Rock and Roll Heart
This story recently appeared in the country NSW (Australia) newspaper, Clarence Valley Review. We found this story about Elvis fan and Elvis Australia club member Jan Henriksen interesting and hope you do too.
According to Jan Henriksen Elvis is King ... no questions, no debate. Others might come close, but in the Rock 'n' Roll Stakes, Elvis Presley was first across the line, there was no photo finish, he was lengths in front.
Jan, who splits his time between Maclean and Sydney when he's not working as a merchant seaman, has been a music fan since ... well, since Rock 'n' Roll was born. 'The birth of Rock and Roll was on July 5, 1954', he says, 'when Elvis went into the Sun Studio and recorded That's All Right, It's an opinion confirmed on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website, which says the 'crackling, up-tempo style stands as the blueprint for rock and roll'.
Coincidentally, it was also the date of Jan's 10th birthday, shortly after which he fell under the spell of the King. Still living in his native country, Denmark, Jan's father took him aboard an American battleship USS Iowa that was visiting Copenhagen. Classical music was the main staple of Danish radio and 'maybe a little country and western', Jan says. 'The ship had its own radio station and the DJ asked my father, who was a true classical music fan, what kind of music he was interested in. 'The DJ said, 'we've got some new music that's just come out in America'. After playing That's All Right my father dismissed it, saying, 'that's got nothing to do with music, it's disgusting and revolting'.
Too late, the seed was sown. 'I was so impressed-' Jan leans a little closer, his face lighting up as he remembers the magic of that moment. 'It was the beat-. It was the beat that was the main factor. I'll never ever forget that. That was the imprint and the impression that I got and it has stuck with me right up until now.
'Elvis is number one, like on top of a pyramid. But it isn't only Elvis'. Jan rattles off the names of other iconic artists such is Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, and the 'original father of the rock and roll guitar' Chuck Berry.
And then there's James Burton, who answered the call to play with Elvis in Las Vegas circa 1969. Jan is a big fan of his guitar playing and says he was one of the first to play 'proper electric guitar in rock and roll music'. Burton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, which says 'the tart, twangy tone of James Burton's Fender Telecaster guitar has been a defining element of the rock and roll sound from 1957 to the present'.
Jan with James Burton.
Sometimes fate has a way of bringing elements together. Jan first saw Burton play at a 1974 Elvis concert in Las Vegas. He saw him play again at a 1998 concert in Esbjerg, Denmark supporting Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry while there on holiday. A few years later Burton was touring Australia with the TCB Band (Elvis' backing band until he died in 1977), and was scheduled to play at the Yamba Bowling Club in 2005. Jan was rostered to be at sea, so, after checking the internet for Burton's tour dates, he found there was a window of opportunity to see him play in Dubbo.
This time Jan was determined to meet his long-time guitar hero. He tracked down the hotel where Burton was staying and told the receptionist he was a small time journalist and DJ who wanted to do a story on the tour, teeing up a meeting in the foyer when Burton arrived. Armed with a James Burton CD and some replica Kempo Karate stickers he had made himself - Elvis used to practice the martial art with his bodyguards and sported one of the original stickers on his black Gibson acoustic guitar - Jan met Burton. 'I told James that I had seen him perform in Las Vegas and Esjberg', Jan says. 'He was surprised that I'd travelled so far to see him'.
Red West, Jan Henriksen & Johnny McPhail.
Burton was curious about how Jan had obtained the stickers. Years earlier Jan was searching for the Kempo Karate logo on the internet so he could put a sticker on an Elvis model replica guitar he owned, so it would be just like Elvis'.
During his search he befriended an American actor, Johnny McPhail, who had a tenuous connection with Elvis through his association with Red West, an actor and songwriter, who was a childhood friend of Elvis'. West gained notoriety as a member of the Memphis Mafia when a bodyguard for Elvis in the 1970s. Jan's online friendship with McPhail grew and he was invited to drop in and see him if he should ever come to the USA. As it happens, Jan went to the USA to see Graceland, Elvis' mansion in Memphis Tennessee, early in 2000. Jan lobbed on McPhail's doorstep and their friendship became one of flesh and blood. They spent time together hanging out at the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale Mississippi. Meanwhile, back to Dubbo in 2005.
Johnny McPhail & Jan Henriksen.
During a one-hour meeting over coffee Burton is blown away by Jan's story and invites him to catch up back in the USA. 'He gave me his business card and invited me to his international guitar festival in Shreveport Louisiana', he says. 'He said to get in touch with his secretary and a ticket would be waiting for me when I get there'. And get there he did. Jan spent four weeks immersed in Rock and Roll heaven. McPhail handed Jan the keys to his house, saying, 'what's mine is yours'. With McPhails's house as his home base, a month later Jan had travelled 4,900 miles fulfilling a lifetime's dream exploring the places where Rock and Roll began.
Jan last saw Burton last October at the Entertainment Centre in Brisbane where he was performing in the Elvis Presley in Concert tour - where Elvis' original band mates perform with a video projection of Elvis' finest concert performances behind them, with all sound except for Elvis' vocal removed. He caught up with Burton afterwards at a VIP function. 'I feel very lucky to have met James', Jan says.
Glen D Hardin Jan Henriksen & James Burton.
By Geoff Helisma, Clarence Valley Review
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Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley DVD
Never before have we seen an Elvis Presley concert from the 1950's with sound. Until Now! The DVD Contains recently discovered unreleased film of Elvis performing 6 songs, including Heartbreak Hotel and Don't Be Cruel, live in Tupelo Mississippi 1956. Included we see a live performance of the elusive Long Tall Sally seen here for the first time ever. + Plus Bonus DVD Audio.
This is an excellent release no fan should be without it.
The 'parade' footage is good to see as it puts you in the right context with color and b&w footage. The interviews of Elvis' Parents are well worth hearing too. The afternoon show footage is wonderful and electrifying : Here is Elvis in his prime rocking and rolling in front of 11.000 people. Highly recommended.
Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley DVD Video with Sound.
