Final clip of the man at work

Finally

I think you could carry on with an Elvis blog for the rest of your life as there is so much material on him. The music will continue as will the fascination with the man himself which in turn creates big business. A huge new tribute show is about to open in Las Vegas,advertising continues with his music, Graceland tours are a must for Elvis fans (and there are websites which show Graceland live and update there images every 30 seconds)and tribute acts in the famous costumes are on going- even Britney spears has donned the white jumpsuit as a tribute to Elvis who she cites as a huge musical influence.
I think he arrived on the scene at just the right time and the combination of looks, charisma, gyrations, voice and musical ability were to much for his audience to resist.His worldwide appeal is amazing so many years after his death and considering he only ever performed within the United States bar a handful of performances in Canada.Just seems a shame that someone so influencial to popular music died so young and in such undignified circumstances.
This is my first attempt at a blog and iv enjoyed the experience, uh huh huh i have indeed!Iv also found out a lot more about popular music as a result and enjoyed the researching for it, so hope you all like it!

Great quotes from the man himself!

Elvis Presley: (on becoming famous) I just fell into it really. My daddy and I were laughing about it the other day. He looked at me and said, 'What happened E? The last thing I remember is I was working in a can factory and you were driving a truck.'

Elvis Presley: (on the differences of the 1960s music versus the 1950s) There's been a big change in the music field in the last 10 or 12 years. I think everything has improved--the sounds have improved, the musicians have improved, the engineers have definitely improved. I like a lot of the new groups, y'know, The Beatles and The Byrds and the... whoever, but I really like a lot of the new music, but a lot of it is basically rock 'n roll music, gospel, or rhythm and blues. People have been adding to it, adding instruments to it, experimenting with it.

Elvis Presley: Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some people sway back and forth. I just sorta do 'em all together, I guess.

Shows sucess

Elvis enjoyed phenomonal success in Vegas and his first show played to a celebrity who's who audience including Sammy Davis Jnr and Tom Jones. He performed over 800 shows in Vegas with takings of 43.7 million dollars equivelant to 250 million dollars today and in the space of only seven years played to over 2.5 million people. His last shows in Vegas was December 2-12 1976 and although sheduled to return he suffered a heart attack on August 16th 1977 and died at his graceland mansion.

Viva Las Vegas

Las Vegas

Elvis returned to singing in 1969 following a long career making movies in Hollywood, he gave an interview before his comeback stating how much he looked forward to playing live in Las Vegas. "I sure lost my direction in Hollywood. My songs were the same conveyor belt mass production just like most of my movies were. Now im back and on the right track".This is an interesting statement as it seems to convey his repulsion with the commodity fetishism that was linked to his movies and yet with out the industry's backing he wouldn't have made it big in the first place.
Furthermore it seems to reject the views of Adorno as he clearly believes that his music is a quality product and not linked with the mass production of Hollywood. Can we say that he is wrong given his continued success and collosal record sales? I dont think so.

Audi Advert

Elvis was an instant hit with the public from the moment he entered the charts and his charisma wasn't lost on the advertising world where he is still regularly used to promote products.

Nike advert

Following nike sports using a little less conversation as the sound track to there advert in 2002 this elvis single made it to number 1 in the charts

Adorno and Bourdieu on Elvis and popular music

Adorno believes that popular music has been taken over by the capital ethos and this makes it a product of total fetishisation.As we listen to popular music such as the music Elvis produced we are distracted from the oppression which capitalist society has over us. Furthermore as we are not required to listen hard to understand popular music we become relaxed and entertained by the sound.
Bourdieu criticised Adorno's view and believed that legitimate music was also repetitive and passively consumed and that the popular music market is so highly competitive that quality must exist.
What Adorno failed to address was that the music was also appropriate for the era when young people were expecting to be able to express their feelings and enjoy the increased capital they had available to spend after WW2. They were also able to use their choice to express themselves within a distinct identity and not as Adorno thought as a mindless choice being forced on them from the bourgeois who were only interested in profit and maintaining their class position.
Finally if this was true would people be still listening to the music of Elvis today?

White America/ Eminem

Eminem

Nick Hasted's book The dark side of Eminem notes the comparison in the rise of Eminem to the rise of Elvis Presley, both young white men from poor neighbourhoods makings lots of money from essentially Black music styles. To quote Eminem " Though im not the first king of controversy/ i am the worst thing since Elvis Presley, to do black music so selfishly /and to use it to make myself wealthy.

