Well, two people in the Elvis world who met Elvis have died this month first his Harum Scarum costar Mary Ann Mobley and now his backup singer Millie Kirham. Millie Kirkham has died after a stroke. Her soprano voice has been featured on the whos who in both pop & country music, most notably Elvis beginning with the 1957 recording session that garnered the classic, Blue Christmas alongside the Jordanaires. Gordon Stoker of the Jordanaires has been quoted as saying that Presley liked Tubb but didnt want to recut his song. Ordered to do the song, he told the band to play & sing as badly as possible. He argued & cussed with them for a couple of hours & finally told us to make the most horrible background we could, so they wouldnt record it, Stoker was quoted as telling a Nashville newspaper. The backup singers laughed & sang a whooping woo-woo-woo-woo-woo in the background. They said have fun -- do something silly, backup singer Millie Kirkham said in a CNN interview. Presley chopped words into syllables, singing, I-I-Ill have a ba-lue Chrrrr-istmas ... When we got through, Kirkham was quoted as saying, we all laughed. It turned out to be a repeat No. 1 hit for New York songwriters Billy Hayes & Jay W. Johnson, who also wrote for pop bands. Kirkhams strong, clear soprano can be heard on many of Elvis pop, rock, gospel & country recordings such as The Wonder Of You, Surrender, How Great Thou Art, Polk Salad Annie, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Dont, Just Pretend, (Youre The) Devil in Disguise, C.C. Rider & many others. She also sang with Elvis on many of his movie soundtracks & performed with him on stage in the 1970 documentary, Elvis: Thats the Way It Is in Las Vegas. A longtime fixture in the music community, her credits include numerous radio & television appearances, collaborations with the Jordanaires & the Anita Kerr Singers along with her countless recording sessions in Los Angeles, New York City, Las Vegas & Nashville. Her distinctive voice can be heard on classic recordings by Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Jerry Lee Lewis, Burl Ives, Johnny Cash, Brenda Lee, Willie Nelson, Johnny Tillotson, Pete Fountain, Bob Dylan, Perry Como, Carl Perkins, Rosemary Clooney, Little Richard, Reba McEntire, Brook Benton, Tammy Wynette, Vic Damone, Paul Anka, George Jones, Sonny James, Patti Page, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Eddy Arnold, Loretta Lynn, Jim Reeves & of course Elvis Presley to name a few. While in her 80s, she performed regularly across the country with Jordanaires paying homage to those classic songs. In 1998 & 1999, she toured with Elvis The Concert in both the US & Europe which featured many of the original musicians Elvis recorded & toured with throughout his career. In February 2008 she appeared in Nashville celebrates Elvis at the Ryman alongside George Klein (Emcee), Pat Boone, David Briggs, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Wanda Jackson, Wynonna Judd, Ray Walker of the Jordanaires, Ronnie McDowell, TG Sheppard, BJ Thomas & former members of J.D. Sumner & the Stamps. iie Kirkhass dirtk
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 23:50:10 +0000
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