TCBCast: An Unofficial Elvis Presley Fan Podcast

Justin Gausman

"Elvis is history," Carl Perkins once said, "and anytime anyone or anything becomes history, whether it be Pearl Harbor or Elvis, it will never go away. The world will never tire of his songs." TCBCast is an unofficial fan podcast featuring co-hosts Gurdip Ladhar and Justin Gausman, along with regular guest co-hosts Ryan Droste and Bec Wyles, plus an array of Elvis fans and experts setting out to better understand that history, and those songs. Tackling topics from throughout Elvis's lifetime and beyond, TCBCast seeks to offer thoughtful, intelligent, heartfelt and honest discourse on Presley's career, his influences, the people who made his work possible, and the cultural phenomenon surrounding his iconography. TCBCast is not associated with or endorsed by Graceland, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Authentic Brands Group or Sony. read less

Our Editor's Take

TCBCast: An Unofficial Elvis Presley Fan Podcast is a music history show. Hosts Gurdip Ladhar and Justin Gausman discuss the rock 'n' roll icon in a thorough fashion. Joining them are cohosts Ryan Droste and Bec Wyles. The show also welcomes Elvis scholars to share exclusive insights even fans may not know.

Justin is a filmmaker and playwright. His fascination with Elvis inspired his 2017 short film Never Been to Graceland. With fellow fan Gurdip, he explores each Elvis track and notable performances. They also review modern media related to the legendary musician. Ryan is an accomplished editor with credits in Entrepreneur and SE Scoops. He brings his love of history and pop culture to this show with a journalistic approach. As a European fan, Bec brings an international perspective to the podcast.

TCBCast gets its name from Elvis' famous "taking care of business" slogan. It was also the name of his backing band. As an unofficial Elvis fan podcast, this show holds no affiliation with his estate. Instead, the podcast is an appreciation show. It offers listeners an exploration of how Elvis' music affected the world. Aside from being fans, the hosts have a deep knowledge of his life. They aren't afraid to be critical about his high and low points when appropriate. Elvis was a flawed human despite his massive stardom, and the podcast keeps that in mind.

For longtime Elvis lovers, TCBCast is a nostalgic trip through history. For new fans and those looking to learn more about him, the podcast offers thorough research. Gurdip, Justin, Ryan, and Bec have warm personalities and engaging chemistry. The conversations on the podcast are both informative and light-hearted. As genuine Elvis fans, they have an infectious appreciation for these captivating stories.

This podcast is great for getting a detailed review of all things Elvis. New episodes of TCBCast: An Unofficial Elvis Presley Fan Podcast arrive Tuesdays.

