小简介
20世纪世界流行音乐中最重要的人物是谁？答案勿庸置疑，那就是猫王埃尔维斯-普雷斯利--“猫王”(The Hillbilly Cat)，这个绰号是狂热的美国南方歌迷为他取的昵称。
20世纪50年代，猫王的音乐开始风靡世界。他的音乐超越了种族以及文化的疆界，将乡村音乐、布鲁斯音乐以及山地摇滚乐融会贯通，形成了具有鲜明个性的独特曲风，强烈的震撼了当时的流行乐坛，并让摇滚乐如同旋风一般横扫了世界乐坛。尽管除了在少数的电影歌曲中，猫王从未录制过外语歌曲，并且除了在三个加拿大城市的五场演出，他也从未在美国国外举办过演唱会。英俊不凡的容貌，天赋的音乐灵性，不羁天性而富有感召力的舞台表现力成为了猫王的标签，也使他成为世人狂热崇拜的明星，猫王在Graceland的家中，奖品陈列馆放满了金唱片和白金唱片，以及各种各样来自全世界各个国家的荣誉，他们中一部分是挪威,南斯拉夫，日本，澳大利亚，南非，英国，瑞典，德国，法国，加拿大，比利时以及荷兰。从50年代到70年代，他的影响力持续了20多年，歌曲流行经久不衰。1977年猫王去世之后，他的经典旧作仍然广为流行，任何再版唱片都能保持非常稳定的销量。毫无疑问，猫王是流行音乐历史上唱片销量最高的艺人。
据估计，猫王已经在世界范围内售出超过1，000，000，000张专辑，是唱片业历史上销量最大的歌手。仅仅在美国，猫王就已经拥有RCA唱片公司和美国录音工业协会(RIAA)追颁的131张金唱片及白金唱片。据估计，猫王总销量中，40%是在美国国外创造的。
大事记
猫王于1935年1月8日出生在美国一个贫穷的农场工人家庭里。他从小就沉迷于福音音乐。同时，贫民窟里流行的节奏强烈的黑人音乐，以及蓝调、民谣亦深深打动了年幼的猫王。教堂的唱诗班演唱给予了猫王音乐启蒙，教堂里教徒们充满激情的歌舞对猫王影响至深，他那著名的富有争议的扭胯动作就脱胎于此。
1948年，猫王举家迁到了孟菲斯。在这里，猫王开始接触了职业乐手，偶然中他参加了四人福音歌曲演唱组"黑森林兄弟"(Blackwood Brothers)的演出。可以说这次的搬家开启了猫王音乐生涯之路，曼菲斯的黑人灵魂乐及R&B，再结合白人乡村音乐成为了猫王特有音乐与演唱风格的形成根源。
一次很偶然的机会开始了猫王辉煌的音乐生涯。1953年的一天，他在Sun唱片公司老板萨姆-菲利普斯(Sam Phillips)名下的一家录音棚录制送给母亲的歌曲时，邂逅了菲利普斯的助手马里恩-凯斯克(Marion Keisker)，并深得凯斯克的赏识。1954年6月，菲利普斯让猫王去SUN公司录制一首来自纳什维尔的歌曲，同时受邀请的还有本地乐手斯科蒂-穆尔(Scotty Moore，吉他)和比尔-布莱克(Bill Black，贝司)，由他们为猫王伴奏。这一组合的效果开始并不理想，直到猫王演唱了阿瑟-克鲁杜皮茨(Arthur Crudupiz)的节奏与布鲁斯歌曲"好极了"(That's All Right)，他们才找到了感觉。这首歌曲最终成为猫王在Sun唱片公司的首张单曲唱片，并征服了当地的歌迷。此后猫王顺势推出了几张唱片，并开始进行了巡回演出。他那种体现了乡村音乐和节奏与布鲁斯结合的音乐以及狂野不羁的姿态引爆摇滚乐前所未有的风暴。猫王从此走上成功之路，一颗超级巨星开始冉冉上升。
萨姆-菲利普斯预见到猫王这样一位具有黑人风格的白人歌星必定会引起轰动，因为他向人们展示了一种极富个性和创新的意味的白人音乐和黑人音乐风格的融合。于是菲利普斯在给猫王制作唱片时也是独具匠心，利用公司原始的录音设施以及菲利普斯对回声技术的不断运用制造出所谓的"Sun公司声响"，再结合带有明显黑人节奏的一乡村音乐为基础的器乐部，形成了猫王独特的风格。在Sun公司录音的作品中，猫王显示出对黑人音乐家风格的深刻理解。他从来不是简单地照搬别人的歌曲，在电台音乐节目主持人方塔纳(Fontana，鼓手)以及比尔-布莱克和斯科蒂-穆尔的协助下，他总是以一种新的方式来处理这些作品，而不会像其他白人歌手一样在处理歌曲时冲淡原有的力量。
Sun公司在英国由HMV公司发行的猫王的一些单曲唱片总在一面收集一首布鲁斯歌曲，而在另一面收集一首乡村歌曲，并且在表演上都采取了激进的、与众不同的方式。这些唱片包括了"好极了"(That's All Right)和比尔-蒙罗(Bill Monroe)的"肯塔基的蓝月亮"(Blue Moon of Kentucky)、"今夜好好摇摆"(Good Rocking Tonight)／"我不管太阳出不出来"(I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine)、"奶牛布鲁斯布吉"(Milk Cow Blues Boogie)／"你是个伤心人"(You're a Heartbreaker)、"亲爱的，让我们去看戏"(Baby Let's Play House)／"我在左，你在右，她走了"(I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone)以及"神秘列车"(Mystery Train)／"我忘了是否记得"(I Forgot to Remember to Forget)。那些由Sun公司录制但是在发行之前就被RCA公司买走的作品包括了"我爱你，因为"(I Love You Because)的两个版本(其中于1954年7月录制的版本直到1974年才收入专辑《埃尔维斯，传奇歌手：第1集》(Elvis A Legendary Performer: Vol-1))以及"蓝月亮"(Blue Moon)、"我永远不叫你走，小宝贝"(I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')、"正因为"(Just Because)和那首出色的"试图靠近你"(Trying to Get to You)。其它未发行的这个时期的歌曲被收入到一张非法发行的专辑《今夜好好摇摆》之中。
在1955年11月的一次由电台音乐节目主持人参加的民意评选中，他被认为是一位最有前途的"乡村与西部"风格的歌手。这时帕克"上校"成了猫王的经理人，菲利普斯则以35,000美元的价格把他与猫王签订的合同转让给了拥有在全国范围内推销和发行唱片实力的RCA公司的分公司Victor。再加上帕克成功地安排了猫王在电视上有选择地露面，猫王马上成为了全国性的明星，他此后的每一张唱片都在排行榜上名列前茅。加盟RCA的首支单曲"Heartbreak Hotel/I Was The One为猫王缔创首支冠军曲，并于同年3月推出加盟RCA首张专辑Elvis Presley，蝉连了Billboard专辑榜10周冠军。接着第2张专辑Elvis发行后，单曲Love Me Tender就占据了全美4项排行冠军。与此同时，衬衫、围巾、牛仔裤、口红在内的二十多种猫王商品接连问世，在猫王入主RCA第一年就赚进2000万美金。
猫王在RCA公司最初的录音是于1956年1月在纳什维尔进行的，他的伴奏阵容包括了切特-阿特金斯(Chet Atkins)和"约旦人"(Jordanaires)乐队等。而其后的一些唱片几乎都是在公司位于纽约的主要录音棚里录制的。评论界认为猫王加盟RCA公司预示着他作品的质量迅速下降，而这一趋势一直继续了下去。尽管这一期间(至1958年猫王参军之前)录制的唱片显示出猫王在音乐的风格和内容上的相当大的变化，但是从历史角度来看，这些作品所形成的流派其实是50年代主流摇滚乐的精华。"不要太冷酷"(Don't Be Cruel)和"单方面风流韵事"(One Sided Love Affair)之类的歌曲体现了猫王从轻快、疯狂的Sun公司风格到以后的压抑、阴暗、沉重的风格的过渡。后者更倾向于商业化，但是依旧保持了令人兴奋和性感的特点。而且，正是这类歌曲，通过在电视台黄金时间播出，尤其是通过猫王那忧郁的形象，把无数白人青少年引向了摇滚音乐，例如"伤心旅店"(Heartbreak Hotel)和"猎犬"(Hound Dog)。一些录制较早，但直到猫王去德国服兵股期间才发行的作品也具有这一风格："一夜"(One Night)、"我心灵受创"(I Got Stung)。"我这个笨蛋"(A Fool Such As I)以及"太多的爱"(Big Hunk O' Love)。
到了50年代后期，猫王已具有了极高的身价，他的歌曲也处理得越来越精致和得心应手。1956年9月，RCA公司作了一次史无前例的尝试：将猫王的7首单曲同时发行，结果从8月到12月，猫王每周都高居排行榜首。
