Elvis stories - good or bad for his image?

[italianfan]

Since there hasnt been a 'debate' thread here for a while I thought Id start one. Please be aware I dont mean to start arguements just friendly discussion.

When you hear stories about Elvis, such as when he shot at TVs or his car. Or flying to Dallas because he wanted a sandwich. Do you see these a good or bad for his image?

Is it a case of 'he was Elvis, the King of Rock and Roll, he did what he liked, its part of his attitude, its cool' or 'this shows the first seeds of a man who is slowly loosing some reality'.

Id be interested to here what everyone thinks.

[SleepyJack]

I think it`s hard for us to really make any fair comment on things like that, Elvis lived an unusual life and adapted to it over the years,I don`t think it was any kind of indication that he was losing any sense of reality..just that his reality was a lot different to "ordinary" people.Given the same opportunities,popularity and spending-power we would all probably get up to some strange things. I think though that it is this strange reality that ultimately cost Elvis (and many other big stars) their ability to find any kind of meaning to their lives or to deal with problems when they arose.

[KPM]

I think it was part of the Elvis mystique-shooting at tvs, and cars, flying across country for a peanut butter sandwich.
His personality was to the extreme on things he liked or disliked.
People can judge in their own minds whether this was good overall for Elvis's life. Getting your way pretty much all the time is not always good, but as Jack said Elvis was not living the ordinary 9 to 5 life....so his ordinary might seem strange to many.

[sasha]

Who hasn't gotten mad or frustrated enough to take it out on an inanimate thing?
If I tell the truth, I know I have.
Would I take a plane to get food that I wanted and couldn't get where I am?
You bet, if I had the way and the money.

Stories like these ,IMO are just meant as tabloid headlines. To sell papers or books.
I'd rather hear and read the stories where they all had fun and played jokes on each
other. Loved to hear Elvis laugh. Enjoy his childhood stories too and how he gave
of himself to others and the less fortunate as he became able.

Yes, there were fights, disagreements among them all. Can't say I needed to hear that.
None of my business and of course, you could only hear one side.
The "trash "stories hurt him and his family, IMO. No reason for that either.
There was never any proof offered , just someone telling a wild story.
Guess what I'm saying is; some things were private and should have been kept within family and friends.But, did it hurt the "image" ? Not that we could see as in
all his fans caring about and loving him. It did hurt the man and his family.

[Lisarose]

Great post, Sasha!
Was just watching old re-runs of Friends and Pete, the millionaire, flies Monica to Italy for Pizza. Granted it was
just a tv movie, but tv mirrors real life and no one is offended until it concerns a certain someone. In this case, Elvis.
It seems that when you're rich & famous, everything you do comes under fire and criticism - as if he needed our approval or
permission!

[SleepyJack]

In a way all of these things seem to have a way of balancing each other out anyhow.Okay,so Elvis could fly off for a sandwich at a whim or have stores open their doors to him at all hours... but he couldn`t just go out for a walk,he couldn`t attend church,he couldn`t just take some time out and be by himself somewhere and just be anonymous...for every seemingly excessive thing there was a price to be paid. I think that,given a choice,Elvis would have gladly traded some of those wild times for a chance to do some of the ordinary things and feel human again....I don`t think he would have given it all up though..he loved being Elvis Presley.
Agree with Sasha on the attacks on inanimate objects...been guilty of several of those myself!...never with the same Rock`n`Roll coolness as Elvis though!! Elvis decides to "kill" the tv he shoots it with a magnum and leaves a very cool bullet-hole....with me it would probably be just the remote-control sticking out of a broken screen...and then the months of saving to try and replace it! It`s probably best to leave things like that to people who can get away with it!

[J.P]

Since there hasnt been a 'debate' thread here for a while I thought Id start one. Please be aware I dont mean to start arguements just friendly discussion.

When you hear stories about Elvis, such as when he shot at TVs or his car. Or flying to Dallas because he wanted a sandwich. Do you see these a good or bad for his image?

Is it a case of 'he was Elvis, the King of Rock and Roll, he did what he liked, its part of his attitude, its cool' or 'this shows the first seeds of a man who is slowly loosing some reality'.

