Elvis' Enduring Talent
Elvis Aaron Presley - "It was like he came down from Mars" - Nick Ciampi
I was listening to "Elvis At Sun" tonight. What an enormous talent Presley was. It is eas to denigrate the King in his rotund final days. The rumors of his untimely but inevitable demise on the throne helps matters very little.
However he may have passed, his coming and his existence was heavy indeed. I was particularly taken by "Harbor Lights." I have heard Willie's version many times but one listen to Elvis' version made me believe that this was his song.
Elvis was one of those artists who represeted the confluence of many of the tributaries of the river of song. David Byrne, Merle Haggard, and Jerry Garcia are a few other artists who essentially distill other traditions and styles of music into their own. As such, these are the artists that move things forward. They are the antithesis of the conservatory. They are revolutionary forces that propel music forward.
When Elvis Hit the scene, Perry Como was at the top of the pops with "Hot Diggity (Zog Diggity Boom)." Presley's first single was "That's Alright Mama" and it was a universe away from "Hot Diggity." Pressley was all hips and sneer and Como was in a cardigan, a grown-up, wholesome letterman to Presley's Mephistopolean sexual time bomb.
Yet Elvis' croon was so delicate and tender, what was there not to like. Surely, har "Harbor Lights" been his first single, it would have been a whole different revolution. Fortunately, history takes its own path and we are left to deal with it. As it was, Elvis' first single rocked the world. The Memphis-Hip-Swinging Other had landed and the reverberations would continue to be felt forever.
What happened to Elvis is nothing short of tragic. The Col. and the Dr. would keep him from taking chances just long enough to turn him into a commodity. He was no longer Glady and Vernon's kid, he belonged to the fans and he had to walk the straight and narrow artistically in order to keep the fans. At least this is what the Col. told him.
There were no European tours. There were no good movies. Elvis was kept from taking Kristopherson's part in "A Star Is Born" because the movie didn't project Elvis values. There were some flashes of brilliance, like the "'68 Comeback Special," but by and large, Elvis, like Johnny Cash, labored under the burden of his persona. He ceased to evolve as an artist because he had to be Elvis. Unfortunately, the was no Cash-like rennaisance becasue Elvis died young.
Imagine what Rick Rubin could have done with him.
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posted by Brian J. Kenny @ 9:23 PM
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