Elvis Presley died 28 years ago. Do you care?

[Jeff da Weasel]

You wanna know how being told it's been 28 years since Elvis' death makes me feel?

 

Old.

 

- Jeff

[blue2blue]

Oh, I think so.

 

He gets a lot more respect, I think, than when I was a youngster.

 

I know I give him a lot more credit nowadays.

 

In the late 60's I just thought he was an incredible loser. (I thought "In the Ghetto" was an interesting gesture; certainly it's a pretty good song in a preachy kind of way.)

 

And his descent into the Nixon-loving King of Vegas pretty much sealed the deal.

 

When he died, I was bemused by the extreme grief around me (okay, I thought it was funny and pathetic... I scribbled down, in the days afterward, the phrase "Elvis Christ"... with the notion that I might right a sci-fi novel set in a time when those two iconic figures had fused into one. I never wrote the novel, but if you google the phrase, you'll see I apparently had my finger on some kind of zeitgeist.)

 

Anyhow, it wasn't until nearly a decade later that I bought an Elvis cassette at a roadstop for $3 on a camping trip (not much selection) and realized what a very good singer Elvis really was. Cornball, yes. In the extreme. But really good at cornball. Really good.

 

 

Now, older, with persistent demons of my own (not the drug and alcohol kind, anymore, at least), I can see his long descent with considerable compassion.

 

So I'd have to say, back then, I barely cared. John Lennon and Darby Crash's deaths affected me very strongly. But Elvis was just a sad, slightly funny footnote.

 

But now... well, it makes me sad. He had so much in so many ways... and yet never seemed to be happy or satisfied.

 

He really is kind of emblematic of a number of aspects of life... Perhaps he was, in many ways, a simple man -- but he has ended up being a very complex icon, indeed.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Originally posted by Lee Flier Oh yeah, Scotty was kewl. Actually that early Sun Records stuff was pretty raw and cool, but he really lost me after that. I think John Lennon said it right: "Elvis died when he went in the Army."

 

Like Lee, I found the Sun Sessions stuff to be by far the most important and vital of the work Elvis did. My mom had some of the movie soundtrack albums when I was a kid, and they never did anything for me. Unlike the Beatles, who actually had some GOOD movies (A Hard Day's Night is as good as it gets IMO), Elvis movies always turned me off. And while I liked his Las Vegas "comeback", most of his post-army hitch stuff didn't work well for me. But then again, I WAS from a different generation...

 

I generally liked other '50's era acts more... but Elvis certainly had an influence on society and upon many musicians who followed him. And personally, I actually LIKED his "nice, polite" personna.

[Calfee Jones]

Nowadays I live about 10 miles down the road from Graceland - Elvis week this last week is a big deal. Graceland still gets 600,000 visitors a year!

 

This special called Elvis '56 was on tv locally here last Monday night. It documents the year Elvis really made it big - He went from the projects in Memphis to Hollywood that year.

 

In 1955 he was a local/regional rocker, driving in the car with the whole band from date to date. I don't know all the details, but in 1956 Elvis had 5 Gold singles, appeared on Ed Sullivan and other tv shows, played concerts, starred in his 1st movie ('Love Me Tender", the highest grossing movie of the year) and he made over 1 million dollars - and those are 1956 dollars!

 

By the next year he had to quit playing live concerts because they become too chaotic - he bought Graceland, and his mother died.

 

When you see Elvis in the early years playing the rockabilly he started with, and in the 'sit down' portion of the '68 Comeback special, you can see that he was really good.

 

I'm not Elvis crazy in any way, but I wish that he didn't die when he did. Then he may have had a chance to redeem his 70's excesses and weirdnesses, and maybe could be given some respect as one of the fathers of Rock and Roll, and not be seen just as a silly character...

[ZED]

Elvis Presley died 28 years ago. Do you care?

 

No.

 

I'm glad that Scotty Moore still does gigs and count him as one of my biggest musical influences.

 

And I think Black Black made some great records with his combo.

[U&I]

No - but I care enough to post "No" in here LOL.

[Ernest Buckley]

No I don`t care. He had a good voice but that was about it. I never got the whole Elvis thing, especially the King part.

