TCBCast: An Unofficial Elvis Presley Fan Podcast

Latest Episodes:

TCBCast 212: Elvis On Tour Movie Review, Part 1 (feat. Bec Wyles) Apr 12, 2022

Show notes

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

TCBCast 211: Our Favorite "Feel Good" Elvis Songs (feat. Bec Wyles) Apr 05, 2022

Show notes

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

TCBCast Bonus: The Girl Can't Help It Mar 29, 2022

Show notes

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

TCBCast 210: The Elvis One-Liner Histories Mar 22, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of TCBCast, the guys have taken their fascination with Elvis's musical connections to the extreme; to paraphrase the famous Jurassic Park quote, Gurdip & Justin were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.

Diving into abbreviated histories behind 10 songs Elvis referenced off-hand at home, in the studio or in concert, to find the stories behind the entertainers who popularized them and how many of them connect to Elvis's career and legacy in surprising ways. Can they truly make an episode out of less than 2 minutes total of Elvis singing random bits of songs? You'd better believe it.

Then for Song of the Week, Justin gets "Way Down" with the final single released in Elvis's lifetime and Gurdip discovers a rarely heard original of 1957's "Hot Dog" that in our estimation, may even surpass Elvis's version from the "Loving You" soundtrack.

Timestamps:

0:00 Start

05:45 Listener Feedback

26:35 Main Topic

1:26:45 SotW: Way Down

1:38:25 SotW: Hot Dog

Interview with Layng Martine, Jr referenced in SotW: https://sobookingcool.com/2019/10/13/interview-part-2-with-songwriter-permission-to-fly-author-layng-martine-jr/

TCBCast 209: Elvis Covers #3 Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

For the first time since 2019, we're doing an episode dedicated to exploring some of the more interesting covers of Elvis songs that we've enjoy! From Bruce Springsteen to Norah Jones, The Cramps to Black Stone Cherry, this list goes all over the place musically. Plus - has Justin found a version of "Raised on Rock" that Gurdip doesn't completely hate? Then, for Song of the Week, Gurdip admits he had a "Dirty Dirty Feeling" listening to Elvis is Back, while Justin gets a dirty, dirty mind revisiting "The Walls Have Ears" tango scene from Girls! Girls! Girls!, although the guys sadly have to pay their respects to Elvis's late costar Laurel Goodwin.

Timestamps:

0:00 Start

3:00 Listener Emails

24:30 Main Topic "Elvis Covers"

1:06:15 SotW: Dirty Dirty Feeling

1:18:30 SotW: The Walls Have Ears

Clip of Jonathan Rhys-Meyers sourced from Kevin Pollack's Chat Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-JERDJDS-g

TCBCast 208: From Memphis to Vegas Album Review, Side B (feat. Bec Wyles & Olivia Murphy-Rogers) Mar 08, 2022

Show notes

Justin, Bec and Olivia's discussion on Elvis's 1969 live album "In Person at the International" concludes this week as they dig into the back half of the album, where Elvis focused largely on more contemporary material.

While Bec has words about "Words," Justin brings to light a possible new insight/discovery about the single version of "Suspicious Minds," inspired by hearing the lengthy live version here.

Then, for Song of the Week, Olivia waves a flag for "School Days," the Chuck Berry classic that Elvis & the Joe Guercio Orchestra often featured during band introductions between 1975-1977. Bec confesses that Elvis's mournful 1966 ballad singing has got her feeling "Indescribably Blue." Lastly, inspired by the inclusion of "Unchained Melody" in the Baz Luhrmann trailer, Justin close out with Elvis's home recording of Roy Hamilton's version of "If I Loved You," originally from the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical "Carousel." Timestamps:

0:00 Start & Main Topic, Part 2

39:30: SotW: School Days

56:25 SotW: Indescribably Blue

1:08:45 SotW: If I Loved You

TCBCast 207: Elvis's Most Overlooked Live Album? In Person at the International, Side A (feat. Bec Wyles & Olivia Murphy-Rogers) Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

This week, Justin, Bec and Olivia take a look back at the live material originally released as the "From Memphis to Vegas" part of Elvis's 1969 double LP and whether it still holds up as originally released, and ponder why it's been overlooked by comparison to Madison Square Garden, Aloha From Hawaii and even Elvis in Concert! Part 1 this week includes some brief Elvis news, more discussion on Baz Luhrmann's ELVIS, and then a thorough look at Side A of the album, as well as providing some context for the 1969 engagement. Part 2 next week will cover Side B and Songs of the Week.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Patreon supporters of all tiers enjoy early access to new episodes of TCBCast - including Part 2 of this discussion! 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.

TCBCast 206: Speedway, Part 2 (feat. Ryan Droste) Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

Oh hey! What's happened since last week? Nothing big, right? We're just gonna quietly pick right back up where we left off, with a full-throated defense of "He's Your Uncle, Not Your Dad."

It's the second part of Justin and Ryan's review of 1968's Speedway, starring Elvis, Nancy Sinatra and Bill Bixby!

Plus, for Song of the Week, Ryan knows "It's Impossible" to put into words just how big Armando Manzanero's original "Somos Novios" is even today, so he focuses in on Elvis's 1972 cover of the English-language version.

Then, Justin spotlights an overlooked Otis Blackwell & Winfield Scott cut from the early 60s, "Please Don't Drag That String Around."

0:00 Start & Main Topic, Part 2

33:35 SotW: It's Impossible

44:40 SotW: Please Don't Drag That String Around

"Baz Luhrmann's ELVIS" Trailer Reaction Bonus (feat. Ryan Droste & Bec Wyles) Feb 17, 2022

Show notes

The TCBCast crew sits down after taking time to process the first full trailer for "Baz Luhrmann's ELVIS," starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, releasing June 24, 2022.

You want historical fact checks from actual Elvis experts? We got 'em. You wanna know the moments that got us emotional? Double check. Questioning how certain topics might be broached? Us too. Need to be pulled back down to earth with a hard reality check about its box office chances? Gurdip's got you covered.

Join Gurdip, Justin, Bec and Ryan for everything there is to say about this first glimpse into the world of "Baz Luhrmann's Elvis."

TCBCast 205: O Bacana do Volante (Speedway), Part 1 (feat. Ryan Droste) Feb 16, 2022

Show notes

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.

Timestamps:

0:00 Start

01:30 News

03:40 Listener Feedback

18:00 Main Topic, Part 1