Elvis Presley's death deprives our country of a part of itself. He was unique and irreplaceable. More than 20 years ago, he burst upon the scene with an impact that was unprecedented and will probably never be equalled. His music and his personality, fusing the styles of white country and black rhythm and blues, permanently changed the face of American popular culture. - President Jimmy Carter - August 16, 1977
"How Long Will We Care?" - By Lester Bangs
Where were you when Elvis died? What were you doing, and what did it give you an excuse to do with the rest of your day? That’s what we’ll be talking about in the future when we remember this grand occasion. Like Pearl Harbor or JFK’s assassination, it boiled down to individual reminiscences, which is perhaps as it should be, because in spite of his greatness... , Elvis had left us each as alone as he was...
It was the autumn of 1971, and two tickets to an Elvis concert turned up at the magazine office where I was then employed. It was decided that those staff members who had never had the privilege of witnessing Elvis should get the tickets, which was how me and the art director ended up in nearly the front row of the biggest arena in Detroit.
How precious these free tickets were became totally clear the instant Elvis sauntered onto the stage. He was the only male performer I have ever seen to whom I responded sexually; it wasn’t real arousal, rather an erection of the heart, when I looked at him I went mad with desire and envy and worship and self-projection. I mean, Mick Jagger, whom I saw as far back as 1964 and twice in ’65, never even came close.
There was Elvis, dressed up in this totally ridiculous white suit which looked like some studded Arthurian castle, and he was too fat, and the buckle on his belt was as big as your head except that your head is not made of solid gold, and any lesser man would have been the spittin’ image of a Neil Diamond damfool in such a getup, but on Elvis it fit. What didn’t?
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No matter how lousy his records ever got, there was still some hint, some flash left over from the early days... Elvis Presley was the man who brought overt blatant vulgar sexual frenzy to the popular arts in America and thereby to the nation itself.
It has been said that he was the first white to sing like a black person, which is untrue in terms of hard facts but totally true in terms of cultural impact. But what’s more crucial is that when Elvis started wiggling his hips and Ed Sullivan refused to show it, the entire country went into a paroxysm of sexual frustration leading to abiding discontent which culminated in the explosion of psychedelic-militant folklore which was the ’60s.
I mean, don’t tell me about Lenny Bruce, ... who was hip, too goddam hip if you ask me which was his undoing, whereas Elvis was not hip at all. Elvis was a goddam truckdriver who worshipped his mother and would never say shit or fuck around her, and Elvis alerted America to the fact that it had a groin with imperatives that had been stifled.
Elvis kicked “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window” out the window and replaced it with “Let’s fuck.” The rest of us are still reeling from the impact. Obviously sexual chaos reigns currently, but out of chaos may flow true understanding and harmony, and either way Elvis almost single-handedly opened the floodgates.
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That 1971 night in Detroit, a night I will never forget, Elvis had but to ever so slightly move one shoulder muscle, not even a shrug, and the girls in the gallery hit by its ray screamed, fainted, howled in heat. Literally, every time this man moved any part of his body the slightest centimeter, tens or tens of thousands of people went berserk.
Not Sinatra, not Jagger, not the Beatles, nobody you can come up with ever elicited such hysteria among so many. And this after a decade and a half of crappy records, of making a point of not trying.
If love truly is going out of fashion forever, which I do not believe, then along with our nurtured indifference to each other will be an even more contemptuous indifference to each others’ objects of reverence. I thought it was Iggy Stooge, you thought it was Joni Mitchell or whoever else seemed to speak for your own private, entirely circumscribed situation’s many pains and few ecstasies.
We will continue to fragment in this manner, because solipsism holds all the cards at present; it is a king whose domain engulfs even Elvis’s. But I can guarantee you one thing: we will never again agree on anything as we agreed on Elvis. So I won’t bother saying good-bye to his corpse. I will say good-bye to you.
... Lester Bangs - August 1977.
This except from Elvis' 'Village Voice' obituary: Lester Bangs was an influential music journalist and critic. He died only 5 years later in 1982, aged 33 of an accidental drug overdose.
Where were you the day that Elvis died?
Throughout our lifetimes there are very few dates that resonate with such clarity.
While I do remember key historical events such as first hearing of 9/11 or the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and John Lennon's death, there are so many other unique moments are lost as vague memories.
The fall of the Berlin Wall, the deaths of Nelson Mandela, Princess Diana, George Michael and Michael Jackson, Osama bin Laden, Brexit, etc - all life-changing events but I cannot truly remember where I was or what I was doing at those specific moments.
The day of Elvis' death I was at my parent's recording a "best of Elvis" cassette for my best friend.
A lightning storm was raging through London, the rain pouring down outside when my Mother called upstairs, "Have you heard, Elvis Presley has died?"
