Elvis introduces his drummer Bob Lanning
- 10 years ago
at the January 26, 1970 Opening Show in Las Vegas. A couple of days ago, Bob heard this recording for the first time since these words were originally uttered by Elvis, and he was positively thrilled. Interestingly, Elvis also mentions Bob’s mother, singer Roberta Sherwood
In 1970, Elvis was truly op top of his game. He’d just done a fantastic comeback in Las Vegas a few months earlier, and he was now ready to conquer the world.
In late January 1970 Elvis returned to Las Vegas, and once again he blew everybody away. And then, following this highly successful Vegas engagement, he performed six sensational concerts at the Houston Astrodome for more than 300,000 fans. His drummer at all of these shows – 63 in all – was 22-year old Bob Lanning.
It’s Bob Lanning that you can hear on classic Presley recordings like ‘The Wonder of You’, ‘Polk Salad Annie’ and ‘Walk A Mile In My Shoes’, and on albums like ‘On Stage – February 1970’, FTD releases like ‘Polk Salad Annie’ and ‘The On Stage Season’, as well as imports like the ‘Rebooked At The International’ box-set. At the time, Bob got the job because Elvis loved his style of drumming right from the get-go. They were supposed to audition 9 drummers, but the moment Elvis heard No. 3 play -- Bob Lanning -- Elvis immediately said: “Looks like we got our drummer!”. Lanning has a real kick-ass type of rock ‘n’ roll drumming that gives the even slower songs
an extra edge, and he cites Earl Palmer (Little Richard’s studio drummer) as his main influence. While Elvis was rocking up a storm center stage, Bob Lanning was right behind him, playing with more bite than a pack of angry Rottweilers!
In 1970, Elvis was truly op top of his game. He’d just done a fantastic comeback in Las Vegas a few months earlier, and he was now ready to conquer the world.
In late January 1970 Elvis returned to Las Vegas, and once again he blew everybody away. And then, following this highly successful Vegas engagement, he performed six sensational concerts at the Houston Astrodome for more than 300,000 fans. His drummer at all of these shows – 63 in all – was 22-year old Bob Lanning.
It’s Bob Lanning that you can hear on classic Presley recordings like ‘The Wonder of You’, ‘Polk Salad Annie’ and ‘Walk A Mile In My Shoes’, and on albums like ‘On Stage – February 1970’, FTD releases like ‘Polk Salad Annie’ and ‘The On Stage Season’, as well as imports like the ‘Rebooked At The International’ box-set. At the time, Bob got the job because Elvis loved his style of drumming right from the get-go. They were supposed to audition 9 drummers, but the moment Elvis heard No. 3 play -- Bob Lanning -- Elvis immediately said: “Looks like we got our drummer!”. Lanning has a real kick-ass type of rock ‘n’ roll drumming that gives the even slower songs
an extra edge, and he cites Earl Palmer (Little Richard’s studio drummer) as his main influence. While Elvis was rocking up a storm center stage, Bob Lanning was right behind him, playing with more bite than a pack of angry Rottweilers!