Legends: Elvis with Joe Guercio, at the Las Vegas Hilton, in
1972; Joe Guercio.
Joe
Guercio was Elvis’s conductor during the 70s.
Tell us about your first meeting with Elvis.
Well, my first meeting with Elvis was the
pre-production meeting. I got a call from Tom Diskin who was the
Colonel's associate, and he said they were thinking about me
conducting the show for Elvis Presley. And someone had preceded me
there for the first show. He asked me what I'd done and bla-bla. And
by the time I told them what I'd done, they had checked me out
thoroughly. They knew I'd been with Eydie Gormet and Steve Lawrence
and did some Broadway shows and that whole background, did
television. And I went into L.A. and met with them. And then they
called me and told me they were going to have me work with Elvis on
this engagement. And the first thing was That's the Way It Is,
the motion picture.
And we just hit if off. I never had met Elvis. They
had been rehearsing in another room for three days. And was in there
sorting music for three days. The string parts and what was going to
happen? Because the arrangement had been written. They were all
brought in. Glen wrote a lot of them and a couple of other writers,
but Glen did most of it. And then Joe Esposito said, Elvis had come
down, and he started singing. And I just sat there trying to get
hooked into it. Then on the first break, Joe Esposito comes and
said, "You should meet Elvis". So, I don’t know. I was never an
Elvis fan. That's the difficult part. I came out of a whole another
of music. I was not a rock and roller at all. And from I said hello
to him, the charisma was just over powering.
And by the time I got through the first rehearsal,
because I think on that show we did
Just Pretend and a couple of things for the time, I never
realized he sang that good. He was a great singer. My wife loved
him, but I was really never an Elvis fan. But that day it started.
We hooked up, and that's what happened.
What was it about Elvis that first struck you?
He was real. There was nothing false about the man.
He was just real. This is what it is and wow.
Tell us about when you first went on the road with
him.
Well, the relationship was never, “Hey, pal”, a lot
of people like to think it was “Hey, pal”. But it wasn't “Hey, pal”.
I've said this before, there were different real... When he was into
his show vein, that was his group. But he had a respect for us on
stage. But he was surrounded by the best. He had Ronnie Tutt, none
better. Jerry Scheff was none better. The whole front line, James
Burton, Glen Hardin. He just appreciated what they were. And he knew
what they could. It was a different kind of a... Does that make
sense? It does to me. It was a different vibe. Then he'd be talking
to these other groups, another one of his immediate group, and there
a was a whole another different vibe there. Because they worked for
him.
We were talking about Elvis's band being the best.
Well, look what they came out of. Look where they all
came from. They all came from places that were, you know, we were
all involved in the music business. They weren't just players. They
were more than players. They were with the best. And touring with
those people is, you know, we'd just get it going. It would really
happen every night.
Tell us of any funny incidents between you and Elvis.
Oh, the marble story. That goes back to the first two
days of the gig. You know, it was never a set show in those days. He
would just want to pull a tune out and sing it. And it was great,
because everybody behind him was immediate group. And that was
Ronnie and the rhythm section. He'd say, so and so, and they'd turn
around, and they'd start. Well, you can say that to five guys. I'm
sitting up there with 32. You know, when am I going to start. So, it
was always a scuffle. Let's do this and bam. And I'd stop and... Or
they would start his orchestra and the introduction and show, and
suddenly I'd say, "Here we go, guys. Bar 12". And I'd bring him in
on bar 12, and we'd be locked in. And first couple of times I did
that, he really turned around and acknowledged it because, you know,
we didn't leave him on the desert. We just jumped in the pool, a
little late, but we jumped in the pool.
And somebody came to me and asked me how I enjoyed
working, conducting for Elvis Presley. I said, "It's like a marble
rolling down concrete steps, you know, dinkle, dinkle, dinkle". You
know, one of those kind of things. So, that was it. And next day,
I'd come in and open my dressing room door. And I hear all this
strange noise. I turn the lights on. It's marbles all over the
floor. There's marbles in every one of my pockets. There's marbles
in the sink loaded. I could see he had all his slaves go out the
night before and buy all the marbles in the world. And the sign on
the mirror said, "Follow the marble. E.P."
