TCBCast: An Unofficial Elvis Presley Fan Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Gurdip, Bec and Justin decided to crack open a time capsule from the early 1980s and inside sat the album that has become possibly the most divisive Elvis bootleg ever released. Intended as a spoof of cash-grab compilations of "hit" Elvis movie songs by RCA in the 1970s, an infamously crass compilation bringing together some of the "worst" of Elvis's film songs at first glance seems to be going for mere shock value, but the contents of the album and the story behind its compilation do reveal in-jokes from deep within the Elvis fandom at the time.

The question then becomes, did the jokes reach their intended target or did they fly over everyone's head and simply pile on more mockery and add to the problem? Justin reflects on Greil Marcus's contemporary account of the album from 1985, which frames it as part of an ironic, playful punk recontextualization amid a cultural reckoning with Elvis as an object of mass attention, but also ponders whether that read misses the forest for the trees. And what of the songs themselves? Do such songs as "US Male" and "Beach Boy Blues" deserve to be labeled as among the "greatest sh*t"? We discuss it all within!

For Song of the Week, Gurdip blasts through the breezy "Carny Town" from Roustabout, while Justin meditates on "We Call on Him," the inspirational number written explicitly for Elvis released as an Easter single in 1968.

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. If you'd like to support us another way, please drop a positive review on your favorite podcast platform!

Following the apparent roaring success of Baz Luhrmann's "EPiC" at the Toronto International Film Festival, Justin and Bec decided rather than merely recap reviews and discuss the hype (though there is a bit of that, too!), to look backwards toward the original 1970 and 1972 films "That's The Way It Is" and "Elvis On Tour," and the component elements that have made "EPiC" possible.

The duo ponder whether the voracious (and vocal) collector mindset that has taken over the fandom, demanding immediate access to every scrap of available content, has caused some fans to miss the narrative and artistic voices of the directors and creatives who sought to create genuinely artful and thematically resonant documentaries while capturing Elvis as a phenomenon and as an artist.

Going further - what to make of other fan-focused releases derived from the same components like "The Lost Performances" and "That's The Way It Is: Special Edition" that delivered on the promise of new footage but lost the sense of authorial voice and storytelling in favor of Colonel Parker's preferred, and more readily digestible, "personal appearance film" style?

Also... why is Baz Luhrmann on Justin's sh*tlist now?

For Song of the Week, Bec checks Girl Happy's ho-hum rock pastiche "I've Got To Find My Baby" off the list while Justin has "Words" with Elvis's cover of the Bee Gees' 1968 hit.

After an intensive two week deep dive reassessing the work of producer Felton Jarvis, Justin comes up for air only to find one Gurdip Ladhar waiting patiently at the surface. 

Gurdip eases his way into the water, bringing along a favorite comfort Camden, 1971's "I Got Lucky," a collection of songs mostly comprised of movie material previously only available on Extended Plays (and one excellent non-movie single B-side!)  

But we're not quite done with Felton yet - the last two episodes provoked some great responses long and short from Elvis fans of all kinds, and we tackle some of the most pointed questions and queries to result from the effort. Gurdip also gives his thoughts on recent Elvis news.

For Song of the Week, Gurdip picks up right where he left off, picking the upbeat "I Love Only One Girl" from the feature film "Double Trouble," while Justin goes all-in on another one of Elvis's singularly iconic 1950s rock-and-blues recordings that's wildly out of season: "Santa Claus is Back in Town." 

In the finale to the epic Elvis and country music miniseries, Justin and guest host Garrett Cash briskly fly over nearly four and a half decades of time, tracing Elvis' impact and influence on country music, starting with several of the tributes paid to him immediately following his death and his posthumous country hits, including the success of the 1981 "Guitar Man" country overdub project and its proposed follow-up, cut short by the untimely passing of producer Felton Jarvis.

They follow the progression of country from "urban cowboy" to "neo-traditional" in the late 1980s-early 1990s, as artists begin paying homage directly to Elvis following milestone anniversaries marking his passing, with tribute albums, movie soundtracks and direct covers, and the guys try to reckon with the induction of Elvis into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the CMA's backhanded recognition of his influence and importance.