与此同时，帕克"上校"正在忙于进一步树立猫王的形象--拍摄猫王的首部电影《温柔地爱我》(Love Me Tender)并同意制造商们制作从钥匙环到枕套的各种猫王纪念品。同样，在唱片的录制中也体现了一种商业上的精明，猫王于1957年出版的专辑《埃尔维斯的圣诞集锦》(Elvis' Christmas Album)是一张民歌和摇滚歌曲巧妙的混合体，其中还不失机地加入了一些宗教、合唱及流行的节目歌曲。1957年的圣诞节前十天，美国三军极力争取猫王以歌手身分入伍，猫王婉拒好意，以平民身分接受征召。在为家乡父老唱完两场后，1958年3月24日，穿着英挺军服，前往位在德州Killeen郊区的第二装甲师营区报到，正式开始他的军旅生涯。1959年11月，空军上尉Joseph Beaulieu的14岁女儿Priscilla开启猫王的爱情心扉。1960年，猫王开拍退伍后的首部电影"G.I. Blues从军乐"，其电影原声带10月发行后迅速再攀冠军王座，停留榜中达111周之久，排行停留周数傲视猫王一生的所有专辑。此时，Priscilla搬进Graceland与猫王同居。
1960年3月，猫王从德国服兵役归来, 1958年时那种狂野粗暴和"我行我素"的风格仍一成不变地保持着。但是专辑《埃尔维斯回来了》(Elvis is Back)却似乎在重新尝试节奏与布鲁斯和乡村音乐与开始一种新的温柔的演唱方法之间犹豫不定。这种温柔的嗓音和演唱风格感觉没有任何新意，反而丧失了以往的热情和奔放。猫王以后的大部分作品中，这种风格一直延续下去。
1961年2月25日田纳西州州长宣布此日为"猫王日"，往后每年圣诞节，猫王都会在家乡作慈善演唱。唱片"粘上你"推出和美国的"披头士狂热"(Beatlemania)开始兴起期间，猫王仍旧保持了他最杰出的以出版单曲为主的歌星地位，虽然只有为数极少的唱片：例如"布鲁斯弥撒"(A Mess Of Blues)和"这是最后的火焰"(It is Latest Flame)／"小妹妹"(Little Sister)--光辉并不逊于他的50年代。不过从这个时候起，猫王将事业重心转到好莱坞，接演了"蓝色夏威夷Blue Hawaii"等25部电影。尽管从销量上看，猫王正处于他事业的顶峰，但事实上他的形象已远不如50年代时那么光芒四射。大多数的被推崇的歌曲都是一些温柔舒缓的作品，如"或是现在或是永不"(It's Now Or Never)、"你今夜否是否孤独"(Are You Lonesome Tonight)和"投降"(Surrender)，或者是从电影中选的插曲，如"无情的心"(Wooden Heart)和"乡间野趣"(Wild in the Country)。此外，他还推出了一些专辑，其中很大一部分都是从他开始出演的一大串好莱坞音乐片中选出的插曲组成的。
60年代早期，猫王开始一年接拍三部电影，虽然这些典型的好莱坞影片一部比一部粗制滥造令人失望，然后而猫王自己演唱了其中的全部歌曲，这些只是用来填补空洞的电影情节的歌曲往往都是第三流的，与他早期影片：《温柔地爱我》(1956)、《爱你》(Loving You)(1957)、《监狱摇滚》(Jailhouse Rock)(1958)中所采用的歌曲以及词曲作者的标准简直不可同日而语。此后专门为猫王拍摄的电影，如《燃烧的星》(Flaming Star)(1960)和《乡间野趣》(1961)则令人兴趣寥寥，这些影片前后有20多部。而这期间的唱片包括了从"迷人的好运"(Good Luck Charm)开始的一系列单曲"她与你无缘"(She's Not for You)、"回到发送器"(Return to Sender)和"出售一颗破碎的心"(One Broken Heart for Sale)。
1966猫王和Priscilla的感情结果，他正式向Priscilla求婚，隔年两人在拉斯维加斯的Aladdin饭店结婚。1968年，两人的爱情结晶女儿Lisa Marie Presley出生，让猫王开始享受轻松愉快的居家生活。然而好景不长，1972年时，猫王与Priscilla分手，Priscilla带着女儿Lisa Marie离开，并选择在隔年猫王生日当天提出了离婚诉请，法院判定Priscilla拥有女儿监护权。虽然猫王的多情浪漫并且绯闻不断，但是Priscilla是猫王一生中唯一的挚爱，也是他一生中唯一有合法婚姻的妻子。
1968年之后，猫王被看作流行音乐界愤世嫉俗、软弱以及倒退现象的缩影。此外，他的电影利润连连下滑，并且质量也越来越糟糕，甚至猫王本人也明显地表露出他对这些电影同观众一样的讨厌和生气。
随后，他自1960年以来首次尝试在电视上拓展事业，这一次，他有了自己的电视特别节目，并且穿上了一套黑色皮装，在一个观众包围着的小舞台上表演。他给人一种猫王再生的感觉：具有领袖式的超凡魅力、轻松自如并带有一种预示凶兆的意味，这让全世界的乐迷们激动不已。
