Elvis Presley (стр. 3 из 3)

While serving in Germany, Presley met his wife-to-be - the then 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu; noted International Herald Tribune correspondent and humorist Art Buchwald; future US Secretary of State Colin Powell (then a lieutenant with the Third Army Division in Germany); and Walter Alden, the father of Presley's fiancee Ginger Alden who inducted Presley into the Army.

His rankings and dates of promotions were as follows: Private (upon draft March 24, 1958), Private First Class (November 27, 1958), Specialist Fourth Class (June 1, 1959), Sergeant (January 20, 1960). While in the Army, he earned sharpshooter badges for both the .45 pistol and the M1 rifle, and a marksman badge for the M2 carbine, as well as a Good Conduct Medal.^[53]

Presley returned to the United States on March 2, 1960, and was honorably discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant (E-5) on March 5.^[54]

After serving his duty in the military, he became more mature and lost his raw and rebellious edge.^[55] However, he gained respect from older and more conservative crowds who initially disliked him before he entered the Army.

1960s film career

Presley admired James Dean and Tony Curtis style and returned from the military eager to make a career as a movie star. Although "he was definitely not the most talented actor around.",^[56] he "became a film genre of his own."^[57] Pop film staples of the early sixties, such as the Presley musicals and the AlP beach movies were mainly produced for a teenage audience and called by film critics a "pantheon of bad taste"^[58] In the sixties, at Colonel Parker's command, Presley withdrew from concerts and television appearances, after his final appearance with Frank Sinatra on NBC entitled "Welcome Home Elvis" where he sang "Witchcraft/Love Me Tender" with Sinatra, in order to make these movies. "He blamed his fading popularity on his humdrum movies," Priscilla Presley recalled in her 1985 autobiography, Elvis and Me. "He loathed their stock plots and short shooting schedules. He could have demanded better, more substantial scripts but he didn't." According to most critics, the scripts of the movies "were all the same, the songs progressively worse."^[59] The latter were "written on order by men who never really understood Elvis or rock and roll."^[60] For Blue Hawaii and its soundtrack LP, "fourteen songs were cut in just three days."^[61] Julie Parrish, starring in Paradise, Hawaiian Style, says that Presley hated such songs and that he "couldn't stop laughing while he was recording" one of them.^[62]

Although some film critics chastised these movies for their lack of depth, the fans turned out and they were enormously profitable. According to Jerry Hopkins's book, Elvis in Hawaii, Presley's "pretty-as-a-postcard movies" even "boosted the new state's (Hawaii) tourism. Some of his most enduring and popular songs came from those movies."^[63] Altogether, Presley had made 27 movies during the 1960s, "which had grossed about $130 million, and he had sold a hundred million records, which had made $150 million."^[64] Overall, he was one of the highest paid Hollywood actors during the 1960s. However, during the later sixties, "the Elvis Presley film was becoming passé. Young people were tuning in, dropping out and doing acid. Musical acts like the Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, the Doors, Janis Joplin and many others were dominating the airwaves. Elvis Presley was not considered as cool as he once was."^[65]

1968 comeback

Presley's star had faded slightly over the 1960s as he made his movies and America was struck by changing styles and tastes after the "British Invasion" spearheaded by the Beatles.

Until the late sixties Presley continued to star in many B-movies, featuring soundtracks that were of increasingly lower quality. He had become deeply dissatisfied with the direction his career had taken over the ensuing seven years, most notably the film contracts with a demanding schedule that eliminated creative recording and giving public concerts. This lead to a triumphant televised performance later dubbed the '68 Comeback Special, aired on the NBC television network on December 3, 1968 and released as an album by RCA. In a special that saw him return to his rock and roll roots, Rolling Stone magazine called it "a performance of emotional grandeur and historical resonance". [11]

The comeback of 1968 was followed by a 1969 return to live performances, first in Las Vegas and then across the United States. The return concerts were noted for the constant stream of sold-out shows, with many setting attendance records in the venues where he performed.

Two concert films were also released: Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970) and Elvis on Tour (1972).

The final years

After seven years off the top of the charts, Presley's song "Suspicious Minds" hit number one on the Billboard music charts on November 1, 1969.^[66] He also reached number one on charts elsewhere: "In the Ghetto" did so in West Germany in 1969 and "The Wonder of You" did so in the UK in 1970.

The "Aloha from Hawaii" concert in January 1973 was the first of its kind to be broadcast worldwide via satellite and was seen by at least one billion viewers worldwide. The RCA soundtrack album to the show reached number-one in the charts.

