Elvis Presley died at Graceland on 16th August 1977 at the age of 42. He was due to fly to Portland, Maine that night and do a show there on the 17th of August. The death of this legendary singer at such a young age still remains as one of the biggest American tragedies of the 20th century. When Elvis died, many hearts were broken, many dreams went unfulfilled and many stories went untold and unrevealed.
Elvis Presley was born to Vernon Presley and Gladys Smith in January 1935. Vernon Presley was a man who was hard hit by the Economic Depression of the 1930s and he had to really struggle to find a well paying job. He took to odd jobs of being a truck driver, a farmer and a painter. In fact, Vernon had to even spend a nine month sentence in jail for forgery. During these difficult times, nobody would have imagined that the son of this man would one day be known and revered by millions and millions of people all over the world.
Elvis is known round the world for all the genres of songs that he sang and recorded. These genres included love songs, blues, gospel, rock and roll etc. He ultimately came to be called as the ‘King of Rock and Roll’. But this was actually not what he started out to be. It is said that in the initial years Elvis had actually wanted to be involved in a quartet that sings gospel songs. He was also fond of the voices of black people (Negros) so much so that in some of his earlier recordings he even tried his best to sound like a black man.
But destiny had something totally different in store for him. Like his father Vernon, Elvis also served as a truck driver for sometime to meet ends before he stormed into the musical scene in 1955. And the rest, as they say, is history.
During the period 1955-1961, Elvis performed in many parts of the United States and even performed on television which made him a household name and one of the most well-known and popular young men in the world. It was in his early musical career itself that Elvis came to have a guy named Colonel Tom Parker as his manager and this Colonel would serve as his manager till his death in August 1977.
By the start of the 1960s, Colonel Tom Parker began to believe that the future of Elvis lies in Hollywood. The result being that Elvis would actually go on to spend about seven years doing only movies in Hollywood. During this period of time, no live shows were performed and the deal was that if the people wanted to see Elvis, they had to go to the movies because there were no musical performances during this period of time.
Elvis’ charm and charisma even in movies spread far and wide. And the influence of Elvis in Indian cinema is also certainly not unnoticeable. From Shammi Kapoor and Biswajeet to Manoj Kumar and Jeetendra, it was all too evident to be overlooked. The hairstyles, the songs, the dances, the smiles, the movements, the styles etc were all there to be counted and remembered.
And during the period when Elvis was doing only movies in Hollywood, some changes took place in the musical scenario. Four young men set out from Liverpool to conquer the world with their guitars, drum and compositions and what came to be known as the Beatle-Mania engulfed the whole world. These four young men also toured the USA and the American youngsters welcomed them with banners which read ‘Elvis is Dead, Long Live the Beatles’. Apart from the Beatles, musical bands like ‘The Doors’ and ‘The Rolling Stones’ were also making their presence felt. Moreover, by the mid-1960s, the movies of Elvis were not doing good business at the box office. This was probably because the world accepts and regards Elvis Presley more as a singer than as an actor. Therefore, Colonel Tom Parker (the manager of Elvis) decided that Elvis needed to return to live performances.
Thus, arrangements began to be made for the return of Elvis to live performances. The first show was scheduled to be made on television during December 1968. By December 1968, it had been more than seven years since Elvis last performed live on stage. Elvis last gave a live performance at the Bloch Arena in Pearl Harbor, on March 25, 1961. Therefore, Elvis was understandably nervous about this upcoming show slated in December 1968. This television show due in December 1968 was originally proposed to be titled ‘Elvis and the wonderful world of Christmas’. However, the managers of the proposed show realized that Elvis was designed for much more than just singing Christmas carols. Therefore, it was finally given the title ‘The 68 Comeback Special’.
