Opinion of Elvis Presley

[Miles]

FF. I've played the bass part for some his songs before.

[angus]

Absolute trailer trash.

Seriously, though, I have an Elvis poster on my office door.  I was married in the Aladdin Resort in Las Vegas, formerly the Baghdad Theater, where Elvis and Priscilla were married in 1967, the year of my birth.  We spent part of our honeymoon, two weeks of it, in Honolulu, and made it a point to visit Pearl Harbor and question the US Navy petty officer leading the tour about Elvis' idea and contribution to have a memorial built there.  I have been to Graceland twice and to Tupelo three times.  I have meditated at his shrine.  I have at least five books on Elvis Presley on my bookshelf and four DVD videos of movies that are basically documentaries on his life.  I have a small lithograph of a painting of Elvis on my refrigerator.  I remember well what I was watching the day he died, not only that it was Star Trek but the point in the episode when the newscaster interrupted the program.  I often sing "Suspicious Minds" when I shower and I have taught myself the guitar parts of several of his songs.  If you search on this forum for posts in the past ten years containing the word "elvis" by the poster "angus" you'll get at least two pages of hits. 

Elvis, like Jesus and like my son, was a Capricorn.  Elvis was a sweet, beautiful man.  As for his musical status, there was no equal.   He received 14 Grammy nominations from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.  He was the only artist to outsell all others, including the Beatles, in both the US and the UK.  Of course he didn't write many of his own songs, but then it was pretty common in his time to sing and play and popularize the songs of others.  He did, in fact, carefully choose the songs he sung rather than having them forced upon him.  His voice was golden.  There can be no question about his legendary status as a man of Rock'n'Roll.  But to understand only Elvis the musician is only to understand a small facet of Elvis the man.  He was a force for good.  We talk about having a coin with Reagan.  Hell, we ought to have a coin with Elvis on it.  Elvis was a true American hero.  He did more for race relations in the lower Mississippi River valley than forty years of legislation ever could.  He once visited the remains of the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor and noted that there wasn't even a plaque there and he said, "there oughtta be a memorial here, man."  Soon thereafter he held a big concert and raised the money to build such a memorial.  He was generous to a fault.  Often he loaned money to friends and even strangers, never being repaid nor demanding to.  He gave away Cadillacs, cash and jewelry, often on the spur of the moment.   Each year, Elvis gave $1,000 or more to each of 50 Memphis-area charities, but also continually made many other charitable donations in Memphis and around the country.  Most of his philanthropic endeavors received no publicity at all.  For friends, for family, and for total strangers, he quietly paid hospital bills, bought homes, supported families, paid off debts, and much more.  Moreover, he was religiously open.  He was into Tao mysticism, Christian mysticism, and studied the Torah as well.  His search for meaning in life is well documented.  He read from the Baghavad-Gita and from Krishnamurti as well.  Lots of anti-religious bigots here would find that off-putting--frankly I'm a fairly shallow, unspiritual person myself--but the fact that he was spiritual but open commends him in my opinion.  Larry Geller has written a wonderfully detailed account of his philosophical conversations with Elvis and David Rosen's "The Tao of Elvis" is a quirky, accessible treatment of the intense spirituality of Elvis.

In short, I'm a pretty big fan of Elvis Presley.  The famously-uttered mantra, "The King is dead; Long live the King" is a testament to the hope and optimism inspired by Elvis.  In truth he was no king.  He was poor white trash.  He was the humble son of a sometimes unemployed carpenter who one day made it big and then shared his fortune with others less fortunate.  I'm glad to see that the majority of the members of this forum have a positive opinion of Elvis Presley.  He was a good man and he deserves our respect.

[bedstuy]

Elvis Power Rankings:

1. Elvis Costello
2. Elvis Dumervil
3. Elvis Presley
4. Elvis Crespo
5. Elvis Grbac

[opebo]

I'm not a fan.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I'm not a fan.

We appear to be in a very small minority on this issue.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I'm not a fan.

We appear to be in a very small minority on this issue.

I don't know, Al, add in uncle angus and myself, and while our number might be small we're a force majeure.  

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Great singer, first white blues man.

[traininthedistance]

Elvis Power Rankings:

1. Elvis Costello
2. Elvis Dumervil
3. Elvis Presley
4. Elvis Crespo
5. Elvis Grbac

I don't think there's any question that Elvis Costello is the best Elvis.

[Hatman 🍁]

1. Elvis Stojko

[opebo]

I'm not a fan.

We appear to be in a very small minority on this issue.

I don't know, Al, add in uncle angus and myself, and while our number might be small we're a force majeure.  

I think if you scan through that outrageously long post by angus, you'll find he likes Elvis.

[Mopsus]

Definite contender for most overrated musician of all time.

[Gass3268]

Elvis was a hero to most
But he never meant shi to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Mother him and John Wayne

Chuck D has stated that he regrets this line after learning more about Elvis. He said he still stands on his John Wayne position, lol.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

For artists of Elvis' vintage, the album was entirely irrelevant, fit only for monied olds and their classical and Broadway.  Early rock-and-roll only cared about singles, because that's all the teens could afford to buy.  I mean, I love albums more than anyone and lament the demise of the whole album as an art form more than anyone... but to judge the early rock-and-rollers on an album basis is to rather flagrantly miss the point.

And yet, several of his albums, like Elvis Presley and From Elvis in Memphis, are very strong entire albums.