BELMONT UNIVERSITY PRESENTS: NASHVILLE CELEBRATES ELVIS SELLS OUT RYMAN
Star-Studded Concert Honors Scaife Family, Raises Money for
Belmont Music Business Students
ONLINE AUCTION NOW UP AND RUNNING!
Bid now on Elvis memorabilia and autographed items from your favorite celebrities, including Hannah Montana, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire and Wynonna at
www.nashvillecelebrateselvis.com
All proceeds will benefit the Cecil Scaife Scholarship Endowment for the Music Business Program at Belmont University.
Click here to view pictures from Belmont University Presents Nashville Celebrates Elvis!
Event Wrap-Up
Nashville, Tenn., February 14, 2008 – A host of today’s biggest stars took the stage of the historic Ryman Auditorium alongside friends and bandmates of Elvis Presley’s Tuesday night for an evening of beloved music originally made famous by Elvis in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The sold-out Belmont University Presents Nashville Celebrates Elvis benefitted the Cecil Scaife Scholarship Endowment for the Music Business Program at Belmont University.
The evening, emceed by Elvis’ high school friend and host on Sirius Radio’s Elvis Radio channel, featured Pat Boone, David Briggs (former Elvis’ band member and the evening’s musical director), Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Wanda Jackson, Millie Kirkham, Ronnie McDowell, The Palmetto State Quartet, T.G. Sheppard, former members of the Stamps Quartet, B.J. Thomas, Ray Walker of the Jordanaires and Wynonna. Briggs, D.J. Fontana, Joe Guercio, Ann Ellington Wagner and Walker all shared memories and stories of their time with Elvis as friends and colleagues with Klein throughout the show. The night’s house band was made up of musicians who recorded and toured with Elvis: James Burton (guitar), Larry Paxton (bass), Norbert Putnam (bass), Steve Turner (drums), Harold Bradley (acoustic guitar), Danny Parks (acoustic guitar), Shane Keister (synthesizer) and Briggs (grand piano).
The proceeds from the evening benefitted the Cecil Scaife Scholarship Endowment for the Music Business Program at Belmont. Scaife, who worked with Elvis in the 1950’s and 1960’s, was one of the original pioneers of the music business program at Belmont in 1971 that has grown into the world-renowned Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business. Belmont President Bob Fisher, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and Mary Morgan Ketchel, daughter of U.S. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, were on hand to honor the Scaife family and thank them for their support of Belmont and the Nashville music industry for more than 50 years. Ketchel presented a proclamation Congresswoman Blackburn submitted to the congressional record in honor of the family and their support of Belmont.
Belmont Unviversity Presents Nashville Celebrates Elvis was the first tribute to Elvis’ illustrious career in Nashville. Though most well known for his career and home in Memphis, Elvis recorded more than 275 songs in Nashville recording studios, including RCA Studio B, now operated by the Curb College. A few of Elvis’ most well-known hits recorded in Nashville include “Heartbreak Hotel” (his first Nashville recording), “Little Sister,” “It’s Now Or Never,” “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” and “How Great Thou Art.” The evening represented a perfect union of Elvis’ genius and lasting legacy on the Nashville music industry and a celebration of the present and future talent to come from Nashville.
The lineup of performers and songs included a wide variety of Elvis’ best known rock, gospel and country hits. The complete list includes:
• Pat Boone – “Heartbreak Hotel”, “In the Garden”
• Vince Gill – “Blue Suede Shoes”, “That’s Alright Momma”
• Amy Grant – “Love Me Tender”, “Devil in Disguise”
• Wanda Jackson – “Let’s Have a Party”, “Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby”, “Money Honey”
• Wynonna Judd – “How Great Thou Art”, “Burning Love”
• Ronnie McDowell – “Sentimental Me”, “I Was the One”, “It’s Now Or Never”
• T.G. Sheppard – “Wonder of You”, “Don’t Be Cruel”
• The Stamps Quartet – “Sweet Sweet Spirit”, “He TouchedMe”
• B.J. Thomas – “Are You Lonesome Tonight”, “I Just Can’t Help Believing”, “Suspicious Minds”
• Full Cast Finale – “I Can’t Help Falling In Love WithYou”
