der originaltext:
Charlie Hodge Interview Part 5 - The Comeback
Q : Was Elvis nervous about coming back to Vegas?
A : Yes, he had a bad experience on that the Dorsey Brothers Show. And that was that Elvis heard women scream, he stopped for a minute. Well, the orchestras way back then, when everythings going in meter. When come back in, it wasn't with the orchestra. And that spooked him. So, when we did start back, we had some fellows that I knew like Billy Strange who was -- I had worked on when I was a guest on Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, and his managers, TV show at that time. And I knew Billy and knew he and Elvis would get along. And when we first did the '68 comeback, we had the full orchestra and a choir in the same room. Elvis said, "Charlie, I can't read music. I don't know when to come in". I said, "Don't worry. I'll tell Billy to turn to you when it's time to come in". And I said, "After you do that a few times, you'll feel when it's natural to come in". And he said, "Okay". He trusted me on it. And I told Billy. And so, when it come time for him to start singing on like the first thing, Billy turned to him like that. And after that, Elvis was home free. He was comfortable working with the orchestra again, because he had a conductor working with him.
Q : How was Elvis working with Steven Binder on the 68 Special?
A : The Colonel wanted that to be a Christmas show. And Steve Binder, over a period of time, talking with Elvis and what he thought it should be, it evolved into what it was. But Elvis was very much in control. I mean, he knew what was going on. And he knew these people and what they were trying. Like some of the numbers he did he felt were just like the movies he's been doing, you know, where they'd choreograph him and had a fight scene like that.
When the sit down portion in the circle, when they first did that, they had us out there by ourselves. And the fans were back about 30 yards there, or something like that. And Elvis just talking softly, said, "Man, I don't like this being this far from the audience". I said, "Well, it's your show. Ask them if they want to come down here". And Elvis stood up and said, "You all want to come and sit down around here?" And the director said, "No". It was too lake. They were all down there around him. And that and the gospel segment was the most popular part of the 68 Comeback.
Q : Talking about the 1968 Special, did the Colonel come around to supporting Steve Binder?
A : Yes, he did. Well, the Colonel finally came around -- saw that Elvis was agreeing with Steve Binder. And the Colonel didn't want to seem to disagree with Elvis. They would never do that in front of anybody anyway. And so he just came around slowly. But he kept his finger in by telling them, say, yeah, remember this now. And he'd keep them back also. I remember on time that the producer went up to Colonel Parker, and he said, "Colonel, Do you think you could tell Elvis to use a lighter dye on his hair? It's just too black". Colonel said, "I don't think I'll do that". Said, "Just let's come on, let's go back over to the studios". And he left. Well, the guy went up, and he said, "Elvis, you think you could do your hair just a little lighter? It's just too dark". He said, "What do you mean it's too dark". He said, "I don't say nothing about that damn toupee you got on and how bad it looks". And just backed the guy down.
Q : When the Special was finished, did Elvis seem really pleased with it?
A : Yes, it did. Like I said, he liked the sit down portion and the gospel bit. Because those were comfortable things to do. The other things were a lot like the movie. Because they were poorly choreographed. But it still was probably the most watched special of the year when it come on.
Q : Which brings us to 1969, and you helped with a lot of the preparation of Elvis coming back.
A : We all did. We had a group of people, especially Joe and I hope so myself, that could think. He didn't have to tell us to do anything. We could do it. So, I'd be working with music and everything. And Joe would be sitting over there timing the songs, about how long each song lasts. Because that's where you got to pace the solos according to how much time you got there, when it adds up. And so, we had that going for us, that Joe was over there taking care of business without being told. And I was doing what I had to do, whatever it was. And we used to sit and go through songs for a picture or for just a recording however. And we'd sit and listen to songs. Like Red West and I would do it. And, you know, sometimes Joe would be around, and we'd listen to these records. Because Elvis didn't want to listen to all of them. I mean, you get a hundred songs then for a 12-song album. And sometimes 200. And you'd go through those, and we'd try to save the ones that we thought were very good, fair, terrible and so forth. So, Elvis would just listen to the ones that we thought were real good. And then he would select ones from that what he thought would fit the scene.
You know, and we had a lot of scenes because like some songs are good for the picture, but they're not good played on the radio. Like there was a song called "The Walls Have Ears". But you had to see the movie to see the walls bouncing back and forth and, you know, things coming off of there and everything. You can't see that on a record. And that was the only bad thing about having some of the recordings that was done on recording sessions for pictures. And "Stay Away Joe" was so funny to me. We was cutting out the session. And Elvis had a song in there where he had to sing to a bull. Moo, moo, moo, you little fadoo. Well, when they played the demo, Scotty Moore looked over to Elvis and said, "Elvis, has it come to this?" Yeah, and Elvis just busted out laughing. "Dominic".
Q : In Vegas at the International Hotel, how was it that opening night?
