Love Him Tender: The King Is Back

By LEE HUDSON TESLIK

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Quick: which rock-star has the most underrated legacy? Ask this question of a musically aware college student and chances are you will hear the name of some experimental indie-rocker, some relatively obscure ’60s or ’70s figure who stretched an equally obscure musical boundary or alternatively some pioneering crossover artist.

A name you will probably not hear is Elvis Presley. How can a man be considered underrated, when he is commonly called The King? Moreover, it is not as if Elvis has vanished. His name is at least as well known today as it was at any point during his lifetime, and his image is everywhere. Ironically, the ubiquity of Elvis’ name and image are the primary cause of his underappreciation.

In memory of Elvis’ revolutionary career and powerful legacy, RCA Records is releasing a compilation album featuring Elvis’ 30 #1 hits. The album is tentatively titled Elv1s, and will be released this fall coinciding with the 25th anniversary of Elvis’ death. RCA hopes that the album will regenerate excitement about the King. “Over the next six months, you should expect to see Elvis reappear in popular culture,” says William Finkel, a publicist for RCA.

But despite the fact that his likeness is universally known, the associations it conjures up are rarely those of a serious artist. Even much of Elvis’ residual fan-base has fallen into the trap of celebrating The King as little more than a lurid joke, a historical throwback or a great excuse for an outrageous costume party. If there is one thing this caricature of a man—a man lost in his own world of sex, drugs and blue velvet—seems to have lost, it is his relevance to contemporary music and pop culture. But this couldn’t be further from the truth, whether those influenced by Elvis recognize it or not.

Forget Elvis’ unprecedented—and still historically unmatched—popularity. Forget that he has sold more records worldwide (more than a billion) than anyone else in the history of the record industry. Forget that he produced 131 gold, platinum or multi-platinum records. Forget that he was recognized by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (the Grammy award people) for achievement in every major category. Forget all measures of Elvis’ fame relative to his time. One could still write him off as a relic—a “white trash icon” now relevant only in the minds of an increasingly geriatric fanbase. Let’s focus specifically on his enduring influence.

Maybe this is best captured through the words of those who have been influenced by Elvis. This makes for an impressive list. “Elvis Presley is like the ‘Big Bang’ of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” says U2’s Bono. “You had two cultures colliding there. You had a kind of white, European culture and an African culture coming together—the rhythm of black music and the melody chord progressions of white music—just all came together in that kind of spastic dance of his. That was the moment. That’s really it. Out of all that came the Beatles and the Stones.”

The Beatles and the Stones themselves agree: “When we were kids growing up in Liverpool,” recalls Paul McCartney, “all we ever wanted to be was Elvis Presley.” “No-one, but no-one, is his equal, or ever will be,” says Mick Jagger; “He was, and is supreme.” John Lennon agreed, saying “Before Elvis there was nothing.” Such lofty praise from stars so mythical in their own right speaks for itself. And it hardly stops there.

Everywhere one turns a rock legend is humbly crediting their musical birth and inspiration to Elvis’ music. Bob Dylan: “When I first heard Elvis’ voice I just knew that I wasn’t going to work for anybody and nobody was going to be my boss…Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail.” Jim Morrison: “Elvis is the best ever, the most original. He started the ball rolling for us all.” Chuck Berry: “He was the greatest who ever was, is or ever will be.” Elton John: “If it hadn’t been for Elvis, I don’t know were popular music would be. He was the one that started it all off, and he was definitely the start of it for me.” Bruce Springsteen: “Elvis is my religion. But for him, I’d be selling encyclopedias right now.”

But for space, this list would go on almost indefinitely. Little Richard, Jon Bon Jovi, Frank Sinatra, Garth Brooks, Cher, Leonard Bernstein, Rod Stewart and Robbie Williams have all sung The King’s high praises. Apparently even Britney Spears has been moved: “I think Elvis is the sexiest man to ever walk the earth. I love him.”

At the risk of derailing this love-fest, it is important to recognize that Elvis himself was in large part responsible for his fall from rebellious icon to an under-appreciated caricature. John Lennon once said that “Elvis died the day he went into the army.” Perhaps it would be more precise to say “Elvis died the day he went mainstream.” As money poured in from all directions, Elvis’ “negro singing” and hip-gyrations became safe. No longer perceived as the “devil in disguise,” he was readily accepted into middle-class households. And with his enlistment, Elvis became a patriotic and admirable figure. He gained acceptance, but lost his subversive edge.

Elvis’ film career did not help matters. Though profitable, his roles were always thoroughly digestible for a conservative public. More often than not they portrayed him as a rebellious figure eventually tamed by his love for a beautiful girl. Elvis was becoming little more than a syrupy teen idol. It was as if Sid Vicious had become David Cassidy. The record and film industries shamelessly exploited his bad-boy image and Elvis passively held on for the ride.

Yet despite all these short-comings, the King’s musical and cultural legacy live on. Elvis opened up the music scene to sex. He set the standard for Rock ‘n’ Roll to challenge authority and social limitations. He redefined the boundaries of music and pop culture.

In memory of Elvis’ revolutionary career and powerful legacy, RCA Records is releasing a compilation album featuring Elvis’ 30 #1 hits. The album is provisionally titled Elv1s, and will be released this fall coinciding with the 25th anniversary of Elvis’ death. RCA hopes that the album will regenerate excitement about the King. “Over the next six months, you should expect to see Elvis reappear in popular culture,” says William Finkel, a publicist for RCA.

The album’s reception could provide a startling measure of the extent to which arguably the most influential artist in the history of rock has been forgotten or misunderstood by younger generations. Alternatively, it could serve to revitalize images of the young, revolutionary King in the minds of a generation which has been fed little more than regurgitated clichés. Either way, it will speak volumes about the power of the media controlling the image of a man whose music deserves to be remembered, irrespective of the commercial hype it has generated.