Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. is helping to secure the future of drum and bugle corps in Memphis and the Mid-South area. Recently, the Presley Estate, long known for its public generosity, has licensed a T-shirt with Elvis' image for sale by Memphis Sound at its souvenir booth during its inaugural season. The image depicts Elvis in a drum major's uniform from the movie "Frankie & Johnnie," and bares the copy, "The Original Memphis Sound ... We're just keeping the beat!"
The T-shirt will be available at the corps' booth during contests. It will eventually be available on-line through the Memphis Sound Web site.
Elvis Presley Enterprises is also helping Memphis Sound and its parent organization, the Memphis Youth Performing Arts Association, by hosting an "Evening of Elvisopoly" game tournament at Elvis Presley's Memphis Restaurant on Beale Street, in Memphis. Guests will pay to play the Elvis version of the popular board game, Monopoly. A social hour will be held prior to the event and include a silent auction. Door prizes will be awarded throughout the evening, with a grand prize given for the highest score of the night. Hasbro has donated all game boards. The "Evening of Elvisopoly" will be held this September.
One last Elvis connection is in Memphis Sound's corps song. Memphis Sound, with the help of arranger Terry Jolley, has transposed the original Jay Dawson arrangement of "Can't Help Falling in Love," once created as a show closer for the Memphis Blues Brass Band, Memphis' original drum corps from the early 1980s. Corps director Trey Moore said, "Using 'Can't Help Falling in Love' as our corps song does three things for us -- it ties us to our local musical heritage, it creates instant tradition within our new corps, and it creates a bond with the original corps that called Memphis home. And because our show has absolutely nothing to do with Memphis music, we thought it appropriate to create that link through a corps song which we'll perform during standstill concerts."
Elvis Presley Enterprises is also helping Memphis Sound and its parent organization, the Memphis Youth Performing Arts Association, by hosting an "Evening of Elvisopoly" game tournament at Elvis Presley's Memphis Restaurant on Beale Street, in Memphis. Guests will pay to play the Elvis version of the popular board game, Monopoly. A social hour will be held prior to the event and include a silent auction. Door prizes will be awarded throughout the evening, with a grand prize given for the highest score of the night. Hasbro has donated all game boards. The "Evening of Elvisopoly" will be held this September.
One last Elvis connection is in Memphis Sound's corps song. Memphis Sound, with the help of arranger Terry Jolley, has transposed the original Jay Dawson arrangement of "Can't Help Falling in Love," once created as a show closer for the Memphis Blues Brass Band, Memphis' original drum corps from the early 1980s. Corps director Trey Moore said, "Using 'Can't Help Falling in Love' as our corps song does three things for us -- it ties us to our local musical heritage, it creates instant tradition within our new corps, and it creates a bond with the original corps that called Memphis home. And because our show has absolutely nothing to do with Memphis music, we thought it appropriate to create that link through a corps song which we'll perform during standstill concerts."