[Ani]

I remember him more from my younger years as a movie star than a singer, but later came to appreciate his music as I grew older and gained life experience that allowed me to relate to the lyrics. My mom was a huge Elvis fan, so the movies were an item at our home. I enjoyed several of his movies and IMO, Elvis is one of the first to really "shake things up" on the public stage with his dance moves and his "crowd interaction". Between Elvis and the Beatles, it was an entirely new era for fans to do the unthinkable.... both acts were very LIBERATING compared to all before them.

 

The very first song by Elvis that ever really had an impact on me emotionally was "In the Ghetto" When this song came out, the area that I lived in had just began undergoing major changes relative to desegregation laws that had gone into effect. For the first time ever, we were seeing black students as a part of our classrooms and people were being "bussed" from areas MILES away.

 

I remember the racism, the Black Movement, the Kennedy Assassination, the Martin Luther King assassination, desegregation, bussing in the schools to integrate races, the riots that broke out, and the RESISTANCE by ALL...... In The Ghetto showed great compassion and was not isolated to any one race; but rather, it reflected a poor society that any who experienced it would suffer.

 

Another song that came out about the same time as In the Ghetto was Kentucky Rain.... I LOVE THAT SONG, always have and always will. To this day it will pop into my head occassionally and I'll find myself humming the tune. One great thing about Elvis tunes are the fact that they ARE hummable; the melodies will carry themselves without music accompaniment or back-up vocals.

 

One big difference I see between Elvis and the Beatles is the fact that Elvis was a moviestar first and then turned his career to music; the Beatles gained their fame through Rock & Roll and then "tried to act"... I think that Elvis made the better transformation between the two.

 

I have to admit that I had forgot the fact that Elvis died the year of my graduation from High School. Ironically, I always remembered his birthday because he was born the exact day and year as what my mother was.

[Anderton]

 

He really is kind of emblematic of a number of aspects of life... Perhaps he was, in many ways, a simple man -- but he has ended up being a very complex icon, indeed.

 

 

Blue2blue, your entire post was very articulate and eloquent, a great addition to the thread.

[Anderton]

 

One big difference I see between Elvis and the Beatles is the fact that Elvis was a moviestar first and then turned his career to music.

 

 

FYI Elvis hit as a musician first, with his "breakthrough moment" being his appearance on the Ed Sullivan. It was only after he had several hits that he started appearing in movies, and of course there were a string of those!

[Ani]

 

Originally posted by Anderton FYI Elvis hit as a musician first, with his "breakthrough moment" being his appearance on the Ed Sullivan. It was only after he had several hits that he started appearing in movies, and of course there were a string of those!

 

 

Ah, I only remembered him from his acting as a youngster; I guess I must have been a bit too young to remember the Ed Sullivan appearance.

[Ani]

I just looked up a bit of Elvis history located here http://brebru.com/musicroom/musicians/elvis/elvis1935.html I guess that his initial music success predated my birth in 1959, and by the time I entered into this world; Elvis was very established as a moviestar. My mom watched the movie reruns of the reruns time and again; she never played any of his albums though. I didn't research anything when I posted earlier, I just spoke off of the top of my head as to how I remembered things.

[Anderton]

I think a lot of people who missed his initial splash have no idea that vocally, he was a really unique talent. It didn't take too long for so many people to copy his style that he ended up sounding like a caricature, even though he invented what he did.

 

From what I understand the movies were immensely profitable. And I also heard a rumor that RCA still owed Elvis a small fortune in royalties when he died.

[Ani]

One thing that you've got to admit is the fact that Elvis had a very unique voice; a very well developed and controlled voice. I keep telling myself that someday I'm going to pick-up some of his tunes to keep around the house; but I haven't as of yet. I think that there would be a lot more than the two I mentioned earlier that I can relate to now.

 

It's interesting how music and the message conveyed in the art never dies. Good songs live forever. This sort of redefines life after death when someone rediscovers a great talent long after the artist has died.

[Super 8]

 

Originally posted by Rabid like the Beatles his time has past. I don't listen to either of them anymore.

 

 

I'll have to disagree with you about the Beatles.

 

Yes, the first wave of Rock from the 50's seems to have passed, but the influence of The Beatles, and the rest of that 60's era is still very much with us. That is why you still see 15 year old kids jamming to 35 year old music.

Their time has not ended.

 

When I was ten years old in '77, music that was 20 years old was called 'oldies'! They don't call The Doors or Hendrix or Zep "oldies".

