Jailhouse Rock 45 RPM Elvis from Hasbro is ready to shake things up! The King is here to prove that Elvis memorabilia is not child's play. This advertisement appeared in a 1993 issue of Entertainment Weekly Magazine.
Accessing your favorite music used to be a lot more difficult. If you did not have a record store near you, there was always TIME LIFE Music, which featured Elvis Presley songs in its collection.
You can get this set on two LP records, or a Double length audio cassette, or this new thing called a Compact Disc.
Elvis Presley is famous all over the world.
Who can forget the film "Christmas in Bequia" starring Elvis and Ann-Margret? Or that big Elvis Presley concert in Maldives? Everyone remembers those!
Ads for items like Elvis stamps and collector's plates could often be found in issues of TV Guide.
If there wasn't Elvis merchandise advertised inside, sometimes Elvis appeared on the front cover.
Sometimes special Elvis CDs were included alongside the magazine, too. Note the warning here that "Loading the CD onto a non-tray-loading device is likely to damage the machine." Yikes!!
There's also five different covers to collect! If you were too lazy to drive to every supermarket in town to get them all, you could have ordered them from TV Guide.
But even if you got all those covers, there were still more you had to look for.
TV Guide taunts collectors with Elvis covers from the past. Good luck finding them on eBay.
Elvis and TV Guide made sure you wouldn't have a Blue Christmas. They included Elvis CD-ROM discs directly on their magazines in 2006.
These could have been nice, low cost (free) gifts for Elvis fans.
Elvis and some of his friends found their way on U.S. Stamps, too.
Be sure to put a stamp on your letter to Santa Claus. There's lots of Elvis stuff you'll want him to bring.
It's time for Elvis watches!
They even made multiple versions of Elvis Stamp Watches. You'll need to buy one of each.
It's "Make-Out Pillow Elvis" and an "Elvis Face Throw Rug" to sleep on.
I guess all the CD Tower companies have gone out of business now. Sad.
I've never been to Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. I do think Paul Simon would be the most logical choice for their spokesperson.
I would like to see an Elvis theme park with rides at Graceland. There has to be some sort of thrill ride called "The Pelvis."
Graceland was reported as a hot spot for earthquakes back in 1994, as this Entertainment Weekly article discusses.
I love this Elvis illustration by David Cowles, a talented artist that has created celebrity images for Entertainment Weekly for many years.
It's time for an Elvis trivia question, courtesy of an old issue of Entertainment Weekly.
How did you do? I had no idea what the answers were.
Is there a Heartbreak Hotel at Graceland? There should be.
I'm picturing a Disney-style hotel with an Audio Animatronic Elvis stage show.
Did you buy the Heartbreak Hotel plate? You really should have. Read why.
I bet this is worth a fortune now. Assuming you did not mess it up with peanut butter and banana sandwiches.
During the late Eighties and early Nineties, you could find Elvis movies on The Disney Channel.
Kids today may not know this, but The Disney Channel used to play all kinds of different movies and TV shows.
I think Disney and Elvis could be great partners and do something really cool with Graceland.
Stitch from Lilo and Stitch would be a great mascot for Graceland. Plus, Stitch is big in Japan, and could bring in more tourists. More on Stitch later...
This Elvis '68 Comeback Special Plate ad is from an old Disney Channel Magazine.
Was this a good deal in 1992? I wonder what these sell for today...
Hasbro also issued a '68 Comeback Special Elvis figure.
One accessory inadvertently not included is the pile of underwear that has been thrown on the stage.
The '68 Comeback Special was really big for Elvis. It was #5 on the 100 Music Moments That Rocked TV list that TV Guide made in 2003.
What was the #1 Moment That Rocked TV? I'll NEVER TELL!!! MWA-HA-HA!!
People have reported numerous Elvis sightings over the years.
By 1993, Elvis started appearing on Ted Turner's TNT.
At this time, Elvis could also be found in some advertising campaigns.
I'm not sure if this is "officially Elvis" but it looks like him to me.
TNT had some great ads for movies, including this one for Jailhouse Rock.
This movie inspired all sorts of celebrities to go to jail.
The Elvis movies eventually became available on DVD from Warner Brothers (which had merged with Turner Broadcasting) in 2007.
These days, I'm guessing that you can also watch these movies on your phone or mobile device while you are driving your car, or attending a concert, or out to dinner eating with people.
In 2002, Walt Disney Pictures released "Lilo and Stitch," a popular animated film about an alien and a Hawaiian girl that was dreamed up by artists Chris Sanders and Dean DuBois. It also featured the music of Elvis Presley.
There has been quite a bit of merchandise of Stitch dressed up as Elvis, but this set of figures is unique because it includes a photo of the King.
A new generation knows Elvis Presley songs from "All Shook Up," the popular musical stage show.
"All Shook Up" is a Jukebox Musical set in 1955 that weaves Elvis Presley songs into its story.
"All Shook Up" does not include Elvis himself, but features a hip-swiveling, lip-curling, blue suede shoes wearing character named Chad.
Chad rides into a sleepy town singing "Roustabout" and Chad resembles the motorcycle-riding, leather-jacketed character Elvis Presley played in the "Roustabout" movie from 1964.
For the 2005 Broadway version of "All Shook Up," Chad was played by actor Cheyenne Jackson.
Years later, the multi-talented Cheyenne Jackson became one of Tina Fey's co-stars on "30 Rock," which I think is one of the best shows on TV.
I have collected PEZ dispensers for years, and the Elvis set (circa 2007) is among my favorites.
The Elvis PEZ tin includes three different versions of Elvis, plus a CD.
This set also includes Cola flavored PEZ candy.
Cola PEZ is tasty, but I was expecting Peanut Butter and Banana flavored PEZ candies.
This 1993 Entertainment Weekly Elvis Article by Benjamin Svetkey is a nice, short read.
It's pretty amazing that after all these years, Elvis is such an icon.
To keep The King rocking, I'd love to see an Elvis animated cartoon series (in the style of the Hanna Barbera cartoons from the Sixties---it could even feature Ann-Margret, like The Flintstones did!).
I just thought of a title for the cartoon:
Hanna Barbera presents Elvis Presley and the Peanut Butter and Banana Splits.*
*The Banana Splits was a 1968 Hanna Barbera show featuring a group of animal musicians. Warner Brothers now owns this property, and distributes the Elvis movies, so maybe this could really happen someday.
