I know he had nothing to do with the adult industry, but I cannot let today go by without mentioning, and celebrating, the birthday of Elvis Presley. Elvis would have turned 81 today, and although he has been gone 39 years, it still seems like only yesterday we were listening to him sing to millions around the world with his recordings and live concerts. So please bear with me on this.
He was unlike any other performer and created a musical firestorm throughout his career. He was a lot more than the hip swinging, gyrating persona so many became familiar with. He was gifted with a beautiful voice, he was a musician on several instruments, he was a writer and when given the chance was a very good actor away from the too often fluff films he was made to do. He did shows with the likes of Sinatra, the Dorsey brothers, Steve Allen and other luminaries. He played Vegas in both disaster and triumph. The one thing he never got to do, was concerts in the UK, Europe or Asia, all because of Col. Tom Parker.
While it Parker, a former carney, who elevated Elvis to the stardom he would reach worldwide, he was also a big part of the downfall of Elvis in many ways over the years, especially from the late 60’s and after. However, Elvis’ devotion to him, as it was to others in his camp, was also part of that downfall. I truly believe, as do others, had he gotten rid of Parker in the 60’s and taken on a different manager or management company, he would still be with us today and he would have been able to see some of his artistic dreams come to fruition. Through my time in radio I had the pleasure of meeting Elvis twice, once in Tennessee in 1957 and then again in 1968 in New York City at NBC where he was going to do his TV “comeback special”. He was friendly, polite, a sense of humor, spoke softly and would always look directly at you when he spoke. No pretense, no ego, just humble and enjoying the moment.
My favorite songs of Elvis are too many to mention as are the movies. I will say, thanks to modern technology, that the duet with Martina McBride on “Blue Christmas” stands out as the clip used of Elvis is from the comeback special. While most of his movies did not show off the real acting chops he had, you could see that underneath the cutesy stuff there was some serious acting ability just waiting to burst out. Unfortunately, again thanks to Parker, that part of Elvis would never get to be seen and enjoyed by the fans of Elvis of all ages, and that is truly a shame. I also truly believe that because Parker held him back from taking on several very dramatic major acting roles he was offered that had a big part in leading to Elvis’ eventual end along with the pills, etc. The one that really stands out was Parker’s refusal to let Elvis star with Barbra Striesand, who had personally asked Elvis to take the role, in the remake of “A Star is Born” in 1976. Striesand then gave the role to Kris Kristofferson.
But on this day, January 8, 2016 on his 81st birthday, I just want to acknowledge the talents he had, the joy he brought to hundreds of millions, the music he gave us, and still does and the complicated life he shared with so many. Though brief meetings, I was honored to get to know him just a little bit. He will always be missed, but the music will keep on keeping on!
Happy Birthday Elvis!
One final note: I was going to include one of the many photoshopped and timeshopped photos of what Elvis would look like today and some were not bad. However, I would much prefer, as I am sure you do, to remember Elvis from his most popular days.
Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN