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MusicMusic

Episodes

TCBCast 346: The "Lost Album" Sessions of 1963/64
6d ago
TCBCast 346: The "Lost Album" Sessions of 1963/64
Gurdip and Justin delve into the recording sessions from May 1963 and January 1964 which produced songs initially spread out across numerous singles and albums over a five year span. While the music reflected a more polished Nashville-tinged pop sound that Elvis had been subtly building upon in the early 60s, giving us such iconic recordings as "Devil in Disguise," "Memphis Tennessee" and "It Hurts Me," fans at the time never quite got the chance to take full stock of what Elvis was artistically doing at this moment in time. But decades later, the material comprised the retrospective compilation "For the Asking" aka "The Lost Album." The guys sit down to look back on all of it. For the first Songs of the Week of 2025, Gurdip surprises with a short excursion to hear Elvis' live on-stage gag performances of "The Mickey Mouse Club March." Then, Justin spotlights "Look Out Broadway," the aspirational showtune from "Frankie and Johnny" that makes numerous Gilded Age pop culture references and features vocalists Ray Walker and Eileen Wilson chiming in as other characters... in one of the very few traditional musicals Elvis ever made in his film career! If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.
TCBCast 345: Before Elvis: A Book Discussion (feat. Preston Lauterbach)
07-01-2025
TCBCast 345: Before Elvis: A Book Discussion (feat. Preston Lauterbach)
After Gurdip & Justin discuss the latest FTDs: The Making of King Creole, The Last Tour Volume 2 and The Girl Happy Sessions, the guys answer a handful of listener emails, landing on one from fellow patron Robin, whose visit back to an early TCBCast episode that touched upon the subject of Elvis's Black influences, which conveniently leads us right into our main topic. For the main discussion, John Michael Heath of EAP Society taps in as we're joined by Preston Lauterbach, author of acclaimed books such as "The Chitlin' Circuit," "Beale Street Dynasty," "Bluff City: The Secret Life of Photographer Ernest Withers" and several others about Black musicians in the early 20th century, whose latest book, "Before Elvis: The African-American Musicians Who Made The King" is being published by Hachette Books on January 7, 2025. Keen-eared Elvis fans may also recognize Preston's voice as an interviewee from 2018's "Elvis Presley: The Searcher."  Preston's new book examines the life stories of Arthur Crudup, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, Reverend W. Herbert Brewster, Junior Parker and Calvin and Phineas Newborn and numerous other major and minor figures that factor into their stories and complicated, nuanced relationships with Elvis both as a person and as a phenomenon as they impacted him, and he in turn impacted them. It's a book for Elvis fans and non-fans alike, even Elvis skeptics are sure to find it extremely revealing as Preston thoroughly dispels many rumors and accusations thrown at Elvis over the decades, with receipts, while centering his narrative around lifting and celebrating the voices and life stories of these figures far beyond a mere connection to Elvis. Yet it never shies away from hard truths, all informed by a history of Memphis, the political landscape of the Deep South in the 1950s, inner workings of the record and music publishing industries, and the ways both white and black audiences responded to changing perceptions of artists, genres and influences across the decades. It's likely to be the most in-depth discussion about the book to be done in its release media cycle, as Preston was extraordinarily generous with his time, answering all our questions, geeking out with us about Memphis music history, and having a thorough discussion that we hope will help this episode stand on its own, well into the future beyond the publication date. You can learn more about "Before Elvis" and where to buy it at: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/preston-lauterbach/before-elvis/9780306833083/?lens=hachette-books And you can follow Preston's blog on Substack at: https://thechitlincircuit.substack.com/  If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.
TCBCast 343: A Very Clambake Christmas 2024 - The Clambake Files
23-12-2024
TCBCast 343: A Very Clambake Christmas 2024 - The Clambake Files
