Elvis and Mary

  After the recent death of Mary Tyler Moore (MTM Meow ) . I thought i would do a post on Elvis''s music and the connections it had to Mary. Whether it be a riverboat, Virgin Mary or Mary T herself. I could of gone a bit deeper and gone into the close association between Marie and Mary but that would have got a bit messy so I might leave that to another day !
   Our first destination is down to the river where the people are happy to give. The song Proud Mary was written in the 60's by a worker on the Mary Elizabeth or once known as the Queen Mother of Memphis Tugboats and the song then found its way into the hands of John Fogerty, who published and performed it and the rest is rock history. Built in 1905 the tug once transported prisoners up the Hudson River to Sing Sing State Prison. Then in 1915, the boat was used to transport mail up the Mississippi from Greenville to Luna Landing. Thirteen years later it was purchased by a Memphis Tennessee businessman and given the name Mary Elizabeth to be used as a tugboat. Im afraid Proud Mary is no more it was towed away in 1986 from the Memphis riverbank for scrap metal.
   Elvis performed this song many times in concert in the early 1970's my memory as a child was on the Madison Square Garden record.Where it was played often, in our household .We also had the Tina Turner version.Which was very popular at that time during the mid seventies, Rollin on the River . 
I thought i would post some rare footage of his Boston show 1971, here he is wearing his black conquistador suit, with cape and the recording of Proud Mary is from this show.
 

 Mary Tyler Moore and a Change of Habit 

        Doctor John Carpenter and Sister Michele in the movie Change of Habit. This was one of my favorite Elvis movies growing up being made around the time of the 1968 TV Special and the birth of Lisa Marie This was when Elvis was on a high, and enthused about performing again. In the movie Mary was trying to make the decision, whether to throw away her habit and faith to join Doctor John. This movie also starred Mary Tyler Moore show co star Edward Asner. Ed had appeared with Elvis in an earlier movie Kid Galahad. The soundtrack had some good recordings without being outstanding. The title track Change of Habit, Have A Happy,Let Us Pray and Rubberneckin , The later being a hit for Elvis after the milenium, in 2003. It was also the B side of Dont Cry Daddy which reached number 6 on the billboard charts in 1970. Let's Be Friends was also recorded for the movie at the Change of Habit sessions . These sessions started a couple of days after Elvis had done his marathon  American Sound Studios cuts of  In The Ghetto, Suspicious Minds and others. Darlene Love and the Blossoms were the backup singers for these sessions.  Lets Be Friends still remains one of my favorite Elvis recordings.
      Barbara Mcnair co star spoke about the visit of Mahalia Jackson on the set one day and how Elvis just loved her and how him and Mahalia discussed the charity show she was organizing. Barbara said Mary was a little stand offish but Elvis had been so friendly . This clip of Elvis and Mary ! Property of Notre Dame (our Mother) Sister Michele lead us into Mother Mary ! Miracle of Your Rosary Hail Mary full of grace ! 

   Miracle of Your Rosary 

This song is often referred to as the Hail Mary or Ave Maria (latin).

Written by Lee Denison and recorded by Elvis in May 1971 first released on the Elvis Now album in the 70's.  Some Elvis trivia ! In early 1955 Elvis performed at a Catholic club in Arkansas and the Priest Father Keller was not impressed and later witnessing Elvis signing a young girls leg, had said to Elvis "you are a disgrace to manhood, dont come back here". 

   Yet another connection to the Catholic church was Sister Dolores Hart, who was Mario Lanza's niece co starred with Elvis in Loving You and went on to become a Catholic Nun.  This clip of her talking about her relationship with Elvis and God !

Miss Hart talking about being on set with Elvis. I was mesmerized by his charisma and voice. That voice is for the people of GOD. 

   

     The last clip i am going to share is Mary in the Morning, a song written in 1967 and first recorded, by Al Martino. Elvis incorporated this into his live performances in the early 1970's. Always thought this song had a mystical feel about it ! I've always wondered who was Mary the woman with golden hair and chasing rainbows in her dreams.

More Trivia
In the middle ages mary or mare was was often referred to the sea ! Stella Maris or star of the sea a name given to the Virgin Mary !
The Vatican also known as the Holy See !
See of Rome or Central Government of the Catholic Church
Lateran Treaty of 1929
  Name Marie --- French cognate of Mary, which is derived from the Hebrew Miryām. Many believe it to mean "sea of bitterness" or "sea of sorrow." However, some sources cite the alternative definitions of "rebellion," "wished-for child," and "mistress or lady of the sea