Presley, Elvis, 1935-1977

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new albums from The Residents and Kris Kristofferson. The Residents are a bizarre California-based art band, who make spooky, dreary, multi-layered music. Recently, the Residents have been releasing a series of albums paying homage to great American composers and performers. After having covered artists such as John Phillip Sousa and Hank Wiliams, the group has just issued "The King and I," their homage to Elvis Presley (it's on Enigma). Kristofferson's new album is called "Third World Warrior," (on Mercury).

Television critic David Bianculli previews "Elvis," the new ABC series based on the life of the King of rock and roll. David says you would expect it to be horrible, but it turns out to be pretty good.

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles Gene Vincent, an early rocker who, it has been said, "sounded more like Elvis than Elvis." After Elvis burst onto the scene, record companies scrambled to find Elvis look-alikes and sound-alikes. He became a bigger hit in England than America, but he's easily remembered for his hit "Be-Bop-A-Lula."

Performance group Robert Kaplow and the Punsters stage a radio play with Fresh Air host Terry Gross. Elvis Presley joins the show to talk about the current direction of pop music.

Rock historian Ed Ward looks back at Elvis Presley's early recording session, which show that the singer borrowed as much from white country music as he did from the blues.

Guitarist Paul Burlison and drummer D.J. Fontana are two members of rockabilly sextet the Sun Rhythm Section. Both musicians were active in the 1950s and played with legends like Elvis Presley. They join Fresh Air's Terry Gross to share memories of their decades-long career.