D-DAY LANDINGS IN NORMANDY

Having already been on two Leger Battlefield Tours, Tunnellers on the Western Front - The Underground War in 2015 and France Under The Jackboot - SOE, SAS & The French Resistance in 2017, I booked a third, D-Day Landings In Normandy. On this latest blog I look back on my recent trip, highlight some of the most memorable moments and include just a few of the hundreds of photos I took.

Following two cancellations due to COVID in 2020 and 2021 finally, in May this year, I was picked up locally in Worthing for the journey down to Folkestone and the Eurotunnel to Calais. It was then a 3.5 hour drive to Caen and my hotel for the next four nights. A refreshing pint was followed by preparations for the next few days of the tour and a nights sleep.

An early start saw us heading the short journey to Pegasus Bridge, originally the Benouville Bridge, the site of the first action of D-Day.

Led by Major John Howard, a force from the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and a platoon of Royal Engineers, landed in fields close to the bridge in three Horsa Gliders at 00:16 on 6 June. The defending Germans were taken by surprise and within ten minutes the bridge was in Allied hands. 

Reinforcements from the 7th Battalion Parachute Regiment soon arrived. One member of the regiment was actor Richard Todd who would go on to play the role of Major Howard in the film The Longest Day.

The bridge was renamed Pegasus Bridge in late 1944 in honour of the operation and the name was taken from the shoulder emblem worn by the British Airborne Forces, Bellerophon riding the winged horse Pegasus.

The original bridge was replaced in 1994 and is now housed in the grounds of the nearby museum along with a replica Horsa Glider.

Inside the museum you can follow the story of the capture of the bridge with hundreds of items related to that first attack including uniforms, equipment along with scores of photos and information boards.. A very interesting museum that would take several hours to read and view every item.

Our first cemetery visit was to the Ranville War Cemetery where there are 2,236 commonwealth graves including Private Emile Servais Corteil. Serving with the 9th (Essex) Parachute Battalion, 19 year-old Corteil parachuted into Normandy on 6 June with his dog Glenn.

Both were killed later in the day, found together and buried at Ranville. In the church graveyard, next to the cemetery, is buried Lieutenant Herbert Denham Brotheridge. Mortally wounded crossing the Benouville Bridge during the opening assault it is believed he was the first Allied soldier to be killed in action on D-Day.

Heading back to Pegasus Bridge it was time for lunch at the appropriately named Three Gliders Cafe. Despite the awful weather there was still a chance to take a few more photos including the Cafe Gondree.

Located on the west bank of the Caen Canal, back in 1940 it was run by Georges and Therese Gondree who, as part of the French Resistance, passed on information about the German defence of the bridge to British intelligence. Now run by their daughter Ariette, it is still a popular cafe and visited by many of those who visit Pegasus Bridge.

Following lunch, and an improvement in the weather, it was time to visit the British and Canadian Beaches. Our first stop was Sword Beach, a five-mile stretch of the coast that was the objective of British troops.

A statue of Piper Bill Millin stands on the shoreline. The personal piper of Lord Lovatt Fraser, whose commando brigade landed on Sword Beach, Millin was the only soldier to wear a kilt on D-Day.

Although he was officially not allowed to play the bagpipes it was Fraser that asked him to play while the landings took place. He followed his orders and marched up and down the beach playing The Road To The Isles. A sitting target, apparently the Germans did not bother to fire at him as they thought he was mad!

A brief visit to the Canadian beach, Juno, was followed by one of the most emotional parts of the trip, The British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer, inland from Gold, the second British beach. Unveiled on 6 June 2021 it is dedicated to the 22,442 soldiers, from more than 30 countries, who died under British command during the landings. The centrepiece is a bronze statue of three soldiers coming ashore on the beaches. It was so peaceful and beautiful and a fitting memorial to all those who gave their lives.

The memorial was partly funded by the British Government although a substantial amount was also made from charitable donations. Over £50,000 was raised by Harry Billinge MBE, a Normandy veteran, who collected in his hometown of St Austell. Anyone who saw him interviewed on Breakfast Television a few years ago will know how much the Memorial meant to him. Although he passed away in April 2022 he did get a chance to visit and he must have been so proud.  

At Arromanches, situated on the western end of Gold Beach, we viewed the remaining sections of the Mulberry Harbour. The temporary harbours were constructed to enable troops, vehicles and supplies to be bought ashore following the successful landings and until the capture of Cherbourg.

The various sections were floated and towed across the channel by tugs and when constructed made up almost 7 miles of piers and jetties. More than two million men, 500,000 vehicles and four million tonnes of supplies were bought ashore before the harbour was abandoned. Various sections can still be seen along the beach and out to sea.

A second harbour was built at Omaha Beach but a violent storm wreaked havoc resulting in most of the caissons being destroyed forcing the harbour to be abandoned after a few days. 

Our first day ended at the Bayeaux War Cemetery for a short visit before heading back to the hotel for dinner and a well-deserved rest.

Day two was centred around the American beaches of Omaha and Utah. Our first stop was the Normandy American Cemetery, overlooking Omaha Beach, where 9,387 are buried.

A semi-circular memorial features a statue representing 'The Spirit of American Youth' and a path from the ornamental lake leads to the graves. All the crosses face west towards their native land. The opening scene of the film Saving Private Ryan was filmed at the cemetery.

We had the chance to walk around the cemetery or walk the short distance to the beach, I chose the latter.

Omaha Beach became known known as 'Bloody' Omaha due to several things that went wrong that day. Although the airborne assault dropped more than 12,000 bombs, many missed their targets as did the naval bombardment meaning the German defences remained virtually intact. Due to the bad weather and rough seas many of the landing craft were blown off-course resulting in troops landing all over the beach and not where originally planned. There were also plans to use converted Sherman tanks that were amphibious and would be bought ashore to clear a path. Unfortunately many were sunk before even reaching the beach. 

