TCBCast 362: Teaching Elvis

Ryan Droste returns to TCBCast, this time to guide us through his response to an intriguing listener email all about how history teachers like him may choose to discuss Elvis's place in the broader story of American history, and how he specifically teaches his teenage students about Elvis, Sun Records, race relations and the music industry of the 1950s. For Song of the Week, Ryan picks the beautifully sung ballad "Today Tomorrow and Forever" from one of his all-time favorite Elvis movies, Viva Las Vegas, both as a solo cut and as a duet with Ann-Margret. Then, Justin pieces together an unexpectedly heartbreaking story behind the cheerful Olivia Newton-John hit "Let Me Be There" that Elvis famously covered in his March 20, 1974, Memphis concert (released as an album itself) as well as resurfacing a few years later again on the Moody Blue album. This is a Song of the Week that you do not want to miss - it may change how you think of the song entirely. uge thanks goes out to David "Ghosty" Wills of "We Say Yeah" for his assistance with research materials for this Song of the Week. You can check out more of Ryan's history content at youtube.com/MrDrosteHistory as well as find him as usual discussing pro wrestling on Top Rope Nation. CONTENT WARNING: the SOTW segment starting at 1:39:15 contains discussion about suicide. 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. Patrons receive early access to episodes, exclusive new bonus episodes and an extensive archive of over 4 years of bonus episodes covering a range of topics related to Elvis and early rock and roll!