The Church of Elvis is a 3-part series documenting Elvis Presley’s spiritual journey and how faith influenced his music. The documentary will air on VisionTV on July 18th, 19th and 20th at 9PM ET/6 PM PT. We have some very special interviews with friends of Elvis and the key players in the film – from Elvis’ childhood friends to Elvis historians and aficionados.
Shirley Gillentine, at the age of 8, beat 10-year-old Elvis in his first-ever singing contest. While Elvis sang ‘Old Shep‘, it was Shirley’s rendition of ‘My Dreams are Getting Better All the Time’ that won her the top spot. On the line from Tupelo, 73-year-old Shirley chats about her childhood memories of Elvis and even sings a snippet of the song she won the contest with.
Listen to our interview with Shirley:
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James Ausborn is Elvis’ boy-hood friend from Tupelo. When James was 12 and Elvis was 10, the two young boys fished, rode around town on his bicycle and went to the movie theatre. Mud Creek was a popular spot for the young boys. While they fished, Elvis would sing ‘Old Shep’, and James would tease Elvis that they wouldn’t “catch no fish if you keep that up”. James’ brother is “Mississipi Slim”, a radio DJ who was the first to put Elvis on radio.
Listen to our interview with James:
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Roy Turner is a Tupelo-area native who is now an Elvis historian. Roy grew up in Tupelo, went to the same school as Elvis but Elvis was a little before his time. In 1981, Roy was hired as a researcher by Elaine Dundy for her book Elvis and Gladys. Getting to meet and become friends with Elvis’ friends and family was a joy for Roy. Roy is particularly interested in Elvis’ early years in Tupelo because many of the people who knew him and grew up with him are still around. Roy talks about Elvis’ determination, his influence on Tupelo, and Tupelo’s influence on Elvis.
Listen to our interview with Roy:
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Ray Walker is an original member of Elvis’ back-up group, The Jordanaires. Ray, who’s been the bass singer for the group since 1958, talks about his days as a disc jockey, his first recording session with Elvis, and Elvis’ relationship with the famous The Jordanaires.
“I don’t think he ever broke his word about a thing.”
Listen to our interview with Ray:
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John Strausbaugh is a New York Times journalist and author of the book E: Reflections on the Birth of the Elvis Faith. John is fascinated by the very devoted cult that surrounded Elvis’ life, which he calls ‘Elvism’. Most fascinating aspect of Elvis’ life? John found it very interesting that Elvis searched and struggled all his adult life for his own sense of ‘Who am I?’, ‘Why am I in this world?’, ‘Why am I so important?’.
Listen to our interview with John:
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Rockin’ Robin Rosaaen has been to over 80(!) Vegas concerts by Elvis. The rooms in her apartment are stacked with Elvis collectables of every kind: an estimated 40 000 records, books, playing cards, keychains, photos, you name it! She’s one of the Elvis afficiandos to be featured in “The Church of Elvis”.
Her favourite piece of memorabilia? That would be Elvis’ dental chart and patient information form filled out for his Palm Springs dentist.
Listen to our interview with Rockin’ Robin:
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Larry Geller was Elvis’ hairstylist and spiritual guide. Larry talks about his unexpected conversation with Elvis after styling his hair for the first time, the relationship between Elvis and the infamous Colonel Parker and more.
“He was so humble. He was so down to earth…Every person was treated the same.”
Listen to our interview with Larry:
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Alison Reid is the producer of The Church of Elvis. She takes us through each stage of the documentary – from his formative years (visiting his friends and churches in Tupelo) to his explosion on the pop culture scene. The documentary will touch on how his faith played a role, his move into Vegas, his eventual passing, and the resurrection by his following, people who want to see him live on forever. Alison also talks about scoring an interview with Pat Boone, who was very open about his relationship with Elvis and their ups and downs.
Listen to our interview with Alison:
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Scott Dobson is the Director of The Church of Elvis. Scott touches on Elvis’ spiritual side, an aspect of Elvis’ life that we don’t hear too much about it. WE all know his voice and looks, but the documentary tries to look at the world through Elvis’ eyes, and see and hear the things he saw and heard that shaped him. There is no question that his faith and the church played a huge role in his world – both musically and spiritually.
Listen to our interview with Scott:
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Ron Moore, a Elvis tribute artist, is the star of the Vision TV special The Church of Elvis. Ron talks about Elvis’ spiritual side – a a an aspect of his life that many don’t know about. Elvis started out with a love of gospel music. Ron talks about getting to know Elvis through his gospel music and relates to him that way. The documentary starts in Tupelo, with Elvis’ roots in the small churches that influenced him. They then go to Memphis and Sun Studio, where Ron recorded a few songs. Ron was pleased to find that everyone they met had huge respect for Elvis and spoke about how kind and caring he was.
Listen to our interview with Ron:
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