BBC radio reject Elvis song list, Dec. 10

[johnfoyle]

This note appears in the difficult to read 'notices' section of Elvis' site -

http://www.elviscostello.com/micro/national-ransom/

Dec. 13 '10


"From the desk of Miriam Cooney:

We thought you might be amused by the following dispatch to our long-suffering and entirely blameless radio promotion representative from a very busy and important BBC Radio producer.

As it seems our client is no longer welcome at Radio Two, we thought you might like to obtain the following songs by these admittedly rather obscure artists and make your own radio show...

Forever Came Today - Diana Ross & The Supremes
Hey Bulldog - The Beatles
Overtime - Willie Nelson & Lucinda Williams
Lil' Pony - Georgie Fame & The Harry South Big Band
Hound Dog - Big Mama Thornton
Milkshake - Kelis
Soul Serenade - Aretha Franklin
Make It Rain - Tom Waits
Pennies from Heaven - Bing Crosby
There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight
- Hank Williams
When He Returns - Rance Allen
Uptown Top Ranking - Althea and Donna
The End of Our Road - Marvin Gaye
It Makes No Difference Now - Ray Charles
It Don't Cost Very Much - Mahalia Jackson
Know Your Rights - The Clash

"Sorry to say but yet again one of your artists (sic) has missed the point of the feature which is their top ten well known tracks about which they have stories. This is for a mainstream audience. We can certainly record it this way however I can't guarantee I will broadcast it"

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Vague as it is , it would seem Elvis was asked to contribute to a BBC Radio 2 show but, it seems, didn't seem to meet the makers requirements. Can any guess which show is referred too?

[verbal gymnastics]

Sorry I can't shed any light but I bet Elvis has got a great story about every one of the tracks.

[Pigalle]

Possibly the Tracks Of My Years feature during the Ken Bruce show. Celebrities select ten favourite tracks which are broadcast two at a time over a week. For each song the celebrity explains why the song is so special for them.

To get a feel for how dull the celebrities and their choices are here are this week's tracks (taken from Ken Bruce's Radio 2 page).

"Each week a different artist carefully selects the ten tracks that changed their life.

From classic hits to the odd obscure gem, it's a rollercoaster ride through the musical taste of some of music's greats.

This week, Ken’s guests is Cheryl Cole. Here are her selections:
MONDAY:
1: ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS – MARIAH CAREY
2: I SAW MOMMY KISSING SANTA CLAUS – THE JACKSON 5
TUESDAY:
1: LAST CHRISTMAS - WHAM
2: DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS – BAND AID
WEDNESDAY:
1: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE – SHAKIN’ STEVENS
2: IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR – ANDY WILLIAMS
THURSDAY:
1: SANTA BABY – EARTHA KITT
2: WONDERFUL XMASTIME – PAUL MCCARTNEY
FRIDAY:
1: ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE – BRENDA LEE
2: HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) – JOHN AND YOKO"

[johnfoyle]

Seems likely. Dull ? Dire would be more accurate!

[Neil.]

Yeah, it does sound like 'Tracks of My Years'. LOL! Poor Elvis - he doesn't realise they really don't want people with interesting choices - they want instantly recognisable stuff for an audience of thick people who are not particularly intersested in music - they just want familiarity.

Ken Bruce is the dullest broadcaster that exists, or has ever existed. Have you heard his Pop Master quiz? He doesn't like it when people get stuff right - when he asks a contestant to name two hits of a particular artist, and they get it right, he can NEVER resist saying 'Do you know any of the others?' - even though that's not what he asked.

[Pigalle]

Seems likely. Dull ? Dire would be more accurate!

I was just trying to be nice with the choice of the word dull