Merry Clambake! The entire TCBCast gang is joined by Rabia and Felix from Suddenly: A Frank Sinatra Podcast, Jamie and John from EAP Society, Kristen, Benita and Margarita from Those Elvis Girls, David "Ghosty" Wills from We Say Yeah: A Cliff Richard Podcast, Garrett Cash from "The Beat! With Garrett Cash", and Darin Evans, all in a manner never quite heard before - a non-linear episode intercut across four different discussions! The TCBCast Gang tackles the movie head on, giving Gurdip, Ryan and Bec (who missed most of the last two Christmases) the chance to voice all their questions about what makes this low-rated Elvis movie so eminently watchable... and also confusing. Meanwhile, Olivia brings her own deep dives. Oh, and most of them are drinking.  The Suddenly Crew took an experimental approach this year, watching the film "Bake to Front," starting their viewing at the halfway point of the film and working their way back around to the infamous "Clambake" musical sequence as an unintended finale. Those Elvis Girls discuss what makes Elvis' films fun to watch, what it's like to view his film career while being relatively new to the fandom, and call for #JusticeForClambake! And a gathering of film buffs get together to explore the year 1967 in film: what the big hits and notable releases were, and how Elvis' film career slots into the overall picture between the fading old Hollywood studio system and the more experimental and independent New Hollywood. Most fun of all, there's an exploration of some of the movies that Elvis Presley himself is known to have watched in 1967. There's a few surprises in store throughout as well! As of this episode's release date, "Clambake" can be watched freely (with ads) on TubiTV and Pluto TV in the United States and may be available on a streaming platform in your region as well. The "Clambake" soundtrack is on all major music platforms. Chapters: 0:00: Start (Part 1 Begins) 9:40: TCBCast Host Intro 32:05: Those Elvis Girls Intro 40:38: "Bake to Front" 50:00: 1967 In Film 1:16:25: An Alternate Opening, Gold Bullion & Sunken Treasure 1:33:53: "Sure Must Have An Awful Long Cord": Mobile Car Phones in 1967 1:42:14: Golddiggers of a Different Sort 1:51:29: GOOP, Baby! 2:06:27: Elvis, the Cinephile 2:29:48: (Part 2 Begins Here) The End of the Hays Code & Elvis' Late-Career Films 2:46:48: Airboats and Costuming Woes 2:54:33: Shelley Fabares 3:08:04: The Women of Clambake 3:21:27: Character Business You Never Noticed + "Slang of Ages" 3:36:41: The Girl I Never Loved, and Other Soundtrack Songs 3:44:23: "With a C..." and Alternate "Confidence" Demos 3:57:06: The Films That Released Alongside Clambake 4:07:00: Magical Mystery Tour, Kiddy Songs and In The Ghetto 4:22:18: "The Magic Word" and Shortnin' Bread 4:35:20: Closing Thoughts - TCBCast Hosts, Film Buffs & Those Elvis Girls 4:43:08: What is a "Clambake Musical"? 4:46:30: Closing Thoughts - EAP Society & Suddenly 4:52:30: Why Clambake? & Finale Thank you to all our friends who joined in this year. Please make sure to follow their shows: Suddenly and We Say Yeah can be found on all the same major podcasting platforms as TCBCast. EAP Society can be found at youtube.com/EAPSociety and EAPSociety.com. Those Elvis Girls can be followed at youtube.com/ThoseElvisGirls and instagram.com/Those.Elvis.Girls, and Garrett Cash's radio show "The Beat with Garrett Cash" can be found on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/garrett-cash-635212819.
TCBCast 342: Christmas Duets (feat. John Michael Heath)
12-12-2024
TCBCast 342: Christmas Duets (feat. John Michael Heath)
Justin is joined by John Michael Heath from EAP Society for a thorough examination of the 2008 album "Christmas Duets" which paired Elvis' original vocal tracks from 1957 and 1971 with 1:1 re-creations of the backing tracks and some of the biggest female entertainers in the field of country music at the time: Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Wynonna Judd, Gretchen Wilson and others, as well as bringing in a couple entertainers Elvis himself had been a fan of in the 70s: Olivia Newton-John and Anne Murray.  Often written off as a mere cash-grab, the duo discuss the careers of the album's producers, the talented studio band brought in to replicate the original arrangements, and several other guests that reveal a more nuanced picture of a likely genuine tribute to Elvis that ended up trying to play things too safe and went awry in the process - and the guys ponder what makes artificial duets work or flop. They also discuss the exciting news about Peter Guralnick's upcoming book, now officially confirmed as "The Colonel and the King," releasing August 5, 2025.  For Song of the Week, John's selection of "I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago," the traditional folk song which Elvis used to link the 1970 concept album "Elvis Country," and the version by Brownie McGhee that Elvis is known to have taken inspiration from, suddenly opens doors that lead to the histories behind numerous other Elvis recordings that will blow you mind, including (but not limited to) our other Song of the Week, "Adam and Evil" from "Spinout." If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.
TCBCast 339: COMEBACK (Documentary & 1968 TV Special Discussion)
19-11-2024
TCBCast 339: COMEBACK (Documentary & 1968 TV Special Discussion)
