For the umpteenth time I recently watched “Elvis – Aloha from Hawaii”. Whether or not you’re a fan – and why on earth would you not be – Elvis was a quintessential entertainer! Engaging with the audience, melting your heart when looking straight into the camera, performing with powerful energy, and just breath-taking to look at!
That live performance was done in 1973, and Yes, I watched it live. But in addition, my friend, Sharon Vetters Dunnam, and I went to see him live in San Antonio at the original convention center on three occasions! Yep. Three times I had the pleasure to see Elvis live! His performances were exactly like what you see on his satellite show. My only regret was that I always took my binoculars and Sharon did not (!), so I had to share! That’s what you call real friendship!
Looking back to Elvis’ beginnings, I was 12 when I saw him on our black and white TV while living in Southtown, Texas, as he performed on the Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey show. He sang “Heartbreak Hotel”, and at the end he bowed so low his hair almost touched the ground. I told my mother that this guy would be famous some day, and I went to the desk and wrote down his name. Later I heard that a girl from our high school, East Central, took a razor blade to cut his name into her thighs and pour ink into the cuts! I guess that’s the old-school way of tattooing! But rest assured, I’m not that much of a fanatic!
Now Elvis’ movies never appealed to me except for “King Creole”. I have that on VCR and I do watch it from time to time. I love the score in that movie. But as for his singing, I have every album Elvis made, and more importantly, I have every 45 rpm! When a new 45 would come out, I would hurry down to Sears on SW Military Dr and go to their record department and purchase my copy. Do I ever listen to them? Yes, I do. I actually have the “Stereo” that my dad gave me for my 16th birthday.
So, it’s August, and August marks the 48th anniversary of Elvis’ death at the untimely age of 42. My dad called me to break the news. I well recall that when his mother died at that same age, Elvis said he would not live past 42. Interesting. To think that he’s been dead longer than he lived. But boy, Sirius FM channel 79 sure does keep him “alive” as well as the amazing exhibits at Graceland. All of the exhibit buildings display fascinating memorabilia, not just the mansion, which today seems ordinary, but in its day was just that.
Listening to Elvis takes me back to those impressionable (and mostly enjoyable) high school years, and his music always touches me, whether it’s from his first recordings or his later ones, like “Just Pretend”. I only wish there had been more live performances recorded.
So, here’s to all you Elvis fans, those of my generation and younger!