In this Comeback Special, Elvis sang songs (including some Christmas numbers) surrounded by some pretty women. And what made the show extra special was the fact that Elvis’ wife Priscilla was also amongst the audience and Elvis sang some of the love songs by looking straight into the eyes of his wife. This 68 Comeback Special turned out to be a great success and it proved once again the credentials of Elvis as an entertainer par excellence and a money-making machine. Though the show was presented in December 1968 as a Christmas show, many came to remember this show for the love songs that Elvis sang on the show and after the show; Elvis was once again a certified ‘Love-God’.
After the 1968 Comeback Special, the next big thing that came with Elvis was the series of concerts that he gave at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in August 1970. These shows at the International Hotel would later be compiled and made into a movie/documentary called ‘That’s The Way It Was’. In fact, it can be said that Elvis really returned to live performances with this Las Vegas show because he would be performing on stage in front of a real audience in a concert hall unlike the 68 Comeback Special which was more of a TV presentation.
The events leading up to this Las Vegas musical extravaganza of August 1970 had to be seen to be believed. The situation was more like a tiger which was caged for years now ready to be released. The energy level was high, the expectations were high, the crowd was ready and the American musical scenario would never be the same again. The songs that Elvis sang and the performances that he gave at this International Hotel, Las Vegas in August 1970 were unparalleled in the life and musical career of Elvis and it would remain engraved in the minds and memories of many of his fans as the Elvis they would remember and cherish forever. He was never in better shape or in better voice and the reaction and the response of the audience was simply unbelievable it is said.
In the early 1970s, some downhill happened in the life of Elvis – the most cruel being his divorce with his wife Priscilla. When the news about this divorce broke out, it shocked the world and many could not believe it. The question that cropped up was ‘How would any woman want to divorce Elvis when he was the idol of millions of women all over the world?’ It was said that after the divorce, Elvis was never the same person again. After his divorce with Priscilla, Elvis came very close to another woman – Linda Thompson. It was Linda who took care of Elvis in those difficult times. There were times when Elvis would be depressed and Linda Thompson would say to him ‘You are so well-loved, there is not even a single country that does not know your name’ and Elvis would reply ‘They don’t know me; they know only Elvis Presley – the superstar’.
The year 1973 also turned out to be a big year for Elvis and his fans. This is so because of a concert which was staged in Honolulu, Hawaii. The story goes something like this:
In the early part of the year 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon made a visit to China and many countries and millions of people around the world saw this visit at home on their televisions as this visit was broadcasted worldwide live by satellite. Colonel Tom Parker, the manager of Elvis, was inspired by this and so he announced that there would be a concert of Elvis in Honolulu, Hawaii which would be broadcasted worldwide via satellite to allow the whole world the chance to see a Presley concert as it would not be possible for Elvis Presley to go to every country and perform concerts.
This historic concert of Elvis took place on 14th January 1973 and was aired live over 40 countries across Asia and Europe. The viewing figures of this concert had been subjected to much debate for many years. The Elvis Presley Enterprise claimed that 1.5 billion people across the world viewed this concert on television. However, many experts say that this figure is very much exaggerated.
The argument is this. The world’s population in 1973 was 3.973 billion. So if 1.5 billion people had actually viewed the Elvis special concert broadcasted via satellite from Hawaii, it meant that one-third of the world’s population was glued to their television sets when this concert was aired. Therefore, this viewing figure has been doubted because even in America, only 33.8 percent of its population watched this Elvis Presley concert on television and many of the countries where this show was telecast were actually much less populated than the USA. And it is also doubtful that many people would have actually viewed this concert in countries like Vietnam where TV broadcasting only began in 1965. Therefore, the claim that 1.5 billion people across the world viewed this Elvis concert on television in 1973 is most probably just an exaggerated figure.
This 1973 concert which was broadcasted via satellite across the world was probably the last best thing that happened in the life and musical career of Elvis. It may surprise many to know that despite the worldwide fame and popularity, Elvis did not perform any concerts outside the USA except for three shows in Canada in 1957. These three shows were done in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver. Therefore, a question naturally arises, ‘Why was not any concert of Elvis held outside the USA despite the fact that he had millions and millions of die-hard fans all over the world?’
