I just thought about an interesting topic to talk about. What would the world be like if Elvis hadn't passed away? Do you think the world would be different? Would the music world be the same, would he still have an impact on it? Would he be as famous as he is after his death? What do y'all think?
It would have gone like with any aging star. At some point they retract from public life, and slowly fade away, and you don't hear from them anymore and you wonder if they are alive or dead.. Its the shock of their early death that keeps them living forever in our minds.
Imagine Elvis at 70 being a judge on American Idol, for example!!! Who knows!!!
I'm afraid it would be pretty much the same as it is now. Much as many Elvis fans don't like to acknowledge, at the time of his death Elvis was not a very influential force anymore, certainly not with the type of music he was making then.
He was seen as a relic from the past who got stuck in a rut, and to some degree, he was.
He wasn't being ridiculed for no reason. His (mis)management had painted him into a corner and Elvis' subsequent dependence on prescription drugs to help him cope, didn't help either.
So: if you're talking about Elvis the way he was in 1977, not having died but survived then
a) he probably would have died in 1978 or at least before 1980;
b) if he wouldn't have cleaned up his act prescription drug wise, he wouldn't have been able to make a (musical) impact, but we would have continued to hear and read disturbing news about him and his health
c) even IF he'd cleaned up his act and survived, I doubt he would have rejuvenated himself musically. Why? Because maybe the sacrifice he'd have to make to get well again would have been to totally withdraw from public (showbiz) life for a long time to totally clean his body and mind.
Not quite what many Elvis fans like to dream, but this is my - another Elvis fan - realistic take on it.....
i don't think that's what it would be like. i think Elvis would have been recording music for as long as he could, but i don't think he would retract when he couldn't anymore. maybe he would do something else. lots of stars do that as well, and they're still in the public in a way. just not as much as beforeOriginally Posted by ComeBackChick
I heard many people that knew Elvis say that if he was still alive, most likely he would have turned to singing gospel music full time. Not to be mean or negative (Believe me I am some what religious) the gospel genre is not a very popular type of music right now. He would be still heard but not as often. But on the bright side, if he did sing gospel music full time maybe the messages would trigger something inside of him and stop him from abusing himself the way he did. It'll be a win/loose situation I guess.
I must agree with you, especially if Elvis had continued to have health problems...he wouldn't have lived so much.I'm afraid it would be pretty much the same as it is now. Much as many Elvis fans don't like to acknowledge, at the time of his death Elvis was not a very influential force anymore, certainly not with the type of music he was making then.
He was seen as a relic from the past who got stuck in a rut, and to some degree, he was.
He wasn't being ridiculed for no reason. His (mis)management had painted him into a corner and Elvis' subsequent dependence on prescription drugs to help him cope, didn't help either.
So: if you're talking about Elvis the way he was in 1977, not having died but survived then
a) he probably would have died in 1978 or at least before 1980;
b) if he wouldn't have cleaned up his act prescription drug wise, he wouldn't have been able to make a (musical) impact, but we would have continued to hear and read disturbing news about him and his health
c) even IF he'd cleaned up his act and survived, I doubt he would have rejuvenated himself musically. Why? Because maybe the sacrifice he'd have to make to get well again would have been to totally withdraw from public (showbiz) life for a long time to totally clean his body and mind.
Not quite what many Elvis fans like to dream, but this is my - another Elvis fan - realistic take on it.....
To me, he needed big changes in his life.
Professionally speaking, he had to fire the Colonel and start deciding on his own about his music, career, tours and so on; privately he had to find himself again, to stop taking pills and find someone else next to him, completely different from Ginger...a more mature woman who could give him real love and understanding (I've always thought he suffered a lot of loneliness)...
About his music...well I don't think he would have changed it a lot because he liked singing gospel, blues, country and so on. Maybe that music wouldn't have been so commercial anymore in a period of electronic music, especially for young people....but I'm sure he would always had a lot of fans.
Of course his tragic death has contributed to his image as a mith but I'm always surprised nowadays to see new generations touched by his music that's a lot different from the most kind of music we listen today on the radio.
To me he would have never experimented too much with sounds if he had lived in the 80s!
Sometimes I think about how he could have been in a videoclip on mtv......it would have been great, especially if he had managed to take care of himself again, to lose weight and come back in perfect form.....just a dream but, after all he was only 42 years old and we see a lot of others singers who are almost 60 and are still"youngs".....Rolling Stones, David Bowie and so on....
...just my personal curiosity...
Last edited by ForeverTheKing; 04-09-2006 at 06:34 AM.
without Elvis Presley Im sure the music would be a lot diffrent
Last edited by sH; 07-03-2006 at 04:30 PM.
I have a new song had a new song don't have a new song the song is comming out by me
I don't think, the world would be any different if Elvis was alive. I think he would still record some songs (country, gospel and pop) and give some live performances. Many old idols are still doing some business, so I guess it would be the same with Elvis. Back in the 1970's no one would have believed, that 35 years later some guys in their mid-60's would seriously call themselfes a Rock'n Roll Band (even the Rolling Stones would have laughed about such an idea). Johnny Cash was revived by Rick Rubin after some struggle with his career in the 1980's and stars like Frank Sinatra toured constantly around the world. So I guess, that Elvis would have become a similar act like Sinatra. He may not have had a recording contract (possibly because he didn't want to record on a regular basis and just make contracts for a single album with changing labels), but I guess he would have done some live performances, maybe even in Vegas. And because Las Vegas chanced so much since the king performed there, it is quite possible that someone would have build an entertainment resort around the king, with our man performing there occasionally. Who knows? But at least I don't think that Elvis would have been forgotten. He was simply too big for that.