That's good.
It's different.
I could imagine leading an orchestra that way.
I should have said, like hundred dollar bills blowing
out a window. Wouldn't that have been cool? I should have thought
about that one.
Do you remember a lot of the different celebrities
Elvis would introduce in the audiences?
Oh, yeah. There are funny stories. But Sammy Davis
would be in the audience. Opening nights were just something, people
like Cary Grant, which always amazed me, because they were movie
actors. But a lot of beautiful women were in the audience. Sammy was
a big fan. Tom Jones was a big fan. He really respected Tom Jones.
Redd Foxx. When Elvis was in town, it was never a show. It was a
happening. You know, it's a theatrical experience. But a fun thing.
And when he got into it, he could twist thousands of people around
his little finger.
Was there a special moment with Elvis that stands out
in your mind?
No, there's a couple of moments, but I'd rather talk
about the moments on stage. Two of the highlights ever were the
first night we did An American Trilogy
in Atlanta, Georgia. We had done it at the Hilton. And it went over
very well. Because we had recorded it and put it in an album. But
being in the heart of the Confederacy, I mean, Atlanta, Georgia, we
go into the Omni. We were supposed to work two shows. We wound up
doing four shows. And they sold every one out. It's an
18,000-seater, you know. Today, an act goes out. They do one show
they're tired. They have rest four days. We would do four in two
days and sometimes five in three. But he came out, and we got to
An American Trilogy which we did
toward the end of the show. And James started with the intro and
Elvis said, "Oh, I wish I was in Dixie". I want to tell you
something. Those calls started to go up. You know, they started with
those calls and the people and they stood and screaming. And every
hair, I mean, just unbeliev-- I mean, you know, we stood 30 seconds
which can be like a year till they stopped, slowed down, and we
continued on with the song.
The other night that I remember very well was Madison
Square Garden. When he came out, there were so many flash bulbs went
off that the arena, there was moments when the arena was lit. And we
came out in a black out. And New York brought him in. And when New
York wants you, they want you. You know, New York has got... It's
another world.
And the other highlight of my life with him was when
we the did Aloha From Hawaii. I said to the band before we
started, I said, "This is the first time any show has gone on
television all over the world". I said, "We're all first on it".
That was a great moment.
Any other moments you remember from Aloha From
Hawaii?
Oh, Aloha From Hawaii was just... Well the
Hawaiian people... I guess, he had done a couple of motion pictures
there. They were just phenomenal. But the thrill of being the first,
you know, I'd drop a down beat, and it's the first time you drop a
down beat. And it's going all over the world on television. You
know, that's a first. I mean, that's a big time first, you know.
We had a couple of humorous moments on stage. He
would love to sing It's Now Or Never.
And I said to him one night, "It's an Italian song, man. Why don't
you do it in the right lyrics? And you know, it's O Solo Mio. It's
not It's Now Or Never". So, we had a
little humour with that. Every time he'd call,
It's Now Or Never, I'd kind of get
that little look away. Now say, It's Now
Or Never. You know, it's heh-heh, you know, one of those
numbers. One night I took an empty pot cause... And I'd put on a
chefs hat. I had a pot, and I was sitting behind Ronnie Tutt, and I
was storing a pot. A little bandstand humour.
Were there any moments in the show with Sean Nielsen
over O Solo Mio?
No, I was too busy looking at the way Sean was
dressed in those days. But if anybody ever told me that it was going
to continue and like it's been. You know, this is years later, and
we're sitting here talking about Elvis Presley. You know, it's just
amazing. And I'd got out with Elvis the Concert now which is
amazing. We're out there. His audience in Europe, 15, 20 percent of
the audience is under 30 years old. There's a whole another thing
building out there.
It's almost like Elvis is on the road with you again.
Well, we're on the road with him. Yeah. It's a hot
show. Have you seen it? It really is.
Do you have any particular memories of the CBS TV
special?
The CBS special? That was not one of his
better specials. That was Dwight and Gary did that show, and they're
phenomenal directors and producers. No, I didn't really like that
show at all. It was like the end. You know, we were coming to the
end of the whole thing.
