Dickey Lee, Mike Stoller, and Mark James wow during Elvis Songwriters Showcase

Read the lowdown on what happened when a trio of Elvis Presley songwriters — Dickey Lee [i.e. “She Thinks I Still Care”], Mike Stoller [“Jailhouse Rock”], and Mark James [“Suspicious Minds”] — convened during Elvis Week 2012 to reminisce about the King of Rock ’n’ Roll through story and song. Seen above during opening number “See See Rider,” a drop dead gorgeous 37-year-old Presley slyly strums his 1969 Ebony Custom Gibson Dove acoustic guitar and sports a casual white two-piece suit on June 20, 1972, at the Civic Assembly Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Photography by Ed Bonja

During the annual Elvis Week festivities in Memphis, Tennessee, Graceland hosts a smorgasbord of opportunities for fans from all over the world to experience contemporaries who knew Elvis Presley beyond the public’s surface perception.

One of the more intimate events sanctioned by Elvis Presley Enterprises was the inaugural Elvis Songwriters Showcase unleashed on August 11, 2012, just five days before the 35th anniversary of the superstar’s untimely passing.

In a behind the music environment in a state of the art tent featuring air conditioning and a giant screen projecting video over an entertainment stage, Sixwire frontman and occasional Elvis tribute artist Andy Childs interviewed songwriters Dickey Lee [“She Thinks I Still Care”], Mike Stoller of Leiber and Stoller [e.g. “Hound Dog”], and Mark James [“Moody Blue”]. A short video presentation highlighting their contributions to Presley’s vast musical discography served as an introductory piece.

Born and raised in Memphis, Lee was part of Sun Records’ roster for a minute in 1957 and eventually accumulated hit records as a singer on both the pop and country charts with “I Saw Linda Yesterday”, “Patches”, “Laurie”, “Rocky”, and “9,999,999 Tears.” But his greatest claim to fame is the ubiquitous honkytonk weeper…