Would Elvis's popularity come back?

[MissyM]

The Col. kept Elvis doing a string of pictures to keep his face out there. (and keep the money coming it) And we all know that the Comeback Special was the great vehicle to put him back into the limelight and regain popularity. Do you think that without those two vehicles, he would have been as popular espcially after the Special????

[ehollier]

Missy, I'm not sure that I understand your question. If you're asking if Elvis' popularity would have continued without the '68 Special, I do not know because the Special lead to Las Vegas.

Had he just gone straight to Las Vegas without the '68 Special, I think he would have drawn the same reaction that he did when he arrived in 1969. But its difficult to say whether or not he would have begun performing without the catalyst of the '68 Special.

If you are asking if Elvis would have maintained his popularity with the '68 Special without going on to perform live, I think he would have secured his place in history, but I doubt he would have enjoyed the success that he did in the 70's had he just continued with the same thing from the 60's.

[Diane]

I think the '68 Special helped Elvis to regain his popularity tremendously but I think if he had just starting touring he would have regained some back but most likely not as much. That Special really got the ball rolling for him.

Diane

[MissyM]

You understood just fine. I was thinking of all the P.R. tricks of the trade we have now. I do think that the Special had a Great Impact. I just wonder why the Col. didn't allow for more of them. Elvis seems to really enjoy them. And they provided an incentive for him to get in shape. I wish he had done something like that again in say 1973. Something very much like that with the small stage and raw interactions with the musicians and audience. I think at that time it would have been great for him. I think it would have been well received too.

[ehollier]

You understood just fine. I was thinking of all the P.R. tricks of the trade we have now. I do think that the Special had a Great Impact. I just wonder why the Col. didn't allow for more of them. Elvis seems to really enjoy them. And they provided an incentive for him to get in shape. I wish he had done something like that again in say 1973. Something very much like that with the small stage and raw interactions with the musicians and audience. I think at that time it would have been great for him. I think it would have been well received too.

In hindsight, yes, in 1973 it would be something for prosterity today to see Elvis doing something like he did in '68. But remember, Elvis got really big and easily bored with the challenges that were presented to him. One he started performing again, he set record after record in his live appearances. I do not think he would have been satisfied with going back to doing a simple tv special like he had already done in '68. Additionally (and this is important!), the '68 Special was done at a time when Elvis wasn't sure of himself and that came across in his performance and was part of the appeal to the audience - that great desire to please b/c this was his only chance to redeem himself. By '73, he had proven himself 100 times over and that great insecurity that was present in '68 had long vanished.

The Col. did give him a challenge and that was Aloha from Hawaii. By the time he was presented with that challenge, it seemed like Elvis had acheived all that he could in his lifetime. I think that he was left with very few great challenges that would have encouraged him to the kind of popularity that his return to Vegas did or even Aloha. Personally, I think that touring outside the US was probably the only unchartered territory left for him that would have gotten him the challenge that he truly needed.

[Diane]

I have to agree with Liz. The next step would have been to tour Europe.

Diane

[utmom2008]

Personally, I think that touring outside the US was probably the only unchartered territory left for him that would have gotten him the challenge that he truly needed.

I have to agree with Liz. The next step would have been to tour Europe.

Diane

I agree with both of you. It seems like Europe was the only thing left to inspire him. You can't help but wonder if a European tour would have changed anything. I feel like it would have simply postponed the inevitable, probably for another 2 years or so, but once again the boredom would have set in.

[Diane]

I think you're right Rosanne that a European tour would just have postponed the inevitable but on the other hand, had he had more time maybe something would have happened to help straighten him out. Sad he never got the chance.

Diane

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

Elvis had already had a bad experience in Vegas in the 50's, without the confidence boost of the 68 Special I don't believe that Elvis would have gone to Vegas in 1969 He may have toured first, he would have gotten rave reviews and then perhaps gone to Vegas.

I believe that the 68 Special created a wave of nostalgia with a hint of raw power that got the moguls at the International interested in supporting Elvis in Vegas.

[ehollier]

I................ I feel like it would have simply postponed the inevitable, probably for another 2 years or so, but once again the boredom would have set in.

Yes, Rosie. It was just part of his nature to conquer something and then grow board with it. I read Lat Train to Memphis again, and this restless behavior was present even back in the 50's. I wonder what would have happen in 1958 had he not been drafted because he was showing signs of boredom as earlier as '57 and for the same reasons - he had conquered everything he set out to do and was extremely restless.

[medleyofcostumes]

The problem is that when you become extremely famous and rich in extremely short time - first you do not realie what is happening to you but when you find out, one tends to take everything for grated as long as the money keeps rolling in. When this happens the management becomes th same - never change a 'winning' formula. I guess that the 68 Special was 'testing the waters' since with the movies, especially after 1965,Elvis lost credibility both as an artist and as the King of Rock'n'Roll. After the Special Elvis and Parker found out that a change would be good both financially and artistically.

History thought us, that if Elvis were still alive, he would have performed live until 1980 -1983, then back to the movies until getting bored again.

On a positive note - I think the 1968 Special was very well organised and pesented. The young generation of the time, who missed the 1950's Rock and roll boom, and who only knew Elvis from his movies discovered the 'talented tiger' which was subdued in the movis. They discovered the spark for the first time (Remember in 1968 there was no internet, no dvd rentals, few books) I still like it today 40 years on

[ehollier]

Missy, I imagine that those closest to Elvis had to have asked the same questions, too.....why he couldn't do something else, why the Col. did offer any other challenges and why so many terrible movie deals. Its easy to forget that although Elvis (the one that is part of the family) wanted and needed challenges, was creatively starved and didn't express himself, ELVIS, (the one created ever so carefully by his manager) on the other hand, was managed under the thumb of Col. Parker where there wasn't any room for self-expression and creativity and where the challenges were doled out with an eye dropper, one single drop at a time.

[Unchained Melody]

The Col. kept Elvis doing a string of pictures to keep his face out there. (and keep the money coming it) And we all know that the Comeback Special was the great vehicle to put him back into the limelight and regain popularity. Do you think that without those two vehicles, he would have been as popular espcially after the Special????

I dont think so because by the taping of the show the 68 comeback special, Elvis' career was almost dead in the ground, and that is what brought him back. It all helped in different ways imo.

[SleepyJack]

I think that without the `68 Comeback Special Elvis might not have enjoyed the same amount of popularity that he did, without that challenge and the questions it made him ask himself there might have been no `69 Memphis sessions,no change in anything really,the `68 special then would have gone the way that the Colonel wanted..complete with Santa Suit and carols.It is a shame that Elvis never took on the ultimate challenge...writing his own music and songs, I think that in that he might just have found an ongoing challenge that didn`t end at the end of a performance....it might just have breathed new life into many things for him.

[Suspicious Minds]

If Elvis stayed making those B rate films I don't think he would become more popular. I thought his popularity came around every 10 years according to the record charts.

[Silenz]

As long Elvis sings he cant fail.
No matter what. No one has or had the carisma Elvis had!!!
And what a voice he had!!!

[shelley.m.]

Did Elvis' popularity ever decline? He's probably got more fans now,then he ever did when he was alive.What I am saying is,that a lot of younger kids are now discovering Elvis.So,his popularity will never fade and die.As long as there are Elvis' fans out there,he will still be The King of Rock'n'Roll.