It was sexual, yes, and thus disturbing to the more placid and puritanical observers, but it was inescapably religious too, in the sense that religion evokes realities ordinarily hidden from the human eye. Here, on a covered stage in a park in western Tennessee, a white man was drawing on the deep tradition of African-American blues. In the popular mind, a fresh genre—a different epoch—was emerging.
That was not strictly true. Presley was a vehicle—cultural critics would say he was basically a mimic, or even a thief—of the black musical and spiritual experiences of his native Mississippi. Phillips, the maestro of Sun Records who recorded artists such as B.
Chuck Berry and Little Richard would be early breakout stars across the color line, but Phillips believed that would not be enough to integrate the cultural and commercial markets. My daddy and I were laughing about it the other day.
Presley emerged at the moment the machinery of post—World War II mass culture began to hum. The world was on the move; old barriers were under siege; new possibilities were opening up.
It was the age of the GI Bill and Brown v. Board of Education, suburbs and television, interstate highways and fast food. Families whose forebears had struggled on the fringes of farming and of debilitating manufacturing work suddenly had more money and more things, ranging from TVs to washing machines than they could have imagined two decades before, in the depths of an economic crash that seemed to go on forever.
It was called the Dark Ages, and it lasted years. Teenagers were able to consume the product that Presley was offering. A key element of that product: overt sexuality. Presley was something much different. Beyond his husky, unique voice, the artist, with his gyrating hips and hooded eyes, seemed to embody desire more than any other popular male performer of his time.
Edgar Hoover—described a La Crosse, Wis. A white man singing traditionally black music; a young performer with sexual heat; a Southern kid going national: little wonder Presley struck so many as so refreshing in the mids.
His second turn on the show was also a blockbuster, and by the time Presley sang for Sullivan on a third occasion—when CBS directed the cameras to show Presley only from the waist up—the buttoned-down host had been won over. Religiosity also helped Presley win broader acceptance.
As with so many Southern men, he could seem equally at home in church as he did in juke joints. Americans are familiar with the type: we had one for President for two terms at the close of the 20th century. Presley was a model compartmentalizer, creating music that celebrated a freer attitude toward sex while simultaneously releasing gospel tracks. As has often been remarked of charismatic figures such as the fictional James Bond and the real-life Presley, women wanted to be with him; men just wanted to be him.
Presley took that potent formula for success to Hollywood as soon as he could. Kennedy; and, in November, the election of Richard Nixon. I made sure to get my picture with the plaque boasting to that effect, before braving my fear of roller coasters with my friend Elizabeth to give it a go. I was playing darts and drinking beer with my American family, and when the song started playing I took a special joy in seeing my best mate Anne-Marie singing along.
I tend to pick which of his songs to listen to on the basis of my mood at the time. Following up that last point, Elvis is in 23 Halls of Fame for his musical achievements. Elvis served as a huge inspiration for so many successful music artists. I was so pleased when playing Fallout: New Vegas that there was a street gang of Elvis impersonators.
Fun fact: Charles Manson had a plot to assassinate Elvis Presley and even showed up at one of his Hollywood residences, looking deranged and suspicious. Fortunately, Elvis employed all his high school buddies as his personal bodyguards, the Memphis Mafia, and they told Manson to get lost.
One of my favorite things about Elvis was his generosity. There are so many stories of Elvis giving expensive gifts to complete strangers, such as cars and houses, a job if he could hire them, a wheelchair if they needed it, and every year he gave huge donations to charities, hospitals and schools.
He made mistakes and lost his temper, and he really would have disliked the Christlike image in which some people regard him. My brother loves Frank Sinatra, and in the great singer hosted Elvis on his television show in a special episode welcoming him home from the army. Previously, Sinatra had regarded Elvis and the rock and roll movement with disdain, thinking that they were just a bunch of crude reprobates.
However, after meeting Elvis he came to admire him very much, after seeing that the rebel image Elvis had was just that- an image, a marketing tool. Privately, Elvis was a very humble, polite person who deeply loved his mother- traits that won Sinatra over. Elvis was a huge football fan, a fact that makes my heart happy.
