Do young people still listen to Elvis?

Should I start calling people who disagree with my musical tastes unhappy and/ignorant?
I guess dissent on this subject is not allowed.

As to my original point, I'm sure most "kids" have heard of Elvis but could care less.

 

it is so different today when it comes to music.

it is about "now".

artist loyalty is gone...knowing who played what on an album is gone.....knowing the names of band members is gone......liner notes are gone, you don;t get them with downloads or streaming.

i have found that if the kids know elvis, they do because their parents, or in some cases grandparents, listen to him.

 

The "50 million" title was a parody of the WWI song, "50 Million Frenchmen Can't be Wrong."

 

Elvis saw himself as an entertainer and singer, full stop. That's fine, he was better at that than almost anybody else in his time, but the people who have renewed, inter-generational interest usually see themselves in different lights ... songwriters, guitar heroes, bands, and so forth. Elvis was always half-Dean Martin -- the solo vocalist who makes the girls swoon and thinks that's all he needs to do. That ethic may sell records in 1948 or 1958, but it isn't going to do much for your longevity (not that these guys cared about that).

 

My oldest - 8 - has independently shown interest in the Beatles. Nothing else I've ever played has sparked his interest, except 'Jump' by Van Halen and some modern speed metal. No Elvis. *shrug*

 

My kids say "Elvis isnt that the guy who died on the toilet" and then they laugh. While not a mega fan I try to tell them that he was so much more than the fat druggie who died on the toilet. I think Elvis will never fade from memory but as time goes on his impact and his music will decline. I hope to one day, while I am still able, to travel to see Graceland, Nashville etc.

Quick follow up. I asked my 9 year old what is graceland and she replied "its what Elvis called his house" so maybe all is not lost in this house at least.

 

Good thing those students were more open minded and smarter than that!

Also they were appreciative of hearing some good music!

I was open minded enough to listen to what they wanted to turn me on to!

should I have laughed at them for sharing their music ?!

 

When I was young, I listened to a lot of Elvis Presley and still love his music.

 

I know, and in a way it's sad, but in a way it's not sad because Elvis and the recordings have stood the test of time. Forum members are not the taste makers of the day or yesterday. And it's not just the Sun material and first RCA album, the quality holds up for many years. Elvis' stature is locked in and set in stone. And I think people are still listening to Elvis, fewer, but anyone interested in rock, the big picture is going to check out the King.

I listened to a few EP albums again, and so far as production, Elvis recordings had it in spades regardless of year. That's the thing, it's not really pre and post Army either. I played the two collections back to back twice, "Gold Records Vol. 3 and Gold Records Vol. 4, expanded CD remasters.

Vol. 3 has been one of my fave Elvis albums (my mom had it on 8-track). Little Sister and Marie's the Name, and Are you Lonesome Tonight. Just chock full of major classic songs. And the sound quality has moved into the modern age.
I noticed how Vol. 4 mellows out quite a bit, but the songs and production and of course his voice is just staggeringly great. And the last song, Crying in the Chapel is another knockout imo.

All those FTD releases mean someone out there is interested in the recordings I'd say.

 

Elvis was a top 50 artist last year in album sales plus streaming.
Elvis was #8 most purchased artist during the last holiday season, just a few months ago.
Elvis was #14 in album sales last year, 2016.
In 2015, Elvis' If I Can Dream broke yet another record making him the most successful male solo artist in the UK ever, having attained more number one albums than anyone else and it was the second fastest selling album of the year going to #1 in the UK.
30% of both visitors to Graceland and fans on his Facebook page are under 35.

Not bad for someone who's been dead for 40 years.

I can't help but to laugh when people say things like "I've never liked Elvis and none of my co-workers, family or friends have ever liked him either" as though anyone is going to go around asking all of his co-workers, family and friends if they like someone that he himself doesn't like nor has interest in. And if someone just asked a general question as to who I like, there's a great chance that I won't mention Elvis anyway as I like a lot of artists. I for one, as a fan, have actually mentioned Elvis to people and have found several co-workers, friends and family of various ages from 15-70+ who like Elvis, especially women.

It's also funny that 50-year olds who say that Elvis was only old people's music when they were a teenager assume that younger generations, like myself, didn't become fans. Elvis was all over the place in the '80s-early 2000s, either in music or mention of him in TV Shows like "Quantum Leap" to films like Pulp Fiction and Bubba Ho-Tep and Lilo and Stitch. And there's plenty of us in the under 50 generations who like Elvis, judging by my own personal experience.

As far as cultural relevance, I've heard Elvis this year, 2017, on this summer's top-rated TV show being played in the background every week. Someone in this thread also mockingly suggested, "and if younger people do listen to him, I bet they wouldn't like his ballads" or something to that effect: Well, guess what: a ~20 year old guy just performed an Elvis ballad on TV this past week. Last year, a 17 year old girl copied one of Elvis' Gospel songs on one of the talent shows.

