TCBCast: An Unofficial Elvis Presley Fan Podcast

Gurdip's back!!! ...kinda? April Fools! Originally released back in May 2022 on our Patreon, Gurdip  demanded to have his say about Terry Stafford and his famous cover of "Suspicion," so Justin obliged and they sat down not just with the single, but Terry's full 1964 album. Released on the Crusader Records label to capitalize on Stafford's surprise Top 5 success with his hit recording of the same...

Intrigued by a concept thrown down by a listener, Bec and Justin decided to seriously just go for it and rank (ala the animal songs episode) Elvis's songs about modes of transportation - trains, cars, jet planes, the works. But they had to be substantially about the specific vehicle or use it heavily as a theme, not just a passing reference! As you'll hear, the team begins ranking them - and then...

Justin and Bec forego a typical main topic this week, opting instead for effectively two main topics with absolutely massive, iconic Songs of the Week! Bec's Song of the Week is "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" and she explores the roots of it from the 1965 Italian ballad "Io che non vive (senza te)" through to Dusty Springfield's hugely successful English adaptation and eventually to Elvis's f...

This week, Bec and Justin explore the history behind the Extended Play format and how this record format played an important part in the consumption of Elvis's music by fans during his early career with RCA, and also briefly explore some of the more obscure and interesting international EPs that caught their eyes while digging into the topic.  Then for Song of the Week, both hosts go for some seri...

Gurdip and Justin continue their discussion of 1967's "Double Trouble" as this infamous Elvis film finally introduces its more zany comedic elements with The Wiere Brothers, Helene Winston's grabby "Gerda" and a goofy Captain and First Mate intent on blowing up their own ship. The wacky side characters liven up the back half of the story - though the script remains equally as confusing and its att...

This is it! We've finally decided to just do it and visit the one Elvis movie often considered to be among the worst of his narrative feature films, 1967's "Double Trouble," directed by Norman Taurog for MGM from a script by Jo Heims, and co-starring Annette Day, Yvonne Romain, John Williams, Monty Landis, Leon Askin, Norman Rossington, Chips Rafferty and The Wiere Brothers. It's classic TCBCast,...

This week, to mark the Valentine's Day holiday, Gurdip, Bec and myself gave a listen to the one explicitly Valentine-themed Elvis compilation, released 40 years ago amid celebrations of Elvis's 50th birthday. Far from being a mere collection of famous love songs, some surprising deep cuts make the grade, but also a lot of songs about broken hearts, which confounds Gurdip. For Song of the Week, Bec...

Following on from Part 1, Justin, Olivia and guest host Chris Jones (of the "Hall of Songs" podcast) explore Elvis's Hot 100 hits that never made it to the Top 40, closing out the movie era with tracks from Speedway and Live A Little, Love A Little and moving into the 1970s, a decade that surprisingly offered Elvis far more pop success than may often be perceived, as only 5 of his single A-sides c...

Chris Jones from "Hall of Songs" ( hallofsongs.com or on any major podcast platform) joins Justin and Olivia for an exploration of Elvis's Billboard Hot 100 hits that charted outside of the Top 40; meaning #41-#100. Exploring Elvis's career through this unique angle shines a light on less-known songs, and some surprising famous ones that didn't go as high as you might think, while also revealing s...

After an intensive holiday season, we're taking a week off, so from the TCBCast Patreon archives we bring an episode from December 2023 when Bec and Justin convened to explore the Top 20 hits during the week in early 1969 that "If I Can Dream" peaked at #12, the highest it would reach on the Hot 100. What kept Elvis out of the Top 10? Turns out a lot of really iconic music! Unlike our usual Billbo...

TCBCast is a zoo this week! In old-school TCBCast fashion, Gurdip and Justin are ranking the songs that Elvis did mostly all about critters of the world, from hound dogs to snowbirds and everything in between. It's wildly unscientific, please don't take it too seriously! The idea is to get you thinking about the lyrics to Elvis's songs more closely. As we mention, you would be SHOCKED at how many...

Gurdip and Justin delve into the recording sessions from May 1963 and January 1964 which produced songs initially spread out across numerous singles and albums over a five year span. While the music reflected a more polished Nashville-tinged pop sound that Elvis had been subtly building upon in the early 60s, giving us such iconic recordings as "Devil in Disguise," "Memphis Tennessee" and "It Hurt...

