCast Patreon supporters, Justin and Gurdip finally address the never-ending debate of the good and bad of Colonel Parker's management decisions for his client, examining his influence on Elvis's career and the entertainment industry overall.

For Song of the Week, Gurdip shines a light on the second half of Elvis's first single, "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and its roots in Bill Monroe's bluegrass style. Meanwhile, Justin ticks away the time until he can feature "It's A Matter of Time," the country-tinged adult contemporary B-side of "Burning Love." 

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music history and movie enthusiast. 

Timestamps:

0:00 Start

02:00 News

03:55 Listener Feedback

09:30 Main Topic

1:11:00 SotW: Blue Moon of Kentucky

1:32:50 SotW: It’s A Matter of Time

All hands are on deck for our initial reactions and emergency breakdown of the second theatrical trailer for Baz Luhrmann's Elvis.

Just as in our previous breakdown, we spend time exploring what creative choices indicate to us about the direction, themes and tone of the upcoming feature film, as well as provide historical context, speculation, and pointing out details you might have missed!

Plus, plenty of discussion on key topics like how the film will tackle Elvis's relationship with Priscilla, hearty debates over Austin Butler's singing, and the exciting release of soundtrack details, including Eminem and Cee-Lo Green's new collab, "The King and I."

FYI - we would not typically do this, but because we were not expecting this trailer to drop so quickly, we are delaying TCBCast 218 to later this week so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle as we think the topic deserves full attention as well.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.

The incomparable Jaime Kay is back to regale us with tales of her trip to Memphis during Elvis Week 2021, including her time emceeing a discussion with Ginger Alden, visiting Tupelo and Circle G, and brief sidebars on her trip this past May to Graceland and Sun Records.

Then, Gurdip busts out the gate with the bluesy Song of the Week "So Glad You're Mine" from 1956, but things really fire up when Jaime Kay and Gurdip spar over Ann-Margret and "You're The Boss," the duet cut from Viva Las Vegas. Finally, Justin closes out with an understated 1969 favorite, "Do You Know Who I Am?" and its unsuspectingly rowdy outtakes.

The new iteration of the Jungle Room podcast, "Life & Laughs in the Jungle Room" is expected to premiere later in September. Keep an eye on jungleroompodcast.com for updates.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music history and movie enthusiast.

In this packed episode, Justin & Gurdip react to the news that Austin Butler will play Elvis in Baz Luhrmann's upcoming biopic, respond to listener feedback, remember legendary Elvis expert, collector and author Ger Rijff, then dig into the history behind Elvis' 1956 feature film debut, "Love Me Tender" before examining the film itself closer - which will be continued, along with Song of the Week, next week!

65 years ago this year, Elvis made two appearances on Milton Berle's popular variety program, once on board the U.S.S. Hancock and another back in Los Angeles. As voted by the TCBCast patrons, Justin & Gurdip are looking at both, and offering perspectives on the fallout from the latter performance, which gave way to the first major wave of controversy and backlash against Elvis.

The two Songs of the Week that won the monthly patron poll made it an extremely tough choice between the two for Gurdip, but ultimately he settled on "Love Me," the Leiber/Stoller country spoof that Elvis played completely straight, while Justin digs into Lowell Fulson's blues classic "Reconsider Baby," with both songs having been featured throughout Elvis's entire career.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music history and movie enthusiast.

The second half of our review of the 1957 film "Jailhouse Rock" is here! Along with movie enthusiast Andrew Shoemaker, we explore what Jailhouse Rock represents in popular culture, whether the iconography the film created held Elvis back, and what the film's legacy has been.

After Shoe departs, we follow up with some information on the film's stage adaptation. Then, for Song of the Week, Gurdip can be found waiting for a word of love from "Sylvia," while Justin goes from "Rags to Riches" when he picks a classic Billy Ward & The Dominoes cut that Elvis covered.

Stay tuned for next week's episode - we are thrilled to have the honor of interviewing a very special guest... find out who at the end of this episode!

