ELVIS PRESLEY

ELVIS PRESLEY:

BORN: January 1935, Tupelo, Mississippi.
DEATH: August 16th, 1977.
NICKNAMES: The Pelvis, El, The Big E.
GENRE: Blues, Pop, Country.
STYLE: Pop ballad, R&B, Gospel, Rock ‘n’ roll, Blues, Bluegrass,
Country, Soul.
INFLUENCES: Wynonie Harris, Dean Martin, Arthur Crudup,
Frank Sinatra, Bill Monroe, General Gospel.
SIMILAR ARTISTS:
TO EARLY ELVIS: Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Moon Mullican, Malcolm Yelvington, Gene Vincent, Little Richard, Warren Smith, Billy Lee Riley, Sonny Burgess, Roy Orbison.
TO LATER ELVIS: Tom Jones, Cliff Richard, The Gatlin Brothers, Ray Charles, Ricky Nelson, Garth Brooks, The Judds.

After Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley was the most talented & versatile of the ‘50s rockers. His legend looms larger than ever today & he continues to influence popular culture in many ways. Presley was many things in his 22 year career - actor, pop star, countrypolitan singer, etc. - but it was his early performances as a rocker & his later blues performances that are the most essential.
Born in January 1935, Presley grew up in circumstances very similar to that of Jerry Lee: his first musical love was gospel, then country music on the radio & then the blues. Listening to local musicians such as Arthur Crudup, as well as R&B stars like Wynonie Harris & Joe Turner cemented his early style. He recorded a song for his mother on the Sun label in 1953. From then until 1955, he would record about 30 songs for that label.
"I love you because", "I’m left you’re right she’s gone" & "I forgot to remember to forget" were more Jerry Lee than Elvis as comparisons between both singers’ versions of the songs proved but Elvis had found ‘his thing’ when he decided to try some countrified blues as on great versions of Arthur Crudup’s "That’s Alright Mama", Arthur Gunter’s "Baby let’s play house", the old blues/Western Swing standard "Milk cow blues boogie (Brain cloudy blues boogie)" & Junior Parker’s "Mystery train". These are the best examples of non-Jerry Lee Lewis blues/country hybrids.
Elvis’ best Sun work was his rockabilly material. He drifted away from it occasionally & this music ranged from an excellent version of Bill Monroe’s "Blue moon of Kentucky" to a dire version of "Blue moon". "Good rockin’ tonight" proved again that this was more ‘Jerry Lee’s thing’ when you compare both singer’s versions.
Elvis left Sun in 1955, signed up with RCA & took the rock ‘n’ roll world over in 1956 with excellent rockers like "Heartbreak hotel", "Hound dog" & "My baby left me". However, the more lighthearted "Teddy bear", "All shook up" & "Don’t be cruel" signalled a taming of his style. His music suffered after his spell in the army from 1958 -1960 & most of his subsequent releases aren’t worth talking about. His manager Tom Parker made him a millionaire & one of the most famous Americans of all time but his awful films & his mainstream pop can’t compete with the music Sam Phillips but out by him.
However, there were some genuine moments of greatness such as an excellent version of Lowell Fulson’s "Reconsider baby" (1960), or the more gutbucket blues sound on 1970s "Stranger in my own home town". These moments are few & far between but they are there - if you search for them.
Presley’s talent just stopped short of Jerry Lee’s - but, really, both are 2 very different performers & comparisons between the 2 aren’t really feasible. But Lewis used his blues potential much more than Elvis & rocked harder than Elvis. Lewis was by far the better country singer & was more versatile a singer than Presley - but Elvis was the only real threat to Jerry Lee Lewis & was perhaps the only artist that Jerry Lee really feared as true competition.
Elvis died, a young man, in 1977 - aged 42. "Middle Age Crazy" was Jerry Lee’s country hit of the time - one that could apply both to himself & to Elvis. The Elvis myths have sprung up everywhere since his death & especially about his actual death .
Recommendations: Elvis’ most essential albums (for the Jerry Lee fan, anyway) are the "Complete Sun Sessions" which contains Elvis’ greatest ever music. There are a few duds here & there but overall this is an essential & pleasing set of music. Assuming you’ve bought a ‘50s RCA greatest hits (after which you’d definitely want more),the " ‘50s masters" box set is a set of music almost as essential as any Lewis box set. Also, the blues compilations "Reconsider baby" & "Blue rhythms" collect Elvis’ finest blues performances that are otherwise scattered across several boring pop albums.
Live performance: the "1968 comeback special" is without a doubt Elvis’ live masterpiece & shows the world for once since 1958 that he was free from being controlled by others. The 1969 "In Person" concert is a solid set (only marred by an overlong rendition of the over-rated "Suspicious minds"). The 1954-56 "Louisiana hayride" shows are on countless compilations & are a must for any collection.
Ones to avoid: "On Stage", "That’s the way it is", "Fool", all the post 1960 film soundtracks & (for repetition) most of the ‘70s concerts.
Patrick Wall,
August 1998.

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