The case for Elvis Presley

Everyone here knows how important the 1950s Elvis was to popular music.
Most here also recognize that the Elvis image for the younger generations, has been severely tarnished by the 70s jumpsuit and sometimes overweight Elvis, as well as plenty of sub par and even downright silly 60s films and songs.
Even the young cool, rebel rockin' Elvis is so entrenched in the conservative culture of the 50s, despite him being the figurehead of anti establishment then, that today's youth start their appreciation of "old" music, no later than 64 if not 67 or even later.
The title King Of Rock and Roll means little to them because they just figure it was given at a time prior to great rock bands.
It's difficult enough for the youth today to listen to any old music prior to the 90s or 21st century, let alone before that, and when they do, they're drawn to the classic rock groups who had cool images and for the most part, wrote their own material, or a band member or two did or arranged the recordings.
They see Elvis of any era as just a guy who sang other people's songs, covers or written for him.
What they don't know is just how revolutionary Elvis was in the 1950s.
He wasn't just a white guy doing black music.
Lots of whites did that.
He fused white country and black R&B together on the same songs both vocally in style and in his arrangements.
White country artists sang country and black artists sang R&B.
No one sang like Elvis.
I think we all know the story so well, that we too sometimes forget.
Elvis didn't merely inspire future significant artists.
He shook the very foundation of what was the norm in western culture.
Kids and teenagers both in North America and Europe idolized him and his impact on current and future music was not an indirect affect, but a direct and specific reason for future legends to even consider getting into music at all.
Think about this.
Bob Dylan.
Arguably the greatest songwriter of the 20th century.
He said that when he first heard Elvis' voice he knew he was never going to work for anybody and no one was going to be his boss, and that hearing Elvis was like busting out of jail.
How many Dylan fans attribute the very existence of their poet to the impact of Elvis Presley?
We know John Lennon said things similar, how nothing affected him before Elvis and without him there would be no Beatles.
John meant it literally.
Not because Elvis opened the door as Little Richard said, but because he so affected Lennon on a personal level.
The two most groundbreaking artists of the 1960s, Bob Dylan and John Lennon, one American and one English, became who they became and influenced all they influenced because of Elvis Presley.
Elton John said the same, that he doesn't know where popular music would be without Elvis, and Elvis was the reason he got interested in music and was definitely the start of it for him.
Mick Fleetwood said he learned music listening to Elvis and that his influence was even greater in England than the states.
Leonard Bernstein said Elvis was the greatest cultural force of the 20th century. That he introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes. A whole new social revolution, the 60s comes from that.
Leonard Bernstein was one of the greatest and most acclaimed musicians ever as a composer, conductor, music lecturer, and pianist.
Rod Stewart said he and Mick Jagger followed in Elvis footsteps.
Mick Jagger said no one is Elvis' equal.
Little Richard said Elvis was God given and was the Messiah.
Jackie Wilson said black solo artists would copy Elvis' stage mannerisms.
James Brown said only he and Elvis were American originals.
Paul McCartney, Roger Daltrey, Robert Plant, Bono, David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen all wanted to be Elvis.
Issac Hayes said Elvis was a giant who influenced everyone in the business.
Al Green said Elvis broke the ice for all of us.
His impact is so immeasurable that people today just can't grasp it.

 

Nicely put.

If Elvis hadn't walked into Sun Studios that time, the world could be an entirely different place...

 

In conservative 1950s America on family television, it took Elvis some real king size you know whats to do this in front of millions.

 

I can see Elvis 50s rock 'n' roll classics being listened to or at least enjoyed by young people forever. The songs still sound fresh and immediate and he was very cool then.

I don't see why young people would want to listen to most of his post-Army output though. A lot of it is awful and then even though he hits another great era in the late 60s / early 70s, a lot of it is middle of the road or 'adult contemporary' music, probably aimed at his now grown up original fans. I love Elvis overall, but I'd have never listened to stuff like The Wonder of You, Always On My Mind or An American Trilogy as a youngster, but this music wasn't aimed at young people at the time, so why would young people want to listen to it over 45 years later? It's not a big deal. Music lovers will come to Elvis later in life like I did. I remember me and my friends laughing at Elvis in the late 80s when we were young. A lot of us are fans or at least appreciate him now.

