You are correct… Conway Twitty… "the true-life model for the teen idol in Bye Bye Birdie. " from this site The Conway Twitty Story
What, you’re not into blue shag on your walls? Elvis was sooo much more than sequined capes and long sideburns.
It’s kind of like trying to explain to teenagers today that there was a time when Michael Jackson was genuinely cool. He had white people trying to moon walk! I’d watch his video with my mouth agape because he was just such an incredible entertainer. As an added bonus, he drove my parents nuts because he kept grabbing his crotch. Skinny little runt that he was, he just oozed sex.
Of course that was back when he still had a nose and he didn’t dangle children from balconies. So I can understand why teenagers would be genuinely puzzled about his (now waning) popularity.
According to Billboard, Elvis had 19 #1 hits on the Hot 100. Only The Betales have more.
It was The Beatles who hold the record for most songs in the Top Ten, when they held down positions 1-5 in 1964. No other act has even come close to The Beatles chart dominance.
It depends on what you mean by remade.
This thread reminds me of certain people of my generation (I’m 22) asking what the big deal was about the Beatles. The influence both had on modern music was immense.
As with anything else, the impact a musician made must be considered in context.
Elvis Presley today is a dead guy who for most of his career was a fat, passe Vegas lounge lizard. But in the 1950s, in context…
Let me put it this way; to imagine Elvis Presley’s impact on popular music, try to imagine an artist today who was as famous and popular as Madonna, with the talent of Michael Jackson, as good looking and sexy as the sexiest movie star you can think of, and who was MORE controversial - five times as controversial, at least - than Eminem.
We are talking about a musician who literally caused teenagers to be expelled from school just for attending his concerts - that is literally true - and whose contribution to the musical awareness among the general public is sort of equivalent to someone today making Indian sitar music as popular as rock music.
A lot of posters have mentioned Elvis’s importance to teenagers of the 50’s. In reality prior to the 50’s and the advent of rock 'n roll there was no such thing as teenagers, only adults and children. Look at the difference in treatment of teenagers in pre-50’s film and literature and there is little evidence of the rebellious spirit that teenagers have had since the advent of the King et al.
He had anything but an average voice. He was one of the best pure singers in the history of American popular music. perfect pitch, flawless phrasing and most of all his style. He had a totally unique yet completely natural style. His talent was just undeniable.
It all has to do with historical and cultural perspective, which a great many people under 30 seem to lack.
In the 1950s, the pop culture world was incredibly different from ours. For one thing, there was barely an acknowledgement of the teenage audience. The closest thing to a teenage pop idol in the first half of the 50s was, believe it or not, Pat Boone, whose songs and movies were extremely popular. Because of the segregated nature of radio in those days, songs by black artists were played only on black radio stations because white radio would not touch so-called “race music.” When music exectuives wanted to break a “race” song into the larger culture, they would have a white artist like Pat Boone cover a sanitized version of the song and therefore keep the kids safe from the vulgarity and unsavory nature of race music (pass me the smelling salts, Mrytle!).
Then came Elvis.
He was a lanky, devilishly handsome white boy who had the fire and drive that made black music so enticing to teens. Because he was white, Elvis’s music could be played on stations that would not touch Little Richard. Elvis was raw sexuality so scorching that he son had the adult establishment calling for his head. To quote an apocryphal saying attributed to Sam Phillips, the man who released Elvis’s early songs, Elvis was “a white man who sang like a n____r.”
Elvis broke the walls between white and black music, and soon white kids were listening to the black radio stations and learning the beat laid down by Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard.
Elvis was a one-man cultural revolution who paved the way for the 60s.
I think others have pretty well covered the Elvis phenomenon.
My take on Elvis is that he was a very talented cover artist. Everything he did, someone else already did better, but you could generally count on Elvis for a pretty good knockoff.
Elvis? KNOCKOFF?? Are you kidding? Which songs did ANYone else do better than he? Suspicious Minds? Hound Dog? Can’t Help Falling in Love? Heartbreak Hotel? Jailhouse Rock?
I think Johnny Angel was referring to the fact Elvis didn’t write his own songs, and barely played a musical instrument. He was an entertainer to be sure, but not a musician.
No, Elvis didn’t write his own material, but very few singers do. Elvis’s instrument was his voice. But to call Elvis a “knockoff”. . . .
