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.
Presley’s last big press conference had been on March 3, 1960, when he had returned to civilian life and his career after two years in the US Army. The question-and-answer session at the International was a brief, low-key affair and wasn’t officially taped by RCA Victor. But apparently it was taped by someone in attendance.
Most of the questions were the kind we associate with celebrity-type publications today; they were not the kind of questions that a representative of the then-nascent rock press would have asked. That is, the questions were mundane, as were the singer’s answers. A few elicited a smart response.
When queried about his decision to return to live performing, he said that had been made in 1965 but movie commitments had to be fulfilled first. “I missed the live contact with an audience,” joked Elvis. “It was getting harder and harder to sing to a camera all day.”
But one question elicited an answer that should sum up everything we need to know about what Elvis Presley thought about being Elvis Presley:
Question: “Is there any other individual you would rather be?”
Elvis: “Are you kidding?”
FEATURED IMAGE: The photo at the top of the page was taken at the August 1, 1969, press conference. Elvis was fit, healthy, and happy and looked like he was establishing a new standard for male beauty—at least for males who weren’t long-haired hippie-wannabes like me . . .
Mystically liberal Virgo enjoys long walks alone in the city at night in the rain with an umbrella and a flask of 10-year-old Laphroaig who strives to live by the maxim, “It ain’t what you know that gets you into trouble; it’s what you know that just ain’t so.
I’ve been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn, and a college dropout (twice!). Occupationally, I have been a bartender, jewelry engraver, bouncer, landscape artist, and FEMA crew chief following the Great Flood of ’72 (and that was a job that I should never, ever have left).
I am also the final author of the original O’Sullivan Woodside price guides for record collectors and the original author of the Goldmine price guides for record collectors. As such, I was often referred to as the Price Guide Guru, and—as everyone should know—it behooves one to heed the words of a guru. (Unless, of course, you’re the Beatles.)
Oh, Mr. Long-haired hippy-dippy (at least ya got the balls to admit it;),
Quite a list of invites, but thou has forgotten the other manly-man, mega-talented, Rockin’ Adonis of that era, ya know, Elvis’ Best ‘Entertainment’ Friend...the one responsible for Elvis even being in Vegas... The Kat who had a #1 LP that same year for weeks called “TOM JONES, Live In Las Vegas!”
He was First on the list...don’t know if prior commitments kept him from attending. After all, it was during TJMania. Of note, NONE of the Beatles were invited ;) ’69 reigned in the manly-men of music & out with the long-haried, dope-smokin, hippy-dippies.
All was Right with the world again, at least for a lil’ while. That coming from a kat who at 10y/o, 1st musical enlightenment came courtesy of The Beatles ’64. Beatles were. are & will always be the World’s Greatest Band, even if there was only a handful of songs worth a fart in a windstorm during the second half of their career.
Long Live John, Paul, George & Ringo, even if they were a peg Under, The King, TJ, Killer & The GodFather. ;);)
DAVE
Thanks for the comment. It’s about time you got off your behind and left a comment!
For us long-haired, smoke-dopin’, hippie-dippies, Las Vegas was where old, fat, degenerate alcoholics went to stupidly lose their money at games rigged for the house to win at least 60% of the time.
As for entertainment, Vegas was usually the end of the line for has-been pop stars who couldn’t get it up on the Top 40 radio anymore.
Those of us who were into both Elvis and the contemporary rock scene thought that Elvis going there was a tactical error, one that could adversely affect the direction his career had taken in 1969. Fifty years later and many of us still think it was a mistake. But that’s another story and one worthy of its own article here on A Touch Of Gold.
As for Tom Jones, he was one of the manly-men types that we hippy-dippies did NOT want to emulate. We saw him as a misanthropic Neanderthal-type. It wasn’t until years later that I came to understand that ol’ Tom Jones had a pretty dry sense of humor and irony about his sex appeal. Never understood why he didn’t become a movie star along the lines of Burt Reynolds (another macho-macho man who I didn’t dig at the time and now delight in watching).
Oh, well, some of us live and learn. Others just live.
Keep on keepin’ on!
N
PS: Here’s the Tom Jones track that made me rethink my position on the man:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE65cDGH_E8
PS3: And for readers who haven’t heard Jones’s rendition of “Delilah” that he did at the Diamond Jubilee Concert in England a few years ago, give this a listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo2O5E9Ea9Y
Elvis certainly looked in the best shape he had ever been and sadly would never really be again but that was one dumb question to ask the worlds most famous and iconic entertainer.As for Tom Jones I think he had a great voice and made a few decent records but I always did and still do consider him to be a pale imitation of the King but the guy has lasted well and must be given his due.
DG
It would have been better if Elvis had paused and the said, “Man, sometimes I’d just like to be some normal joe flipping burgers and frying taters, y’know?”
As for Mr. Jnes, I will post this link again, as he is quite amazing here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo2O5E9Ea9Y
Keep on keepin’ on!
