I certainly understand why women in the 1950's and 1960's went crazy over Elvis Presley's sexy movements on stage. They may seem ridiculous today, but... not for me. Watching Elvis move like he had an electric shock, shaking his legs like they were made out of jelly, studying his constant face twitching (see the Paramount screentest in color below)... it's just a very guilty pleasure of mine. It serves as a kind of nostalgia for me: Elvis (his music, good looks, Jailhouse Rock) was my entry to the world of classic film and retro music. My classic film craze owes a lot to Elvis with the Pelvis. Most people seems to like his 1970's songs more, but the gospel/patriotic approach has never been of much interest for me. I've always been more of a rock'n'roll chick.
The clip with Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan show (well, one of the times he was there, at least) is a favorite of mine. He teases the audience - he knows they love him. But the best thing is how he presents the song he is about to perform. It is a sad song, it has a message. Beautiful lyrics. It's "Hound Dog".
Never understood why Presley did "Hound Dog" because the song only makes sense when sung by a woman.
ReplyDelete"Big Mama" Thornton recorded it in 1952 - four years before Presley's version.
Great post! He had such an engaging presence when he performed - it's so fun to watch! Have you seen the video of him singing with Frank Sinatra? It's one of my personal faves!
ReplyDeleteSavitra:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info! I bet he sang it because it was a catchy tune and nobody cared about the lyrics anyway ;)
Sally:
Yes have, it's lovely! Elvis seemed like quite a nice, humble and funny man in the 1950's and early 1960's - at least his public image seemed that way!