This Just In ...
Kevin Fischer is a veteran broadcaster, the recipient of over 150 major journalism awards from the Milwaukee Press Club, the Wisconsin Associated Press, the Northwest Broadcast News Association, the Wisconsin Bar Association, and others. He has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for over three decades. A longtime aide to state Senate Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature, Kevin can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, "InterCHANGE," on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their lovely baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.
Goodnight everyone and have a weekend fit for the King!
It's Friday night. Time to unwind with our regular Friday night feature on This Just In.
The weekend has finally arrived.
The sun has set.
The evening sky has erupted.
Let's put controversy and provocative blogs aside for the rest of this work week and smooth our way into Saturday and Sunday.
Tonight,
Music from a legend. He wasn't the pioneer of rock and roll, but he was it's king.
On Saturday, Elvis Presley would have been 76 years old.
His legend lives on.
Even in a predominantly negative article this week, Jim Fusilli wrote about a boxed set of every Presley recording ever made:
"Handsomely packaged, 'The Complete Elvis Presley Masters' (RCA/Legacy) includes 814 tracks on 30 CDs and a 240-page hardcover book with an annotated discography, art from every original single and album, and a lengthy essay by Peter Guralnick, author of two definitive Presley biographies. Priced at $749, the first edition was limited to 1,000 numbered copies and sold out well before its Oct. 19, 2010 release date. A second edition is on sale now and will be shipped later this month."
I guess now matter how the critics howl, Elvis is still more than relevant.
What a voice Elvis possessed.
"But for 80 per cent of his time in the studio, he knew how to use that voice to most telling effect. So he rarely over-sings when recording, delivering a vocal to suit the song. So he can rasp and rage for Jailhouse Rock, loudly accuse in 'Hound Dog', bare his soul and beg on 'Any Day Now' and sound quietly, sadly, worldly wise on 'Funny How Time Slips Away'. 'Return To Sender' is a superb example of a vocal tightrope walk beyond the powers of many of today's singers.......This gift may explain why his music endures so powerfully and why his performances remain so easy to hear."
Paul Simpson
OK.OK. Not a great movie. But listen. Listen to the vocal. From "Tickle Me" with
The guy had a variety in his vocal styles and approach; he could make more vocal tones, with just his voice, than a guitar player with 50 pedals and gadgets. If you never even saw the guy, you could plain feel, not just hear the emotion and passion in his voice.”
Country singer Roger Wallace
“The voice has mixed propensities, hovering between tenor and bass and everything in between. Even a convincing falsetto lay within his range.”
Jackson Baker in
“There is nothing wrong, and everything right, in opening the vowel in the higher register so that the higher notes can be sustained. Elvis Presley was very open in his singing style even though he was ‘the’ rock and roller.”
Brian Gilbertson, world-famous voice teacher
From "Spinout," Elvis sings to Shelley Fabares.
“Presley’s registration, the breadth of his tone, listening to some of his records, you’d think you were listening to an opera singer. But …it’s an opera singer with a deep connection to the blues.” Jerry Wexler, co-founder of Atlantic Records
“…Elvis’ range was about two and a quarter octaves, as measured by musical notation, but his voice had an emotional range from tender whispers to sighs down to shouts, grunts, grumbles and sheer gruffness that could move the listener from calmness and surrender, to fear. His voice can not be measured in octaves, but in decibels; even that misses the problem of how to measure delicate whispers that are hardly audible at all.”
Lindsay Waters, Come Softly, Darling, Hear What I Say
"Elvis Presley (when healthy and serious) was flat-out the world's greatest singer. In fact, I dare assert that he possessed the most beautiful musical instrument in the history of recorded music -- and the genius to play that instrument perfectly. Name another singer who could jump from octave to countless other octaves with such agility without voice crack, who could simultaneously sing a duet with his own overtones, who could rein in an always- lurking atomic explosion to so effortlessly fondle and release the most delicate chimes of pathos. Yeah, nobody. Not Caruso, not Lanza, not Pavarotti. They can – with effort – approach Elvis' crescendos but never his gentleness, his timing, his soul."
Mike Handley is a narrator and TV/radio commercial spokesman currently working in
That’s it for this week’s entry.
Goodnight.
Have a great weekend.
We close with another classic example of the artistic voice of Elvis.
“There have been many accolades uttered about Elvis' talent and performances through the years, all of which I agree with wholeheartedly. I shall miss him dearly as a friend. He was a warm, considerate and generous man.”
Frank Sinatra
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