as american as bruce spring teen and elvis presley. i see taco bell. i see purple, red, blue, green, orange. i see cheetah revera on broadway. as american as the lee's, the kennedys. none sound american to me. i am not a shamed. jose can you see. i pledge allegiance to this country. land of commercialism. if i can win gold medals. if i can sign my life away. ain't no language. this is my country too. i believe in free dom and diversity, need to get the hell out. [applause] >> i have one more performer. can you believe that? i am so excited. he is a very kind man to be here. he's a total icon. tales of the city. his book that was made do a city. he's here on his book tour. thank you very much. well, i would not have missed this evening for anything. you and i both know these things can be boring. not tonight. i like to read, since i'm back home from a tour. i would like to read the chapter that my editor wanted me to remove. i have to set it up for you. michael toliver is 55 years old. they have gone to florida because his mother has died. and they have

and it was-- it was such a sad thing because she was really-- since elvis presley and the beatles and rolling stones and the whole contemporary change that came in, she was the only singer that really sang what i call the right way. >> jon: really? >> yeah, because she's-- she was a great jazz pop singer, and she was a little apprehensive about the whole thing when we were doing the record, but i-- i came up with one sentence that made everything work. and i just said, "you know," i said, "i may be wrong but i bet you're influenced by dinah washington." and when she heard that, she said, "oh, my god. that's my god. that's who i love." and it really changed the whole record, and she actually used some dinah washington phrases in the recording and the-- you could tell when you hear the record how wonderful she-- she was really a great jazz singer, a true jazz singer. and that-- i regret that because that's the right way to sing. >> jon: right. and you-- in your-- you really are intuitive now about the music, aren't you? like you can just feel it from people. you've done it long enough t

. >> guest: it's violins i want, but i must say we do kind of compromise on elvis presley. never has elvis presley sounded so good to my ears as after hearing some of the hard rock, the metallic stuff. c-span: it seems that this has come up in a lot of the books we have talked about on history, something you say that you did, that you went out here to the rock creek cemetery to the statue grief. why? eleanor roosevelt used to do that. >> guest: it's a place to be alone, a place to be quiet, a place to meditate, and i think this was at the time that fred maroon had just done a beautiful book called washington, d.c. with a gorgeous picture of the shrouded figure in it. you never knew whether it was a man or a woman. there's no expression of joy or grief. it's just there, and it's in a cloister of beautiful trees -- what's the christmas berry tree? it had berry trees. c-span: holly trees? >> guest: holly -- it slipped my mind; that happens all the time now. and these holly trees, and there it is, a tribute of henry adams to his wife. i think it's a lesson in not to be immobili

we fell asleep listening to elvis presley on the stereo. i must have dozed off because i awoke to the sound of my girlfriends saying, stop it. i was so terrified that i closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. i can't tell you how many years it took me to forgive myself for that. afterwards, my girlfriend to the bathroom, told me what happened. i was devastated and scared and confronted my mother in the morning. her back was to us, a said, mom, mary kay said it dad. chris -- said dad put his hands down her pants. to finally turned to me and said, how could you ever think that your father would do something like that? i remember feeling such guilt, like, wow, what an incredibly horrible boulder in to think something about that. i should have known that my mother's reaction was typical of over 80% of families dealing with these issues. since then she has become the biggest supporter. it took me years to get through the process of grieving. how did i turn that into a message of courage and light? one thing never left my mind in the long proc

of rock-and-roll history -- photos of bob dylan, buddy holly, paintings by gamete hendrix, and elvis presley's first guitar. expect some spending from anywhere mementos. whoever gets them will have their very own piece of music history. bbc news. >> to a been watching "news the." -- you have been watching " newsday." >> you can catch all the stories on the bbc website. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles. 

. >>> this morning on "the early show" elvis presley's words before he became king of rock 'n' roll.guyen. and this is the "cbs morning news." about this flat haircolor! [ gigi ] try nice 'n easy anti-flat, always dimensional. in one simple step, get tones and highlights built into every shade with nice 'n easy. nurse...! [ female announcer ] dawn power clean can give you the power of an overnight soak in just 5 minutes. [ sponge ] it's a scientific miracle! [ female announcer ] dawn does more. [ sponge ] so it's not a chore. that didn't just hide your breakouts... but actually made them go away. neutrogena skin clearing makeup has our proven blemish fighting formula so it clears your breakouts. now that's beautiful. neutrogena®. this flat-out delicious -- the new $3 flatbread breakfast combo. a toasty 6-inch flatbread breakfast sandwich and a 16-ounce cup of freshly brewed seattle's best coffee. all for just $3. build your better breakfast today. ,, all for just $3. >>> take a look at this. it's time lapse video created by a maryland science teacher. he stitched together still pictu

[applause] >> sons are recorded by elvis presley and a karls.welcome hall of famer paul williams. >> guest: it is a pleasure. it is a great pleasure. >> mike: the body of your work extends that we could never cover it all. you are do ask cap. >> guest: i am the chairman of the board of ascap. it is hundred years worth of great songs. while we are talking there is a little lady writing on a electric key board with head sets and so she doesn't wake the baby. she deserves to make a viable living with her living. there is three levels of payment. first level is that moment when you learn about yourself. it is like free therapy and you play it for a young lady and you go wow. she likes me have i gone from weird to wonderful. what is going on? and the second level of payment is where you put food on the table and buy gas and get your kids to school. we are trying to make sure people can make a living and american music. and third level of payment and the one we talked about later. is heart payment. when someone walked up to you. thren years ago, i pla

