Elvis Then & Now

[cameron]

Originally Posted by SleepyJack
treat Elvis more as a college course and fight each other ..

When it ceases to be fun--it's not about Elvis, IMO.

[kathy parkinson]

Agree 100% with you.

[Merry]

I don't believe in true fans or not so true fans. I do believe, however, that the fans have changed. Back in the day when Rosanne and I were pen pals - we both had about 50 pen pals each. We exchanged information, sent each other pictures and all got to hear about when each other saw him. Everyone was happy for each other and the bickering just didn't occur back then. Nobody called anybody a liar because Elvis did something they had never heard or seen him do or nobody got mad because someone had a different view of something.
It seems to me over the past 31 years it has become somewhat of a competitive sport and everyone has to prove everything or you're called a liar. There's no such thing as taking someone's word for it anymore. I guess this would be from all the tall tales that been told over the years and different people believing different things. Just because it hasn't been written in a book doesn't mean it's not true.
I and others who did have the priviledge of seeing him do not appreciate someone telling us what we saw or heard simply because someone has watched some 8mm videos. The videos tell part of the story but being there told the whole story. I do not feel like I'm better than the ones that didn't get to see him - quite the contrary I feel sorry for anyone who did not get to experience him live. You simply cannot understand the feelings you got when he walked into the room.
I am truly glad there are younger fans still discovering him to this day. I was there since the first candlelight vigil and at the 2nd and 3rd candlelight we talked about how many more people seem to be coming - we thought it might last for 5 years before it died out. At the 10th we were truly amazed. At the 15th we couldn't believe it. I spoke at the 25th and looking out to 50,000??? fans with candles was nothing but overwhelming. Graceland did not start the vigil - Elvis Country Fan Club did. The reason it was started so people would not forget. Once it got too large to handle - EPE stepped in and you see where it is today. In my opinion, had it not been the determination of the fans for him to remembered - things may have been so very different today.
I just Elvis fans could share information like we use to without being called liars or totally insane!

Hugs Gail.

The biggest compliment I can give you.

Love,
Kim

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

I suppose there is an element on naivety about the 60's and 70's that has been totally stripped away over the years, a kinship that took place with fans having to send letters and correspond in a more intimate way than sitting behind a computer screen?

I am happy that there is an on-line community but back in the 80's when I used to have fan friends in the UK, I used to write often and it seemed more personal to write letters and yes swap things! There were people back then who were out for a quick buck... I don't think that will ever change.

I just wish that there were still magazines like '25 Years The king' and 'Elvisly Yours' out there that cater for fans

[hounddog]

Is Elvis monthly still going? I used to get Elvisly Yours every so often and i have the 10 volume series of 25 years the king. i agree they were great. I agree with the comments about some fans being a bit competitve and i don't understand it, i put it down to that's just how they are about most things, so why should Elvis be any different.

I was only 6 when Elvis died but i was a fan. i became friends with a fan when i was 14 who was close around 40 and he was wonderful he told me how Elvis' music hit in 1956 in Australia. He also gave me copies of albums, we starting sharing books, he'd lend me one I'd lend him one it was great.

It is the fans and will always be the fans that keep Elvis going. Yes EPE is there and all the movies and music ect are readily available but it is the fans that recommend a rarer tracks or an outtake that just blows you away.

I appreciate every kindness a fan has shown me, and i try to in some way to return that kindness. I think on the whole 99% are the same way

All we have are each others memories and how Elvis touched and continues not only touch us but how amazing it is that others are still learning how great he was.

[Broussey]

I've never heard any part of Elvis' life referred to as "the dark side" until I came here . His whole life has been fascinating to me as I read from where he came, how he was raised and what he accomplished.
Lots of sadness in his life for one so young. But, lots of happiness too.

Any person that loved Elvis for whatever reason ,is a fan to me. No matter what brought them to him in the first place.
Maybe, I don't shock too easily or feel I have to know every tiny bit about him. He was a human being and I accepted him for all he was. IMO, too many expected too much from him. He did the same of himself.

Sometimes, I think "the younger fans" know and love him better than anyone and they're not so quick to judge.