Add to this the fact that the German defences were much stronger than anticipated with mines, strongpoints and several obstacles on the beach. More than 2,000 troops lost their lives on Omaha but, following fierce fighting, the beach was eventually secured.

At the Overlord Museum there was a chance to view many artifacts, both Allied and German, used during the Battle of Normandy. The collection was originally assembled back in 1971 by Michael Leloup and exhibited in Falaise. In 2013 it was moved to its new location at Colleville-sur-Mer. Amongst the many items are several armoured and military vehicles, all displayed in realistic scenes.

Our lunch stop was at St Mere Eglise, a lovely village that was the first liberated by air. The capture, by the 82nd Airborne, was strategically important as it was located on the main road between Carentan and Cherbourg, a supply route for the Germans.

A fire in a house, caused from the flares dropped by the Pathfinder squadron, meant that the parachutists were illuminated and sitting targets for the German gunners. Local townspeople formed a line with buckets to douse the flames and save the house which was across the square from a church that had it's own story to tell. 

A paratrooper, John Steele, was left hanging when his parachute became entangled on the steeple, leaving him there while the fighting continued below. He was eventually cut down by the Germans and taken prisoner. There is some dispute as to how accurate the story is but today an effigy of Steele hangs on the steeple and is a popular attraction.

Following lunch we continued the story of the US Airborne forces with a visit to the site of the Richard Winters Leadership Memorial. Winters was the commanding officer of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division on D-Day.

He led a thirteen-man attack on fortified gun positions which had been shelling the US troops on Utah Beach. We visited the location of this action. The HBO mini-series Band of Brothers told the story of Easy Company.

Our final beach visit was Utah, the westernmost of the five landing areas of the Normandy Invasion. The beach, which covered an area three-miles wide, was secured with less casualties and was far more successful than at the neighboring Omaha Beach.

There are several memorials in the area, bunkers and gun emplacements as well as a museum. The museum is actually built around the remains of a German strongpoint. Like other museums in Normandy this one features vehicles, uniforms, armaments, historic documents and much more. A panoramic view of Utah Beach can be viewed from inside the museum and a glass extension houses a B-26 Marauder bomber. I enjoyed all three museums we visited during the tour and only wish I could return one day  and spend more time at each one reading all the information boards and taking a longer look at the exhibits.

The day was bought to a close with a visit to the German cemetery at La Cambe. The largest German cemetery in Normandy it contains over 21,200 military personnel. Initially German and American dead were interred in neighbouring fields at La Cambe but the Americans were later returned to the USA or buried at the Normandy American Cemetery. After the war 12,000 German dead were moved from various sites to La Cambe.

We visited the graves of Michael Wittmann who was a Waffen SS tank commander known for his ambush during the Battle of Villiers-Bocage on the British 7th Armoured Division on 13 June 1944.  During the attack 14 tanks, 15 personnel carriers and two anti-tank guns were destroyed. He was killed, along with the rest of his crew, on 8 August 1944 and he is buried with the other four crew at La Cambe.

Another busy but interesting day and it was time to head back to the hotel and dinner.

In the evening I headed by tram from our hotel into the centre of Caen for dinner and I want to take this opportunity to thank Mark and Karen Evans, David Ross and Andrew Ross who were happy for me to tag along. Caen is a beautiful city and I'd love to visit again one day and spend more time looking around.

On our third day we headed inland to visit the sites of battles in the Bocage countryside including Tilly-sur-Seulles and Fontenayle Presnel.

Our first stop was at the Abbaye d'Ardenne located in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe. It was here on 7 June, Canadian troops were held prisoner by the SS under the command of Kurt Meyer. Later that night eleven prisoners were taken into the garden and shot in the head. The next day a further seven were executed and two more a few days later.

The atrocity was treated as a war crime and Meyer was tried. He was sentenced to death although his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. He only served nine years!

Most of our visits on this day told the story of the Battle of the Falaise Pocket. Fought in August 1944, and following the Allied landings and breakout from the beaches, the German forces were encircled in a pocket south of Falaise. Over several days the Germans attempted many counter-attacks to breakout to the east and while many did escape more than 50,000 were captured. With the collapse of the German positions in Normandy the allies were free to move eastward and eventually liberate Paris.

At Hill 112, high ground that overlooked Caen and the surrounding area, we visited the memorial to the servicemen of the Wessex Regiment who fought and took the hill. Also located here was a Churchill Tank.

We then moved onto the Polish Memorial at Hill 262 (Mount Ormel Ridge) which commemorates the actions by the Polish 1st Armoured Division to defend the important position. The Germans launched fierce attacks but, despite heavy losses for the Polish troops, were unable to overrun the position and it resulted in the collapse of the German position in Normandy.

The final encirclement of the Germans took place in what has become known as 'The Corridor of Death.' With the Americans attacking from the south and west, Canadians and Poles from the North and the British from the North-West the Falaise Pocket had been sealed at enormous cost to the Germans. Men, horses and equipment littered the area and pilots of the Typhoons overhead would say they could smell the death rising up into their cockpits. The area looks so peaceful now but with the help of old photographs the reality of what happened was clear to see.

The last remaining German Tiger 1 tank left in Normandy can be found at Vimoutiers where it was abandoned by the retreating German Army. On our journey back to the hotel this was one of our final stops on the tour.

Our tour finished at another War Graves Cemetery where our guide Terry played a recording of a poem and The Last Post. Standing in the graveyard listening and looking around all the graves couldn't help but bring a tear to your eyes and an appreciation of all those that gave their lives so we could enjoy the freedom we have today. A very emotional end to the day.

The following days coach journey home was a chance to reflect on everything we had seen during the tour.

I must thank our guide Terry Whenham and coach drivers, Nicola Spencer and Mark Robinson, who all did an amazing job throughout the tour and made it even more special.