He loved to both play and watch the game, and was a complete nerd when it came to the sport. He loved being tested on football trivia and knowing the names and numbers of all the players. However, his favorite team was actually The Cleveland Browns, who just this season finished Otto Graham was an ice-cold badass, the most winningest quarterback in NFL history, who won Cleveland the championship game by throwing for 3 touchdowns and rushing for 3 more, not long after Elvis got back from the Louisiana Hayride.
This talk of football and music brings to mind the inherent zealotry of fandom. My approach to music- and life in general- can best be described as live and let live.
That said, I can get quite defensive if someone comes up to me and slanders his name- much in the way I can get heated when people insult Aaron Rodgers. Share this: Twitter Facebook. Like this: Like Loading Published by Michael J. A Salvatore. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:. Email required Address never made public.
Name required. Follow Following. TumbleweedWrites Join other followers. He would put a new twist on songs with slower tempos and did such a great job of it that people assumed he was the original artist. He cultivated it. To make his hair black, he would use shoe polish to cover his sandy-colored tresses.
He believed that this new raven-colored look made him appear edgier on and off the stage. In fact, he was so irritated by them that he threatened to have the star arrested.
He warned Elvis that he would be walking out of his next show in cuffs if he did not tone his act down. It seems that when Elvis is brought up in a conversation, the name Priscilla immediately follows. Like Harry and Sally, Elvis and Priscilla are two names that will forever be intertwined. However, their relationship would be quite scandalous in today world, as Priscilla was very young. Priscilla was only 14 when she met Elvis, who was 24 at the time.
I learned so much about him and was with him so much that I thought the way he did. Priscilla was the only lucky lady to ever tie the knot with the star. He had gained respect from his haters after serving time in the war, and people began approving of this swell young man named Elvis. He was a young man with hobbies that enjoyed serving his country, just like everyone else!
While in the army, Elvis became very interested in karate and studied the fighting style of Chito-Ryu under Hank Slemansky. He would use his karate skills on stage, and he received his black belt in When rolled around, Elvis was almost unrecognizable thanks to his new look.
The King had a soft spot for fried foods, and it took up a hefty percentage of his diet. One of his favorites? It said that at one point he went up on stage, and his band didn't even recognize him. Yes, Elvis almost loaned his deep vocals to the hit musical West Side Story. Director Robert Wise offered him the lead role, and it was close to becoming a reality.
Elvis was indeed interested in doing the film, but halted when his manager, Colonel Parker , worried that this might not be the right film for the star.
The legendary mansion is on a It is now one of the most prominent landmarks in the country. It opened to the public in and is ranked the second most visited home in the USA. As for the name, Graceland was initially part of a acre farm that was owned by the S.
Toof family. The family had owned the land for decades and named after one of the female relatives named, you guessed it, Grace. Life in the spotlight was not easy for the A-list couple. In , Elvis had an affair with Joyce Bova , which ended in an unwanted pregnancy and abortion.
In a shocking twist, Priscilla later revealed she had an ongoing fling with Mike Stone … a karate instructor who Elvis recommended she see. Only a few years after their marriage, the two divorced. I just kind of followed what he did He was the love of my life, truly… If anything, I left because-and I still loved him-I needed to find out what the world was like. It is believed that Elvis tried to model his look after his beloved superhero. In fact, his collection of comics can still be found in the attic of Graceland.
There is quite a similarity between Elvis and the fictionalized teen. Many fans believe that he borrowed Captain Marvel Jr. Priscilla admitted to British show Loose Women that, during the entirety of their relationship, Elvis never saw her without makeup.
She said:. I always had a little bit of makeup. He never wanted to see me getting dressed; he wanted to see the end result. She also confessed that Elvis had complete control over everything, including the clothes she wore. He would even attend shopping trips with his wife. Priscilla often compared her life with The King to living in a bubble. There were plenty of rumors that involved Elvis with other A-listers, but one of the biggest?
Cher began seeing Elvis in-between her marriages to Sonny Bono and Gregg Allman , insisting it was nothing but a fling. Despite dating, the famous pair never actually got down and dirty. In fact, Cher straight up stood him up. One night, Elvis asked her to his room, and she rejected his offer. Every celebrity has some kind of quirk.
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