Influencer
What is an influencer?
An influencer is someone who has the power to affect the decisions of others on account his or her authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with his or her audience. Influencers are people who have built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a specific topic and generate large followings of enthusiastic, engaged people who pay close attention to their views.
Micro-influencers are ordinary everyday people who have become known for their knowledge about some specialist niche. Although views differ, you could consider micro-influencers as having between 1,000 and 40,000 followers on a single social platform.
Macro-influencers are one step up from the micro-influencers. You would consider people with followers in the range between 40,000 and 1 million followers on a social network to be macro-influencers.
This group tends to consists of two types of people. They are either B-grade celebrities, who haven't yet made it to the big time. Or they are successful online experts, who have built up more significant followings than the typical micro-influencers. The latter type of macro-influencer is likely to be more useful for firms engaging in influencer marketing.
Mega influencers are the people with a vast number of followers on their social networks. Although there are no fixed rules on the boundaries between the different types of followers, a common view is that mega-influencers have more than 1 million followers on at least one social platform. Many mega-influencers are celebrities who have gained their fame offline – movie stars, sportspeople, musicians, and even reality television stars. Some mega-influencers have gained their vast followings through their online and social activities, however.
And then, topping them all, in a category of his own, is Elvis. If 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong, then even less wrong is the man they follow. Elvis is the epitome of the influencer. He shaped an entire culture.
"If you take God and mix him with Fonzy and add the greatest voice of all time, that is Elvis Presley. He has influenced all genres, I mean all genres of music."
- Blake Shelton
That’s a statement that suggests a power of influence that transcends music to embrace the whole of culture. We live in Elvis’ world.
"No one exemplifies going from the most humble of beginnings to the king of a generation more than Elvis. I can't think of anyone who influenced me more musically. He changed music, shoes, hair and history!"
- John Schneider
Lazy critics repeatedly claim that Elvis’ timing was right. They miss the extent to which Elvis was the key creative agent in shaping the rightness of the times. He made the times every bit as much as the times made him. But Elvis’ influence transcends time and place. He changed an entire culture and moved an entire generation, but the reach of his power and influence extends beyond his own lifetime:
‘It’s rare when an artist’s talent can touch an entire generation of people. It’s even rarer when that same influence affects several generations. Elvis made an imprint on the world of pop music unequalled by any other single performer.”
Dick Clark, as published in Elvis.net
That indicates a talent and a significance that is transcendent. But immanent. Elvis exists right in the heart of the culture. He moved that culture from within the beating heart of the people:
When it was announced in early 1958 that Presley had been drafted and would enter the U.S. Army, there was that rarest of all pop culture events, a moment of true grief. More important, he served as the great cultural catalyst of his period, projecting a mixed vision of humility and self-confidence, of intense commitment and comic disbelief in his ability to inspire frenzy. He inspired literally thousands of musicians—initially those more or less like-minded Southerners, from Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins on down, who were the first generation of rockabillies, and, later, people who had far different combinations of musical and cultural influences and ambitions. From John Lennon to Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan to Prince, it was impossible to think of a rock star of any importance who did not owe an explicit debt to Presley.
Encyclopædia Britannica's laud on the influence of Elvis Presley (2018 online edition).
As the quotes below make clear, Elvis influenced countless numbers of musicians, in his own immediate environment and genre, then the US as a whole, then the world, then other generations. Elvis’ influence is an exponential growth. He has influenced musicians of all sexes, classes, nationalities and ethnicities, generations. The quotes below in which artists testify to Elvis as an influence could be multiplied. For reasons of time and space I have settled for this handful of quotes.
"The most popular thing in American culture... is Elvis Presley. No questions asked. He is the king."
- Kid Rock
Elvis’ legacy has not always been appreciated. There has always been a tendency for Elvis to provoke ridicule and contempt. I always had the feeling that the comments directed against Elvis were in large part directed against the ‘ordinary’ folk he inspired and gave a voice to. This was an attempt to re-establish and reinforce cultural boundaries which were bound up with class, to let people with liberatory notions of being able to follow their dreams know that they are lower and lesser than others and to stay in their places.
"I could do an Elvis movie. I got the hair."
- Shawn Mendes
You need some good head ware too. I have a few nice caps. Elvis is reduced to the looks, the moves, the hair. These have all long since passed. Elvis is still with us. Could that endurance have anything to do with the musical ability, the voice, the legacy?
Simple folk can grasp easily what the smarter folk miss:
‘Often overlooked, probably because of his immense popularity and mega-star status, Elvis was an extremely generous and compassionate human. I remember an appearance by Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show on a Sunday night while my grandmother was babysitting me. Sitting in a rocking chair and looking over the top of her glasses while she was knitting she uttered, “That boy is going places”. I was 7 or 8, she was 60 something and that moment is etched indelibly in my mind. Hey Nana, you were right.’
Edward Samarak, in a letter to the Editor of the Mystic Stamp Company following the publication of an article dated 28 October 2017 and entitled "Elvis’ Polio Vaccine Raises Immunization Levels"
I have a view, though, that the smart folk see just as easily – they don’t so much miss the obvious as refuse to accept it and marshall any number of clever words to prove that they are right.
There’s the musical snobbery, too. There’s also the fate suffered by all pioneers, which is to be scorned and rejected by those who follow in their footsteps, who are acclaimed as having done it all themselves. Only in time do the pioneers start to finally receive the accolades they deserve for being the first:
‘There was some gentle mocking on the part of my classroom peers over Elvis' passing, and it struck me that, for nearly everyone my age (or so it seemed), Elvis didn’t speak for them, or to them. It’s fair to say that the girls in my class tended to like Abba, Boney M, ELO and David Soul, whereas the boys went for Genesis, Queen, AC/DC and Rush. Elvis was somebody your parents liked, regarded as something of a square. I am not sure whether any of these artists came close to sniffing Elvis shoes, never mind filling them, and in any case nor could they have done; as only Elvis could have unbolted the door, made the impact on life – not just on music – that he did. If the postwar generation wanted to burn, not just forget, “the war,” and not grow up as robotic replicas of their parents, Elvis was the active agent who forced newness through to that society."
About Radio Luxemburg's Tony Prince' reaction to Elvis´ death
‘Elvis was the active agent who forced newness through to that society.’ That’s precisely the point I make when arguing that Elvis made the time right, as against Elvis merely turning up at the right time. Elvis was the active agent in the middle of a musical and cultural revolution, the maker of that revolution. The argument that if Elvis hadn’t have been the figurehead of that revolution then someone else would have been begs the question: who? I can’t see a remotely comparable figure. I can see many supremely talented artists. I also see that they lack the stylistic range of Elvis, the persona, the charisma. Elvis was the whole package.
"I think the first time I saw him, the world 'supernova' came into my head. I was just immediately in awe. He had it all. Nobody's had it all. People have good voices, or they're good looking, or they're good people, or they're charismatic, but Elvis was all of those things and more."
- John Stamos
“It was THE beginning of rock ‘n’ roll.”
- David Lynch
That’s arguable, of course. The origins of rock’n’roll go back to well before Elvis and the 1950s. It was the beginning of an original music form mixing with social and technological changes – the rise of the teenager, the affluent society, the phonograph, availability of records. When critics say the times were right, they point to these developments. It still took a change agent to act as the catalyst.
“He embodied rock ‘n’ roll, he owned it 100% - he was that.”
- David Lynch
I’m leery of notions of ownership, they savour too much of cultural appropriation and lend themselves easily to commodification and commercialisation. Which is pretty much the way it went. Own Elvis as the embodiment of rock’n’roll and you own the revolution.
‘Elvis Presley was more influential as a performer than any other musician in world history. In some respects he resembled other influential performers, including the famous Italian violinist Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) and the Hungarian pianist Franz Liszt (1811-1886). Like them Elvis was exciting, charismatic, and enormously successful. Unlike Liszt and Paganini, however, Elvis did not compose any of his own music, yet the ways in which he performed the songs he sang transformed twentieth-century popular music worldwide. At his best, he was most influential as a Southern White singer who introduced audiences throughout the United States and around the world to Black American music, especially to rock ‘n’ roll, a form of rhythm and blues. He was also influential because he combined in his performances elements from different American singing styles, including gospel, rockabilly, country-western and standard’ pop numbers; he even employed bel canto singing in a few songs borrowed from Italian music. His stage persona was extremely influential as well, simultaneously glamorising, as he did, rock music and making it seem ‘dangerous’, thus even inspiring aspects of punk rock in the 1970s. Later, his performances as a touring artist and a Las Vegas entertainer contributed to the birth of glam rock.’
Michael Saffle's introduction in The Musical Characteristics of Elvis Presley, written in 2009 at the request of Government of the Hong Kong's Special Administrative Region.
‘Elvis was one of the prime architects of rock and roll music. As such, he influenced several generations both musically and socially. The urgency in Presley's voice is just one part of the equation, and the ease with which he swings tells the rest of the story. Equal parts balladeer and rockabilly king, Elvis played both sides of the fence. He was both tender-love-man and hard-hitting rebel. As this collection proves, his genius was in the way he made it work.’
UK Channel 4's review of "Elvis Golden Record, Volume II"
Elvis embraced multiplicities in music and culture, made connections between people, places, and things hitherto held apart, and had the genius to make multiplicity work.
Tom Waits is an Elvis fan:
‘I think about Elvis all the time.’
Tom Waits, as found in TSOE, 2018
Then - those who saw him at the time.
Elvis’ initial impact was on those he inspired in immediate time and place. He caused a storm. Eddie Cochran started out playing country. After seeing Elvis Presley perform in Dallas in late 1955, and seeing the hysteria he caused, Eddie switched to rock and roll.
‘The "Shrine" Auditorium in Los Angeles, was his first California stop, then Long Beach. He’s the cat man...’
Eddie Cochran, who turned to rock after seeing Elvis at a concert at the Sportatorium in Dallas, TX on April 16, 1955, correcting his wife Alice, who had said she had attended Elvis first concert in California, at the Long Beach Arena. The exchange took place in London, during Eddie's last tour there.
Cue all the dumb debates as to who the greatest rock’n’roller was or would have been, had they lived, had they had Elvis’ looks, Elvis’ colour … Elvis’ talent … We live in history and the history books tell us who the greatest was. Everything else is just people playing tricks with their own personal choices.
"Without Elvis, none of us would have made it."
- Buddy Holly
The first impact was on the white kids playing country. Elvis showed them the path to another world. It doesn’t have to be strictly country.
Jerry Allison, drummer for Buddy Holly, as well as the Crickets, recalls the time when they opened for Elvis at Buddy Holly's hometown of Lubbock:
‘It was like a country show back then and we got to open it and we did a couple of his songs, which was just stupid because we thought we'd impress him and he'd like us. The first time I saw him play - I'd seen him one time before that particular tour came to town where we opened the show for him- I just couldn't believe it. He was such a rocker. I'd never seen anything like that before. Buddy was terribly impressed as well. All of us the same. Turned into a big fan. Buddy tried to sound like him for months. And personally, he was as charismatic as he could be...’
Jerry Allison, drummer for Buddy Holly, as well as the Crickets, recalling the early days when they opened for Elvis at Buddy Holly's hometown of Lubbock, Texas, as published in Classicbands.com
Elvis was ‘different.’
‘He stepped onto the stage, the band started to play. His hips began to move. He sang 'Good Rockin' Tonight' and before he was done, the crowd was whirled into a frenzy. Boy, he was different. As soon as he walked into the building you could feel his energy. He had the looks, the songs and the charisma. Whatever a star has, he had it - more than anyone else.”
Guitarist Sonny Burgess, talking about seeing Elvis perform, in 1955, in an article on the WashingtonTimes.com
‘Elvis was singing "That's All Right" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky". The sound went straight up your spine. The way he sang, the singer sounded black, but something about the songs was really country. I was crazy about Elvis, loved that churning rhythm on the bottom. He didn't have drums yet, but the rock and roll part was unmistakable.’
Waylon Jennings; Kaye, Lenny (1996). Waylon: An Autobiography. Warner Books. p. 44.
The great Glen Campbell saw him in 1956 and was bowled over:
‘I met him in Alburquerque, NM, in 1956 and I got to see him on the raw, with Bill, Scotty and DJ. They were just awesome, so electrifying, with so much energy. I could understand why he was becoming so big then, and become even bigger later. He was a very handsome man, his aura and his honesty. His charisma was huge, but his was very special.....
Glen Campbell, in an interview with Elvisaustralia.
‘But even the power of organized religion paled beside the personal changes I felt come over me in the mid-1950s when I heard Elvis Presley's "Mystery Train" on the radio for the first time. Determined to get a berth of my own on the fast-moving train of rock 'n' roll, I quickly made my way up to Memphis and the legendary Sun Studios. There, I talked producer Sam Phillips into giving me a shot at making some records of his own.’
Conway Twitty, in a book entitled Elvis the Last Word, 1999.
Elvis was cool and different.
‘This friend of mine and I got tickets for a couple of bucks apiece. In fact, was just a kid when a country music show came to Baton Rouge, LA. In the middle of the show, they announced a special guest sensation from Memphis. So this guy comes out in a pink suit – he didn’t even have a drummer – and starts jumping around while they’re setting up the amp and a big acoustic bass. Then he started in with, “Well that’s all right, mama,” and we all went, “Hey, that’s the song we like on the radio,” because the station was playing it in Baton Rouge. There was Elvis. He did ‘That’s All Right’ and ‘Blue Moon Of Kentucky,’ the B-side of his first record. We went to the back of the school afterwards, where he had this little Cadillac pulling a trailer, and they were loading the bass and stuff into it. He was talking to some of the country music guys about cars. He was probably 18 or 19, and I was 12 or 13. I’m just looking at him, thinking this guy is really cool and different. Little did we know...