这次节目的成功将猫王逼到了一条令他头疼的分岔路上：要不以此为起点开始一次全新的、但非常冒险的音乐尝试，要不仍旧回到他以前老的制作程序中去，只需略微改变一下细节。开始，他的唱片似乎保持了这两者之间的平衡。从他的电视节目中选出的单曲"假如我会做梦"(If I Can Dream)非常的有力强劲，好像试图一下子摆脱他60年代的软弱，随后他于1969年初回到孟菲斯去录制专辑《埃尔维斯在孟菲斯》(Elvis in Memphis)，他使用了奇普斯-莫曼(Chips Moman)的"美国录音棚"，并由当地的一些杰出音乐家组成他的伴奏团体，这张专辑再次激动了他的歌迷，成为他一段时期内最鼓舞人心的作品。
猫王随后在拉斯维加斯进行了自1961年以来的首次现场演出。尽管他的乐队阵容强大，他的作品也很出色，人们却没有看到期望中的猫王，这种期望是由猫王的电视特别节目所萌生的。很快猫王又使他的音乐回到了过去的风格中去，同他的电影一样安全，这可以从他一系列来自纽约、夏威夷和拉斯维加斯的"现场录音"专辑中得到证明。这些作品只是收录了一些随意的翻唱的老歌，并且没有一首歌曲可以同它的原有版本相媲美。尽管如此，当那张夏威夷现场录音专辑于1973年登上美国排行榜首位时，它--以及其它70年代的热门歌曲向人们证明了一个快要被怀疑的事实：猫王仍然是销量最大的音乐家，他的艺术生涯并未结束，虽然已经今非昔比，但猫王的影响和支持者依然可以令他骄傲。
具有讽刺意味的是从猫王自1960年开始的下降趋势中可以看出他在作品选择中倾向于商业化程度较低的音乐，而不是他以前的歌曲。他早期录制黑人音乐的做法一直持续到70年代。他分别于1958年和1973年录制了艾弗里-乔-亨特(Ivory Joe Hunter)的歌曲，而他服役之后的唱片中包括了选自诸如查克-杰克逊(Chuck Jackson)、利特尔-沃尔特(Little Walter)、O-C-史密斯(O-C- Smith)、"航海者"(Coasters)、杰里-巴特勒(Jerry Butler)、凯蒂-莱斯特(Ketty Lester)、查克-贝里(Chuck Berry)、"车轴草"(Clovers)、"流浪者"(Drifters)、鲁弗斯-托马斯(Rufus Thomas)、威利-狄克逊(Willie Dixon)等音乐家的作品，此外，猫王还演唱了新一代南部作家的作品，例如杰里-里德(Jerry Reed)的"吉他手"(Guitar Man)、麦克-戴维斯(Mac Davis)的"在贫民区"(In the Ghetto)、托尼-乔-怀特(Tony Joe White)的"Polk Salad Annie"和丹尼斯-林德(Dennis Linde)的"炽烈的爱"(Burning Love)。
在挑选歌曲上所作出的这一系列努力和冒险使得猫王所推出的唱片效果一直不好这一现象变得更加无法解释。实际上，自1960年以来他象50年代那样显赫的作品非常少。1960年的宗教风格专辑《他引领我的手》(His Hand in Mine)在嗓音处理上十分精致和纯正，而唱片"亲吻老朋友"(Kissin' Cousins)的B面"伤害了我"(It Hurts Me)(1965)中，人们又突然看到了猫王50年代那种激动人心和冒险精神的光芒在闪烁。值得一提的是专辑《埃尔维斯在孟菲斯》(From Elvis in Memphis)和《埃尔维斯乡村》(Elvis Country)(1971)以及现场录音的"美国三部曲"专辑《Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite》(1973)。
到了70年代中期，猫王再次似乎绝望的放弃了任何为争取作为一名艺术家而受人尊敬的努力而完全栖身于他最后的那些陈规之中。他的嗓音比任何时候都要来得松散慵懒和漫不尽心，在音量高的时候显得粗糙刺耳，音量低的时候则摇摆不定，并且完全丧失了原有的生命力和细致。他的精神似乎变得迷离起来。更糟糕的是，大量服用药物、暴饮暴食，放荡不羁私生活也击垮了他的身体。
73年10月猫王因肺炎与胸膜炎复发、结肠扩张及肝炎住院，经纪人Parker图利自己的压榨式经纪策略，将健康状况恶劣的猫王推向财务危机。有指证指出，Parker在1973年之前有故意不支付版税酬劳给猫王的恶劣行为，猫王为了纾解经济惨况，只得疲于奔命的巡回演唱，身心劳累的他只能仰赖镇静剂等药物，健康问题日益严重。
