The Music And Movies Of Elvis Presley

The warden threw a party in the county jail ... The prison band was there and they began to wail ...

When I was just around five years old I first heard this song.

Every time my brother pulled out that record from its cover and placed it on the record player's turntable, this song comes on.

On the cover there was a picture of a gentleman dressed like a soldier, and handsome too. His name was Elvis Presley.

The EP contained four songs from the movie GI blues.

At that time my older brother had a large number of records in his collection. The contemporary music of that era means every new single, EP or LP album that was displayed at the record store under "new releases."

There were many radio programs too that kept music fans informed as to who the stars in demand were and what their hits were.

My older brother was a teenager at that time, and just like the rest of his friends he too was interested in music. All of them pooled the money to buy vinyl records.

It was Billy Vaughn's Orchestra and the many other contemporary musicians who had made an impact on all the members of our family at that time.

We were nearing the end of the previous era governed by a different set of musicians. This is when Elvis Presley was beginning to gain fame.

And now Elvis Presley was here and he was dissimilar. Compared to the others who recorded music at that time and who were listenable, Elvis was more "visible."

It is the difference I believe that closed the doors on the previous era! Evolution!

Jailhouse Rock was different, comparatively. Attractive, vigorous and full of energy.

The good looking man with a small tuft of hair falling over his forehead was a soldier too. That's what I thought!

GI blues was the first Elvis Presley movie to be screened in my city.

I did not have the pleasure of viewing it, but my older brother who was many years senior to me saw it more than once with his friends. How fortunate he was!

Jailhouse Rock was a favorite, so was Blue Suede Shoes, Don't be Cruel, and Won't You Wear My Ring Around Your Neck. These were some of the most listened to tracks at that time.

Probably Elvis generated more interest in his fans than the Beatles did in theirs, although "Beatlemania" was singled out for analysis by parents and all those who wished the young ones of that era well.

The charisma of Elvis Presley was matchless indeed!

Elvis Presley became a household name everywhere.

That famous picture of his, in the uniform of a soldier and strumming a guitar was found in almost every school-goer's scrapbook.

Many a music fan used to spend hours listening to his songs and writing down lyrics to be passed on to friends.

To many, access to music was only via radio. However, we were fortunate to have had a record player as well.

Wooden heart was the next big hit in our household. Even my father liked it!

The interest generated amongst us was not only in his music but everything else that was connected to him.

I had only seen pictures of him in record sleeves and in the magazines which my brother used to bring home.

Many of the tracks that he recorded in the early stages of his career will never go out of date and will always remain listenable. One example is the tracks from the film "blue Hawaii."

The first and only movie I saw of him in the pre CD era was a movie entitled Roustabout.

Many other Presley films hit the screens in cinemas close to where we lived but I was not old enough to even attempt to sneak away to the cinema.

By that time "Fun in Acapulco" and "Blue Hawaii" were amongst the movies that were being screened.

Every single day I used to look longingly at the advertisements that were promoting these movies.

The LP album containing tracks from the movie Blue Hawaii finally became accessible to my brother one fine day and he grabbed the opportunity and brought it home for a few days.

Almost every track on that album was a masterpiece. If you have not heard tracks from the movie Blue Hawaii, I encourage you to have a listen to those tracks.

Elvis Presley was unique. Really unique. Nothing can match him. Nothing can come close to him.

He provided entertainment for the young and the old. For the very young and the very old. Talk about comparing other artists with him!

I remember an artist who entered the scene in the seventies, whose manager made a boast that he would make him "even bigger than Elvis Presley!" Well ... that singer did not even get off the ground properly!

In the late sixties and in the seventies and also possibly in the eighties a musician having good looks and charisma would always ascend great heights if he had a great voice as well. Elvis Presley was one of those rare individuals who had it all.

Elvis was blessed. Blessed with talent. His unique style of presentation, a voice that can never be compared, a brand of music to match his charisma and that face of his is what made this so.

It is not surprising that he has fans from all age groups. Those who were teenagers and young adults at the time when he first entered the music scene will never change their opinion of him.

Influenced by them and gaining access to experiencing yesterday's music featuring the main players, the next generation, the young ones of today are enabled to get a close look of what interested their parents and elders during their era.

Elvis has fans from all age groups as a result of the talent that he was blessed with. A matchless voice, extreme good looks, and well spoken of by the "big uns" of that era, his credentials and total charisma is matchless. The charisma that no entertainer of this day can match or even get close to.

And of course, as respected fellow hubber Feline Prophet so rightly puts it, Elvis had "that killer smile!"

... concluded