Defending Elvis, Or Not?

[Elvisgirl]

i was wondering, what do you do when someone makes disrespectful comments about Elvis? do you defend him, or do you just ignore it?
does it affect you in any way? do you get sad, angry, offended? or does it not affect you at all?

[cutiepie]

Mostly it makes me sad to see that the people who make disparaging comments are just not educated in the aspects of Elvis as a human being -- that is, not the parody that has profoundly saturated the general media. I feel sad for these people, who are probably more into Paris Hilton, etc., than a real artist.

Ultimately, I feel sad for Elvis, who must have felt some of that at the end of his life. A lot of times, negative comments are fewer than positive ones, but people (me included!) tend to hear the bad news more than the good. My theory is that Elvis might have feel as if he had been tossed away like old newspapers when the new editions arrived.

I'm reading "Elvis and Gladys" by Elaine Dundy--her theory is that the Colonel must have orchestrated the whole "don't take Elvis seriously" attitude through controlling Elvis' movies, so that he (Colonel) can retain control over Elvis for good.

As for what I would say or react...I don't know. It is taking me a while to "come out" as far as being an Elvis fan.

Thank you for a thought provoking question!

[0349054]

Most of the time people who say things about Elvis, don't know what they are talking about, or merley wallow in ignorant tabloid bliss about him. Usually I don't bother coreecting them. People will believe what they want.

[EnigmaticSun]

I sometimes do try to defend Elvis, when people are prejudiced and say something like: 'he didn't sing the way he used to near the end of his life'. I just tell them that the oldies weren't all that important to him at that period of his life, and that his voice was still great - on all songs, but ballads and gospel most of all.. They just look kind of amazed when I say he was a very respectable opera baritone.

When people make really dumb comments like 'he wasn't all that intelligent' or 'he was fat' I do try to ignore them - they are so stupid that it's impossible to start a true and honest conversation.

[eap1977]

i was wondering, what do you do when someone makes disrespectful comments about Elvis? do you defend him, or do you just ignore it?
does it affect you in any way? do you get sad, angry, offended? or does it not affect you at all?

I think as Elvis fans we need to know the situation and the person involved and if we can use our knowledge to turn their way of thinking rather than driving them more to the negative: YES DEFEND ELVIS!

He is not here to defend himself, we all have done good and bad things, made bad split decisions, no one is perfect! They need to be reminded of all of that plus told of Elvis' health problems as well about the load he had to carry in so many aspects of simply being ELVIS! Tell them of the great things he did, of his compassion and charity!

Thanks for a great topic!

[Dovey]

I never feel a need to defend "Elvis" He was the King of Rock & Roll and there has never been another alive or dead that can equal his talent. ( He had a heart of gold and gave so much to others... If you ever visited Graceland it would amaze you to see just how much he gave and cared for people)

People who put him down are simply ignorant of who he was and what he stood for..... there is not a person alive that is perfect but as far as singing goes... It will be a long time before the world hears another voice to equal that of Elvis.

I feel very proud to be a huge fan of "Elvis" and there is nothing anyone could say that ever change my mind. As for changing their minds.....well when they grow up they may figure it out for themselves... either way I could care less about negative people.

Heck when you think about it.... some people live in a neative world and find something wrong with everything and everybody!!

If we could "Walk a Mile in His Shoes" Wow, what a walk that would be...

Just my view ... Elvis needs no defending!! Dovey

[Wendy56]

I don't like at all when I hear a disrespectful comment about my beloved Elvis. I can't ignore them, but certainly I can't go and have a fight with every person who say this kind of bad things. I guess the king is right when he sings: "yes, we're different, worlds apart, we're not the same..."*

I can get sad, angry, offended... maybe have all these feelings at the same time... it depends of what kind of comments I listen to. When I can do it, I like to also express my ideas, and try to persuade others to change of opinion if I think they're wrong (not obsessively, of curse!). Anyway, I have my own thoughts about Elvis, and as long as I feel fine with those... everything's in peace then.

* From Until It's Time For You To Go (By the way, a great song!).

[richardo316]

i tend to get pretty iratated when someone bashes elvis. usually i tell them that at least elvis is long lasting the garbage they listen to wont last 10 years. most people who bash elvis listen to no talent artist anyway.

[carolynlm]

I will generally just walk away when someone starts at me about Elvis. I don't need to defend him, his music tells the story, that's all I tell them. There is one thing that annoys me though is a lot of people who have seen Elvis sing 'Unchained Melody' on the EIC tapes, and that is all they see, they tell me that it's a pity that Elvis looked so bad singing his last song ever......I try to tell them that the clip showing him leave after the song has been edited....but they think that after he finished that song, that was it.....these people will only believe what they see in front of them. This is the reason I really can't stand Elvis imposters (impersonators)....mostly all of them are in these ridiculous looking cheap suits, with sunglasses......clutching at thin air trying to sing Hurt......they think they are doing Elvis a favour.

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

By in large people in the UK are still being fed with the positive Image of Elvis so this has had an Impact on the younger generation with a positive slant.

Yes there will always be some oaf who will pass some stupid comment regarding rhinestone jumpsuits and other such silly comments. I tend not to respond to such comments simply because this Image has been perpetuated by a biased media and passed down by parents alike.

For me the biggest damage is created by "Tribute Artists" or Imposternators as I call them, to be fair there are some good ones out there. but there are some who just put the Elvis Image back 20 years and help perpetuate an Image stereotype which is of an overweight, over 40 star who had seen better days.