A moment never forgotten.
The newspapers the next day confirmed the terrible story....
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"Elvis left us each as alone as he was" - But all of us hold precious memories that keep our lives happier, stronger and more fulfilled because of Elvis' strength and creative beauty. VIVA ELVIS.
Jerry Schilling recalls happier times ...
The more I think of what my favorite memory of Elvis is, the more it really is the fun memories that keep springing up.
Such as being at the Memphis Fairgrounds and getting hit by Elvis's dodgem car, or being with the guys at the Rainbow, barely under control as we skated around the roller rink. Driving his car through the Graceland gates, even if it was just to go to the car wash.
Being anywhere with Elvis, seeing people's head turn and knowing that everyone around would love to be in the position I was in. No other way to say it - it was just so damn cool and so much damn fun. Elvis loved being Elvis Presley, and I loved Elvis being Elvis Presley too.
I remember one time at Graceland, when Elvis was excited about his newest sports car- a bright yellow 1972 De Tomaso Pantera. He asked me to go for a ride with him, and off we headed. We got on the long, straight, flat backroads to Mississippi, and Elvis just started driving faster and faster. He kept shooting looks over at me, and as he saw my eyes getting wider and wider he started laughing. We got up to about 130 mph, and suddenly I was sure that we were just one bump in the road away from being the next big celebrity car crash.
But it was an interesting moment: Physically, I was locked up in in a complete, reflexive fear response. But somewhere in the back of my mind there was no fear at all. In fact, I was thinking that if you had to go, you couldn't have a much better exit than in a speeding Pantera driven by a laughing Elvis Presley.
A friend who can talk to you about the mysteries of life, and then just about scare the life out of you driving 130 miles an hour....
.... I miss it all.
Spotlight by Piers Beagley
-Copyright EIN August 16th 2023. Do Not reprint or republish without permission.
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Elvis’ best friends, Linda Thompson, George Klein, Alan Fortas, Marty Lacker and Larry Geller reminisce about his life.
LINDA THOMPSON - "I am saddened to this day that he left us far too early"
After Elvis died I sat on the landing of the stairs leading up to his bedroom with Billy Smith, Billy’s wife, Jo, and another of Elvis’ cousins, Patsy Gamble, as his body lay in state at the base of the stairs for public viewing. The four of us, who understood his heart and his humor, sat for hours, laughing and crying hysterically, and remembering the man we’d all loved so very deeply. We talked about all the good times, riding on the golf carts around Graceland, and Elvis’ kindness and generosity, and his uniquely irreverent sense of humor.
We will never know what might have been if Elvis had been given the gift of a longer life. I am saddened to this day that he left us far too early. I, like millions of others, would just be happy to know he was still a living presence in our world, no matter what he might now be doing, and no matter who he might choose to be with.
Within the first week after Elvis passed away, I started dreaming about him. Not every night, but often enough that, strange as this may sound, I came to feel like there was a plane of consciousness on which we could visit. As if I were suspended between life and death when asleep, in a different realm, and there we could be together. And while I realize now that it was probably all in my imagination, I’m grateful that I had those moments with him, even just in my dreams. I think it was what I needed at the time in order to say my final goodbye.
GEORGE KLEIN - "Elvis was the most generous man I've ever known"
Elvis was the most talented man I've ever known, he was the most generous man I've ever known, and he was the smartest man I've ever known.
But on a personal level, what I loved most about Elvis Presley was the amazing quality of his friendship. I've never felt as cared for, supported, and accepted as I did with him, and I've never felt as devoted to anyone as I was to him. I only hope he had some sense of how much I loved him as a friend, and how much I appreciated everything he ever did for me.
There'll never be another Elvis, and there'll never be another person like him in my life. I just consider myself a lucky, lucky man to be able to say that Elvis Presley was a friend of mine.
I don't think I'll ever really say goodbye to Elvis. But, just like at the end of all my radio shows, I can sign off and send us back to what lives on—his music:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the sun never sets on a legend, and there'll always be a TCB on the Lisa Marie. The United States Of America has had many presidents but only one King, and here he is to sing. . ."
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ALAN FORTAS - "Elvis proved that to be poor and Southern did not mean you didn't count"
In a few short years almost single-handedly Elvis changed the attitudes of the world. Not only about sexuality and "race music," but about class barriers, taste, and Southerners themselves. To those who never knew or who had forgotten, Elvis proved that to be poor and Southern did not mean you didn't count.
When he died, country music, once the voice of the Southern working class and the illiterate, was well on its way to mass acceptance all around the world. The surprise was that his death was a catharsis not just for the poor or the working class of the South, but also for the middle class of the East, the West, the North.