Gurdip & Justin briefly review the new "Suspicious Minds" digital single, discuss the legacy of drummer Hal Blaine, and make a side tangent to talk about the Michael Jackson doc "Leaving Neverland" before diving headfirst into Song of the Week, where Justin highlights an underrated 60s B-side and Gurdip sticks like glue to his Song of the Week.

*Warning & apologies - there is one use of explicit language that was not bleeped as usual this week*

The Music Enhancement Channel Gurdip references this episode: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCymxfkAWH8E_PYmkvnLzTPQ

Featured Songs of the Week:

Gurdip: Stuck On You

Justin: Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello

Justin & Gurdip are busy toodling away at something different for a bonus episode you'll get later this week, but never fear! Golden Songs of the Week are here! Whether you're revisiting these or hadn't gone back and listened to them yet, here are the Songs of the Week from Episodes 26-30. Normally, we wouldn't have a compilation be this long but since #30 ends with "I'm Leavin'" and we discuss Joe Var Veri's cover in detail during it, and we just had Joe guest on the show, we thought it was the most fitting end for this one!

Featured Songs of the Week include: Lover Doll, Run On, Wear My Ring Around Your Neck, It Hurts Me, Bossa Nova Baby, Steppin' Out of Line, I'm Leavin' as well as Eddie Cochran's Summertime Blues, Nancy Sinatra's These Boots are Made for Walkin', and Fire Down Below, the song Elvis' band cut in 1976 with the hopes Elvis might put a vocal down, but never quite got to. We hope you enjoy this look back at some of our earlier Songs of the Week from our first year!

The guys are taking a brief one-week hiatus to prepare for a big patron-voted two-parter on the 1972 documentary "Elvis On Tour" so please enjoy this special unofficial commentary previously exclusive to TCBCast Patreon supporters, who frequently receive full-length bonus content like this.

In this episode, Justin and Gurdip sit down with a film that Gurdip has wanting to talk about for a long time, the 1956 Jayne Mansfield rock-and-roll film "The Girl Can't Help It."

This film has way more Elvis connections than you would think! The screenwriter also penned Loving You & King Creole, it shared a vocal director in Love Me Tender's Ken Darby, it was filmed at the same time as Love Me Tender for the same studio, and the climactic scene features vocals from a lady who once recorded with Elvis. All that on top of the great performers seen, including 50s rock favorites Little Richard, Fats Domino, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, and The Platters alongside less well known acts like Eddie Fontaine, Johnny Olenn, Ray Anthony and The Three Chuckles, among others. Somehow we also missed that the very opening act is Freddy Bell & The Bell Boys, who infamously turned Big Mama Thornton's bluesy "Hound Dog" into the pastiche that Elvis was inspired to cover, so watch for them.

Excitingly, Criterion has announced they will be releasing a newly restored Blu-Ray and DVD of "The Girl Can't Help It" on April 19, 2022 and we strongly encourage anyone who enjoys this discussion to purchase it and support the presevation of classic films like this! https://www.criterion.com/films/29605-the-girl-can-t-help-it

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music history and movie enthusiast.

From its misleading title to its meme-status cover, for all our joking about 1972's Elvis Now, it's time to put our money where our mouths are and actually see if the music itself is as misguided as the cover that contains it would seem to imply!

For Song of the Week, Gurdip realizes that the 1963 "Return to Sender" sequel song, "Western Union," still sounds good despite being an outdated culture reference. Then, Justin returns to 1971 right away to give some love to the overlooked Nashville cut "Love Me, Love the Life I Lead," its genuinely great songwriting pedigree, and Elvis's raw delivery, long hampered by a muddled mix and melodramatic overdubs.

"Elvis Now" is available to buy and stream on all major music platforms. We also strongly recommend the Sony Legacy box sets "From Elvis in Nashville" and "Back in Nashville."

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In this split-host episode, Gurdip and Justin give their initial impressions of the new Elvis On Tour box set, recorded shortly after its early December release, as well as highlight certain performances that stick out as noteworthy listens. Then they briefly speculate on what the future holds for Elvis box sets going forward now that Sony seems to have mostly caught up with securing their continued international copyrights.