Johnny Rivers on seeing Elvis Presley for the first time, in his hometown of Shreveport LA, speaking to Jim Clash, of Forbes on May 14, 2015
"They say I was a teen idol. But Elvis was the first. I admire him as an artist. He did it before any of us did. He opened that door and we just walked through it. Without Elvis Presley, it would have been hard for there to have been a Ricky Nelson."
- Ricky Nelson
The boys got it. The girls got it too:
‘The first concert I attended was an Elvis concert when I was eleven. Even at that age he made me realize the tremendous effect a performer could have on an audience.
Cher, as published in www.graceland.com
“My mom took me to see him when I was, like, 10 or 11 and it was so exciting and I remember that all the girls were standing up screaming on their chairs and I hadn’t gotten to that point yet.
I wasn’t sure what that whole thing was, but I said to my mom, ‘Can we stand up on our chairs and scream?’ My mom said, ‘Sure let’s do that’.
“I was screaming for him before I even knew why I was screaming for him.”
He never had quite that effect on me. I can remember watching the NBC/TV ’68 Special when it was on TV one night. Elvis was rocking the house in his black leather suit. My dad sat there quietly for a long while, and then finally spoke: ‘he does nothing for me.’ I think he was referring to the music. The screams coming from the women were most alarming, though, and demanded a response.
He influenced musicians that came in the generation after, too.
‘At age 5, he decided that he wanted to be a musician when his father took him to the Elvis Presley concert in his home town of Sioux City on May 26, 1956.’
About US musician Tommy Bolin, (1951-76) former lead guitarist for the UK band Deep Purple, in an article penned by Tom Longden and published on the Des Moines Register on 23 December 2017.
Bruce Springsteen has spoken several times of how his interest in music was sparked with Elvis's first appearance on 'The Ed Sullivan Show,' in 1956, when Springsteen was 6:
'Television and Elvis gave us full access to a new language, a new form of communication, a new way of being, a new way of looking, a new way of thinking about sex, about race, about identity, about life, a new way of being an American (and) a human being, and a new way of hearing music.’
Max Wienberg, drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, got the rock and roll urge exactly the same way:
‘It was seeing Elvis Presley on The Milton Berle Show, before Ed Sullivan. I already was pretty musical and seeing Elvis and his band, particularly his drummer, D.J. Fontana, just kind of grabbed me. Then, of course, four or five months later, he was on The Ed Sullivan Show and everything just... well, that was the Big Bang.’
Max Wienberg, as published on January 27, 2018.
Bruce Springsteen wrote ‘Fire’ for Elvis. Unfortunately it never got to Elvis. It’s criminal and it’s a real shame to list the artists who were prepared to write songs for Elvis, and then see how Elvis was struggling for material in the seventies on account of the wretched publishing straightjacket his management had placed around his career. I always thought the story of Springsteen writing the song for Elvis to be an urban myth. The Pointer Singers had the hit with it and it sounds nothing like Elvis. Some years later Springsteen’s own version was released and then I heard it. I can certainly hear Elvis singing ‘Fire.’ An album of Elvis singing Springsteen’s songs would have been a treasure beyond price:
‘Ok, so I think Elvis would've dug Bruce, because he not only sings from his gut and heart, he paints really deep canvases with his words. Even if you can't stand his voice, no one, but no one, can take away his incredible talent of writing. Man to get Elvis singing a Bruce song, WOW!! Anyways, so I was in Hollywood shooting an escape from a straitjacket hanging upside down on the Hollywood sign, and my photographer said let's eat at George Santo Pietro's Restaurant. We got there and it was sparsely occupied a few tables, very private and next to me and just behind me sat Bruce Springsteen eating with someone else (I was told later it was a guitarist from the Stones) I got nervous and my date said go up and say hey. I waited for the guitarist to leave while others in the restaurant left. Here's my chance, should I? should I? Oh shit. So I said "Hi I'm Michael Griffin. I'm in town shooting a show and I love Elvis’ music and yours". Holy crap Bruce said sit down. We were talking and ordered another pizza, US$34 for that pizza and stuff. We kept going on and on about Elvis and the feel of music in the gut and how when I was given a Bruce record (the River) I finally found that OTHER guy who sings from the gut and writes it perfectly too. Bruce was incredibly nice, just down to earth cool guy no airs about him. Dinner ended and I thoroughly enjoyed my expensive pizza with The Boss at Santo Pietro's...’
Michael Griffin, escape artist, as published in linkedin.
[After - those he inspired
Those performances on the Ed Sullivan Show reached across the Atlantic:
‘Watching Elvis perform on the Ed Sullivan Show with my father, I saw how he looked at me, with real horror, that I liked it.’
Mark Knopfler, singer and guitarist for the band Dire Straits, for elvisblog
‘Elvis was probably the most important thing in music, maybe ever.’
Bob Weir, singer-songwriter and guitarist, founding member of the Grateful Dead, in an interview for ABC's Elvis Lives.
That’s a tad over the top, maybe. But as Schopenhauer argued, extremes magnify the truth. Culturally and musically, Elvis was supremely important. And influential. If we establish the links between all those whom he inspired, and whom they went on to inspire, you may well have the most influential figure in pop music history. That’s a modest claim, I would say. Those who analyse Elvis and reduce him to his influences and trademark mannerisms – all of which pre-date him – spectacularly miss the added value Elvis brought to the mix, which was uniquely his own and which worked the creative magic to create something which was much more than the sum of the parts. As Jean-Luc Godard put it, ‘It's not where you take things from — it's where you take them to.' And it’s how you do it.
‘When I heard Elvis Presley, then I knew I had to do music. Music is my god, and is the only love that has never left me. It has always been there and is my best friend.’
Ville Valo
Countless others have made that same statement.
‘That the prime exponent of this new style of music should be a singer who possessed no prior professional experience was an anomaly; (in fact), not only were most of the mannerisms that would define his vocal style present at the creation — from the sudden swoops in register to the habit, derived from gospel singing, of starting his lines with a throat-clearing "well" that gave whatever followed the feeling of a retort, but what was even more impressive was the extent to which his first professional recording was marked by the trait that has characterized every great popular singer: the absolute assertion of his personality over the song; from this, it might be concluded that Presley was simply a "natural.", but the truth, as ever, was more complex than that.’
Jonathan Gould, on his Beatles-inspired book, "Can't Buy Me Love", referring to Presley's early SUN Records label recordings and their influence on the Liverpool rock and roll scene" (2007)
“Before Elvis, there was nothing.”
- John Lennon as published in www.graceland.com
Before Elvis there was plenty, including all of the influences and mannerisms that Elvis drew upon, assimilated, and modified. Lennon’s statement here is frequently misunderstood. Lennon is making the point that fellow Beatle George Harrison made when asked about his musical roots. Harrison couldn’t remember having any musical roots until he heard Elvis.
"Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadn't been an Elvis, there wouldn't have been The Beatles."
- John Lennon
Paul McCartney agrees:
‘When we were kids growing up in Liverpool, all we ever wanted to be was Elvis Presley.’
—Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
‘I doubt very much if The Beatles would have happened if it was not for Elvis.’
Paul McCartney
No Elvis, no Beatles. Think about the influence that The Beatles have had on popular music and trace them back to those who inspired them to make music. That’s some influence.
‘There’s only one person in the United States that we have ever wanted to meet….not that he wanted to meet us. And we met him last night. We can’t tell you how we felt. We just idolized him so much. When we first came to town, these guys like Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra and all these people wanted to come over and hang around with us at night simply because we had all the women, all the chicks. We don’t want to meet those people. They don’t really like us. We don’t really admire or like them. The only person that we wanted to meet in the United States of America was Elvis Presley. We can’t tell you what a thrill that was last night.’
John Lennon
“I’m primitive on music. I don’t want to learn it, it’s too serious, too like homework. And nothing about my childhood inspired me with a love of classical music. My dad was a bit of a jazzer so if a symphony came on the radio he would immediately turn it off. School was no better, you would have just had to play one Elvis record and we would have been hooked. We’d have turned up in droves to that lesson. (In fact) I’ve got so many vivid memories of being a kid in Liverpool. Like everyone I suppose, I have millions of memories of those days. I remember John and I going up to the airport on our bikes to watch the planes. It makes me smile to think that they named the airport after him. So then I think back to getting the bus with George, going to school. And then the memories go beyond that, to getting the bus to "The Cavern" or the "Grosvenor Ballroom". And then the memories go beyond that and beyond that, and I have to remember that I was one of the guys that all that was happening to. You have to pinch yourself and say ‘did that REALLY happen?’. Did I REALLY meet Elvis?”
Paul McCartney, reminiscing about his early years with the Beatles, as published on the Liverpool Echo's online edition of 24 May, 2015 and as extracted from the book "Conversations with McCartney" by Paul DuNoyer.
‘It was a real thrill sitting there with the King. I mean he was always one of my favorites. I always knew that no matter how I felt if I played an Elvis record it would make me happy. I've always dreamed of producing an album for Elvis.’
Paul McCartney
‘I guess everybody in the world tried to be a little like Elvis at the time, but there was no way you could compete with him if you just were doing country.’
George Jones in the book the Last word, by Sandra Chorn and Bob Oskam (p.16) .
Elvis was different; he made a difference.
‘Before Elvis, everything was in black and white. Then came Elvis. Zoom, glorious Technicolor.’
—Keith Richards
When asked what his favourite Elvis song is, Keith Richards chose ‘Mystery Train.’
‘Just three men, that slap bass, rocking guitar, and a voice that came out of Heaven. It’s still on my jukebox, number A15 on the Wurlitzer.’
George Harrison was turned on to music by hearing Elvis. He described experiencing a "rock n roll epiphany" in 1956 "when I was about 12 or 13 riding my bike and I heard Heartbreak Hotel coming out of somebody's house." The song had the same effect on others. In the ’68 Special Elvis spoke about how he liked a lot of the new bands, like The Beatles and The Byrds. He influenced the pair of them. Here is Roger McGuinn from The Byrds answering clearly the question of whether folk music had been his and the Byrds' first influence:
‘No, we all started with rock ’n’ roll, Elvis Presley and the whole Sun Records gang. In my case, while riding my bike in '56, I heard “Heartbreak Hotel" and it was then that I wanted to play the guitar.’
Roger McGuinn's answer to, in an interview with Variety, and published on November 6, 2016. He later added more details on the Wall Sreet Journal's edition of September 25, 2018.
There is something very endearing about knowing that in two different parts of the world, separated by a distance of thousands of miles, two youngsters were inspired into music at precisely the same time by hearing ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ whilst riding their bikes.
The artists whom Elvis influenced watched Elvis on the ’68 and were happy to welcome him back:
‘I remember watching the Elvis special when it aired in December 1968, just as my band was beginning to erupt as a major force in rock & roll. In fact, we released our first Top 40 hit, “Suzie Q,” that same year. Many people my age, especially after the Beatles, had kind of pushed Elvis aside a little bit. And that was the neat thing about the special — there was Elvis, your long lost friend, looking really good and sounding good. It was great to have him back.
John Fogerty, front man of the Creedence Clearwater Revival, on how he reacted to the 1968 Special at the beginning of his career, in an interview with Rollingstone and published on their February 13,2019 edition.
‘Good records just get better with age. But the one that really turned me on, like an explosion one night, listening to Radio Luxembourg on my little radio when I was supposed to be in bed and asleep, was “Heartbreak Hotel”. That was the stunner. I’d never heard it before, or anything like it. I’d never heard of Elvis before. It was almost as if I’d been waiting for it to happen. I’m supposed to be asleep; I’m supposed to be going to school in the morning. Then, “Since my baby left me” – it was just the sound. It was the last trigger. That was the first rock and roll I heard. It was a totally different way of delivering a song, a totally different sound, stripped down, burnt, no bullshit, no violins and ladies’ choruses and schmaltz, totally different. It was bare, right to the roots that you had a feeling were there but hadn’t yet heard. I’ve got to take my hat off to Elvis for that. The silence is your canvas, that’s your frame, that’s what you work on; don’t try and deafen it out. That’s what “Heartbreak Hotel” did to me. It was the first time I’d heard something so stark. Then I had to go back to what this cat had done before. Luckily I caught his name. The Radio Luxembourg signal came back in. “That was Elvis Presley, with ‘Heartbreak Hotel.'” sh*t!’
Keith Richards
“I had always wanted to be like Elvis, to be a rock ‘n’ roll star, but I couldn’t sing, so I joined a mod band instead.”—Roger Daltrey
Making their second appearance at Worthy Farm, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey delighted the crowds as the sun set on the final day of Glastonbury 2015 by performing a number of hits from across their career. They also referenced Kanye West's claim during his own headline slot the night before that he was "the greatest living rockstar on the planet", with Townsend and then Roger Daltrey saying, "We're gonna send you home now with a rebellious 'who's the biggest fucking rockstar in the world?' It must be Elvis Presley.
Excerpted from an article quoting Pete Townsend, of The Who, as he and Roger Daltrey were quick to make light of Kanye's antics the previous night, reminding everyone that Elvis Presley was still the King of Rock - despite what Mr West may have said, and as published on Digital Spy on June 29, 2015.
