a blog about elvis presley's music and records
ELVIS IN THE ’60s collects articles and essays that focus on Presley’s activities in that decade or music recorded between 1960 and 1969. Most of the articles will be the latter, but pieces on his concerts, his appearances on television, or his movies may also be found here.
Articles that cover a longer expanse of time—like a piece on all his #1 hits from around the world from 1956 into the 21st century—will be placed in the more general Elvis on Record category.
↓
BEST CLASSIC BANDS just published “Elvis Presley’s ’68 Comeback: Burbank to Graceland” (although it should have been “Graceland to Burbank”). It addressed the television special, the records associated with it, and what followed. The article declared, “By the final days of the decade, Elvis was arguably as famous as he had been in the ’50s.” [Read more] “from graceland to burbank to graceland”
IF AN OLD FRIEND I KNOW stops by to say hello, should my wife be suspicious? That depends on my personal history—was I always a good boy?—and whether that old friend is an ex-coworker or an ex-lover. This was brought upon by a question on Quora: “Is ‘Suspicious Mind’ considered a gaslighting-themed song?” [Read more] “is elvis presley’s “suspicious minds” about gaslighting?”
SONGWRITERS ASSOCIATED WITH ELVIS that receive the most credit in terms of Presley’s successful career are usually two teams: Jerry Leiber-Mike Stoller and Doc Pomus-Mort Shuman. But a third team was paramount in Elvis’s transition from sappy movie matinée idol of the mid-1960s to potent music and cultural figure in 1968–1969: Billy Strange-Mac Davis. [Read more] “pressed between the pages of mac davis’ mind”
DO I WANT TO OPEN THIS ARTICLE by making a statement (“Elvis pops up in the most unexpected places”) or by asking a question (“Just how good can one record be?”)? Last night we slipped the Coen Brothers’ Intolerable Cruelty into the DVD player and sat back to enjoy George Clooney as Miles Massey (handsome, charming, amoral) match wits with Catherine Zeta-Jones as Marilyn Rexroth (beautiful, inscrutable, equally amoral). [Read more] “suspicious minds (just how good can one record be?)”
ELVIS PRESLEY’S FUTURE hung on the decision he made in early 1969 on where to record. He could return to RCA’s studio in Nashville, home to most of his big hits of the early ’60s. But there he risked falling back into the patterns that led to the disappointing hits of the past few years. [Read more] “an alternative “back in memphis” album”
ELVIS HELD A RARE PRESS CONFERENCE on August 1, 1969, to celebrate his return to live performing. The get-together was held at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, where Elvis had played the night before to an invitation-only audience that included Ed Ames, Paul Anka, Burt Bacharach, Shirley Bassey, Pat Boone, Dick Clark, Petula Clark, Angie Dickinson, George Hamilton, Wayne Newton, and former flame Ann-Margret. [Read more] “best answer ever given by elvis to a journalist’s question”
IF I CAN DREAM, I’ll have this article finished before I find myself sitting on the edge of reality. You know—where life’s dream lies disillusioned and dark shadows follow me. (But that’s another story for another time.) Each year on this day I try to write something about my experience of being an Elvis fan since I was in grade school way, way back in the ’50s. [Read more] “on the edge of reality with the pseudo-psychedelic elvis”
I HAVE BEEN DISTRACTED OF LATE, working on my publication on Medium, Tell It Like It Was. I have also been spending a lot of time working on the internal workings of my websites. I replaced a few plugins and jettisoned a few others. When you call up this one you may notice that it loads a hell of a lot faster than it ever has. [Read more] “when elvis was a top-secret agent for the cia”
BY JANUARY 1968, a new Elvis single was successful if it merely reached the Top 40 and sold 300,000 copies. This was a far cry from three years before when a new single reached the Top 20 and sold at least a half million copies. And that was a far cry from the dizzying heights of 1960 when a Presley hit sold in the millions!