Marty Lacker talks about Elvis and The Grammys:

[Brian]

ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ON JOHN!!!

I certainly don't have a problem with The Colonel wanting Elvis to get paid for appearances (that was his job as manager certainly), but there HAS to be exceptions to that rule...like being offered a LIFETIME LEGEND AWARD by the Grammys. This was a perfect time for The Colonel to allow Elvis to appear and accept the award without any conditions or fees...but once again, as John said, it was all about The Colonel lining his pockets!!!

Just one more example of how much of a crook The Colonel really was...

TCB!
Mike

If they wanted Elvis to just appear at the grammys to accept his award then fine but they wanted Elvis to also sing a song.
Singing a song for free?
Elvis still got his award anyway.


I would like to point out that the grammys honored Elvis with the Grammy lifetime achievement award at 36 years old that made him the youngest recepient ever of the award a record that still stands today.
Other winners of this award are always older and usually receive at the tail end of their careers but not Elvis.
This is generally a forgotten accolade in Elvis' career as no one hardly ever mentions it a much bigger deal is made of the Jaycees award that he received earlier in the same year, but i'd say the Grammy Lifetime achievement award is a very big deal.
So when you think about it the grammy have been pretty good to Elvis.

[GIORGIA]

You´re right, I know, I was being sarcastic

Thank you!

[GIORGIA]

Technically Marty isn't wrong Brian...

The songs that you mentioned as being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame were all done posthumously. I believe Marty was referring to the number of nominations and wins that Elvis received during his lifetime.

TCB!
Mike

Absolutely true my friend!

[KPM]

Marty is full of crap here.

The fact is that Elvis' early work, despite what Marty and others might say, was simply not Grammy-worthy material.

The Grammys were awarded for mainly mainstream stuff, and Elvis certainly wasn't mainstream, at least not when he started out.It's only with the benefit of hindsight that we can say his early works are "classics" worthy of awarding. But in the 50s? No way.

And as for the Grammy people telling The Colonel to get stuffed after he refused to let Elvis perform without paying ... fair enough.

The lifetime achievement award was a great honour, and The Colonel should not have asked for payment. And if Elvis knew about it, he should have said he'd go on the show for nothing, and screw Parker.

As it is, The Grammys have treated Elvis very well over the years, with dozens of nominations. But the fact is, when Elvis missed out, that means another artist had beter work on offer.

The three Grammys for Elvis' religious work are something to be proud of, and it's rubbish like this from Lacker than simply causes trouble.

Exactly correct! Elvis's early work was looked at by the "legit music people" as some fluke, a flash in the pan and it was not taken serious-had no place in the Grammys award system-no rock.
Same with any song from Love Me Tender, Loving You, Jailhouse Rock, King Creole the Oscars would not even consider the songs from these films in the 50s-it was just a fad-and it had no place at the Oscars in general.
Now we look back and see this music as pivotal in the founding of rock music and the culture we have today-back then it was seen as a nuisance to what they had known as music worth honoring.

[KPM]

When the grammys first started in 1959 I think both ''A fool such as I'' and ''Big hunk o' love'' both received nominations but each lost to other recordings.

Both great songs but hardly the devilish rockers like Hound Dog or Jailhouse rock-they were slick pop songs and they fit a little more easily into what the Grammys thought music should be.

[KPM]

ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ON JOHN!!!

I certainly don't have a problem with The Colonel wanting Elvis to get paid for appearances (that was his job as manager certainly), but there HAS to be exceptions to that rule...like being offered a LIFETIME LEGEND AWARD by the Grammys. This was a perfect time for The Colonel to allow Elvis to appear and accept the award without any conditions or fees...but once again, as John said, it was all about The Colonel lining his pockets!!!

Just one more example of how much of a crook The Colonel really was...

TCB!
Mike

My philosophical point for some time-the iron clad rules of the Col. (sold to Elvis as the correct path for his career) did nothing but rob Elvis of he chance to be honored -to his face!
It would have allowed him to show the world (again) how great, chrismatic, funny and talented he was. If Parker had been a little more creative-he could have asked the Grammys (or anyone else who wanted Elvis to appear in a special event or awards show)to donate a fee to some charity of Elvis's choosing and that would have been good press and Elvis could have appeared with Parker getting something in return.

