TCBCast: An Unofficial Elvis Presley Fan Podcast

Justin Gausman
  • 4.5 (80)
  • MUSIC HISTORY
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY
TCBCast: An Unofficial Elvis Presley Fan Podcast

"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.

  1. DEC 12

    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.

    2h 2m

  2. DEC 4

    TCBCast 341: "A Date With Elvis" Album Discussion

    Bec joins Justin for a look back at one of the few Elvis albums she had early in her fandom, the iconic 1959 release "A Date With Elvis." Released while Elvis was overseas in Germany during his military service, "A Date" in some respects serves as a companion piece to the earlier "For LP Fans Only," compiling a handful of tracks previously unavailable on the LP format, while also having a more intriguing and novel design: a gatefold that allowed you to hang the album over and count the days until Elvis' return, or even more photos and thoughts from "Elvis" inside! And how does this oddball collection of tracks from Sun Records, Jailhouse Rock, Love Me Tender and a random EP hold up as a listening experience? All that and more on this episode! Then, for Song of the Week, Bec gets in the holiday spirit with "Who Needs Money?" from "Clambake" and Justin doubles down, going deep on Elvis' 1971 version of the traditional 18th century Christmas hymn, "O Come All Ye Faithful." 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.

    1h 37m

  3. NOV 28

    TCBCast 340: Elvis Things We're Thankful For

    To celebrate the American Thanksgiving holiday, Gurdip and Justin got together to reflect on the things they're most thankful for about or within the Elvis world, from songs and movies to releases and the fandom, it's a contemplative discussion on this week's show! For Song of the Week, Gurdip selects the rarely-heard "Britches," which was cut from the 1960 film "Flaming Star," and Justin digs deep on Elvis's 1969 cover of Hank Snow's signature song, "I'm Movin' On." To those of our listeners in the United States - Happy Thanksgiving! 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.

    1h 58m

  4. NOV 19

    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.

    2h 23m

  5. NOV 13

    TCBCast 338: The That's The Way It Is Rehearsals, Part 2

    Justin and Bec wrap their discussion on the recorded and filmed rehearsals undertaken for the Las Vegas engagement documented in the feature film "That's The Way It Is". The duo continues through July and August 1970's rehearsal dates, right up to August 10, the day Elvis would take the stage in front of paying customers, and reflect on the insights into Elvis and his band's creative processes along the way. Then Gurdip taps in for Song of the Week, selecting the rowdy gospel number "If the Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side", which Elvis cut for his "How Great Thou Art" album. Justin's Song of the Week is Elvis's 1970 version of Joe South's plea for empathy and understanding, "Walk A Mile in My Shoes." Our primary resource for this episode was the content contained within the Follow That Dream release "That's The Way It Is: 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition" including the book by David English and Pal Granlund.  Don't forget that the Netflix documentary "Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley" releases today, November 13, 2024 on Netflix. We intend to have a full-group discussion soon! 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.

    1h 47m

  6. NOV 5

    TCBCast 337: That's The Way It Is Rehearsals, Part 1

    Justin and Bec begin to explore the recordings that remain from the rehearsals leading up to the August 1970 concerts that would become the centerpiece of the 1970 documentary film "That's The Way It Is." The film's director, Denis Sanders, was fascinated by Elvis as a creative force and wanted audiences to get a glimpse of his working process - some of which briefly appeared in the final film, some surfaced in the MGM collection "The Lost Performances" and further material in the Special Edition re-edit of the film from 2001 - but despite several official releases of select material and numerous bootlegs over the years, it wasn't until 2020 that Sony's FTD sub-label officially released the vast majority of the audio of the TTWII rehearsals for the most ardent fans to hear and learn from. In this first part, the duo only cover the first two days of rehearsals filmed & recorded, July 14-15, 1970, but also lay the groundwork for the more dense back portion of the rehearsals. Our next episode will cover the rest from July and August 1970 as well as Songs of the Week from Gurdip and Justin. 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.

    1h 8m

  7. OCT 29

    TCBCast 336: Who Are You? Who Am I? Who Are We?

    Justin and Bec have a relaxed discussion about all the exciting Elvis news from within the last week or so, including the trailer for "Return of the King," a behind the scenes preview from Layered Reality's upcoming Elvis Evolution show, Ernst Jorgensen's experimentation with Peter Jackson's MAL de-mixing technology and more. Plus, Elvis trivia returns for a week! For Song of the Week, Bec tackles the romantic "Speedway" ballad "Who Are You? (Who Am I?)" then Justin - just for the laugh of doing them both in a single episode - digs into the understated but similarly named 1969 gospel number "Who Am I?" 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.

    1h 10m

  8. OCT 22

    TCBCast 335: "From Here to the Great Unknown" Final Thoughts

    Olivia joins Justin for their thoughts on the TV special Riley Keough did with Oprah, filmed at Graceland, Riley's Graceland Q&A, and the rest of Lisa Marie's book now that things have started to finally settle. The duo also answers a bunch of listener feedback, discuss dialogue edits on "The Last Tours, Volume 1" FTD, and a recent video Olivia watched about one of Elvis' Ed Sullivan performances of Hound Dog. For Song of the Week, Justin selects Elvis's cover of the Waylon Jennings hit "You Asked Me To," and ponders the implications of a minor lyrical change Elvis made in his final version. Olivia highlights Elvis's 1976 recording of Larry Gatlin's "Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall."  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.

    1h 60m
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4.5
out of 5
80 Ratings

About

"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.

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