[Super 8]

My first real album as a kid was "Elvis Golden Records". Man, was I ever floor by him! That voice on 'Jailhouse Rock', Scotty Moore's 'trashcan guitar and D.J. Fontana's snare drum rolls on 'Hound Dog'. Those guys really tore it up!

 

That intimate and very personal and sincere sounding voice on "Love Me Tender". If I was a girl, I'd probably pee myself over that. Hell, even as a guy I'd at least consider it.

 

I was a big fan of Elvis when I was a child because of the album.

I recall playing baseball in a field one day when I was a kid, and I heard my Mom calling me. I ran home and my Mom told me that Elvis had died.

I think I said something like; "Oh. Okay. Can I go back to play now?".

 

I guess I was into Elvis, but not enough to be traumatized over his death.

Of course by that point, I was big on Kiss. If they had died, I would have probably been pretty upset.

 

 

And don't forget Elvis Presley's coat!

I think I've seen all of the imitation Coat shows.. but they don't compare to the real thing.

 

Yes, the King may be dead, but the coat lives on!

10 points if you know where that came from...

[aeon]

Whenever I play songs from a jukebox in a diner, if Love Me Tender is in there, I play it, and I love it.

 

But it is just one song among many from the jukebox that are not from Elvis...so I am not a fan, but I like a handful of his songs.

 

 

cheers,

Ian

[Jotown]

Super 8 wrote: "When I was ten years old in '77, music that was 20 years old was called 'oldies'! They don't call The Doors or Hendrix or Zep "oldies".

Yes they do, and yes I do; and I'm 48 years old.

[Geoff Grace]

Elvis wasn't one of my faves, but he deserves his due.

 

As for "today's generation," I think that phrase deserves some rethinking. As long as we're alive, we're all today's generation. Revisiting the past and planning for the future is all well and good, but our current selves only exist in the here and now. Let's own it and enjoy it!

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[kylen]

Originally posted by Super 8 [And don't forget Elvis Presley's coat ! I think I've seen all of the imitation Coat shows.. but they don't compare to the real thing. Yes, the King may be dead, but the coat lives on! 10 points if you know where that came from...

Good posts Super 8 & Geoff ...

Part of the trip to Memphis includes a walk thru Beale Street at 4:30 in the morning followed the next morning with a visit to THe Peobody Hotel for the 'Duck March' where the local duck residents march regally thru the lobby and are escorted by the Bell Captain to the roof for their daily activities!

http://www.peabodymemphis.com/asp/duc_duckMarch.asp?sec=mee?=duc

 

Anyway - in the lobby is one of the famous tailors that Elvis used to use (not at that location - I think it was actually a block or 2 over).

 

This is all tourist stuff and probably drives the locals crazy (eh Calfee) - fun for us outsiders though!

[Super 8]

Originally posted by Jotown Yes they do, and yes I do; and I'm 48 years old.

 

Nonesense! I have never heard that! NEVER! Not once! .....well once, when you said it, but that's it.

[Jotown]

Pssssttt......... Hey Super 8..............

 

Don't tell anyone but the term "Classic Rock" is just another way of saying.........((((((OLDIES))))))!!!!!!!!!

[Rudolf von Hagenwil]

should i sell it on ebay?

[ZenFly]

honor in music.

don't really matter once you're gone.

My father died in '86 I care more about that.

 

It was 28 years ago today....sgt. pepper ..

 

He had ceased to matter 28 years ago except for his early career and impact. No one was particularly surprised he was an addict. His shows were vegas pap by then so ...no.

 

Pretty much by the time the leather came off he had drunk the coolade and was making movies...not really rockin' anymore.

[franknputer]

Originally posted by Geoff Grace Elvis wasn't one of my faves, but he deserves his due. As for "today's generation," I think that phrase deserves some rethinking. As long as we're alive, we're all today's generation. Revisiting the past and planning for the future is all well and good, but our current selves only exist in the here and now. Let's own it and enjoy it! Best, Geoff

Well put. Actually, the whole notion of a "generation" is a bit ridiculous. When people are born every day, where do you draw the line? At what point does one belong to this generation or that one? "Sorry, kid, that generation stopped yesterday. You're in the new generation!!" In a world where time is a contiuous flow, generational distinctions are all really so much bull{censored}.