Presley recorded a number of country hits in his final years. Way Down was languishing in the American Country Music chart shortly before his death in 1977, and reached number one the week after his death. It also topped the UK pop charts at the same time.

Between 1969 and 1977 Presley gave over 1,000 sold-out performances in Las Vegas and on tour. He was the first artist to have four shows in a row sold to capacity crowds at New York's Madison Square Garden.

From 1971 to his death in 1977 Presley employed the Stamps Quartet, a gospel group, for his backup vocals. He recorded several gospel albums, earning three Grammy Awards for his gospel music. In his later years his live stage performances almost always included a rendition of How Great Thou Art, the 19th century gospel song made famous by George Beverly Shea. Although some critics say that the singer travestied, commercialized and soft-soaped gospel "to the point where it became nauseating.",^[67] twenty-four years after his death, the Gospel Music Association inducted him into its Gospel Music Hall of Fame (2001).

After his divorce in 1973 Presley became increasingly isolated, overweight, and battling an addiction to prescription drugs which took a heavy toll on his appearance, health, and performances. He made his last live concert appearance in Indianapolis at the Market Square Arena on June 26, 1977.

Death and burial

On August 16, 1977, at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, Presley was found lying on the floor of his bedroom's bathroom by his fiancee, Ginger Alden, who had been asleep. A stain on the bathroom carpeting was found that indicated "where Elvis had thrown up after being stricken, apparently while seated on the toilet. It looked to the medical investigator as if he had 'stumbled or crawled several feet before he died.' "^[68] He was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead at 3:30 P.M. Presley was 42 years old.

Elvis Presley funeral procession.

At a press conference following his death, one of the medical examiners declared that he had died of a cardiac arrhythmia from a intake of a large amount of drugs.

Rolling Stone magazine devoted an entire issue to Presley (RS 248) and his funeral was a national media event. [12] Hundreds of thousands of Presley fans, the press, and celebrities lined the street to witness Presley's funeral and Jackie Kahane gave the eulogy.

Presley was originally buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis next to his mother. After an attempted theft of the body, his remains and his mother's remains were moved to Graceland to the "meditation gardens."

Following Presley's death in 1977, US PresidentJimmy Carter said, "Elvis Presley's death deprives our country of a part of itself. He was unique and irreplaceable. More than 20 years ago, he burst upon the scene with an impact that was unprecedented and will probably never be equaled. His music and his personality, fusing the styles of white country and black rhythm and blues, permanently changed the face of American popular culture. His following was immense, and he was a symbol to people the world over of the vitality, rebelliousness, and good humor of his country."^[69]

