Elvis Collectors---

>>>I've been wanting to bring this up for a long time.

I have a book at home on Elvis that says that future Record Producer Harley Hatcher was stationed in Fort Monmouth with Elvis in 1958, and recorded, on a home tape recorder, Elvis singing a bunch of songs that he never recorded commercially, including some originals by Hatcher.

These are NOT "The Home Recordings" that RCa put out a while back.

Does anyone have any knowledge of these recordings?

thanks,

Mike

 

Mikey,

A friend of mine here in Dallas, Stanley Oberst, who is a big Elvis fan/collector, just published a book titled "Elvis in Texas - The Undiscovered King 1954 - 1958". I'll ask him and get back to you.

 

Great!

Thank you Chip, that would be great!!!


And for those who dont know....

When Elvis was drafted, the Army immediately decided to put him in Special Services to entertain the troops. However, Col Parker outright refused to have Elvis give away what he had been charging big money for in the civilian world. Also, both Parker and Elvis had decided that Elvis needed to upgrade to an adult audience, and what better way to do THAT but to refuse the cushy assignment to Special Services. Singers Eddie Fisher and Vic Damone had both recently come under fire for THEIR assignment to SS, even tho they had nothing to do with the decision...it was the Armys, and Parker wanted no part of that.

Elvis was "Sent to Germany" in 1958 after basic training, but only for a few weeks. They took hundreds of pictures, miles of film, and countless interviews of "The King".

They then sent Elvis back to New Jersey to the safety of Fort Monmouth at the Jersey Shore, and gave him the name "John Crow". There are pictures of Elvis at FM in a crew cut wearing reading glasses in his uniform with the "John Crow" nameplate on his chest. However, it is unmistakebly Elvis.

For the two years Elvis was in the service, the army released bits and pieces of the pictures, films and interviews to the wire services and the press to create the impression that Elvis was in Germany the whole time.

Elvis himself was sent to Germany every so often in order to not create suspicion. He would spend a weekend or several days in a row there, then be flown home.


Many years later, a retired Army General admitted that "We had to hide Elvis, because if he got injured or killed in Germany, we would have had a worldwide revolt on our hands".

Interesting story about how things worked back in 1958.

 

Mikey, no offense to you but the story is ******** (I hope you're only pulling our leg).

It is well documented that once Elvis was shipped to Germany he only left the country once (on leave to Paris) before returning to the U.S. in March 1960. Charlie Hodge, who served in Germany with Elvis, and Red West, who came along at the request of Elvis, were there with him the whole time (along with Vernon Presley and Minnie Mae Presley).

If this really was the case, both Charlie and Red would have written about it in one of their many Elvis books. Also, why has Priscilla kept quiet about this for 43 years?

Lastly, Elvis held nightly autograph sessions for fans at his home and played football in the park near his home several times a week. This is well documented by German fans and media.

File this story with the other ones made up by nut jobs who claim he is still alive and that there is a statue of him on Mars.

Peace,
Dave

 

I am sure Red West, Charlie Hodge and Priscilla Presley are really afraid of what the U.S. Army could do to them 44 years after the fact. If this truly were the case, why hasn't Mr. Hatcher disappeared in the middle of the night for revealing this highly sensitive national secret?

Harley Hatcher is a nut case trying to sell a book that no one would even talk about (let alone purchase) if it didn't have this "news".

 

Stan is not familiar with any tapes made by Elvis at Fort Monmouth, but he did mention a tape made by Elvis in Waco at the home of Eddie Fadal, a Waco disc-jockey, who befriended Elvis while he was sationed at Fort Hood about 40 miles south of Waco. Stan says that the tape, a portion of which has been booted, includes Elvis singing a great version of the Tune Weavers' "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby".

 

I agree. Every possible bit of dirt there is about Elvis has been revealed in countless books over the past 25 years. The only way to drum up interest in a new book now is to make up some new "revelation", whether it's Elvis is alive, Lisa Marie is a fake and the real one's in Sweden, Elvis had an incest relationship with his mom, or now this army story.

No offense, Mikey, but this story is just not credible. If it was true, it's highly unlikely that someone wouldn't have revealed it before now, since there would have to be literally dozens, if not hundreds, of people who were in on the coverup. If it is true, it would mean that all the German fans who have photos/recollections of meeting Elvis are in on the conspiracy.

I don't think it's inconceivable that Hatcher would make this up just because he has a solid rep in the music business. Look at Bernard Purdie... he was a respected and talented session man who played on tons of hits, yet he still made up his bizarre story about having been hired to overdub drums onto 20+ Beatles songs by Brian Epstein. Hatcher certainly has no reason to fear a lawsuit. Elvis is dead, and it's questionable whether his claims would be libelous even if E were still alive.