Why Elvis?

Hello!

The different discussions on this board have been fascinating, especially in the past few days! I've been doing some "research" on other sites, and there is an entire universe out there about Elvis--all sorts of stuff--regular fan sites, stores, and the esoteric, such as religion, alien abductions, conspiracy theories, etc. It boggles the mind!

I can't think of another person who can generate this much ... stuff (sorry, my vocabulary a little short today). This is especially in light of the fact that Elvis has been gone for almost 30 years, when people my age have never seen him live, aside from DVDs, and have become new fans.

What is it about Elvis?

It is easy to admire Elvis when he was young, charismatic, and handsome, but who else could become more endearing after an emotional and physical decline?

There must have been other likeable "stars" who had similar backgrounds, but don't produce the love, respect, and admiration as Elvis had acheived(and still does).

The only other person who came close, in my opinion, was Princess Diana, but even she is beginning to fade away.

I admit that when I first started to dabble in Elvis info, I was quite adamant in only focusing on the 1950s. I thought it would be too "yucky" to read or look at pictures from the 70s. The enduring image I had of Elvis were the mean-spirited parodies of him on TV, etc. On top of that, I thought "Elvis fans" were strange--again, the only exposure I had was from watching people of TV ridiculing the fans.

Now, though, after reading, listening, and looking at all kinds of Elvis stuff, I feel so lucky to have "discovered" him for myself. I used to avoid the end of Elvis' biographies, when they talk about his final years--physical and emotional decline, etc., or not looking at anything from the 70s because it did not match the "perfect" image from the 50s. Instead, all his problems have made him so much more endearing.

So now I count myself as an Elvis fan--and proud of it! :clap:
What do you think?

Hi Cutie,

Well done - I very much appreciate your summary of becoming an Elvis fan and all the different emotions that you have experienced in getting there...nicely written.

Cheers,

NEA.

I think the longer we are Elvis fans, the more we learn....there is always someone that is just becoming a fan, and they always bring a new perspective on what it is to be an Elvis fan. I find that I learn something new every day, even if it's just snippet of a song that I may have missed, or a look Elvis has on his face during a televised concert or documentary. Songs that I may have dismissed in the past I will now listen to carefully, songs that I listen to frequently and have seen performed like 'Can't Help Falling In Love' at the Aloha concert, you know the absolute second, when just listening, that the cape went flying out to the audience. Because my favourite song is Just Pretend, (well, some people don't know that :D ) I can sit here at my work station and have the song playing in the background, and I am able to visualise every movement Elvis makes during that song.....great stuff....(y) Elvis 'kept singing the songs' and we keep listening to them....thank goodness there was an Elvis Aron Presley.....:king:

Thank you for your thoughtful reply Carolyn! I wish Elvis were still alive--it would have been nice to have seen a show "live"! I'll bet he would pack the stadiums even today.

I guess I had been wondering "Why Elvis" -- why not Tom JOnes, or even the Beatles--not to offend any Beatles fans, but they sound and look very dated. I won't even go into the current music people! Elvis, in life and death transcended everything. I'm still trying to get a handle on that, but when I write about it, it often comes across as a bit dippy!!

Thanks!

Sandra

It seems that Elvis himself asked that same question many times....'Why me?'....so if he didn't know the answer, how are us mere mortals going to figure it out....:D

It's so cool to read that Elvis is very much alive - not in the sense of physically present, but of a spiritual importance. It's indeed true that there are esoteric websites with Elvis as the leading theme!

This is particularly interesting:

http://www.elvislightedcandle.org/theman/archetype.html

This website compares Elvis to Greek statues - there's a resemblance indeed. Elvis looks somewhat like Pericles, Dionysos and Apollo. Interestingly enough, Apollo was not only the god of light and healing practice but also of.. music..!

Dionysos was well known as the vegetation God, who is to be drunk because of wine. The Greeks liked to drink wine at their gatherings and to play music to make the party complete. There's definitely a link - Elvis the extatic sings and plays guitar!

There's also a link between Jesus and Dionysos - not only because the names sound similair, but also because of Jesus sharing the wine with his disciples (the same way Dionysos was a wine god). Of course, Elvis is very often seen as a messianic or Christ-like figure. It could be said that Elvis had pharaoh-like capabilities...!

In the 20th century, there is no one who can compare to Elvis. Of course there were other fine musicians in that century, but Elvis was special because he changed everything - sexually, politically and racially. Bernstein is right in his statement that Elvis was the leading cultural force in the 20th century (and continues to be so in the 21th).

The link I gave to the 'esoteric website' may be interesting or not. I don't know if I or other people will agree with everything which is to be read there, but it shows once again the spiritual significance of Elvis.

Hi Sandra, in reply to your why Elvis, it started in the fifties when teenagers were considered wild and had to be repressed. For us girls especially when were expected to walk, not run, smile, not laugh out loud etc. Just to look and listen to him made us happy and gave us a place finally to vent our emotions. I wonder how many of us would have been basket cases without him?

Because of his looks, personality and immense talent, he did that for all his fans his whole career so we loved him! Make sense????

Diane

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Diane

Hi Sandra, in reply to your why Elvis, it started in the fifties when teenagers were considered wild and had to be repressed. For us girls especially when were expected to walk, not run, smile, not laugh out loud etc. Just to look and listen to him made us happy and gave us a place finally to vent our emotions. I wonder how many of us would have been basket cases without him?