The late 90s give Justin and Garrett a chance to talk about country at its pop crossover peak of the 20th Century, with acts like Shania Twain, The Chicks and Garth Brooks all reaching mainstream audiences just the way Elvis did, as well as how innovations in technology and changes in regulations affected the country industry, including Brooks' successful attempts to overtake Elvis as the best selling solo artist in the United States.

Moving into the 21st century, there's an aside to listen to some of virtual duets on the 2008 "Christmas Duets" album, which featured all prominent women country artists adding their vocals alongside Elvis, and then ponder what Elvis' career and rockabilly/rock'n'roll music can teach us about the 2010s "bro country" fad. Lastly, they briefly examine how Taylor Swift rose from the field of country music to become the Elvis equivalent of the current generation; and to connect to the themes we've been developing throughout the series, they even take a look at the unexpected roots of perhaps the biggest hit in country music this very month - one that has now crossed into the pop mainstream.

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

How Nashville Became Music City USA by Michael Kosser

The Garth Factor by Patsi Bale Cox

Orion: The Man Who Would Be King (Documentary, Glimmer Films)

Pure Country (Movie, Warner Bros. Pictures)

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/blogs/our-country/blake-shelton-infuriates-traditionalists-grandpa-baiting-comments-215927626.html

https://www.npr.org/2009/08/20/112056043/without-further-ado-songstress-tracy-chapman-returns

Other Recommended Resources:

The Encyclopedia of Country Music by The Staff of The Country Music Hall of Fame

Finding Her Voice: Women in Country Music by Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann

MUSIC PLAYLISTS: Note: neither playlist is complete for everything included in the series as some tracks do not exist on one platform, the other, or both. The YouTube playlist was compiled while editing so includes some songs not ultimately included, while the Spotify playlist was done afterwards.

YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg-DEia9bCgYw0crdiUuT6x41ooG2wyKk

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7m4mB4DlTIlfwNKIL1Rs8K?si=5be5b9c064374e37 

Thank you to all of our amazing TCBCast Patreon supporters. If you enjoyed this miniseries, please consider supporting the show over 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 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/

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!

Remembering our friend Jaime Kay, host of The Jungle Room Podcast and recurring TCBCast guest.

We reflect as best we can on her passing and her impact on the Elvis community, then we're grateful to be able to share with you one last gift from Jaime Kay: the 2019 crossover episode of the Jungle Room when we first joined her on her show, an episode otherwise now completely unavailable and inaccessible online, restored from a lucky backup of the original raw audio. 

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

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

Part 2 of the Elvis and Country Music saga picks up right where Justin and guest host Garrett Cash left off, with a deconstruction of both sides of Elvis' first Sun single. Elvis's country career is traced through his time at Sun and on the Louisiana Hayride, dedicating time to sidebar the realities of how flawed the way we discuss and understand country music as a genre during this period will always be due to the historical omission of the countless non-white artists who loved performing country music, but were disincentivized from recording in that genre by A&R reps and studio execs, and rarely allowed a welcome presence with country audiences. And to that end, was Chuck Berry just a country music artist hiding in plain sight all along?

We also begin to see the beginnings of the development of the Nashville Sound as Elvis joins RCA and single-handedly popularizes the gospel backing group sound in country music by demanding to work with The Jordanaires. Zig-zagging between the "traditional" country songs Elvis dabbled in during the 1950s and the actual charting country hits he had between 1956-1958, like, you know, All Shook Up, Jailhouse Rock and Hard Headed Woman, we land on the popular notion held in country lore that Elvis simply outgrew country by the late 1950s... but what if the truth was more complicated - and malicious - than how the Nashville establishment, and even more contemporary retrospectives like Ken Burns' Country Music, has told it?

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 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 2nd episode are:

Ken Burns’ Country Music - Documentary, Book & Soundtrack

The Birth of Rock and Roll: The Illustrated Story of Sun Records by Colin Escott and Peter Guralnick

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

Walk A Lonely Street: Elvis Presley, Country Music and the True Story of Heartbreak Hotel by Tony Plews

Cocaine and Rhinestones by Tyler Mahan Coe

The Nashville Sound by Paul Hemphill

How Nashville Became Music City, USA by Michael Kosser

TheMusicalDivide.com: "Pop Goes the Country" Blog