Then, Bec tags in for Song of the Week, making amends with "Have A Happy" from the 1969 movie "Change of Habit" after downplaying it a few weeks ago on the vocal evolution episode. Justin closes out the episode with perhaps the most bleak Christmas song Elvis recorded, "Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees," penned by Red West and Glen Spreen.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music history and movie enthusiast.

Gurdip and Bec join forces to gush over Bec's very first Elvis album, Elvis' Golden Records, Volume 2, aka 50 Million Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong. Encapsulating singles released between 1957-1959, this iconic album captures the Elvis of the 50s at perhaps his very best, accompanied on many tracks by more members of the Nashville A-Team.

For Song of the Week, Justin tags in for a brief discussion on the obscure song "The Titles Tell," recorded originally by Elvis' Memphis friend Barbara Pittman while under contract with Sam Phillips, but never released at the time and never done by any other artist - yet we have a home recording of Elvis singing a very credible version of it in Germany! Gurdip, interestingly enough, goes for another Germany home recording, picking "Oh Lonesome Me," the Don Gibson hit, of which Elvis' home version only first surfaced in 2018.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music/movie history enthusiast.

Justin & Gurdip spend the whole episode gushing over the very best of Elvis' performances - whether live, in the studio, or in the films - that have wowed them or evoked strong reactions from them. From fun rockers like "Ready Teddy" to inspirational and moving tracks like "If I Can Dream," sometimes it's just celebrate why we love listening to an artist's incredible music.

Then, for Song of the Week, Gurdip highlights the elegant ballad "Anything That's Part of You." Justin, meanwhile, goes in a complete 180 and picks a comedy number that even Elvis' recording company has never acknowledged as an official track - but Justin's gonna make a case for it!

Featured Songs of the Week:

Justin: Range Round-Up

Gurdip: Anything That's Part of You

Olivia & Justin continue their exploration of how "Viva Las Vegas" was made, on the 60th anniversary year of its release! The duo spends a good chunk of time on the filming schedule, deleted scenes, pondering why certain creative choices were made, and also digging a bit into post-production aspects like editing, scoring and marketing. The most critical resource by far for this episode was the excellent FTD book and CD set "The Making of Viva Las Vegas" which is sadly no longer in print after its 2019 release.

For Song of the Week, Olivia picks "Love Letters," the song Elvis recorded in 1966 and then revisited again in the studio in 1970. Justin selects a holiday highlight with "If I Get Home on Christmas Day" off the "The Wonderful World of Christmas" album.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy. 

Gurdip's off this week but Justin is joined by guest (and TCBCast patron!) Darin Evans to take a (not remotely comprehensive) look at the contributions of soprano backing vocalist Millie Kirkham to Elvis' recording career. Millie's distinctive high voice sound is audible on Elvis classics like "Blue Christmas," "She's Not You" and "The Wonder of You" as well as many recordings by other Nashville recording artists, and she is, to note, the only backing vocalist to have recorded & performed with Elvis through all three decades of his career, making her an iconic part of Elvis' musical legacy.

Appropriately, Darin highlights the first song Millie recorded with Elvis, 1957's "My Wish Came True" as Song of the Week, while Justin selects Elvis' cover of Billy Swan's crossover one hit wonder, "I Can Help."

This week, Justin & Gurdip are visited by 20-year-old Elvis fan Daniel, and after a discussion about discovering & learning about Elvis as a young fan today, the guys get down to business with a lengthy dive into the similarities and differences between the careers of Elvis and Michael Jackson.

Professor Ladhar gives Daniel some Elvis homework, and then for Song of the Week, Daniel selects the truly epic background behind the sweeping "An American Trilogy," and the three historic songs that comprise it, while Gurdip rescues the peppy movie tune "One Broken Heart for Sale" from its place on an earlier "lost" episode of TCBCast.

