BackinMemphis

Lisa Marie Presley's publicist has denied a tabloid report claiming the U.S. musician collapsed at her home in England after she lost 55 pounds on a diet. "It is absolutely and completely untrue," Presley's representative told People.com Friday. "The National Enquirer puts Lisa on the cover every few months with manipulated photos and horrendous stories of supposed 'meltdowns,' and has since she can remember." The 42-year-old singer-songwriter, who is the daughter of rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley, is working in Los Angeles on her third album, People.com reported. "She is happy and healthy and working hard," the representative added. "The rest is absolute garbage. Not a bit of truth to any of it."

Lamar Fike & Mark Bego Lamar Fike was not a household name per se, but for the last 50 years he has been known as the "bigger than life" founding member of Elvis Presley's famed entourage, The Memphis Mafia. Back in the days of duck tail haircuts, gold lame suits, and the song "Hound Dog" topping the charts, Lamar was the "right hand man" to "The King of Rock & Roll." Lamar lived at Graceland with Elvis, alongside Gladys and Vernon Presley, back in the days when that family was pop culture's original reality show. There were Cadillacs in the driveway, motorcycles to race, and even Natalie Wood paying a famous Memphis visit, and Lamar was there. When Elvis Presley was drafted and went off to serve in the Army in Germany, Lamar went along. When Elvis returned to the States, and performed on TV with Frank Sinatra, Lamar was there. And, when the '70s rolled around, and Elvis was obsessed with becoming a drug enforcement off...

GLASVEGAS have made light of singer James Allan's meltdown in 2009... by having T-shirts printed with a special message for the volatile star. James, 31, worried his bandmates, record company and fans when he went AWOL in 2009 before the Mercury Prize ceremony in London. Later that year, he had an emotional collapse during the last days of a tour with Kings Of Leon in Chicago. A bewildered James ended up singing The Carpenters' Close To You to a goldfish 33 floors up in a Chicago hotel before taking it to the bar and watching TV on the bed with it. The band's T-shirts remind the singer of his fragility with the words: "All work and no play makes James a dull boy." The message also refers to Jack Nicholson's paranoid character in The Shining, who types the words "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" thousands of times before losing his grip on reality and attacking his wife with an axe. James, who says he is okay now and has "cut all...

EPE announced today that they will host a Super Bowl Party to benefit St. Jude on the front lawn of Graceland. Is this tacky or tasteful? You be the judge. A fun event to support a wonderful cause! Graceland will host a Super Bowl® XLV watch party and auction on the mansion's front lawn to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The event is on Sunday, February 6, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. The party will mark only the second time an event has been held on the lawn, or anywhere on the property, since Elvis’ passing. Former Shelby County Mayors Bill Morris and Jim Rout will host the event. Co-hosts for the evening include Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell and Memphis City Mayor A.C. Wharton. Festivities will include a touch football game on the front lawn with former Memphis State and NFL quarterback Billy Fletcher leading an all-star lineup to reenact the games Elvis held at Graceland more than 40 years ago. Participants will wear throwback replica jerseys from one of Elvis’ old ...

NEW CASH CD SET FEATURES EARLIEST CASH RECORDINGS Bill Miller announced that a new volume of rare and unreleased Johnny Cash tracks, "From Memphis to Hollywood: Bootleg Vol 2" will be available 2/22/11. The majority of the two-disc set  spends time on Cash's early career. The first CD will be devoted exclusively to the country legend's time in Memphis. Among the treasures from Cash's vault: a radio show hosted by Cash, 11 demos done prior to Cash signing with Sun and seven outtake s from sessions at Sun Studios. Disc two focuses on the star's tenure Columbia Records from 1958-69. It will include non-album singles, B-sides and outtakes. Miller calls some of the early Sun demos "stunning. This is Cash unplugged at his earliest. I've been a fan for over 40 years, and I've never heard anything that grabbed me like these demos did."

Elvis friend and Memphis Mafia member Sam Thompson ( brother to Linda Thompson, Elvis' girlfriend and uncle to Brody Jenner, best known from MTV's The Hills) is set to retire from his post as CEO of Public Utilities for the state of Nevada. Back In Memphis wishes Sam a very happy retirement which is well deserved!

Happy Birthday Bobby Wood! We appreciate all your contributions to American music! May all your birthday wishes come true! Bobby Wood is a session musician and songwriter most famous for his work as the Memphis Boys keyboardist. Born in a community just south of New Albany, Mississippi, Wood was one of six children in a musical family that delighted crowds as the Wood Family Gospel Group. After studying classical music through mail-order lessons, Bobby decided that genre wasn’t for him. He then mastered and went on to train others in the American folk music tradition of shape notes. For Bobby, the organ was his forte. From years of singing with his family, he developed amazing vocal abilities. Already an accomplished musician by his late teens, he set forth on Bankhead Highway to Memphis where he became Sun Studio producer Stan Kesler’s protege. In 1964, Bobby released a song on Joy Records “If I’m a Fool (For Loving You)” and shortly after Wood joined Reggie Young, Bobby Emm...