All Hail the King

Ever heard of that guy way back when who wore jumpsuits and sang about a hound dog? Yeah, I think he went by the name of Elvis. Not musician Elvis Costello, who just wanted to "pump it up", and never wore a jumpsuit. And not Elvis Stojko, the figure skater, who was known to wear a jumpsuit now and then. 

I'm talking about Elvis Presley, father of singer Lisa Marie, and one-time husband to actress Priscilla, both of whom have managed pretty successful careers in their own right. This Elvis, through a few decades of singing with swagger, established himself as the King of Rock'n'Roll. And in my opinion, he still deserves that title, even after The Beatles, Stones, and U2 came along.

I am much more of a Beatles fan - always have been and always will be, yet I acknowledge the fact that Elvis started it all and continues to influence musicians the world over. He drew together country, gospel, blues, and existing 50's rock music ideas and hijacked the world with his charisma and vocal talent. Elvis was the reason for the Beatles, too.... Lennon and McCartney, early in their musical wood-shedding years, admitted that Elvis was their idol and that they wanted to become as big as he was. Well, they may have surpassed Presley in many ways, but the mop-tops bowed before his presence in the music world. Respect.

As a young lad, I first learned of Presley from the movies I saw on TV. Stuff like Jailhouse Rock, G.I. Blues, and Kid Galahad. These and many more light musical flicks from the 50's and 60's played endlessly on the tube while I was growing up in the 70's. Elvis was my introduction to rock'n'roll, though it wasn't much longer until other syndicated TV shows brought to me the likes of The Monkees, Archies, Partridge Family, Bay City Rollers, and so on. Not to mention the Beatles movies... Hard Day's Night, Help!, Yellow Submarine, and Magical Mystery Tour. All part of the learning process.

Back before CDs and even cassette tapes, the mighty 8-track format made a brief appearance in my life. The very first 8-track I bought was the simply-titled Elvis, a fully-loaded double-album compilation of Elvis' greatest hits. My favourite song on there was Return to Sender. I've always had a soft spot for songs about mail. P.S. I Love You (Beatles) and Please Mr. Postman (both the Beatles and Marvelettes versions) are other faves. Also Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours), by Stevie Wonder. 

Though I don't really listen to Elvis music much any more, I do get the urge occasionally to throw on one of the handful of hits collections I now own on CD. I chose these carefully to avoid much overlap and so I'd get a nice, wide selection of his best-known songs. Nowadays, I lean toward favourites like Good Luck Charm and Little Sister.