Id be interested to here what everyone thinks.

umm i think it depends on how you ppl see it. i mean some would see it shocking and even an arrogant some would take it as a humor one as cool and maybe radical... but i gotta say this it's never good for your image when it's turning to a burden and none arrogant or rude behavior is good for any image or anyone in any situation whether you were a regular man or a rock star, cos that's where the problem starts. how easily ppl forget all the good things you've done when they once got you on ridiculous "business" i mean it's very hard to score a spare after that. so shortly put lol good things are good for your image and bad things are bad. BUT we're only human an excuse or not lol well have a nice day evryone nice thread!!

[spanish eyes]

Since there hasnt been a 'debate' thread here for a while I thought Id start one. Please be aware I dont mean to start arguements just friendly discussion.

When you hear stories about Elvis, such as when he shot at TVs or his car. Or flying to Dallas because he wanted a sandwich. Do you see these a good or bad for his image?

Is it a case of 'he was Elvis, the King of Rock and Roll, he did what he liked, its part of his attitude, its cool' or 'this shows the first seeds of a man who is slowly loosing some reality'.

Id be interested to here what everyone thinks.

IMO his image was put under a microscope and any thing that he did was blown out of proportion cos of who he was. Everyone has emotions and he was no different, so he got angry and shot the TV, he didn't hurt anyone, the TV was replaced IMO no big deal. The media distorts his image cos they don't know the man behind it, they don't know how he feels or the way he thinks, only Elvis did, the media only sees the image and forget that he was human being.

[Diane]

IMO his image was put under a microscope and any thing that he did was blown out of proportion cos of who he was. Everyone has emotions and he was no different, so he got angry and shot the TV, he didn't hurt anyone, the TV was replaced IMO no big deal. The media distorts his image cos they don't know the man behind it, they don't know how he feels or the way he thinks, only Elvis did, the media only sees the image and forget that he was human being.

[Raised on Rock]

Shooting tv´s, flying long distances just for a favourite meal?

I'll be doing same thing if I got money, a gun and a plane!

Well not really, I'm afraid of guns, but I'll sure be smashing things with a baseball bat just for kicks once in a while lol. And who on earth wouldn't take a plane anytime they feel like visiting a favourite spot if there's the money and time?

Now I can't do that, Elvis could!!! (plus he also did nice stuff for people with his money and time) thumbs up for him anyway you look at it.

[john carpenter]

I don't think anything hurt his image while he was alive. If they (the media) had heard Elvis & Prissy were living together when she was 14..Absolutely. The stories i've read about "Shooting the tv when Robert Gulay was on was Cool. And if i had the Lisa Marie Airplane & the money...I would fly to China for rice.

[J.P]

And if i had the Lisa Marie Airplane & the money...I would fly to China for rice.

good one

[May]

I love reading stories about Elvis, and plenty of other famous people come to that. Whatever the story, good or bad,
knowing them all always gives you a more rounded image of the person.
Some people just like the music and thats it. If I like the music, I then like to find out more about the person, the more I like them the more I want to know (hence all my elvis books!)
Everyone just has such individual lives its hard to say "thats unusual" or "thats not normal" because everyones circumstances are so very different. the way they were brought up, their parents and people around them, their financial status etc. Whats normal to one person might be outrageous to another. Although I will say one thing, if I was in a strop, owned a gun and had plenty of dosh, I would shoot LOADS of tele's!!!!

[KPM]

Shooting tv´s, flying long distances just for a favourite meal?

I'll be doing same thing if I got money, a gun and a plane!

Well not really, I'm afraid of guns, but I'll sure be smashing things with a baseball bat just for kicks once in a while lol. And who on earth wouldn't take a plane anytime they feel like visiting a favourite spot if there's the money and time?

Now I can't do that, Elvis could!!! (plus he also did nice stuff for people with his money and time) thumbs up for him anyway you look at it.

Great Bruce Springsteen song "57 Channels and Nothing On" has cute homage to Elvis shooting up TVS in frustration:

[Diane]

Frustration I think is the key word for a lot of things Elvis did. Bet a lot of us would have done a lot worse in his place.

[Lisarose]

In a way all of these things seem to have a way of balancing each other out anyhow.Okay,so Elvis could fly off for a sandwich at a whim or have stores open their doors to him at all hours... but he couldn`t just go out for a walk,he couldn`t attend church,he couldn`t just take some time out and be by himself somewhere and just be anonymous...for every seemingly excessive thing there was a price to be paid. ..

Excellent observation, Jack!
KPM! Loved the Springsteen song - I've sung that once or twice - a week!!