[Brian]

Both great songs but hardly the devilish rockers like Hound Dog or Jailhouse rock-they were slick pop songs and they fit a little more easily into what the Grammys thought music should be.

I think big hunk o' love was quite the raucous rocker in it's time

I believe it's one of Robert Plant's favorite rock songs as well as Stephen King's but it deserves to be a lot better know than it is.

I like the live versions from 1972-73 better than the original studio version though.

[KPM]

I think big hunk o' love was quite the raucous rocker in it's time

I believe it's one of Robert Plant's favorite rock songs as well as Stephen King's but it deserves to be a lot better know than it is.

I like the live versions from 1972-73 better than the original studio version though.

It is a great rocker-but Elvis's voice is smoother, cleaner slicker IMO-the rough edges which were in his first couple years of recording were not present. I actually think Elvis was already making the move to the more mature style of singing which he used in 1960.

[rocknroll]

I never believe anything Lacker says. Everytime I hear him, he is *****ing or complaining about someone or something.

[Getlo]

Yes, the grammys did actually nominate Elvis more than a lot of other famous artists

Here is a complete list of Elvis' Grammy nominations:

A FOOL SUCH AS I RECORD OF THE YEAR 1959 nominated

A BIG HUNK O' LOVE BEST PERFORMANCE BY A "TOP 40"-ARTIST 1959 nominated

BEST RHYTHM AND BLUES PERFORMANCE 1959 nominated

ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT? RECORD OF THE YEAR 1960 nominated

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE, MALE 1960 nominated

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A POP SINGLES ARTIST 1960 nominated

G. I. BLUES BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE, MALE, ALBUM 1960 nominated

BEST SOUNDTRACK ALBUM 1960 nominated

BLUE HAWAII BEST SOUNDTRACK ALBUM 1961 nominated

HOW GREAT THOU ART BEST SACRED PERFORMANCE 1967 AWARD

YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE BEST SACRED PERFORMANCE
1968 nominated

HE TOUCHED ME (ALBUM) BEST INSPIRATIONAL PERFORMANCE 1972 AWARD

HOW GREAT THOU ART BEST INSPIRATIONAL PERFORMANCE 1974 AWARD

SOFTLY AS I LEAVE YOU BEST COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE 1978 nominated

ELVIS ARON PRESLEY BEST ALBUM NOTES 1980 nominated

THE KING OF ROCK'N'ROLL BEST ALBUM NOTES 1993 nominated

BEST ALBUM PACKAGE 1993 nominated

BEST HISTORICAL ALBUM 1993 nominated

FROM NASHVILLE TO MEMPHIS BEST ALBUM NOTES 1994 nominated


... as far as I know, there have been no nominations since '94. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[Raised on Rock]

It is a great rocker-but Elvis's voice is smoother, cleaner slicker IMO-the rough edges which were in his first couple years of recording were not present. I actually think Elvis was already making the move to the more mature style of singing which he used in 1960.

On "A Fool Such as I" for sure you are right, he is already going for his '60 style of singing, but "Big Hunk 'O Love" it like his swang song to rock and roll, it has one of his grittiest most explosive vocals on a rock song, he sings like there is no tomorrow for rock music, it takes "Baby Le'ts Play House" rockabilly hiccups and "Hound Dog" tearing rough sustain to amazing dynamic extremes, no restrains. Never hear Elvis singing that way until the '68 although his voice was very different by then. But anyhow, its just my opinion.

But back on topic, here's a list of Elvis nominations and the records that actually win instead of his:

1959

Record of the Year: "A Fool Such as I" lost to Bobby Darin´s "Mack the Knife"

Best Performance by a Top 40 artist: "Big Hunk O´ Love", lost to Nat King Cole "Midnight Flyer")

Best R&B Performance: "Big Hunk O´ Love" lost to Dinah Washington's "What a Diffrence A Day Makes"

Best Album Cover: For LP Fans Only, lost to "ShostaKovich Symphony No.5".


1960
Record of the Year: "Are You Lonesome Tonight" lost to Percy Faith's "Theme for A Summer Place".

Best vocal performance, Male: "Are You Lonesome Tonight", lost to Ray CHarles "Georgia on My Mind".

