I am going to repeat myself below, so feel free to just skip to the 4th or 5th paragraph. That's if you actually read any of this in the first place.
It was forty years ago today that the man who is still referred to as "The King" died. I know exactly where I was when I heard the news, I was in my grandfather's house at 100 Douglas Street, Airdrie. My memory of this event has nothing to do with an early love of the vocal talents of Elvis Aaron Presley but more to do with the strange reaction of some of the people round about me when they heard the news. Staying with my grandpa at the time were my dad's American cousin and his girlfriend, who were from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, over on an excursion to see the old country and who the previous day had presented me with the funniest rugby ball I had ever seen, apparently it was made of pigskin and also the sweetest, sickliest sweets (candy) I had ever tasted. Anyway, you would have thought that one of their closest relatives had died the way they were going on and Jimmy's girlfriend, whose name I cannot recall but whose dazzling, shiny white teeth I can see to this day was inconsolable, I may be wrong but I think that she spent the rest of her stay grief stricken.
At the time I was ambivalent to the work of the boy from Tupelo and it took me another ten years to start to appreciate him but at this time he meant crappy films on Boxing Day/Ne'erday or Bank Holidays except for the black and white one with the song Trouble and the one about the fish, I liked that and those songs. A few years later I positively loathed the man due to my brother's obsession with GI Blues, my mother encouraging him by buying the bloody soundtrack album and for a good couple of years before he found Chris De fucking Burg, it felt like Wooden Heart was being played on a loop in our house.So when I heard that punks especially the Clash and the like had no time for Elvis I naturally got on board and happily followed suit and up until I was about 19 refused to entertain anything to do with Elvis.
One Sunday afternoon in 1988 in the pub when talking about music, one of the crowd starting waxing lyrical about Elvis, it was easy for all to see that Gilkes was serious and he wasn't a crazy rhinestone encrusted, huge belt buckle wearing guy with even huger sideboards but rather someone, who apart from his liking of the Eagles had quite good taste. I asked him to suggest where I start, so he lent me his copy of the Sun Collection, early sessions album which absolutely blew me away and then it was From Elvis in Memphis which I think is a nearly perfect album, I love the way that Elvis' voice got deeper and more soulful as he got older.
To be honest with you after those two albums, King Creole, the 68 Comeback Special, Elvis Presley and about a dozen singles I haven't delved too deeply into the back catalogue but every now and again I hear a previously a song that i have never heard before and most of the time they are brilliant. I bet that there are quite a few gems tucked in some of those crappy soundtrack albums from those terrible films that he made after coming out of the army and up until the Vegas years. I do fancy getting either a copy of the Hawaii concert or a recording of one of the Vegas performances as on some of the clips I have seen of these the orchestration is great and also if you don't look and focus on the voice, the King still had it at that time.
Anyway, the track I am going to feature to commemorate the passing of Elvis Presley is in my opinion a gem, hidden amongst the shit on one of those soundtracks. It was also released as the flip of Your Time Hasn't Come Yet Baby released in 1968 to promote the film Speedway which also featured Nancy Sinatra which to my knowledge I have never seen but can imagine, Elvis wins girl while driving, fucks up, girl bolts, Elvis wins impossible race and in doing so wins girl back and sings big song, the end.
At the time of Elvis's death That's Alright Mama had been around for less years than Fool's Gold has been today and so the next time you wax lyrical about the great tunes of the late 8os/early 90s to some kid with a bored expression think on, about how we felt when old timers were banging on about the King. and we were thinking "aye was he". Although it would appear that Elvis' repertoire has stood the test of time. We will need to see if some of our "classics" fare as well.
Elvis Presley - Let Yourself Go
10 comments:
Great tribute, Drew, even if that last paragraph was like a dagger to the heart. What an eye opener! When did we get so old?
Glad to see someone else marking this day, with very personal memories too. You're right, there are some gems on those soundtrack albums. Some absolute dross too... but even nonsense such as There's No Room To Rumba In A Sportscar makes me smile every now and then.
A terrific read Drew
Another one for JC's Had it, Lost it series?
I'd argue not... but then, I suspect I'll be arguing with JC a lot on that one!
Thanks Brian, I know it is rather alarming
CC - I'm with Rol on this one. Although I'm sure JC in the past has mentioned that he's never really listened to Elvis so it may not be a long argument Rol. I don't think that he ever really lost it. There is a recording of Elvis singing Hurt just months before his death and his voice is amazing, it's nearly a better version than Timi Yuro's.
I'm going to have agree with you here Drew, much of the music has stood the test of time. And it does look like a lot of us only came to appreciate his music many years after his death. My recollection of his death is that a boy in my year at school, whose name I still remember, who came into school with his hair dyed black and styled in a late-Elvis fashion. From then on the lad, Mike, was referred to as.......Elvis. We were so funny and clever back then.
I didn't mean I'd be arguing with JC about Elvis specifically... just that the whole Had It / Lost It feature will no doubt lead me to disagree more than agree (unless he features Sting every week).
I love Elvis. Big man in our house. But then most of the families I knew with Celtic blood, be it Irish, Welsh or Scots loved Elvis and Country back in the 70s.
Good read Drew, good work.
Enjoyed reading everyone's posts and comments today - Had a bit of a wallow in all of it actually. Interesting to note that so many of you came to Elvis late but it seems other factors were at play that perhaps weren't so important for me, being a smitten female who from a young age loved even the crappiest of his films!
I too remember exactly what I was doing on that day in '77 and realised just what a massive event his death was, despite the fact we probably all knew it was coming.
I've written about him a few times now and I keep coming back to the same thing - He "felt the music" like no other. Forget the silly jumpsuits and the falderals, just watch the man perform and you see a true genius at work.
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