# How Big Was Elvis? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166 "2003-03-30T04:40:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sandalwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@sandalwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandalwood)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/1 "2003-03-30T04:40:48Z")
Costello that is… I’ve been listening to his Greatest Hits album and was just wondering when he became popular? In the 70’s or 80’s? And what was he known for? There’s just about everything in it from pop to rock, reggae and some soft punk (?). I get the impression that he’s more of a musician’s musician. Also, since I’ve been enjoying his greatest hits can anyone recommend an album? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/91b2a8/32.png) [@Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_of_Sandwhich)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/2 "2003-03-30T04:57:31Z")
“Painted From Memory,” with Burt Bacharach, is excellent. ---
**Author:** ![Philosophocles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Philosophocles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philosophocles)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/3 "2003-03-30T06:01:48Z")
One of the big events early in his career was an appearance on Saturday Night Live where he sang a song that the producers had asked him not to sing, and there was some sort of controversy. Not exactly the Doors and Ed Sullivan, but he didn’t get invited back to SNL until the late 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/4 "2003-03-30T06:21:06Z")
I’m old enough to have bought Costello’s first album back when it was 1. his only album and 2. an actual album (back in my day we didn’t cotton to them dad-blasted cd’s. we listened to vinyl and we liked it … up until the first skip or scratch) Where was I? Oh yes, _My Aim is True_ was not an overwhelming best seller when it was released in 1977 but it received a lot of critical acclaim and became an enduring cult classic. Ironically, the first exposure many people had to Costello’s music was the Linda Ronstadt cover version of “Alison”. On a personal note, I’ve bought this album four times. The first was the above mentioned vinyl LP; then I bought the CD when I converted to that format; then the special edition CD with bonus songs, and most recently the 2 disc deluxe edition. I’m sure as we speak some executive is putting together a _My Aim is True_ box set in the ongoing quest to test the depths of my susceptabilty to marketing gimmicks. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/5 "2003-03-30T09:11:25Z")
Costello has never been big on the American hit charts. Only two of his singles, “Everyday I Write the Book” in 1983 and “Veronica” in 1989, have made _Billboard_’s Top 40, tho neither cracked the top ten. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/6 "2003-03-30T11:52:57Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by Little Nemo_ > 2) an actual album (back in my day we didn’t cotton to them dad-blasted cd’s. we listened to vinyl and we liked it … up until the first skip or scratch) A CD is an album. What you bought was a vinyl album. You later bought a CD album. An album is a collection of songs, not a format. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/7 "2003-03-30T12:06:32Z")
Èlvis Costello has always been excellent… my all time favorite is Miracle Man, but he is, and always has been, ‘eclectic’ in his musical styles, sometimes going too way off the beaten track even for my tastes. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/8 "2003-03-30T12:14:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Philosophocles \* > \*\*One of the big events early in his career was an appearance on Saturday Night Live where he sang a song that the producers had asked him not to sing, and there was some sort of controversy. Not exactly the Doors and Ed Sullivan, but he didn’t get invited back to SNL until the late 80s. \*\* The controversy was that the Sex Pistols were billed as the band up until the opening of the show. I forget what song Elvis played. ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/9 "2003-03-30T12:27:57Z")
I was at one of the shows he played on a tour in the late 70s where he ticked a lot of people off. The show was in Berkeley, California. His band played for **20 minutes**. That was it. The band never took the stage again, and they played white noise in the theater to get people out. We felt cheated and taken advantage of. (But hey, the opening act was The Rubinoos!) ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/10 "2003-03-30T14:42:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Philosophocles \* > \*\*he didn’t get invited back to SNL until the late 80s. \*\* Ah, so his corpse performed? That must have gotten BIG ratings. ---
**Author:** ![Ave\_Minerva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@Ave\_Minerva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ave_Minerva)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/11 "2003-03-30T15:32:44Z")
Re: the Saturday Night Live performance. Elvis started playing “Less Than Zero”, then after a about half a verse he started waving his hands around and the Attractions ground to a halt. He then said something, and I can’t remeber what it was, and went into “Radio Radio”. Apparently Lorne was not pleased. And yes, the Sex Pistols had been announced as the musical guest the week before. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/12 "2003-03-30T16:18:59Z")
gex gex: As you can see in the last paragraph of my previous post, I am aware that an album can refer to either the vinyl or CD version. However, I feel the term “vinyl album” is a retronym and the term album usually assumes the meaning of being vinyl unless indicated otherwise by context. Ave Minerva: As you wrote, Costello did play “Radio Radio”. Michaels was annoyed for two reasons. First was because Michaels is surprisingly opposed to spontanuity; second was because the song “Radio Radio” could be considered as a reference to NBC’s parent corporation RCA. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/13 "2003-03-30T16:29:41Z")
To answer the question in the OP, I’d like to put in a recommendation for [Armed Forces.](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=11:30:29%7CAM&sql=Ayzadqj3bojaa) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/14 "2003-03-30T16:34:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mobo85 \* > \*\*Ah, so his corpse performed? That must have gotten BIG ratings. \*\* 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/15 "2003-03-30T16:53:58Z")
The “joke” is that Elvis was over 80 years old, when of course this was not what was intended. Big yucks. ---
**Author:** ![Elvis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@Elvis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elvis)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/16 "2003-03-30T17:02:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by twickster47 \* > \*\*To answer the question in the OP, I’d like to put in a recommendation for [Armed Forces.](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=11:30:29%7CAM&sql=Ayzadqj3bojaa) \*\* Concur on that one. I recommend _Armed Forces_, _This Year’s Model_, and _Imperial Bedroom_. There are others with great stuff, but these are probably the most consistently excellent. If you get a chance to see him live, be sure to take the opportunity. I have seen two radicaly different Elvis shows (one acoustic and solo, the other with a band) and both were spectacular. And no, I am not named after him. I’m named after the first Elvis. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/17 "2003-03-30T19:04:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Happy Lendervedder \* > \*\*😕 \*\* I misread and thought they meant the other one. Elvis Presley’s corspe singing _would_ bring in big ratings, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/18 "2003-03-30T20:59:14Z")
Armed forces is playable. Better than his 80s stuff. But I like, as was mentioned, TYM and Imperial Bedroom far far far better, as well as Brutal Youth and When I was Cruel. But Armed Forces is a good addition to a collection. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/19 "2003-03-30T21:56:53Z")
When MAIT was released, there was some very nice review articles of it. Some popular press articles that seemed to focus on his name more than his music. Bought the vinyl of course. Was a fan for a while. He never really became “big” in a string of #1 hits way. Didn’t get a lot of MTV airplay until AF and only then 2nd tier play. “Everyday I write the book.” got decent play. “Veronica” even more. If you want to appreciate his music do **not** listen to his Bacharach covers. You will lose all respect for the guy instantly. (He also did a really good job subbing for Letterman.) ---
**Author:** ![sandalwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@sandalwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandalwood)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-was-elvis/165166/20 "2003-03-31T07:36:09Z")
So far my favorites are Chelsea and Radio, Radio. I’m getting a bit Elvis obsessed. Thanks for all your suggestions I’m going to look into getting MAIT and Armed Forces, then promptly go out to buy some Elvis glasses. Unfortunately, I did miss him on David Lettermen, though I heard he was great and flirted with the guests.