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Olivia joins Justin this week for a Song of the Week special as they deep-dive the stories behind two of their favorite Elvis songs. Olivia's up first, examining Elvis' exellent 1970 cover of Anne Murray's classic country hit "Snowbird" and the tragic story of its songwriter, Gene MacLellan.  Then, Justin saddles up and goes tilting at windmills in an attempt to explore the fascinating history behind "The Quest/The Impossible Dream" from the Broadway musical "Man of La Mancha," which Elvis is most known for having have performed in 1972 at Madison Square Garden, but is also unique in being the only song Elvis ever used to close his shows post-1969 besides "Can't Help Falling in Love." Justin looks back to understand why the song resonated so much with Elvis, why he may have chose to feature the song when he did, what versions he took influence from, how his deeply personal interpretation varies from the many dozens that came before him, and ponder why he stopped performing it. Also explored are the song's explicit ideas of heroism, sacrifice and fearlessness in spite of impossible odds - and the tension and dissonance between that message and Elvis' own human shortcomings.  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.

Bec and John pitched Justin on the idea of assigning them ANY album from across Elvis's entire discography, from any time or country, and the two of them would have to try to make the case that their pick is better than the other's, even if it may challenge them to do so. So Bec was assigned the #1 2016 UK album "The Wonder of You with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra," the sequel release to "If I Can Dream," which we have not covered on TCBCast before! Produced by Nick Patrick, Don Reedman and Priscilla Presley, same as the first volume, which Bec really liked, can she make the case that it's a strong listen - or was there are precipitous drop-off in experimentation in favor of an overly safe, commercial follow-up, featuring recognizable hits like "Suspicious Minds," "Kentucky Rain" and "Always On My Mind"? John, on the other hand, being an avid study of Elvis' gospel music, was assigned the 2018 album "Where No One Stands Alone," a #1-charting album from the US's Top Christian Albums, which John had never listened to before except for the title duet with album co-producer Lisa Marie Presley. Although original backing vocalists who worked with Elvis such as Darlene Love, Cissy Houston, Bill Baize, Terry Blackwood, Armond Morales, Ed Hill, Jim Murray, Larry Stickland and Donnie Sumner were brought back to add authenticity to the project, the new arrangements by producer Andy Childs reflected contemporary changes in the field of American gospel music that when applied to Elvis' songs... well, let's say John will have his work cut out for him making a strong case for it being the better record. (Note from Justin: "Where No One Stands Alone" had been briefly reviewed at release on a very early episode of TCBCast, which Gurdip & I would probably re-evaluate our opinions from as well with hindsight.) For Song of the Week, John takes the opportunity of just having passed Easter to reflect on Elvis' interpretation of Shirl Milete's "Life," which was released as a single in 1971, and explores how its "Christianity-by-New-Age" approach may have resonated with Elvis' spiritual perspective on life, love and creativity. Then Bec digs into Pomus-Shuman's "Night Rider," featured on both the Pot Luck album and in the film "Tickle Me," highlighting its eerie lyrics despite its deceptively upbeat arrangement. 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.

There's an old saying that when life hands you lemons, make lemonade - Bec, Ryan and Olivia challenge themselves to make the most out of the weakest films in Elvis' cinematic canon, spotlighting their favorite and most redeeming musical performances from their least favorite Elvis movies. For Song of the Week, Olivia deep-dives the fascinating history of what, for Elvis, was a throwaway goof during the making of That's The Way It Is, as "Froggy Went A-Courtin'" evolved from cutting political satire to folk tradition and finally to children's song.  Then, Ryan celebrates the songwriting strengths of Elvis's buddy Red West, picking "If You Think I Don't Need You" from the soundtrack of 1964's iconic "Viva Las Vegas."  If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation on Patreon. 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.

Bec is joined this week by John Michael Heath to rank their all-time favorite co-stars from across Elvis's Hollywood career. From Debra Paget to Mary Tyler Moore, which ladies made the cut? You'll just have to give it a listen and find out... For Song of the Week, Bec spotlights the playful "Cross My Heart and Hope to Die" from 1965's "Girl Happy." Then John reflects on the somber brilliance of Elvis's interpretation of the classic folk tune "Danny Boy" - including his 1958 home recordings and the beloved 1976 "Jungle Room" version. 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.

Gurdip, Justin, Bec, Ryan and Olivia reflect on 400 episodes of TCBCast, discussing our favorite music, movie, Elvis influence episodes, songs of the week and even our favorite Gurdip moments.  We also pay homage to a dearly missed friend.  Oh, and Justin made a couple new Elvis discoveries that we bring up right at the end that we guarantee you've never heard before. Thank you to all of our fellow Elvis fans, music and film history enthusiasts and friends who've followed us so far. We're so immensely grateful to Elvis Presley for his work and cultural contributions that has meant so much to us and has brought such wonderful people and experiences into our lives, and connected us all to you.

