ON THE 90th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BITH OF ELVIS PRESLEY
How much do we know about Presley?
By Mariusz Ogieglo
Larry Geller, personal hairdresser, friend and confidant of the legendary king of rock’n’roll, confessed during our conversation that Elvis used to say: “The world knows Elvis Presley but not me .”
Today, January 8, 2025, will mark exactly the ninetieth anniversary of the birth of one of the most important singers of all time. Hailed by journalists around the world as the king of rock’n’roll and, in time, the artist of the twentieth century.
The music and the person of the King of Memphis continue to fascinate. His artistic achievements are admired by subsequent generations of fans. And most importantly (and what I personally experienced during Saturday’s meeting in Krakow) is that he also has a growing number of very young admirers. I was very happy to meet very attractive young girls dressed in beautiful 1950s-style dresses with clearly displayed accessories or pieces of jewelry with the name of our idol proudly displayed, or guys dressed in colorful 1970s-style shirts (similar to those worn by Elvis in the movie “That’s How It Is”) and hear how delighted they were talking about the famous singer (and watching them having fun to the rhythm of his hits). They were at an age when, like their peers, they could go on dates, meet friends or stand in line to buy a ticket for a concert of Taylor Swift or another contemporary superstar. And yet, they chose Elvis!
90 years later…
And while on the one hand we are very happy about the increasing number of young people joining the ranks of Elvis fan clubs, not only in Poland but also abroad, on the other hand it makes us think. It makes us wonder what image of Elvis Presley, especially in our country, is known to people who are just starting their adventure with his music?
Unfortunately, we live in a time when the pursuit of cheap sensations, nonsense and clicks has almost completely replaced professional journalism (although, of course, fortunately for us, it is still defended with hands and feet and we can still count on noteworthy facts) (articles or radio broadcasts), so unfortunately one cannot count on reliable texts about Elvis. It is definitely easier to click on those about “dropped pants”, “drug excesses” or “wife abuse”. And the fact that there is not a shred of truth in them is irrelevant, because in the end “the money is worth it anyway”.
So perhaps the ninetieth anniversary of Elvis Presley’s birth is a good time to remember, at least in a few words (and at least in this place), who Elvis Presley was and what he meant to the world. Not just the world of entertainment.
Last year, the world celebrated another anniversary (unfortunately important, another one that is largely ignored in our country). Namely, seventy years since Presley recorded the song “That’s All Right (Mama)”. The song with which Elvis started not only a new genre of music – rock’n’roll, but also a song that started an entire socio-cultural revolution.
A revolution that encompassed every aspect of life and whose effects we still feel today! “(Elvis, author’s note) He changed the world we live in ,” his bodyguard, Sam Thompson, told me. “Not just the music, but the way we thought, the clothes we started buying, the things we thought about .”
In the fifties, and especially after 1956, when Elvis achieved nationwide success with the single “Heartbreak Hotel,” there was probably not a boy in the United States who did not want to look like Elvis. Teenage fans would comb their hair like him, grow sideburns, and even try to copy his then-controversial style of dressing.
In turn, girls, to the chagrin of their parents, proudly manifested their love for their idol in various ways. Sometimes by wearing jewelry with his image, sometimes by dressing up in dresses with his name on them, or by pinning brooches with the words “I love Elvis” to their blouses, or finally by looking at themselves in a mirror with Presley’s photo on the back.
After all, the memorabilia industry itself has also become an indispensable part of the Elvis phenomenon and the revolution he started.
In the 1950s, Presley became the first youth idol (the concept of pop music did not really exist before he appeared on the scene) whose popularity was unmatched by any contemporary artist. The demand for everything related to him – literally everything – was so huge that his manager, Colonel Parker, directed thousands of products bearing his name, surname, image or picture onto the market. The aforementioned mirrors sold as well as lunch boxes, combs, board games, lipsticks, stuffed animals and love buttons (although, because of the controversy he stirred up, those with the words “I hate Elvis” also sold well).
Presleymania first swept the US and then spread around the world. “We’d never heard American voices like that before ,”John Lennon admitted when he first heard “Heartbreak Hotel.” “Everybody up until then sang like Sinatra and spoke very well. Suddenly, there’s an echo on the tape and all this blues stuff happens .”
Presley’s recordings stormed the charts. In the 1950s, it often happened that one hit would give way to another. Television producer Jack Good once aptly observed that “the charts are nothing more than a multi-part series starring Elvis Presley .”
Records with his songs were sold in unprecedented numbers. What’s more, there were even phenomena completely alien to the publishing market of the time. The song “Love Me Tender” – the title track from his first film – received a million orders before RCA Victor managed to release it at all (a few years later, a similar situation occurred with the single “Stuck On You”)!
Elvis was changing the whole music scene at the time. “Elvis was one of the first singers to introduce the rock revolution (the Beatles were the second) and to cause the Brill Building songwriters to leave the company ,” Phillip Springer, who wrote the ballad “Never Ending” for Elvis, told me a few years ago. “For two reasons. The first was that the audience (buyers) for songs were now teenagers – kids. The second was that nobody wrote songs for piano anymore. All the young writers wrote their songs for guitar.