Best performance by a pop singles artist: "Are You Lonesome Tonight" lost to Ray Charles "Georgia on My Mind".

Best vocal performance Album, Male: G.I. Blues, lost to "The Genius of Ray Charles".

Best soundtrack album: G.I. Blues, lost to "Can-Can"


1961

Best soundtrack album: "Blue Hawaii", lost to "West Side Story".

1967

Best engineering album (non classical): "How Great Thou Art", lost to The Beatles "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band"

1968

Best Sacred Performance: "You´ll Never Walk Alone" lost to Jake Hess "Beautiful Island of Somewhere".

Anyway, just for the record.

[Jungleroom76]

the grammys couldn't of honored those songs when they came out

Heartbreak hotel, Hound dog, That's alright mama and don't be cruel came out during 1954 and 1956 the grammys weren't established until 1958.

Right...but I was just making the point that those songs were honored posthumously.

TCB!
Mike

[Jungleroom76]

If they wanted Elvis to just appear at the grammys to accept his award then fine but they wanted Elvis to also sing a song.
Singing a song for free?
Elvis still got his award anyway.

The prestige of receiving the award most certainly would have been enough for Elvis to perform a song for free I am sure, had Elvis known about the whole thing.

TCB!
Mike

[Jungleroom76]

My philosophical point for some time-the iron clad rules of the Col. (sold to Elvis as the correct path for his career) did nothing but rob Elvis of he chance to be honored -to his face!
It would have allowed him to show the world (again) how great, chrismatic, funny and talented he was. If Parker had been a little more creative-he could have asked the Grammys (or anyone else who wanted Elvis to appear in a special event or awards show)to donate a fee to some charity of Elvis's choosing and that would have been good press and Elvis could have appeared with Parker getting something in return.

That is an EXCELLENT point Ken!!!

Elvis would NEVER turn down performing a song or a concert for charity and as you said, the press for Elvis doing something like that would have been FANTASTIC!!!

It really is sad to sit here today and look back at the many missed opportunities that Elvis could have had...

TCB!
Mike

[Brian]

Here is a complete list of Elvis' Grammy nominations:

A FOOL SUCH AS I RECORD OF THE YEAR 1959 nominated

A BIG HUNK O' LOVE BEST PERFORMANCE BY A "TOP 40"-ARTIST 1959 nominated

BEST RHYTHM AND BLUES PERFORMANCE 1959 nominated

ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT? RECORD OF THE YEAR 1960 nominated

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE, MALE 1960 nominated

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A POP SINGLES ARTIST 1960 nominated

G. I. BLUES BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE, MALE, ALBUM 1960 nominated

BEST SOUNDTRACK ALBUM 1960 nominated

BLUE HAWAII BEST SOUNDTRACK ALBUM 1961 nominated

HOW GREAT THOU ART BEST SACRED PERFORMANCE 1967 AWARD

YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE BEST SACRED PERFORMANCE
1968 nominated

HE TOUCHED ME (ALBUM) BEST INSPIRATIONAL PERFORMANCE 1972 AWARD

HOW GREAT THOU ART BEST INSPIRATIONAL PERFORMANCE 1974 AWARD

SOFTLY AS I LEAVE YOU BEST COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE 1978 nominated

ELVIS ARON PRESLEY BEST ALBUM NOTES 1980 nominated

THE KING OF ROCK'N'ROLL BEST ALBUM NOTES 1993 nominated

BEST ALBUM PACKAGE 1993 nominated

BEST HISTORICAL ALBUM 1993 nominated

FROM NASHVILLE TO MEMPHIS BEST ALBUM NOTES 1994 nominated


... as far as I know, there have been no nominations since '94. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

right that's a lot more nominations than what several other big artists get

Wasn't Mac Davis nominated as a songwriter for song of the year for ''in the ghetto'' in 1969?

[Brian]

That is an EXCELLENT point Ken!!!

Elvis would NEVER turn down performing a song or a concert for charity and as you said, the press for Elvis doing something like that would have been FANTASTIC!!!

It really is sad to sit here today and look back at the many missed opportunities that Elvis could have had...

TCB!
Mike

You consider Elvis not performing a song for free on television to get this grammy award a missed opportunity?

[Jungleroom76]

You consider Elvis not performing a song for free on television to get this grammy award a missed opportunity?