‘We have to focus on his early work, and just one or two of his movies, and elements of his TV shows, to keep his memory pure. People now know that Elvis could play a mean rhythm guitar himself, and needed no other musicians to perform a great song. But Elvis was not just a rock star, he was an all-round entertainer.
Daltrey and Pete Townshend, as noted in theelevisexpress
The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who – that’s not bad. For starters.
Then there are The Beach Boys:
‘Bruce Johnston and I met Elvis in the late ‘60s. He was working in the studio across the hall from us so Bruce and I went over and introduced ourselves and he was very delighted to see us. He was trim and great looking, just like his album covers. He hadn’t gone back out on the road yet. We encouraged him to get back to work and he took us up on it.’
Al Jardine, of the Beach Boys, recalling when he and his bandmate Bruce met Elvis, as published in the book, Elvis From those who knew him best.
I quoted Brian Wilson and Mike Love earlier saying what a great voice Elvis had. Carl Wilson was a huge fan, too:
‘There was a time when in some circles, people may not have thought it cool to say they were an Elvis fan, but I am, I loved him."
Carl Wilson, of the Beach Boys, in an interview in 1980, as reported by youtube
I don’t care what opinions are cool or not; I do care that the truth is known. And the truth is that Elvis Presley was blessed with a magnificent voice and made some wonderful music, some of it genuinely ground breaking, a lot of it just very enjoyable, entertaining, and soothing.
Then there is Led Zeppelin, the biggest selling band in history. Robert Plant reckons that Elvis was the greatest singer ever to grace a pop stage. Plant voted for Elvis in Rolling Stone magazine’s poll to find the 100 greatest singers in rock and pop. Elvis’ early Sun singles sparked in him a love of rock and roll:
“He was just amazing and spectacular. He really opened the door to my whole love of music. Because of him, and because of the choice of his material, I found Smiley Lewis [and] all those great singers.”
—Robert Plant
Led Zeppelin’s lead guitarist Jimmy Page agrees:
‘I am doing probably what they were doing up there, which is try to emulate the music I heard coming from America in some shape or form. It's defining coming from America, rock 'n' roll, rockabilly if you like, like in the modes of what (Elvis) Presley was doing and inspiring so many people like Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent, all of them. And then accessing the blues and wanting as much to be sort of B.B. King, do you know what I mean? It was this sort of growth, really, of this voracious appetite I had for all things six strings, really. I can see how it manifests across the board.’
Jimmy Page, telling reporter Gary Graff of 105.7 WROR, on 31 March 2017 about his US influences
“There is a difference between people who sing and those who take that voice to another, otherworldly place. The first Elvis song I heard was Hound Dog. I heard this voice and it was absolutely in its own place. The voice was confident, insinuating and taking no prisoners.
“He had those great whoops and diving moments, those sustains that swoop down to the note like a bird of prey.”
Plant believes that Elvis became trapped by his own success, and wanted to escape the cabaret performances of the latter years to branch out more musically.
“Because of the forces around him, it was difficult for him to stretch out with more contemporary songwriters. He didn’t have many fresh liaisons to draw upon – his old pals weren’t going to bring him anything new.
“I know he wanted to express himself more in music, but what he did do was make it all possible for people like me.”
Robert Plant
Elvis could have extended himself beyond the treadmill of concerts in the same old places. The concerts of the 1970s became what the movies had been in the 1960s – a factory.
The people that Elvis inspired didn’t just go into rock and pop. Some went into the new folk scene, and Elvis definitely showed the talent to be able to try their material on for size:
‘I really got interested when I got into high school, about grade nine. I heard "Heartbreak Hotel" by Elvis Presley and I went and bought a guitar and so did a friend of mine. We both bought guitars and we practiced Elvis impersonations, way back when we were 15-years-old. And that was how I learned how to play the guitar. Elvis Presley has a great recording of my song "Early Morning Rain". He did such a good job on it too, and it was probably the most important recording that I have by another artist.
Gordon Lightfoot, answering interviewer Matt Wake on what got him interested in music, as published on the February 17, 2015 edition at Advanced Digital.
That’s praise indeed from a great songwriter. I only wish Elvis had sung more of this kind of material, because his recordings from 1971 show real depth and quality and originality.
How good to read that Mark Lindsay was a fan.
‘Growing up during the pre-rock ‘n’ roll era, I fell on the ground when I heard “Heartbreak Hotel" in 1956. I thought, ‘Man this is happening. Years later I met him while rehearsing for his ’68 Comeback Special. Our road manager was Jerry Williams, a promoter who knew Elvis so one June evening Jerry asked us to go down and see him. When we arrived between 9:30 and 10 o’clock that night, Elvis decided to take a break. He came out right on Sunset Boulevard, standing on the sidewalk leaning against the building. Jerry exclaimed, “You can’t stay out there!” And this is Elvis Presley, right? He looks like Elvis Presley. Elvis replied, “Look, nobody is gonna believe it’s really me”. It was the truth. We’re just rapping back and forth. People came by, and they’d do a double take—‘Nah it can’t be Elvis’—and they’d walk on. Nobody will ever be like him. I would have given anything to have seen him at the Overton Park Shell [renamed the Levitt Shell] in Memphis when he was about 20 years old. Elvis rocked harder than almost anybody. If he’s in heaven right now—and I’m sure he is—he’s probably smiling as he looks down and says, “Look how many people are trying to do what I did”.
Singer Mark Lindsay formerly the leader of the 1960's group Paul Revere & the Raiders, as excerpted from in an interview given to the Examiner, and published on their online edition on 26 January, 2015.
Elvis went on to record a very good version of Lindsay’s ‘And the Grass Won’t Pay No Mind.’
I love the music of Tony Joe White, too:
‘Elvis’ producer Felton Jervis was a good friend of mine. All of a sudden I released ‘Polk Salad Annie’ and it was a big hit single and then Felton called and invited my wife and me out to Las Vegas to see Elvis perform it. He did a good version of it, which of course he recorded for the live album. We hung out with Elvis for two or three days and just sat back in the dressing room and talked. We played a little guitar together – he really liked music. Elvis said, “Man, I feel like I wrote that song”. I said “You know, the way you do it on stage, it feels like you wrote it”. Then, in 1974, I was living in Memphis and it was about 4 o’clock in the morning when my phone rings. This German voice says “Mr. White, we are down at Stax records do you have any more songs? We need to do some songs.” I said “Well, who in the hell is this, why you calling me at this time?” He explained that he was Freddy Bienstock, Elvis’ publisher. I asked if Felton was down there and he said he was. So I got up and ran into my studio and ran off a copy of ‘For Ol’ Times Sake' & ‘I’ve Got A Thing About You Baby’ and one other and went down the studio. I drove all the way to downtown Memphis and was met in this low, dark alleyway by two shady men in hats and coats. They said in this thick German accent “Did you bring zee tapes?” and I was ushered into this little bitty room! It was so strange and freaky. A real seedy part of town and these guys in their 50s or 60s and they had a little reel-to-reel in this dark cubby hole. They sit me down on a chair & they played two bars of ‘For Ol’ Times Sake’ and ‘I Got A Thing’ and they played the third song. They said “We like the first two. Now you can go!” I said, “Hey man, I’ve driven this far, where’s Felton?” They said, “You don’t need Felton. We like these songs. You can go!” But at this point luckily Felton walked in and took me into the studio with me and him and Elvis, so it was cool then. Wow!’
Tony Joe White in a 2002 interview with Piers Beagley at EIN's website page.
Another musical epiphany:
‘When I was in third grade, I got up on the stage and I did my Elvis impression and I sang ‘Hound Dog'. And the girls in the fourth grade started screaming, and I said to myself, ‘There’s something going on here. This is kinda cool if the girls in the fourth grade are screaming for a kid in the third grade. One day, my mentor told me that I should consider becoming a professional musician. And for a teacher, an adult, to tell me that was very important, that was an epiphany. It was a real eye-opener. Elvis was great.’
Billy Joel, in a New Online Video Series, as recorded by ABC News Radio, on November 2, 2016
“I identified a lot with Elvis, yeah. I love his style of singing, he was a very loyal guy – he was a little misled, but in the big picture he was a good guy.”
—Jon Bon Jovi
That’s not the greatest of praise, especially when coming from not the greatest of artists. The Bay City Rollers are much more impressive.
‘I’d had it in my head to be a pop star for some years before the loose idea of forming a band first bubbled up inside me. The trigger was going to see Jailhouse Rock at The Scotia cinema in 1958. I was 10-years-old and Elvis knocked me sideways and awakened all sorts of feelings inside.’
Alan Lomgmuir Scottish musician and founding member of the band "Bay City Rollers", in his autobiography I Ran With The Gang: My Life In and Out of The Bay City Rollers
I wasn’t much of a Roller, I must admit. But they were all running with Elvis’ gang.
A band that made a huge impression on me when I was young was The Sparks, a really great and inventive band. Brothers Ron and Russell Mael single out the songs that made Elvis super special:
‘“Baby, Let’s Play House” is surely the standard by which all other rock recordings must be judged. The perfect length (2:15), the perfect echo (slap back), and the perfect guitar player (Scotty Moore) only begin to explain the perfection of the track.’
‘“You’re So Square, Baby I Don’t Care.” The epitome of everything cool – Elvis singing this song in ‘Jailhouse Rock.’ No one could possibly exude more charisma, charm, and style than Elvis did in that scene. And he knows he’s cool, too, telling his girl that they have absolutely nothing in common, but he loves her just the same.’
‘I heard Elvis Presley and I knew what my life was meant to be.’
Robert Butcher, English born photographer, best known for his American Madonnas and Liars, as published in Geeks of Doom.
Elvis inspired and influenced some of the most innovative musicians in the new wave of rock and pop. Rod Argent of The Zombies for one:
‘When I actually received the phone call, I couldn’t help my mind racing back to one magical day in 1956, that’s always remained vivid in my memory. When my cousin, four years older than me, played me two and a half minutes of music, which changed my life. That music was Elvis Presley, singing Hound Dog, and for the next six months – to my mother's absolute horror – I didn't want to hear anything but the rawest rock'n'roll I could lay my hands on. Do you know? For those who didn’t live through the Fifties, it’s really hard to imagine the enormous cultural gulf which existed between England and America at that time. Elvis himself was a God and in some of the first footage that we saw in England, seemed to us like an alien super being from a distant universe. I was 11 years old and I couldn’t in any way imagine being part of the same world. These early years were something of a dream. By 1964, we got a recording contract with Decca and then unbelievably by Christmas, found ourselves topping the U.S charts with our first record, “She’s Not There.” This magic land, which only eight years before had seemed so unimaginably remote and unconquerable and even more unbelievably, something we didn’t find out until many years later, Elvis actually had our records on his jukebox. I could not believe that!’
Rod Argent English musician, speaking about his reaction when told his band the Zombies would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as noted by RollingStone's 30 March, 2019 edition.
More from the British side:
‘I used to work in a record shop and one afternoon I heard them playing "Blue Moon" through the speakers. I’ll always remember it coming through the fog. Later, I used to stand in the front room with a plywood guitar shaking my ass like Elvis. He was a genius.’
Graham Nash, founder member of The Hollies and part of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, as interviewed by Caroline Rees for an article entitled, "My best six albums", wherein he included Elvis 30#1 hits and published in the Express, on Apr 22, 2016
They don’t come much bigger or better than Pink Floyd. Here is David Gilmour, guitarist and singer for Pink Floyd, speaking at the launch of his new DVD Remember That Night – Live At The Royal Albert Hall:
‘It was Elvis’ Jailhouse Rock that made me first pick up a guitar and say, ‘I’ve got to do a bit of that. He was absolutely brilliant. Elvis, in his very early years, was staggering.’
David Gilmour, guitarist and singer for Pink Floyd, speaking at the launch of his new DVD Remember That Night – Live At The Royal Albert Hall,as noted in cobtactmusiccom on May 17, 2019
Then there is Terry Ellis, English record producer and co-founder of music publishing company Chrysalis Music, home of Jethro Tull, Genesis and other such bands. It all started with Elvis:
‘As a teenager in England, the first record I ever owned was a 78rpm copy of Elvis' Tutti Frutti/Blue Suede Shoes. I became a huge fan and was always first in line at my local record store to buy his new singles. To me he was the absolute epitome of a star. He never toured in the UK, so in 1969, when I was on the road with Jethro Tull, we made the pilgrimage from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to see his performance at the International Hotel. That evening stands out as a milestone event in my life.’
Terry Ellis, on his company's Facebook page.
‘I loved rock and roll when that came in, Bill Haley, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, all those great records. So I begged my mom and dad for a guitar, which eventually they did get me for Christmas, but it went out of tune very quickly, and it hurt my fingers.’
Ian McLagan
Inspired by Elvis, I got a guitar for Christmas. And a Bert Weedon Play in a Day book. The first tune is Bobby Shaftoe. My interest in the guitar started with Elvis and ended with Bert Weedon. I still have the guitar. I still can’t play it. I still have the book too.
Elvis was the one who started it all off for many, including the biggest of stars. David Bowie:
‘Elvis is a major hero of mine. I was probably stupid enough to believe that having the same birthday as him actually meant something.’
David Bowie
I remember Bowie talking about seeing Elvis at Madison Square Gardens in 1972, raving about how fantastic Elvis was that night. Elvis was definitely the inspiration for Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust.
Elton John:
"It was Elvis that got me interested in music. I've been an Elvis fan since I was a kid. Ask anyone. If it hadn’t been for Elvis, I don’t know where popular music would be. He was the one that started it all off, and he was definitely the start of it for me."
