Tuesday, August 02, 2016

August 02 - The Complete Million Dollar Car

Due for release from Hoodoo Records on August 19, 2016 is a remastered edition of "The Complete Session" in it's original sequence.

Tracks: 1. Instrumental 2. Love Me Tender - (Instrumental) 3. Jingle Bells - (Instrumental) 4. White Christmas - (Instrumental) 5. Reconsider Baby 6. Don't Be Cruel 7. Don't Be Cruel 8. Paralyzed 9. Don't Be Cruel 10. There's No Place Like Home 11. When the Saints Go Marchin' In 12. Softly and Tenderly 13. When God Dips His Love in My Heart 14. Just a Little Talk with Jesus 15. Jesus Walked That Lonesome Valley 16. I Shall Not Be Moved 17. Peace in the Valley 18. Down by the Riverside 19. I'm With a Crowd But So Alone 20. Farther Along 21. Blessed Jesus (Hold My Hand) 22. On the Jericho Road 23. I Just Can't Make It by Myself 24. Little Cabin Home on the Hill 25. Summertime Is Past and Gone 26. I Hear a Sweet Voice Calling 27. Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong 28. Keeper of the Key 29. Crazy Arms 30. Don't Forbid Me 31. Too Much Monkey Business 32. Brown Eyed Handsome Man 33. Out of Sight, Out of Mind 34. Brown Eyed Handsome Man 35. Don't Forbid Me 36. You Belong to My Heart 37. Is It So Strange 38. That's When Your Heartaches Begin 39. Brown Eyed Handsome Man 40. Rip It Up 41. I'm Gonna Bid My Blues Goodbye 42. Crazy Arms 43. That's My Desire 44. End of the Road 45. Black Bottom Stomp 46. You're the Only Star in My Blue Heaven 47. Elvis Says Goodbye.

Elvis Presley's BMW 507 Restored

BMW’s iconic 507 model is one of the brand's rarest cars, with a production figure of only 252 units. So, every single one (that survived) is extremely valuable, but this Elvis Presley-owned model is in a league of its own. 

It was March of 1958 when Elvis Presley first fell in love. The object of his affection, to the dismay of many young ladies, was a 1957 BMW 507 roadster.

The 507 had a rough history to begin with, as it was displayed at the Frankfurt Motor Show, used as a press car and raced by Hans Stuck. When Presley actually took delivery of the car (second-hand, obviously), the dealer installed a brand new engine in it. 

Already famous, and serving an obligatory two-year hitch in the Army, Elvis was stationed in Germany when he witnessed hillclimb champion Hans Stuck race a 507 at the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry in southern France. "The King of Rock n' Roll" leased that same roadster in December 1958.

The color of the 507 was soon a worry. It was a Feather White when it came into the King's possession, but it was quickly covered in kisses, phone numbers, and messages—often written in red lipstick. Elvis eventually repainted the roadster a flashy red to camouflage the marks and had its 3.2-liter V8 engine rebuilt.

It took Albert Graf Goertz only three sketches to design the lines of the 507 roadster we know and love today. The prototype was first shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1955. It had a top speed of 205 km/h (127 mph) and made a remarkably significant contribution to Bayerische Motoren Werke's image. Of the 254 BMW 507 models that were made, almost all of them still exist today.

The ultimate celebrity automobile, Presley's 507 was featured in international magazines and even had a role in a minor movie. By 1960 the car made its way to the United States and was campaigned by Tommy Charles. After passing through several other owners, Jack Castor purchased it in 1968 and kept it for decades.


A few years ago, the car was found in Jack Castor’s barn. It wasn’t in a very good shape to begin with, after staying hidden for most of its life, but BMW vouched to repair, replace and reconstruct its frail body – but not before showing it at the BMW Museum under the “Elvis’ BMW 507: Lost & Found” exhibition.

Fast-forward two years, and the car is almost ready to impress with its stunning beauty once again, as BMW finished the restoration just in time to showcase it at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

The roadster passed through a total of eight compelling restoration stages, implemented with painstaking devotion and finesse by BMW’s classic car experts. Before the car made its way back to Munich, it underwent six paint jobs (including the King’s own), so BMW restored its original, elegant hue. The Bavarian marque also reconstructed the engine, and took the whole car apart to make it brand new again. 


But we’ll see more of the 507 once BMW unveils it at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Sunday, on August 21.

BMW is celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year, and the Pebble Beach Councours d'Elegance will present an exciting array of historic models from pre-WWII classics and race cars, to a pair of the company's much-heralded Art Cars by Alexander Calder and Jeff Koons.

US Charts

The "If I Can Dream" CD climbed from #5 to #4 in Billboard's chart category Classical Albums for the week ending August 07, 2016. 
The DVD "He Touched Me – The Gospel Music Of Elvis Presley, Volumes 1 & 2" dropped to #5 on the Billboard Music DVD chart. 

Australian Charts

The DVD "Elvis – The King Of Rock’n’Roll – 30 Hit Performances And More" re-entered the Australian Music DVD chart at #32. 
The CD "If I Can Dream" climbed from #49 to #47 on the Australian Album chart. 

Belgian Charts

The 3-CD-Set "The Real… Elvis – 60’s Collection" dropped from #3 to #7 on the Belgian Album chart while "ELV1S 30 #1 Hits" is a re-entry at #46 on that same chart.

Irish Charts

The CD "If I Can Dream" climbed from #79 to #34 on the Irish Album chart. 

(Source: Amazon / Elvis Aktuell / Always Elvis Fanclub / Carscoops / FECC / The King's World)