A : Well, the first time Elvis played Vegas, he didn't do very well. Because in those days, see there was many adults in there. And all his fans were under age, couldn't get into casinos. And he failed. And Merv Griffin ended up the sings star of the show, because he was a band singer in that orchestra at that time that was there. So, Elvis was concerned about that. But again, when we was recording for the 68 Comeback, he got comfortable with an orchestra. And too, I think one of the things that helped Elvis want to get back on stage and get back touring again was he and Tom Jones became very good friends, I mean, very good friends. And he'd see Tom doing his act up there. And he thought, well, "I can do mine". You know, I'm sure he thought that even though he never expressed it that way. But that must have been something he looked at and said, "Well, gee, I think I may be able to try back". And that 68 Comeback helped set it up.
And so, when we started into Vegas, the first thing we did is we had all these musicians, like James Burton. When we got to RCA, RCA had a list of the hot guitar players in town. And top of the list was James Burton. But I'll tell you who was before that, the top guitar player was Glen Campbell. And he played on some of Elvis's sessions before he became a star on movie things. But James Burton. And then, James would suggest somebody, because he knows who's the good recording, who's the good basses. That's how we got Jerry Scheff. I think Scheff suggested Ronnie Tutt. And they all became the nucleus of band. It really the band was this. It was Ronnie Tutt on drums, Jerry Scheff on bass, Glen D. Hardin on piano. At first, we had another piano player Larry Mahoberac, but he just went through the first time. And Glen D. came in later. But that was the nucleus of the band.
I wanted the other guy, John Wilkinson, who played rhythm guitar in the band... I wanted to balance out the look of the band up there. Because without John there, it would have been top heavy on this side and just James over there by himself. It wasn't necessarily for me to be there or for John to be there. But Elvis wanted us there or wanted me there. And I wanted to balance the picture. Because I'm looking in my minds eye at what the people are going to be looking at. And it worked. We ended up at one time there, I know, during those last tours, over the years, you wouldn't know we'd done this many songs, but we had over 500 orchestrations for songs that we had done on stage. It changed that much. It was an interesting thing one time to the Colonel.
Q : Elvis had nicknames for all you guys. Do you recall those nicknames?
A : Well, I know Joe was Charmin Carmen. And they used to say that except for Burton, he called me Slewfoot. But I think that was one time in 17 years. Because it was always. Actually, he never said Charlie. If you listen to my introductions on his live performance. "And the guy who plays guitar and sings higher than me, Cholly Hodge". That's C-H-O-L-L-Y, Cholly Hodge, you know.
quelle: elvis world japan
Charlie Hodge Interview Part 5 - The Comeback
Q : Was Elvis nervous about coming back to Vegas?
A : Yes, he had a bad experience on that the Dorsey Brothers Show. And that was that Elvis heard women scream, he stopped for a minute. Well, the orchestras way back then, when everythings going in meter. When come back in, it wasn't with the orchestra. And that spooked him. So, when we did start back, we had some fellows that I knew like Billy Strange who was -- I had worked on when I was a guest on Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, and his managers, TV show at that time. And I knew Billy and knew he and Elvis would get along. And when we first did the '68 comeback, we had the full orchestra and a choir in the same room. Elvis said, "Charlie, I can't read music. I don't know when to come in". I said, "Don't worry. I'll tell Billy to turn to you when it's time to come in". And I said, "After you do that a few times, you'll feel when it's natural to come in". And he said, "Okay". He trusted me on it. And I told Billy. And so, when it come time for him to start singing on like the first thing, Billy turned to him like that. And after that, Elvis was home free. He was comfortable working with the orchestra again, because he had a conductor working with him.
Q : How was Elvis working with Steven Binder on the 68 Special?
A : The Colonel wanted that to be a Christmas show. And Steve Binder, over a period of time, talking with Elvis and what he thought it should be, it evolved into what it was. But Elvis was very much in control. I mean, he knew what was going on. And he knew these people and what they were trying. Like some of the numbers he did he felt were just like the movies he's been doing, you know, where they'd choreograph him and had a fight scene like that.
When the sit down portion in the circle, when they first did that, they had us out there by ourselves. And the fans were back about 30 yards there, or something like that. And Elvis just talking softly, said, "Man, I don't like this being this far from the audience". I said, "Well, it's your show. Ask them if they want to come down here". And Elvis stood up and said, "You all want to come and sit down around here?" And the director said, "No". It was too lake. They were all down there around him. And that and the gospel segment was the most popular part of the 68 Comeback.
Q : Talking about the 1968 Special, did the Colonel come around to supporting Steve Binder?
A : Yes, he did. Well, the Colonel finally came around -- saw that Elvis was agreeing with Steve Binder. And the Colonel didn't want to seem to disagree with Elvis. They would never do that in front of anybody anyway. And so he just came around slowly. But he kept his finger in by telling them, say, yeah, remember this now. And he'd keep them back also. I remember on time that the producer went up to Colonel Parker, and he said, "Colonel, Do you think you could tell Elvis to use a lighter dye on his hair? It's just too black". Colonel said, "I don't think I'll do that". Said, "Just let's come on, let's go back over to the studios". And he left. Well, the guy went up, and he said, "Elvis, you think you could do your hair just a little lighter? It's just too dark". He said, "What do you mean it's too dark". He said, "I don't say nothing about that damn toupee you got on and how bad it looks". And just backed the guy down.
