TCBCast: An Unofficial Elvis Presley Fan Podcast

Olivia and Justin discuss the latest announcements regarding EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, including confirmation of an early 2026 theatrical release AND a soundtrack album, read a bit of listener feedback, and give their brief impressions on Priscilla Presley's "Softly As I Leave You" before going into our Songs of the Week. Olivia's up first, prompted by the book, to look at the history behind "Softly" - originally an Italian ballad titled "Piano" and she unpacks how it made its way from Italian singer Mina to English singer Matt Monro and then across the Atlantic. And how exactly did Elvis Presley land on his unique interpretation with an added tragic narrative layer?

Then the duo tackle Justin's Song of the Week, the long-awaited "Don't Be Cruel," exploring the history behind songwriter Otis Blackwell's inspirations, how "Don't Be Cruel" fits into the wider story of both country and rhythm & blues that was manifesting as what we now know as rock and roll in the mid-1950s, what appealed to Elvis about Otis's demo, what makes "Don't Be Cruel" potentially Justin's favorite Elvis song... and why the single of Hound Dog and Don't Be Cruel is the perfect 1950s rock and roll single.

Gurdip, Bec and Justin decided to crack open a time capsule from the early 1980s and inside sat the album that has become possibly the most divisive Elvis bootleg ever released. Intended as a spoof of cash-grab compilations of "hit" Elvis movie songs by RCA in the 1970s, an infamously crass compilation bringing together some of the "worst" of Elvis's film songs at first glance seems to be going for mere shock value, but the contents of the album and the story behind its compilation do reveal in-jokes from deep within the Elvis fandom at the time.

The question then becomes, did the jokes reach their intended target or did they fly over everyone's head and simply pile on more mockery and add to the problem? Justin reflects on Greil Marcus's contemporary account of the album from 1985, which frames it as part of an ironic, playful punk recontextualization amid a cultural reckoning with Elvis as an object of mass attention, but also ponders whether that read misses the forest for the trees. And what of the songs themselves? Do such songs as "US Male" and "Beach Boy Blues" deserve to be labeled as among the "greatest sh*t"? We discuss it all within!

For Song of the Week, Gurdip blasts through the breezy "Carny Town" from Roustabout, while Justin meditates on "We Call on Him," the inspirational number written explicitly for Elvis released as an Easter single in 1968.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy. If you'd like to support us another way, please drop a positive review on your favorite podcast platform!

Following the apparent roaring success of Baz Luhrmann's "EPiC" at the Toronto International Film Festival, Justin and Bec decided rather than merely recap reviews and discuss the hype (though there is a bit of that, too!), to look backwards toward the original 1970 and 1972 films "That's The Way It Is" and "Elvis On Tour," and the component elements that have made "EPiC" possible.

The duo ponder whether the voracious (and vocal) collector mindset that has taken over the fandom, demanding immediate access to every scrap of available content, has caused some fans to miss the narrative and artistic voices of the directors and creatives who sought to create genuinely artful and thematically resonant documentaries while capturing Elvis as a phenomenon and as an artist.

Going further - what to make of other fan-focused releases derived from the same components like "The Lost Performances" and "That's The Way It Is: Special Edition" that delivered on the promise of new footage but lost the sense of authorial voice and storytelling in favor of Colonel Parker's preferred, and more readily digestible, "personal appearance film" style?

Also... why is Baz Luhrmann on Justin's sh*tlist now?

For Song of the Week, Bec checks Girl Happy's ho-hum rock pastiche "I've Got To Find My Baby" off the list while Justin has "Words" with Elvis's cover of the Bee Gees' 1968 hit.

Bec and Gurdip this week are setting themselves up for some fiery listener emails with their hottest takes yet as they pose the question: what are the biggest Elvis hits that they feel have become overrated?! (Or maybe just overexposed?)

For Song of the Week, it's an Elvis movie double feature as Gurdip sets his course and picks "Go East, Young Man" from 1965's "Harum Scarum" while Bec decides to head out to the World's Fair and selects the cutesy "How Would You Like to Be?"

Also discussed are last-minute teases by Baz Luhrmann that dropped just ahead of EPiC's Toronto premiere , including a new mash-up! This episode was recorded before the Toronto premiere and reviews began to release - check back for our reactions to all the excitement soon!

John Heath joins Justin as they get any final thoughts we've had off their chests after having sat with Peter Guralnick's "The Colonel & The King" a bit longer, watching other fans' reactions start to stream in over the last month or so. Consider this a follow-up to both the TCBCast and EAP Society reviews, as well as John's excellent Atomic Wax breakdown (if you hadn't seen it - here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdxN0xeTT1o)

The guys also take a look at a number of things Peter has stated in public interviews surrounding the book's release and whether they stack up with what he writes in the book or go further.

For Song of the Week, John's got HIS mojo working as he walks us through the deep Memphis lore around "Got My Mojo Working" - the 1970 warm-up jam on an old blues number (perhaps most famously known from Muddy Waters but previously done by Ann Cole) which Elvis turned into a medley with Priscilla Bowman & Jay McShann's R&B hit "Hands Off." Elvis's version surfaced with added overdubs on the Love Letters from Elvis album in '71 and the unedited version on "From Elvis in Nashville" remains a rocking treat.