Finally, Justin takes a listener request to explore the haunting, longing folk song "500 Miles" with a surprise "new" restoration by Elvis and the Kingston Trio, created by an Elvis fan. This is an episode of TCBCast you do not want to miss!

Featured Songs of the Week

Gurdip: One Broken Heart for Sale
Justin: 500 Miles
Daniel: An American Trilogy

Gurdip is taking the week off so Justin sits down with Ryan to take a look at some of the harder-to-find remixes and reworkings of Elvis' music in his collection. From classic techno and mashups to reggae and rap mixes, you'll be surprised how Elvis' music has inspired DJs and producers to create both official and bootleg remixes. Then for Song of the Week, Ryan highlights a sweet, longing pop ballad from the early 60s with a surprising 90s TV show connection, while Justin finds something more profound and thought-provoking somewhere in the Heart of Rome.

**Please note: This episode contains an historical recording featuring coarse language.**

Featured Songs of the Week
Justin - Heart of Rome
Ryan - Girl of My Best Friend

We're back! Unfortunately, with Justin's grandpa passing away, we decided to focus on current Elvis news including Elvis' Medal of Freedom and new FTDs. Next week will be a full topic discussion as usual! For Song of the Week, Gurdip finally picks a non-doo-wop ballad (and a memorable one at that!) while Justin run-run-run-run-runs away with the rest of the show!

Featured Songs of the Week:

Gurdip: I'll Remember you

Justin: Runaway

At the request of (and joined by!) previous TCBCast guest (and fellow Patreon supporter) Olivia Murphy-Rogers, we look back at the #1 UK & Australia album, which is now 8 years old as of this recording, along with the bonus tracks from the expanded deluxe version of the album, to see if it has held up. Bec also joins Justin and Olivia, wanting to make sure someone was around to stick up for one of her all-time favorites, bonus track "What Now My Love." 

Justin briefly tackles the title theme for Elvis' 1960 western film "Flaming Star" and its earlier iteration "Black Star" as Song of the Week, while Olivia digs deep on the bluesy fan favorite "Don't Leave Me Now," that featured on the soundtracks for both "Loving You" (which it wasn't in) and "Jailhouse Rock" (which it was!) 

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music/movie history enthusiast.

In Part 2 of Justin and Bec's discussion on Elvis's smash 1961 Paramount film "Blue Hawaii," Bec finally unleashes a years-pent-up question about Nancy Walters' Abigail Prentice, and the duo reassesses Justin's claim that "Blue Hawaii" was one of the most important movies Elvis made.

Then, for Song of the Week, Bec gambles on "Chesay" from Frankie & Johnny as a gesture to past guest co-host Olivia, while Justin gives a little attention to the underplayed ballad "If I Were You" from the "Love Letters From Elvis" album, pointing out that it came from Gerald Nelson, the same writer who also gave us such, um... "gems" like "Yoga Is As Yoga Does" and "The Love Machine."

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Patrons received this episode 10 days early! If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music history and movie enthusiast.

Timestamps:

0:00 Start/Main Topic, Part 2

1:02:15 SotW: Chesay

1:11:30 Sotw: If I Were You

Yes, you're seeing this correctly - it's a weekend TCBCast!

Gurdip and Justin get together for their initial impressions of the first three episodes of Netflix's "Agent Elvis" starring Matthew McConaughy, Kaitlin Olson, Don Cheadle, Johnny Knoxville, Tom Kenny and Priscilla Presley. As Gurdip had not had a chance to catch up on the whole season as of recording, discussion is mostly limited to the early episodes and analysis on the show's overall story, themes and ideas will wait for another day.

For Song of the Week, Gurdip picks Danny Fisher's Leiber & Stoller-penned alma mater, "Steadfast Loyal and True" from 1958's "King Creole." Justin skipped SOTW this week in favor of watching the whole Netflix series!