The general public tend to follow the flow of the media and which way they are proffering information, thankfully we are riding a popular wave at the moment, these highs and lows follow a cycle so we need to enjoy it while it lasts.

Matt

[Kapu]

I regularly correspond by email with someone in the USA. He's a good friend and a great guy, but when he heard that I listen to Elvis he immediately started making friendly little wisecracks like "are you sure you're not a middle-aged, overweight housewife?".

After that, I did see it fit to educate him a bit about the diverse nationalities, walks of life, age groups and the two genders that Elvis fans actually come from.

We had a bit of a conversation and he admitted his image of Elvis was the ubiquitous fat, jumpsuited impersonator with exaggerated greasy pompadour singing sappy love songs - which of course is nothing but a twisted caricature of the last few years of his life, a mere fraction of the whole picture.

I then reminded my friend of the two decades of songs from many diverse musical genres that Elvis' career encompassed and the impact he had in the fifties.

I certainly didn't turn my friend into an Elvis fan, but I think he now realizes he had many misconceptions about him.

It's possible to discuss these things reasonably with a friend, but try to convince a total stranger... now there's a challenge.

[EnigmaticSun]

Well, the jumpsuits may seem funny now, but then again, the pharaoh's clothing of 4000 years ago may seem 'strange' to us too. Those were the 70's, man! Why don't they ever bash David Bowie for walking around like a lady with many, many colours? Or did the band Kiss ever look that normal?

Of course Elvis loved ballads - some of these may sound cheesy whenever sung by so-so or even bad singers. But the way Elvis delivered them really impressed me - at the time of singing Unchained Melody, yes, he was obviously struggling with his physical condition, but opera singers are still jealous of that magnificent voice.

[Cryogenic]

Unless a person is genuinely prepared to listen to a differing viewpoint, there is absolutely no use in wasting your breath talking to them. It's a bit like forgiveness: someone has to want to be forgiven before they can be forgiven. Likewise, someone has to want to be informed before they can be informed. As I once read on a message board...

Don't argue with *****s. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

[cutiepie]

I was at a bookstore this week, looking for the new Elvis: A Celebration book by Mike Evans. The bookstore didn't have a section for "biographies" and put these books into their respective fields of interest.

I asked for the Elvis book--and while the lady was very nice, she thought it was such a silly thing to ask for. She had all kinds of "well thankyouverymuch" and other stereotypical stuff to say, while leading me all the way to the music section of the book store. I was gritting my teeth the whole way!

Would she have made those comments if I asked for the biography of Martin Luther King?? I think not!

[EnigmaticSun]

Yes Cutiepie, I see that this is very strange. It's as if some folks have some sort of mechanism inside of them which is anti-Elvis.

You know, I'm only 19 years old and my experience is that, among youth nowadays, it is really 'cool' and 'accepted' to be anti-christ just for the sake of being anti and 'normal'. This saddens me.

I guess it may have something to do with living in a state of self-hatred - and of course there is corporate interest which demands us to be young, hip, newest of the new, always wanting to get more and more and more, as long as the people are consumers they're socially accepted and considered 'normal'..

Reminds of previous civilizations in their end days.. Egypt, Babylon, Rome.. It has happened so many times before, people turn against God and lack morality (not that I'm anti-pleasure or anything like that - Jesus drank wine too, remember??). The hippies mainly seem to confirm to this way of life, though - I can say that I gain more and more understanding and respect for Elvis' concerns about hippies in 1970!

[Lisa]

I always ask them a few questions like..

Have you listened to all of his music, movies, books, dvd's etc etc

If they answer no.. Then I tell them they have no right making judgements on his life and if they want to in the future they should go get an Elvis education

Lisa

[EnigmaticSun]

I always ask them a few questions like..

Have you listened to all of his music, movies, books, dvd's etc etc

If they answer no.. Then I tell them they have no right making judgements on his life and if they want to in the future they should go get an Elvis education

Lisa

You're so right with this statement.. people should not judge or criticize what they don't understand.

[Fuzzylilkisses]

Thankfully people i know, know not to disrespect Elvis when they are around me. But if a stranger or someone i dont know starts hating on him, i go crazy!! Especially if they dont know anything about him.

I was talking to a guy recently and i told him i was a fan and that i thought Elvis was gorgeous. His reply "but he was fat". Needless to say i educated him on a thing or two.

Just another ignorant, jealous fool.

[Lildarling]

The saying is: "You don't have to become offended by *****s"...cause the people who are saying terrible things bout El are such...

[Lonniebealestreet]

It's like George Klein said (paraphrased): "If you're an Elvis fan, no explanation is necessary. If you're not, no explanation is possible."

That's the way I see it. People that find out I'm an Elvis fan I will gladly engage in conversations about him when they ask questions, but I don't go around making a point to correct every ignorant comment made or skewed impression that someone has of the man.

A lot of people will believe what they want to believe even when presented with evidence to the contrary, and regardless of what you say, you can never say enough to do the man justice.

But I suppose that making a CD for the 'great unlearned' would be a nice way to try to get people to see the light without having to acknowledge some of the ridiculous points they may make.

In fact, we should all carry a stash of them with us for emergency purposes...

*****: "Elvis was a fat, drugged-out has-been who died on the toil--"

You: "Excuse me. Let me just cut you off right there. Take this CD home, listen to it and then re-evaluate your life, OK?"



On a serious note, if you were to make a CD for such purposes to give to everyone who just doesn't get it, what would you put on it?