It is said that in his later years, Elvis often used to say to his wife Linda Thompson that he would love to go to places like Europe, Asia, Australia etc and sing for the people there who had loved him for years. So if Elvis actually had such wishes and desires, why was it that these foreign tours or shows could not materialize?
The manager of Elvis, Colonel Tom Parker used to say that security was the reason why no Elvis shows were made outside the USA. According to him, Elvis was too big a star to be shown and performed in foreign countries. However, insiders claimed that Mr. Parker had his own personal reasons in not organizing any Elvis shows in foreign lands.
It is said that Colonel Tom Parker was not even a natural born citizen of the USA. He migrated to the USA from Netherlands to seek his fortune. It is even claimed that he entered the USA by illegal and unfair means. Some even say that Tom Parker (whose real name was not even Tom Parker) escaped to the USA because he was a suspect in a murder case in Netherlands. This was the reason why he did not apply for U.S. citizenship despite living in the United States for many years because the USA and the Netherlands had an active extradition treaty between them.
Therefore, the argument is that Colonel Tom Parker did not organize any Elvis shows outside the USA because if any such shows were organized, he had to accompany the superstar to that country because he was after-all his manager. Tom Parker did not want to do this because he knew his past and he knew that, if he goes outside the country, he might not be allowed to re-enter the USA because he did not possess the required genuine legal documents. And yes, it is interesting to know that Elvis performed three shows in Canada (Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver) in 1957 and his manager Tom Parker did not accompany him to these shows. Therefore, the reasons are quite obvious.
In 1975, Saudi Arabia offered $ 5 million to Parker for Elvis to perform there. However, Parker turned down the offer for unknown reasons. And Elvis was overjoyed when the Saudi Arabia people retaliated by doubling the amount to $10 million for a show of Elvis there. But still, Tom Parker would not budge. In this way, despite Elvis’ eagerness to perform there, the Saudi Arabia show could not materialize. Similarly, promoters in South America also offered as much as $2.5 million for Elvis to perform there. But the Colonel turned down these offers also by saying ‘when I need $2.5 million, I will call you’. These behaviors of his manager prompted Elvis to seek for a new manager because Elvis had always wanted to perform in foreign countries. However, the search for a new manager could not materialize and the truth is that Tom Parker remained as the manager of Elvis without a break till the death of Elvis in August 1977.
Therefore, it is really a sad part of the story that Elvis did not perform any shows in places like Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, New Zealand etc where too he was a living legend and a phenomenon and many people in these places would have done anything or paid any price to see an Elvis show in their lands. Ronnie Tutt (the drummer of Elvis from 1969 to 1977) said that there was not even a single place where Elvis could not go. Ronnie said that even in the remotest parts of Russia, people knew about Elvis and many would have wanted him to perform there also. This was the case even in those Cold War years.
Thus, one of the most sorry and unfortunate truths about the life and musical career of Elvis is that despite the worldwide fame and popularity and the worldwide superstardom that he commanded, no Elvis shows were ever conducted in any foreign lands other than the three concerts which he gave in 1957 at Toronto, Vancouver and ottawa in Canada. This is sad and unfortunate because Elvis was known and liked by millions all over the world and many would have atctually wanted to see this legend perform in their lands. These realizations become more acute and painful when we know that many much lower ranked musicians and bands in terms of both fame and popularity have had the opportunity to perform in many major cities across the globe.
Therefore, if Elvis did not die in August 1977 and had lived for another 10 to 15 years, I believe that many foreign tours of Elvis Presley would have actually taken place. This is so because Elvis had always wanted to go to places like Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South America and sing for the people there where millions had loved him for years. And what about our own India? There was and is still no dearth of Elvis Presley fans here in India. Therefore, if Elvis was still alive today or had at least lived for another 10 – 15 years, I believe that many people in India would have also gotten the opportunity to see this legend in flesh and blood…….