Totally agree with you!I don't think, the world would be any different if Elvis was alive. I think he would still record some songs (country, gospel and pop) and give some live performances. Many old idols are still doing some business, so I guess it would be the same with Elvis. Back in the 1970's no one would have believed, that 35 years later some guys in their mid-60's would seriously call themselfes a Rock'n Roll Band (even the Rolling Stones would have laughed about such an idea). Johnny Cash was revived by Rick Rubin after some struggle with his career in the 1980's and stars like Frank Sinatra toured constantly around the world. So I guess, that Elvis would have become a similar act like Sinatra. He may not have had a recording contract (possibly because he didn't want to record on a regular basis and just make contracts for a single album with changing labels), but I guess he would have done some live performances, maybe even in Vegas. And because Las Vegas chanced so much since the king performed there, it is quite possible that someone would have build an entertainment resort around the king, with our man performing there occasionally. Who knows? But at least I don't think that Elvis would have been forgotten. He was simply too big for that.
The world would have been the same, especially in music and Elvis would have given his contribution with the music he liked and I'm sure he would have had the same number of fans.......he would always have been recognized as the number 1 'cause he really CHANGED the face of music...
Elvis would certainly still have fans if he was still alive, however, I don't think he'd be quite as famous or iconic as he is now. His death elevated him to almost mythic status; were he still alive, I don't think Elvis would have such a strong presence in pop culture. However, since Elvis was so famous when he was young, and so important to the history of music and entertainment, I don't think he'd just fade into obscurity.
On the positive side, if he hadn't died, he'd be able to defend himself against all the bad things people have said about him. If he'd been there when Public Enemy released "Fight the Power," he could've publicly defended himself against the charge that he was racist.
It would have certainly been hard for him to get off drugs and get his life together, and it would have been hard, also, to deal with this in the public eye. If he did manage to overcome his addictions and get rid of Parker and meet someone who truly loved him, then I think he could have concentrated on music again. What sort of music would he do? Probably gospel, since it was his first love, and maybe blues and country, too. You don't have to be young to do that kind of music, so it would have been perfect for him.
Would he regain popularity? Probably not, but then we must remember Johnny Cash. I don't know if he would've had the same success that Johnny Cash did, but you never know...
I don`t think Elvis would ever have retracted from public life and he certainly wouldn`t of faded away.
If he had got well I believe he would still be going strong as a performer.
elvis would have never stopped singing
if i can dream of a better land
Thats for sure!
It seems like John Lennon said a lot about Elvis. None of them bad... I was flipping through this book about Elvis that I got from a Cracker Barrel restaurant and it had a quote from John Lennon that I had never seen before. He said, "Elvis died when he went into the Army." I can partially see what he is saying because Elvis kinda dropped out of the music scene after the Army. What you guys think about this quote?
I can see Lennons point and I agree only slightly, but if you can find the rest of the quote you'll see he continues with -
'the music he sang just after he got out of the army was good still - just not the same'
Revolution-9@hotmail.co.uk
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All that is true, what he said.I kinda agree too. Some of the songs that he sang after the Army were good but most of them were often written for his movies. The writers probably didn't put much thought into them. Thanks for adding the rest of the quote. I wouldn't have known that John had said anything else.
Last edited by Awickedreigndrop; 04-15-2006 at 10:57 PM.
thats okay
I only know because im a huge Beatle fan too, its great
maybe Lennon was refering to the 'Elvis Is Back' and the first 4 singles after he returned like 'Its Now Or Never' and 'Stuck On You' etc
Revolution-9@hotmail.co.uk
feel free to add me
I personally think that Elvis would have continuing influincing music, because he always has been an important figure in music. I'm also certain that Elvis could have easely have go with the nowadays music. (Maybe the music would be even better and not as trashy as now.) One thing as sure, his love for gospel would always be his most important issue. I only can say that the world became much worse after Elvis died. (More hunger, poverty, wars and the people are more ignorant.)
Be safe and take care,
Christel (TCE)
I don't think Elvis would have continued to have such an influence over music. By the late 70's he wasn't haveing much influence at all, and was pretty much out of touch. Once "A Legendary Performer" started to outsell his recent albums I think most people began to realise that.
Elvis seemed to lose interest in contemporary music in the 70's. It was difficult enough to get him into a recording studio to begin with at that stage.
The Sun Never Sets On A Legend...
It's a difficult question, ain't it ..
- Well, personally I believe, that the world would be a totally different place to be, if Elvis hadn't passed away. Even though he was way down in his last years of living, that's never them eyes I've looked at him. To me, Elvis was and still is a wonderful roll model, and he gave the world so much. Surely he would slowly fade away with time, and we wouldn't hear much about him, but still I think it would be so much different to be here. Lookin' at that time, 60-70's, they appreciated music so incredibly much, but today? It's not the same. Surely we are many people who stille worship Elvis' music, but if he had been alive, I think he would be more respected and appreciated.
But again, he's given so much, and his music have had a huuuuge influence on me and my boyfriend's relationship. All in all, the world would be a better place.
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