This has been a brief look at my trip and only scratches the surface of what happened during those days in June 1944. There are many books on D-Day and for a more detailed look at the events of 6 June 1944 it is worth checking them out. Of course I also recommend the films The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan along with the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers all of which are available on DVD/Blu-Ray.

Like the previous tours this latest trip was at times, sad, emotional but definitely educational. I'd have no hesitation in recommending Leger Battlefield Tours and hoping to book another trip soon.

PRINCE FROM ANOTHER PLANET

Mid-1972 and despite his popularity and following across the entire United States Elvis had never played an actual concert in New York City, although he had made television appearances back in the 1950s. However, that would change on 9 June when he undertook his second tour of the year. On this, the fiftieth anniversary, we look back at the concerts and the albums that have been released over the years.

The tour, promoted by Jerry Weintraub in association with RCA Record Tours, would open in New York at the famous Madison Square Garden. Originally only three concerts were scheduled, an evening show on Friday 9 June and afternoon and evening shows on Saturday 10 June.

Tickets went on sale on 8 May and even before the box office opened there were 2,000 people lined up ready to purchase their tickets.

However, due to demand an extra evening show was added on Sunday 11 June. As with the previous tour in April the ticket prices remained at $10, $7.50 and $5.

Elvis was the first artist to sell-out four nights at the Garden with a total of 80,000 tickets sold. There were no 'freebies' and everybody had to buy a ticket, including Bob Dylan, George Harrison, David Bowie and all the members of Ten Years After. It was alleged that John Lennon also attended one of the shows but he would later deny this.

A few hours before the opening show Elvis held a rare press conference in the Mercury Ballroom at the New York Hilton. Arranged by Colonel Parker, the idea was to win over the New York media, many of whom had criticised him back in the 1950s. A very small part of the press conference would be included in the Elvis On Tour movie.

His boyish charm and sense of humour was evident in many of his responses. When asked why did he think he had outlasted every other entertainer he joked, "I take vitamin E" before saying, "I just enjoy the business. I like what I'm doing."

Asked if he agreed he was a shy, humble, wonderful human being, he stood up opened his jacket and said, "Oh, I don't know what makes them think that, I got, you know, this gold belt."

Photograph: Bob Gruen

The subject of more concerts was bound to be asked and he responded by saying, "There's so many places I haven't been yet. Like I've never played New York. I've never been to Britain either." Pressed to give his thoughts on visiting Britain and a world tour he responded, "I'd like to, yes sir. I'd like to very much. I'd like to go to Europe. I'd like to go to Japan and all those places. I've never been out of the country except in the service."

He dealt with questions on his image, early criticism for his long hair and gyrations, rock 'n' roll music and why he didn't record many rock songs. Wisely he avoided questions about politics and draft dodgers.

The press conference was bought to a close when Colonel Parker announced, "I'd like to live up to my reputation of being a nice guy, this is it, folks."

Meanwhile Elvis went back to final rehearsals for the opening show. Backing Elvis on the New York shows and rest of the tour were the same musicians as on his previous tours... James Burton (guitar), John Wilkinson (rhythm guitar), Jerry Scheff (bass), Ronnie Tutt (drums), Glen D. Hardin (piano), Charlie Hodge (guitar) and vocalists J. D. Sumner & The Stamps, The Sweet Inspirations and Kathy Westmoreland. The Joe Malin Orchestra was conducted by Joe Guercio.

Opening Show - 9 June 1972

The set-list for all four concerts was similar to those on the April tour with a few songs dropped, a few added and a different opening song. Following the 2001 theme Elvis went straight into his first record, That's Alright, Mama and followed with a mix of his hits and covers including Love Me, Heartbreak Hotel, Blue Suede Shoes, Suspicious Minds, Proud Mary, Never Been To Spain, You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' and You Don't Have To Say You Love Me.

Afternoon & Evening Shows - 10 June 1972

Any fears he had about the shows and the reception by the media were unwarranted, the press had nothing but praise with the New York Times heading their review with, "Like A Prince From Another Planet". Reviewing the Opening Friday night concert, Chris Chase, wrote, "He looked like a prince from another planet, narrow-eyed, with high Indian cheekbones and a smooth brown skin untouched by his 37 years." He continued, "It was a lesson in dominance; we had just seen the comic who couldn't control anybody, not even himself, and that had got us nervous; now Elvis made it all right again."

The review continued, "Once in a great while, a special champion comes along, a Joe Louis, a Jose Cabablanca, a Joe DiMaggio, someone in whose hands the way a thing is done becomes more important than the thing itself. When DiMaggio hit a baseball, his grace made the act look easy and inevitable; whether it turned into a pop fly or a home run, it was beautiful, because he did what he did so well. Friday night, at Madison Square Garden, Elvis was like that. He stood there at the end, his arms stretched out, the great gold cloak giving him wings, a champion, the only one in his class."

There is no doubt that during the four concerts over three days Elvis won over his New York Critics and delighted the 80,000 fans in attendance.

Following the New York concerts the tour continued with shows in Fort Wayne (Indiana), Evansville (Indiana), Milwaukee (Wisconsin), three shows in Chicago (Illinois), Fort Worth (Texas), Wichita (Kansas) and wound up in Tulsa (Oklahoma).

Released just eight days after the concert, Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden, featured the complete evening show from Saturday 10 June. One reason given for the quick release of the album was to beat the bootleggers. Featuring the whole show it has been mentioned that it was sped up slightly to accommodate every song on a single album rather than making it a double-album, with a higher selling price. However, I have never really noticed this. 

Featuring a complete concert rather than being pieced together from several shows, like previous Elvis live albums, this one gives the listener an actual feel of a 1970s concert.

Due to the the fast turn around of the album, the cover had already been designed and was the one planned for the cancelled Standing Room Only album. It featured a photo of Elvis live in Jacksonville, Florida during the previous tour in April rather than an actual shot from the the New York concert and all that needed changing was the wording on the front. In my opinion it is one of the best Elvis live album covers ever.

