That's Alright Mama....It's Only Rock N Roll

This past weekend we’ve all probably had the chance to see some great fireworks…so I thought it would be appropriate to end the holiday weekend by commemorating a sonic firework that exploded onto the radio airwaves in 1954. 

Today in 1954, Elvis Presley recorded “That’s Alright Mama,” which was his first commercial record. It is one of the groundbreaking moments in rock and roll that helped crossover the genre to white audiences. In the segregated south, music, like much of life, was segregated by race. White radio stations played music for white audiences (think Pat Boone) and black stations played music for black audiences. While segregation may have been the order of the day on the radio, many white kids growing up in the south were exposed to black music and were influenced by it. Elvis Presley, a big fan of gospel and rhythm and blues music, was certainly one of them.

Presley helped to cross over rhythm and blues style singing by recording “That’s Alright Mama,” which gained popularity among white audiences. The song was originally written and recorded by Arthur Crudup in 1946. When Elvis’ version of the song was first played on white radio stations in the south, listeners would call in because they couldn’t believe that Presley was a white singer. The song was one of many which would help grow the audience of rhythm and blues music into what was eventually known as rock and roll.  

Here is Presley performing “That’s Alright Mama” during his 1968 comeback special. Enjoy!

[Image via por-img]

In the Army Now – Elvis Presley Joins the Army

Today in 1958, Elvis Presley was conscripted into the U.S. Army as a private at Fort Chaffee in Arkansas. He wished to be treated like any other soldier during his stint in the army saying: “The Army can do anything it wants with me.” He was adamant about taking on regular duties, and turned down offers to serve as mainly an entertainer to the troops (which would have also allowed him to keep in touch with the public). The army wasn’t prepared for the media attention Elvis’ conscription would create, and a small army of reporters descended on Fort Chaffee on the first day to see Elvis take his oath, try on his uniform and cut his hair.

            Elvis served mainly in Germany during his two- year stint in the service. Although he wanted to be treated like everyone else, he did have certain privileges. For a time, he lived apart from the base in his own apartment with family and friends. He also was able to provide his base with televisions and bought an extra set of fatigues for everyone in his unit (and donated his army pay to charity).

            Two interesting developments occurred while Elvis was in the army: he learned about amphetamines and was introduced to karate. The interest in karate would continue and later become a part of his stage routine. The interest in and use of amphetamines would later have serious consequences for his health, and contributed to his death. Beyond these developments, he also met a girl named Priscilla during his time in Germany who he would later marry. Interestingly, in the video below he claims there was nothing serious between them.

            I think it was John Lennon who said that once Elvis entered the army, his career was never the same. Elvis had those same fears, and worried about his own ability to recover his career after leaving the service in 1960. From 1960-1967, Elvis made a series of mostly laughable films, and moved further away from making serious rock and roll. He would try to recapture his musical career with his 1968 comeback special, but it was never really the same. Here is a video showing footage of Elvis’ first few days in the army.

[Images via fairlycommonsense and forgotton-ny]

“…There is only one king.” - Elvis Presley Turns 75

Today would have been Elvis Presley’s 75^th birthday, and a slew of celebrations are taking place to mark the occasion. Elvis’ ex-wife Priscilla and his daughter Lisa Marie will be on hand at Graceland to cut a birthday cake among a crowd of faithful fans willing to freeze in the chilly winter weather.

Here is a clip of Priscilla talking about Elvis on the Today Show:

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Elvis Presley plays a large role in the cultural imagination of American history and culture. That said, its easy to lose sight of his core talents and contributions among the sometimes cheesetastic commercialization of his legacy since his passing and the memory of the idiosyncrasies of his later years. To honor his birthday this year, I’d rather reflect on his legacy. As John Lennon once said, “Before Elvis, there was nothing.” The ingredients for rock and roll existed before Elvis Presley came along, but Elvis was perhaps unwittingly able to capture the lightning of country, gospel and rhythm and blues in a bottle and break the new genre to a huge new audience. As Rolling Stone’s David Fricke wrote in 1986,

“...At Sun Studio in Memphis Elvis Presley called to life what would soon be known as rock and roll with a voice that bore strains of the Grand Ole Opry and Beale Street, of country and the blues. At that moment, he ensured - instinctively, unknowingly - that pop music would never again be as simple as black and white.”