- Elton John
Heartbreak Hotel again, the song that made all the difference:
"I remember when my mother came back from work brought home the record 'Heartbreak Hotel.' I'd never heard anything like that before. I'd never been around music like that, music that was so powerful. That moment, that song would forever shape the way I listened to music."
- Elton John
‘Elvis Presley changed everyone’s life. I mean there would be no Beatles, Hendrix or Dylan. I mean, he just was the man who changed music without question. When they had a Rolling Stone poll about who was the most influential people in rock n roll, I think The Beatles were number one and I just said, you know, “What? No, Elvis was number one. I know he drew his influence from Gospel and Blues and Country Music and Black Soul music whatever, but he was the one that started it all. I was looking at an old Life magazine and there was a picture of him and I thought he was from Mars or something. And then that weekend my mother came home with ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ and that changed my life. Years later, I saw him in Las Vegas and I mean he was fantastic at the Hilton. But the only time I met him was very briefly before he went on stage in Washington DC, a year before he died. And it was very sad but even though it was very sad, even on stage and my mother, who was with me, said, “Well he’s not going to be alive much longer, is he?” She was really sad. And I was too, he was my idol too. But even though he went through the motions and was not really there at the scene at the end of that concert, there was still flashes of brilliance, in spite of being hugely overweight, but when he actually sung a couple of lines it was magical. You don’t lose that magic, no matter how fucked up you are, you know, you just. If you’re brilliant, snatches of that brilliance will come through. And later in my life I end up a recluse in my own bedroom, you know, taking cocaine, so I’d kind of did become HIM. But what happened to him, you forget he died when he was only 42, for Christ’s sake. I mean he was only 42. And it’s one of the great tragedies. I don’t think anybody actually said “Elvis, you can’t do that, you mustn’t do that”. Rewinding back, I played piano at a very early age, it got me attention and I liked it, but music wasn’t my dream until I discovered him in 1957. I was sitting in the little barbershop in our village, waiting to have my hair cut, and I saw this picture of Elvis. He looked like an alien — really weird but amazing. And after I saw Elvis and heard his music, there was no going back.’
Elton John, addressing the NYT's Philip Galanes's question on what was his first dream, as published in the New York Times on November 28, 2014, as well as from in an interview with Andrew Denton's Enough Rope, dated July 9 2007, when asked to explain how he felt about his biggest idol's death in 1977, shortly after meeting him in 1976.
‘Heartbreak Hotel’ has a strong claim to having been the single most influential song of all time:
‘For me it goes back to Elvis. The reality is, my experience with Elvis and ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ as a wonderful revelation is exactly the same experience that Paul McCartney had, that Keith Richards had, that Mick Jagger had, that they all had because they’re all just sitting in England wondering what they’re going to do. And Elvis comes over the airwaves and changes everybody’s life.”
World renowned rock photographer Ethan Russell, describing his early years as an eleven year old kid in San Francisco, and as published on September 23, 2015 in the online edition of "The Townsman".
Elvis drew his myriad influences together to create a new popular music form that influenced all who came after. It was a form that came without implication and boundaries so that all could take part and take it further according to their own particular talent and genius. The old restrictions had gone, it was no longer required that an artist conforms to the established grooves. Artists were free to be themselves:
Elvis’ influence spread far and wide. He inspired a lot of black artists who followed:
‘I listened to Elvis Presley become, I watched Chuck Berry become, I listen to Little Richard and all that music was part of my upbringing.’
Al Jarreau, as published on Jarreauquotes
‘Hendrix and Elvis were the ones who sparked my interest in music. When I saw Elvis play the acoustic guitar back in the day with 'Jailhouse Rock,' that's when I wanted to play. I think I was 6. All I could think of back then, was that would be a great job...’
George Johnson of the Brothers Johnsons, a Soul/Funk/R&B band itself associated with, inter alia, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, The Supremes, and Billy Preston, from an interview found in an article written by Wes Wood for the Daily Bulletin and published on August 30th 2016.
Few would guess a link, but there is a musical thread connecting Elvis and rock’n’roll with soul and funk. Stax records Legend, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger Booker T, of Booker T. & the M.G.'s, paid tribute, too:
‘I think Elvis and BB King both did as much for the world of music coming through Memphis as anyone.’
Booker T. Jones, being interviewed by Virgin Magazine 2015
‘Elvis is my man.’
Janis Joplin, as published in the Elvis Express.
Nice story from a songwriter:
“It's called 'Love Song of the Year' and it's on the 'Promised Land' album, When I met Elvis, he leaned over and said, "How do you like what I did with your song?". Not one single artist who used my songs ever did something like that, but Elvis did.”
Chris Christian as noted in an interview with Newswest 9,ansdpubkished on their February 23,2019 edition.
"We feel like we always knew who Elvis was. He was perfect. No matter what kind of music we sing - gospel, rock, country - we all copy Elvis."
- Pistol Annies
The key is not to be like Elvis, as in copying his music, but to follow his example and develop your own original talent. The market was soon flooded with Elvis copyists, and a miserable bunch they were. They were enough to have put the world off the real thing. At the same time there were the musically talented and intelligent who were inspired by him to enter music and develop their own persona.
Q: Do you have a favorite singer, or who do you admire?
A: I guess my main influence is Elvis Presley. I really just like his style of music and how he really takes the stage. Everything that he does, I guess.
- Country singer Alex Hall
Alex Hall Found His Unique Sound When He Stopped Mimicking His Heroes
Alex Hall was only 5 years old when he was bitten by the musical bug. After his family introduced him to the music of Elvis Presley, Hall made up his mind: he was going to be a singer.
“From the time that I could remember music, I always wanted to be Elvis Presley. That was the first recollection of music that I have.”
Hall recalling in interview to Country Now over the phone.
“For the longest time, and I didn’t realize it, I was really mimicking people that I idolized... It was a lot of redoing what they’ve already done and it wasn’t going anywhere for me and I started to realize that.”
It was then, after “countless hours locked in a bedroom with a guitar,” that he tapped into his unique sound and ultimately figured out what he wanted to say.
“Who am I going to speak for? Who are my people? It’s been a journey of figuring that out.”
“I think it [“Half Past You”] showcases a lot of my influences, but it doesn’t sound like anybody else.”
As Elvis himself said, “I don’t sound like nobody.”
In August 1953, an eighteen-year-old Elvis Presley entered the Memphis Recording Service carrying the guitar he had received for his eleventh birthday. He would claim that he had gone to the studio to make a record for his mother on her birthday (her birthday had long gone) or out of curiosity to hear what he sounded like (he could have paid a quarter to make a record at the drugstore, which often had small recording booths similar to the ones at a county fair). Elvis was actually auditioning without having the confidence to openly say so, obviously fearing the embarrassment of rejection and failure. A recording at Sun Studio, where a sound engineer could mix the sound levels to professional standards, would be infinitely superior. More than that, Sun was known for recording country and blues artists that weren’t being recorded elsewhere. It was in the press and making a name for itself. Elvis was putting himself forward to be discovered.
Sun secretary Marion Keisker, who met and recorded Elvis that day, recalled in an interview from 1970: “We had a conversation, which I had reason to remember for many, many years afterwards, having gone through it with every editor that I tried to talk to during the time that I was promoting him for Sun.”
Marion asked Elvis, “What kind of a singer are you?” “I sing all kinds,” Elvis said. That revealed nothing. She persisted, “Who do you sound like?” “I don't sound like nobody,” he answered.
Everything and nothing, everyone and no-one. They appear to be non-answers. They were actually precise and accurate statements that sum Elvis up as much as anything can. Elvis sang ‘all kinds’ of songs for ‘all kinds’ of people.
Marion Keisker made a note beside Elvis's name: Good ballad singer.
‘Elvis was the thing. Whatever people say, he was it. I was not competing against Elvis, Rock happened to be the media I was born into. He was the one, that's all. Those people who picked paint brushes like Van Gogh, probably wanted to be Renoir, or whoever went before him. I wanted to be Elvis.’
John Lennon's words of appreciation, as read posthumously by his son Julian on his own behalf and that of his younger brother Sean, both of whom were chosen by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to induct Presley in 1986
Bob Dylan said something similar:
‘You feel like an impostor, when someone says something you know you're not, like you're a prophet, or a saviour. Elvis, yes, I could easily want to become him.’
Bob Dylan in response to a question from CBS correspondent Ed Bradley, who asked him how he saw himself in his early years, as told in a one hour special retrospective on his life, entitled "Dylan looks back" and broadcast in the December 5, 2004 edition of "60 Minutes."
‘I was always struck by the idea that when John Lennon was singing back in Germany, he was trying to be Elvis Presley, but it was nothing like Elvis Presley. That’s very exciting to me that you can be inspired by something so much that it drives you to this point, but nobody outside of yourself can see that that is where it’s coming from.’
Ted Hutt, UK Grammy Award winning music producer, musician and song writer, one of the founding members for the bands Promise, Great Unwashed, Gods Hotel, Reacharound, and Flogging Molly, in an interview with Musicradar published on July 22, 2018.
Paul Simon declares that his all-time favourite song is Elvis’ ‘Mystery Train.’ He is another who was inspired and influenced by Elvis:
‘The first time I heard his music, back in ’54 or ’55, I was in a car and I heard the announcer say, “Here’s a guy who, when he appears on stage in the South, the girls scream and rush the stage”. Then he played ‘That’s all right, mama’. I thought his name was about the weirdest I’d ever heard. I thought for sure he was a Black guy. Later on I grew my hair like him, imitated his stage act – once I went all over New York looking for a lavender shirt like the one he wore on one of his albums. I felt wonderful when he sang ‘Bridge over troubled water’, even though it was a touch on the dramatic side – but so was the song. It was unbelievable, and I thought to myself, how the hell can I compete with that?’
Paul Simon, whose all time favourite song is Elvis' Mystery Train, as published in wwwelvis.netwhattheysaytheysayframehtml
In other words, in trying to be like Elvis, people became singers and musicians who found their own talent, their own voices, and developed in their own way, making their own unique contribution in the process. The Elvis impersonators actually don’t imitate Elvis at all, in seeking to copy they are the very antithesis of Elvis. It is the ones who, maybe starting out trying to copy him, but who find their own talent and develop it, are the real Elvis imitators. You have to make your own original contribution:
Freddie Mercury captured the spirit of Elvis perfectly:
‘I'm going to be like him one day.’
Freddie Mercury
In wanting to be like Elvis, young Faroukh Bulsara became the one and only, the inimitable Freddie Mercury:
‘I like to live life. I certainly work hard for it, and I want to have a good time. Don't deny me that. It might not come again and I want to enjoy myself a little. I liked to sing, I don't know, call it natural gift or whatever, you know, I'm not afraid to say it. It's just I like to sing and then I suddenly realized that I could actually write songs and then make my own music rather than before I would, you know, sort of copy Elvis Presley.’
Mrs Bulsara, mother of Freddie Mercury, recalling what Freddie told her about how he saw his future in light of seeing and hearing Elvis, for an article published by to Mid Day, on November 21, 2016
That’s exactly it. The lesser talents who merely copied Elvis are not Elvis imitators at all, they are the anti-Elvis. It’s the ones who followed his example to develop their own talents and bents who truly followed in Elvis’ footsteps.
‘Freddie had two people in a pedestal, Elvis Presley and John Lennon. Those were the people he thought made a difference in music and he would never had dreamed he would be put in the same pedestal alongside them. I think he got his wish...’
Peter Freestone, personal assistant to Freddy Mercury, in an interview with El Nuevo Dia and published on September 4, 2016
‘impersonating Elvis at the age of four is when I first realized I wanted to become a performer.’
Bruno Mars, realitytvworld.com/news/bruno-mars-talks-fashion-e
‘He was a unique artist – an original in an area of imitators.’
Mick Jagger, lead singer of Rolling Stones.
Joe Cocker began his career imitating Elvis under the name Vance Arnold. He found his own voice. Which is what the blues is all about. And he proclaimed Elvis to be the greatest blues singer in the world:
‘Elvis is the greatest blues singer in the world today.
circa 1961, as noted in about education.com
The moral is: be unique and not an imitator.
Elvis’ influence continued long after his initial impact. In fact, it extends to long after his death:
‘Elvis Presley, at age 13.’
Argentinean singer and director of the the Espacio Malaver Singing School Francisco Bruneta's answer as to who was his first and greatest influence, and at what age that took place, as published in Queen's Chronicle's edition of September 15, 2016. Brunetta was born actually 5 years AFTER Presley's death.
The biggest artists of the rock and pop world never ceased to be Elvis fans. I heard George Harrison talking on Joe Brown’s rock’n’roll show on BBC Radio 2 in the 1990s. Harrison, a member of the biggest and best band ever, was talking of Elvis like a fan.
‘About two days after Elvis's 1969 Vegas shows, I was back in New York and went into Albert Grossman's office because I was trying to see Bob Dylan and he managed him. He said that he was in Woodstock. For some reason he suddenly put me on the phone with Dylan and I didn't know what to say to him because I hadn't planned to interview him. I told him I'd just been to see Elvis. From that moment instead of me being a Bob Dylan fan we were both Elvis fans. Dylan asked me precisely, "What did he do? Did he do the Sun stuff? Did he do 'That's All Right, Mama'? Did he do 'Mystery Train'? Who's in the band?" Dylan read the New York Times review but he wanted to know what I thought of it. All these questions. Two days later I'm back in England and I'm on the phone with John Lennon and I get exactly the same questions from him about Elvis. Lennon asked, "How was the show? Did he do any of the Sun numbers? Did he play 'Mystery Train'?" It showed me more than anything that rock stars are basically fans.’