In his review of the album, in Rolling Stone, Bob Palmer wrote, "This is a damn fine record, friend, and you're going to like it whether you like it or not.There's Wagnerian bombast, plenty of your favourite songs, some jukebox music and some Las Vegas lounge music. There's even some old fashioned rock 'n' roll. And most of all there's lots of Elvis, doing what he does best, strutting his stuff before his adoring fans." He also had nothing but praise for the band, "Every great rock and roll singer needs a great rock and roll band, and Elvis has one.

The album reached #11 on the charts and sold over 500,000 copies within the first couple of months of release and would go on to be awarded triple-platinum status for sales of over three million.

It soon became clear to fans that both shows were recorded on Saturday 10 June and this was confirmed in the many recording session books that appeared over the years. However, it would be twenty-five years before the other concert would gain a release.

In 1997 the afternoon show was released on CD with the appropriate title An Afternoon In The Garden. Unlike the previous album this one failed to chart.

Featuring an almost identical song list there were a few surprises, most notably a great version of the blues track Reconsider Baby, which had first appeared on his 1960 album Elvis Is Back. The 1972 live version had previously been released on the A Legendary Performer Volume 4 album in 1983 along with I'll Remember You. Another song from the show, I Can't Stop Loving You, also had an earlier release, this time on the compilation Welcome To My World, released in 1977.

The live version of Reconsider Baby was a contender for the Elvis (Fool) album and at the time paperwork showed the title as A Blues Jam, a mistake or an attempt to persuade buyers to buy the album thinking they were getting a new song. Whatever the reason, it did not make it onto the final release.

Although I always loved Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden, I feel that An Afternoon In The Garden has the edge. 

To celebrate the fortieth anniversary in 2012 of the concerts Sony/Legacy released the deluxe set Prince From Another Planet, taking its title from one of the press reviews of the time.

The set featured both concerts from 10 June,  along with a DVD that included amateur footage taken at the opening show on 9 June, interviews with TCB Band members James Burton, Glen D. Hardin and orchestra leader Joe Guercio. Also included was the complete New York press conference. The live footage was edited, cleaned and synched to the sound and although it only features parts of songs, due to the person filming having to change film regularly, it is fascinating to watch.

Mixed by Michael H. Brauer and mastered by Vic Anesini the sound on this release is amazing.

The 52-page booklet included an introduction by Ernst Mikael Jorgensen and Roger Semon, an essay by Lenny Kaye, from the Patti Smith Group, and scores of photos (from the press conference and all four shows), press reviews, adverts, record sleeves, labels and other memorabilia. There was also a complete transcript of the New York Press Conference.

In May 2023 the Follow That Dream label released Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden, a three-CD set that included both the Saturday 10 June afternoon and evening shows along with a third disc that featured the complete 9 June press conference held in the Mercury Ballroom, New York Hilton. Although a year late it was issued to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the concerts.

Packaged in the same style as the 'sessions' series, in an 8" x 8" slipcase with the CDs housed in a three-panel insert featuring illustrations of the original tape boxes, the audience and a great photo of Elvis from the afternoon show.

The 20-page booklet included an introduction by Ernst Mikael Jorgensen, a transcript of the press conference, liner notes from Phil Gelormine, from 2017, entitled, 'Remembering Elvis In New York' and full details of tracks, musicians and credits. Photos from the press conference, both shows along with memorabilia are also featured.

This new release was mixed by Matt-Ross Spang, whose previous work included Elvis On Tour, From Elvis In Nashville and Back In Nashville, and mastered by Jan Eliasson.  Sound is obviously subjective and everybody will have their own opinions on which version they prefer, but for me this latest release is my favourite.

Talking years later about the shows Glen D. Hardin commented, "I'm sure Elvis never sang better than he did at Madison Square Garden... he turned on the power, and powerful it was." It's hard to disagree.

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Back in 2002 Carole and I visited New York to celebrate our twentieth wedding anniversary and one of many highlights was our visit to Madison Square Garden. Here are a few images from that visit.

HOW HIGH THE MOON

Welcome to my latest blog entry which takes a brief look at one of my other interests... astronomy and astrophotography.

I have been a freelance photographer for more than seven years and during that time photographed many subjects including landscapes, architecture and wildlife. However, my main interest is working with models, both hobbyist and semi-professional. Over the years I have covered many styles... fashion, portrait, cosplay, swimwear, horror, pin-up, vintage, retro, lingerie and boudoir. I have worked with some wonderful models, most multiple times, and have been fortunate to have been published in a number of magazines. Other articles on my blog cover this in more detail.

A couple of years ago I purchased a new 150-600mm f5-6.3 Sigma lens which gave me the opportunity to pursue a new hobby, astronomy and astrophotography. Although only a beginner and with a lot to learn I have been pleased with my efforts so far.

My early attempts were images of full-moons, with mixed success and the three images below, all taken using my Canon EOS 77D and Sigma lens, are examples of my early efforts.

Flower Moon - May 2020

Full Moon - 30 November 2020

Snow Moon - 27 February 2021

I soon realised I needed to expand my knowledge of astronomy and astrophotography. One of the earliest pieces of information I discovered was that taking images of full-moons wasn't the best option, due to the fact that there is not much detail in the images and they looked very flat.

I wanted to achieve a well-exposed image where you could make out craters etc and soon learnt that to achieve this I should photograph the moon during other phases, such as crescent and half-moons, when it is less illuminated by the sun and when shadows help exaggerate the surface.

I bought a couple of books and magazines on astronomy/astrophotography from which I learnt a lot more about the night sky and capturing great images. 

Last year I purchased a telescope, a Celestron Nexstar 4SE, which would give me the opportunity to expand my interest, learn more about the night sky and capture better images by fitting my DSLR camera to the telescope.

My main interest is the moon and I knew when I purchased the telescope that it was more suitable for planetary rather than deep space imaging.

