Often imitated. Never duplicated. And strangely gets better the more he recedes into the past. Funny how that works, isn't it?
Sippican knows more and knows the important things:
Sippican Cottage: Still Dead Not Fat Elvis The Fat Elvis costume has become as recognizable as Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. Hell, Uncle Sam. It screams: AMERICA. And not fussy America, or political America, or The New York Times Book Review America, either. He's strip mall/chrome fin/corn dog/hayseed/ghetto blaster/swimming hole/fried chicken/AM radio/concrete block church/Vegas whore America. He's the whole ball of earwax in Jesusland.
But I knew Elvis because I knew rockabilly. Elvis Presley arguably invented it; at the very least he personified it before he went Hollywood. He was the sun around which Sun records revolved in the fifties. Long before Elvis become the guy that showed up in adjustable waistbands and spangles, and was Elvis, he was great. Not just great. Important.Posted by gerardvanderleun at November 15, 2012 11:03 AM
Never liked the Vegas costumes, but Elvis was bigger than life. He could never have become a hippie in tee shirt and jeans. Therefore his costumes had to be as well. Still wish he'd stuck to leather. Always dug the fact all three of his Grammys were for gospel.
Posted by: Velociman at November 15, 2012 3:02 PMThough I never got into the whole "Elvis The King" trip, as I've gotten older I've come to appreciate his very real, raw talent. All the other B.S. just kind of detracted from what seemed to come naturally from him. It's most unfortunate that he was, evidently, a poor judge of character and vulnerable to addiction. Lethal combo. Beautiful delivery on this song, like he wrote it. He was, indeed, easy on the eyes prior to his deterioration.
Posted by: Kerry at November 15, 2012 5:50 PMThe plain fact is that people need to worship something. It's in our DNA. Lacking introduction to something or someone beyond our sensory input, we naturally ascribe to a man what only a God can contain: worship and adoration. Don't tell me people didn't worship him in unhealthy ways, they really did.
Elvis' demise was due in part to not being able to contain the collective human need found in that much worship. There's a reason it's called a crush. That he survived it as long as he did is astonishing.
May his soul be at rest in the arms of the One who deserves all our worship.
Posted by: Joan of Argghh! at November 15, 2012 6:45 PMI love Elvis. yes,the older i get, the better he gets. I've got my 7 yr old son listening and appreciating him as well.
Elvis stood for something more--much more, than we have today. Class, heritage, history, gospel, religion, and more.
"Elvis .. The King of Rock and Roll.
Not Bill Haley or Little Richard, Carl Perkins or Bo Diddley, although they were front runners in the development of the sound.
Elvis grew up dirt poor (sometimes being poor is painful, music is a cheap escape) in Tupelo and Memphis. There he had the opportunity hone his chops on all generas that became Rock and Roll.
Holy Roller and Gospel from the Assembly Churches, Country from his elders, acoustic Black Blues from the Tupelo and Memphis underclass.
Add to that Bill Monroe's Bluegrass mandolin, Elvis doing his uptempo 'Blue Moon Of Kentucky' and ya'got your Rockabillie. Mix all the other parts with a sneering,grinning, hormone driven twenty year old that had a pretty good voice. And you got your Rock and Roll King.
In my opinion his was an American success story comparable to any. He was born in two room shack with few worldly possessions and fewer opportunities. He received little formal education but had big balls and street smarts. Even though he finished high school I doubt he could balance a checkbook.
His lack of sophistication is probably one of the reasons he was a recluse. He remembered where he came from and probably had a difficult time mixing with Harvard types or those that would look down on what he represented.
He was an astute, self taught singer and entertainer, ever humble and generous.
Too bad he didn't live a long and happy life.
But who could withstand the unheard of pressures of being Elvis. If only there had been a book titled 'How To Be A Happy Elvis For Dummies.' Like all of us he had weaknesses and succumbed.
He over indulged in all the world had to offer, including drugs and the fried banana sandwiches that killed him.
Little-known fact: Elvis had a surprising appetite for books about alternative spirituality and the occult:
http://www.60x50.com/2008/06/elvis-his-guru.html
Posted by: Skorpion at November 15, 2012 9:15 PMOne of my favorite songs. But. Good as this is, Eva sang it best.
Posted by: Jewel at November 16, 2012 7:39 AMAnd now the answer to the burning question -- what would Elvis have sung about if he had been born in the Southern part of the USSR as opposed to the southern part of the USA. I truly believe that it would have been something like this
http://www.amiright.com/parody/60s/elvispresley221.shtml
And also this
http://www.amiright.com/parody/60s/elvispresley222.shtml
Posted by: Callmelennie at November 16, 2012 7:51 AM
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