    After Gurdip & Justin discuss the latest FTDs: The Making of King Creole, The Last Tour Volume 2 and The Girl Happy Sessions, the guys answer a handful of listener emails, landing on one from fellow patron Robin, whose visit back to an early TCBCast episode that touched upon the subject of Elvis's Black influences, which conveniently leads us right into our main topic. For the main discussion,...

Ryan and Bec, for their annual team-up and the last TCBCast of 2024, decided to take a listen to Elvis' second album, "Elvis" (also known as "Elvis No. 2" in some regions) which, believe it or not, has not technically been reviewed on TCBCast! Together, they ponder where this sophomore effort, recorded all in a weekend in early September 1956 just as Elvis was preparing to make "Love Me Tender", s...

Merry Clambake! The entire TCBCast gang is joined by Rabia and Felix from Suddenly: A Frank Sinatra Podcast, Jamie and John from EAP Society, Kristen, Benita and Margarita from Those Elvis Girls, David "Ghosty" Wills from We Say Yeah: A Cliff Richard Podcast, Garrett Cash from "The Beat! With Garrett Cash", and Darin Evans, all in a manner never quite heard before - a non-linear episode intercut a...

Justin is joined by John Michael Heath from EAP Society for a thorough examination of the 2008 album "Christmas Duets" which paired Elvis' original vocal tracks from 1957 and 1971 with 1:1 re-creations of the backing tracks and some of the biggest female entertainers in the field of country music at the time: Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Wynonna Judd, Gretchen Wilson and others, as well as b...

Bec joins Justin for a look back at one of the few Elvis albums she had early in her fandom, the iconic 1959 release "A Date With Elvis." Released while Elvis was overseas in Germany during his military service, "A Date" in some respects serves as a companion piece to the earlier "For LP Fans Only," compiling a handful of tracks previously unavailable on the LP format, while also having a more int...

To celebrate the American Thanksgiving holiday, Gurdip and Justin got together to reflect on the things they're most thankful for about or within the Elvis world, from songs and movies to releases and the fandom, it's a contemplative discussion on this week's show! For Song of the Week, Gurdip selects the rarely-heard "Britches," which was cut from the 1960 film "Flaming Star," and Justin digs dee...

Gurdip, Ryan, Olivia, Bec and Justin discuss at length the new Netflix documentary directed by acclaimed sports doc filmmaker Jason Hehir, "Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley," purportedly about the making of the 1968 Comeback Special. Following in the wake of the special's prominence in Baz Luhrmann's 2022 biopic and the Paramount Plus documentary "Reinventing Elvis," the gang...

Justin and Bec wrap their discussion on the recorded and filmed rehearsals undertaken for the Las Vegas engagement documented in the feature film "That's The Way It Is". The duo continues through July and August 1970's rehearsal dates, right up to August 10, the day Elvis would take the stage in front of paying customers, and reflect on the insights into Elvis and his band's creative processes alo...

Justin and Bec begin to explore the recordings that remain from the rehearsals leading up to the August 1970 concerts that would become the centerpiece of the 1970 documentary film "That's The Way It Is." The film's director, Denis Sanders, was fascinated by Elvis as a creative force and wanted audiences to get a glimpse of his working process - some of which briefly appeared in the final film, so...

Justin and Bec have a relaxed discussion about all the exciting Elvis news from within the last week or so, including the trailer for "Return of the King," a behind the scenes preview from Layered Reality's upcoming Elvis Evolution show, Ernst Jorgensen's experimentation with Peter Jackson's MAL de-mixing technology and more. Plus, Elvis trivia returns for a week! For Song of the Week, Bec tackles...

Olivia joins Justin for their thoughts on the TV special Riley Keough did with Oprah, filmed at Graceland, Riley's Graceland Q&A, and the rest of Lisa Marie's book now that things have started to finally settle. The duo also answers a bunch of listener feedback, discuss dialogue edits on "The Last Tours, Volume 1" FTD, and a recent video Olivia watched about one of Elvis' Ed Sullivan performances...

Netflix has dropped the trailer for the new documentary about the making of the 68 Comeback Special releasing November 13. Gurdip and Justin were in the middle of recording another episode when the trailer landed, so the guys dropped everything to react immediately. Watch the trailer for "Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHStpufGGzA

This week, you're getting to hear a special bonus episode from our special Patreon miniseries "TCBCast After Dark." Justin is joined by Rabia and Felix of "Suddenly: A Frank Sinatra Podcast" for this discussion. There is a new introduction providing additional context. Aired in 1991, produced by Mel Bergman, "The Elvis Files" was a LIVE TV broadcast hosted by "Clambake" and "Speedway" co-star Bill...