Sooner or later, I have to acknowledge Elvis. Elvis Aaron Presley was born in a two-room house in tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935; his twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child. The family moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1948, and Elvis graduated from Humes High School in 1953. Elvis’s musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in the all-night gospel sings he occasionally attended, and the black R&B he heard on Memphis’ historic Beale Street. He began his singing career with Sun Records, a local Memphis label, in 1954. Sun’s owner, Sam Phillips, had been looking for an attractive white singer who could “sound black”—thinking that recording and promoting such a singer would make them both successful. It did. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley helped to popularize “rockabilly”—an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country and R&B. In late 1955, though, Phillips sold Elvis’s contract to RCA Records (he stated that he wanted the money in order to promote Carl Perkins’ recording of “Blue Suede Shoes”…but, that’s another whole story). RCA worked on polishing Elvis’s sound, adding fuller instrumentation and backup singers. By 1956, he was an international sensation, helping to usher in a whole new era of American music and popular culture. As time went on, Presley became less of a singer and more of a product. He starred in some 33 films, did many television appearances, and established great acclaim with concert performances both on tour and in Las Vegas. He had 14 Grammy nominations (3 wins), along with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (at age 36). Tragically, he went from being the handsome, upstart persona of early rock and roll to the bloated, tragicomic figure of his final Vegas shows and legendary lifestyle…going from frightening parents with his early performances to placating the blue-hairs with “Battle Hymn of the Republic” during his live shows. Maybe that’s what The Who was thinking when they said “Hope I die before I get old”. Here, from the productive early years with RCA (before he transitioned to being a movie idol), is “Ain’t That Lovin’ You, Baby”.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 10:29:19 +0000
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