Wow. I guess I shouldn't be surprised but I am absolutely thrilled to be getting
Elvis at 12.
There are all the obvious reasons why Elvis is worthy of a top pick - the man is an icon with an iconic voice, he is largely responsible for introducing R&B/Rock and Roll music to white audiences which lead to what we consider "rock" today, the longevity of his career. The mystique and aura he has. I know many here know that I was married by Elvis. Well at least a fake one. My journey into Elvis fanhood was a strange one. One of my earliest musical influences, my 3rd/4th/5th grade music teacher who first taught me guitar and introduced me to the Beatles had completely written off Elvis. Or at least in my mind he had, when he said he ripped off black people's music and took it for his own. I guess that was a popular way to view it in the 80s. Most people have come back around to the view that he actually opened up a lot of doors for sales and exposure to white audiences and the industry at large and combined with the fact that he was always the first to give credit back to where it was due is enough to resolve this for me. Even Chuck D who was a very vocal critic has apparently come around on this one.
So my interest started more as an ironic one. I decided in my late teens that I was getting married by Elvis. It just seemed a cool thing to do and a way to pee off the folks. Elvis, Vegas, no big wedding which surely would be the expectation in my family. As it turns out I didn't get married until my mid-30s and by that time I had become a full fan.
See, my image of Elvis for most of my early years was the fat bloated drugged out piece of crap Elvis of the mid-70s. How on earth could that man be a legend? How tacky.
Enter my mid-20s. I start hitting karaoke bars, because of my dyed black hair and sideburns I'd frequently be requested to do Elvis. I'll never forget the time I was abandoned in the upper peninsula of Michigan and strolled into the bar across from my hotel, a snowmobiler's outpost and the bartender says to me, "Hey Elvis, do Hound Dog for me". That's when it hit me. Flip to the Elvis section in a karaoke book, at a bad establishment it is going to be like 40 songs. If you go to a top notch place the guy takes
two friggin whole pages in the book.
And that is why I am so absolutely ecstatic to get him. Forget everything else above. The man recorded a zillion songs. Odds are that with this selection alone I will top out some people's full musical roster after their entire 20 picks.
50s R&B/Rock and Roll. Traditional country. Fast and nasty or slow love songs. Gospel. Awful soundtrack music. The late 60s renaissance. The horrific 70s descent into lounge act. Hell, the guy even has 4 or 5 out of print rare and highly sought full length albums devoted solely to the stuff he said on stage in between songs. For the purpose of this draft this is like that day in college you rediscovered vinyl, bought a turntable, went to the garage sale and found someone selling 30 crates of records for $10. Sure you have to sort through the junk but there are still crate loads of real gems in there.
So... those gems. for me, pretty much his entire 50s discography. The Sun and RCA recordings through his induction into the military. Then he spent most of the 60s doing crappy movies with bad soundtracks. I've probably written most of this off but there have to be some good things in there and on my island I'll figure them out at some point. Then the 68 Comeback and the Memphis revival. Elvis was back on top. Sadly it wouldn't last, but even those early Vegas shows were a treat. Watch
Elvis: That's The Way It Is and you'll see flashes of brilliance.
So this works out well for me - an artist I absolutely love - who married me (hopefully in round 3 or 4 I can grab the one I named my dog after) who also happens to be a great value pick due to sheer volume of work. Fantastic. I'll leave with perhaps my favorite performance, but there are just too many to pick from.