Elvis was simply an immensely talented, intensely troubled man. No saint. No satyr. Elvis's life was a dream with no way out but the end. Yet, for me, it will never be over. Like everybody else, I still miss him.
But for better or worse, I also have a part of Elvis inside of me. Everybody wants a touch of Elvis. And nobody wants to let go.
LAMAR FIKE - "The way Elvis was doing everything. You just can’t keep going like that."
Elvis never thought of himself as a pioneer. He didn’t understand the term. He just happened to be there. Elvis used to say, “There’s room for everybody in this business” - and there was. He used to tell artists that. He’d say, “Hey, don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself.”
Everybody out there today that’s in rock ‘n’ roll owes their career to Elvis. He was a nova exploding off of the old star and becoming thousands of times brighter than the original, and the brightness lights up everything around. He was a child of destiny, regardless of whether he wanted it or not.
I was with Elvis for 23 years. I talked to him the day before he died while we were setting up his next tour. I don’t think Elvis had any inkling he was going to die. His mother’s side of the family was so short-lived that, you know, the indications were all there. The way he was doing everything. You just can’t keep going like that. Nobody can keep going like that.
Then all of a sudden, I lost him. It was just devastating. You don’t get over that easily.
When I lost Elvis, it was as hard as losing my Father. It was devastating. I still do things today that come from being with Elvis. I unconsciously do stuff. Somebody likes one of my watches, I’ll take it off and give it to them.
I still miss Elvis. My god, I miss him every day of my life. Forty years on it’s something that goes on every day. I still dream of Elvis every day of my life since he passed. The intensity of 23 years with somebody is pretty strong.
JOE ESPOSITO - "Elvis was the most extraordinary ordinary man"
Elvis was not only blessed with unparalleled singing and performing gifts, he was extraordinary in his kindness, generosity, and insight. Elvis made it easy for us to forget who he was to the world.
One afternoon, I was painting fences with him on the ranch. Then, a few days later, he was performing for almost sixty thousand people at the Houston Astrodome.
"Oh-my-God!" I'd thought. "I forgotten who this guy is!"
Almost everyone who knew the man felt the same way. Every one of us felt close to Elvis and, even more pertinent, we each knew that he understood us in a way no one else did.
Elvis enjoyed his privileges fully and he was grateful. But he never forgot who he was and where he'd come from. He tried to use those gifts to make himself and others happy. If he showed any favouritism at all it wasn't to the wealthy and powerful, but to the needy and helpless.
Elvis was a good guy, there was no harm in Elvis, but there was an awful lot of love.
Elvis was happiest when faced with a challenge, when he didn't know if he could make it or not. Who knew that after eight years of making movies, people would accept him again in his 1968 comeback special? The next year, he walked onto a Las Vegas stage - his first live concert in the town where he had bombed many years earlier—and he inaugurated the most successful phase of his career.
Elvis lived to make people happy, and he himself was happiest when he brought joy to someone else. I wish there was a way all the good he has done with his gifts throughout the world could be measured.
Not a day goes by without mention of his name. Over four decades after his death, Elvis Presley still reigns unchallenged as the King of rock 'n' roll, the greatest superstar the world has ever known.
The comfort and enjoyment his music still brings to millions every day is impossible to comprehend. His influence as a performer and as a humanitarian has touched untold millions of people. We can never compile exact statistics, but I believe Elvis Presley will forever remain one of the most inspirational and influential men the world will ever know.
Elvis was the most extraordinary ordinary man.
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MARTY LACKER - "This world is a better place for Elvis having been here"
Elvis had an immense thirst for a knowledge of life, the meaning of it, and how it began.
He constantly read about religions and the supernatural. Elvis was curious about reincarnation and life after death. He had a great faith in God upon which he built his life, but he was in no hurry to find out what death was like.
Elvis was truly a remarkable and special human being. I am convinced that he was put on this earth for a special purpose, but he was just as much a human being as any of us.
He suffered from human faults and frailties. He had the material things about which people dream, but often they were not enough to make him happy.
The charisma and magnetism for which he was known was real. He had a smile that could turn the whole world on, and he had a strong hold over those who were associated with him.
It was hard to say no to Elvis, and there was no way I could tell him a lie. All he had to do was look at me and he would know immediately if I was trying to make him believe something that wasn't completely true. His eyes were probably the most expressive part of him.
They told us when he was happy, mischievous or angry.
Sometimes I thought he tried to change their expressions to hide his true thoughts, but he was never able to quite do it.
This world is a better place for Elvis Presley's having been here, and I know that as long as there is one of us alive, whose life he touched, he will still be alive, but I miss him.
I miss the years of kindness and the years of love, and Elvis had a lot of love for all of us.
I remember, God how I remember, the happy days of companionship, the days when we felt so very close to each other.