It took a while to understand how to use the telescope and I found alignment an uphill struggle, although it was made easier by the fact that I was only viewing the moon. It wasn't long before I had all the necessary pieces of hardware to connect my camera.

Having learnt about the different phases I avoided full-moons and started photographing at different times of the moons cycle... Waxing Gibbous, First Quarter, Waxing Crescent etc.

I made several attempts and most ended up being deleted but I soon took the image below which, although not perfect, I was very pleased with. It received many positive comments when I posted it on social media including some from members of a local astronomy club which I recently joined.

27 August 2021

At the present time I have only used the telescope to view and capture images of the moon. It is a steep learning curve and in the future I hope to improve my skills and attempt to capture images of other planets.

Recently I connected the telescope to my laptop making alingment much easier and I'm sure in the future I will be adding to my astrophotography kit.

My latest image, and personal favourite, was taken at twilight on 14 April 2022 and once again I was pleased with the results and the comments it received.

14 April 2022

I will never be an expert at astrophotography but will continue to watch the night sky and take photographs and hope one day to take that amazing shot that will make people go wow!

STANDING ROOM ONLY

Fifty years ago this month Elvis undertook his first tour of the year playing eighteen shows over fifteen days. He played to over 210,000 people during the tour which criss-crossed the States from Buffalo, New York to Albuquerque, New Mexico. In this article We look back at the tour, the months leading up to the concerts and the record releases, including the planned, although eventually cancelled, live album.

Back in January and February Elvis had played a month-long engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, his sixth season in the city since his comeback shows in August 1969. During the season a number of new songs were recorded live for possible inclusion on a future album including The Impossible Dream, Never Been To Spain, You Gave Me A Mountain, It's Over and the show-stopper An American Trilogy.

Released as a single in early-April, An American Trilogy, failed to achieve the kind of success they had hoped for when it stalled at #66 on the Billboard Hot 100. The sleeve advertised the Standing Room Only album stating it was a summer release and would be a live album. This, as we shall see later, never materialised and the live material along with those recorded at the March session would end up spread out over several singles and albums. There wouldn't be another single release until August, four months after the tour ended.

Around this time it has been mentioned that negotiations were taking place between Colonel Tom Parker and MGM for a new documentary film to be filmed in Vegas. The working title was Standing Room Only and there would also be a soundtrack album. MGM had agreed a fee of $250,000 (over $1.5 million today). The concept was later changed to a film covering Elvis on tour across the United States during his Spring Tour in April. Elvis would receive $1 million from the concert promoters (around $6 million today).

MGM approached two directors, Robert Abel and Pierre Adidge, who had worked on the Joe Cocker documentary Mad Dogs & Englishmen, which followed Cocker's tour of America in 1970. At first Abel was not that interested but a trip to Las Vegas to see Elvis in concert and a meeting with the star soon convinced him otherwise. Neither Abel or Adidge had been impressed with That's The Way It Is, feeling it was too staged. They would only work with Elvis if he acted naturally, to which he agreed.

They would film the opening show of the tour as a guide to the show and Elvis' performance as a preparation to the planned filming of four shows during the tour.

Before the tour started an RCA recording session was booked for late-March where Elvis recorded a number of tracks including Separate Ways, Fool, Always On My Mind, It's A Matter Of Time and Burning Love. Following the RCA sessions Elvis and the band spent the next two days rehearsing material for the upcoming tour.  They also recorded a 'mock studio session' for MGM to film for the proposed movie.

The tour, with ticket prices at $5, $7.50 and $10 and booked by Concerts West, opened with a sold-out show before a crowd of 17,360 at the Memorial Coliseum in Buffalo, New York. Elvis wore what was known as the Blue Nail Suit suit, one he would wear at several of the shows on this tour.

For those who have an interest in the various jumpsuits he wore on the tour this is some information... The Owl Suit (gaining its name from the fact that Elvis referred to the owl emblem during one of the shows), The Burning Love Suit (the same one featured on the Burning Love single, hence the name), The Pyramid (White Diamond) Suit, White Star (Firework) Suit, White Pinwheel Suit (also known as Lion Head Suit) and The Spectrum Suit (named after the venue he appeared at in November 1971) and, of course, several hundred scarves which he gave away every night!

The set-list for this and most of the other shows on the tour followed a similar pattern. To the strains of Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme from '2001: A Space Odyssey') Elvis hit the stage and launched into See See Rider. Songs recently tried out and recorded in Las Vegas were featured including Never Been To Spain and You Gave Me A Mountain along with many concert favourites from previous years like Proud Mary, Polk Salad Annie, I Can't Stop Loving You, Bridge Over Troubled Water and Suspicious Minds. Classic hits included Love Me, All Shook Up, Teddy Bear/Don't Be Cruel, Heartbreak Hotel, Hound Dog and Love Me Tender. Often asking for the house-lights to be turned up so he could see the audience Elvis would sing Funny How Time Slips Away. Two highlights of these shows were the recently recorded and future single Burning Love and the show-stopper An American Trilogy, his latest single.  Like most shows in the past couple of years he closed with Can't Help Falling In Love.

Reviews of the Buffalo concert were positive with comments like, 'Elvis still wields that old magic' and 'Presley magic still strong as record 17,360 turn out.' In his review in the Courier-Express, Thomas Putnam wrote, 'For a performer with a reputation for being somewhat extrovert, Presley seems remarkably shy, or at least his reluctance to exploit his appeal, which is certainly strong. His modesty is a fuel for the fan adoration. If he looked in the direction of some fans, they screamed, and Presley would look down, shaking his head, as if to wonder how the old response was still there.'

Concerts followed in Detroit at the Olympia Stadium, where 16,215 fans attended the evening show, the biggest crowd to ever see a concert at the 44-year old venue. Elvis' next concert in Dayton broke two records for attendance of 13,788 and ticket sales approaching $157,000 and apparently in a newspaper article it mentioned that the Colonel stopped counting when it reached $120,000!

