Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Elvis is still in the building
I’ve reached the conclusion that Elvis was the greatest entertainer of our
time. It came to me while I was taking my Sunday night shower and listening to
an Elvis show on the radio.
“Elvis Only” is a syndicated radio show that an area station plays on Saturday mornings and Sunday nights. Usually I catch at least part of the Sunday night broadcast while I’m showering. It’s become sort of a habit, or ritual; you pick.
Now, I’m an Elvis fan from way back, but hearing his songs in weekly theme groupings, including some that previously hadn’t been released or were available only on limited recordings, has shown just how broad his range as a performer was. Plus, I try to sing along to some of the songs I know, which shows just how limited my range as a performer is.
I realize he may not have the size of audiences that turn out to see some of today’s stars, most of whom couldn’t polish Elvis’ blue suede shoes. (I know Carl Perkins recorded it originally, but Elvis made it a hit.) But he didn’t need all the digital enhancements, electronic magic and other technical wizardry they do, either. Sure, in his later years he had a band and an orchestra backing him up along with a troupe of back-up singers that set the bar for today’s acts, but when it came down to it what the people came for was to hear Elvis sing.
And maybe get close enough to the stage to catch a scarf with Elvis sweat on it.
There are lots of live recordings on “Elvis Only,” and just by the audio there’s no doubt about the high energy levels of his shows and the power of his voice. Some of the numbers hit you like a sledge hammer they’re so powerful. He could take a raucous rock ’n’ roll song or a soft, gentle ballad and sing either with an impressive intensity.
I would love to have seen Elvis in concert. Kim did once at Little Rock. Mom and Dad saw him at the DeKalb High School gym when he was starting out. One of my time-travel fantasies would be to go to the best show Elvis ever performed. They played a commercial on the show promoting one of his concerts in the ’70s and tickets were $10, $12 and $15, and that’s for an entire concert. Now, it costs $33 to see a “tribute” Elvis sing three or four songs.
I did see a lot of Elvis movies at the old State Theater in DeKalb. I remember as a youngster they were the “Elvis movies,” the cookie-cutter ones that essentially had the same plot just with different settings, different names and different starlets. I preferred the ones like “G.I. Blues,” “Blue Hawaii,” “Follow That Dream” and even “Kissin’ Cousins” (with a blonde Elvis) to the later ones. Then, as a teenager, I liked the concert and documentary-style Elvis movies. You got a feel of what it was like at a concert along with some of the behind the scenes shenanigans.
What I’ve found truly amazing about Elvis — besides being able to just use his first name and it’s instantly recognizable around the world — is he could sing a song from virtually any genre and it worked.
Rockabilly? He helped start the genre.
Rock ’n’ roll? Check.
Blues? Check. (Love hearing Elvis sing the blues.)
Country? You betcha.
Tin Pan Alley and pop? Of course, and hold his own with Frank Sinatra.
Show tunes? With the best of them.
Gospel? Like an angel. It’s amazing how much power he could put behind a song like “How Great Thou Art.”
It’s hard to think of a style Elvis couldn’t sing. Maybe hip-hop or rap, but I bet he could he at least make a respectable showing. I think he might have been able to sing heavy metal, although with that smooth voice it might have been a challenge. I bet he could even belt out an opera tune and do it justice.
Overall, though, he could sing far more styles of music, without homogenizing them, than today’s singers. I can’t think of a one today who could perform such a broad spectrum of music. Or reach such a diverse audience, from swooning teeny boppers to middle-aged ladies hoping to catch one of those Elvis-sweated scarves to grande dames enraptured by his mellow tones. And guys loved Elvis, too, in a guy kind of way. Who wouldn’t have wanted to be like Elvis, at least the side the public saw.
I wonder what Elvis would have done if people around him hadn’t tried to make him like a dancing chicken with those cookie-cutter movies and he’d been able to just devote himself to his music? I wonder what he’d have been like today at 79. Would his fame have continued growing even more as it has since his death, or would he have slowly wound down his career? Would he still be playing Las Vegas, or might he have his own Branson show? Would he still be as revered as he is now?
