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Elvis knew a thing about a thing or two. He knew food: he liked to eat deep fried banana and bacon sandwiches. But Elvis kicked ass: they’re great. Penn & Teller: Bullshit! s5e10: Anger Management, Showtime 2007
What if one of the world’s most famous men didn’t die when he was supposed to? And he’s out there. Not so much return to sender as lonesome tonight. He was the world’s greatest entertainer with more hit records than any other solo artist. His premature death left millions of fans all shook up. At #7 Elvis lives! World’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories
Elvis Presley has been called the world’s greatest entertainer. But on August 16th 1977 his life came to a shocking end. At first it was said he died of a heart attack. Later reports blamed a massive drug overdose. But Presley’s own step-brother is convinced Presley’s death was not accidental. He says Elvis Presley committed suicide. Unsolved Mysteries s10e5, CBS 1998
According the reports around 9.30 a.m. Elvis got out of bed and went to the bathroom to read. And a few hours later that’s where they found his body. Paramedics were there by the time David Stanley arrived. David says he found all three attack envelopes [An attack was one of Elvis’s periodic drug doses, many times a regular dose] and several Demerol syringes nearly empty. He believed Elvis took all three attacks at once purposely to end his life. ibid.
With his records no longer selling, Elvis’s income only came from these tours ... The Colonel too was facing bankruptcy. Elvis: The Last 24 Hours, 2005
Elvis had turned into the Colonel’s own cash card. ibid.
Elvis and his mafia had become more and more remote from the real world. ibid.
I know he invented Rock-n-Roll, in a manner of speaking, but ... that’s not why he’s worshipped as a god today. He’s worshipped as a god today because in addition to inventing Rock-n-Roll he was the greatest ballad singer this side of Frank Sinatra – because the spiritual translucence and reined-in gut sexuality of his slow weeper and torchy pop blues still activate the hormones and slavish devotion of millions of female human beings worldwide. Robert Christgau, December 1985
Elvis Presley is a supreme figure in American life, one whose presence, no matter how banal or predictable, brooks no real comparisons ... The cultural range of his music has expanded to the point where it includes not only the hits of the day, but also patriotic recitals, pure country gospel, and really dirty blues ... Elvis has emerged as a great artist, a great rocker, a great purveyor of schlock, a great heart throb, a great bore, a great symbol of potency, a great ham, a great nice person, and, yes, a great American. Greil Marcus
Along with the rest of Deep Purple, I once had the chance to meet Elvis. For a young singer like me, he was an absolute inspiration. I soaked up what he did like blotting paper. It’s the same as being in school – you learn by copying the maestro. His personality was also extremely endearing, his interviews were very self-effacing (and), he came over as gentle and was generous in his praise of others. He had a natural, technical ability, but there was something in the humanity of his voice, and his delivery. Those early records at the Sun Records label are still incredible and the reason is simple: he was the greatest singer that ever lived. Ian Gillan
Elvis was a hero to most but he never meant shit to me.
Yes, he’s a straight-out racist.
The sucker was simple and plain. Public Enemy, Fight the Power lyrics, 1989
I watched that hillbilly and I want to be him so bad. Elvis looked good. He ain’t no fag but Elvis was pretty to most women. True Romance 1993 starring Christian Slater & Patricia Arquette & Michael Rapaport & Bronson Pinchot & Saul Rubinek & Dennis Hopper & James Gandolfini & Gary Oldman & Christopher Walken & Chris Penn & Tom Sizemore & Brad Pitt & Val Kilmer & Samuel L Jackson et al, director Tony Scott, him to her
I don’t know anything about music. In my line you don’t have to. Elvis Presley
Rock-n-Roll music, if you like it, if you feel it, you can’t help but move to it. That’s what happens to me. I can’t help it. Elvis Presley
2.05 p.m. 16 August 1977: The lifeless body of Elvis Presley lying on the floor. At just 42 the King of Rock n Roll was dead. Elvis: The Final Hours, Sky Arts 2019
Memphis Tennessee: the home of the legendary Elvis Presley. Here, Elvis’s closest friends and confidants, known as the Memphis Mafia, reveal the heartbreaking story of the King’s final moments on Earth. ibid.
Elvis took the world by storm. ibid.
Elvis did everything to excess. ibid.
Elvis’s only income came from his tours … He was on the very edge of financial collapse … 50% of the income went to Tom Parker. ibid.
The drugs and ensuing health problems had changed Elvis mentally and physically. ibid.
‘His mood swings were more frequent.’ ibid. confidant
‘A slowly slide.’ ibid.
‘Before Elvis there was nothing.’ Elvis: The Man that Rocked the World, Lennon, Channel 5 2020
He was the man who started it all and nearly 45 years after he left us he’s still the one true king of rock-n-roll. Much more than an uncontrollable pelvis and smouldering good looks he became an icon of the 20th century. And tonight we’re going to count down the Top 30 moments that made up his amazing life. ibid.
January 8th 1935: Elvis Aaron Presley entered the world. ibid.
Memphis was then home to one of the biggest jazz and blues music scenes in the US. ibid.
Elvis had the family he had always yearned for, but for Priscilla the dream was turning sour. ibid.
Ed Sullivan had earlier refused to have Elvis on his show but as he was now the biggest star in the country he had no choice. ibid.
All Shook Up was to be the first of his twenty-one top stops, even more than a young group from Liverpool. ibid.
After the huge success of the Comeback Special there was only one place for Elvis to go – Vegas. ibid.
By the summer of 1955 Elvis’s extraordinary success in the American south was starting to attract national attention. One man in particular could see Elvis’s money-making potential. Elvis: The Man Who Shook Up the World, Channel 5 2020
‘Colonel Parker was this kind of blustery, cigar-chewing, massively overweight, sweaty, untidy, ill-mannered larger than life character.’ ibid. Bethan Roberts, author Graceland
The energetic way Elvis sings and dances in this appearance was shocking to a fifties’ audience. ibid.
The backlash during 1956 was said to be difficult for Elvis’s mother, Gladys, too. ibid.
The Americas of Elvis’s teenage years was also changing fast. The economy was growing, and for the first time young people had money in their pocket. They were going out watching films, and above all, listening to music. ibid.
Elvis’s version of That’s All Right helped to set him on course for global stardom. ibid.
As Elvis is increasingly pulled away from her [mother’s] world, Gladys’s life starts to unravel. ibid.
Elvis officially entered the army on March 24th 1958. Colonel Parker had arranged for news crews from around the world to be on hand to record this extraordinary event. ibid.
On 31st July 1969 a nervous Elvis Presley stepped out on to the stage at the International Hotel in Las Vegas after an eight-year absence from performance. The show was a triumph: the culmination of a long hard journey for Elvis to show the world who he really was as an artist. Elvis: Rebirth of the King, BBC 2020
But the triumph was brief and the end was not pretty. The grind of over 600 Vegas shows in 8 years eventually killed the king. For many this cartoon image of Elvis is the one that endures. ibid.
In 1956 Elvis Presley shook up the world. Tall, dark and preternaturally handsome, this dirt-poor southern boy scandalised segregated America when he performed Hound Dog on NBC’s Milton Berle Show. ibid.
In 1956 Love Me Tender was one of the highest grossing movies in the world. What could possibly go wrong? ibid.
Elvis determined that his future would be as a balladeer aimed at a mature audience, but it was a direction that set him on a collision course with the Colonel. ibid.