Ray Connolly, UK columnist, novelist, script-writer and interviewer and biographer for both Lennon and Presley,as told to Ken Sharp,of EIN, on January 9,2010
‘It had been a sensational interview and I knew I had everything I needed for an excellent story for Rolling Stone. I truly felt a real connection with Paul Rogers and his new band Bad Company which gave me the courage to do what I did next: invite the singer to see Elvis Presley, who was performing on the night of May 11, 1974 at the Inglewood Forum. And I knew Rodgers was a huge fan, even trying to sneak into Graceland one time back when he was with his previous band Free. As we made the 45-minute drive to the Inglewood Forum —a huge 20,000-seat arena where the Los Angeles Lakers played— Paul couldn’t stop talking about finally seeing Elvis. We parked and I handed Paul his ticket. He looked at it like it was the Holy Grail itself. We walked inside, found our seats and from the moment Presley took the stage, Rodgers could barely contain himself, screaming, shouting and jumping up and down like a kid, acting the way I did when I first saw his previous band, Free, so many years earlier when they opened for Blind Faith. Watching Paul while he watched a then-34-year old Elvis do his thing felt like an out-of-body experience. It was like some perfect circle. When the lights came up and as everybody was exiting the arena, Paul saw various members of Led Zeppelin along with Peter Grant, who by then managed both Bad Company and Led Zeppelin, going backstage. I knew I wouldn’t be able to go there myself, but I didn’t really care, all I wanted was for Paul to get to meet his hero. However, we were stopped by a pair of burly bodyguards guarding the backstage entrance. I tried to explain to them that this was Paul Rogers, but they weren’t bulging. Eventually, we had a message relayed backstage and when Peter finally came back out, he told Paul he couldn’t get him in. If Paul was hurt by being treated so selfishly —it felt as if Led Zeppelin wanted an audience with the King all by themselves— he didn’t show it. Paul was still jubilant so when we returned to the hotel, that's when Paul told me, “I’ll just tell my friends I talked to him anyway." He had purchased a souvenir booklet and would use that as evidence though Paul and I would always know the truth.’
Excerpted from Steve Rosen's article entitled "Behind the curtain: Taking Paul Rogers, (then frontman for the UK supergroup Bad Company and formerly of the band Free) to an Elvis Presley concert in Los Angeles, as published in Rockcellar Magazine's March, 6 2015's edition.
‘When I’m here, I’m not James Taylor the entertainer, I’m James Taylor the Elvis fan.’
Singer songwriter and Elvis fan James Taylor, telling Rhonda Lamb, Assistant Director of the Elvis Presley Birthplace, in Tupelo, MS, how he felt when visiting Elvis birthplace, in an article published on the Daily Journal on September 25, 2017.
‘Having those voices surround me as I sang was the most indescribable feeling I had ever experienced. Now I understand why this means so much to you.’
Cass Elliot, of the Mamas and the Papas, after having asked Elvis why did he sing Gospel music, over and over after his shows, and Elvis challenging her to do so herself, with the backing of his gospel quartet, which they did.
Punk poet John Cooper Clarke is an Elvis fan. When asked who his heroes are, Clarke responds without hesitation:
‘Elvis Presley all the way. He was my hero when I was seven and remains so to this day.’
John Cooper Clarke, as published on the New Statesman Magazine's November 7, 2018 edition.
Ian Gillan, lead singer with Deep Purple, is a fan. More than that, though, he describes Elvis as an educator:
‘Along with the rest of "Deep Purple", I once had the chance to meet Elvis. For a young singer like me, he was an absolute inspiration. I soaked up what he did like blotting paper. It's the same as being in school — you learn by copying the maestro. His personality was also extremely endearing, his interviews were very self-effacing (and), he came over as gentle and was generous in his praise of others. He had a natural, technical ability, but there was something in the humanity of his voice, and his delivery. Those early records at the Sun Records label are still incredible and the reason is simple: he was the greatest singer that ever lived.
Ian Gillan, lead singer and frontman of the UK hard rock band "Deep Purple", interviewed by Classic Rock magazine, explaining why Presley belongs in the list of rock icons ( as published in blabbermouth.net, on 3rd January, 2007)
From Deep Purple we come to Whitesnake:
‘With all the Led Zeppelin comparisons and stuff - it was very much a hybrid of 1957's 'Jailhouse Rock' by Elvis Presley and the middle piece was inspired by a Jeff Beck Group song called 'Rice Pudding.'
David Coverdale, Whitesnake's mastermind, discussing the band's staple 1987 hit "Still of the Night," in an interview with Ultimate Guitar as published on 2 December 2017.
From hard rock, we move to ABBA.
‘Elvis Presley still does it for me. I wish I’d had the chance to sing a duet with him.’
Agnetha Faltskog when asked who her music heroes are.
On BBC Radio 2's 'The tracks of my years,' Agnetha chose Elvis’ ‘Ask Me,’ from 1963. It’s a European song, taken from the Italian song "Io," by Domenico Modugno, singer and writer of ‘Volare.’ A beautiful song beautifully sung by Elvis.
‘He is so big. He is the king, really. Even for me. And I could maybe choose some other songs that are more well known but each time I hear this one and maybe it’s because I am such a romantic person. I just hear him singing this and it just gives me goose fever [sounds like ghost fever the way she says it, Ken Bruce intervenes to say ‘goose.’] It’s incredible how good he was singing, the timing, the timing he has is fantastic.’
‘That’s what people miss about Elvis sometimes is that he was a rock and roll singer but he could also deliver almost any kind of song. A heartfelt delivery on some of those.’
‘And it was really believable,’ Agnetha adds.
And influential. ABBA's Benny Andersson was also inspired by Elvis. It was hearing an Elvis Presley song that sparked his passion for the piano.
ABBA's Benny Andersson remembers the song that sparked his love for piano
Soundtrack of my life: Benny Andersson
The first record I bought ... Elvis Presley, Jailhouse Rock (1957).
It’s the piano introduction to the B-side ‘Treat Me Nice’ that Andersson flipped over.
ABBA engineer Michael B. Tretow is also an avowed Elvis fan.
‘His latest album, "Piano", is a collection of his past work, stripped down so all you hear is his beloved piano. It was hearing an Elvis Presley song that sparked his passion for the piano when he was young.’
About ABBA-founder Benny Andersson's decision to take up piano, at age 11 in his native Sweden, specifically after hearing "Treat me nice", the B side of the "Jailhouse Rock" single, as noted by Tom Power of CBCRadio on December 10, 2017
There are those who say that it is difficult to detect much of an Elvis influence in the music of ABBA. But I’m not so sure. There’s a danger of reading a connection where there is none, notes being notes and words being words, as things we share. But the lyrics to Elvis’ ‘Shake that Tambourine’ savour more than a little of ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen,’ with the line ‘shake my little dancin’ queen.’ You’ll have to work out if I am having a little half-jest here. I’m deadly serious, though, when I say that the introduction to ABBA's 'Waterloo' is strikingly similar to the introduction to Elvis' ‘King of the Whole Wide World.’
Rock me gently, as Andy Kim would say. Talking of whom:
‘My older brothers played Elvis all the time and there was a lot about his music that inspired us all. Not only an inspiration but he showed up to give his generation permission on a lot of fronts to carry a torch. When I finally met him in Houston, it was like a receiving line at a wedding, as surreal a moment as any in my life. I could not even actually shake his hand. I just bowed.’
Canadian singer Andy Kim, interviewed by phone from Toronto by Patrick Bales and published on the Orillia Packet & Time website on March 17, 2017
On Ken Bruce’s Tracks of My Years, Agnetha also selected a Françoise Hardy song. Agnetha has good taste:
‘A French artist that I like very much … when I heard her voice .. it had such a good feeling. I love that singer, really.’ Françoise Hardy was also inspired and influenced by Elvis and remains a big fan to this day:
‘Elvis Presley was an important influence to my generation and we all loved him very much. I wrote a song called “All Over the World,” influenced so much by his ballad "Where do you come from" that the British musician I was working with, Charles Blackwell, put backing singers behind me who sounded exactly like the Jordanaires. I think that had something to do with the success that song had in England. Back in the ’60s, when Elvis wasn’t performing, I always said, “The day he comes back to the stage, I will go to see his show.” When it happened, at the beginning of the ’70s, I made the trip to Las Vegas. I was not disappointed at all. I was amazed.’
Françoise Hardy, France's top female singer-songwriter of the 1960's, in an interview with Pitchfork and published on May 9, 2018.
The ‘French Elvis,’ of course, was the immense Johnny Hallyday:
‘I adored all that period in the history of cinema — everything that spilled forth from the Actors Studio. I actually wanted to be an actor before I became a singer. But when I was 12, I discovered rock ’n’ roll through Elvis Presley. He became a part of my life, had a great voice and was the first rock star I saw in the cinema. In fact, the day he died, my entire youth went with him.’
Johnny Hallyday French rocker, in an interview for Canadian television in 2002 and with Fort Lauderdale’s Sun-Sentinel in 2003.
There are people in France who say the same of Johnny.
It cheers me immensely to learn that Serge Gainsbourg was an Elvis fan. I’m always left wondering if Serge is having a little joke at the expense of all us poor tasteless low-brow people, and am always on alert against his cynicism. But I think Gainsbourg’s real targets are those who fake, plastic and plain dull. Charlotte Gainsbourg gave a precise list of her father’s musical favourites:
‘My father had very specific tastes, and that’s what we listened to, namely Chopin, Bach, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and David Bowie. I think that’s it.’
Charlotte Gainsbourg, an interview published by NOISEY on December 4, 2017.
One of the best singers in recent years, for me, has been k.d. lang.
“Elvis is alive … and she's beautiful!”
Madonna, upon meeting k.d. lang.
k.d. lang is an Elvis fan. Of course:
‘He had total love in his eyes when he performed. He was the total androgenous beauty. I would practice Elvis in front of the mirror when I was twelve or thirteen years old.’
k.d. Lang, as published in www.graceland.com
Raul Malo, lead singer with The Mavericks, was born the same year and month as I was. And his experience was precisely the same as mine:
‘Ever since I was a kid, I was just glued to the record player. I would save allowances to buy Elvis records every week and still remember when I first heard "It's Now or Never". I thought that was the greatest rock 'n' roll record I ever heard. It just blew my mind. But it blew my mind even more when my mom showed me it was actually an Italian aria. O Sole Mio, remains a part of my performance repertoire to this day. It was like, 'There you go. There is a connection with all of this music.' It all started from there."
Raul Malo, explaining to Walter Tunis how he became a music aficionado, as published on November 27 at Lex.go.co
I love how he describes ‘It’s Now or Never’ as the greatest rock’n’roll record ever. This is the song which critics identify as the point at which Elvis ceased to be a rock star and cynics say Elvis starts to croon like an Italian waiter. The critics and cynics talk absolute rubbish here. Not only is ‘It’s Now or Never’ a great song superbly sung, it rocks like hell. It has immense power and punch. I always paired it with ‘Surrender’ as powerful vocal performances. It had precisely the same effect on me when I was young as it did on Raul Malo. It knocked me off my feet. I thought it was the absolute pinnacle of Elvis’ career, and the facts and figures seemed to prove it. It was number one for decades and sold billions of records, if my memory serves me correctly.
‘It’s Now or Never’ isn’t quite rock’n’roll, of course. Indeed, critics may have a point when they say it isn’t remotely rock’n’roll. To those for whom music is music, that’s a moot point. Take Harry Nilsson, often referred to as the fifth Beatle. Nilsson was supremely gifted, steeped in pre-rock’n’roll music. In a 1968 interview, both John Lennon and Paul McCartney declare Nilsson to have been their ‘favourite artist’ and ‘favourite American group.’ Lennon put it this way: ‘everything influences everything, Nilsson's my favorite group.’ I like that reference to Nilsson as a group. It captures precisely that musical multiplicity which Elvis embodied in his range, interests, and persona. If anyone could understand that identity, then it would have been Harry Nilsson, a singer with a superb three octave vocal range. Nilsson has a unique opinion on Elvis, effectively inverting the conventional wisdom started by Lennon that Elvis died when he went into the army. In one of his last interviews, Nilsson explained:
‘John (Lennon) always felt that Elvis was washed up after he returned from the services. We used to argue about it (laughs). I was influenced more by the movie albums than by anything he did in the early days.
When I heard the ‘Frankie and Johnny’ recordings, I was drawn in by the sincerity in Elvis' approach to Dixietime music. He took you back while managing to keep a 60’s sensibility in evidence. It was my favourite album of his and I still treasure it. It had a lot to do with how ‘Harry’ (Nilsson's superb album from 1969) came to be. I put a lot of Dixie in there. A bit of elevator music. I really borrowed from Elvis and the results pleased me beyond doubt.’