So true so true .... Not to say the older ones dont love him as much but they grew up with this image of him as a perfect person as for me i grew up with all his faults.....

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

Is Elvis monthly still going?

Not sure really, I have about ten or so years worth of copies, all in my mums loft... I stopped collecting when the stories got repetitive!

it is the fans that recommend a rarer tracks or an outtake that just blows you away.

You got that right, there are some people on here who have put me on the road to some awesome outtakes.

[Cryogenic]

Some interesting, thoughtful questions here ........ but they're also very provoactive questions, really. Answering one way or the other could open up an entire can of worms factory. The best thing to say is that everyone is a fan in their own way ........... however, I don't think you can ever be a fan of the man behind the music ...... unless you study and embrace it all. You don't have to like every last era or thing Elvis did, but understanding can only begin when you're dealing with the full spectrum of a life well lived.

[utmom2008]

I suppose there is an element on naivety about the 60's and 70's that has been totally stripped away over the years, a kinship that took place with fans having to send letters and correspond in a more intimate way than sitting behind a computer screen?

Gail and I both agree that had the internet been around back in the good ole days...we probably would have dropped out of school around the 8th grade. But....you are right about that being an innocent time. Even knowing what I know today, if I had the chance to do it again, I wouldn't change one single thing. To give you an idea of just how innocent things were back then...when EWH came out in 08/77 and Elvis died 2 weeks later, there still was not a connection that his death had anything at all to do with drugs. That revelation came in the fall of of 1979 when ABC had a brand new "news" program called 20/20 and a young beginner in the investigative team named Geraldo Rivera. He absolutely "blew the lid off of everyone's top". I remember that night as clearly as if it were yesterday. I was a newlywed, and my husband and I were at my parent's home that night. When it was over..the 4 of us were literally speechless. That night on 20/20 is talked about a good bit in the book "The Death of Elvis". I won't ever forget the pharmacist that locked himself in the bathroom..with Geraldo standing outside the door pestering him. Needless to say....we ALL were stunned that night. With all the emotions that went through my head....the thought of ever loving him less because of it never entered my mind.

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

...... but understanding can only begin when you're dealing with the full spectrum of a life well lived.

I agree with 99.9% of what you have said but it occurred to me that Elvis probably had a very sheltered existence due to who he was. So he perhaps didn't have a well lived life as perhaps as some might think? perhaps there could be a perspective thing going on

[midnight]

I also watched that 20/20 that night in 1979. It was so upsetting and shocking. Yet it made me realize how much his fans meant to him. How he could hide his problems from his fans for so long and go on that stage night after night in the condition he was in. In the end it was not Elvis controlling the drugs , the drugs were controlling Elvis. It is hard to imagine trying to disguise your life from the world. I can`t even imagine how tormented his life had to be. I will never forget the heading in one of the newspapers in 1977. " A Lonely Life Ends on Elvis Presley Blvd".

[cameron]

I saw the 20/20 thing on TV.
Didn't pay much attention back then, because I never liked Geraldo.
He was too cocky for me and never gave anyone a chance to speak if they didn't agree with him. It's all on YouTube today. Don't see Geraldo any different now. I DO like Charlie Thompson though. IMO, Thompson and Cole did a heck of a job in their investigation...even though I didn't agree with all they wrote either .

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

Gail and I both agree that had the internet been around back in the good ole days...we probably would have dropped out of school around the 8th grade. But....you are right about that being an innocent time. Even knowing what I know today, if I had the chance to do it again, I wouldn't change one single thing. To give you an idea of just how innocent things were back then...when EWH came out in 08/77 and Elvis died 2 weeks later, there still was not a connection that his death had anything at all to do with drugs. That revelation came in the fall of of 1979 when ABC had a brand new "news" program called 20/20 and a young beginner in the investigative team named Geraldo Rivera. He absolutely "blew the lid off of everyone's top". I remember that night as clearly as if it were yesterday. I was a newlywed, and my husband and I were at my parent's home that night. When it was over..the 4 of us were literally speechless. That night on 20/20 is talked about a good bit in the book "The Death of Elvis". I won't ever forget the pharmacist that locked himself in the bathroom..with Geraldo standing outside the door pestering him. Needless to say....we ALL were stunned that night. With all the emotions that went through my head....the thought of ever loving him less because of it never entered my mind.

