A friend of mine said that I should be writing about how Elvis became who he is today. And six weeks later, here I am writing this small piece on the bits of Elvis that I missed out on. A lot has changed over the past 6 weeks, as I listen to the music of the 60s, them legends like The Beatles, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Rolling Stones, the folksy Kingston Trio, the Kinks, the Who, the Yardbirds, the Lovin' Spoonful and the Byrds, Elvis seems a little further back musically, doesn't he?
He doesn't seem to match up musically or technically to the other bands, nor does have major concept albums based on a sexy sadie, or a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar or girls surfing on a beach. No LSD. No Acid Trip. No Avalon Ballroom. No bacon being cooked on stage. So, why does he stand so tall among his illustrious peers?
Sometimes, keeping it simple is all it takes.
When one thinks of the late 60s and the early 70s, all the psychedelia led to all kinds of rock forms appearing from Progressive Rock to Theatrical Rock. Amidst all this chaos and Alice Cooper dying every time on stage, there was an old school star singing good ol' rockabilly, rock'n'roll and gospel. And that was Elvis. Sometimes, good clean music on the ear is a source of joy that is quite underrated.
He was a machine, a hard-worker and he kept churning out album after album.
Elvis, after his successful 1968 TV appearances, went on a spree of making album after album, be it in gospel, rockabilly or country rock. He had 9 albums, including compilations and live albums between 1969 and 1975. He worked extremely hard on tour as well, taking on a ton of shows and performing live across the country. He may not have put on his best musically, or mentally, but the sheer volume of it all just begs for some respect.
Has Elvis left the building?
Elvis' death in 1977 was due to a chronic abbaration, a heart attack or more recently, a theory says chronic constipation. Other sightings say otherwise. There's also the Lloyds of London insurance conspiracy, but all in all, this conspiracy just kept the legend alive, and we've had impersonators all the around the world keeping Elvis' flame alive.
So, what of Elvis after 1968? Let's just say, he walked into the Hall of Fame, and into the hearts and souls of music lovers.
Viva, vivaaaa, Las Vegaaaaaassssssssssss..........
He doesn't seem to match up musically or technically to the other bands, nor does have major concept albums based on a sexy sadie, or a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar or girls surfing on a beach. No LSD. No Acid Trip. No Avalon Ballroom. No bacon being cooked on stage. So, why does he stand so tall among his illustrious peers?
Sometimes, keeping it simple is all it takes.
When one thinks of the late 60s and the early 70s, all the psychedelia led to all kinds of rock forms appearing from Progressive Rock to Theatrical Rock. Amidst all this chaos and Alice Cooper dying every time on stage, there was an old school star singing good ol' rockabilly, rock'n'roll and gospel. And that was Elvis. Sometimes, good clean music on the ear is a source of joy that is quite underrated.
He was a machine, a hard-worker and he kept churning out album after album.
Elvis, after his successful 1968 TV appearances, went on a spree of making album after album, be it in gospel, rockabilly or country rock. He had 9 albums, including compilations and live albums between 1969 and 1975. He worked extremely hard on tour as well, taking on a ton of shows and performing live across the country. He may not have put on his best musically, or mentally, but the sheer volume of it all just begs for some respect.
Has Elvis left the building?
Elvis' death in 1977 was due to a chronic abbaration, a heart attack or more recently, a theory says chronic constipation. Other sightings say otherwise. There's also the Lloyds of London insurance conspiracy, but all in all, this conspiracy just kept the legend alive, and we've had impersonators all the around the world keeping Elvis' flame alive.
So, what of Elvis after 1968? Let's just say, he walked into the Hall of Fame, and into the hearts and souls of music lovers.
Viva, vivaaaa, Las Vegaaaaaassssssssssss..........
How about chronic abuse of medication - willingly? If you look at the number one singles chart, there is much more from the 50's and early 60's than from the more prolific 70's...still if you see it as a "may not have put on his best musically", then you are being quite gracious about it.
ReplyDeleteHe is one of the greats no doubt, quite enjoyable to listen to, but I feel that he got lucky. In the sense, that even if there were others as good musically, he was "the man who brought overt blatant vulgar sexual frenzy to the popular arts in America." The fact that America received that part of the act well meant that he got more opportunities than others. Such is life.
The only justification that I have for the medication bit is that he never partook in recreational drugs. He felt that if he was being prescribed something by a doctor, he would not be sick. There is a difference between wanting to get high and wanting to get well, and Elvis, well toes that line.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the sexual frenzy that you speak of was barely anything compared to what we see today in the name of music. I've watched his Milton Berle performance and poof, it was barely anything that kids don't see today. And there were others who indulged in deep sexual lyrics before his time. So, the market for sexual frenzy always existed.
His best albums remain good ol' Rockabilly and Gospel music. Whatever I've seen of him and heard about him make him seem like a genuine person to me, and in today's world of money and politics, a genuine musician wouldn't go amiss. :)