Answers to Elvis-Related Questions on Quora

Es­ti­mated reading time is 11 min­utes.

QUES­TIONS ABOUT ELVIShis music, his records, his per­sonal life—can be found on Quora every day. Over the past few years, I have at­tempted to an­swer some of them. As the na­ture of the ques­tions varies from se­rious to asi­nine, so does the na­ture of my an­swers. In many, I take a far­cical or ironic tone as the ques­tion is too d‑u-m‑b to de­serve se­rious consideration.

Below you will find links to an­swers that I have posted to these ques­tions. A few an­swers in­clude com­ments from other readers. Should you want to read other peo­ple’s an­swers to the same ques­tion, simply click on the ques­tion at the top of the page on Quora and it will take you to other an­swers and comments.

I know, I know: I shouldn’t be wasting my time an­swering many of these ridicu­lous ques­tions. In­stead, I should be pecking away at my key­board, fin­ishing se­rious ar­ti­cles about music and records. But some­times, writers just want to have fun.

Now, some ques­tions de­serve and re­quire se­rious, lengthy re­sponses; a few of them I have used as the basis for an ar­ticle on this blog. To find those ar­ti­cles, go to the search op­tion above (the spy­glass in the nav­i­ga­tion bar at the top of every page), and type in “quora.”

 

Elvis 1968 NBCTVSpecial Nothingville 800 trim
Elvis and guitar during a scene from the “bor­dello” se­quence in the NBC-TV spe­cial filmed in June 1968. Note the pink-against-blue set.

The questions

Ques­tions are listed chrono­log­i­cally from oldest (top of the list) to newest. There are more than sixty ques­tions, so you are not going to get through them all in one sit­ting! All the ques­tions ap­pear below as they ap­peared on Quora—warts and all (grammar, punc­tu­a­tion, dumb­ness, etc.). So, if you have been here be­fore and want to see the latest ques­tions and an­swers, scroll all the way to the bottom of the list.

 

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Are there any Elvis sight­ings that have been par­tic­u­larly convincing?

Was Elvis Presley a great musician?

Is Elvis overrated?

Why did Colonel Tom Parker have such con­trol over Elvis?

What did Elvis wear?

What made Elvis Presley great and was he the best rock and roll singer ever?

What was Elvis Presley like in person?

What are the biggest myths about Elvis Presley?

Did Elvis Presley steal his style?

What is Elvis’ nationality?

What is some­thing that needs to be said about Elvis Presley?

Is it at all rea­son­able to be­lieve that Elvis Presley would be a washed-up has-been if he were still alive today?

What are your fa­vorite Elvis lyrics?

Was Elvis Presley as tal­ented as people por­tray him to be?

Do you do any­thing spe­cial on Elvis’s birthday?

How dis­liked was Elvis Presley by music purists?

What Elvis Presley track has the most soul?

How fa­mous was Elvis?

Did Elvis Presley ever try LSD?

Did Elvis feel threat­ened when the Bea­tles met him?

Who was the backup singers for Elvis Presley in his early career?

Who was more suc­cessful, Elvis or Robert Plant?

Was Elvis still very pop­ular when he passed away?

What is Elvis’s best performance?

Was Elvis a womanizer?

What should you never say to an Elvis Presley fan?

What is the best Elvis Presley song to play for someone who isn’t fa­miliar with Elvis?

Would you rather live with Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Prince or Elvis Presley?

What were some strange habits of Elvis Presley?

Did Elvis Presley ever at­tend a rock concert?

What is your fa­vorite pho­to­graph of Elvis Presley?

What was it about Elvis that cap­ti­vated his mil­lions of fans?

If Elvis Presley was alive in this cur­rent gen­er­a­tion, would he still make it as a Singer con­sid­ering how dif­ferent the styles of music is today?

Isn’t it time that we gave Chubby Checker more credit for the in­ven­tion of rock & roll than Elvis?

What did they call Grace­land in Mem­phis be­fore Elvis bought it?

Was Elvis Presley merely the first white mu­si­cian to offer rock music to the masses, having bor­rowed heavily from what was al­ready wide­spread within black culture?

Did Elvis Costello ever meet Elvis Presley?

Is Elvis plan­ning a comeback?

Which are the best Elvis sad songs?

Which are the best Elvis rockier songs?

Do you think Pres­i­dent Trump did a well enough job in rep­re­senting Elvis Presley in the ’ Freedom Award ’ or do you think a dif­ferent Pres­i­dent should have rep­re­sen­taed this to Elvis Presley and his family?

It’s ru­mored that Elvis was going to work on an album with the Beach Boys. What would that have sounded like?

Did Elvis Presley ever sing any songs from The Rolling Stones or Sam Cooke?

So do you agree with Trump that he used to look like Elvis Presley (and if so what part)? If not does an­other name come to mind?