I suppose for the fans who were there during the 60's and 70's it was a complete revelation that their hero was caught up in a lifestyle completely at odds with that of the Colonels propaganda machine. In some respects I can understand why the older fans can be more guarded about Elvis, however the younger fans have had it all laid bare and perhaps have come from a generation that doesn't feel the need to protect Elvis in the same way!

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes and have all manner of predilections, this either draws you in, or repels you. What causes problems IMO is that some see those who discuss flaws as the devil himself (shrinks back from the coming onslaught)......

[Cryogenic]

I agree with 99.9% of what you have said but it occurred to me that Elvis probably had a very sheltered existence due to who he was. So he perhaps didn't have a well lived life as perhaps as some might think? perhaps there could be a perspective thing going on

It's definitely a matter of perspective. Even though there were many things that Elvis missed out on or didn't pursue, I don't think he'd want people feeling sorry for him or making that sort of declaration. There was a sorrow at the core of his being, which seemed to pour out of him in the 70's, and yet, he accepted who he was and the life he led.

[cameron]

IMO, I've found people that were there in the 60's and '70's that were well aware of Elvis and all his "faults". That never meant they denied them, only that they worried about him , prayed for him and cared too much to splash it all over the papers or write a book.

And, no---IMO, he'd never want anyone to feel sorry for him.
Just love him for who he was and what he was able to give.

[utmom2008]

It is hard to imagine trying to disguise your life from the world. I can`t even imagine how tormented his life had to be. I will never forget the heading in one of the newspapers in 1977. " A Lonely Life Ends on Elvis Presley Blvd".

We were just talking about that headline over in another thread. I bought an original copy of one off of Ebay not long ago. It was the headline in the Memphis paper on the morning of the 17th. IMO...that was much more meaningful than some of the other papers around the world that used 4 inch letters to say The King Is Dead.

I suppose for the fans who were there during the 60's and 70's it was a complete revelation that their hero was caught up in a lifestyle completely at odds with that of the Colonels propaganda machine. In some respects I can understand why the older fans can be more guarded about Elvis, however the younger fans have had it all laid bare and perhaps have come from a generation that doesn't feel the need to protect Elvis in the same way!

Yes, the younger fans have grown up with the knowledge..it's already a part of the story. Another reason that maybe some of the younger fans don't think that much about it is because they have heard it all their life..along with hearing about every other entertainer's drug problems as well. Today it's an assumption that entertainers and rehab go hand-in-hand.

[Tommy]

As you know I have been a fan from the very beginning of Elvis' career, there is nothing holy or mystical about Elvis' life, we just don't know unless you were close to the man. I don't believe Elvis tried to disguised what he was or did either.

I never was into finding deep meaning for Elvis' personality. I love his voice and the way he sang a song. It's just that simple for me, and no one since has come close to the way he could take a song and make it his own and his interpretation was something extraordinary!

He was a kind man, that made him special, it came across for me in all he did for others and his fans.

[Diane]

Love your post Tommy and it mirrors my feelings exactly.

Diane

[Tommy]

Love your post Tommy and it mirrors my feelings exactly.

Diane

Thank you Diane

[cameron]

As you know I have been a fan from the very beginning of Elvis' career, there is nothing holy or mystical about Elvis' life, we just don't know unless you were close to the man. I don't believe Elvis tried to disguised what he was or did either.

I never was into finding deep meaning for Elvis' personality. I love his voice and the way he sang a song. It's just that simple for me, and no one since has come close to the way he could take a song and make it his own and his interpretation was something extraordinary!

He was a kind man, that made him special, it came across for me in all he did for others and his fans.

Well, I'd have to agree with this.
I'm old enough, I could have been there from the beginning, but I wasn't.
Have met several that lived through it all.
No, they don't think he was "mystical " or "holy" either .
Just a man they greatly admired with a special voice.
His kindness and love for his fans was expressed in many ways.
They just loved him for himself. Some followed him from one concert to another.Attended some of his parties, etc. To that end, I guess you could say, they were some of his best friends and biggest supporters .