Remember when he came over and patted you on the
head.
Well, you know, in those days, there was something to
pat.
What are your impressions of Colonel Parker?
I never had a problem with the Colonel. In fact, I
really was not involved with the Colonel a lot. And I never had a
problem with him. I got to know the Colonel better after Elvis
passed away than before. I lived in Buffalo, New York. And my
parents did, and when we were working Buffalo, and the Colonel would
always go to... If that was the first thing on the tour, the Colonel
would say, "You're going to be leaving with us two days early". I
said, "Oh, that's fantastic you know, to start the tour". They would
go out and get me. I was musical director for the Hilton. That's how
this all came about. I was working for Hilton. And the Colonel left
it so I could still be working for Hilton, but I'd be out doing what
they wanted to do in those days. Whatever the Colonel wanted, the
Colonel got. Because Elvis was doing it. He made the hotel a lot of
money in those days.
You just said you learned a lot from the Colonel.
Well, just the way he did things. He'd sell out
shows. He'd have three shows booked, but he never let the people
know there were three shows booked. One would sell out, and then he
would sell a second on and sell a third one.
He knew how to move product. You know, merchandising
in those days was a lot... There were not T-shirts at that time, to
sell T-shirts. Then when they started to sell them. I remember an
incident, there were a lot of bootleggers that were following us,
you know. And so everybody wanted, well, let's get them arrested and
put them in... But they were selling more shirts than we were and
the merchandise. So, the Colonel brought all his guys in. They were
all from New York from Long Island. The Colonel brought all his guys
in, and he put them on his payroll, and he made them part of the
thing, and they just started selling merchandise like you wouldn't
believe.
We were in Atlanta. And I know they'd run out of
hound dogs, and it was a Sunday. And the next thing I knew, they had
found a Walgreens warehouse or something, and those guys were
putting pins on those things, you know, 'Elvis bows' or whatever
they put on them. And there were no more hound dogs. They just got a
bunch of stuffed bears. And they were selling stuffed bears. So we
put Teddy Bear in the show.
Elvis super souvenirs.
"Elvis super souvenirs". Have you talked to Al Dvorin
at all? But Al's something else. I would always come in. He's always
come in shuffling at the end, because he'd sell them at the box
office, where ever they'd sell them. And he walked in, and he's a
vegetarian. And Elvis drinks apple juice, apple juice, apple juice,
I mean, to a point that, my God Al, how much apple juice. Every time
he'd walk in a restaurant, it would be with Glen. We were always up
late, later than the rest of them. And he'd come walking in late.
And we'd say, "Squeeze an orchard", because Al Dvorin just walked
in. "Ladies and gentlemen, squeeze an orchard".
Personally, what does Elvis mean to you?
What does he mean to me? Let's see. Personally, he
means to me great memories. All right. He means to me, personally,
he brought me in touch with people I would never had met, because
they're from all walks of life. He brought people like the Sweet
Inspirations, the Stamps, you know, I mean, we were family. He was
away from it when we were with him. But he brought me on stage with
20 of the most professional people I've ever worked with. And the
memories and the fun we had. I would never had understood the South
without Elvis Presley in my life. You know, I grew up in a whole
another world. It's the memories. It really is the memories. And he
opened me up to a lot of music. You know, here I am at my age. And
I'm making a living in rock and roll. I know a lot of friends that
are waiting for the big bands to come back. And it turned me around.
Legends: Elvis with Joe Guercio, at the Las Vegas Hilton, in
1972.
He changed your life in certain ways then.
Oh, yes, he's changed my life in a lot of ways.
You said the Sweet Inspirations used to rehearse
here?
Oh, yeah. Well, it's the room upstairs in the music
room. And they'd come in. We'd sit down. We'd put medleys together.
They opened the show here in Vegas. The girls, they would just stop
it. We did a thing. One show we did a Billie Holiday medley when
that movie was happening. We did a Stevie Wonder medley up there. We
did an Elvis. Yeah, we did.
So, how is it really working with everybody again?