 

If only if Elvis had parted ways with Colonel Parker when he came back from Germany, his legacy would be much greater today.

 

Elvis was "The King" amongst a small handful of artists who invented Rock 'n Roll Music. He was where it all began.
He incited a cultural movement, crowd hysteria, record-manufacturing boom, idol worship, and millions of aspiring young singers and musicians yearning to follow in his footsteps. Then, history took its course. There had been a fair amount of conservative backlash to the whole Rock and Roll craze. Many amongst the establishment, including religious leaders and educators saw his draft into the armed forces as a positive thing. Although he was offered the chance to enlist in Special Services to entertain the troops Elvis instead decided to serve as a regular soldier. Then came his post-army career and things would never be the same.
Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens died together, tragically. America was traumatized by President Kennedy's assassination, then came The Beatles, the Stones, and the British Invasion. LSD ushered in the cultural revolution while simultaneously scuppering a political revolution, thanks to the CIA and its operatives including Owsley Stanley.
Then the Rock and Roll business shifted from the hands of freewheeling lawyers and private empresarios over to corporations, where, as with everything they touch, was exploited and destroyed.

 

I guess the older the music is, the harder it is to get into it. I grew up during the seventies and nobody I knew from my age group was even remotely interested in listening to, say, Benny Goodman or Tommy Dorsey.

 

The other day I saw that Kissing Cousins was playing on Turner Classic Movies. Recorded it for later viewing, but could only manage to watch 20 minutes. Bad! Had to erase that it from the DVR.

But as long as I live, I will be able to listen to Big Hunk of Love, and many others.

 

Elvis Presley Presley? Is there an echo in this thread thread?

 

There. is. only. one. king.

 

Why do people still roll out these stereotypes that are, summarily, very much wrong? Maybe in 2007, young people weren't really exposed to older music unless they looked for it, but Spotify, the internet, and changing culture has really changed how young people consume music.

I hung out with two 18-year-olds earlier this week. One of them put Johnny Cash on, and the other put on The Specials. I'm not a great deal older than them, and listen to plenty of older music. In fact, it'd be harder for me to find a young person that doesn't like some older stuff. Yes, you get your pop music followers who only hear what's in the charts, who only casually hear music in clubs and on the radio, but I'd argue they aren't really music fans in the first place.

The whole "young people don't know older music" stereotype is up there with "1980s music was awful" and "rock music is dead" as the sort of lazy statement that ought to be retired.

Not really got any opinion on Elvis. The jumpsuit image is probably right, though, it's how people think of him in the UK: A jumpsuit, an accent, and dying on the toilet.

 

So good they named him twice twice.

 

Beautifully stated.
One thing I would like to add, is that so often Elvis is considered some puppet that did what he was told in the studio or some such thing. So wrong. Although Elvis wasn't a songwriter, Elvis was basically the producer and arranger of just about everything he ever recorded. This idea that Elvis was just a singer, compared to the whole boy band (style over substance generation) is a fallacy and although he moved away from the early rock he once did, he still remained a musical force.
As already stated, several factors contributed to Elvis' slide from the top spot.
He wanted to be in movies, which is fair enough, but Hollywood was only ever going to let him be the pretty boy in the romantic movie, because of how hugely popular he was. This diversion took his eye off the ball so to speak and he merely existed for 5 or 6 years .... though we can't forget he still made some fantastic music during this time,
Also we need to understand that Elvis was mismanaged terribly by Colonel Tom Parker, and wasn't confident enough in himself to get rid of this heavy, empty bag in his life.
After a sitting smoking some 'erb with his hairdresser one day Elvis let it out that he wasn't doing what he should be, he had let his musical grip slip, and he wanted to change that. During this short burst of self confidence and realisation Elvis did the 68 comeback special in a way completely against the wishes of Parker and then Recorded From Elvis in Memphis and Back To Memphis with the great Chips Moman, again against the wishes of Parker.... I feel From Elvis In Memphis is a sadly overlooked rock classic that should be in everyone's collection.