即便如此，1976年整年都是紧凑的巡回演唱行程。11月底，猫王认识新女友Ginger Alden，Ginger成了猫王生前最后一位女友。1977年4月初，猫王再度病发入院，出院后强撑着继续演唱行程到6月。6月26日在印第安纳州的印第安纳波里的演唱会竟成为猫王生前最后一场演唱。原本在Graceland家中休养准备另一次演唱的猫王，却被巡回演唱行程经理发现(也有说是女友发现)倒卧在浴室，经紧急送往医院急救后，医师宣布猫王因心律严重失常(也有说是用药过量)导致心脏病突发过世，享年仅42岁。消息于下午发布，震惊全球，数千乐迷到Graceland志哀。猫王遗体最后跟母亲合葬在Graceland后方的'静默园'。
1979年猫王父亲辞世后，猫王的庞大遗产由唯一当时年仅11岁的女儿Lisa Marie继承，经过近两年四次官司诉讼，终于判定强制经纪人Parker将猫王的影像与录音作品全数交还给RCA与猫王家族。1982年秋天，Graceland成为观光胜地，平均每年吸引近60万人前往，猫王遗产的价值早已超过一亿。1986年，猫王成为乐坛前十位入列摇滚名人殿堂的歌手。截至1999年8月，RCA唱片公司和美国录音工业协会(RIAA)共追颁了131张的金唱片及白金唱片给猫王的女儿Lisa Marie，这是历史上获赠最多的金唱片及白金唱片纪录，猫王无疑是史上最伟大的演唱艺人。同时，RCA也颁予'世纪艺人Artsit Of The Century'特别纪念奖感念这位一代巨星。
50年代的猫王影响了至少整整一代人，60年代以后，他们一直抱着一个幻想：他们心中的猫王只是被他自己打败了，只要让上了年纪并变得肥胖的猫王改变他拉斯维加斯／好莱坞式的生活方式，让他在封闭的装满他早期唱片的自动电唱机的房子里，听一听他自己的音乐，他就会发现一个曾经如此伟大的猫王，曾经如此光芒夺目的自己。于是他会自己根自己斗争，最终取得胜利恢复往日的天才。尽管这一幻想直到1977年8月16日猫王逝世的那天也没有实现，他在现代音乐中的地位依然无人可以取代。他在50年代以及以后偶尔所表现出来的罕见的令人惊讶的才能叶柄没有因为他后期的活动而受到任何影响。他，以白人身份把带有种族色彩的黑人节奏布鲁斯音乐介绍给了白人，所承受的压力和获得的成功都是非凡的；他牺牲青春换来永恒传奇，燃烧生命烙下20世纪流行文化的图腾，更让全球的观众至今仍激荡不已。他的作品超越了任何一个影响摇滚乐历史的因素，他也决定了摇滚乐将采用的形式，他第一次使得青少年得以重视和发扬自己的音乐个性。.尽管他的歌曲太简单肤浅，缺少力度和社会责任感，但这些久远传唱的曲目却真实地反映了第一代受摇滚思想影响的青少年的群体形象，他不仅拥有漂亮的容貌、标志性的扭胯动作和出色的舞台表演，更成为这个时代，这一代人的鲜明的标志。蕴含了巨大潜力的整个年轻一代在他身上找到了反抗精神的共同性。自猫王以后，鲜明的思想性和强烈的现实批判性的摇滚乐迅速流传。也因为他的魅力，摇滚乐成为美国全民运动。猫王开辟了摇滚乐艰难的前进道路。
猫王普雷斯利，永远的摇滚之王。
Elvis Presley may be the single most important figure in American 20th century popular music. Not necessarily the best, and certainly not the most consistent. But no one could argue with the fact that he was the musician most responsible for popularizing rock & roll on an international level. Viewed in cold sales figures, his impact was phenomenal. Dozens upon dozens of international smashes from the mid-'50s to the mid-'70s, as well as the steady sales of his catalog and reissues since his death in 1977, may make him the single highest-selling performer in history.
