March '96 EPE Super-Secret Summit

[Kris P]

I read with interest in Sonny West's latest book that in March of 1996 there was a 'super-secret' summit held with EPE and their licensees decreeing that the years 1974 through 1977 are to be a black hole and that Elvis's image would be be forever frozen in time from 1973 backward. According to them, the last three years and a half years of Elvis' life marked his physical and mental meltdown, and it's an image that EPE cannot market.
To my way of thinking this is a disgrace.......they have taken EP from a human being to a commodity..........nothing if predictable, I guess.

[riley]

what a coincidence, they took 1973... the year Pris left his life....

Like she did not want him to exist after her but he did, he sure did. He had Linda and he made fabulous songs and gave great great live shows.

[Kris P]

Indeed they did, Riley.
Strange to that EPE have taken this stance, when one considers that they only own the rights to Elvis's recordings from March 1973 onward.

[Gary1]

Personally i'd take what Sonny West has to say with a pinch of salt.Considering he never worked for Elvis after 1976 how would he know.

[Kris P]

He knows more than I, though maybe not as much as you?

[Getlo]

I read with interest in Sonny West's latest book that in March of 1996 there was a 'super-secret' summit held with EPE and their licensees

What is the page reference for this please?

[Kris P]

Page 293........

[Lonniebealestreet]

Interesting, though not at all surprising. Several of us have been saying for years that according to EPE Elvis pretty much died after Aloha. Funny to hear someone relate that it was decreed officially over a decade ago.

By the way, though I am sure there is something to the Priscilla angle, I would have to think that Elvis' looking as good as he did for the Aloha special, which is well documented and rightfully marketed, has quite a bit to do with the '73 mark.

[utmom2008]

I read with interest in Sonny West's latest book that in March of 1996 there was a 'super-secret' summit held with EPE and their licensees decreeing that the years 1974 through 1977 are to be a black hole and that Elvis's image would be be forever frozen in time from 1973 backward. According to them, the last three years and a half years of Elvis' life marked his physical and mental meltdown, and it's an image that EPE cannot market.
To my way of thinking this is a disgrace.......they have taken EP from a human being to a commodity..........nothing if predictable, I guess.
That's about the worst thing I've heard in awhile. It makes it sound as though Elvis were a "thing" instead of a living breathing human being. Disgraceful..........(n)(n)

[rickb]

So no TROUBLE, no Hurt, no Way Down, no Unchained Melody.
Kris P is right - this is an example of marketing forgetting about the human being behind it all

[EDOEP]

So no TROUBLE, no Hurt, no Way Down, no Unchained Melody.
Kris P is right - this is an example of marketing forgetting about the human being behind it all

has EPE ever seen the human being!?

IMHO to them (ALL of them, includes LMP, PP leading the pack anyway. OK, you can bash me now for mentioning LMP) he always 'only' was a product. otherwise their licensing of trash-memorabilia with 'PANTS-factor' cannot be explained.

sad, but true.

hugs, ellie

[riley]

I still "want " to think Lisa is different. But she grew up without him, always under the influence of her mother ....

30years is such a long time and she still was a kid...

I'm sure she loved her dad but the memories must be fading away and what is left for her is the product, the business and everything that goes with it.

If you consider it, Elvis provided for them all, in lifetime and in death.

They are so wealthy, they don't even know what to do with the money anymore I guess and thanks to who??????

[jak]

Indeed they did, Riley.
Strange to that EPE have taken this stance, when one considers that they only own the rights to Elvis's recordings from March 1973 onward.

They are making the money from his image and likeness.Elvis' recording output from 73 on is next to nothing.They basically dont have much to exploit in that area.
Jak

[Sonny]

Still, over the years material from those years got released on cd thru FTD. The simple fact they can not release pro footage on DVD, is that there isn't any. Aside from the 77 CBS Special of course.

Sonny

[Getlo]

Still, The simple fact they can not release pro footage on DVD, is that there isn't any. Aside from the 77 CBS Special of course.

Many would disagree with you about this.

But not I !!

Pro footage ... Pffffffttttt !!

[Sonny]

Hahaha, it's true right?

Forget the poor looking snippets by Japanese stations.

[Gary1]

He knows more than I, though maybe not as much as you?

It's pretty obvious he knows more than us.I just don't see how he could know about this so called meeting.Snippets of Elvis in concert have been used by EPE on dvd and video so they are not really denying what he looked like in 1977.As sonny (moderator) said really speaking there's only the CBS Special that they have left to release.It would be stupid for them release it as it is and if they ever do decide to release it there's going to have to be a huge job getting it right.

[utmom2008]

I still "want " to think Lisa is different. But she grew up without him, always under the influence of her mother ....

30years is such a long time and she still was a kid...

I'm sure she loved her dad but the memories must be fading away and what is left for her is the product, the business and everything that goes with it.

If you consider it, Elvis provided for them all, in lifetime and in death.

They are so wealthy, they don't even know what to do with the money anymore I guess and thanks to who??????
You got it right Riley...........

[Miss Clawdy]

I still "want " to think Lisa is different. But she grew up without him, always under the influence of her mother ....

30years is such a long time and she still was a kid...

I'm sure she loved her dad but the memories must be fading away and what is left for her is the product, the business and everything that goes with it.

If you consider it, Elvis provided for them all, in lifetime and in death.

They are so wealthy, they don't even know what to do with the money anymore I guess and thanks to who??????

You are right Riley, but how can she lose the love and pride for
her dad? And like Ellie said Elvis is only a product for those masteries,
but his own daughter....!?
What I can understand least of all is that she sold the
rights to Elvis' name....she must have been struggling a lot!

[riley]

I think for her there is Elvis the father (memories , stories, pictures and good feelings)

AND Elvis the product , the business...

IMO she keeps those two seperated...

Don't know how to explain it properly but that's how I feel it...

[Suzan]

I agree Riley, she keeps the 2 seperate...in a statement from life magazine she said "Certain feelings I have are for my dad, not Elvis Presley".
I don't think they are keeping it from '73 back, not w/the cd's anyway. But I am seeing it in footage and in images they sell.