Elvis Presley
(1935 - 1977)
Biography from Baseline's Encyclopedia of Film
Occupation: Singer, actor
Birth Name: Elvis Aron Presley
Born: January 8, 1935, Tupelo, MS
Died: August 16, 1977, Memphis, TN
When Elvis Presley's identical twin died at birth, his mother interpreted it as a divine omen of her surviving son's destiny. The family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, when he was 13, and there, in 1953, the 17-year-old Presley went into the recording studio at Sun Records and paid five dollars to record a two-sided single as a birthday present for his mother. "I don't sing like nobody," he told the engineer. An impressed secretary made a note of his name and passed it along to the owner of Sun Records, Sam Phillips.
Presley was by far the most charismatic of the phenomenal first wave of rock 'n' rollers recorded by Sam Phillips—along with the likes of Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Charlie Rich. According to legend, Phillips, who had produced a string of R & B hits by such artists as Howlin' Wolf and Rufus Thomas in the early 1950s, had proclaimed that if he could find a young white singer with the sound and spirit of a black man, he would make a billion dollars (Phillips himself staked his money on Carl Perkins, selling Presley's contract, along with the rights to his 5 Sun singles to RCA for $35,000). Presley went on to achieve explosive success with RCA.
In 1956, his hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi, declared an "Elvis Presley Day" on the occasion of his first return performance since winning second prize for singing "Old Shep" at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show in 1945. This time, the National Guard had to be called in to maintain order. Teenagers screamed and fainted at his concerts. According to troubled experts of the day, Presley had single-handedly unleashed the pent-up sexual energy of McCarthy-era middle America. The end of Western civilization and free enterprise could not be far behind. TV cameramen were instructed to film "Elvis the Pelvis" only from the waist up.
Presley himself, however, considered his singing career primarily as a means to an end. His real ambition all along was to be a movie star. From 1956 to 1969, Presley starred in 33 feature films, most of them following nearly identical scripts, tailored to showcase Presley, and all subject to approval by Presley's tyrannical manager, "Colonel" Tom Parker. There were several exceptions. JAILHOUSE ROCK (1957), captures Presley in all his snarling, shaking teen-idol glory, and features his choreography for the terrific title number. FLAMING STAR (1960) features Elvis as a half-breed Indian who must choose sides, and shows the instinctive actor within him that might have flourished had he escaped Parker's greedy machinations. And VIVA LAS VEGAS (1964), despite being hampered by the typical Presley-pic plot, pairs Elvis with the explosive Ann-Margret, the only co-star he ever had who equaled him in musical talent and sexual charisma (rumor has it that Parker was made uncomfortable seeing Presley's talent played off of someone who measured up to him).
Although his movies consistently made money at the box office, Presley's artistic reputation suffered. With the emergence of such artists as Bob Dylan, The Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the early 1960s, Presley all but vanished from the rock'n'roll scene. In 1968, friends persuaded Elvis to veto Colonel Parker's concept for a sappy TV Christmas special. Instead, Elvis made a triumphant comeback in the "Singer Special," where he literally wiggled out of the "wholesome" movie persona that had so severely constrained him for more than a decade (not until 1968's LIVE A LITTLE, LOVE A LITTLE did an Elvis character "go all the way"). The "Singer Special" was followed by a smash comeback album, concert appearances and hit singles such as "In the Ghetto" and "Suspicious Minds." Presley's regained popularity continued to grow, even as his health declined. He died of a heart attack at his "Graceland" mansion in Memphis at the age of 42.
Although Elvis Presley's greatest contribution unquestionably came from his earliest recordings, circa 1955-57, when he was the young, sneering rebel, his later image as well remains a strong presence in the popular consciousness. Since his death, the adoration of his fans has been known to reach cultish, even religious, proportions. Theories and rumors concerning his death—even the reality of his death—continue as a staple of tabloid journalism. (Well, why is his name misspelled "Elvis Aaron Presley" on his tombstone? His middle name was "Aron," with only one "a").
I like most of his songs, but I don't think his voice was all that great. He didn't have much of a range.
I saw Cybil Shepard on the Letterman Show years ago. He asked her about her date with Elvis. She said she was back in Memphis and he called her. He rented a movie theatre so it was just the two of them plus his entourage. After the movie, they went to Graceland for dinner.
LETTERMAN: What did you have for dinner?
SHEPARD: Chicken Fried Steak. He ate a lot of that, but there's one thing he wouldn't eat.
LETTERMAN: Oh, and what was that?
SHEPARD: Well..........(sly grin)
LETTERMAN: The King of Rock and Roll; who would have guessed?
SHEPARD: Obviously, our relationship didn't last very long.
Apparantely, he was selfish that way. In one of his concert films, I think it's "Elvis on Stage" he mentions how good the woman he had the night before was at doing that.
As an honorary DEA agent, (what a hypocrite) he tried to get the Beatles banned from America. Maybe because they were doing drugs, or maybe (and this is just my speculation), because they were selling more records than he was. I hope he wasn't that petty.