. >> bill: here is question number one. 1970, elvis presley traveled to the white house to visit presidentixen and asked for a federal narcotics badge for his collection. this photo, famously captured the moment. what famous rock band did elvis tell nixon was spreading anti-american spirit? a, the who. b, the sex pistols. c, the beatles. d, jefferson airplane. who did elvis bad mouth. cards up, please. roll the tape. ♪ all my loving ♪ i will send to you all my loving ♪ ♪ darling i'll be true. >> bill: bad mouthing the beatles. a little jealousy. you both got that right. that was easy. now the hard ones. "washington post" reporters revealed to the world the president's involvement in the watergate scandal. >> i shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow. vice president ford will be sworn this as president at that hour in this office. >> bill: in 1967 it was a movie based on the book called "all the president's men". who played woodward in that film? who played woodward? you guys should know that. robert redford, that's correct. i wanted to break him in easy. he's up all night, h

. >> let's say happy birthday to elvis presley today. >> are you a flake? >> i think that would be insulting to say something like that because i'm a serious person. >> you understand that that's what the rap on you is. >> a mother came up to me after the debate and told me her little daughter took that vaccine injection and suffered from mental retardation there after. >> the president doesn't have an understanding of how the economy work. it doesn't seem he has a basic understanding of how to do the job of president of the united states. >> if you are as confused by her latest foreign affairs, who better to provide real knowledge and expertise than the former ambassador to egypt. good afternoon, sir. >> good afternoon. >> as the former ambassador to egypt, i imagine you welcomed the movement where he ruled as an autograph for something like 30 years. >> i have been stunned and i was surprised and i have been very much impressed by what has been going on in egypt and tunisia and still going on in libya and in syria. these are massive changes in the world.

this is elvis presley. guess the first thing people want to know is why i can't stand still when i'm singing. some people tap their feet some snap their fingers. some people sway back and forth. i started doing them all together, i guess. >> reporter: it was 1956, the year that elvis would become the undisputed king of rock 'n' roll. selling a astounding 10 million singles and 3 million albums. ♪ just take a walk down lonely street ♪ ♪ to heartbreak hotel ♪ >> reporter: he was just 21 years old, reflecting on love and his future. >> am i in love? no. i thought i've been in love. but i guess i wasn't. it just passed over. i guess i haven't met the girl yet. but i will. but i hope i won't be too long because i get lonesome sometimes. i don't smoke. i don't drink. i love to go to movies. maybe someday i'm going to have a home and a family of my own. ♪ you ain't nothing but a hound dog ♪ >> reporter: musings from a legend in the making. >> i sure appreciate you listening to rca victor records. i like to thank a

so, elvis presley gets on stage, they don't shoot him from the waist down because is he swivelling his hips. lady gaga can go photographed on the internet all things flying and people say i love her music i want to be like her. >> bill: if that's the reality, why is that bad? colmes says it's progress and it isn't bad. >> no. i think it leads to a severe coursenning of the culture. what we have seen through the history is empirist cultures that have gone down this road of extreme permissiveness have faltered and destroyed themselves. it remains to be seen whether the united states is the exception to the rule. >> gay marriage healthy. equal rights healthy. drug legalization cost benefit of that makes it much more healthy. what you call permissiveness, i call progress. we are going to disagree about this i'm sure. i believe it's forward movement. >> bill: i hope you or any of your loved ones or anybody you know is never killed in a car by somebody who is high on narcotics. >> well, of course. well, of course. >> bill: that's the unintended cons sequence. >> that can happen whether it's

(applause) >> well, his songs have been recorded by legend like elvis presley.the frog. ladies and gentlemen, welcome hall-of-famers, a song writer you know, paul williams. you are one of the most prolific song writers in american history and the body of your work extend such that we could never ever cover it all, but you're now doing something called ascap. >> i'm the honored, ascap, almost a hundred years of american songs. while we're talking some little lady is writing on a keyboard, probably electric keyboard with headsets and doesn't wake the baby in the next room. and deserves as the songs become hits, she deserves to make a viable living. to me three levels of payment. first level, when you learn about yourself. it's like therapy, you know? you play it for a young lady and she goes, oh, and you go wow. she likes me. have i gone from weird to wonderful? what's going on here, you know? and the second level of payment is where you put food on the table for your kids and you buy gas and your kids to school and all what we're trying to make sure at ascap and

elvis presley had died. i missed the news completely simply because my english was very poor at the time. i traveled coast to coast with a camper and five friends. i came back many times. i would say in the last 10 years, i was back two or three times a year. all together, like 30 time. living here was different. the idea was, when i moved to the house, i knew america enough to know what i was talking about. but not so well that i would not be surprised. and surprise is a key to a book like this. it was like a magic moment. that's why i say miracle on 34th street. it's a magic moment. you know enough. you are still curious. you want to look at details. details are the key to this book. >> you say in britain, the first words, the first word that a child learns is please. but the first words that american children learn are, i am great. >> yes. >> i think that's a writer's way to explain the differences between the two countries. in britain, there is a kind of quiet attitude to life. understatement starts from