Yes I do actually. Certainly not as big a missed opportunity as others in his career, but I really think Elvis appearing in person to accept the award would have a chance for him to show fans and non-fans his gracious and humble side (as you know he would have felt that many others deserved this award more than him) and who knows...maybe he would have gained even more fans.

Now I'm certainly not suggesting that Elvis should have appeared on every single awards show that he was nominated on and perform for free, but in the case of something special like this, it really would have been a positive thing for Elvis to appear in my opinion. If he had performed his latest single, it certainly could have boosted sales for it and his latest album. Plus the appearance could have been positively marketed by both The Colonel and RCA, if done properly.

Just my thoughts...

TCB!
Mike

[KPM]

On "A Fool Such as I" for sure you are right, he is already going for his '60 style of singing, but "Big Hunk 'O Love" it like his swang song to rock and roll, it has one of his grittiest most explosive vocals on a rock song, he sings like there is no tomorrow for rock music, it takes "Baby Le'ts Play House" rockabilly hiccups and "Hound Dog" tearing rough sustain to amazing dynamic extremes, no restrains. Never hear Elvis singing that way until the '68 although his voice was very different by then. But anyhow, its just my opinion.

But back on topic, here's a list of Elvis nominations and the records that actually win instead of his:

1959

Record of the Year: "A Fool Such as I" lost to Bobby Darin´s "Mack the Knife"

Best Performance by a Top 40 artist: "Big Hunk O´ Love", lost to Nat King Cole "Midnight Flyer")

Best R&B Performance: "Big Hunk O´ Love" lost to Dinah Washington's "What a Diffrence A Day Makes"

Best Album Cover: For LP Fans Only, lost to "ShostaKovich Symphony No.5".


1960
Record of the Year: "Are You Lonesome Tonight" lost to Percy Faith's "Theme for A Summer Place".

Best vocal performance, Male: "Are You Lonesome Tonight", lost to Ray CHarles "Georgia on My Mind".

Best performance by a pop singles artist: "Are You Lonesome Tonight" lost to Ray Charles "Georgia on My Mind".

Best vocal performance Album, Male: G.I. Blues, lost to "The Genius of Ray Charles".

Best soundtrack album: G.I. Blues, lost to "Can-Can"


1961

Best soundtrack album: "Blue Hawaii", lost to "West Side Story".

1967

Best engineering album (non classical): "How Great Thou Art", lost to The Beatles "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band"

1968

Best Sacred Performance: "You´ll Never Walk Alone" lost to Jake Hess "Beautiful Island of Somewhere".

Anyway, just for the record.

I think you have a point about Big Hunk of Love-but to my ear-it is not as wild nor abandonded in style as Baby Lets Play House or Hound Dog etc.....it has a seasoned and mature quality to it that is not heard in the previous rock songs-it leans pop IMO

[KPM]

You consider Elvis not performing a song for free on television to get this grammy award a missed opportunity?

I would also say yes its a missed opportunity-for Elvis to shine and be honored in a public forum in which he actually participated-it would have been a major event for him to appear and to sing-it would have connected him to the current music fans and they would have seen him with all the other current artists.............in not appearing it robbed him and Parker of a lot of free publicity,(we all no Parker loved things on his side free) potential new fans could have come from his appearance.
Parkers demands on large fees for things which were normally done for free or scale was silly after 1965.
We complain Elvis is not taken seriously today-yet honors such as this were not taken seriously by Parker-he was not interested in the honor of the award-he was interested in the fee. If you have someone special-the honors bestowed upon him only enhance and magnify that person.
If Elvis had been more visible to people who were not fans on these type shows perhaps he would have gained fans and how can that be bad.
Instead we hear today of how "secluded and out of touch" he was in his last years.

Paul McCartney, Lennon, Harrison, Dylan all major historic artists, did not see the need to demand large fees for participation or attendance at these events when they accepted.

[GIORGIA]

SOFTLY AS I LEAVE YOU BEST COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE 1978 nominated

This song is from 1974!Why Elvis is nominated in 1978?It's not sense this nomination!Why not in 1974?I tell 1974,because I listen Elvis sing this song in this year!And yes,14 nominations,but only 3 win!And is Elvis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!As I write before!