As one who continues to argue that there are treasures to be had in the Elvis movie soundtracks, to hear Harry Nilsson say this pleases me no end. Nilsson was no slouch, musically. Significantly, he drew on musical traditions older than rock’n’roll. He was creative and inventive, musically, and this no doubt attracted The Beatles. You can hear the connection with something like Sgt Pepper’s. But no-one ever seems to allow Elvis to be similarly creative and inventive. Instead, he is confined to rock’n’roll and slammed every time he deviates from that identity. I wouldn’t want to stretch a point to argue a position that it cannot support. The music in the soundtracks was not about invention and creation in the way that the music of Nilsson and The Beatles was. But it wasn’t as wretched as critics claim. In deviating from the rock’n’roll of the fifties and from the rock of the sixties, the Elvis film music possesses a certain uniqueness and originality. Harry Nilsson enjoyed confounding expectations. He lost his audience as a result. People like the familiar. Nilsson kept on delivering albums that were different to the last ones. That was considered confusing. The Beatles did the same and were heralded geniuses. And Elvis? In the middle of Dylan and The Doors and soul, he gave us ‘Harem Holiday’ and ‘Frankie and Johnny.’ It seems ridiculous now. But Nilsson has identified something that has long since gone missing as a result of the negativity of the critics. I’ll turn the critics on their heads and smack them on their nose and say as a scholar and a genius that not only was Elvis’ ‘Frankie and Johnny’ the true inspiration for Sgt. Peppers, it actually holds up far better as a concept than does the Beatles’ purported masterpiece. I’ll give you time to recover from that statement before carrying on. There are some great songs on Sgt Peppers, admittedly. But they are great songs. There is no unifying theme. Some of it sounds terribly contrived to my ears, with the studio trickery covering up the dearth of ideas and inspiration. I don’t care for ‘Lucy in the Sky’ or ‘For The Benefit of Mr Kite,’ whilst ‘When I’m Sixty Four’ really is a throwback. Elvis going down the Mississippi on an old showboat, complete with period costumes, every time for me. ‘Petunia the Gardener’s Daughter’ every time for me.
Thank you Harry Nilsson, supremely talented artiste! It takes someone like Nilsson to appreciate the rich diversity to be found in the Elvis catalogue. Harry rescues the Elvis soundtracks! Not before time:
‘That's where Elvis's movie soundtracks can often come in: Dixieland (two types), Hawaiian, Latin American, Eastern, to name a few. OK, some of it - or even much of it - may be 'faux' but it can be fun. As dire as the movie is, even the ‘Paradise Hawaiian Style’ soundtrack can put me in a happy, sunny, colourful mood, with a large slice of nostalgia in the mix, too, for this mature fan!’
Harry’s got it! Harry’s a wise man. I find Harry Nilsson’s view here a breath of fresh air that just blows the cynicism and laziness of conventional views of the Elvis film songs away. I trust my ears. There are some very good songs in the Elvis films, and some decent, pleasant, and entertaining songs beneath those. Not every song has to change the world. To reduce Elvis to his influential culture changing recordings of the 1950’s is to miss his significance and worth as a popular singer.
That said … Elvis was the undoubted leader of the rock’n’roll revolution that changed the musical and cultural landscape. Tom Petty recalls coming face to face with Elvis when aged ten during the filming of "Follow that dream", in Ocala, Florida, in July of 1961:
‘I'd never thought much about rock 'n' roll until that moment, when I both caught the Elvis fever and kicked off my love of music. And I never got rid of it. There was a huge crowd, the biggest crowd I've ever seen in the streets of Ocala and then, I swear to God, a line of white Cadillacs pulled in, and I was standing up on a box to see over everyone's head, because a big roar started up when the cars pulled in. Guys in mohair suits began bounding out of each car. Is that Elvis? I muttered every time. He finally stepped out radiant as an angel. He seemed to glow and walk above the ground. It was like nothing I'd ever seen in my life. At 50 yards, we were stunned by what this guy looked like, and then he came walking right towards uncle Earl, aunt Ellen and little old me!!! I still don't know, to this day, what he said to us, because I was just too dumbfounded. And then he went into his trailer. The day after, I learned all of those early Elvis songs and having that kind of background in rock 'n' roll, of where it had come from, has served me to this day. It became an invaluable thing to have. So for that, I thank him.’
Tom Petty
‘My parents brought home Elvis Presley’s "Hound Dog" and I would sit there, on my stomach, with my face right at this little record player, playing that song over and over and over. I didn’t know what Elvis looked like, what any of this was about, all I knew was there was some kind of groove and energy coming off it. That is when I lost interest in playing Kick the Can or Red Rover with the neighbourhood kids and with a gift of his first guitar, I became a bit of a withdrawn kid who loved being at home strumming my guitar.’
Canadian rocker Kim Mitchell, as published in the Intelligencer, on November 4, 2017.
I like the idea that the parents were in on the rock’n’roll rebellion. The first Elvis record my mum bought me was the ‘Separate Ways’ album, packed with sad ballads and ending with ‘Old Shep.’ That may not quite be the stuff of revolution but, in the middle of Glam Rock, it was a rebellion of sorts, and set me on a path that deviated slightly from the norm.
As for the image of Elvis as punk and rebel, it’s a complete myth. Elvis was the opposite. Some people accuse Elvis of ‘selling out.’ That can’t be right, for the very reason Elvis never ‘bought in’ to the revolution in the first place. He was being himself and expressing his genuine multiplicity in a time and place divided across so many social, racial, and cultural lines. That made him a liberator and, implicitly, a revolutionary. As to Elvis in person, he was a gentleman who called everyone Sir and Ma’am:
‘I never saw him off the set, but twice, and yet I considered him one of the best friends. A real southern gentleman he was. One of the nicest persons I have ever met in my entire life.’
Mary Ann Mobley, who co-starred with Elvis in two films, in an interview with Joan Rivers, in 1992
The multiplicity of Elvis’ musical persona results in some connections which, at first glance, appear so strange as to be simply impossible but which, when given a little more thought, become so completely understandable as to be entirely expected. Take the connection between Elvis and Dorothy Squires. There should, actually, be no connection whatsoever, given that they come from entirely different generations and work in entirely different genres. Elvis is the leader of the rock’n’roll revolution whilst Dorothy Squires is a somewhat extravagant cabaret artist born in 1915.
I have read speculation as to Elvis having a genuine admiration for the songs of Dorothy Squires, with commentators discussing this interest as something of a joke. The back page of the ‘New Musical Express’ contained a column written by an anonymous writer offering opinions and comments on musical events and issues of the day. One such item in the early seventies concerned Elvis as developing an interest in the songs of Dorothy Squires. I’ve searched my books on Elvis for clues, and have turned up nothing. I doubt that anyone other than me is interested. I heard Dorothy Squires years ago and rather enjoyed her songs. She’s a kind of unrestrained, overemotional Shirley Bassey, if such a thing can be imagined (let alone be possible). I love Elvis the singer of melodramatic ballads in the seventies, too. To me, the connection is not fanciful at all. On the contrary, it makes complete sense. It shouldn’t surprise those critics who accuse the Elvis of the seventies of too much schmaltz and showbiz. None of the Elvis biographers I have read have made any reference to Dorothy Squires. There may be nothing to say. I suspect it’s more a case that there is no interest. The rumours could just merely be another episode in having a joke at the expense of Elvis and his fans. Except that it doesn’t strike me as a joke. For one thing, Elvis not only started to sing the big, emotional, sentimental ballads that were Squires’ trademark, he actually sang a number of the songs that were staples of her act – ‘My Way,’ ‘The Impossible Dream,’ and ‘What Now My Love’ for three. And by 1972 Elvis wasn’t just wearing a jumpsuit, but had added a cape and jewels, the mirror image of Dorothy with her white gowns and feather boas. It could all be mere coincidence, writes Howard Jackson, the only writer I know to have raised the issue of Dorothy Squires. Squires’ appeal was limited to Britain, and even then only to certain parts of the great British public. Jackson describes Squires as a ‘tuneless Shirley Bassey.’ In raising the issue, he expresses incredulity that there could ever have been any interest on Elvis’ part: ‘Whatever his limitations as a critic, Elvis knew a bad note, and Dorothy ploughed into them fearlessly.’ (Howard Jackson, Treat Me Nice p182). That word ‘fearlessly’ suggests that the rumour just might be true to me. Elvis was no mere technician when he came to singing. He valued emotion over and above perfect delivery. Whatever her limitations, Dorothy could emote. The first time I heard her I couldn’t believe my ears. It was wave after wave of gushing emotion, each wave bigger than the last. I thought she would sweep herself away. Jackson also identifies another thing about Squires that could have appealed to Elvis:
‘The clothes, like the music, were suddenly about honour and rank, a celebration of past glory which is all that is left to the old and the weakening as Squires who, after her sexual rejections, may have understood…
It may be that the gossip writer was given real information. An insecure, reduced Elvis had decided he would borrow the tricks from a singer he knew was old and hopeless. He listened to the albums not to hear Squires but to understand how an audience could be inspired by a drama outside the music.’
The Elvis and Dorothy Squires has never cropped up anywhere else. I’m not sure who would want to raise the issue. It could only look bad on Elvis, confirming the views of his harshest critics that he was tasteless. The writer of the column in the New Musical Express remains anonymous to this day. ‘It is best this particular tale remains a ghost story. No, make that horror.’ (Jackson 183).
Jackson ends by asking: ‘is this a tale we can believe?’
I would say that the tale is nowhere near as incredulous as Jackson makes out. In the first place, Dorothy Squires is nowhere near as ‘awful’ a singer as Jackson states, but that may be my own personal taste. Jackson acknowledges that Squires has ‘a strong collection of devoted fans.’ I enjoy listening to her incredibly emotional delivery. Dorothy isn’t afraid of wearing her heart on her sleeve. Listen to her let fly on ‘Till.’ Wow! ‘Say it with Flowers.’ I’m not kidding. Elvis was never a clinical, soulless technician concerned to deliver the notes perfectly. He went out on an emotional limb, he bared his wounded, even broken, heart and exposed his soul. He was never concerned to appease the sophisticates. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Elvis not only knew Dorothy Squires but enjoyed her emotionalism. Jackson speculates that Elvis’ interest began around 1972, just as Elvis felt his powers as a rocker starting to wane. Actually, there is incontrovertible evidence that Elvis’ interest in Dorothy Squires was long standing. This is from page 135 of Roger Moore’s autobiography, recounting the time when Dorothy (Dot) Squires met Elvis. Roger should know if anyone – Dorothy Squires was his first wife, and he was married to her the time they both met Elvis:
‘Dot continued to travel between Britain and America when I was out there, in between her tours and engagements. In Los Angeles, she once appeared at the 'Moulin Rouge' club in Hollywood, one of her biggest fans being a young Elvis Presley, who attended most of her performances and repeatedly asked her to sing 'This Is My Mother's Day!' He came backstage and, being very nervous, introduced himself to me - as though I didn't know who he was. 'Hello, I'm Roger,' I said. 'How are you, sir?' he asked. 'Lovely to meet you, sir.' He insisted on calling me 'sir' throughout our chat, and acted as though he was in awe of me. Him! In awe of me! Elvis then told Dot how much he admired her and hoped he might have just a little of the success she had achieved. If only he knew. If only I knew!’
Roger Moore, recounting the time he and his first wife, entertainer Dorothy (Dot) Squires met Elvis (page 135 of his autobiography)
Remarkable! Mystery solved. All you had to do was ask Sir Roger Moore. It’s believable. It’s a nice song. Elvis loved ‘Mama Liked the Roses.’ That’s Elvis, sad, emotional, sentimentalist to the core. The story is entirely believable. This is one of the many things I like about Elvis. When I write of Elvis’ genuine multiplicity in music I mean precisely that. I don’t mean that Elvis had impeccably good and discerning taste across all the legitimate genres approved by the gatekeepers. I mean that Elvis could hear something in all things, redeeming the most unlikely material. If something had something, Elvis would be alive to it. I like his varied catalogue. It’s like my house. As you move through it you are increasingly excited by that ‘whatever next!’ feeling.
‘He is the best ever, the most original, started the ball rolling for us and deserves the recognition.’
Jim Morrison, in 1970
From Dorothy Squires to The Doors. Where else would you find these two most unlikely acts standing side by side? Nowhere, that’s where. They belong together quite naturally in the Elvis world. Critics might not like it. Elvis sang for the people, not the critics.
From the unrestrained emotionalism of Dorothy Squires we go to the very refined tones of Nana Mouskouri:
‘I've been an Elvis fan all my life. It started in 1957, but regrettably, I never met him.’
Nana Mouskouri, in an interview with Telescoup, as published on their online page on September 30, 2018.
‘It's pretty amazing to me that my first hit record was an Elvis Presley record.’
Mac Davis
Super cool pioneer of country rock Gram Parsons was an Elvis fan:
‘The news I could bring is that I met up with The King.’
Gram Parsons on meeting Elvis backstage after a concert in his hometown of Waycross, GA, on February 22, 1956 following which he decided to become a musician. He was 9 years old.
‘I don’t know of anybody that doesn’t like Elvis or heard anybody say, ‘Oh, I don’t like his singing.’ Everybody loved Elvis, and I just think that’s incredible. He was so different in every way — his voice, his style, the way he moved, the way he looked. He just had this charm and charisma and a lot of sex appeal.’
Dolly Parton who, along with a few others, voted Elvis as the top entertainer in CMT Top 40 artist countdown, as published in CMT´s online edition of November 21, 2014.
It’s not actually true that ‘everybody loved Elvis,’ but I know what Dolly means. Elvis had such a genius for multiplicity that he did indeed have ‘something for everybody.’ People just need to listen without prejudice to appreciate the music he offered. That’s incredible.
Gary Puckett, lead singer of the Union Gap, explained in interview how Elvis struck a musical chord within in him early in his career:
‘Elvis had the biggest impact on me, he captured and embodied the whole thing. He had that rockabilly, rock and roll, pop and ballad thing. He was all wrapped up into one for me. I loved listening to “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Don’t Be Cruel,” and I just looked forward to each and every new song that came out.’