More important from a music lover's perspective, however, are his remarkable artistic achievements. Presley was not the very first white man to sing rhythm & blues; Bill Haley predated him in that regard, and there may have been others as well. Elvis was certainly the first, however, to assertively fuse country and blues music into the style known as rockabilly. While rockabilly arrangements were the foundations of his first (and possibly best) recordings, Presley could not have become a mainstream superstar without a much more varied palette that also incorporated pop, gospel, and even some bits of bluegrass and operatic schmaltz here and there. His 1950s recordings established the basic language of rock & roll; his explosive and sexual stage presence set standards for the music's visual image; his vocals were incredibly powerful and versatile.
Unfortunately, to much of the public, Elvis is more icon than artist. Innumerable bad Hollywood movies, increasingly caricatured records and mannerisms, and a personal life that became steadily more sheltered from real-world concerns (and steadily more bizarre) gave his story a somewhat mythic status. By the time of his death, he'd become more a symbol of gross Americana than of cultural innovation. The continued speculation about his incredible career has sustained interest in his life, and supported a large tourist/entertainment industry, that may last indefinitely, even if the fascination is fueled more by his celebrity than his music.
Born to a poor Mississippi family in the heart of Depression, Elvis had moved to Memphis by his teens, where he absorbed the vibrant melting pot of Southern popular music in the form of blues, country, bluegrass, and gospel. After graduating from high school, he became a truck driver, rarely if ever singing in public. Some 1953 and 1954 demos, recorded at the emerging Sun label in Memphis primarily for Elvis' own pleasure, helped stir interest on the part of Sun owner Sam Phillips. In mid-1954, Phillips, looking for a white singer with a black feel, teamed Presley with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black. Almost by accident, apparently, the trio hit upon a version of an Arthur Crudup blues tune, "That's All Right Mama," that became Elvis' first single.
Elvis' five Sun singles pioneered the blend of R&B and C&W that would characterize rockabilly music. For quite a few scholars, they remain not only Elvis' best singles, but the best rock & roll ever recorded. Claiming that Elvis made blues acceptable for the white market is not the whole picture; the singles usually teamed blues covers with country and pop ones, all made into rock & roll (at this point a term that barely existed) with the pulsing beat, slap-back return, and Elvis' soaring, frenetic vocals. "That's All Right Mama," "Blue Moon of Kentucky," "Good Rockin' Tonight," "Baby Let's Play House," and "Mystery Train" remain core early rock classics.
The singles sold well in the Memphis area immediately, and by 1955 were starting to sell well to country audiences throughout the South. Presley, Moore, and Black hit the road with a stage show that grew ever wilder and more provocative, Elvis' swiveling hips causing enormous controversy. The move to all-out rock was hastened by the addition of drums. The last Sun single, "I Forgot to Remember Forget"/"Mystery Train," hit number one on the national country charts in late 1955. Presley was obviously a performer with superstar potential, attracting the interest of bigger labels and Colonel Tom Parker, who became Elvis' manager. In need of capital to expand the Sun label, Sam Phillips sold Presley's contract to RCA in late 1955 for 35,000 dollars; a bargain, when viewed in hindsight, but an astronomical sum at the time.