Unfortunately Parker lured Elvis back into his box with an exhausting stint of Vegas gigs that over time destroyed him and eventually lead to his death ... but what a ride
You don't have to like Elvis' music, but anyone who can't appreciate what a huge and brilliant artist this guy was, really needs to reassess their thoughts

 

It was that damn Heartbreak Hotel that started it!

 

I was on holiday in Poland when Elvis died....I recall to this day that a couple of days after he died I was walking through the Warsaw Central train station...over the P.A. system between which didn’t play music...announcements of arrivals and departures...the music of Elvis Presley was piped through...obviously some employee wanted to pay his/her respects to the King even behind the Iron Curtain...that alone speaks volumes.

 

There is not need to make a case for Elvis Presley. It's pretty established he is one of the most influential rock figures of Rock and Roll. However, I agree with John Lennon's opinion that Elvis was making awful movies and not musically doing anything special for a period of time but he wasn't the only one. Another thing happened as well which can't be sugarcoated.

Once The Beatles hit the scene the rock & roll pioneers were replaced as the main influences and of course there were others as well like Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. Those acts were songwriters and created albums with sounds that are closer to modern rock is. People have to understand that this did not apply only to Elvis.

 

I don't know about that. The 'Colonel' got Elvis some great deals which Elvis signed and agreed to.
Elvis was the 'Colonel's number one boy, and Elvis was happy about the hand shake arrangement.
Could anyone do better at managing Elvis than Tom? A question we will never know.
At the reign of Elvis' power, he surely could have dumped Tom for another manager but he never did.
Did 'Colonel' milk Elvis and his death? Absolutely, a heartless bastard one could say.
While Elvis died, he was off to New York to get Elvis product on the shelves ASAP.
A lot of uncertainties about all this. Tom Parker did great for the King but at a brutal cost to the man, Elvis.

 

Elvis was lacking in self confidence and felt indebted to Parker. I could have managed Elvis better than Parker did after '61.

 

I really prefer is stuff from '68 onward. His 70's work is underrated imo.

 

Probably! I agree, Elvis knew nothing else, and was apparently 'satisfied' with Tom.
Tom must have made millions off Elvis, that would be a great discussion in itself!
In some way, Elvis must have been OK with Tom doing the 'dirty work' up until his death.

 

I was 2 when Elvis died. I acknowledge him as a great singer, a great performer, hugely influential, a phenomenon & genuine icon of music.
BUT beyond that I don't find his music that interesting. I don't own any Elvis music.

 

He did actually fire him at one stage, but reneged and allowed him back.
Parker just got to the stage where he did things that appeared good for his client ... ie get good initial deals , ala Vegas .... Elvis was ready to work live again and when Parker came forward with the Vegas idea Elvis had just finished making his crowning achievement (From Elvis In Memphis) Parker could see that the writing was on the wall, with the rebellion of the TV special and several things that didn't go according to his plan with the Moman recordings. Shrewdly Parker organised the whole Vegas thing, and that actually completely changed Elvis' plans....
I f we remember rightly, Elvis didn't exactly go over well in Vegas in the fifties, so he would have been keen to show them what he was all about, but that whole thing became a tar pit .... three shows a day, medication to get him up and bring him back down, the developing of health and weight issues due to those medications and Parker needing the goose to keep laying, because he was throwing all the money away on poker machines ... and the inevitable death by exhaustion and addiction.
Elvis needed some positive reinforcement and instead had this manipulative money pit, that knew how to push his buttons

 

What would be a great sounding cd release of Elvis' early work (pre 1960)?

 

I'm not sure Elvis needs a case made for him. His place in music history is secure.

 

Wish the likes of Dylan, Diamond, Wilson had written for Elvis 1960's. The King should have stopped doing movies by 1964. Putting more effort into his music with help from these young and coming afore mentioned writers Elvis wouldn't have needed to be concerned with the British invasion. His music would have spoke quite loudly in the British invasion tsunami. Colonel Parker perhaps.