For those not interested in "Agent Elvis" (it is NOT a show for everyone, that's for sure), here are the timestamps for the show to skip ahead to Songs of the Week:

0:00 Start

3:20 Trivia

8:45 Main Topic

1:20:50 SOTW: Steadfast, Loyal and True

While Gurdip is out, Justin sits down with Ryan Droste of the TopRopeNation podcast to swap stories of discovering Elvis' music, collecting Elvis records, and even discuss Ryan's thesis paper, which was about Elvis. For Song of the Week, Ryan brings an early 60s soundtrack tune that challenged Elvis vocally, while Justin highlights a minor 70s hit with a surprising history behind it.

Listen to more of Ryan at www.topropenation.com and watch the video of his daughter being calmed by Elvis' voice at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmdHTt3T6Xk

Featured Songs of the Week:

Justin: Fool

Ryan: Pocketful of Rainbows

After threatening to review it since nearly the start of the show's run, just in time for Halloween, Justin & Gurdip finally review Don Coscarelli's 2002 horror-comedy-drama cult hit "Bubba Ho-Tep," starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. It leads to a heated debate over whether protagonist Sebastian Haff is really supposed to be Elvis, and which host believes what might surprise you!

Then, for Song of the Week, both guys take things light and breezy with Justin spotlighting the lullaby origins of "Puppet on a String" from 1965's "Girl Happy" for me while Gurdip is inspired by the recent Peloton remix of "Catching On Fast" to spotlight that 1963 recording from "Kissin' Cousins."

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music history and movie enthusiast.

Justin & Gurdip reflect on the life and work of DJ Fontana, then sit down to spend more time and energy analyzing Elvis' 1965 beach musical Girl Happy than anyone before! For Song of the Week, Gurdip pledges his love for Elvis' latter-day cover of a 50s doo-wop ballad while Justin, acknowledging some out-of-date lyrical content, highlights a slick country rocker written by Jerry Reed that was the last proper studio recording the late DJ Fontana was featured on.

***Please Note: The episode features explicit language in an historical recording.***

Songs of the Week
Justin - U.S. Male
Gurdip -Pledging My Love

You folks have no idea what you are in for. Over the next couple weeks, as a holiday treat, Justin is joined by Felix and Rabia of Suddenly: A Frank Sinatra Podcast for perhaps the most in-depth exploration of the 1967 cinematic classic "Clambake" that maybe anyone has ever undertaken in the last 55 years. Including Song of the Week, our holiday special "A Very Clambake Christmas" (further split into Sides A and B for each episode) total 6 hours. The journey will be long, and perhaps initially confounding, but ultimately deeply rewarding when you finally understand what it's building to.

Side A of TCBCast 246 sees Justin and Rabia giving Felix, who has a near-zero level of knowledge of Elvis Presley (but an open mind!), coming straight off watching his first Elvis movie ever, all the historical and cultural context needed to answer his questions about where Elvis was at this point in his life, how movies starring Elvis were made, and finally getting underway with unpacking "Clambake." By the time the first two hours wrap, we've only made it to the 20 minute mark of the film, taking sidebars to appreciate the cameo appearance of Hal Peary, The Great Gildersleeve, figure out where and what the Heywood gas station is today, and ponder the film's themes about money and capitalism.

"Clambake" is available to purchase or rent from most digital platforms and at least in North America is available for free on several ad-supported movie services like Tubi and Pluto. We cannot possibly recommend highly enough the Kino Lorber Blu-Ray release of "Clambake" if you can track a copy down, it's worth every cent if you're into campy 60s films and especially collecting Elvis's movies.

Suddenly: A Frank Sinatra Podcast is available on all major platforms you'll find TCBCast on.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Side B will release Friday, December 9, followed by 247-A next Tuesday and the conclusion (featuring two Sinatra-themed Elvis Songs of the Week) on Friday, December 16. Patreon backers have immediate access to all four parts of "A Very Clambake Christmas."

On this week's bonus content, Ryan and Justin go for take 2 of their overview of Elvis' home recordings. If you're finding yourself stir crazy while under stay at home orders, perhaps you'll find the same sort of enjoyment from Elvis' home recordings that Elvis seemed to take from making them while singing at home.

