Review by Trevor Cajiao - Elvis: The Man And His Music
Something For The Girls! was one of the original working titles for Elvis’ second movie, Loving You - others being Stranger In Town, Lonesome Cowboy and Running Wild. This 523-page hardback book tells the story behind the making of the film and does it in such a detailed and thorough manner that even diehard fans (who thought they knew it all) can't fail but to be impressed. There is literally stacks of “new” stuff here.
Loving You was shot in Hollywood over thirty-three days, beginning on January 23 1957, and the book guides us through the whole process via photographs and studio documentation. For the first time ever, we have a day-by-day breakdown of what happened when, thanks to the authors having gained access to Paramount Daily Production Reports.
The journey begins with Elvis arriving by train in Los Angeles on January 11. He began work on the film’s soundtrack songs the next day, then moved on through wardrobe and make-up tests, the shooting of publicity stills and so forth, prior to the actual filming starting on January 23.
Prior to all that, however, there’s a section on the March 1956 screen test that landed him a film contract in the first place (with Hal Wallis at Paramount - who loaned him out to 20th Century Fox for his debut flick, Love Me Tender). Plus there's a reprint of the short story A Call From Mitch Miller by Mary Agnes Thompson, from the June '56 edition of Good Housekeeping, which Loving You was based on.
There's also background info on the cast and crew, the film’s synopsis, reprints of studio memos and then, once we get into the story of the actual making of the movie, input from the likes of director Hal Kanter, songwriters Mike Stoller and Ben Weisman, co-star Dolores Hart, choreographer Charles O’Curran and musicians Scotty Moore and Dudley Brooks.
The hundreds of photos - both black and white and colour - cover every aspect of the production, from the recording sessions to images taken during shooting, candid studies between takes and off set, publicity shots and so forth. Many will be familiar, whilst several are being seen for the very first time - though God only knows why they've been hidden away for so long! Previously unpublished full colour publicity shots from Loving You are the things dreams are made of! (Sadly, however, the stunning image immortalised on the cover of the first Rockin‘ Rebel bootleg is noticeable by its absence.)
Most of the accompanying text comes in the form of reprints of articles from contemporary magazines and press reports, including several “first hand” accounts from co-stars - the kind of thing that movie mags thrived on at the time. Needless to say, there is lots to savour and study. The layout is sober but attractive.
Those with an eye for trivia will have a ball! For example, apparently ‘Tennessee Saturday Night’ was originally planned to be included, but was not recorded. The ‘Lonesome Cowboy’ scene was supposed to an outdoor shoot, but bad weather meant it was transferred to the “theatre” location on Paramount Stage 7 instead. (“What‘s ya number, honey? I'll call ya!”) Leiber and Soller‘s ‘We're Gonna Live It Up’ and Schroeder and Weisman's ‘Fireworks’ were numbers that were rejected early in production: the lyrics to both are included here. The ‘Mean Woman Blues’ sequence at the Buckhorn Tavern was shot over two days - February 11 and 12. (“Hey you, sideburns!”) And so it goes on. Oh, and the movie was titled Gold Aus Heisser Kehle when released in West Germany - the literal translation of which is Gold From Hot Throat!
Following the Civil War-period Love Me Tender, Loving You was “the first big modern musical” (as it was advertised) based around Elvis’ meteoric rise to fame. It tapped perfectly into the rock ‘n’ roll explosion and was the perfect vehicle for Presley’s undeniable charisma and screen presence; this was expanded upon in Jailhouse Rock and honed to perfection in his ultimate celluloid outing, King Creole.
Something For The Girls! allows us to relive that magical period when Elvis was at his most vibrant and relevant. To help us through the whole experience the book also comes with a bonus CD. This features the original US twelve-track Loving You album, together with alternative versions of key numbers such as ‘Party’, ‘Mean Woman Blues’ and ‘Got A Lot 0’ Livin’ To Do!’, plus songs recorded at the same sessions - ‘All Shook Up’, ‘Is It So Strange’, ‘One Night’ etc. (Nothing previously unreleased.)
Don’t worry if you bought the earlier Chris Giles and Ger Rijff book, Inside Loving You, in 2003. Yes, there’s duplication, but there’s so much more besides.
This is a wonderful book.