Someone else mentioned that their kids don't like Elvis, but they listen to people like Green Day. Well, Green Day did a cover of Elvis' "That's All Right" on their 2009 Grammy Award winning Best Rock album of the year. And current artist Lana Del Rey, who was just announced yesterday now has her 3rd #1 album did a song called....."Elvis", as in Presley.

Of course, the average music consumer who just listens to whatever's current won't be listening to Elvis, which covers most music consumers. But yes, there are fans of various ages who still listen to Elvis, and naturally the fan base will get smaller over time...after all he's been dead for 40 years.

 

Yes but you're 79.

 

No I was born in 1978 so technically I am young.

 

I never gravitated towards 50s rock and roll. If I listen artists from that period, I tend to do so out of curiosity, to hear what turned on the second generation rockers, of whom I am a fan.

It makes me wonder (again) whether I'd have ever become a rock fan had there been no Beatles or Dylan (the artists who gave rock its cultural power). I would probably have done what people of my bend did in the pre-rock age and gravitated to folk and/or jazz (both of which I like, anyway).

 

Elvis is a salutory lesson in the power of fandom.
When I was growing up, nobody in my cohort liked Elvis, not even the mention of his name.
Why?
Because our dad's generation were instructing us on how he was 'The King'.
My dad's favourite was 'The Beatles ruined rock and roll'. Years later I bought him a book which was pretty much that as the title. But to me, he had come up with it as his 'pearl of wisdom'.

I couldn't have disagreed more but I didn't see any point in ranking mania then and still don't. The threads about 'best' and 'top five' are just killing time for me. Nothing more. I like Elvis but I don't like his fans (Come in John Lennon and Jesus )
Even Elvis Costello's adoption of the name was knowing sacrilege.
Elvis' real demise then came in the form of fans dressing up as him and doing tribute nights.
In Cyprus, last decade and possibly even now, there were multiple nightly Elvis tribute shows.
I came away renewed in my disavowal of all things Elvis despite any musical significance he has and any of his achievements. A recent girlfriend was exactly the same and had an almost visceral reaction to the name, the result of her dad's browbeating worship.

So next time you want to remind or instruct someone younger than you about how your Gods must be theirs, consider the fate of Elvis who's now pretty much NOBODY'S GOD.

The recentish 'Who is Paul McCartney?' jokes (there were two separate outcrops) were a parody of this 'Elvis thing', the baiting of Elvis true believers that we kids used to do, especially after punk.
It was initially hilarious to watch terminally out of touch boomers not get the joke but after the second wave, circa Kanye, you could almost taste the onset of Trump and soft-fascism. Lotta folk didn't and don't like that Bush-insultin, N****r-lovin McCartney and probably remember his comments in Datebook at least as well as the Lennon ones.
I'm glad Macca has gone on to lionise Kanye and make his race-relations preferences a point in the Eight Days A Week film
Because of that he may be able to stick around longer than his fans
Fans should never replace the artist and the advert should never replace the product.


But to answer the question, you can apparently find lots of new Elvis fans on the Paul Is Dead boards where Macca is now Satan to Elvis' Jesus. And not in a good way.
I wish I was kiddin'!

 

One million albums sold at $27M last year. I doubt they are all older folks, but who knows.
Pound dog: Elvis still earning a fortune 40 years after his death - BBC News

 

You can count me in as a young fan of Elvis. (In my 20s' but still.)
Always have enjoyed his music, and always will!

 

I am 17 years old and I love Elvis his music. Too bad that not many people I know (from my age) listen to his music.

 

Just to put that in perspective, 1M albums sold is the same amount of units as the Suicide Squad Soundtrack, a nondescript movie tie-in. That's one album. Elvis must have 40 or 50 titles available. Additionally, most of Elvis' sales are in CD's and you can buy any number of Elvis CD's in what remains of physical CD shops for $5, some curious types are easily tempted for that type of chump-change and if you're looking for a birthday present for grandpa a $5 Elvis CD sounds pretty good.

To answer the OP's question, no, young people do not listen to Elvis. Anyone a) under the age of 60 and b) not living in the South wouldn't have been alive during his rock heyday, we wouldn't have been exposed to him on radio, we only know him through goofy movies like Clambake and parodies of Vegas Elvis on Saturday Night Live. Elvis generating income is akin to Marilyn Monroe or James Dean. I don't know a single person who has any of their memorabilia despite their estates selling billions of dollars of merchandise in the past 40 years. Apparently there are small niches of people who buy this stuff over and over again.

 

Probably not, no. Much of his music is time-bound and some of it is kitch and corny (the 60s soundtracks and movies).

 

Elvis sounds extremely dated now, Like the Beatles, but not so much and not in so much of a charming way. Just the lay of the land.

 

His recordings for Sun. The latest release A Boy From Tupelo is fantastic.

 

He wasn't a lead guitar player or band just a singer. In this age of karaoke I think that's where his perhaps younger audience is.

 

Same age as you & same answer exactly
I have 1000s of CDs and DVDs etc and zero Elvis. I respect what he did for rock n roll but he doesn't do it for me.

 

I'm 38 now, and listen to Elvis for about 10 years.