Elvis Presley
ActingTupelo, Mississippi, USAElvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American businessman, entrepreneur, singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and initial controversy.Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family when he was 13 years old. His music career began there in 1954, recording at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of European-American music to a wider audience. Presley, on rhythm acoustic guitar, and accompanied by lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, was a pioneer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. In 1955, drummer D. J. Fontana joined to complete the lineup of Presley's classic quartet and RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who would manage him for more than two decades. Presley's first RCA Victor single, "Heartbreak Hotel", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. Within a year, RCA would sell ten million Presley singles. With a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records, Presley became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll, though his performative style and promotion of the then-marginalized sound led to him being widely considered a threat to the moral well-being of the European-American youth.In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender. Drafted into military service in 1958, Presley relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He held few concerts, however, and guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of the 1960s to making Hollywood films and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided. Some of his most famous films included Jailhouse Rock (1957), Blue Hawaii (1961), and Viva Las Vegas (1964). In 1968, following a seven-year break from live performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed television comeback special Elvis, which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley gave the first concert by a solo artist to be broadcast around the world, Aloha from Hawaii. Years of prescription drug abuse and unhealthy eating habits severely compromised his health, and he died suddenly in 1977 at his Graceland estate at the age of 42.
James Burton
ActingDubberly, Louisiana, USAJames Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. Critic Mark Deming writes that "Burton has a well-deserved reputation as one of the finest guitar pickers in either country or rock ... Burton is one of the best guitar players to ever touch a fretboard." He is ranked number 19 in Rolling Stone list of 100 Greatest Guitarists.Since the 1950s, Burton has recorded and performed with an array of singers, including Bob Luman, Dale Hawkins, Ricky Nelson, Elvis Presley (and was leader of Presley's TCB Band), The Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, John Denver, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Judy Collins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Claude King, Elvis Costello, Joe Osborn, Roy Orbison, Joni Mitchell, Hoyt Axton, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Young, Vince Gill, and Suzi Quatro.
John Wilkinson
ActingWashington, USAJohn Richard Wilkinson was an American singer and guitarist best known for performing with Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and The Greenwood County Singers in 1964. After Wilkinson once performed on a television show in Los Angeles, he received a phone call from Elvis who asked him to join his TCB Band. He went on to perform more than 1000 times with Elvis as his rhythm guitarist until Elvis died in 1977
Charlie Hodge
ActingDecatur, Alabama, USACharles Franklin Hodge, better known as Charlie Hodge, was an American singer, vocal coach and musician who was a confidant and best friend of Elvis Presley, and lived at Graceland.
Jerry Scheff
ActingBass player Jerry Scheff grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, started playing tuba in grammar school and, by seventh grade, got into playing string bass. His musical bent was toward jazz and R&B. By age fifteen he was playing in clubs in his new hometown of Sacramento and back in San Francisco. As a high school senior Scheff joined the U.S. Navy and wound up in the Navy's school of music in Washington, D.C. taking a nine-month course studying theory and harmony and getting to play with some great musicians. After the course ended he stayed on to teach, moonlighting as a player in jazz clubs, then the Navy transferred him to San Diego. Some time after his service discharge Scheff moved to Los Angeles and played regularly at a club called The Sands in Watts, where a teen-aged Billy Preston often appeared doing James Brown covers. Oddly enough, bass player Scheff began his work in the L.A. recording session scene playing valve trombone.The first hit record Scheff played bass on was an album by the group The Association, including the singles Along Comes Mary and Cherish. On Mary, Scheff made a bass mistake that got left in, so the thrill of hearing his work on a radio hit was counterbalanced by his cringing every time he heard the mistake. However, a couple of years later, it was gratifying to hear an 'elevator music' cover of it that had the bass player copying Scheff's part, bad note and all. A special career highlight was playing on The Doors' album LA Woman. Over the years Scheff recorded with Bobby Sherman, Tiny Tim, Johnny Mathis, Nancy Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bobby Vinton, The Everly Brothers, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Dionne Warwick, Barbra Streisand, Linda Rondstat and many others.By the late sixties he crossed paths with guitarist James Burton, who remembered Scheff's work and called him when putting together the band for Elvis in 1969. Scheff worked with Elvis from 1969 to 1973 and 1975 to 1977, on stage and on a number of recordings. He can be seen performing in the documentary films Elvis: That's The Way It Is (1970) and Elvis On Tour (1972) as well as the first ever show broadcast via satellite, Aloha From Hawaii (1973). Reflecting on those years, Scheff says 'Elvis had a big impact on my career. It was like going to school'. In the '80s and '90s, he toured with Elvis Costello, Sam Phillips and John Denver. Jerry also appeared with Roy Orbison and friends on the TV concert, A Black and White Night (1987). Today, he continues to work as a session musician with a wide array of artists. A passion in recent years has been song writing. Although much of his career has been working with rock and pop greats, he still enjoys sitting in to play a little jazz every once in a while, as he says 'to keep the cobwebs clear.' Both of Scheff's sons, Darin and Jason, are musicians. Jason Scheff took over Pete Cetera's spot in the band Chicago. He also travels the world with Elvis The Concert.