Charlie Hodge

Paul resently put up a Youtube tribute to Charlie Hodge and I was looking on the internet about him and found this gorg pic of him and Elvis together I just had to share...



Charlie Hodge met Elvis in the army and became his friend until Elvis died.
Charlie first met Elvis on the transport ship from the New York to Germany in September 1958. Charlie sang back up for Elvis, played guitar, handed him water and gave him scarf's on stage.
RIP Charlie Hodge

I just loooooove Charlie!!!

I think as time goes on, we are now losing close friends off Elvis,
Charlie was a great guy and was part off the Longest ever running musical Forever Elvis, and also stayed with Big Jim White in Manchester for 8 weeks, we had many special guests in the show and i am proud to have been part of it.
Ian
Billy Dean

The top photo of both Elvis and Charlie laughing is proberly when Elvis was performing 'Are You Lonesome Tonight'? from the Mid-70's onwards.

Not from the same show but if you watch this clip you will understand why they were laughing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbL9acN35Uk

Fantastic clip!!!!!
Johnny thinks it is from Kansas the 18th of June 1977.

ian wrote:

I think as time goes on, we are now losing close friends off Elvis,
Charlie was a great guy and was part off the Longest ever running musical Forever Elvis, and also stayed with Big Jim White in Manchester for 8 weeks, we had many special guests in the show and i am proud to have been part of it.
Ian
Billy Dean

Must have been a brilliant time Ian, wish we would re-wind time and we could go see Forever Elvis, sounds like it was a fab musical

Thanks for the clip Sean, loved it. Put a big smile on my face

I was in the right place at the right time, i did the pubs and clubs and the odd special night, my dream was to do The West End and it came true and i never looked back,
my interviews in Memphis with George Kliene, Uncle Vester, and to roam around Gracelands on my own, i was in a dream.
I met so many friends off Elvis, and to have DJ Fontana playing drums while i was singing Hound Dog, but most of all Annette Day who starred with Elvis in Double Trouble and as been a god send to me and is a very special friend who is always there for me.
The Pic she gave me for Christmas must be priceless and hangs on my wall, but it should be in The Hard Rock Cafe where people can see it.
Ian
Billy Dean

Charlie Hodge & Barry White Producer of Forever Elvis

From The Stage Newspaper

The producer and deviser of the musical Forever Elvis was found dead in the River Bure, on the Norfolk Broads at Wroxham.
BARRY WHITE, who master minded the show about his idol from the early eighties, lived in Norwich but toured all the major theatres and venues with versions of the show starting with a season in Great Yarmouth in 1982 and recently returning from a most successful tour of Russia. In fact he and two of the shows current Elvis’s Leyton Sommers and Billy Dean were on lunchtime TV last week speaking of the great reception they received in the country, and hoped that they would soon return.
Forever Elvis has been White’s life since the shows beginning, and no matter what problems arose Barry White would do all in his power to make sure his beloved show kept on working.
As well as top theatre venues such as the New Theatre Hull, the Grand Theatre Leeds, Kings Theatre Edinburgh, Southsea and the Pavilion at Glasgow and Porthcall Wales, the show also played many dates in London including the West End.
At one stage Charlie Hodge, guitarist and great friend of the King, staged with Barry White, appeared in a number of shows and was so impressed with the show that he would ring on a weekly basis to see where they were working.
The show also had the only British actress ever to play a leading role in a Presley movie, Annette Day, as its narrator.
Even The Stage correspondent Peachy Mead toured with the show for some years playing the role of Colonel Tom Parker.
An inquest is to be held on the man who brought so much pleasure to millions of Elvis fans all over the world.
Police found White’s car, a large American model near the Wrexham Bridge, the day after he had been in court accused of assault, the prosecuting solicitor had told the court that Barry White was in a very distressed state and feared he could commit suicide.
However, the plea for him to remain in custody was rejected.
It was a tragic death for the man devoted his life to making Elvis live forever