Gary Puckett to interviewer Rob Nagy, as published by "The Mercury", on September 8, 2014
The girls seemed to like him:
‘My own musical ambitions were born when I was five, watching the Ed Sullivan Show on TV. When Elvis Presley burst on to the screen, singing 'Don't Be Cruel,' I felt my first sexual thrill, though I didn't know what it was at the time.’
Suzi Quatro, as noted by brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/elvis_presley.html
Suzi Quatro chooses ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ as her favourite Elvis song:
‘I was seven or eight when I first saw Elvis on TV. My dad switched if off in disgust.’
The objection may have been for reasons of either musical or cultural offence. Elvis was considered obscene.
By this stage it is obvious that Elvis has all bases covered. Elvis bridged the avant garde and the mainstream. The first is from Lou Reed, guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of the Velvet Underground:
‘He did have talent, that excitement. We knew the effect he had on future singers and players. I ran out and bought a guitar after I saw him.’
Lou Reed, , as noted on elvis-express.com/ology_home.html
Next is Tim Rice:
‘On board I sing a song that Andrew Lloyd Webber and I wrote for Elvis, “It’s Easy for You.” We have a little Elvis interlude. When I was a spotty 15-year-old, Elvis was my hero, and I never dreamt that many years later, he would sing a song that we wrote. When he was in Vegas, we met his music publisher, Freddy Bienstock, and he said, "Oh, Elvis’s always looking for good songs.” This was after Elvis had broken up with Priscilla Presley, and we wrote “It’s Easy for You,” about leaving a wife and child for another woman. In 1977 it came out: It was the last track on the last album he recorded before he died. It’s the one song many people haven’t heard, but one I think they enjoy very much in the shows.’
Tim Rice, in an article entitled "When a Two-Time Oscar-Winning Composer Puts on a Show on Luxury Cruises as published on their 21 February 2019 edition.
I heard Tim Rice in interview say Elvis did a very good job on the song, even though the recording itself leaves something to be desired. I don’t think Rice knew that it was recorded in Elvis’ own home, Elvis being too ill to travel to the recording studio.
Another artist firmly in the mainstream is the super-talented Neil Sedaka, singer and writer of many classic songs:
‘We went backstage and he told me he used to play me on the jukebox when he was in the Army in Germany. He admired the high tenor male voice – he was a baritone. I was and remain a huge fan of his. He was a phenomenon.’
Neil Sedaka in an interview for the Nottingham Post, on October 30, 2014
And Cliff Richard. No Elvis, no Beatles. No Elvis, No Cliff!
‘I owe Elvis Presley my career and the entire music business owes him its lifeline...’
Cliff Richard, as noted in iheartelvisnet
Cliff is still going strong to this day. From Cliff we go to Leon Russell, American musician and songwriter who boasted a 60 year career:
‘I'm a big Elvis fan, so I went to see him when he was playing in Las Vegas and, after the show, I was invited up to his room to meet him. I was very excited so I blurted out: "Why did you make all those stupid movies?" I couldn't believe I've said that and felt so embarrassed but Elvis just said, "Last thing I remember I was driving a truck" So now every time I say something stupid, I think of Elvis.’
Rocker Leon Russell, talking about the time he met his idol, after starting off his concert in Denver, on April 26, 2015, with Presley's cover version of Ray Charles' "I got a woman.”
How many poor kids turn down a lot of money, and the security a lot of money brings? Elvis was not as stupid as his critics thought him to be, nor as stupid as his critics. We’ll still be talking about and listening to Elvis long after his critics have faded to the oblivion they deserve.
‘Little Richard, he was the first one that really got to me. He and, of course, Elvis Presley.’
Bob Seger as noted in the Seger file, an unofficial web site about the music of Bob Seger, dated June 1999
I am using an awful lot of words in an attempt to define the indefinable. In my defence, I am actually listening to Elvis as I write. The proofs are not on paper but in my ears:
‘A lot has been written and said about why he was so great, but I think the best way to appreciate his greatness is just to go back and play some of the old records... Time has a way of being very unkind to old records, but Elvis' keep getting better and better.’
- Huey Lewis
‘He's a great singer. Gosh, Elvis is so great. You have no idea how great he is, really, you don't. You have absolutely no comprehension—it's absolutely impossible. I can't tell you why he's so great, but he is. He's sensational. He can do anything with his voice. Elvis can make some masterful records and can do anything. He can sing any way you want him to.’
Phil Spector, record producer, the originator of the "Wall of Sound" technique in an interview with Rollingstone magazine in 1969.
Springsteen selected Elvis' version of "Hound Dog" as one of the eight songs he would take to a desert island, as revealed to the BBC4, in an article published in Rollingstone Magazine's edition of 17 December 2016.
With the Ed Sullivan broadcast, Springsteen said in 2012, 'Television and Elvis gave us full access to a new language, a new form of communication, a new way of being, a new way of looking, a new way of thinking about sex, about race, about identity, about life, a new way of being an American (and) a human being, and a new way of hearing music'.
‘Somewhere in between the mundane variety acts on a routine Sunday night in the year of our Lord 1956, THE REVOLUTION HAS BEEN TELEVISED.’
‘It was the evening I realized a white man could make magic that you did not have to be constrained by your upbringing, by the way you looked, or by the social context that oppressed you. You could call upon your own powers of imagination, and you could create a transformative self.’
'Everything starts and ends with Elvis', Springsteen said, more succinctly, in 1978.
“There have been a lotta tough guys. There have been pretenders. And there have been contenders. But there is only one king.”
- Bruce Springsteen
‘This is the greatest singer that ever lived. If any guy changed the nature of our world, it’s this fellow, the zenith of male beauty, and some time on a desert island you are going to want to contemplate the nature of eternity. There is only one guy with the vocal equipment to do this, and that’s Elvis Presley with his wonderful reading of “How Great Thou Art.”’
Punk poet John Cooper Clarke on Desert Island Discs.
When asked which of his eight selections he would rush to save if he could only keep one, Clarke replied emphatically: “No hesitation: Elvis.” His selection came as no surprise. When asked who his hero was a bit back, Clarke replied:
“All the way, Elvis Presley. He was my hero when I was seven and remains so to this day.”
‘I mean, they treat me like I’m Elvis there, they really do.’
Rod Stewart to ABC News Radio.
‘Elvis was the king. No doubt about it. People like myself, Mick Jagger and all the others only followed in his footsteps.’
Rod Stewart
‘Bloody Elvis, beating me to the top from the grave.’
Rod Stewart joking about the fact his 2015 album was stopped from topping the UK charts by Elvis' ‘If I Can Dream.’
‘And I remember my mom taking us to see Elvis Presley and that kind of did it … we had the music bug. And then my father took me down to a recording session at ACA, that was Bill Holford’s place. And he put me in a chair and he said, “I’ll be in the office if you need me. Stick around because there are some musicians gonna make a recording session.” And I was kind of enjoying it, and who should walk in but B.B. King and his band. So between seeing Elvis and watching B.B. King record, it was carved in stone.’
ZZ Top̠'s Billy F. Gibbons for Texas Monthly's January 7, 2019 edition.
Years later, ZZ Top would record ‘Viva Las Vegas.’ It’s very good. It’s nowhere near as thrilling as Elvis’ version.
Today
Elvis remains influential. Today’s stars continue to pay tribute to Elvis. As the old controversies fade and die, it is becoming possible to see Elvis in terms of his musical legacy. It is now becoming possible to appreciate Elvis’ songs as music pure and simple.
Prince cited Elvis as one of his key influences (and explained the reasons why in an interview with "Guitar World", published in October of 1998). This next passage is about Prince's former mentor, Pepe Willie, talking in a phone interview on May 12, 2013:
‘I met Elvis Presley at the Dick Clark show at Circus Circus in Las Vegas, a place where a great musical extravaganza with some of the greatest artists of the day always would appear. We were sitting in the audience and Jackie Wilson had just finished his set and then Dick Clark came out, but before he introduced the next act he wanted to announce someone special had arrived, "Ladies and Gentlemen" The lights went down and all of a sudden spotlights went to the back of the room. I looked around and it was Elvis, He was looking cool and wearing shades. He snatched his shades off as if saying "Hello Everybody! then came walking down the aisle to his table and he saw Louise, stopped said "Hi Louise. Hi Nikki" and they started talking. I stood up and he said "Hi." I said "Hi, I'm Pepe. It's nice to meet you." I shook his hand. He said something else to Louise, and then said "See you later" and went to his table. By the time I was in Las Vegas, I had already met tons of celebrities-- Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells, Dionne Warwick and Wayne Newton. I also met Ike and Tina Turner. I drank champagne with Adam Clayton Powell and I met Redd Foxx but, when I saw Elvis, I said, now that man's a star. It was a different kind of thing.’
A band I loved from the rockabilly revival of the late 1970s were The Stray Cats. It was the time of punk rock. I didn’t care for the negativity of punk. I thought punk was ugly and aggressive. I much preferred the rockabilly revival, the music and its message were much more joyous. Brian Setzer of The Stray Cats pays a great tribute to Elvis as the originator:
‘I don't think there is a musician today that hasn't been affected by Elvis' music. His definitive years - 1954-57 - can only be described as rock's cornerstone. He was the original cool.’
Brian Setzer, as published in www.graceland.com
The clincher is Elvis’ unbeatable combination of rock’n’roll and Christmas:
‘That was the standard in my house, he's the only rock 'n' roll guy that dabbled in Christmas.’
Brian Setzer referring to "The Brian Setzer Orchestra's 13th Annual Christmas Rocks," a concert heavily influenced by Elvis 1957 Christmas Album, on 28 November 2016, as published by the Daily Press.
During an appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on January 16, 2017, Shakira was asked if she was an Elvis fan like her father. Her response:
‘Oh yeah, big timeǃǃ’
My childhood hero was Elvis Presley and I wanted to emulate his look
Bappi Lahiri, Indian music composer, director, actor and record producer, in an interview with The Indian Express published on July 01, 2018
Number one for me and no one else comes close; ignore for a second that Presley was the most beautiful human being of all time and that he was easily the most electric performer ever; in his prime, he could sing anything (rock, opera, metal, soul, blues, country – no problem); all the wonks will tell you he did his best work at Sun Records, but for me his immense '50s RCA output is so explosive that it puts everyone else to shame; it’s not just that Elvis had an amazing instrument, no one ever had so much fun putting it to use; whirling back and forth from low to high, from raspy to angelically pretty, the only singer ever that could take any song and transform it into something that sounded like it came from somewhere else, a galaxy or two away.
Brad Laidman, music writer for BLOGCRITICS, reviewing RollingStone Magazine's listing of the 100 "Greatest Singers of all time", as published on 17 November, 2008
‘I always thought that singers have what I call the Elvis Presley syndrome — they think they're Elvis Presley. But they're not Elvis Presley.’
Yngwie Malmsteen, Swedish guitar player extraordinaire, citing one of the reasons he finally got tired of playing lead guitar for numerous other singers and, thus, in his latest album, decided to sing himself, as published by Blabbermouth on October 18, 2018.
"When I was a kid, I loved Elvis. He was the ultimate in cool. Every guy wanted to be Elvis, me included."
- Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
“You couldn’t take your eyes off of him. He was what every musician wanted to be. He was one of the biggest influences on me. I wanted to be Elvis.”
- Joe Perry
“That period was different. When Elvis was there, they were stopping everything. Elvis had the moment for real. While I’m here, its not all about 50 Cent, but it was all about Elvis.”
- 50 Cent
I am a big fan of Elvis music. He shaped the future of rock and roll and I would take my daughter and my mum who is 85 and lots more family and friends to Graceland. It would be a great trip
Peter Reid, English soccer coach and former player, in an interview with Jet Party-s Roadshow which included a question and answers session about his favourite places to travel to.
And when I learned about him, I became a pretty decent Elvis fan. But nothing like Quentin, he probably knows everything about him. He knows about his music, he's probably seen all his movies. Yeah, so someday I'll say hey, tell me some of your feelings about Elvis.
Kurt Russell, from an interview with Sebastian Haselbeck, a writer for the Quentin Tarantino Archives' who asked him whether he and Tarantino had discussed Elvis during the shoot of "The Hateful Eight", as published in the QTA' online page in March of 2015.
Robbie Williams is a fan:
‘Everyone likes at least one Elvis song… Me, I love them all. He was, is, and will remain, the ultimate rock star.’
‘He inspired me to become a performer, he is a legend. And what do I do before I enter a stage? Everytime? Well, I take an Espresso and I pray to Elvis.’
UK singer Robbie Williams
There’s something for everybody, and everything for some people. Which end of the Elvis spectrum are you on?
‘I have a tat of Elvis on my finger along with John Lennon and Jim Morrison. If it wasn't for these guys I would not be making music right now.’
- Post Malone
Britney Spears delivers a cool and considered musical assessment:
‘I think Elvis is the sexiest man to ever walk the earth. I love him.’
Britney Spears
Having witnessed Miley Cyrus singing ‘Hound Dog,’ there are parts of the Elvis fandom I wouldn’t want to venture into, not without protection:
‘"Younger Now,” my new album, was inspired by my love of Elvis Presley and the fantasies I had about him. I used to rewind one of his movies, ‘Blue Hawaii,’ just to hear him say my name. I would do this over and over and over again because he would say 'I love you, Miley' and I would fantasize HIM telling ME that he loved ME.’