This is the point where musical historians start to diverge in opinion. For many, the whole of his subsequent work for RCA — encompassing over 20 years — was a steady letdown, never recapturing the pure, primal energy that was harnessed so effectively on the handful of Sun singles. Elvis, however, was not a purist. What he wanted, more than anything, was to be successful. To do that, his material needed more of a pop feel; in any case, he'd never exactly been one to disparage the mainstream, naming Dean Martin as one of his chief heroes from the get-go. At RCA, his rockabilly was leavened with enough pop flavor to make all of the charts, not just the country ones.
At the beginning, at least, the results were hardly any tamer than the Sun sessions. "Heartbreak Hotel," his first single, rose to number one and, aided by some national television appearances, helped make Elvis an instant superstar. "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" was a number one follow-up; the double-sided monster "Hound Dog"/"Don't Be Cruel" was one of the biggest-selling singles the industry had ever experienced up to that point. Albums and EPs were also chart-toppers, not just in the U.S., but throughout the world. The 1956 RCA recordings, while a bit more sophisticated in production and a bit less rootsy in orientation than his previous work, were still often magnificent, rating among the best and most influential recordings of early rock & roll.
Elvis' (and Colonel Parker's) aspirations were too big to be limited to records and live appearances. By late 1956, his first Hollywood movie, Love Me Tender, had been released; other screen vehicles would follow in the next few years, Jailhouse Rock being the best. The hits continued unabated, several of them ("Jailhouse Rock," "All Shook Up," "Too Much") excellent, and often benefiting from the efforts of top early rock songwriter Otis Blackwell, as well as the emerging team of Jerry Leiber-Mike Stoller. The Jordanaires added both pop and gospel elements with their smooth backup vocals.
Yet worrisome signs were creeping in. The Dean Martin influence began rearing his head in smoky, sentimental ballads such as "Loving You"; the vocal swoops became more exaggerated and stereotypical, although the overall quality of his output remained high. And although Moore and Black continued to back Elvis on his early RCA recordings, within a few years the musicians had gone their own ways.
Presley's recording and movie careers were interrupted by his induction into the Army in early 1958. There was enough material in the can to flood the charts throughout his two-year absence (during which he largely served in Germany). When he re-entered civilian life in 1960, his popularity, remarkably, was at just as high a level as when he left.
One couldn't, unfortunately, say the same for the quality of his music, which was not just becoming more sedate, but was starting to either repeat itself, or opt for operatic ballads that didn't have a whole lot to do with rock. Elvis' rebellious, wild image had been tamed to a large degree as well, as he and Parker began designing a career built around Hollywood films. Shortly after leaving the Army, in fact, Presley gave up live performing altogether for nearly a decade to concentrate on movie-making. The films, in turn, would serve as vehicles to both promote his records and to generate maximum revenue with minimal effort. For the rest of the '60s, Presley ground out two or three movies a year that, while mostly profitable, had little going for them in the way of story, acting, or social value.
While there were some quality efforts on Presley's early-'60s albums, his discography was soon dominated by forgettable soundtracks, mostly featuring material that was dispensable or downright ridiculous. In time he became largely disinterested in devoting much time to his craft in the studio. The soundtrack LPs themselves were sometimes filled out with outtakes that had been in the can for years (and these, sadly, were often the highlights of the albums). There were some good singles in the early '60s, like "Return to Sender"; once in a while there was even a flash of superb, tough rock, like "Little Sister" or "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame." But by 1963 or so there was little to get excited about, although he continued to sell in large quantities.
The era spanning, roughly, 1962-1967 has generated a school of Elvis apologists, eager to wrestle any kernel of quality that emerged from his recordings during this period. They also point out that Presley was assigned poor material, and assert that Colonel Parker was largely responsible for Presley's emasculation. True to a point, but on the other hand it could be claimed, with some validity, that Presley himself was doing little to rouse himself from his artistic stupor, letting Parker destroy his artistic credibility without much apparent protest, and holing up in his large mansion with a retinue of yes-men that protected their benefactor from much day-to-day contact with a fast-changing world.