Don’t go badmouthing the King.
Yeah. Don’t be cruel.
Michael was a damn good dancer (and still might be, although that seems to have been eclipsed by other aspects of his personality), but I think that comparing his talent to that of Elvis is selling the King short.
Some of Elvis’ songs sound a bit uninteresting by today’s standards (your mileage may vary), but “Hound Dog”? Even today, it stands as one of the most energetic rock songs ever, which is quite a feat when you compare typical 1950s songs to acid rock and punk.
The aforementioned green shag carpet on the walls in the Jungle Room of his estate made the room sound good; so good, in fact, that he recorded a few songs in that room when he wasn’t feeling well enough to go to the recording studio.
Did he have a few eccentric habits? Yep. He was a law-enforcement hobbyist who collected badges and police memorabilia (often to the officers’ surprise; Elvis would admire a badge and say something like[sup]1[/sup], “I want that,” officer would refuse, chief of police would intervene in Elvis’s favor), and he often use his acquired gimcracks: He was reported seen many a time pulling over speeding drivers with a domelight, only to step out and say, “Just slow down; I’m Elvis Presley.”. He is also famous for shooting TV’s in the tradition of Richard Nixon, especially when Robert Goulet (whom he disliked) appeared on the screen. Elvis’s staff had a constant supply ready for installation upon the occasion of a newly-offed television set. He also had his staff on-call 24 hours a day to play raquetball with him in later years, and they were directed to hit the ball towards Elvis. His eating habits are also well-documented.
But, I don’t believe that Memphis (or perhaps the whole Southern U.S.) has seen a more generous philanthropist. He was, as noted, generous to a fault[sup]2[/sup], giving away you-name-it to friends and strangers alike if they seemed longing in the least. He also donated quite generously to St. Jude’s Hospital in Memphis.
As far as his music, I find that I prefer his material from his fabled Memphis sessions in 1968 on through to his death. There was a certain unique fusion he specialised in during this time (some call it ‘Rhythm ‘n’ Country’) that was unequaled by anyone else.
[sup]1. Not a direct quote, per se.
2. Most sources speculate that he would be bankrupt today, given his habits of giving.[/sup]
Not to knock Elvis at all, but personally, I like Big Mamma Thornton’s “Hound Dog” better than Elvis’, and I also prefer “That’s All Right Mama” by…um, the name escapes me right now. Ah, Google is my friend. Arthur Crudupp.
Which isn’t to say Elvis didn’t do great stuff, and even though I was about ten when he died, and missed the fifties, I have no problems understanding why he was so popular.
You can’t knock Elvis for not writing his own stuff: hardly anybody did back then. Pre-Beatles, it wasn’t expected that a pop music performer would have written the music they were playing. Like an orchestra, the performer was interpreting others’ compositions, and Elvis did this very well.
Elvis has transcended death…in fact he did not die in 1977. He actually dropped out of life, and was last seen working as a checkout clerk at a 7-11 store, in Woonsocket, RI.
And if I am not mistaken, he had a twin who died at birth or very young.
Also, I saw an interview with his GF (Ginger?) who said she got out of the shower one day and a bullet almost PHIL SPECTORED her. Guess who was shooting at the TV again?
ps I liked Elvis too, but Big Mama’s Hound dog WAS better.
While I was cooking breakfast this morning, the oldies station played “Return to Sender.” I think it should be noted that Elvis or Col. Parker had the wit to surround the King with first-rate musicians. I remember hearing Elvis’ original band on “Prairie Home Companion” years ago, and those guys could cook with gas.
minega: I agree with Diogenes. Elvis was a dynamite singer and a first-rate talent. Listen to “Cold Kentucky Rain.” It’s a hokey song, especially for the early 1970’s, but Elvis projects his voice so well he makes me believe he could be a poor, simple country boy out walking in the rain, searching for his woman.
Hamlet: Elvis didn’t become the King simply because of his skin color. There were a lot of big white acts in the 1950’s who are nearly forgotten today, or simply remembered for helping kick off rock ‘n’ roll. People remember Elvis because he had talent with a capital T. I’ve read that James Brown liked his work, and if he’s good enough for Soul Brother No. 1, he’s good enough for anybody.
gobear: I have to agree with bren. Big Mama Thornton did the definitive version of “Hound Dog,” IMO.