Gurdip, Ryan, Olivia, Bec and Justin discuss at length the new Netflix documentary directed by acclaimed sports doc filmmaker Jason Hehir, "Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley," purportedly about the making of the 1968 Comeback Special. Following in the wake of the special's prominence in Baz Luhrmann's 2022 biopic and the Paramount Plus documentary "Reinventing Elvis," the gang is surprised to learn this is an unchallenging, conventional retelling of Elvis' life story leading up to 1968 intended for the most casual of potential viewers. There's a few new bits of footage, thoughtful contributions from the small group of talking heads and a fairly well-constructed first half, but the TCBCast crew's smaller grievances about certain inaccuracies, exclusions or lack of nuance begin to pile up around the midpoint until the whole thing topples over in its coverage of the special itself, culminating in an outburst over the way the film handles the special's iconic finale. So, the crew all went back to rewatch the original 1968 broadcast version of "Singer Presents Elvis" - complete with original sponsor advertisements - which we have not revisited on TCBCast properly since 2018, and reflect on both the special itself, the incredible work of its extremely under-recognized crew who made it possible for Elvis to shine, and whether the documentary captures what was so great about the NBC special in a way that is useful or insightful.  "Return of the King" is streaming via Netflix, the 50th anniversary version of the "Comeback" Special is available on Apple TV or purchasable on digital distribution platforms, and an original broadcast version of the special, intact with Singer Sewing Company commercials, has also been made available on the Internet Archive. The video clip we mention near the end of the show is viewable on EAP Society's YouTube channel. If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.
TCBCast After Dark: The Elvis Files (1991), and The True History of Elvis and Operation Fountain Pen
15-10-2024
TCBCast After Dark: The Elvis Files (1991), and The True History of Elvis and Operation Fountain Pen
This week, you're getting to hear a special bonus episode from our special Patreon miniseries "TCBCast After Dark." Justin is joined by Rabia and Felix of "Suddenly: A Frank Sinatra Podcast" for this discussion. There is a new introduction providing additional context. Aired in 1991, produced by Mel Bergman, "The Elvis Files" was a LIVE TV broadcast hosted by "Clambake" and "Speedway" co-star Bill Bixby presenting Elvis conspiracy theorist Gail Brewer-Giorgio's array of so-called "evidence," but here's the genuinely shocking twist out of all of this: one of the things they dug up from the FBI's declassified files on Elvis Presley was actually partly true. However, its association with the Elvis conspiracy world and it being used to claim that Elvis faked his death as an undercover agent has prevented the real, genuinely historical facts of how Vernon Presley was scammed out of nearly $400,000 in 1976 from being an integral part of the tellings of the last years of Elvis' life, making TCBCast first within the Elvis world to reintroduce it properly and give it serious attention. Critical resources for this episode include: Chasing Phil: The Adventures of Two Undercover Agents with the World's Most Charming Con Man by David Howard: https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Phil-Adventures-Undercover-Charming/dp/1101907428 Retired FBI Agent J.J. Wedick's website FBIRetired's article about Operation Fountain Pen: https://fbiretired.com/retired-fbi-agents-talk-about-opfopen-case/ A discussion with David Howard at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada: https://livestream.com/accounts/6847704/events/7955041/player?width=640&height=360&enableInfoAndActivity=true&defaultDrawer=&autoPlay=true&mute=false Additional clippings from contemporaneous articles referenced herein will be posted alongside this episode on the TCBCast Facebook page. If you appreciated this, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy. The entire "After Dark" miniseries in available in full is available to patrons at all tiers.
TCBCast 332: The Elvis is Back! Recording Sessions, Part 1
17-09-2024
TCBCast 332: The Elvis is Back! Recording Sessions, Part 1
Gurdip and Justin delve into the landmark 1960 recording sessions in which Elvis declared that he was indeed back, both literally from the Army as well as on top of the charts, with the sessions giving him three massive US number one hits in "Stuck On You," "It's Now or Never" and "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"  As many of our listeners know, Elvis is Back is perhaps Gurdip's favorite Elvis album ever, and these are his favorite sessions, so he's thrilled to bits. Armed with the "Elvis is Back Sessions" FTD, we explore how Elvis had evolved as an entertainer in the two years since his last sessions in Nashville and appraise the choice of material, from covers/reworkings of existing songs that he'd been practicing at home, such as "Soldier Boy," "Like A Baby" and "There's No Tomorrow" as well as wholly new songs written expressly for him, like Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman's first song for him "A Mess of Blues," and, of course, the stunning doo-wop ballad "Fame and Fortune." Part 1 covers the March session and the first half of the April session, ending with "It's Now or Never." Part 2 will cover the rest of the April session, plus Song of the Week with Ryan! If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.