To get a sense of what Elvis was like when he first burst onto the music scene, here he is performing “Baby, Let’s Play House” on television in 1955.

[Image via fiftiesweb]

Suspicious Minds: The King in the People’s House

Today marks the anniversary of one of the strangest meetings ever held in the White House. On December 21, 1970, Elvis Presley met with President Richard Nixon. The meeting was the result of a letter written by Elvis Presley to President Nixon in which he suggested he be made a “Federal Agent-at-Large” in order to help fight the drug culture and “Hippy Element” in American society. The irony of Elvis offering to help fight a war on drugs is easily seen in light of the nature of his demise (I say this as a fan).

In his meeting with Nixon, Elvis presented the president with a Colt 45 pistol and pictures of his family. According to accounts of the meeting produced by staffers shortly after the visit, Elvis told Nixon that he wanted to infiltrate youth culture and combat some of the anti-American sentiment that he felt was on the rise. He stated that he believed that the Beatles were responsible for much of the anti-American sentiment. At the end of the meeting, he hugged Nixon and told him he supported him. Oddly enough, of all the photocopy and reproduction requests received by the National Archives each year, the photo of President Nixon and Elvis’ meeting receives the most requests. That is, more people request a copy of this photo than reproductions of either the Bill of Rights or the Constitution.

Visit the National Archives site to check out Elvis’ letter to the president, as well as photos of their meeting and other related documents.

[Image via tvland]

Love Me Tender - Elvis Presley Makes His Movie Debut

On November 15, 1956, Elvis Presley made his movie debut in Love Me Tender. Elvis starred as Clint Reno, a man who stays home from the Civil War to take care of his mother. When his brothers return from the war after fighting for the confederacy, they discover that Clint has married one of their girlfriends. This creates some awkwardness as we all might imagine. Added to this awkwardness is the fact that Clint’s brothers rob a train on their way home from the war, and so they become fugitives from the law. How does Elvis deal with this? Well, from the looks of the trailer below, with singing and hip shaking. Enjoy this trailer which shows Elvis’ first foray into film.

Elvis would go on to act in 31 total films. Some have criticized his movies as being a distraction from his music career, which made it easier for him to be marginalized in 1960’s. However, I think it’s important to note that he made it acceptable for other artists after him to branch out into film as another avenue in which to promote their music. Elvis made Love Me Tender in 1956 which helped promote his single of the same name and others songs from the film. Similarly, the Beatles made A Hard Day’s Night in 1964, which helped promote their album of the same name. What’s interesting is that the Beatles made a film in which they starred as themselves parodying their own fame. Elvis entered the film world by trying to disappear into a B grade period film – while maintaining his signature hairdo and wiggle. I’ve never seen this movie but now I would be curious to watch it just to see how it all works (or if it works at all).

[Image via streamingoldies]

The King is Dead…. Long Live the King – the 32nd Anniversary of Elvis’ Death

On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley passed away at the young age of 42. Elvis is largely credited with bringing rock n roll to the masses and helping the genre crossover to white audiences. Because Elvis is sometimes remembered only for the drama and idiosyncrasies of his later years, it is easy to forget how unique he was in American music when he first broke on the scene. He wasn’t just a white boy trying to sing black music for the masses; he was a singer with originality and talent from his lip curl to his onstage swagger. As a point of comparison, I have posted two videos of white artists singing a song made famous by a black musician. Watch and listen as both Elvis and Pat Boone sing “Tutti Frutti,” a song by another legendary American musician, Little Richard. When both videos are viewed in concert, it is hard to imagine that anyone could prefer Pat Boone to the King. (I have also included a video of Little Richard’s performance of the song)

Elvis Presley's Version of "Tutti Frutti"

Pat Boone's Version:

Little Richard Video (Showing Original Lyrics):

It’s interesting to note that Pat Boone’s version was released around the same time that Little Richard originally released the song in 1955. Boone’s producers convinced him to record his own version of the song with sanitized lyrics to play on its popularity among white audiences. Boone’s version of the song reached #12 on the charts while Richard’s lagged behind at #17. Elvis Presley released his own version of the song on his debut album in 1956.

[Image via how stuff works]