The Beatles, all big Elvis fans, displaced Presley as the biggest rock act in the world in 1964. What's more, they did so by writing their own material and playing their own instruments; something Elvis had never been capable of, or particularly aspired to. They, and the British and American groups the Beatles influenced, were not shy about expressing their opinions, experimenting musically, and taking the reins of their artistic direction into their own hands. The net effect was to make Elvis Presley, still churning out movies in Hollywood as psychedelia and soul music became the rage, seem irrelevant, even as he managed to squeeze out an obscure Dylan cover ("Tomorrow Is a Long Time") on a 1966 soundtrack album.
By 1967 and 1968, there were slight stirrings of an artistic reawakening by Elvis. Singles like "Guitar Man," "Big Boss Man," and "U.S. Male," though hardly classics, were at least genuine rock & roll that sounded better than much of what he'd been turning out for years. A 1968 television special gave Presley the opportunity he needed to reinvent himself as an all-out leather-coated rocker, still capable of magnetizing an audience, and eager to revisit his blues and country roots.
The 1968 album Elvis in Memphis was the first LP in nearly a decade in which Presley seemed cognizant of current trends, as he updated his sounds with contemporary compositions and touches of soul to create some reasonably gutsy late-'60s pop/rock. This material, and 1969 hits like "Suspicious Minds" and "In the Ghetto," returned him to the top of the charts. Arguably, it's been overrated by critics, who were so glad to have him singing rock again that they weren't about to carp about the slickness of some of the production, or the mediocrity of some of the songwriting.
But Elvis' voice did sound good, and he returned to live performing in 1969, breaking in with weeks of shows in Las Vegas. This was followed by national tours that proved him to still be an excellent live entertainer, even if the exercises often reeked of show-biz extravaganza. (Elvis never did play outside of North America and Hawaii, possibly because Colonel Parker, it was later revealed, was an illegal alien who could have faced serious problems if he traveled abroad.) Hollywood was history, but studio and live albums were generated at a rapid pace, usually selling reasonably well, although Presley never had a Top Ten hit after 1972's "Burning Love."
Presley's 1970s recordings, like most of his '60s work, are the focus of divergent critical opinion. Some declare them to be, when Elvis was on, the equal of anything he did, especially in terms of artistic diversity. It's true that the material was pretty eclectic, running from country to blues to all-out rock to gospel (Presley periodically recorded gospel-only releases, going all the way back to 1957). At the same time, his vocal mannerisms were often stilted, and the material — though not nearly as awful as that '60s soundtrack filler — sometimes substandard. Those who are not serious Elvis fans will usually find this late-period material to hold only a fraction of the interest of his '50s classics.
Elvis' final years have been the subject of a cottage industry of celebrity bios, tell-alls, and gossip screeds from those who knew him well, or (more likely) purported to know him well. Those activities are really beyond the scope of a mini-bio such as this, but it's enough to note that his behavior was becoming increasingly instable. His weight fluctuated wildly; his marriage broke up; he became dependent upon a variety of prescription drugs. Worst of all, he became isolated from the outside world except for professional purposes (he continued to tour until the end), rarely venturing outside of his Graceland mansion in Memphis. Colonel Parker's financial decisions on behalf of his client have also come in for much criticism.
On August 16, 1977, Presley was found dead in Graceland. The cause of death remains a subject of widespread speculation, although it seems likely that drugs played a part. An immediate cult (if cult is the way to describe millions of people) sprang up around his legacy, kept alive by the hundreds of thousands of visitors who make the pilgrimage to Graceland annually. Elvis memorabilia, much of it kitsch, is another industry in his own right. Dozens if not hundreds make a comfortable living by impersonating the King in live performance. And then there are all those Elvis sightings, reported in tabloids on a seemingly weekly basis.
Although Presley had recorded a mammoth quantity of both released and unreleased material for RCA, the label didn't show much interest in repackaging it with the respect due such a pioneer. Haphazard collections of outtakes and live performances were far rarer than budget reissues and countless repackagings of the big hits. In the CD age, RCA finally began to treat the catalog with some of the reverence it deserved, at long last assembling a box set containing nearly all of the 1950s recordings. Similar, although less exciting, box sets were documenting the 1960s, the 1970s, and his soundtrack recordings. And exploitative reissues of Elvis material continue to appear constantly, often baited with one or two rare outtakes or alternates to entice the completists (of which there are many). In death, as in life, Presley continues to be one of RCA's most consistent earners. Fortunately, with a little discretion, a good Elvis library can be built with little duplication, sticking largely to the most highly recommended selections.
