Friday 8 January 2010

Blue Suede Slippers

A-hoo-aha-aha-ha-happy birthday Elvis Presley; coulda woulda shoulda been 75 today. In the UK this means that he’d now be exempt from paying his television licence fee. Given the amount of tellys he had at Graceland I'll bet he’s probably kicking himself right now.

There’s nothing new that needs writing about Elvis, but I will make special reference to my Great Aunty Lil who is now in her seventies and still loves the King like a schoolgirl. I send her a birthday card every year with a photo of Elvis looking sexy in his Fifties prime, which is probably better for her blood pressure than tablets.

Personally I prefer Elvis from his 1968 Comeback Special onwards and have great affection for the pomp and tragedy of the Las Vegas years. I’m a big fan of the live version of An American Trilogy – especially the moment at 3:07 where a young woman shatters the silence with a frenzied scream of excitement. However, when push comes to shove I can’t go past If I Can Dream, which is similarly bombastic but a little more secular:



Happy Birthday Mr Presley, wherever you are, or aren’t.

Before Elvis, there was nothing - John Lennon

He was the firstest with the mostest - Roy Orbison

I wasn’t just a fan, I was his brother. He said I was good and I said he was good; we never argued about that. There’ll never be another like that soul brother - James Brown

Elvis was a hero to most but he never meant shit to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was simple and plain
Mother fuck him and John Wayne

Public Enemy, Fight the Power

If life was fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead - Johnny Carson

I think he maybe just got a little tired of repairing all the broken hearts in the world - Tom Waits

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