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CNN Live Today

Elvis Song Remixed For Nike Ad

Aired June 19, 2002 - 14:40   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, in Britain, a new hit from an old favorite. A Nike ad campaign has propelled an Elvis Presley song to the top of the British charts.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELVIS PRESLEY (singing): All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me. A little more bite and a little less bark. A little less fight and a little more spark...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: It's the first time the Presley estate has allowed a remix of an Elvis song. And joining us now from New York, Joseph DiMuro of BMG Entertainment.

Joseph, it's so -- it's cool, basically. How did this all come about? How did this happen? It's pretty progressive.

JOSEPH DIMURO, BMG ENTERTAINMENT: It is quite progressive. It actually came about directly from Nike's advertising agency. They contacted us about the potential to license this track, the original master recording of "A Little Less Conversation," which was featured in a film that Elvis appeared in called "Live a Little, Love a Little." It was released through United Artists in 1968.

We came up with the concept of actually having the track remixed. And then, through our UK office in London, we engaged a D.J. producer by the name of JXL, who went into the studio and came up with this version. And this is the version that was licensed to Nike as part of their initiative and their commercial advertising campaign for the World Cup.

PHILLIPS: And this song is now No. 1 on the charts in the United Kingdom. Is it helping Elvis actually brick any longstanding records?

DIMURO: Absolutely. The No. 1 standing record, actually, was the Beatles held it. And Elvis and the Beatles were tied with 17 No. 1 singles in the United Kingdom. This now puts Elvis back on top of the charts in the UK, with the 18th No. 1 single in the United Kingdom.

PHILLIPS: Wow.

DIMURO: That's quite an accomplishment, 25 years later.

PHILLIPS: Yes, no kidding. And there's been talk, too, that Elvis Presley enterprise, run by Priscilla Presley, was worried that Elvis' demographic was sort of aging. Is that true? And is this song remix and ad campaign kind of a way in which the estate of Elvis Presley hopes to attract the younger fans to the King?

DIMURO: I think that's absolutely true. It was part of the strategy and the thinking of the 25 anniversary of Elvis' death this year, was how do we reach a younger demographic?

And when the opportunity presented itself with Nike, and the chance to do this remix, the estate embraced it. We, as the master recording rights holder, embraced the concept. The initiative behind this whole 25th anniversary was, how do we embrace and get to a younger demographic?

And I think part of the campaign that was done with Nike, as well as some other initiatives, are allowing us to do that. But the estate certainly realizes the benefit in sustaining this property for many years to come.

PHILLIPS: When will it be released here in the U.S.?

DIMURO: It's being released here on June 25. And it's actually going to be part of our 30 No. 1 hits package that's going to be coming out in September, on September 24. We haven't determined whether or not it's going to be on this actual compilation release.

PHILLIPS: I wonder if it's going to hit No. 1 in the U.S. What do you think?

DIMURO: We're hoping. We've got a big campaign behind it. The Nike spots are running here in the U.S. as part of the coverage for the World Cup. A lot of it is going to be predicated on what else is going to be released on that particular week. But we're very, very bullish that this will hit No. 1 in the U.S. as well.

PHILLIPS: So we're -- you know, the 25th anniversary of his passing is coming up. I mean, are we are going to see sort of a whole new evolution going on here? Kind of an Elvis -- I don't know, kind of -- you know what I'm trying to say.

DIMURO: Yes, I do. I think you can call it a re-purposing, and a repositioning of Elvis as a property.

PHILLIPS: There you go.

DIMURO: One of the key initiatives that we have with the estate as a partner on all of our projects is, how do we position Elvis to that younger demographic? And how do find ways to make him relevant to today's audience? By virtue of the Nike campaign, by virtue of these remixes, I think we're finding ways to do that. PHILLIPS: Well, and there's so much great stuff in his lyrics. He has gospel and jazz and rockabilly and country. He's got it all going on. I mean, he reaches a broad band of people. And so do his really great lyrics.

DIMURO: No question about that. Elvis' influence, in terms of music, are -- its' such an amalgam of different musical taste and formats. And I think what needs to be brought to the forefront as part of his commemoration for this year, is the fact that he's touched so many different lives, so many different musicians.

But even outside of the musical spectrum, it's his influence, really, on pop culture, both yesteryear as well as today, that I think is going to be a testament for his career for many years to come.

PHILLIPS: True, and he was so multicultural. Joseph DiMuro of BMG Entertainment, thanks so much for coming on and talking about this.

DIMURO: You're very welcome. Thank you for having me.

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