I thought it was a tragedy for the music business because the kind of music he (Elvis, author’s note) played was the complete opposite of what the old composers and publishers were doing .”
He inspired subsequent generations of musicians. Singers and bands. “Without Elvis there would be no Beatles ,” John Lennon said in an interview.
Presley changed literally everything. Because of his outrageous way of moving, he was the first artist whose performance was censored on television (the famous “Ed Sullivan Show”, where he was shown only from the waist up). The first whose concerts caused mass hysteria. But also the first whose performances were enjoyed by White and Black youth. “Before anyone did anything, Elvis already did it .”
The unprecedented events surrounding the premiere of his first film (the safety of the crowds gathered in front of the cinema had to be ensured by several hundred specially engaged police officers), the western “Love Me Tender”, as well as its commercial success (its production costs were recouped within a week) meant that serious Hollywood producers began to invest in youth cinema and the teenage audience.
Elvis himself, who appeared in thirty-one films during his career (from 1956 to 1969), mostly romantic comedies filled to the brim with songs (which RCA released on its own records and sold in thousands of copies), became one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood in the 1960s. “If someone had told me that (Elvis, author’s note) had never taken acting lessons or that he had never been in front of a camera before, I wouldn’t have believed it ,” his screen partner Debra Paget assured in a 1957 interview. “His acting was convincing. He always knew his lines. He was also masterful at purely technical aspects, such as stepping in and out of camera range, and many other tricks that would normally take months or even years to master. But he was very modest about it all. He was almost the only person who didn’t think he was doing anything right .”
And even if Elvis’ career slowed down a bit in the sixties – the singer almost completely gave up performing in front of the public and the soundtracks of his next films were now mainly released, in December 1968 it exploded again thanks to a television program produced by NBC. Directed by Steve Binder, the show “ELVIS” (better known as the “NBC TV Comeback Special”) turned out to be the most watched television program of the entire year! In turn, the ballad sung at the end, “If I Can Dream” – the first protest song in Presley’s career, the first song in many years to soar to the top of the charts (twelfth place on the Billboard Hot 100). “I will never sing another song that I don’t believe in “, declared Elvis at the time. “I will never play in any movie that I don’t believe in “.
After appearing in the film “Change Of Habit”, Elvis said goodbye to acting forever and returned to recording albums. This time, songs referring to the musical genres that shaped his entire musical personality and influenced his entire career. Country, blues and gospel (for the latter he received three Grammy Awards). A recording session organized in early 1969 brought a whole range of new hits – “Kentucky Rain”, “Don’t Cry Daddy” or “In The Ghetto” and “Suspicious Minds”, which soon became the decoration and favorite part of his concerts.
Elvis returned to the stage in July 1969, and his first concert at the International Hotel in Las Vegas became a national event. “The opening night was incredible because Elvis had so much to prove. We all gave it our all ,” drummer Ronnie Tutt told me.
The International Hotel soon became a pilgrimage site for fans from all over the world. Fans traveled to the U.S. from England, Belgium, France and even Japan just to see their idol on stage (or, if they were lucky, meet him backstage). “Some fans traveling to the States saw sixty or seventy of his concerts each year since 1972. Amazing! ” Todd Slaughter of Presley’s British fan club told us during our interview.
Elvis continued to perform until June 26, 1977, giving a total of 1,146 sold-out shows. The highlight of this phase of his career was his performance in Hawaii on January 14, 1973, the first ever satellite broadcast. “Aloha From Hawaii” was watched by more than a billion people worldwide. “I think we were all more excited and excited for that show than any other we’d ever done ,” Donnie Sumner of the Stamps said during our interview. “Not because it was in Hawaii, but because it was the first satellite broadcast. Elvis was making history. We’re grateful to be a part of it .”
Despite his spectacular successes and his dizzying career, Elvis remained a normal person. With a great sense of humor, well-read, intelligent, sensitive, caring for others – both his family members and his colleagues. “I think one of the reasons we still remember Elvis and will never forget him is simply because of who he was. He was a person who had nothing and rose to the top but never forgot how he got there. He was always willing to help others, even those he didn’t know ,” his security chief, Dick Grob, told me. “Any toy or stuffed animal he got on stage would go back to Graceland and spend some time in the Trophy Room. At Christmas and on other special occasions, he would visit hospitals and give presents to children there. If someone was injured during a show, Elvis always wanted to know what kind of injury it was and how it happened .”
And although what I have included in this text is only a microscopic part of what can be written and said about Elvis Presley and his artistic achievements, it still makes him the most fascinating figure in the history of American (and world) entertainment, who will continue to delight and inspire for a long time to come.
Happy Birthday Elvis!
Information provided by Mariusz Ogieglo EP Promised Land (Poland)https://www-elvispromisedland-pl
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