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Jan. 14, 2005 Ashlee Simpson, Britney Spears and the Spice Girls are sparklers who quickly burn out, while Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean are heavenly stars whose light will burn eternally bright. Elvis Presley, the leading light in this pantheon of stars, has had his reputation tarnished in recent years. He has been reduced to a ghost who frequents Burger Kings and convenience stores. He has been cloned; there is not one Elvis, but thousands of Elvises (Elvi?) crooning "Hound Dog" in Vegas showrooms and karaoke bars. He has been marketed in ways that would make even Colonel Parker wince. One fan recently spent hundreds of dollars for three tablespoons of water that came out of a cup Elvis drank from. He has even been labeled a racist by some: "Elvis was a hero to most but he never meant sh** to me. Yes, he's a straight out racist." Chuck D of Public Enemy. But Elvis is not a ghost feasting on Big Whoppers; he's not a tipsy middle-aged guy singing out of tune in a karaoke dive; he's not a velvet painting and he definitely wasn't a racist. Elvis was no Pat Boone getting rich on the backs of black people. Elvis took every opportunity to credit African American artists for his success. "The colored folks been singing it and playing it just like I'm doin' now, man, he said in an interview in 1956" "They played it like that in the shanties and in their juke joints, and nobody paid it no mind 'til I goosed it up. I got it from them." By brilliantly mixing the music of poor whites and poor blacks, Elvis became an icon for all Americans --- black, white, brown and yellow. Elvis was not controversial because he concocted crazy publicity stunts; he was controversial simply because of who and what he was. Elvis did not have to act silly on stage, he didn't bite the head of a bat, expose himself or set his guitar on fire. He was simply himself: "When I sing this rock 'n' roll, my eyes won't stay open and my legs won't stand still. I don't care what they say, it ain't nasty." Elvis' great accomplishment was that he was controversial without intending or wanting to be. When he was onstage he did not manufacture or fake sensuality -- he oozed sensuality. He was raw sexuality and that made him a threat in the Stepford Wives milieu of the 1950's. By the end of his long and distinguished career, Elvis became a parody of himself, prompting one critic at a 1967 show to describe him as "a bloated, stumbling and mumbling figure who didn't act like the King of anything, least of all rock 'n' roll." But it is not the "Viva Las Vegas Elvis" that I pay homage to, it's the "Sun Records Elvis" who rock 'n' rolled American culture to such a profound degree, that we are still feeling the after shocks. The King is dead. The King is alive. Long Live the King. May his records forever play in juke joints, karaoke bars and most importantly -- in our minds and in our hearts. ------------ About the author: Robert Paul Reyes is a columnist for the Lynchburg Ledger. Email: rreyes4966@aol.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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