As we contemplate the sorry state of the world and our fractious politics, I suggest taking a little time to herald the "King".
Elvis Presley would have been 75 today, had he not succumbed to the modern malady - death by celebrity. That the undisputed “King of Rock and Roll” is an icon, a legend and one of the most potent influences on 20th century culture is beyond dispute.
Although he went fluky as he got older and made his famous visit to Nixon in the White House looking to be designated a special FBI drug agent when he was high as a kite!!!! He was for Adlai Stevenson in 1956 and JFK in 1960, so he started out the right way!
Sure “Swivel Hips” had his detractors and still does. Yet for over fifty years, while selling over one billion recordings, his popularity has transcended age, class, nationality, race, religion and culture.
He was one of the earliest white performers who championed black music and promoted his friends Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown and Jackie Wilson to his white audiences.
In a 2002 US poll, an astonishing 84% of those surveyed said that their lives had be touched by Elvis! In August 1977, when he died, a snide journalist quipped: “great career move.” In money terms, it was. Over the past 30+ years, “The King” has been the highest grossing dead celebrity. Just last year he earned a cool $52 million. Elvis endures!
It started in 1954, when a nervous teenage truck driver entered a Memphis studio to make a private recording for his mother’s birthday. The woman who ran the taping asked him: “Who do you sound like?” Elvis responded: “I don't sound like nobody.” He didn’t. And he wasn’t like nobody else either.
Carl Perkins, his friend and contemporary who helped to create rock and roll, saw it. He said: “This boy had everything...the looks... the moves... the talent. In the way he looked, way he talked, way he acted — he really was different.”
Elvis was ready-made for Hollywood. He had a handsome, open face – a lithe frame – a casual, loose-limbed physical grace - a sensual, non-threatening sexuality – and he oozed charisma. The visual package was complimented by an uncanny musical sensibility wrapped around a glorious, melodious voice. To get ready for the movies, he dyed his hair jet-black and got a new set of dazzling white-capped teeth. The minute the spiffed up Elvis stepped in front of the camera, he was a full-blown star.
A lot of Elvis' fame and popularity had to do with sex. He emerged at a time when straight-laced social mores stifled natural pubescent stirrings. Before him, male singers or movie stars were manly, virile, tough, hunky or hip – not sexy. Elvis' good-natured, uninhibited, unpretentious self-confidence was contagious and sexy as hell. It was said every guy wanted to be him and every girl wanted to “do” him. He came across as a guy who knew what he wanted, and knew he was gonna get it. Talk about cool!
One measure of someone’s accomplishments is the opinion of peers. Bob Dylan remembered: “When I first heard Elvis' voice, I just knew that I wasn't going to work for anybody, and nobody was going to be my boss. Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail.” John Lennon famously said: “If there hadn't been an Elvis, there wouldn't have been the Beatles. Before Elvis, there was nothing.” Paul McCartney explained: "When we were growing up, all we ever wanted to be was Elvis." Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, may have put it best, saying: “Before Elvis, everything was in black and white. Then came Elvis. Zoom, glorious Technicolor.”
Leonard Bernstein, a musical icon in his own right, went so far as to claim that Elvis was “the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century.”
Still, for devoted fans, it is always that voice and the music that keeps the flame alive. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, the great opera star, was once asked who had the greatest voice she had ever heard. She answered "The young Elvis Presley." Pavarotti agreed.
Elvis' vocal instrument was extraordinary and his joy in putting it to use was infectious. With perfect pitch; distinctive and precise phrasing; he possessed a preternatural ability to capture the essence of a song. He didn't interpret a lyric, instead he made each song his own. Ever the innovator, he originated a proprietary vocal gumbo of swoops, slurs, hiccups, moans, growls, rasps, caresses, winks, teases, falsetto shrieks and angelic sincerity - jumping effortlessly across three octaves from bass to baritone to tenor and all the stops in between.
At an early age, Elvis had acquired a musical education rich in church gospel, country, bluegrass, black rhythm & blues and mainstream pop. With his impeccable timing, mastery of intonation and ability to embody a full range of emotional needs in song, Elvis became the consummate rocker, balladeer, rockabilly inventor, r&b man, popster, blues belter, gospel and country stylist and operatic cantor. Single-handedly, he erased the boundaries between black and white, city and country. No one sang as many different kinds of music, with such intensity and inherent integrity, year in and year out, or as well as the “Memphis Flash”.
In the studio, Elvis, the perfectionist, was in charge. He believed music should be felt, not just heard. He built his repertoire from songs he knew and loved or from a stack of “demos” of songs written by his favorite songwriters, as well as unknowns. Producing his owns sessions, he always recorded live with his stable of exemplary musicians. They would experiment on arrangements - always reaching for the “feel.” Once Elvis got the "feel" he wanted, he would holler: “roll the tape.”
When recording “Are You Lonesome Tonight” Elvis ordered the studio lights turned off and then called out “roll the tape.” With the studio totally dark, a guitar softly strums, background singers hum, and Elvis starts to sing. Mid-song, suddenly, he stops singing and starts a heartbreaking spoken monologue of despair with the words, “And the stage is bare, and I'm standing there…” And in the darkness, Elvis needed just one take to create a timeless classic. There are many, many other classics and undiscovered gems in his vast catalogue that bring a smile, a tear or simple recognition of the magic.
Elvis continues to draw fans, as younger generations dip into their parents' and grandparents' LP and CD collections. A perfect introduction to the “Hillbilly Cat” that a generous, discerning adult might bestow on an uninitiated young music lover is “Elvis 75 – Good Rockin Tonight” - SONY Music’s new compilation. After sampling almost five hours of Elvis' greats from every genre, they'll be hooked.