Quotes By and About Elvis / Quotes About Elvis
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“Without preamble, the three-piece band cuts
loose. In the spotlight, the lanky singer flails furious rhythms on his guitar,
every now and then breaking a string. In a pivoting stance, his hips swing
sensuously from side to side and his entire body takes on a frantic quiver, as
if he had swallowed a jackhammer.” "His kind of music is deplorable, a rancid
smelling aphrodisiac...It fosters almost totally negative and destructive
reactions in young people." “It isn’t enough to say that Elvis is kind to
his parents, sends money home, and is the same unspoiled kid he was before all
the commotion began. That still isn’t a free ticket to behave like a sex maniac
in public.”
“I wanted to say to Elvis Presley and the
country that this is a real decent, fine boy.”
“As the lad himself might say, cut my legs
off and call me Shorty! Elvis Presley can act...Acting is his assignment in this
shrewdly upholstered showcase, and he does it." “A Presley picture is the only sure thing in
Hollywood.” “There is something magical about watching a
man who has lost himself find his way back home...He sang with the kind of power
people no longer expect from rock ‘n’ roll singers.” “It was the finest music of his life. If ever
there was music that bleeds, this was it.”
“There are several unbelievable things about
Elvis, but the most incredible is his staying power in a world where meteoric
careers fade like shooting stars.” “...a style and panache that come close to
pure magic. Lithe, raunchy, the sweat pouring down his face, he now moves with
the precision of an athlete, the grace of a dancer...flamboyant and flashy, sexy
and self-mocking, he works with the instincts of a genius to give poetry to the
basic rock performance.” “So what it boils down to was Elvis produced
his own records. He came to the session, picked the songs, and if something in
the arrangement was changed, he was the one to change it. Everything was worked
out spontaneously. Nothing was really rehearsed. Many of the important decisions
normally made previous to a recording session were made during the session. What
it was was a look to the future. Today everybody makes records this way. Back
then Elvis was the only one. He was the forerunner of everything that’s record
production these days. Consciously or unconsciously, everyone imitated him.
People started doing what Elvis did.” “A lot of people have accused Elvis of
stealing the black man’s music, when in fact, almost every black solo
entertainer copied his stage mannerisms from Elvis.” “You have no idea how great he is, really you
don’t. You have no comprehension - it’s absolutely impossible. I can’t tell you
why he’s so great, but he is. He’s sensational.” “Elvis is the greatest cultural force in the
twentieth century. He introduced the beat to everything, music, language,
clothes, it’s a whole new social revolution - the 60’s comes from it.” "There have been many accolades uttered about
Elvis' talent and performances through the years, all of which I agree with
wholeheartedly. I shall miss him dearly as a friend. He was a warm, considerate
and generous man." “Elvis Presley’s death deprives our country
of a part of itself. He was unique, irreplaceable. More than twenty 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 this country.” “Elvis had an influence on everybody with his
musical approach. He broke the ice for all of us.” “...At Sun Studio in Memphis Elvis Presley
called to life what would soon be known as rock and roll with a voice that bore
strains of the Grand Ole Opry and Beale Street, of country and the blues. At
that moment, he ensured - instinctively, unknowingly - that pop music would
never again be as simple as black and white.” “He was an instinctive actor...He was quite
bright...he was very intelligent...He was not a punk. He was very elegant,
sedate, and refined, and sophisticated.” “There have been a lotta tough guys. There
have been pretenders. And there have been contenders. But there is only one
king.” “...it was like he came along and whispered
some dream in everybody’s ear, and somehow we all dreamed it.”
“When I first heard Elvis' voice I just knew
that I wasn’t going to work for anybody; and nobody was going to be my
boss...Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail.” “A lot has been written and said about why he
was so great, but I think the best way to appreciate his greatness is just to go
back and play some of the old records...Time has a way of being very unkind to
old records, but Elvis' keep getting better and better.”
“Elvis was the king. No doubt about it.
People like myself, Mick Jagger and all the others only followed in his
footsteps. ” “He was a unique artist - an original in an
area of imitators.” “Before Elvis, there was nothing.” “This boy had everything. He had the looks,
the moves, the manager, and the talent. And he didn’t look like Mr. Ed like a
lot of the rest of us did. In the way he looked, way he talked, way he acted -
he really was different.” “I wasn’t just a fan, I was his brother. He
said I was good and I said he was good; we never argued about that. Elvis was a
hard worker, dedicated, and God loved him. Last time I saw him was at Graceland.
We sang Old Blind Barnabus together, a gospel song. I love him and hope to see
him in heaven. There’ll never be another like that soul brother. “He was the firstest with the mostest.” “That’s my idol, Elvis Presley. If you went
to my house, you’d see pictures all over of Elvis. He’s just the greatest
entertainer that ever lived. And I think it’s because he had such presence. When
Elvis walked into a room, Elvis Presley was in the f***ing room. I don’t give a
f*** who was in the room with him, Bogart, Marilyn Monroe.” “He was ahead of his time because he had such
deep feelings. He had the privilege of deep feelings because he was deeply loved
by his mother, Gladys. He was able to appreciate profound beauty in sounds. And
he started a musical revolution. They say all revolutions start from love.” “It’s rare when an artist’s talent can touch
an entire generation of people. It’s even rarer when that same influence affects
several generations. Elvis made an imprint on the world of pop music unequaled
by any other single performer.” “Elvis Presley was an explorer of vast new
landscapes of dream and illusion. He was a man who refused to be told that the
best of his dreams would not come true, who refused to be defined by anyone
else’s conceptions. This is the goal of democracy, the journey on which every
prospective American hero sets out. That Elvis made so much of the journey on
his own is reason enough to remember him with the honor and love we reserve for
the bravest among us. Such men made the only maps we can trust.” “It’s always been my dream to come to Madison
Square Garden and be the warm-up act for Elvis.”
“You know, Bush is always comparing me to
Elvis in sort of unflattering ways. I don’t think Bush would have liked Elvis
very much, and that’s just another thing that’s wrong with him.” "He had total love in his eyes when he
performed. He was the total androgenous beauty. I would practice Elvis in front
of the mirror when I was twelve or thirteen years old." "I'm sitting in the drive-through and I've
got my three girls in the back and this station comes on and it's playing
"Jailhouse Rock," the original version, and my girls are jumping up and down,
going nuts. I'm looking around at them and they've heard Dad's music all the
time and I don't see that out of them." "Ask anyone. If it hadn't been for Elvis, I
don't know where popular music would be. He was the one that started it all off,
and he was definitely the start of it for me." "It was Elvis that got me interested in
music. I've been an Elvis fan since I was a kid." "The first concert I attended was an Elvis concert when I was eleven. Even at that age he made me realize the tremendous effect a performer could have on an audience." Cher "Elvis was a giant and influenced everyone in
the business." "I learned music listening to Elvis' records.
His measurable effect on culture and music was even greater in England than in
the States." "I remember Elvis as a young man hanging
around the Sun studios. Even then, I knew this kid had a tremendous talent. He
was a dynamic young boy. His phraseology, his way of looking at a song, was as
unique as Sinatra's. I was a tremendous fan, and had Elvis lived, there would
have been no end to his inventiveness." "I don't think there is a musician
today that hasn't been affected by Elvis' music. His definitive years - 1954-57
- can only be described as rock's cornerstone. He was the original cool." |
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