"Elvis is history," Carl Perkins once said, "and anytime anyone or anything becomes history, whether it be Pearl Harbor or Elvis, it will never go away. The wor...
Intrigued by a concept thrown down by a listener, Bec and Justin decided to seriously just go for it and rank (ala the animal songs episode) Elvis's songs about modes of transportation - trains, cars, jet planes, the works. But they had to be substantially about the specific vehicle or use it heavily as a theme, not just a passing reference! As you'll hear, the team begins ranking them - and then to their horror realized after recording that they'd somehow forgotten the biggest and best of them all, so tagged on an ending to the main topic that rectified that little oversight!! Then, for Song of the Week, Justin takes the baton from his own previous SotW, digging into Elvis' minor hit recording of Jerry Chesnut's rowdy honky-tonk rocker, "T-R-O-U-B-L-E." Bec, meanwhile, goes light and selects "A World of Our Own" from 1962's "It Happened at the World's Fair."Â Wanna hear our list (plus a few miscellaneous other tracks)? Check our playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1q3WSnFOreuqKbeyB9zSyl?si=e094375cdde24de6 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.
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1:41:11
TCBCast 354: SOTW Spectacular - "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" and "Trouble"
Justin and Bec forego a typical main topic this week, opting instead for effectively two main topics with absolutely massive, iconic Songs of the Week! Bec's Song of the Week is "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" and she explores the roots of it from the 1965 Italian ballad "Io che non vive (senza te)" through to Dusty Springfield's hugely successful English adaptation and eventually to Elvis's famous performances of it in the 1970s, across his 1970 Nashville sessions, the concerts filmed for "That's The Way It Is," and even much later and deeper into the decade. Justin then traces the lineage of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's legendary "Trouble," originally featured in the 1958 film "King Creole," but increasingly recognized over the years as one of Elvis's most enduring recordings, symbolizing the myth of him as a rebellious rocker, most prominently recently featured in Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis." We go deeper, though, touching on the history of stop-time in Dixieland jazz and, most influentially on Leiber/Stoller, in Muddy Waters's "Hoochie Coochie Man." Understanding the history behind that song, the hoochie coochie itself, and the way Trouble has become representative of expressions of both masculinity and femininity unlocks a deeper sense of the song's significance as one of the all-time masterpieces of Elvis's entire recorded works. Oh yeah, and the duo react to the first trailer for Disney's live action remake of Lilo & Stitch! 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.
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2:12:19
TCBCast 353: E.P.'s EPs: The Extended Play Records of Elvis Presley
This week, Bec and Justin explore the history behind the Extended Play format and how this record format played an important part in the consumption of Elvis's music by fans during his early career with RCA, and also briefly explore some of the more obscure and interesting international EPs that caught their eyes while digging into the topic. Then for Song of the Week, both hosts go for some serious weepers, tackling iconic 70s breakup songs, with Justin selecting Elvis's melancholy version of Tony Joe White's "For Ol' Times Sake" and Bec spotlighting the heartbreaking 1972 hit "Separate Ways," which Elvis fans know was co-written by Elvis's good friend Red West, who gave the song a slightly autobiographical bent. Some resources that were helpful to us EP-wise: https://www.sergent.com.au/elvis/eps.html https://keithflynn.com http://www.elvis-history-blog.com/elvis-extended-plays.html Plus Discogs.com & 45cat.com 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.
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2:24:04
TCBCast 352: Double Trouble Review, Part Two: "Croisière Surprise"
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.
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1:13:56
TCBCast 351: The Worst Elvis Movie? "Double Trouble" TCBCast Review, Part 1
This is it! We've finally decided to just do it and visit the one Elvis movie often considered to be among the worst of his narrative feature films, 1967's "Double Trouble," directed by Norman Taurog for MGM from a script by Jo Heims, and co-starring Annette Day, Yvonne Romain, John Williams, Monty Landis, Leon Askin, Norman Rossington, Chips Rafferty and The Wiere Brothers. It's classic TCBCast, just Justin and Gurdip on their own. Justin digs deeper than most and read through "The Choice," the obscure original 1960 novel that "Double Trouble" was VERY loosely inspired by (enough to merit a "story by" credit for author Marc Brandel, but that's about it.)Â Then, the guys dig into the "comedy" renowned for its story about killers lurking in the shadows hunting a rich heiress, bumbling jewel thieves, slapstick police officers, a mysterious femme fatale and waiting patiently for the age of consent. Promoted as a fun romp across "mad mod Europe," yet filmed entirely on set in the United States (not counting second unit) and mostly just set in Belgium, "Double Trouble" is perhaps one of the most contentious narrative films in the Elvis canon. And yet... one of us ends up liking it more than you might expect? You'll just have to listen and find out... 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.
About TCBCast: An Unofficial Elvis Presley Fan Podcast
"Elvis is history," Carl Perkins once said, "and anytime anyone or anything becomes history, whether it be Pearl Harbor or Elvis, it will never go away. The world will never tire of his songs."
TCBCast is an unofficial fan podcast featuring co-hosts Gurdip Ladhar and Justin Gausman, along with regular guest co-hosts Ryan Droste and Bec Wyles, plus an array of Elvis fans and experts setting out to better understand that history, and those songs. Tackling topics from throughout Elvis's lifetime and beyond, TCBCast seeks to offer thoughtful, intelligent, heartfelt and honest discourse on Presley's career, his influences, the people who made his work possible, and the cultural phenomenon surrounding his iconography.
TCBCast is not associated with or endorsed by Graceland, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Authentic Brands Group or Sony.