Miley Cyrus, revealing for the Daily Mail the source for inspiration for her latest album, Younger now, in an article published on 28 September, 2017.
A touching story. I’m old enough to remember Elvis’ films and concerts on television in the days before video recorders. We would count the days down in anticipation and then huddle round enthralled for the duration. We didn’t have the facility to play favourite bits back and so had to commit as much as we could to memory. We burned Elvis into our hearts and souls. People who get tattoos are doing something similar, I suppose. When her house burned down, Miley Cyrus was only sad about losing her Elvis shrine: ‘“The only thing I was upset about was, I have an Elvis shrine, and every night I tell Elvis good night.’
“Actually, when I tell him good night, I would whisper to him, ‘I wish we could have known each other because we would have been so great for each other.'”
“I’m starting to think that’s why Liam didn’t grab the shrine because I say really creepy things to Elvis all the time. I have this really crazy infatuation love with Elvis.
“The only thing I’m sad about is my Elvis shrine. That’s all I wanted.”
There is something strangely reassuring, comforting even, about knowing that there is at least one soul in the world who is madder than you are.
God bless Miley Cyrus, for all that she butchered ‘Hound Dog.’ I have never heard her album ‘Younger Now.’ But maybe I should. I should make the concerted effort to unify the Elvis world, integrating all who influenced him and all whom he influenced. That makes for quite a range of music.
Elvis is the original trans-genre artiste:
‘No matter what genre of music you like, no matter who your favorite singer or group is, everyone, including myself, have been influenced, inspired and emotionally touched by Elvis. He was and still is the king and will forever be a part our musical history.’
- Toby Keith
Others out there are now doing it Elvis’ way:
‘Radio Head, Harry Styles, and Elvis Presley— that is the wide range of genres likely responsible for my sound and style of writing.’
Trevor Drury, model and musician, in an interview with Backstrage, as published on November 8, 2017
‘I have enjoyed a lot of songs of various genres in my life but Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and John Denver are my favorite American male singers.’
Feedback's Labu Rahman, singer and guitarist for Bangladesh's top rock band, in an interview with the Daily Star and as published on February 2, 2018.
I like this broad-mindedness in music. I have no problem with listening to Dorothy Squires, Neil Sedaka, Jimi Hendrix, and The Ramones.
‘To me, John Lennon and Elvis Presley were punks, because they made music that evoked those emotions in people.’
Joey Ramone
‘I love singing some Johnny Cash, which is interesting because it's in a guy's key; I love singing Elvis Presley.’
Samantha Barks
I love singing Elvis. The first thing I noticed in singing Elvis is the incredible range of his voice. It leaves me floundering. I have to do what all singers should do, and find my own voice.
"My first-ever performance on a stage was miming 'The Wonder of You' in a school play at age 10. I have worn Elvis' shades and very briefly piloted what used to be Elvis' plane... oh, and listened to his records thousands of times. Truly the ultimate and most important rock 'n' roller of them all."
- Joe Elliott
I used to mime full concerts of Elvis’ songs at home. The windows would steam up. I was hot! I could play a mean air guitar too.
‘Elvis Presley has been such a determining force in music, before and after his death. On a personal level, I owe so much to Elvis as he is essentially the musician who pushed me to be the performer I am. I have always loved his music so I am returning to celebrate him along with some of my amazing musician friends.’
Daniel Anderson, vocalist in the Harvey World Travel East of London-organized benefit for the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa)'s, entitled The Wonder of You: The Story of Elvis, as reported by the Go&Express, on October 6, 2017
Elvis is big with the new country crowd, the biggest of whom is Garth Brooks. Garth Brooks has sold a trillion records. But he defers to Elvis:
“No one will ever touch Elvis.”—Garth Brooks
“I'm sitting in the drive-through and I've got my three girls in the back and this station comes on and it's playing 'Jailhouse Rock,' the original version, and my girls are jumping up and down, going nuts. I'm looking around at them and they’ve heard Dad's music all the time and I don't see that out of them."
- Garth Brooks
‘Love songs are like a fairy tale, but a musical form. Any love songs that are old school, but have a nostalgic feeling to them, I love. My favorite is Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” It’s such a romantic song, Whenever you listen to it, it gives you that warm feeling inside, very comforting, that you could find somebody that loves you that much one day.’
Country singer Maddison Krebs, for Western Wheel, as published on February 14, 2018, in an article entitled Musicians share their favourite love songs
‘In fact, every artist puts a bit of the King into every performance. We’re all just trying to be Elvis, aren’t we?’
Tim McGraw, on his first influence, as published in CMT News online page on July 14, 2016.
When asked who his early musical heroes are and what inspires him, Canadian Country Music artist Aaron Pritchett replied:
‘My biggest influence because of his charisma and sheer, pure talent was Elvis Presley. He still influences me today, actually, and with the help of the internet I can watch videos of him performing live anytime I want.’
Aaron Pritchett, as published on the 15 January, 2015 online edition on 24Hrs, Vancouver
“When I saw Elvis on television, I just fell in love with him completely. As a singer, I want to be able to relate to an audience like this man does. Of course, nobody can – he was the best there ever was.”
- Faith Hill
"It’s insane the charisma he had. I’ve never seen anything like it to this day.”
- Faith Hill
"Any self-respecting child of the South would have to admit that Elvis was our North Star, especially if you were a musician."
- Marty Stuart
"Before I knew anything about him, I knew his voice. He made it possible for all of us singers and musicians that followed to do what we love to do. He is the definition of what it means to be a rock star. He was and still is cool."
- Carrie Underwood
"He had total love in his eyes when he performed. He was the total androgynous beauty. I would practice Elvis in front of the mirror when I was twelve or thirteen years old."
- k.d. lang
"I have been an Elvis fan since as far back as I can remember. I wrote him a letter when I was 5, asking him to marry me and he didn't write back, so I'm still pining over that one. I love the fact that he wasn't afraid to be himself. He changed everything."
- Trisha Yearwood
‘He wasn’t afraid to be himself.’ If the Elvis story has one key lesson, then that is it. The paradox of Elvis is that the more he succeeded, the more he had to lose, the more he became embroiled in the world. He became trapped in a machine of his own making, proletarian of his own career. But his basic thrust and impulse came from that determination to be himself.
“The first thing I think of when I think about coming to Las Vegas and playing is always Elvis; it’s always the first thing on my mind.”
- Brandi Carlile
‘I’m not a singer, and I’m not from the United States. But I randomly listened to country music growing up in England. My dad would play old songs and I was obsessed with Elvis Presley to a point where my family, if it was Christmas or something like that, they’d always get me an Elvis LP. My auntie—who’s a Scottish jazz singer— was massively supportive of me liking Elvis. So when this movie came up, I was like, ‘This is the closest I’ll ever get to playing Elvis Presley.’”
Alex Roe, British actor, telling Covetur magazine what led him to accept playing a US country singer in the 2018 movie "Forever my girl", in an article published on 19 January, 2018-
I always received an Elvis album for Christmas.
‘You want me to describe Elvis? Wow!!’
Shania Twain Shania Twain, in 2002 Elvis Lives ABC Special
Eloquent.
‘I was always mesmerized by strong, pure, beautiful voices, (and) Elvis' voice, the emotion in it, was unbelievable; I’d never heard anything like it, and I was listening to my parents’ records, like "Heartbreak Hotel" and all the ’50’s stuff, the real raw Elvis...and that's how I gravitated into Patsy Cline, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.’
Tricia Yearwood, Country music superstar, telling Martin Bandyke of the Detroit Free Free Press who are her four biggest influences, as published in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette (27 May 2008).
We all live in Elvis Country now.
‘You were either brought up on the Beatles or Elvis. I was raised on Elvis, and every song he sang, every film he was in and every move he made is part of my DNA.’
Jason Singh Australian singer and musician formerly with the band Taxiride, explaining for noiseeleven why he became a singer, as published on their May 6, 2019 edition.
I’m from Merseyside so I was brought up with the idea that The Beatles were local boys made good. I even sat in the Yellow Submarine in Liverpool in 1967. I took the greatness of The Beatles for granted. I always preferred Elvis. Elvis always seemed to matter more. Of course, I was young, and the Elvis films that were regularly on TV appealed in a way that The Beatles appearances did not. But Elvis stayed with me.
‘So I picked up the two Guralnick biographies and started reading them, and as you do if you’re reading books about music, you start listening to the tracks as you’re going along. Before I’d finished the first book I became a diehard Elvis fan, and by the time I’d finished the second one I had an Elvis tattoo. He might not have written his own songs, but he was the master producer and engineer of his generation. It’s also popular opinion to say that the original ‘Hound Dog’ is better, but no it fucking isn’t. That’s just bollocks. Elvis’ version of that song is lightyears ahead, and if you listen to the two of them back-to-back you can hear what he was doing. This was obviously the ‘50s so it was all cut live, and he’d stand in the middle of the room with all the musicians around him and they’d do 60 takes in a row. He’d be like, ‘Bar three, verse two; drop that F sharp to an E. Now let’s do it again.’ He was in full control of his vision. It’s taken me until my mid-30s to realise it, and when I was younger I didn’t really get it.’
Frank Turner English folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, who began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, in an interview to Rock Icon-s Matt Stocks, and published in their online edition on 1 September 2016.
Hallelujah and praise be! I’ve been waiting for years for someone to have the backbone to shout back at the cultural bullying that has been going on over ‘Hound Dog’ and state the obvious truth – Elvis’ version of the song cuts all others to shreds, is as hard as nails and takes a fairly basic and leaden blues into another dimension entirely. No way in the world could a new popular music form have been created is we had carried plodding along in the same old grooves. No offence to Leiber and Stoller, and even less offence to Willie Mae Thornton, but ‘Hound Dog’ as originally done is not the greatest song in the world. It’s not a patch on the things that Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf were doing. It’s good, but a variation of the kind of blues we have heard many times before. It’s not earth-shattering and world-changing music, if you catch my drift. Only when Elvis seizes hold of it and seriously upgrades the force and intensity does it become something much more interesting – and exciting. The original version is mired in the past, and we would no doubt have stayed forever in the past doing the same thing over and again. Elvis’ version powers us into a different future. Somebody needs to say so. The significance of the fact that that is precisely what happened, of course, tends to be clouded these days by controversies over cultural appropriation. These charges should have been sent flying into the wind years ago.
That description of Elvis as the master producer and engineer of his generation also needs to be underlined, to once and for all answer the critics who continue to portray a view of Elvis as the passive dummy of commercial forces. As soon as I hear someone start opining that ‘Elvis didn’t write his own songs’ I know to switch off, since nothing of any great insight is going to follow. Another ignoramus giving us the benefit of what they don’t know. There are more insightful commentators:
"I know he didn’t write songs but, to me, Elvis Presley was the complete artist. His voice, his song choice, his energy and attitude, his perfect hair and clothes: it felt like he’d been sent from another planet. It was incomprehensible to me that this was a man who made mistakes, or who felt sadness or loneliness. I recently visited his childhood home in Tupelo, Mississippi and it was in stark contrast to the life I’d imagined. To a child, he seemed invincible – and he made me feel it too. To watch Elvis and to listen to his songs was pure escapism and aspiration. "Blue Suede Shoes" was my first love. From as early as I can remember, I knew that if I could channel some of that raw power I saw in him, life would be better for it. I guess, like all of us, he was flawed as a man, but he was the perfect entertainer."
UK singer, songwriter and guitarist Justin Young, frontman for The Vaccines, choosing his favorite musician of all time in an article published in the Guardian and entitled "Elvis Presley's power, Tina Turner's legs: musicians pick their biggest influences", as published on March 1, 2018.
The views expressed here strike a chord with me. Elvis’ death came as a great shock to me, not as a death to mourn but as an impossibility to disbelieve. The question of Elvis’ invincibility didn’t even arise. When I was young, Elvis seemed unassailable. I didn’t see how anyone could beat this guy. He was the best. Listening to Elvis and watching him was very reassuring. He didn’t just make me feel good, he made me feel unassailable, all the facts of life to the contrary. With Elvis I felt confident enough to take on the world. Of course a lot of that was sheer fantasy and escapism, but you can see how, allied with a little talent and determination, it could develop into a life-affirming and life-changing aspiration. That’s how I read Elvis, as an active democrat affirming individuality and communality as two sides of the same human coin. And I continue to maintain that if we can, together, as a community of distinctive individuals, channel some of that raw power and energy that Elvis expressed, then life would be better for it. I think one of the many reasons I took to Bruce Springsteen is the fact that he articulates so eloquently what I perceived to be inherent and vital in Elvis’ music and example, at their best and most positive, from the first. Let me elaborate. Elvis didn’t write and so was reliant on the lyrics of others. I have a feeling that Elvis did what I would do with songs. I would hear a nice song with a good feeling and I would mime or sing along to it. Whatever the lyrics would say, my mind, heart and soul would be delivering a meaning and message of their own.
One of the reasons I love Bruce Springsteen is that I have the sense that Springsteen’s lyrics verbalize the thoughts and dreams that Elvis articulated through music and feel. Elvis was reliant on the words of others. People would listen to the literal truth of the words written on paper and be baffled. They couldn’t see, for example, the message that Elvis was conveying in ‘The Last Farewell,’ ostensibly an English tale of separation and return in times of war. It seems plain obvious to me what Elvis saw in the song. Springsteen in being a writer can bring more literal, if still incredibly poetic, clarity. Elvis went direct with the emotions but had no option but to be indirect through the mediation of words.