Rock music enthusiasts can look forward to Friday May 8, because that’s the date when Elvis Presley’s original band members will be performing in Prague for the first time. The concert will be held at Akropolis, and will include a meet & greet with these legendary musicians. Elvis Presley, also known as 'The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll', is widely seen as one of the most influential artists of our time. John Lennon once observed that, “Before Elvis, there was nothing. Without him there would have been no Beatles”. Many of today’s artists like Justin Bieber and Katy Perry have also acknowledged his influence on their careers. Presley would have turned 80 on January 8, and his music will be celebrated throughout the year with new releases and special concerts. Even the King’s original musicians are now dusting off their instruments for a special tour in May, which includes the Prague concert on May 8. The line-up includes Duke Bardwell, who played the bass for Elvis at 181 concerts, as well as Bob Lanning, who played the drums for Elvis at 63 shows. Lanning can be heard on classic Presley recordings like ‘The Wonder of You’ and ‘Polk Salad Annie’, while Bardwell can be heard on the powerful 1974 version of ‘How Great Thou Art’, for which Elvis won a Grammy Award. Interesting detail is that drummer Bob Lanning was found very recently, and that this tour marks the first time that he plays Elvis’ music again since his last concert with Presley on March 1, 1970. Over the years many researchers have tried to locate Lanning unsuccessfully, so his participation on this tour is a remarkable scoop. Also participating is actress Marlyn Mason, who co-starred with Elvis in his last scripted film, 'The Trouble with Girls' (1969). She will be the host of the evening, and she will also be telling some stories about her association with Elvis. The lead singer is Dwight Icenhower, who looks and sounds just like ‘The King’. Icenhower is widely seen as the world’s best Elvis tribute artist, and he has won the world champion title 'The World’s Best Elvis' three times in a row. When asked what can be expected from the shows, Duke Bardwell answers that “We will be performing all of Elvis’ classic hits, like ‘Hound Dog’, ‘Love Me Tender’ and ‘All Shook Up’. These are the songs that created a musical revolution back in 1956. We will be playing them just like we did them with Elvis originally. We will be going for the original, authentic Elvis sound. This is as close as you can get to Elvis in 2015”.