The tour then headed south for two concerts in Knoxville, Tennessee and three shows in Virginia at Hampton Roads, Richmond and Roanoke. Back north for an evening concert in Indianapolis was followed by more concerts in the south at Charlotte and Greensboro, both in North Carolina, two shows each day in both Macon, Georgia and Jacksonville, Florida.

JoAnna Moore, writing in the Jacksonville Times-Union, wrote, 'He was a glimmering figure: wisps of his greaseless shag hair brushed the collar of his white, silver and stone-studded, caped jumpsuit.' She went on to praise his performance, 'His extremely physical presentation was alive in each song and the audience reaction never subsided.'

Moving westward Elvis played shows at the T. H. Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Arkansas and the Convention Center Arena in San Antonio, Texas. The tour wound up with an evening show before a crowd of almost 12,000 at the Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Following his longest tour since the 1950s Elvis returned to Memphis for a well-deserved rest and preparations for his next tour, which would include his first live appearances in New York City.

Four of the shows were filmed by MGM for the documentary film, still provisionally titled Standing Room Only... Hampton Roads, Richmond, Greensboro' and San Antonio. Footage was also filmed backstage at various venues.

RCA also planned to record the show in Knoxville on 8 April apparently 'to finalise the album' and release their own recording rather than depend on those MGM made. Unfortunately technical issues meant the recording didn't go ahead. 

So what happened to the planned Standing Room Only album and the live and studio material recorded earlier in the year? There were obviously serious plans to release the album as it was allocated the catalogue number LSP4762.

It is unknown if the Standing Room Album would have featured a complete live concert from the tour or a mix of the live recordings from Las Vegas and studio recordings from March, a similar format to the That's The Way It Is album from a few years earlier.

However, future plans would see the album delayed and finally cancelled. In June Elvis was booked to play Madison Square Garden in New York and there was also talk of a satellite TV special from Hawaii later in the year.

When the decision was made to record the June New York concerts and release it a few days later as Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden, featuring an almost identical set list as the shows recorded on tour, it seemed logical to delay the Standing Room Only album from its original scheduled release date of September to October.

The original date for the Hawaii concert, which was going to be recorded and released, was November but at the request of MGM, who didn't want it to clash with the release of the concert movie, it was rescheduled for early 1973. This signaled the end of Standing Room Only. There were just too many live projects scheduled and the album was finally withdrawn.

In what can only be seen as bad management and a crazy commercial decision the strongest song, and #2 hit single, from the March studio sessions, Burning Love,  ended up on the budget release Burning Love And Hits From His Movies along with some of his worst ever movie songs. The same fate befell Separate Ways although RCA must have realised their earlier mistake and they dropped the And Hits From His Movies tag. Even so, releasing his strongest material on budget albums was a mistake when they could have still created a strong album that would have shown Elvis' current musical direction. Another missed opportunity.

In 2009 the FTD label released an album titled Standing Room Only which bought together the January/February live and March studio recordings together in a 2-CD set. A final track selection of the originally planned album is not known but this release gives the listener an idea of what could have been done. The album artwork was taken from an original mock-up in the RCA files.

It is interesting to note that the photo of Elvis, taken in Jacksonville during the April tour, was used on the cover of the At Madison Square Garden album.

However, material officially released from the March tour rehearsals and April concerts has been scarce with only the FTD release Elvis On Tour The Rehearsals and CD 4 of the Close Up set which featured the San Antonio concert.

It took the bootleggers to plug the gap and they have more than made up for this with all four concerts that were filmed/recorded and the rehearsals released on several different labels over the years. The most comprehensive bootleg release was issued by Amigo International, Elvis On Tour Deluxe Edition, which was a nine CD set featuring the four concerts, rehearsals and the complete interviews recorded for the film. Presented in a slip-case with a book with over 120 pages full of photos, memorabilia and accompanying text. 

Apparently FTD are planning to release a box set to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Elvis On Tour later in the year and in a future blog I will be looking at the movie, it's release and success along with a review of the FTD release.

Till then... 'Elvis has left the building, thank you and goodnight.'

TRIO - THE SISTERHOOD OF SONG

The album Trio, a collaboration featuring Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt was released on 4 March 1987, thirty-five years ago this month. To celebrate I am looking back at the recording, release and success of the album. The majority of the text in this article is taken from my book Linda Ronstadt-A Life In Music which was published back in 2009 although there is additional/edited text throughout. The illustrations have also been added for this article.

(Photographer: Robert Blakeman)

Sessions were held back in 1978, when Linda teamed up with fellow country stars Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris, although they hadn’t gone smoothly and one of the reasons given at the time was problems finding enough time to record and work together. All three artists decided to wait until they could do the album justice.

In an article printed years later in USA Today, the three artists talked about the problems encountered. “The first attempt at recording eight years ago involved too many chiefs and not enough indians. So we had a pow wow between the three of us and said why don’t we wait until we can do it properly. Let’s weed out and get rid of some of the aggravations,” said Parton.

At the start of 1986, it seemed the time was right and in January they convened at The Complex in West Los Angeles to begin work on a new album under the direction of George Massenburg. A stellar group of musicians were on hand including Albert Lee, John Starling and Mark O’Connor on guitars, Herb Pederson on banjo, Steve Fishell on pedal steel and dobro, David Lindley on mandolin, Bill Payne on keyboards and Russ Kunkel on drums. Old friend Kenny Edwards was also on hand playing acoustic and electric bass. Sessions ran, on and off, through to November with additional recording taking place at Woodland Studios in Nashville and Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood.

Edwards had a lot of respect for all three artists: “I hadn’t been working with Linda for while when she called me for that. I remember clearly that between the three of them there was an awful lot of expertise in that kind of country music. One evening, after the session, I jammed with Emmylou until the small hours and she knew more songs than anyone I had ever met. Dolly was always sweet and in a good mood and the sessions went very smoothly despite the three stars having to make room for each other. Linda has always been very generous with other people whose talent she admired and was a big supporter of Emmylou in the early days of her career.”