Olivia joins Justin this week for a meaty follow-up to our EPiC review. Not only does she chime in with her thoughts and observations from her viewing experience, the duo also read and react to all of YOUR many wonderful emails, comments and submitted audio reviews of the film from TCBCast's Patreon supporters.  Then, Song of the Week IS BACK, BABY!! Olivia, taking cues from EPiC, is feeling the "Sweet Inspiration," discussing the history behind the iconic hit recording by The Sweet Inspirations, its American Sound connections, and the time during the August 1970 engagement (narrowly missed by the TTWII film crew) that Elvis sang it to the Sweets, live on stage!  Justin couldn't let the news slip by that Neil Sedaka had passed away, so he reflects on Elvis' 1976 interpretation of Neil's heartbreaking "Solitaire," and deliberates over whether Elvis' own preferred recording process by '76 may have accidentally led to a more claustrophobic final arrangement. They also consider the value of Bergen White's orchestrations and the thematic resonance Elvis may have felt with co-writer Phil Cody's lyrics. Thank you to all of our listeners for your support coming up on 400 episodes, and especially to our TCBCast patrons who wrote in to provide their insights and reactions to EPiC. We loved hearing all your perspectives! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro & Olivia's Review 17:45 - Patron & Collaborator Reviews of EPiC 1:25:30 - SOTW: Sweet Inspiration 1:43:31 - SOTW: Solitaire

Ryan, Bec, Gurdip and Justin pile in for a round table discussion on Baz Luhrmann's EPiC. You don't need us to tell you it's worth seeing or that it's good - there's no shortage of other opinions you've heard affirm both, so we just dive right in. We discuss our perspectives on how the film presents Elvis and his creative process, major sequences of significance, any insights we picked up along the way, as well as the contexts of our viewing experiences (including the responses of guests we took with us, and anecdotal demographics), and our major takeaways from this remarkable cinematic remix, not simply of Elvis's words and performances, but of the work left behind by Denis Sanders, Pierre Adidge and Bob Abel.  Finally, Justin wraps the episode with a sort-of Song of the Week, discussing how Baz Luhrmann's "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" provided him with some illumination as the Elvis fandom comes to reckon with EPiC as a new collaborative reinterpretation, unpacking the mindblowing critical reappraisal of Elvis' 1970s era in the media reviews of the film, examining a few criticisms of Luhrmann's 2022 film and EPiC from certain corners of the fandom, and bringing the "art vs archive" arc that he and Bec had begun last September after the Toronto premiere (episode 376) to a conclusion.  This episode contains excerpts from Rolling Stone Australia/New Zealand's interview with Baz Luhrmann, which we highly recommend watching in full on their YouTube channel. 

Gurdip, Justin and John quickly gathered last night to discuss initial impressions of the soundtrack album for EPiC which is now available on all major music platforms for purchase and streaming. At the time of recording, John's the only one to have seen the film, so we're judging it based on how it works as its own cohesive presentation, keeping in mind that like all Baz Luhrmann soundtracks, it's a companion piece, but also a standalone work.  There's plenty of hubbub in the Elvis community about the remixing and re-recording of some elements for the soundtrack, but we have exclusive insights on some of the creative choices made for the film and album from Jamieson Shaw, music producer and supervising music editor on EPiC. Shaw very kindly responded to some questions we asked him via email, which John reads aloud for us on this episode (though without attempting Jamieson's Australian accent).  We also break down plenty of the new mash-ups and discover the component elements from across Elvis's catalogue that were utilized in devising these more artful reinterpretations.  We recommend checking out the soundtrack for yourself on your preferred music platform or choice or available physically on CD/vinyl from Sony Music!

In Part 2 of our review of "Elvis: That's The Way It Is" the gang takes a look at our Patreon supporters's votes and comments on which version of the film is preferred, then debate the merits of the inclusion of interviews with fans and hotel staff in the original, as well as the producers' reasons for removing fan favorites such as "I Just Can't Help Believin'" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water' in favor of more well-known Elvis hits like "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog" for the Special Edition. Justin challenges the commonly held belief that the Special Edition features substantially more time with Elvis than the theatrical cut, Elvis biographer Peter Guralnick's take on the film in "Careless Love" is contrasted with what we now know of Elvis's thoughts on the film, and the group looks forward to how both versions of the movie may influence Baz Luhrmann's EPiC. 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.