Notes

1. ^"Fans Of Elvis Pay a Lot to See Little" by Damien Jaques, The Milwaukee Journal, April 28, 1977, retrieved October 22, 2006
2. ^"They Screamed For Elvis 'All it took was a shake of a finger'" by Paul Betit, Kennebec Journal, May 25, 1977, retrieved October 22, 2006
3. ^"There's no doubt about it -Elvis is still 'king'" by Jeri Gulbransen, Rapid City Journal, June 22, 1977, retrieved October 22, 2006
4. ^ Peter Guralnick, Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, p.12.
5. ^ Priscilla Presley, Elvis and Me, p.172
6. ^ "Elvis roots 'lead to Scotland'"; a 23 March 2004 BBC story that cites Allan Morrison, the author of the then-unpublished book The Presley Prophecy.
7. ^ Peter Guralnick, Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, p.13.
8. ^ Guralnick, p.13.
9. ^ Guralnick, p.149
10. ^ Guralnick, p.36, referring to an account by singer Barbara Pittman and Patrick Humphries, Elvis The #1 Hits: The Secret History of the Classics, p.117.
11. ^ Guralnick, p.280.
12. ^ Guralnick, p.346.
13. ^Elvis Presley. history-of-rock.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
14. ^ Guralnick, Last Train to Memphis, p.17.
15. ^Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock, p. 783
16. ^ B.B. King, quoted in David Szatmary, A Time to Rock (1996), p. 35
17. ^ James Dickerson, Goin’ Back to Memphis (1996), p. 27
18. ^ Richard Kostelanetz and Robert Flemming, Writings on Glass: Essays, Interviews, Criticism (University of California Press, 1999), p.15.
19. ^ Elijah Wald, Josh White: Society Blues (2002), p.264.
20. ^ Rolling Stone biography on Elvis Presley [1]
21. ^United States Department of the Interior re Graceland National Historic Landmark Nomination report prepared by Jody Cook, Architectural Historian with detailed references: [2]
22. ^ Henry Pleasants, The Great American Popular Singers.
23. ^ See James Miller, Flowers in the Dustbin: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 1947-1977 (1999), p. 71
24. ^ Michael T. Bertrand, Race, Rock, and Elvis, p.27.
25. ^ Peter Guralnick, Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, p.426.
26. ^ Priscilla Presley, Elvis and Me, p. 188.
27. ^ Marty Lacker, Lamar Fike, and Billy Smith, Elvis Aron Presley: Revelations from the Memphis Mafia (1995). A detailed biography of Parker was written by Alanna Nash and published in 2003.
28. ^"Elvis Rocks. But He's Not the First" by Christopher John Farley, TIME, July 6, 2004, retrieved October 22, 2006
29. ^United States Department of the Interior re Graceland National Historic Landmark Nomination report prepared by Jody Cook, Architectural Historian with detailed references: [3]
30. ^PBS television interview [4]
31. ^ Peter Guralnick, Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, p.426.
32. ^ Robert Walser, "The rock and roll era", in The Cambridge History of American Music (Cambridge University Press, 1998), p.358.
33. ^ Martha Bayles (ed.), Hole in Our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music (University of Chicago Press, 1996), p.22.
34. ^ Carol Tator, Winston Matthis, Frances Henry, Challenging Racism in the Arts (University of Toronto Press, 1998), p.134.
35. ^ Michael T. Bertrand, Race, Rock, and Elvis (University of Illinois Press, 2000), p.222.
36. ^ Bertrand, p.27.
37. ^ A variant: "I've only two uses for niggers – they can buy my records and they can shine my shoes." Quoted in Alexander Cockburn, The Golden Age Is in Us: Journeys and Encounters, 1987-1994, p.17.
38. ^ Bertrand, p.221.
39. ^ Bertrand, p.200. The author adds, "One journalist wrote upon the singer's death that African Americans refused to participate in the numerous eulogies dedicated to him."
40. ^ See University of Illinois Press website.
41. ^[5]
42. ^[6]
43. ^[7]
44. ^ Quoted in Michael T. Bertrand, Race, Rock, and Elvis (University of Illinois Press, 2000), p.223.
45. ^ Bertrand, p.223.
46. ^ Priscilla Presley, Elvis and Me, p.8.
47. ^ Quoted in Bertrand, p.223
48. ^ Roger Beebe, Denise Fulbrook, Ben Saunders, Rock Over the Edge (Duke University Press, 2002), p.100.
49. ^ "Elvis Presley": a page at pbs.org with a single paragraph, attributed to palmpictures.com.
50. ^ Rich Gordon, "How Transistor Radios and Web (and Newspapers and Hi-Fi radio) are Alike", "Reprinted, with permission, from The Cole Papers, June 22, 2005."
51. ^ Ian Brailsford, "History repeating itself: Were postwar American teenagers ripe for harvest?" (NB Microsoft Word format): transcript of a paper delivered at "Youth Marketing Reaches Forty", 17 May 2001.
52. ^Elvis in the Army
53. ^Sergeant Elvis Aaron Presley
54. ^www.army.mil/CMH/faq/elvis.htm.
55. ^Biography of Elvis Presley - Elvis Army Days
56. ^ Leo Verswijver, Movies Were Always Magical: Interviews with 19 Actors, Directors, and Producers from the Hollywood of the 1930s through the 1950s (2002), p.129.
57. ^ Tom Lisanti, Fantasy Femmes of 60's Cinema: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach, and Elvis Movies (2000), p.18.
58. ^ Andrew Caine, Interpreting Rock Movies: The Pop Film and Its Critics in Britain, p. 21.
59. ^ Connie Kirchberg and Marc Hendrickx, Elvis Presley, Richard Nixon, and the American Dream (1999), p.67.
60. ^ Jerry Hopkins, Elvis in Hawaii (2002), p.32.
61. ^ Hopkins, p.31
62. ^ Tom Lisanti, Fantasy Femmes of 60's Cinema, p.19, 136.
63. ^ Hopkins, Elvis in Hawaii, p. vii
64. ^ Magdalena Alagna, Elvis Presley (2002)
65. ^ Tom Lisanti, Fantasy Femmes of 60's Cinema: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach, and Elvis Movies, p.19.
66. ^ This was the last time any song by Presley reached number one on the Hot 100, although "Burning Love" reached two in September 1972, and "A Little Less Conversation" topped the Hot Singles Sales chart in 2002.
67. ^ Albert Goldman, Elvis: The Last 24 Hours, p.187.
68. ^ Guralnick, Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley, p.651.
69. ^"Death of Elvis Presley Statement by the President." by John Woolley and Gerhard Peters, The American Presidency Project, retrieved October 22, 2006