(Photographer: Robert Blakeman)

Their sense of humour showed during the sessions and in USA Today in February 1987 producer Massenburg recalled that they “showed up one day in Tina Turner wigs carrying pink cassette players.” They did take the recording seriously though and in the same issue Linda talked about the project, “What we really have in common is the love of that music. We can do it for hours and hours and never get bored.”

Just prior to the album’s release in March a single was issued, To Know Him Is To Love Him backed with Farther Along. The a-side had been written by Phil Spector who had written the haunting track after seeing the words ‘To Know Him Was To Love Him’ inscribed on his father’s gravestone. The song was a 1958 number one hit for The Teddy Bears, who had named themselves after the recent Elvis hit. The group disbanded soon after although Annette Kleinbard, who sung the haunting lead vocal on the original, continued a career in music. Spector would go on to make a very successful career as a producer with his legendary ‘Wall Of Sound’ technique. The single, which at the time was the fastest charting record in the history of Warner Brothers (Nashville), reached #1 in the country charts, only her second single to achieve this. At the Country Music Association Awards, Phil Spector picked up the ‘Song Of The Year’ award, an unexpected surprise for him. A video promo was filmed and showed the three girls sitting by the fireplace in Linda’s home, laughing and joking while cutting out valentines. The film’s director was George Lucas, who was Linda’s boyfriend at the time, and he sent the girls roses - red for Ronstadt, white for Parton and pink for Harris.

Following the end of the sessions, and before the album’s release, Linda was kept busy with various concert appearances across the USA. On 13th October she appeared, alongside Parton and Harris, at the famed Grand Old Opry in Nashville where they performed ‘My Dear Companion’ a track from the forthcoming album. 

The long-awaited album, released on 4 March 1987, was a stunningly beautiful selection of traditional and original country material paying tribute to the harmony-laden music that played such an important role in the trio’s early careers. Parton remembered the album fondly in her 1994 autobiography Dolly, My Life And Other Unfinished Business when she wrote, “Of course, the Trio album, the one with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, was one of the crowning achievements of my career and something I am very proud of. I sounded better with those two incredible voices than I ever have, before or since.”

The opening track, The Pain Of Loving You was written and recorded by Parton and Porter Wagoner back in 1971 and had originally appeared on their Two Of A Kind album. The harmonies from all three artists, some great acoustic and steel guitar work from Harris, Albert Lee and Steve Fishell sets the mood for the rest of the album.

To Know Him Is To Love Him, was an ideal song for the three girls to tackle and it is easy to see why this track was chosen as a single, and why it reached the top of the charts. Harris takes the lead for the song which features some unusual backing from Ry Cooder on tremolo guitar and David Lindley on Kona Hawaiian guitar. It is interesting to note that Peter and Gordon recorded the song under the title To Know You Is To Love in 1965 and it became a top ten hit, the same Peter Asher who became Linda’s manager and producer. Harris is also the featured singer on My Dear Companion, a beautiful performance that would have not been out of place on her Roses In The Snow album.

Linda takes over the lead for three numbers. Recorded back in February 1932 Jimmie Rodger’s Hobo’s Meditation is really a man’s song but Linda does a great job and, as with many of her previous covers, makes the song her own. Hank Snow, the 'Singing Ranger', also recorded the song. I’ve Had Enough is a typical Kate McGarrigle track and over the years Linda had recorded many of her songs including Heart Like A Wheel and Talk To Me Of Mendocino. She is outstanding on Telling Me Lies, written by Linda Thompson and Betty Cook. The song earned the pair a Grammy nomination for 1987’s ‘Best Country Song (Songwriters Award)’ and they performed it on the show. The latter two songs are the only ones on the album to feature strings and these were arranged and conducted by David Campbell.

Those Memories Of You is mostly Parton, supported by some of the best harmony singing on the album. She is ably supported by excellent playing from David Lindley on mandolin, Mark O’Connor on fiddle and the Hawaiian guitar, this time played by Steve Fishell. This is a foretaste of Parton’s foray into bluegrass that culminated in her three excellent albums The Grass Is Blue (1999), Little Sparrow (2000) and Halos And Horns (2002). She also takes the lead on both Making Believe and Wildflowers and shines on both tracks. Wildflowers was semi-autobiographical with its story of a girl who leaves her mountain home to find success in the outside world.

The album closes with two traditional numbers, Rosewood Casket and Farther Along. The former, with just acoustic guitar, mandolin, dulcimer and acoustic bass is a sad song with a very sweet melody that is well suited to their voices. The track was arranged by Avie Lee Parton, Dolly’s mother, and it is probably from her that she learned the song. The song is performed by Parton with vocal support from Harris and Ronstadt on the chorus. It features some of the best singing on the album, at times Parton’s vocal sends shivers up the spine. The gospel track Farther Along, arranged by John Starling and Harris, features even less instrumentation with Albert Lee playing acoustic and high-strung guitar and Bill Payne providing all the keyboard work. Parton, Ronstadt and Harris take a verse each and join together on the chorus. The song is yet another stunning performance with beautiful vocal harmonies of which they should be proud. It is also a fitting close to the album.

During the recording of the album they spent a lot of the time discussing new outfits, especially the ones that were created by Manuel, a Hollywood designer, for use on the album cover. Linda is wearing a black skirt with a fringed top, Dolly is shown in fringed crimson skirt and matching top while Emmylou is dressed in black jeans, shirt and a pink jacket. The back of the album featured a black and white shot representative of the material on the album. They are all shown wearing lace dresses which has a turn of the century feel. Linda came up with the idea for the photo: “It was my idea to have us in Victorian dresses, because stylistically what we had in common was from the early part of the century. We have different figures and we all have different styles of dressing and we didn’t want to look like three people who’d never met each other.” The album cover images were taken by photographer Robert Blakeman. 