Q : When the Special was finished, did Elvis seem really pleased with it?
A : Yes, it did. Like I said, he liked the sit down portion and the gospel bit. Because those were comfortable things to do. The other things were a lot like the movie. Because they were poorly choreographed. But it still was probably the most watched special of the year when it come on.
Q : Which brings us to 1969, and you helped with a lot of the preparation of Elvis coming back.
A : We all did. We had a group of people, especially Joe and I hope so myself, that could think. He didn't have to tell us to do anything. We could do it. So, I'd be working with music and everything. And Joe would be sitting over there timing the songs, about how long each song lasts. Because that's where you got to pace the solos according to how much time you got there, when it adds up. And so, we had that going for us, that Joe was over there taking care of business without being told. And I was doing what I had to do, whatever it was. And we used to sit and go through songs for a picture or for just a recording however. And we'd sit and listen to songs. Like Red West and I would do it. And, you know, sometimes Joe would be around, and we'd listen to these records. Because Elvis didn't want to listen to all of them. I mean, you get a hundred songs then for a 12-song album. And sometimes 200. And you'd go through those, and we'd try to save the ones that we thought were very good, fair, terrible and so forth. So, Elvis would just listen to the ones that we thought were real good. And then he would select ones from that what he thought would fit the scene.
You know, and we had a lot of scenes because like some songs are good for the picture, but they're not good played on the radio. Like there was a song called "The Walls Have Ears". But you had to see the movie to see the walls bouncing back and forth and, you know, things coming off of there and everything. You can't see that on a record. And that was the only bad thing about having some of the recordings that was done on recording sessions for pictures. And "Stay Away Joe" was so funny to me. We was cutting out the session. And Elvis had a song in there where he had to sing to a bull. Moo, moo, moo, you little fadoo. Well, when they played the demo, Scotty Moore looked over to Elvis and said, "Elvis, has it come to this?" Yeah, and Elvis just busted out laughing. "Dominic".
Q : In Vegas at the International Hotel, how was it that opening night?
A : Well, the first time Elvis played Vegas, he didn't do very well. Because in those days, see there was many adults in there. And all his fans were under age, couldn't get into casinos. And he failed. And Merv Griffin ended up the sings star of the show, because he was a band singer in that orchestra at that time that was there. So, Elvis was concerned about that. But again, when we was recording for the 68 Comeback, he got comfortable with an orchestra. And too, I think one of the things that helped Elvis want to get back on stage and get back touring again was he and Tom Jones became very good friends, I mean, very good friends. And he'd see Tom doing his act up there. And he thought, well, "I can do mine". You know, I'm sure he thought that even though he never expressed it that way. But that must have been something he looked at and said, "Well, gee, I think I may be able to try back". And that 68 Comeback helped set it up.
And so, when we started into Vegas, the first thing we did is we had all these musicians, like James Burton. When we got to RCA, RCA had a list of the hot guitar players in town. And top of the list was James Burton. But I'll tell you who was before that, the top guitar player was Glen Campbell. And he played on some of Elvis's sessions before he became a star on movie things. But James Burton. And then, James would suggest somebody, because he knows who's the good recording, who's the good basses. That's how we got Jerry Scheff. I think Scheff suggested Ronnie Tutt. And they all became the nucleus of band. It really the band was this. It was Ronnie Tutt on drums, Jerry Scheff on bass, Glen D. Hardin on piano. At first, we had another piano player Larry Mahoberac, but he just went through the first time. And Glen D. came in later. But that was the nucleus of the band.
I wanted the other guy, John Wilkinson, who played rhythm guitar in the band... I wanted to balance out the look of the band up there. Because without John there, it would have been top heavy on this side and just James over there by himself. It wasn't necessarily for me to be there or for John to be there. But Elvis wanted us there or wanted me there. And I wanted to balance the picture. Because I'm looking in my minds eye at what the people are going to be looking at. And it worked. We ended up at one time there, I know, during those last tours, over the years, you wouldn't know we'd done this many songs, but we had over 500 orchestrations for songs that we had done on stage. It changed that much. It was an interesting thing one time to the Colonel.
Q : Elvis had nicknames for all you guys. Do you recall those nicknames?
A : Well, I know Joe was Charmin Carmen. And they used to say that except for Burton, he called me Slewfoot. But I think that was one time in 17 years. Because it was always. Actually, he never said Charlie. If you listen to my introductions on his live performance. "And the guy who plays guitar and sings higher than me, Cholly Hodge". That's C-H-O-L-L-Y, Cholly Hodge, you know.
quelle: elvis world japan
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