Did a mu­si­cian for whom a young Elvis Presley au­di­tioned ad­vised him to “Stick to dri­ving a truck, be­cause you’ll never make it as a singer”?

If you could go back in time to see an Elvis Presley con­cert one last time, in what year would you most like to see him play?

What are Elvis Pres­ley’s greatest hits?

How much is the Moody Blue album worth?

Elvis and Ral Donner es­sen­tially had the same voice, but Elvis was a better singer. Can you tell the dif­fer­ence be­tween Elvis and Ral just by their tones?

Why did Elvis not evolve his music styl­is­ti­cally over time?

Did Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley ever meet?

Does the Elvis es­tate get roy­al­ties from the Elvis mem­o­ra­bilia (such as watches) that are being sold from China?

How did Lisa Presley wind up so miserable?

Did Elvis ever re­quest that a song­writer write a song for him?

Who was Elvis’s fa­vorite songwriter?

What caused Elvis Presley to be­come so fat?

Did Elvis have any artists that he wanted to record with, but never got the chance to do so?

What two songs, rock & a ballad, do you wish Elvis Presley had recorded (then or now)?

Will Elvis be talked about in 100 years?

Why did Elvis Presley and Linda Thompson split up?

What is the best cover of an Elvis Presley song?

Is Elvis Presley still popular?

Who is more fa­mous around the world Elvis Presley or Mickey Mouse?

What do you think about the way Elvis Presley dressed?

How greatly was Elvis in­flu­enced by Dean Martin?

Why were people so crazy about Elvis and the Beatles?

Is there any proof that Elvis Presley was a CIA agent or spy?

Do you think Elvis would have stayed rel­e­vant if he had lived longer?

Was Elvis des­tined to be who he was?

If Elvis had lived, would he still be pop­ular and rock ‘n’ rolling’ today at the age of 83?

What was Elvis Pres­ley’s first hit in 1956?

How much did Elvis’s highest paid song make as of 2018?

Who played the guitar solos on Elvis’ “Hound Dog”?

Is Elvis Presley the most suc­cessful non-songwriter per­former in history?

What caused the de­cline of Elvis Presley?

Have The Bea­tles sold more records than Elvis Presley?

Who re­ceives the Elvis’s roy­al­ties for “Heart­break Hotel” and his other songs?

What song by Elvis de­serves a resurgence?

What would be hell for Elvis?

? I have a Moody Blue Elvis album that says Not For Sale, Demon­stra­tion. Ex­ec­u­tive Pro­ducer: Elvis Presley. Is this worth anything?

Which mu­si­cians were in­flu­enced by Elvis?

Which was better, 60s Elvis or 70s Elvis?

What would the world look like if Elvis Presley never existed?

Is Burning Love a top 5 Elvis song?

If Elvis Presley were still alive, what would you say to him?

What was Elvis Pres­ley’s best album of the 70s?

Which Elvis album had the most in­flu­ence on the music in­dustry and on other performers?

Is Grace­land in Mem­phis an ac­cu­rate rep­re­sen­ta­tion of Elvis Presley’s life?

Was Heart­break Hotel Elvis Pres­ley’s biggest hit?

Is Elvis Presley an Amer­ican legend?

Is “Last Train to Mem­phis: The Rise of Elvis Presley” by Peter Gu­ral­nick worth the read?

What do you think of the Elvis Presley song “Edge of Reality”?

Did Elvis Presley “ex­ploit black music” or pay homage to it?

What was Elvis Pres­ley’s first album?

What did Michael Jackson think of Elvis Presley?

Was Elvis em­bar­rassed to have sung to a basset hound on television?

Who is a singer from the 50s whose first name starts with an E?

Is it right that Elvis Presley never re­ally wanted to play the guitar?

What is a Elvis Moody Blue LP, Blue Vinyl with a mis­print of the B side worth?

Are Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson re­ally dead as we know?

On Elvis Pres­ley’s 1960 album “Elvis Is Back!”, what are your fa­vorite songs?

Did the music of Elvis Presley change your life?

On Elvis Pres­ley’s 1961 album “Some­thing for Every­body”, what is your fa­vorite song?

Did Elvis Presley al­most die be­fore Au­gust 16, 1977?

Was Elvis Presley a good role model?

What year did Elvis Presley make his first con­cert appearance?

What was Elvis’s last number 1 in his own lifetime?

What was Elvis’s last number 1 in his own lifetime?

Did Elvis Presley ever record on the al­bums of other recording artists, as a backup singer or otherwise?

What ten songs would you choose for an Elvis Presley greatest hits album? Why?

Who is the band with Elvis Presley?

Who gave Elvis Presley his big break?

In your opinion, what are five of the hap­piest songs by Elvis Presley?

How much are Elvis records worth?

