How would the 60s have been different if Elvis.......

[DWB1960]

Hadn't basically retired from music in the early 60s to go to Hollywood and make all of those stupid movies. When he returned from his tour of duty in the service his fan base was rabid - mobbing his train along it's entire route. If Parker hadn't convinced him to do movies, and he had instead continued making records and doing shows, how would the 60s have been different?

[bobmc]

Wow, Donnie where the heck did that come from??? Really interesting question.

My guess is he would have stayed a pop star, and the 60's would have went right over him. He would hit Vegas a few years earlier and maybe faded quicker.

[DWB1960]

Originally Posted by bobmc

Wow, Donnie where the heck did that come from??? Really interesting question.

Came across this picture. The guy at one time ruled the freaking universe. You could easily imagine him selling out huge tours if he'd maintained his momentum during the 60s, instead of giving up his throne to The Beatles.

[bobmc]

Completely off topic, but as a kid (in the 70s), my Mom would buy my brother Elvis records and Beatle records for me each holiday. The two are forever connected in my head.

My brother (luckily) prefered the really early Scotty Moore and late period big band James Burton stuff, so the movie soundtracks did little damage.

[axuality.com]

Originally Posted by Donnie B.

Hadn't basically retired from music in the early 60s to go to Hollywood and make all of those stupid movies. When he returned from his tour of duty in the service his fan base was rabid - mobbing his train along it's entire route. If Parker hadn't convinced him to do movies, and he had instead continued making records and doing shows, how would the 60s have been different?

I've always thought Elvis was very talented and VERY leading edge, and that his music was so atrocious that I can't even listen to it in order to enjoy such a magnificent talent.

Jailhouse Rock, Hound Dog and maybe one or two others acceptable. Of course to me, there were only about 10 great songs on the top 40 between 1950 and 1965 or so.

If he hadn't joined the Army, there probably would have been more good acts, mimicking him.

[george nada]

all shook up. now that's cool. i mean, i always dug that song all the way across. but for elvis to remain relevent in the 60's would have meant changing everything he stood for. things could only be the way they were. imo

[Dave2512]

I think he was where he needed to be. As the decade progressed the songwriter types dominated. That wasn't his strong suit.

[supergenius365]

It would have really depended upon the access to quality material Col. Parker allowed. I remember reading that the Col. wanted to pay songwriters next to nothing and/or force them to include Elvis as a co-writer. I think that may have been more and more difficult to pull off as the 60's progressed. Elvis definitely could have had a more memorable 60's career and been more of a force to reckon with in the pop world if he had good material imo.

[DWB1960]

Originally Posted by supergenius365

It would have really depended upon the access to quality material Col. Parker allowed. I remember reading that the Col. wanted to pay songwriters next to nothing and/or force them to include Elvis as a co-writer. I think that may have been more and more difficult to pull off as the 60's progressed. Elvis definitely could have had a more memorable 60's career and been more of a force to reckon with in the pop world if he had good material imo.

He should have fired Parker and gotten himself a true MUSIC manager! Parker was in it for the money. People like Brian Epstein and later Peter Grant were also in it for the money but they also cared about the "product". Based on some of those movies Elvis made, I highly doubt Parker gave a rats ass about the "product".

[rspencer]

Before the Army & the string of movies, he was easily vying for James Brown's "Hardest Working Man in Show Business" title. Tremendous output. Some years I think there were 2-3 albums. But without the "break" of the Army & movies, it's just as likely that the end may have come sooner.

And he still had it, when he wanted to bring it. While the 70s shows include the Vegas style melodies, and kitschy humor, most of the shows I've heard have at least one inspired performance, where he truly showed how well he could sing. A whole show of songs like that would have been legendary, had it happened.

And without the "break," we couldn't have the "comeback." And that would be a true loss.

[somecafone]

Originally Posted by supergenius365

It would have really depended upon the access to quality material Col. Parker allowed. I remember reading that the Col. wanted to pay songwriters next to nothing and/or force them to include Elvis as a co-writer. I think that may have been more and more difficult to pull off as the 60's progressed. Elvis definitely could have had a more memorable 60's career and been more of a force to reckon with in the pop world if he had good material imo.

You are close in this assessment, but not quite spot-on.
Parker's dealings with songwriters was not merely co-authorship but owning of the publishing.
"It's Now or Never" was based on "Ave Maria" which was in the public domain.

As for the 60s being the exclusive domain of singer-songwriters, I would disagree. You had Motown, the Brill building consortium, and all of Phil Spector's records which were hardly singer-songwriter.

Yeah, the movies, and their attendant god-awful soundtracks, were Elvis's musical downfall.
The Colonel double and triple dipped on those. He got a producer's fee, plus his outsized portion of Elvis's earnings, plus a bunch of "bonuses" bouncing from studio to studio.
Elvis did want to act, but he wanted to act in dramas, a la James Dean. Parker hit on the formula for the musicals, and kept churning them out.
Elvis grew to hate them.

Read the two-part Elvis bios by Peter Guralnick.

[googoobaby]

Originally Posted by somecafone

Read the two-part Elvis bios by Peter Guralnick.

Those are truly great, if immensely sad, books.

[Brian D]

Originally Posted by somecafone

Read the two-part Elvis bios by Peter Guralnick.

I'll have to check those out. I've read many bios on Elvis and feel that I have a pretty good understanding of how his life went, but they sound intriguing.

With the recent anniversary of his death, I've been re-visiting him and his legacy. There are some clips on YouTube with the Memphis Mafia (they apparently come from a DVD or DVDs called "All The Kings Men"), that span his entire career. I found them very interesting. There are like five or six different "volumes" on YouTube, with three to five "chapters" per volume. At various times throughout them, but especially in the final chapters that cover his death, I was struck by how these grown men had such a deep, emotional attachment to Elvis. For many of them, he was more like a father than a friend.

It takes a little digging to watch them all in order, but here is the first one to get you started:

[Rockledge]

Originally Posted by Donnie B.

He should have fired Parker and gotten himself a true MUSIC manager! Parker was in it for the money. People like Brian Epstein and later Peter Grant were also in it for the money but they also cared about the "product". Based on some of those movies Elvis made, I highly doubt Parker gave a rats ass about the "product".

I don't know that this is so.
Much as I don't like the things I have heard about the situation, the reality is that Mr Parker did indeed know how to capitalize on Elvis, and capitalizing on him meant mass marketing him. The question this leaves is whether or not Elvis would have just became one of many clients to a "real" manager who wouldn't have dedicated all his time to one client the way Mr Parker did.
If someone is trying to use their talent to gain wealth and fame, all the talent in the world won't do it if there isn't someone that knows how to market it rowing the boat.

[somecafone]

Before someone else corrects me, which I'm not opposed to, "It's Now or Never" may have been based on "O Solo Mio," and not "Ave Maria." I can't remember exactly.

But I may go dig up my copies of the aforementioned books to find out.