Why does Elvis mean so much to a lot of people?

[Are_grits_groceries]

A lot of people ponder this when many have some fixation of thir own. Granted, some Elvis fans can be over the top.

I watched an episode of 'Designing Women' that came as close to explaining the Elvis phenomena as anything I've seen. It is both hysterical and touching.Fast forward to the point where Julia meets Verne around 15:50 if you want to cut it short.

Charlene has VIP tickets to Graceland and talks the girls and Anthony into going there with her for the weekend. While there, Julia is touched by a trucker's story of how Elvis Presley influenced his life.
EP Phone Home

Always loved that show.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. It might be because Elvis was the first big rock star.

What became known as "rock 'n' roll" was mostly black music before Elvis popularized it among white teenagers, and it took off from there. He was also the first overtly sexy rock star - he did that pelvis thing that Ed Sullivan didn't want shown on TV. And, unlike a lot of rock stars he also actually could sing.
Elvis was definitely one of a kind.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. My guess is Elvis was one of us.

Yeah, he went Hollywood and Las Vegas, but he never lost his roots. He was a millionaire and still sang Christian spirituals with all his heart. He loved his fans and appreciated their support. And he wasn't perfect and knew it.

[Cracklin Charlie]

3. That has a lot to do with it.

Just like Johnny Cash. Plus, he had a great voice, loads of charisma, and was drop dead handsome. I love to hear him sing old-time gospel.

I, myself, have made a few late-night pilgrimages to Graceland. One Sunday morning about 6, I found a dollar bill in front of the music note gates.

[loyalsister]

4. excellent

He was first introduction to Rock n Roll for millions of people. Even though he bottomed out, he did leave a huge catalogue of music. Because of the size there is an incredibly diverse range of style and substance. Ultimately it created a rare universal appeal as just about everyone has at least one song they like. He was also extremely attractive!

[patrice]

7. extremely attractive!! . . . I think because he was authentic, not hiding anything about himself. nt

[FarCenter]

5. Elvis Costello?

[EOTE]

9. The only Elvis that matters IMO. NT

[patrice]

6. NOT a star-stuck sort of person here, but... There was something innocent about Elvis.

(kind of like Marilyn Monroe).

He was, apparently, no-holds-barred generous with any and all others.

He REALLY was absolutely beautiful, besides being quintessentially sexy too.

And his voice, both singing and speaking, was beautiful and emotionally powerful too.

[Arkansas Granny]

8. He was extraordinarily handsome, had a beautiful voice and was singing

music that was way different than what our parents were listening to. He also had a charisma that made you feel that he was singing just to you. All the girls wanted to be with him and the guys wanted to be like him.

[DreamGypsy]

10. Richard Thompson - "I wonder if people in Syria have Syrian Elvis songs?

From Galway to Graceland

" target="_blank">

[cbdo2007]

11. Watch the '68 comback special....

I think you can probably find a lot of it on youtube.

He was a great entertainer with an amazing voice.

[ananda]

12. Nostalgia.

And a goodlooking superstar who came to a tragic pathetic end..
like Marilyn Monroe.

[Uncle Joe]

13. Because Elvis reminds people of Chelsea Clinton.

Thanks for the thread, grits.

[KurtNYC]

14. He represents a big part of their childhood or early adulthood

Music has a strong emotional grounding and songs can take you back to another place and time.

[LeftinOH]

15. His career was terribly mis-managed; all those shitty movies after

he got out of the Army may have made money, but they are all crap. His recording career was *just* beginning to resurface when he died. It would have been interesting to see how he adapted to the 1980s, like Tina Turner.

[HiPointDem]

16. A close relative of Paul Ryan's wife played a big role in making Elvis a star.

Mae Boren Axton (September 14, 1914 in Bardwell, Texas – April 9, 1997 in Hendersonville, Tennessee) was known in the music industry as the 'Queen Mother of Nashville'. She co-wrote the Elvis Presley hit single "Heartbreak Hotel"...

Boren was the link between Elvis Presley and RCA Records. She introduced a 19-year-old Presley to Colonel Tom Parker after a performance in Jacksonville, FL. She worked on behalf of Bob Neal to promote Presley and pressured RCA Nashville division head Stephen H. Sholes to sign Presley.

In 1955 Boren co-wrote the Elvis Presley hit-song "Heartbreak Hotel" with Tommy Durden. Durden presented the idea to Mae Axton, from a newspaper article he had read about a man who had killed himself, leaving behind only the message "I walk a lonely street." It was Mae who suggested there be a Heartbreak Hotel at the end of the man's lonely street thus creating Elvis' first #1 record and one of rock n rolls greatest hits.

Mae Boren was born in Texas to Mark L. and Nannie Boren....the sister of United States Congressman Lyle Boren.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mae_Boren_Axton


Lyle Hagler Boren (May 11, 1909 – July 2, 1992) was a U.S. Democratic Party politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma, serving from 1937 to 1947 and was defeated for renomination in 1946...Boren was the father of former U.S. Senator and Oklahoma Governor David Boren and grandfather of incumbent U.S. Congressman Dan Boren.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyle_Boren

Daniel David "Dan" Boren (born August 2, 1973) is the U.S. Representative for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district, serving since 2005...His grandfather, Lyle Boren, also served in the U.S. Congress, representing southeastern Oklahoma (Oklahoma's 4th congressional district) from 1937 to 1947. His first cousin, Janna Little Ryan, is married to House Budget Committee Chairman and Republican U.S. Representative Paul Ryan...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Boren

Lyle Borden was Janna Ryan's grandpa so Mae Boren Axton was her great-aunt. Mae Boren Axton was also the mother of country/folk singer/songwriter Hoyt Axton.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

17. I was wondering that about others

Chelsea Clinton for one...

[Are_grits_groceries]

18. Cissy Houston sang backup for Elvis:

Some of her memories:

Now I would pay cash money to have seen Elvis and Whitney sing a duet if they had been closer in age. Two lost souls.....