As requested by TCBCast patrons, it's now the silly hour as Justin & Gurdip take a look at some of their all-time favorite recorded moments of Elvis being goofy, losing it on stage or in the studio, or delivering a punchline. 

Then, for Song of the Week, as voted upon by patrons as well, Gurdip cruises down to "Memphis, Tennessee" to check out Elvis's cover of a Chuck Berry classic, and while Justin may not have any sugary marshmallows, he's certainly got a "Good Luck Charm" in a classic 1962 #1 hit.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music history and movie enthusiast.

Justin is joined by John Michael Heath from EAP Society to mark 2023 as the 20th anniversary of the release of "2nd to None," the follow-up to the smash compilation "30 #1 Hits." Unrestrained by the limitations of only including #1 chart hits, "2nd to None" showed a broader flavor of what Elvis was capable of, but the constraints of the physical medium also placed limits on just how many selections could feature from each era of Elvis' career. However, "2nd to None" also offered something its predecessor couldn't - a brand spanking new Elvis song, "I'm A Roustabout," unearthed from a rare acetate kept in the private collection of songwriter Winfield Scott, and John was among the first group of fans to hear it played publicly at Graceland back in 2003.

The guys also reminisce about the CD's marketing campaign, including numerous official RCA-approved remixes of "Rubberneckin'" (did you know there was more than just Paul Oakenfold's?!) and spend time comparing tracklists with "Hitstory," the final disc in the trilogy which was issued only as part of a box set with the earlier compilations, and touching upon the extremely rare official "third" remix that never got a commercial release, Paul Oakenfold's take on "I Got Stung."

And, of course, Justin brings up John and EAP Society co-host Jamie Kelley's recent A.I. reconstruction of "Poor Man's Gold," and we hear a little bit of behind the scenes of how it came about. Then, in a shocking twist, a revelation is made about one of the music clips featured in TCBCast 276 that no one seems to have noticed or called us out for!

"2nd to None" is still widely available to hear on digital platforms, and in CD & Vinyl formats, as well as in packages with "30 #1 Hits" and "History." 

You can hear more from John and Jamie, including "Poor Man's Gold" at YouTube.com/EAPSociety.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. If you are unable to support us via Patreon, but want to support us another way, please make sure to leave a positive review or mention our show to another like-minded music/movie history enthusiast.

Part 2 of our massive review of 1967's "Clambake" centers around the two most memorable musical showpieces in the film: "Confidence" and "Clambake." It's here in Part 2 that we learn the true reason why the Frank Sinatra podcast peeps are here: not only "Confidence"'s infamous similarity to "High Hopes" from the 1959 movie "A Hole in the Head", but Rabia & Felix's recent encounter with a prominent clambake in the "Strictly USA" sequence of the 1949 Sinatra/Kelly musical "On the Town"... and being Australians, they have only the vaguest ideas what a clambake even is.

Then, Justin explains to Felix the process of how songs were generally written and selected for Elvis' movies, exploring the alternate possible title songs submitted for "Clambake," and in a twist befitting such an inexplicable movie, Side B of TCBCast 246 closes sincerely commemorating the life and music of the legendary Glen Campbell.

"Clambake" is available for purchase or rental on most digital movie platforms. Suddenly: A Frank Sinatra Podcast is available on all major podcast platforms you'll find TCBCast on.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Side A of TCBCast 247 will premiere next Tuesday and will conclude on Friday, December 16. Patreon backers have immediate access to all four parts of "A Very Clambake Christmas" as well as early access to an upcoming bonus episode featuring Gurdip & Justin's reactions to the Elvis On Tour box set!

This week, Justin & Gurdip set the needle and crank the volume on the first album Elvis released after returning from the Army, "Elvis is Back!" While Gurdip ponders if it is in fact Elvis' best album, Justin asserts that it's Elvis' best "50s" R&B showing. Then for Song of the Week, Justin takes us to church to solemnly deep dive the history behind "Stand By Me" while Gurdip would rather invite you into his "Beach Shack" to see his etchings.

Featured Songs of the Week
Justin: Stand by Me
Gurdip: Beach Shack