Because of his looks, personality and immense talent, he did that for all his fans his whole career so we loved him! Make sense????

---

Thank you Diane and EnigmaticSun for your thought-provoking responses! I've looked at the lighted candle website--it is quite fascinating how culturally pervasive Elvis has become.

It is this pervasiveness that boggles my mind--I agree that there is no doubt that Elvis was a pioneer who revolutionized modern culture through music. There have been other artists who were near Elvis' realm of popularity in the 50s and 60s, but people like Ricky Nelson, Paul McCartney, etc., have not become cultural icons the way Elvis has.

There have also been other artists who had fallen, personally and/or professionally--Jim MOrrison comes to mind--or someone else who has been gleefully torn down by the media and fans (I'm no fan, but Michael Jackson is sorta an example) due to his popularity, would never recover, let alone be loved more for it. Case in point: I thought I would be offended from reading about Elvis' many, many, many concurrent girlfriends, but strangely, I find it acceptable--but only in Elvis' case!

When did Jim Morrison die? Does he have the following that comes close to Elvis'? I don't want to offend, but the aspect of endearment is not somthing that is conjured up when I think about John Lennon, for example, and he was more "global" when he was alive, and had worked towards socio-political-cultural issues.

I guess I'm trying to understand how *I* got into all this! :P I have never been one to obsess over the concept of "celebrity," and I'm about as far away from even getting any exposure to his music as I can think of. Yet I find myself really drawn to Elvis' music, biography, pictures, etc. What amazes me is that I've become more interested in his music from 1968 through the end--a surprise, since I was determined to only listen to the "classics."

Elvis--the star, icon, king, and human being--had "it", whatever "it" is--and gaining new fans so long after he's been gone. Talk about life after death!

Thank you for listening! :)

Well what happens ofthen when I try to descripe the "elvis"feeling, my knowledge of the English runs short. :doh: But I cant explain exactly what it is. Of course it is his huge talent, out going personality, humor, looks, his diverse interests and so on. Maybe it is all this combined and then there is the x-factor. Another thought is that he made so many music, played so many different kind of songs, there is something for everybody and from that point you start to discover the 'whole'Elvis. Well just a thought

A little more food for thought Sandra. Did the other artists you mentioned, Jim Morrison, Ricky Nelson, Michael Jackson and I'm adding John Lennon, ever have that smile and look of sheer caring for their fans and I mean making fans feel it individually and personally like Elvis did? Another thing was that he let you see him through the image. I can't think of a single other artist that had that quality.

Thank you for the perspectives! I'm still amazed that Elvis lives on, and can still produce new fans! If only current artists can emulate him, there would be something new to listen to! ;)

Elvis is a good example of how people should be: generous, sweet, loving... His charisma and marvelous voice have inspired us (well, specially me) to become better persons. Elvis changed part of the (world?) culture. I guess that's why(plus many other reasons) he is such an important icon.

Just to add a bit, Elvis represented so many things. He could look like an angel one minute, a bad-*** the next. We all know he loved God and was deeply religious, yet he loved guns, mortorcyles and was a daredevil at heart. To quote Kid Rock, "there's a bit of Elvis in all of us". He was a fascinating human being who in his 42 years lived enough for three lifetimes.

Nicely summarized, Joe!

:clap: :cool:

Elvis Will All Ways Stand The Test Of Time He Is Just So Great

With so many replies It's hard to add something that really cuts wood but I will try. At first I was just a fan (I became a fan in 1971) but as I grew up I discovered there was more. My whole growth as a human being is connected with Elvis. Not only musically but also in my search to life's questions, to become a better human being. Elvis showed me to be vulnarable, to be open at all times without being scared to get hurt because that's all part of life. He was open and vulnarable although a lot of people stated he was ver closed. But look at "Aloha", you can see the man's struggle, he's fighting a battle inside and a part of that could be heard in the songs and another part could be seen in his eyes.

The fact that he was imperfect and didn't hide it made him perfect. We owe a lot to him, I owe a lot to him...Life!

Boy this was a beaut wasn't it? I think Leroy summed it up best. My closing response to this is that one of the things Elvis taught us is when you give a lot you get a lot.

Elvis Will Be Remembered For Ever He Is A Great Talent The Man Could Sure Sing Thats What He Will Be Remembered For He Will Be Up There With Mozart 100 Yrs From Being Remembered For His Great Music

I remember one time when I was 7 years old and upstairs in my home and the TV was on downstairs and I heard the opening vamp and I ran down the stairs and got to that tv as fast as I could before Elvis started to sing, no other entertainer has ever been able to draw me to them with their voice, I think that's amazing.

Something else that amazes me is how the fans in the audience at his concert would each send their love to him and then he would sent his love back to them but not collectively, he sent his love back individually to each person in the audience, he had so much love inside of him :)

He always remembered where he came from and he never took his fans for granted. He gave so much to his fans IMO more than any other entertainer has, cos he let his fans close to him, he always made time for his fans, each show he put on he wanted it to be perfect, he really cared, he wanted his fans to enjoy his show, he had depth to him.

when you can be inside Wembley/O2 etc....with 10,000+ people.......and feel the love and excitement this concert generates......it's phenomenal for a man who's not even there.........

They use the word 'Icon' so loosely these days.........but he will always be THE' Icon.........