What were the spending habits of Elvis Persley?

What were the spending habits of Elvis Persley?

What did Elvis Presley do for a living be­fore he be­came the king of rock and roll?

Was there any point in Elvis Presley’s ca­reer that he had cre­ative con­trol of the songs he covered?

If Bob Dy­lan’s ca­reer was in­spired when he first heard an Elvis song, why then are his songs far from sounding like Elvis?

What was the first British number one hit for Elvis Presley?

Did you love Elvis Presley?

Was Elvis Presley a good husband?

Why do you prefer Elvis over The Bea­tles OR The Bea­tles over Elvis?

What are some facts about Elvis that you won’t find on Wikipedia?

Why did Elvis Presley de­cide to shake his hips while singing?

What was Elvis’ hair color?

Did Elvis Presley have chronic flatulence?

Which Elvis song could be a hit today? Who should do it?

Why do many people think Elvis did Crazy Little Thing Called Love?

Why didn’t Elvis Presley have an Amer­ican flag on his coffin like most veterans?

What ob­ject that once be­longed to Elvis Presley is the most valu­able today?

Was Elvis Presley orig­inal, or did he copy other artists?

Is Elvis still rel­e­vant in 2020?

Why didn’t the song writers for Elvis’ movies even try?

Did Bill Bixby truly, deeply, madly love Elvis Presley?

When Elvis was spotted at that big mall, did he let people know who he is and who is buried at Graceland?

What was Elvis Presley’s most badass moment?

What con­sti­tutes a mis­print on the B side of an Elvis blue vinyl LP?

Is it weird that so many people im­per­sonate Elvis?

How great are Elvis Presley’s “How Great Thou Art” songs?

What is the least flat­tering photo you’ve ever seen of Elvis Presley?

Would Elvis presley liked trump? 

Were the Mem­phis Mafia good friends of Elvis Presley or not?

Were the Mem­phis Mafia good friends of Elvis Presley or not?

How many chil­dren did Elvis have?

Did Elvis Presley and Evel Knievel have the same tailor? Was it the era that meant they wore sim­ilar suits, or some­thing else?

Who would have been the king of rock and roll if Elvis Presley never existed?

Why isn’t Elvis Presley crit­i­cised as much as Michael Jackson for what he has done?

Is there going to be an­other Elvis any­time soon?

With so many fans, why didn’t Elvis Presley have any number one hits in the ’70s?

Why did Elvis say “listen Cilla”?

How do you feel lis­tening Elvis singing “Let’s be friends”?

What would Elvis react about the ru­mours claims that he stole music from black artists?

What would Elvis react about the ru­mours claims that he stole music from black artists?

Why is the Presley es­tate de­manding that the wed­ding chapels in Las Vegas cease all Elvis themed weddings?

Did Elvis ever tour?

Why is Elvis so fa­mous and no one knows Charlie Feathers who wrote Elvis’s 1st hit?

What are your top three fa­vorite Elvis Presley sin­gles, con­sid­ering both the A and B sides?

Why is Quincy Jones sud­denly falsely claiming that Elvis, whom he never met, would have been racist?

Why was Elvis Presley so wildly better in the one and only ’68 come­back TV show than he ever was in al­most any­thing else be­fore or after?

Has the movie Elvis in 2022 caused any spikes in the sales or streaming of Elvis’ music?

Is Vin­cente Fer­nandez better than Elvis Presley?

Did Elvis Presley write the song King Creole?

Which is the Elvis song in which Elvis sang “a hunka hunka hunka”?

Did Elvis Presley sign with RCA records?

Do people like Elvis Presley more or less than Michael Jackson, even though they are both con­sid­ered to be two of the greatest singers in his­tory?

What are some good Elvis im­per­son­ators today?

Was Elvis Presley Jewish?

How did Elvis Presley be­come a su­per­star? Did he have any formal training or education?

Did Elvis Presley sing his songs live or did he lip sync them?

Is “Sus­pi­cious Mind” by Elvis Presley con­sid­ered a gaslighting themed song?

Do you think any­thing ru­ined Elvis Pres­ley’s career?

What fac­tors made Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson suc­cessful musicians?

 

Elvis SusanHenning photo bw 800 trim
Elvis and actress/dancer Susan Hem­mings posing for a photo for the orig­inal NBC-TV spe­cial in June 1968.

About that word “farcical”

The pur­pose of my an­swering was to at­tract new readers to this blog. Of course, there may be more mis­in­for­ma­tion about Elvis on the in­ternet than about Hillary’s emails, AOC’s dancing, and Hunter’s laptop com­bined! So cor­recting a little of it may help mat­ters some.

Fi­nally, if my sister or other readers en­dowed by their Cre­ator with the sense of humor of an 8‑year-old reads this, that’s “far­cical” above—not “fart­sicle.”

 


 

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