Why Elvis?

With the publication of my new book, Channeling Elvis: How Television Saved the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll (http://tinyurl.com/mhyaouz), I find myself reflecting on the unique place he holds in American musical history.  As his 80^th birthday (January 8, 2015) approaches, we might recall that Presley lit the spark that ignited the rock and roll revolution and he is as iconic as any twentieth century entertainer. Elvis’ legion of fans seems to grow with the generations, incorporating thousands born long after his death, and shows no sign of diminishing.  It is a fair guess that Elvis is probably more popular throughout the world today than he was in his lifetime – and he was incredibly popular. 

 

I was there when Elvis first appeared on the national scene in 1956 and have been a fan ever since. Although he didn't really "invent" rock & roll, as some have claimed, he was quickly identified with the new music and became its symbol.  In rock’s formative years, when anyone used the phrase "rock & roll," the image they identified with it was Elvis Presley’s. Within months of his first TV appearance, he turned the bland 1940s pop music of big band crooners on its ear and really shook things up – permanently.

While there was plenty of pulp vitriol aimed at him and his music, the media could not ignore him and, once he began appearing on national television, he was constantly in the spotlight. Everything he did became a precedent for rock performers and every rock star since then owes something to Elvis. Ed Sullivan ducked Elvis for most of 1956 and refused to book him on his highly rated weekly TV show, which routinely featured the biggest names in show business.  When he finally gave in to the Presley tidal wave, he booked him for three shows for the highest fee he’d ever paid anyone, far more that he later paid the Beatles for an equal number of appearances.  His debut on Sullivan’s show was a the most anticipated TV event of the year and scored record-setting ratings.  After that, Sullivan eagerly booked every big rock act that came along, and those performers eagerly the path to his stage that Elvis had blazed. 

Every member of the Beatles acknowledged that their musical interests changed after they saw and heard Elvis. John Lennon once said "Before Elvis, there was nothing" and, when the Beatles actually met Elvis, Lennon told the King that, if it weren't for him there could have been no Beatles.

Elvis also was a fountain that distilled all forms of American music - gospel, country & western, R&B, and pop. He immersed himself in all forms of music and it came out of him in a new hybrid, uniquely American form. When he said "I don't sound like nobody," he wasn't kidding. Someone like that does not come along often or have the kind of long-term impact that Elvis did. He also formed a truly unique bond with his audience that I don't think any other entertainer has ever matched. That bond is very difficult to explain or even describe, but it's still there, long after the King left the building for the last time.

I once made a similar effort to explain what made the Beatles so unique, which you can read here (http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.net/wiener.htm), but we should not forget the debt that music owes to Elvis. ‪

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