MADONNA

The Beatles

ARTISTS INFLUENCED BY ELVIS

Heartbreak Hotel Lyrics

Heartbreak Hotel
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Album: The Number One Hits
Well, since my baby left me,
I found a new place to dwell.
It's down at the end of lonely street
at Heartbreak Hotel.

You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.

And although it's always crowded,
you still can find some room.
Where broken hearted lovers
do cry away their gloom.

You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.

Well, the Bell hop's tears keep flowin',
and the desk clerk's dressed in black.
Well they been so long on lonely street
They ain't ever gonna look back.

You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.

Hey now, if your baby leaves you,
and you got a tale to tell.
Just take a walk down lonely street
to Heartbreak Hotel.
Top

Ratings [Heartbreak Hotel]

Media,s influence

In 1956 American teenagers were ready for the hip- wriggling gyrations which he became famous for and which earned him the name of Elvis the Pelvis. In Elvis they found the icon they were looking for and which identified with their own teenage rebellion. The fact that he created such a storm of protest by adults only added to his appeal with the American youth who were more defiant, disenchanted and less inhibited than the previous generation. During the Ed Sullivan show in 1956 he was televised only from the waist down to avoid the CBS Network being charged with obscene behaviour. However following his appearance on the show his record label simultaneously released 7 singles which each sold 100,000 copies. The Wall Street Journal recorded sales of Elvis merchandise as having reached 22milllion dollars in just six months. Two years later at the age of just 23 he had achieved 20 separate million selling singles.

Sam Phillips the head of the Sun Records label had been quoted as saying prior to having met Elvis “If I had a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a million dollars”. In Elvis he found what he was searching for. Elvis combined the sound of rhythm and blues and presented it to a new audience who were ready to accept and respect the genre and as a result he opened the door for black performers to gain international success.
The fact that Elvis’s music generated so much money and is still does so many years after his death is testament to musical merchandising and radio plays a significant role in this commercialisation but also to the rapid growth of Americas post war economy.

Heartbreak hotel

ELVIS

ELVIS PRESLEY (1935-1977)


Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi during the depression and was an only child. His childhood was shaped by listening to many musical influences and these influences helped shaped the style which would propel him to international stardom.
Elvis visited the Sun record label in 1953 to record a song as a present to his mother. Sam Phillips the head of the Sun record label then invited Elvis to record a record for commercial release and “That’s all right Mama” was released in 1954. In 1956 he moved to the RCA –Victor label and “Heartbreak Hotel” became his first single to receive international success. His movie career also started in 1956 following the release of “Love me Tender” and he went on to star in over 30 more during his career.

The influence of Elvis Presley on popular music

I think im going to have a look at Elvis's early influences which helped him create a style unique to him. Pop and country at time, gospel music from church, black R&B music from Beale street in Memphis and his first recordings with sun records. Then have a look at the cultural impact of rock and roll in the 1950's. The difficulties of marketing rock and roll which was commercially viable with the young people but socially unacceptable to the moral fibre of society.

Does British Music Still Matter?

I believe British music is still relevant to young people in society today as apart from the manufactured sounds produced by Simon Cowell there is a wealth of original talent constantly appearing on the music scene, which has been produced by British artists. Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Sandi Thom, Katie Melua, Paolo Nutini, to name a few have all received huge acclaim here. With acts such as Pulp being nominated for The Mercury Music Awards twice and achieving a number two hit with common people in 1995.

Rock and Roll changed the expectations of young people and a demand grew for more contemporary sounds to adjust to changing fashions and a need to spend their more freely available cash on music that appealed. Britain today is a multicultural society and current music reflects the change in society producing different sounds such as hip hop or acid music.

Growing up I listened to Dire Straits, Rod Stewart, Genesis, Eric Clapton, Queen, The Police , Bee Gees, and of course the Rolling Stones and the Beatles were everywhere whether you liked them or not! So British music has always produced a wealth of home grown talent and I believe that music is so embedded in our culture that it will always matter and will continue to influence music for a worldwide stage. When you consider the size of Britain as opposed to America, British artists are producing good music at a disproportionate level so British music defiantly still matters.