The inner bag contained caricatures of the three girls in their underwear along with various items of clothing that could be cut out and added. This was illustrated by Andy Engel based on Manuel’s designs.

Reviews were mixed. In Stereo Review (July 1987) Alanna Nash felt that Dolly Parton’s contribution was a major factor in the album’s success “...the most vibrant contributions are undoubtedly Parton’s. Not only do her two original songs - The Pain Of Loving You, which she wrote with Porter Wagoner years ago, and Wildflowers – pick up the pace, but it is Parton who finally breaks the album’s arch restraint with Alan O’Bryant’s Those Memories Of You, a strong and mournful bluegrass tune in the best Bill Monroe tradition.” She did go on to praise the production of the album as “a gorgeous sampler of female harmony singing and thrilling instrumental solos.”

In the July 1987 edition of Playboy, Robert Christagau wrote: “Trio is a literally thrilling apotheosis of harmony – three voices that have thrived and triumphed individually engaged in heartfelt co-operation.” Later, he says, in an echo of Nash’s thoughts, “Parton’s penetrating purity dominates the album as it once did country music history. The only one of the three who’s had the courage of her roots recently, Harris sounds as thoughtful up front as she does in the backup roles that are her forte. And while Ronstadt’s big, plummy contralto will always hint of creamed corn, she’s a luscious side dish in this company.”

“Trio, bad album full of woman-as-victim songs” ran the headline in the Gastonia, North Carolina Gazette. They felt the album was a disheartening mistake and that their voices never quite gelled! They picked out Linda as the major problem, feeling her voice was far too polished and the project should have been a duo. In closing they wrote: “Overall, Trio is severely flawed by misdirected emotions and an unfortunate mix of voices. The album is far less than the sum of its parts.” A harsh point of view and one that most of the the record buying public didn’t agree with.

At one of the Saturday night Grand Ole Opry shows, not long after the album’s release, many of the country greats had nothing but praise for the album. Hank Snow, a friend of Jimmie Rodgers, praised their version of Hobo’s Meditation, as did the Wilburn Brothers for Making Plans.

Although there was talk of a tour to promote the album Parton’s schedule, which included her TV show, put an end to any plans. It was unfortunate as a tour by three of the biggest artists in country music would have been a major event and would have taken the music of Trio to a much wider audience. Although there was no tour to promote the album there were several promotional appearances on TV featuring all three artists. On 13 March they appeared on The Carson Show and performed Hobo’s Meditation, Haunting Memories and their latest single To Know Him Is To Love Him. Other appearances over the coming months included Entertainment Tonight, where Linda talked about George Lucas’ involvement in the making of their video, the Today Show, Hollywood Insider and Solid Gold. Many of these shows featured the video and also clips from Parton’s own TV show Dolly when all three artists appeared.

The album spent an incredible 84 weeks on the country charts, with five spent at the top, while on the pop chart it reached #6 with a respectable 48 weeks in the top 200. The RIAA certified the album gold then platinum on the same day on 14 July. In the UK the album only managed to reach #60.

Three more singles were lifted from the album, and although none repeated the success of To Know Him Is To Love Him, they all made the top ten. In May Telling Me Lies became the first country single to be released on CD by Warner Brothers and this was followed in September by Those Memories Of You and then Wildflowers. All three made the country top ten and in terms of singles chart success Trio would remain Linda’s most successful album. More success followed at the 1987 Grammy Awards when the album was nominated in both the ‘Album Of The Year’ and ‘Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal’ categories winning the latter. Unfortunately Linda couldn’t attend the ceremony to pick up the award in person.

A second album, Trio II, was released in 1999. The twelve year gap between the two albums was caused by a number of problems and as this article is to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Trio I will not be covering this album here.

In 2016 a 3-CD set, The Complete Trio Collection, was released and featured both Trio and Trio II with a third disc bringing together twenty alternate versions and previously unreleased tracks from both albums. Of these no fewer than fifteen originate from sessions for the first album.

There are alternate takes of Wildflowers (a less traditional version), My Dear Companion (featuring a solo vocal from Emmylou Harris) and Making Plans (a solo vocal from Dolly Parton) and alternate mixes of I've Had Enough and Farther Along.

Previously unreleased songs included Pleasant As May, Where Will The Words Come From, Are You Tired Of Me, In A Deep Sleep, Grey Funnel Line and an acappella version of Calling My Children Home. Also featured is the gospel track You Don't Knock, co-written by Pops Staples and the compilers of the set left in a short bit of studio chat at the end of the song.  

Both Even Cowgirls Get The Blues and Mr Sandman had been previously released on Emmylou's 1977 album Blue Kentucky Girl and 1981 release Evangeline respectively. However, the version of Even Cowgirls... on her solo album has Parton and Ronstadt singing harmony, whereas on the Trio Collection they share verses. Another track, My Blue Tears, despite being listed as unreleased and from 1994 is actually from the early abandoned sessions featuring all three artists in 1978 and was originally released on Ronstadt's 1982 album Get Closer album.

Palms Of Victory, an outtake from the first album, appeared on Emmylou Harris' 2007 compilation Songbird: Rare Tracks and Forgotten Gems and for reasons unknown, was not included on The Complete Trio Collection.

I'll leave the final words to Emmylou Harris, "I first met Linda in 1973, and a long friendship was forged when we both realized our favourite 'girl singer' was Dolly Parton. We knew then we were destined to be soul sisters, but could never have imagined that only a few years later we would not only meet and befriend Dolly, but spend those glorious hours in each other's living rooms and in the studio harmonizing on songs we all loved - a welcome respite from the pressures of solo recordings. As a singer, nothing compares with the joy of adding your voice to those of others, especially when those voices happen to be Dolly's and Linda's. And I am so grateful to have been a part of such a unique experience."