Elvis- Why is he still so popular ?

Ha, I can see that. Colonel Parker would have seen to it. It's sort of the modern equivalent of the tacky movies he did.

 

No no no - Overexposure!

Well, maybe if it was filmed near a casino, and Elvis was guaranteed the top reality show host salary and best screen credit, in exchange for which Elvis would supply all his own clothes.

Parker would get free product from each advertiser and credits as Executive Producer and Technical Consultant.

 

On the topic:

I think Elvis' popularity today is mainly, but not totally, as a cultural icon, not as an artist. His life is such an iconic story. His image, the whole Elvis iconography, is just really ingrained in American culture (and a lot of cultures all over the world). He remains a symbol of 'cool' for a lot of people, or of tragic waste for others, or the embodiment of the American Dream (good and bad) to others still. It's very much like, say, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. Even if people don't know the 'man' (or woman), they know the 'myth'. Like, I suspect very few children or people in their 20s who aren't movie buffs have seen Monroe's or Dean's films (except for Some Like It Hot and Rebel Without A Cause, none have really permeated modern pop culture, and most of Marilyn's films are 'dated') but most if not all would know who they were. They'd know the image, and perhaps the tragedy. I think Elvis is in that position, with the difference that his 10-15 most famous songs are more well known, and have more cultural profile, than all but 2-3 of Monroe's films and one of Dean's. You don't have to have "Blue Suede Shoes" on your iPhone (or know who wrote it) to know what an enormous pop culture figure in the 20th Century history Presley is, and to form an idea of what he represents. Because of that, he remains one of the most famous men in the world.

 

This is so spot-on....

 

I still maintain that, if you watch Elvis: That's The Way It Is, and see the man at work, it becomes apparent why so many people hold him in high regard. A picture, as they say, being worth a thousand words.

 

True-watching him perform there shows something absolutely unique- a force of nature captured on stage-in Las Vegas if all places

 

Yeah I think it's the Elvis equivalent of Judy At Carnegie Hall... The archetypal performance.

 

Elvis still has the power to wow people, that's for sure. It's not like his appeal has faded away. He was a captivating performer for most of his life, live and even in the terrible movies he did. The age of the viewer is irrelevant: in the really iconic Elvis clips, like certain scenes in TTWII or the "Jailhouse Rock" sequence in the film or "If I Can Dream" in Elvis 68, you can't take your eyes off the screen (much like Marilyn Monroe). His star power is undeniable.

 

I think Paul agrees:

 

You show an absolute lack of awareness of Elvis cultural impact, charisma, wide appeal across all ages and countries as well as a lot of widely differing genres and through many years. It seems you've decided you don't like Elvis so you're going to reduce his achievements and career to talent show level. Shows in which the contestants show very little personality, originality, range of talent or charisma.

The argument that Elvis didn't write his own songs is truly dismal. So do you consider Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee etc etc to be talent show level too? It was very unusual for artists to write their own material in that era.

Just listen to his singing on Hound Dog, Love Me Tender, Heartbreak Hotel, In The Ghetto, Suspicious Minds, It's Now Or Never and Burning Love. It's hard to believe it's the same person singing. The range and power of his voice, as well as his ability to interpret a song is exceptional. He certainly doesn't sound like he's going through the motions or not passionate about the songs. I'd be the first to admit he recorded a lot of dross, but when he was good, he was one of the greatest rock 'n' roll singers there has ever been and an incredible live act with undeniable charisma. For you not to even, at least slightly, hear that, suggests pure ignorance. Which is fair enough, until you start expecting your ignorance to be taken seriously and present it as fact, then you just look clueless. Of course, you have every right to not like Elvis.

Countless major artists across seven decades have named Elvis as a big influence. This is undeniable. If you are so right, can you tell the us of any major acts who have been influenced by a talent show contestant?

 

Beat this....well anyone. One of the reasons Elvis still intrigues lot s of people

 

As a teenager I was very ignorant of Elvis. When I started university one of my good friends was a big Elvis fan, which I mocked. One day he said "just watch this" and played That's The Way It Is. 90 minutes later I was an Elvis fan and have been since. Absolute dynamite!

 

Paul summarizes Elvis' movie songs nicely.

 

What percentage of high
school students are crazy 'bout Elvis ?

 

Who knows? I'm guessing less than 5% total.

 

Sounds about right.

 

When Elvis gave a damn, he could be great.

When he didn't, it could be downright embarrassing.

 

Wow! Elvis has 18 #1's, 36 top 10 hits and 114 top 40 singles.

List of Billboard Hot 100 chart achievements and milestones - Wikipedia»

 

Just like most of us I guess

 

European perspective.


In the post-war ravaged Europe that barely begun rising from the ashes. Elvis hit.
To Europeans, he was "Technicolor" American dream. A beacon of light. A shot of hope and the newly founded optimism. With him he brought this energy called RnR, could move like a devil and was very handsome to boot. He deeply etched himself into the consciousness of baby boomer generation. My dad always talked favourably of him, spun his records and mom always glued to TV every time there was another re-run of Elvis movies. That obviously carried through to my generation (X) and possibly beyond.


Regards

 

Not bad eh- and certanely not only fifties stuff

 

Yeah, but he took it to the extreme on both ends.

 

He rose to prominence and released his best material in the 50's. That's undebatable.

 

Well, half of that statement is undebatable anyway.

 

I'm flabbergasted how anyone can suggest that someone who had the enormous impact and who changed the culture and set the standard for so many of the time and past his time only had the talent of a modern day reality show contestant. I've watched those reality shows and haven't seen anyone come close to Elvis's talent. I see a bunch of mediocre judges praising uninspired people singing loudly (despite it being much more difficult to sing softly) and no one who brings the interpretive talent nor the lasting appeal that Elvis's voice and singing qualities has, hence their albums being mediocre at best. The fact is, no one knows how someone who was born in the 1930s would have been different or what standards he would have set had he been born today with today's influences. But we do know what he did with the influences of the time and what a huge impact he had at the time. Personally, I'll take even a mediocre Elvis album over the best reality show contestant albums that I've heard.