For the Love of Elvis

Ever since I was a little girl I always heard of this great man, a rocker who defined Rock & Roll and broke out the barriers of music and “hillbilly country.” I remember seeing a man pictured on a wall hanging in my grandparent’s downstairs living room and being told that my grandmother was a huge fan of his. Today marks the 34^th anniversary of this man’s, Elvis Presley, death.  Elvis carved the way for many of the artists we listen to today – country and rock. Without his musical risks, chart crossing abilities not only between the country and rock genres but between music and the film screen, as well – who knows what our music and film industry would be today without Elvis' strong influence. You could almost compare him to a modern day, Justin Timberlake, okay maybe not. But if it weren’t for Elvis, performers like Justin, Whitney Houston and even Tim McGraw (the list is endless) would not be able to cross genres and even have dual performing roles such as actresses and singers. He was the truly one of the first teenage heart throbs and one of the first to go outside of the music industry mainstream and control his own music and business. He was a family man, spiritual man but that did not mean he did not have his own personal demons. I often think about what Elvis might have brought to us if he wasn’t taken away so early.

Elvis continues to sell thousands of records and millions of people enter the doors of Graceland each year. I had this unbelievable experience in 2007; I cannot put into words the magnificence of his house, airplane and his car museum. It is truly something everyone should experience at least once in their life. This man was such a superstar but lived a very simple, ordinary life despite the extravagant decorating that filled the walls of Graceland. I hope the legend of Elvis never dies and continues to live on through generations as I have experienced in my own life from my grandmother, mother and aunt. I plan to continue his legend in my own family in the future and already have started to pass on his legend on through friends and co-workers. Many of you close to me may not have discovered my love for Elvis but it is there. I have his albums on my iPod and own several of his movies on DVD; I even have his XM channel as a preset on my car. I look forward to the anniversary of his birthday and death every year because that means his songs will be heard on the radio and his movies will be shown on television. Elvis did meet his critics as does every performer in the music and film industry but his sole purpose was to simply entertain his fans. And entertain us he did - His movies and records did just that. I’m not only a fan of his music but I have a love for his films as well. One of my personal favorites is Elvis’ 5^th film and his first musical comedy, G.I. Blues.  Elvis actually filmed the movie in Germany while he was fulfilling his military obligation so he was not present for the all of the filming. G.I. Blues tells the story of how Tulsa (Elvis) woes a cabaret dancer who was known for resisting soldiers all to win a bet with his fellow solider pals except he winds up falling in love with her of course! There are various clips of the film on YouTube, so please check them out but in case you have never seen the film, here is the trailer:

Below is a clip from the movie Girls, Girls, Girls which features another one of my favorites - “Return to Sender”

 I leave you with another one of my favorite Elvis songs (it is hard just to pick one), Little Sister. This clip has a nice little surprise, actually. It also displays a very rare look into Elvis recording and rehearsing with his band.

Little Sister, don't you love Elvis?