Graceland - elvis – a touch of gold

a double tap of elvis’ pink cadillac in zombieland

ELVIS AS A MYTHIC FIGURE has played a part in many Hollywood movies since his death in 1977. Most of these movies treat the man and the myth with respect, humor, and even irony. I am not referring to movies where a Presley track is used as part of the background music but where the “essence” of the Elvis myth/legend is integral to the plot. [Continue reading]

a fivesome of quora questions about elvis answered

SINCE I AM CURRENTLY TOILING AWAY at various projects of considerable girth—I mean, length—I’m going to post a few short-shorts. To break up things while I am researching and writing, I turn to Quora and answer questions. Quora is a question-and-answer site where questions are asked by users and then answered by other users, either factually or in the form of opinions. [Continue reading]

A FEW QUOTES

“[Elvis] came to the session, picked the songs, and if something in the arrangement was changed, he was the one to change it. Everything was worked out spontaneously. Nothing was really rehearsed. Consciously or unconsciously, everyone imitated him.” – Bones Howe

“You have no idea how great he is, really you don’t. You have no comprehension, it’s absolutely impossible. I can’t tell you why he’s so great, but he is. He’s sensational.” – Phil Spector

"I don’t think he ripped them off. I think once something has been exposed, anyone can add or take from it if they like. He was just so great, so popular, and so hot, and so anything that he played became a hit.” – B.B. King

“He was an integrator. Elvis was a blessing. They wouldn’t let black music through. He opened the door for black music.” – Little Richard

"Elvis was a great man and did more for civil rights than people know. To say he was a racist is an insult to us all.” – Ernest Withers

"The only white boy that had soul—who could sing as good as any of them—was Elvis When it comes to singing, nobody had everything like Elvis. I’ll tell the world, Elvis was the greatest of all time." – Muhammad Ali

“The first time that I appeared on stage, I really didn’t know what all the yelling was about. I didn’t realize that my body was moving. It’s a natural thing to me. So to the manager backstage I said, ‘What’d I do?’ And he said, 'Whatever it is, go back and do it again.' ” – Elvis Presley

"Elvis is the greatest cultural force in the 20th century. He introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes, it’s a whole new social revolution [and] the '60s come from it.” – Leonard Bernstein