Ain't it funny how time slips away?
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LARRY GELLER - "We're all going back home... someday"
Lonely rivers flow to the sea, to the sea,
To the open arms of the sea.
Lonely rivers sigh, wait for me,
wait for me.
I'll be coming home, wait for me.
From the first time I heard Elvis sing this song in early 1977, I had the strangest feeling that he was singing to his mother. It was as if somewhere deep in his soul he knew he'd be going home soon.
There was an indescribable aura around Elvis when he sang "Unchained Melody," something I'd never experienced before, something I know was felt by everyone in the audience.
A lone spotlight beamed on Elvis in the darkened concert hall. The only sound was his voice and the piano he was playing. The musicians were silent; the whole audience seemed to be holding their breath. Everyone was transfixed.
I never heard his voice so vibrant, so resonant, as if his very soul was crying out.
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A little over ten years earlier, upstairs in Elvis' bedroom at Graceland, he and I were talking about his mother's passing in 1958. It was the most turbulent, disoriented and confusing time in his life: drafted into the Army, leaving the career that had exploded two years earlier, uncertain what the future would bring.
Elvis became very quiet, lost in his memories.
"My mother was the light of my life, my best friend; I mean, she's the one I could always go to ... man, that's a blow you can never really get over.
I can still hear her voice telling me just like it was yesterday, "Honey, God took your little brother back home to Heaven 'cause it was part of His plan. He has a plan for everybody: for your daddy, for me... and for you too, Elvis. Someday I'll be goin' back home, and someday Daddy's gonna go home. And even someday a long, long time from now - God's gonna bring you home, too. And then we'll all be together again, all of us back home in heaven.”
Elvis looked at me intently. He leaned forward and with conviction in his voice, said, "And that's exactly what I believe, we're all going back home... someday."
The candlelight vigil on the anniversary of his passing is an event that takes place nowhere else in the celebrity world. The solemn procession of flickering candles advances slowly in the dark, past rows of wreaths and flowered sculptures from fans around the world, as echoes of Elvis play softly in the background.
The lights move through the Meditation Garden, carried by tens of thousands of people from children to the elderly, many placing flowers or teddy bears on his grave. Some are weeping, some are seeking physical or spiritual healing; all are seeking a connection to Elvis. An eternal flame is burning.
The atmosphere is mystical, more akin to a pilgrimage to a holy shrine or a visit to a loved one's grave than adulation of a celebrity.
The people sense there is more to him than they know, an honesty and innocence that shone through the glitz and glamour.
They seem to understand how much he cared about them, too.
Elvis, like all of us, lives on in the memories of those who love him. |
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Spotlight by Piers Beagley
-Copyright EIN August 16th 2023. Do Not reprint or republish without permission.
Click here to comment on this article
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ELVIS Forever 2022: Forty five years after his death, Elvis Presley still reigns unchallenged as the King of rock 'n' roll, the greatest superstar the world has ever known. All the tabloid media reports and old rumours can't change the fact that there never was anyone like him and there never will be an other again.
Today Elvis has a #1 soundtrack album in both the UK and US Billboard charts and Baz Luhrmann's 2022 'ELVIS' biopic has grossed over $262 million worldwide.
Author Lenny Kaye recently wrote,, Elvis loved to sing, with a magnificent instrument of a voice, and it's fitting that his last recordings at Graceland returned him to a single room in Memphis removed from the outside world, surrounded by empathetic musicians..
ELVIS Forever - forty-five years on.
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ELVIS Forever 2021: Four decades after his death, Elvis Presley still reigns unchallenged as the King of rock 'n' roll, the greatest superstar the world has ever known.
All the tabloid media reports and old rumours can't change the fact that there never was anyone like him and there never will be an other again.
Elvis was the most extraordinary ordinary man.
Joe Esposito would be with Elvis to the very end...
EIN looks at Joe Esposito's final memories and ELVIS Forever, forty-four years on.
(Spotlight, Source;ElvisInfoNetwork) |
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ELVIS Forever - 2019: - August 16th, 1956, Elvis arrived on board an American Airlines flight to Los Angeles International airport in order to start work on his first film role, The Reno Brothers soon to be renamed 'Love Me Tender'.
Elvis was only 21 years old and at the start of his incredible trajectory to become the world's biggest superstar.
Little did Elvis know that he was already halfway through his all too-short life on earth.
In the same month Elvis would tell fans, "I've been lucky. You know something? I just feel sometimes like it's all a dream, like I'll rub my eyes and wake up and it will be over. I hope not. I hope it never happens. I hope it never ends"
Sadly, just 21 years later, it would end far too soon.
Forty two years on we all are once again thinking about tragic end to Elvis' incredible life and how much he did for us in his all too short life-time.
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