N
Neal,
1. I don’t agree with 1/2 of what you think & write, but YOU are the f’in M‑A-N!
2. That perspective of Vegas was accurate, ’til TOM F’in JONES ROCKED The Balls outta the Strip! Like a savage animal.... oh dear. Should I say it... like a Tiger Man Unleashed! When TJ left the stage, they had to bring out mops to wipe up his sweat & the audiences cum! EP lovers, that was TJ’s nick...
“Tiger Tom” during his prime mid-60’s days. “TeddyBoy Tom” during his beginnings & “The Voice” at his late 60’s-70’s Peak. (“I Who Have Nothing,” “Till,” “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again,” “Delilah,” etc, etc. etc) The only person on the face of the Earth that could follow TJ was, of course, The King! Their engagements were made of Legend. Elvis stepped on NO ones stage more than TJ’s.
EP warmed up his vocals to “Delilah”! (Why didn’t ANY body tape it!) I could write a book about the two Greatest Pop-Rock Singers / Dancers / Entertainers of all-time. They had NO equals, except each other. And remember, the Greatest musical footage ever shot, was from Vegas, bay-bee:
TTWII!
No, I’m not pro-Vegas, but I also don’t think anything negative about it. The Rat Pack days were long over by the time TJ took over the strip & showed those silver hairs how to Rrrrrock! Just as he did at the Copa & a thousand other venues worldwide. Millions of people, fans & in general, got a chance to see him in Vegas, where otherwise they wouldn’t have. Col knew what he was doin’, the ol’ SOB! ;)
3. Thanks Neal, for the Bad-Ass Burt comment... my all-time fave actor! Yes, TJ was Burt(manly-man), & EP was Clint(pretty-boy).
4. Holy shitttttttt Neal, “Say You’ll Stay” made you a fan!? Are you shiiiiitin’ me!? Country cornpone crap! It turned off Real TJ fans! Went #1 on BB & CB Country.... back-to-back weeks with EP’s “Moody Blue” (more shiiiiit) & #15 on Pop... same position as “Delilah”!
I was happy as hell seeing the Two Greatest back on the charts again, but pissed it was with two shiiit songs: a disco-flavored-pop for The King & country cornpone for Tiger Tom. (Sorry, I cant refer to him as The Voice. That honor goes to the Chairman of the Board, even tho TJ can out sing him even with Laryngitis;).
By the time he had that hit, his record label (Parrot) was outta biz. He signed with Epic & they jumped all over that hit & signed TJ to a five-yr, five-LP Country deal. TJ later said it was the worst career move he made. It was like EP’s deal to do soundtracks. Of course, they’re both so talented, gems sprang up here & there, even with the crap they were fed. Anywho, my God, are you ever way off base on the Greatness of TJ! Here, try these. If ya still don’t get TJ, give up!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkKTMoRs-TU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEgtX1RgIeA
5. As for your “Delilah” clip: TH & his son, Mr. Mark, did up that arrangement cus TJ knew he couldn’t do it the Right Way anymore at 75+. He did the same thing with Pavorotti (duet!) It’s far, FAR from Prime-TJ, but better than anybody could do then or now. Just imagine if EP was still around & singing at that age!
Sorry, rushed to wrap this up ...
Keep ELVIS King!
DAVE (ERR)
I wanted to get your comment approved and posted because I know you were having a few issues with finding it. Here’s what happens when you submit a comment: It goes directly to Trash and then I have to open up Trash, make sure it’s not spam, approve it, and then get it posted out here where others can read it.
I will be back to address your comments but it’s been another looong day and now I just wanna got to bed.
Bestest,
N
I agree with you, Neal. It would have been better if Elvis had said, “Man, sometimes I’d just like to be some normal joe flipping burgers.” Elvis should’ve never signed up for his comeback at International Hotel Show Room, but at major venues across the US and the following year, outside the US.
In 1969, Vegas was known as a place that “older” people thought was cool. I don’t know how many Americans were aware of the place’s connections with organized crime at the time, but seeing Sinatra at the Sands while being able to gamble legally and maybe bump into Lee Trevino at one of the tables was a righteous pilgrimage for many of those folks. That is not a value judgment—I loved Sinatra even as a teenager!
But it’s probably safe to say that these were probably not the people that had bought “If I Can Dream” and “In the Ghetto” or the Elvis and From Elvis In Memphis albums.
In the hip, younger circles of folks under 30 who read Crawdaddy and Rolling Stone—the ones who took our rock seriously and bought lots of albums—playing Vegas was like a joke. So, in terms of reaching record buyers via live performance, it seemed Elvis was going about things bass-backward!
In hindsight, it made sense: It was a helluva lot easier doing two shows a day, seven days a week in one place (where you conveniently could also eat, sleep, and indulge in some R&R) than heading out on the road. It also allowed Presley to get over any jitters he might have had and work on a solid show with his band, singers, and orchestra. (He could have called his onstage crew “Mad Dogs and a Memphis Boy.”) Plus we got a pretty good album out of it.
The BIGGEST mistake I can see is what you mentioned: Once he got his road show together, he should have headed for the UK and Europe and Australia and Japan! Had he done this in 1971, there could have been the second coming of Elvismania.
Oh well, as someone once famous once said, “So it goes ...”