Justin's Song of the Week is the underrated "Anyone (Could Fall in Love With You), written for inclusion in "Kissin' Cousins" but removed from the production - yet still left on the soundtrack album. However, its songwriters' most famous non-Elvis hit from the 1940s - which Elvis almost certainly knew - might inadvertently give us a small insight into Elvis's gentle, one might say even "Spot-y," vocal approach.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy. If you'd like to support us another way, please drop a positive review on your favorite podcast platform!

Justin and Bec have compiled their lists of a half-dozen essential alternate studio takes apiece that every Elvis Presley fan, from total newbies to lifelong fans should hear!

For Song of the Week, Bec decides to spotlight Elvis's melancholy 1973 cover of Danny O'Keefe's folk-country hit song "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues" - but in the hosts' pre-show off-air chat, the duo realized that the song had a lot of overlap with the world of outlaw country, given that the bluesy "Charlie" would go on to be covered by the likes of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and others.

So Justin takes the opportunity to learn Bec some of the history of the burgeoning "outlaw" scene in Nashville in the early 1970s that led to Jennings' iconic "Honky Tonk Heroes" album, largely comprised of material by songwriter Billy Joe Shaver, including "You Asked Me To," which Elvis also recorded in late 1973.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy. If you'd like to support us another way, please drop a positive review on your favorite podcast platform!

In this extra beefy episode, Ryan and Justin get together to discuss and rank Elvis's major live albums, from 1969's "In Person" to the posthumous "Elvis in Concert"

For Song of the Week, Justin explores the history and original Mexican song "La Golondrina," behind "She Wears My Ring," which Elvis recorded in 1973 and released on 1974's "Good Times" album.

Ryan then goes for the biggest SotW he's ever tackled on the show, looking into the iconic "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," including Elvis's concert performances across the 1970s, and the story of the original by The Righteous Brothers.

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy. If you'd like to support us another way, please drop a positive review on your favorite podcast platform!

Timestamps: (Just in case - this one's pretty big!)

Intro & News: 0:00

Main Topic: 9:10

She Wears My Ring: 1:21:35

You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling: 1:49:10

After spending a little time mulling over the post-release feelings surrounding "The Colonel & The King," Justin and Bec give their thoughts on the newest Elvis box set from Sony Legacy, Sunset Boulevard, which encompasses recordings and rehearsals done between 1970-1975 at RCA's Studio C in Hollywood. The duo reflect on the the successes and shortcomings of this era of box sets that seems to be drawing to a close.

From Elvis in Nashville, Back in Nashville, Memphis and Sunset Boulevard mark a period where producer Ernst Jorgensen and mixer Matt Ross-Spang have seemingly reinterpreted Elvis's multi-track studio work in the 1970s through a more "rockist" lens; that is to say, one that promotes and emphasizes the perceived authenticity or purity of raw material recorded in-studio by Elvis and a core rhythm band without additional backing vocalists, strings and horns.

Despite great, modern-sounding re-mixes, these box sets have also marred by inconsistent mix decisions that contradict the claims that you're only hearing what Elvis heard in the studio - selectively leaving some overdubs, removing contributions from musicians that were physically in the studio with Elvis, and much more. It's a thought-provoking discussion about what the goals were, what value these sets have added, and whether they have helped us understand Elvis's creative process any better.

For Song of the Week, Bec picks a childhood favorite, the sweet ballad "A Boy Like Me, A Girl Like You" from the Girls! Girls! Girls! soundtrack. Then, Justin uses "Good, Bad But Beautiful," an instrumental intended for Elvis to finish, to explore the fascinating circumstances of sessions, publishing, and release schedules that led to its recording at Stax in July of 1973... and Elvis's rejection of the Clive Westlake-penned song (later done by Shirley Bassey) at a late September 1973 session at his Palm Springs home, less than three weeks after having attempted to fire his manager.

This is one you won't want to skip... because there's a special Elvis Week surprise in this Song of the Week segment, courtesy of our good friends Jamie and John over at the EAP Society.

Baz Luhrmann has released a teaser promoting the world premiere date of September 6, 2025, for "EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert" by dropping newly restored clip of Elvis's 1970 rehearsal performance of "Oh Happy Day." Gone is the grainy, washed out video, in are pristine, sharp film, vibrant colors... but also new audio!

Elvis's vocal track sounds better than it ever has, which implies a new source & substantial clean-up, but the instrumentation screams "overdub." What is EPiC even going to be? Gurdip and Justin are on the case to discuss this tiny Elvis Week tease from Baz and his team.

Check it out for yourself on Luhrmann's social pages: https://www.instagram.com/p/DNQUuK4p9KZ/

Gurdip, Justin, Ryan, and Olivia all gathered round to discuss their thoughts on Peter Guralnick's new book, "The Colonel and the King: Tom Parker, Elvis Presley, and the Partnership that Rocked the World." Full spoilers within.

We recommend people buy it to make their own judgment. It is available through most major retailers - you can learn more about the book and where to buy it here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/peter-guralnick/the-colonel-and-the-king/9780316399449/