Elvis Remembered

Sunday, August 16, will mark the 32nd anniversary of the passing of
rock and roll’s greatest icon - The King – Elvis Presley. Throughout the world, fans gather to celebrate the life and music of the legendary performer.

Thousands of fans make the pilgrimage each year at this time to see Elvis’ former Graceland home in Memphis, Tennessee and join in the annual Elvis Week celebrations.

Others prefer to remember Elvis in more personal ways.

I was a bit too young to appreciate Elvis’ talents when he was at his creative and popular peak in the 50’s and 60’s. When my interest in music began, Elvis was still huge, but the Beatles had become the dominating force on the pop music scene.

Elvis had long since moved away from Sam Phillips and Sun Records to RCA. By this point, he had returned from the army and gone to Hollywood. Colonel Tom Parker had him focused mostly on making movies. He still put out some great records, but a lot of the music he did for his films were filler. Many of the songs tended to be overproduced and lacked much of the raw power of his early records.

As a kid growing up during the height of Beatlemania, Elvis seemed a bit out of step.
Of course, Elvis always went his own way rather than follow the trends of others, but I was too young to appreciate that fact at the time.

But I enjoyed seeing his movies and became more interested in his music when I noticed how many of my British Invasion idols seem to credit Elvis as being one of their main inspirations.

Most of my experience with Elvis’ music had been through the movie soundtracks, heavily orchestrated 60’s pop hits and played to death “oldies” like Don’t Be Cruel and Hound Dog.

Remember, in the 60’s there was no Internet, YouTube, iTunes, VHS, DVDs, MTV or even cable TV available to access an artist’s back catalogue.

But my interest in Elvis gradually began to pique as I listened more carefully to music from his early roots: blues, country, r&b, gospel, and rockabilly. Listening to early Sun records like That’s All Right Mama, Good Rockin’ Tonight, Blue Moon of Kentucky and Mystery Train gave me a much fuller realization of the man’s power, innovativeness, growth and versatility as a performer. I no longer tuned out when one of Elvis’ played to death “oldies” came on the radio. I started to appreciate them for the talent and craftsmanship that went into the songs – as pieces of music history.

The real turning point for me, was watching Elvis’ 1968 Comeback Special, particularly the first half which featured Elvis jamming with his old bandmates from the Sun Record days. Elvis looked great, sounded great and clearly was having a ball. It was at that point, that I finally “got” what Sam Phillips and all the longtime Elvis fans had already known for years.

Watching Elvis belt out Lawdy Miss Clawdy sent chills down my spine. This wasn’t Elvis the actor going through the motions in some B movie role. This was Elvis the performer doing something he loved, putting heart and soul into his performance. This was the Elvis that people saw back in the 50’s. This was the Elvis that took the world by storm, and reshaped musical history.

Elvis shone that day.

I also came to gradually understand Elvis’ human side as opposed to Elvis the movie star or Elvis: The King of Rock and Roll and learned a great deal from studying the man’s experiences in the entertainment industry and his life in general – the good and the bad.

It often happens that people don’t really appreciate an artist’s greatness and impact until after they are gone. I recently had that sad experience when the hugely talented and innovative musician/inventor Les Paul died.

I’m grateful that I came to value Elvis’s remarkable talents before his untimely passing

Thank you Elvis for the great songs, the great movies, the great performances and for the incalculable contribution you’ve made in shaping the music that I’ve come to love.

You’ll always be a part of me.

Rob Rheubottom