Finally tackling a subject as big as "That's The Way It Is" (right on time for EPiC's release) deserved as big of an episode, so the whole core crew is on board: Justin, Gurdip, Ryan, Bec and Olivia. After having revisited both the original 1970 theatrical version directed by Denis Sanders, and the beloved-by-fans 2001 Special Edition overseen by producers Rick Schmidlin and Ernst Jorgensen, the group gets together to compare notes, discuss the merits of each, as movies and as concert films, and explore ideas and themes raised by each... and of course, which version we prefer over the other! Part 1 emphasizes the experience of rewatching the films, how the original 1970 came about, and whether either film depicts Elvis' personality authentically. Plus, Ryan recounts his recent trip to the Westgate and visiting the showroom! 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.

Bec got to attend a special preview screening of Baz Luhrmann's EPiC in Sydney over the weekend, so we wanted to share the overview of her early impressions of the movie with listeners! There are some minor spoilers on a few sequences but broadly most of the surprises will be retained if you only want to listen to this before seeing the film yourself. For those who want all the meaty spoilers, we do have an extended discussion available over on our Patreon with almost a half hour more of Bec digging into many major sequences, themes she picked up on, and a couple minor quibbles that still couldn't put a damper on how much she loved the film. Plus, patrons get to hear Bec quizzing her friend, a non-fan who accompanied her to the preview, on what she thought of the film, thoughts on Elvis as a performer, and whether she'd recommend it to others. 

Sony & Baz Luhrmann have officially unleashed the new, enhanced and overdubbed version of "Oh Happy Day" from EPiC out into the world - the full regular host team was already about to record so without having previously discussed it and only having heard it minutes before, hear our gut reactions to the new single!  "Oh Happy Day" (EPiC Version) is available on all major music platforms, and the EPiC soundtrack will be out at midnight EST on February 20, 2026.

Jamie Kelley of EAP Society joins Bec & Justin for an extensive (but not completionist) exploration of the history of Elvis accompanying himself as a musician, primarily on guitar and piano but also touching upon bass and percussion as well. What were his influences? Was he any good? Why did he mostly abandon the guitar on his recordings once it became the instrument he was considered famous for helping popularize as a rock instrument?  All those answers and more discussed in this deepest of deep dives - so deep, in fact, we didn't even have time for Song of the Week! The team also takes a moment to remember Jerome "Stump" Monroe, who as the drummer for the Sweet Inspirations, was part of Elvis's extended on-stage family and served as Elvis's backup drummer on a handful of occasions. As Jamie talks about during the show, EAP Society is not currently available on YouTube but new episodes with him and John Michael Heath can be found on Spotify. You can also visit EAP Society's website for more information on their show. 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.

Bec's back for 2026 and as we're working up an exciting meaty topic we decided to take it a little lighter to start with (kind of!) as Justin & Bec react to the official theatrical trailer for EPiC, then take a look back at a UK-exclusive Camden released in 1975 entitled "The U.S. Male." Featuring a "greatest hits" of sorts from several other prior Camden compilations, this unusual release from within Elvis's lifetime was a gateway into Elvis's music for numerous Brits, but does it cohere and hold up? And can the duo come up with tracklists that better suit the "US Male" theme? For Song of the Week, both hosts highlight gospel numbers, with Bec swinging in with "Somebody Bigger Than You and I" off the "How Great Thou Art Album" which overlaps Elvis's long affection for music originally by Bill Kenny & The Ink Spots and his love of spirituals. Then, Justin tells of the inspirations behind "Peace in the Valley," how Thomas A. Dorsey came to write it, and the world events which led to Elvis's performance of the song on the Ed Sullivan show (and subsequent recording) in 1957. 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.

Gurdip & Justin kick off 2026 with an exploration of the many songs written by iconic rock and roll songwriting/producing duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller that were recorded by Elvis, and ultimately provide their Top 5 lists of their personal favorites. From Hound Dog to Jailhouse Rock, Trouble to Bossa Nova Baby and beyond, it's all discussed in here - as well as a light overview of their careers, songs and productions before and after working with Elvis. The guys also catch up on several weeks of listener emails, break down the new "Wearin' That Night Life Look" remix from the upcoming soundtrack of Baz Luhrmann's EPiC, and of course dig into two Songs of the Week. Gurdip celebrates the New Year by telling us the history behind "Auld Lang Syne" which Elvis performed in concert twice in the 1970s during New Year's Eve shows, then Justin finds his thrill on "Blueberry Hill," the 1940s hit that was revived by rock legend Fats Domino in 1956 and subsequently covered by Elvis on the "Loving You" album and occasionally brought into his setlist during the 1970s. We highly recommend the compilation "Elvis Sings Leiber & Stoller" which is available on digital storefronts (with added "Three Corn Patches" which was missing from the original physical release), "Hound Dog: The Leiber & Stoller Autobiography" and Ace Records' wonderfully curated compilation series "The Leiber & Stoller Story" bringing together a mix of well-known and lesser-heard songs written and produced by the two musical partners. 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.