However things turned out, I’m just glad there’s an Elvis program that shows us how great an entertainer he was, and that gives me something to sing along with in the shower.
“Elvis Only” is a syndicated radio show that an area station plays on Saturday mornings and Sunday nights. Usually I catch at least part of the Sunday night broadcast while I’m showering. It’s become sort of a habit, or ritual; you pick.
Now, I’m an Elvis fan from way back, but hearing his songs in weekly theme groupings, including some that previously hadn’t been released or were available only on limited recordings, has shown just how broad his range as a performer was. Plus, I try to sing along to some of the songs I know, which shows just how limited my range as a performer is.
I realize he may not have the size of audiences that turn out to see some of today’s stars, most of whom couldn’t polish Elvis’ blue suede shoes. (I know Carl Perkins recorded it originally, but Elvis made it a hit.) But he didn’t need all the digital enhancements, electronic magic and other technical wizardry they do, either. Sure, in his later years he had a band and an orchestra backing him up along with a troupe of back-up singers that set the bar for today’s acts, but when it came down to it what the people came for was to hear Elvis sing.
And maybe get close enough to the stage to catch a scarf with Elvis sweat on it.
There are lots of live recordings on “Elvis Only,” and just by the audio there’s no doubt about the high energy levels of his shows and the power of his voice. Some of the numbers hit you like a sledge hammer they’re so powerful. He could take a raucous rock ’n’ roll song or a soft, gentle ballad and sing either with an impressive intensity.
I would love to have seen Elvis in concert. Kim did once at Little Rock. Mom and Dad saw him at the DeKalb High School gym when he was starting out. One of my time-travel fantasies would be to go to the best show Elvis ever performed. They played a commercial on the show promoting one of his concerts in the ’70s and tickets were $10, $12 and $15, and that’s for an entire concert. Now, it costs $33 to see a “tribute” Elvis sing three or four songs.
I did see a lot of Elvis movies at the old State Theater in DeKalb. I remember as a youngster they were the “Elvis movies,” the cookie-cutter ones that essentially had the same plot just with different settings, different names and different starlets. I preferred the ones like “G.I. Blues,” “Blue Hawaii,” “Follow That Dream” and even “Kissin’ Cousins” (with a blonde Elvis) to the later ones. Then, as a teenager, I liked the concert and documentary-style Elvis movies. You got a feel of what it was like at a concert along with some of the behind the scenes shenanigans.
What I’ve found truly amazing about Elvis — besides being able to just use his first name and it’s instantly recognizable around the world — is he could sing a song from virtually any genre and it worked.
Rockabilly? He helped start the genre.
Rock ’n’ roll? Check.
Blues? Check. (Love hearing Elvis sing the blues.)
Country? You betcha.
Tin Pan Alley and pop? Of course, and hold his own with Frank Sinatra.
Show tunes? With the best of them.
Gospel? Like an angel. It’s amazing how much power he could put behind a song like “How Great Thou Art.”
It’s hard to think of a style Elvis couldn’t sing. Maybe hip-hop or rap, but I bet he could he at least make a respectable showing. I think he might have been able to sing heavy metal, although with that smooth voice it might have been a challenge. I bet he could even belt out an opera tune and do it justice.
Overall, though, he could sing far more styles of music, without homogenizing them, than today’s singers. I can’t think of a one today who could perform such a broad spectrum of music. Or reach such a diverse audience, from swooning teeny boppers to middle-aged ladies hoping to catch one of those Elvis-sweated scarves to grande dames enraptured by his mellow tones. And guys loved Elvis, too, in a guy kind of way. Who wouldn’t have wanted to be like Elvis, at least the side the public saw.
I wonder what Elvis would have done if people around him hadn’t tried to make him like a dancing chicken with those cookie-cutter movies and he’d been able to just devote himself to his music? I wonder what he’d have been like today at 79. Would his fame have continued growing even more as it has since his death, or would he have slowly wound down his career? Would he still be playing Las Vegas, or might he have his own Branson show? Would he still be as revered as he is now?
However things turned out, I’m just glad there’s an Elvis program that shows us how great an entertainer he was, and that gives me something to sing along with in the shower.
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