Wouldn't you like to come back in 25 years and do
exactly what you were doing 25 years ago with the same people? It's
as though, you know, I talk to a gentleman today from a newspaper in
Zurich. Because we're going to Europe with this thing. And he asked
me, "Well, what does it feel like?" I said, "What does it feel
like?" He says, "To come back. Did you have to readjust?" I said,
"We got on the stage after being gone for 20 some odd years. By the
second tune, it felt like we closed three nights ago in
Indianapolis". We just fell into it, and it started over again.
What about the show at the Hilton? Was there any
tension felt or anything?
The night that happened? Well, I guess I'm very happy
I wasn't wearing the white jumpsuit. I can tell you that. But it
gave all the body guards something to do. They could stand there and
do what they had to do. And it's like bomb scares, you know. A lot
of them are all maybes. But they said there was a death threat. But
I just never took all of that. Didn't affect me at all.
When Elvis was on stage, were you ever able to zero
in on what songs he was going to do?
It would start the same, and was zeroed in. But every
once in a while, he'd call in one tune. So, what I would do is I
would have the show laid out. And then one side of the... I had
plywood extensions put on the, especially the violin stands, so it
would be this wide and instead of putting the music this way to find
it. Because you wouldn't have a number of charts on a show. If you
were doing a dance gig, all the charts are numbered, 42. We're going
to do 63. But at that point, it would be that would be the way. We
would be doing our show, and if he would call it, I'd have these 12
extra tunes stacked on the sides. And he'd call something that
wasn't on the show, and they'd pull it our and here we go boy. Bar
12, and we'd pop in.
Where were you when you found out Elvis had passed
away?
Oh, that was a strange day. Marty, my bass and drum
player was like the assistant conductor you know. He would do the
show. We used to take a set band out. So, I did all the shows with
Ann-Margret here in those days. And she was coming in, and she was
opening the day he was opening in Portland, Maine. So, I worked,
being with him, I used to do Ann-Margret. So, I would work Ann-Margret’s
opening night and two days and then join Elvis two days later. And
once we got her show set, and I'd run out, because the band came out
of Vegas. They would fly in from L.A. The L.A. people would fly in.
And we had an airplane that was chartered by Holiday Airlines. And I
put on, horns and percussion player. So, I put the band on. And I
started to go back, and Ann-Margret opened that night. I was with my
wife. And we went down to the Boulevard Mall, because I wanted to
get a bow tie. And I walked into the shop. And one girl said to the
other. They were talking about Elvis being dead. I said, "What do
you mean, Elvis being dead?" She said, "Oh, yeah. It just came on
the radio. He was found dead na-na". So, I tried to call the Hilton.
And I finally reached Bruce Bankey, and I said, "What is it?" He
said, "Yeah. Come on over, and I'll fill you in on what went down".
So, I went to the Hilton, found out what had gone down. And that --
doing that rehearsal for Ann that was... Because Ann and Elvis were
close. They had done a couple of movies together. And I flew down
to... I went to the funeral.
Jackie met me in L.A. We jumped on an airplane and
went to Memphis. And then Ann-Margret flew in, and she took the day
off. And one night off. And that was it. We came back. She had
chartered an airplane. I came back with her. But people say, "What
do you feel, what do you feel, what do you feel?" And my theory, if
there is such a thing, is that some people cannot live to be old,
you know. And I've said this before. I can't see Marilyn Monroe an
old woman. And I can't see Elvis an old man or James Dean or Rudolph
Valentino or whoever else you want to put in that category. I think
that's what it is. That's what it had to be, and that's what it was.
Didn't you conduct some at Elvis's funeral?
Oh, yeah. I, the Blackwood Brothers and JD and the
Stamps behind the casket, How Great Thou Art. And it was very sad,
you know, really sad. Because you had the feeling it was really a
country boy. That's what it was.
After all these years he’s been gone, what do you
think it is that's unique about Elvis that's different from all
other performers?
I think, he was the original cast of Elvis Presley.
There was nothing off Broadway about Elvis. He was what it was. He
was real. He was a pace maker. He took us to a place. He gave us a
new pace how to walk in the business. Does that make sense to you?
He started a whole another thing. Everybody does Elvis. Elvis is
doing nobody. He took something from over the fence and brought it
so other people could understand it.
Source:
EWJ.
|