Ok, i was born 5 years after his death so this might not seem so perplexing, but ive never understood why the guy was popular,average songs,average voice…why is he still an icon?he is ridiculously popular as evident by the number of people who visit Graceland every year (cant recall the figures but they are staggering) or a recent study that showed at least 17 million Americans have dressed up as the king and tried to imitate him or the fac that he can still get to number one. Can anyone explain why Elvis is still som popular or was ever popular in the first place?
He was the first to be a charismatic white rock and roll singer.
He was the Madonna of his time, without longevity.
Remember: his career ended with him being a bloated joke, sorta like Delta Burke, but less attractive.
I always wondered that myself.
Elvis in the beginning was very handsome dude, and had a stage presence to him for someone of that day. He was different from other idols. The previous idol before him was Frank Sinatra! (Yes, when our grandparents were teens, Sinatra was the man).
I am from Memphis where he died. I was 10 years old in 1977, and we lived in the same section of the city as the King (Whitehaven). Literally tens of thousands of people came in front of Graceland in sadness and disbelief.
Elvis was a bit odd (like his daughter), but he was a good dude who was very generous with his money. I met his uncle Vesper who was a mean old coot, that Graceland gave a job to, when they opened the grounds for tourists. Vesper is also dead but no one cared. There is no"Vesperworld".
It is sad that people now only remember him as a fat guy in a tasteless white suit who died an undignified death on the toilet.
SP
Sex. The man was sexy, for goodness’ sake. You have to see him move and remember the context–nice people hadn’t seen anyone move like that before. 
I’d like to add some emphasis to prior posts here:
and
and, although Brynda didn’t say it, I’d point out that Elvis was:
…sexy, for goodness’ sake. You have to see him move and remember the context–nice people hadn’t seen anyone white move like that before.
As has been said in previous posts, Elvis brought to white teenagers what had previously been seen as a “black” form of entertainment: namely R&B/Rock-n-Roll music.
He beneitted mightily from his own negative publicity. When The Man demonized him for brining “negro” music to white audiences, white teenagers of the 50’s couldn’t get enough of him. When The Man demonized him for shaking his hips on stage and being “vulgar,” teenagers of the 50’s flocked to his concerts to see for themselves. He brought a sexuality to the rock-n-roll culture that survives to this day.
Then, at the height of his popularity, he got drafted into the Army.
IMHO, this is when he began to achieve cult status. Imagine the idea of the biggest thing going suddenly being taken out of comission for two years. People pined away for the lost Elvis. His ordeal even inspired a Broadway play (or maybe it was a movie) called Bye Bye Birdie.
When he returned, he decided to become a movie star and released a steady stream of boring B-movies. When he came to his senses MUCH later (and far too late, for that matter), he decided to return to music.
Once again, fans couldn’t get enough of him.
It was throughout his later career (obviously) that he became a gross charicature of himself. But that’s part of his mystique.
Remember, America has had 43 presidents, but only one King. 
–HeyHomie, born 7 years before Elvis died.
I used to think Elvis was a silly Vegas lounge act. I thought ‘big deal’ when he died. Now I think he was incredibly talented. I’m sorry he got drugged up and died so young.
3 things changed my opinion:
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Emmylou Harris, whom I really respect, said wonderful things about him in an interview in Frets Magazine.
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I watched his ‘Comeback Special’ and was blown away by his charismatic performances. Especially good is the segment where there is just Elvis, Scotty Moore, and 2 others sitting in a circle playing.
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I listened closely to his singing and phrasing on All Shook Up. Wow! Listen to how he sings ‘Well she touched my hand what a chill I got.’
Oh, and gosh, when he was young, was he ever handsome! What a smile. In case you think I’m some fanzine-reading cracker, I’m an opera fan with a degree in philosophy.
Listen to his early stuff. Then listen to the rest of the Top 40 from the same time.
Haj
Don’t forget that however undignified his death and later lifestyle might have been, that Elvis was not a bloated joke in his prime, but was in the context of this time an enormously talented singer and performer. The expressiveness of his voice and singing style rang bells in people thay did not know existed. For a lot of people (esp younger) Elvis is a fat white joke that they don’t “get”. Here is an essay kinda, sorta addressing that issue.
Personally, I never found him attractive and I didn’t like the music he sang. Never wanted to see his movies or go to his concerts. Each to his own, I suppose.
Several years ago, we went to a minor league baseball game and there was a short, fat, balding Elvis wandering the stands in a sequinned costume. He was a hoot. I don’t remember the game, but I remember him.
And Francis Albert Sinatra remains “the man” to this very day. Ring a ding ding!
Elvis was the musician most responsible for popularizing rock & roll on an international level, which is even more amazing considering he never did a concert or concert tour outside of the United States. His 1950’s recordings established the basic language of rock 'n roll, his explosive and sexual stage presence set standards for the music’s visual image.
Aside from the fact that he was drop dead gorgeous, he was also immensely charismatic, witty, talented, excrutiatingly humble (He always addressed people as “ma’am” or “sir,” for instance) and generous to a fault.
The Beatles were in awe of him, fer chrissake.
Add the rags to riches element, going off to serve his country, and his adoration for both his mother and his daughter, and you have Elvis the icon.
If you don’t “get” it, it’s probably because you’re too young to remember what he used to be.
::caterwauling:: Memories! All alone in the Moonlight. I can smile at the old days. I was beautiful then!
Or that we have taste.
Story goes that, when the Beatles were introduced to Elvis, they were utterly starstruck, and for a change, even Lennon didn’t have a single thing to say.
After a few seconds of that, Elvis sighed, “If y’all are just gonna stare at me all night, I’m going to bed.”
Talent is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. I don’t find Elvis particularly talented, but he does have a nice voice even if he doesn’t have much vocal range. Furthermore, he wasn’t exactly a song-writing genius as much of his works came from other artists.
However, the masses loved him. He turned the black blues-rock-gospel-country-etc revolution into a white revolution. His music, at the time, was simply amazing. He didn’t predate Chuck Berry, et al…but he did help to make Chuck Berry popular.
Didn’t Elvis have over 100 number one hits? Didn’t Elvis, at more than one time, have over half of Billboard’s top ten charts to himself? Wasn’t Elvis the orignal performer of the most remade song of all time?
Everyone knows part of the words to a lot of Elvis tunes: “Love Me Tender”, “Hound Dog”, “Jailhouse Rock”…I could go on and on…
Fact is, I don’t think there has ever been a musician in the history of the world that has had as many ears hear it as Elvis Presley. I don’t like his music even a little. However, I am willing to recognize that fact that my opinion looks a bit silly when compared to millions (possibly billions) of people.
Wasn’t Bye Bye Birdie based on Conway Twitty?
To understand the Elvis mystique fully, you had to be alive in the mid-1950s and be a teenage female. Elvis was sexy. Elvis was dangerous. Elvis was WONDERFUL!!! He broke the mold. There simply wasn’t anything else like him. He pushed all the right buttons. Our parents HATED him; therefore we LOVED him. It was very easy to do. Talk about being in the right place at the right time with the right talent! Wow!
I picked up a used copy of Elvis Presley’s 30 #1 Hits.
Yo–he had 30 #1 Hits!
WOW!
And, their good, too.
Pick up an album, & review his work. You might just change your mind.