Gospel Singers

"Though Elvis seems nearly as much a function of time and place as of talent and personality, his rise was clearly no accident. Peter Guralnick presents Elvis as the vessel, Sam and Dewey Phillips as the catalysts, and rock 'n' roll as a historical inevitability. Now, "Why him?" is what other Memphis boys kept asking in the summer of 1954, when Sun issued his first single, "That's All Right Mama" backed with "Blue Moon of Kentucky". There were a hundred other kids in Memphis with talent and ambition, any one of them as accomplished as Elvis so, again, why him?. To Marion Keisker, Sam's assistant, "He was like a mirror in a way: whatever you were looking for, you were going to find in him. In short, he had all the intricacy of the very simple." This ability to mirror the dreams and yearnings of others is the hallmark of every great star, from Judy Garland to Marilyn Monroe to James Dean. Within two years, Elvis would be one of them."

"In December of 1968, while punching a heavy bag in a gym in L.A. I hear a voice sing out, 'Hey, Lionel! What's doin'?' And it was Elvis Presley himself. I was in awe of him, but he said he was in awe of me (LOL)."

"i) Q magazine bravely attempted to name the best and worst singers ever. They did a good job, wisely going big with Elvis as the to choice. ii) There was no model for Elvis Presley's success; what Sun Records head Sam Phillips sensed was something in the wind, an inevitable outgrowth of all the country and blues he was recording at his Union Avenue studio; enter Presley in 1954, bringing with him a musical vocabulary rich in country, country blues, gospel, inspirational music, bluegrass, traditional country, and popular music -- as well as a host of emotional needs that found their most eloquent expression in song; his timing was impeccable, not only as a vocalist, but with regard to the cultural zeitgeist: emerging in the first blush of America's postwar ebullience, Presley captured the spirit of a country flexing its industrial muscle, of a generation unburdened by the concerns of war, younger, more mobile, more affluent, and better educated than any that had come before; (as such), the Sun recordings were the first salvos in an undeclared war on segregated radio stations nationwide. iii) At Sun Studio in Memphis Elvis Presley called to life what would soon be known as rock and roll with a voice that bore strains of the Grand Ole Opry and Beale Street, of country and the blues. At that moment, he ensured – instinctively, unknowingly – that pop music would never again be as simple as black and white.”"

"At some point on the night of October 22, 2018 the home fans at Old Trafford Stadium will probably sing a round of "Viva Ronaldo". From distant metro platforms to wind-raked terraces, it has been a Manchester United standard of the past decade, an Elvis-riff on those six years when he transformed himself from dazzling gadfly to the best footballer in the world. Until then, this still feels like a homecoming curiosity, a reminder of just how exhilarating that "Ronaldo-as-Elvis footballer" was; and a reminder too, whatever his ultimate destiny, of happier past associations for a player who was for at least three of those years, the best the league has ever seen."

"About Cristiano Ronaldo's first trip to Manchester to play his old team since he joined Juventus AC, as written by Barney Ronay in an article entitled "Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford a reminder of how life used to be", published in the Guardian's October 21, 2018 edition"

"There are some things — football, particle physics, heavy metal, and constitutional law among them — that I love, but don't love nearly as much as I love the way people love them. Give me a choice between watching the Super Bowl and watching people talk about the Super Bowl for two hours, and I'll always pick the latter: Listen to someone explain their passion, and eventually, they'll show you their soul. But at the very top of this list of loves, there can only be one man, Elvis Presley. I love him, I think to myself as I leave Graceland, as much as I can love a human being I have never truly known. But, maybe more than anything else about him, I love him for the fact that both his presence and his absence created a space for people to come together and try to comprehend the capacity for destruction and redemption, the sheer power, of their love. I love the potential for intimacy and revelation such a space allows. I love that it has lingered long enough for me to find it...."

"I was really impressed and surprised to learn a lot of things about him,"

"Elvis Presley press-agented as a singer and entertainer, played to two groups of teenagers numbering several thousand at the city auditorium here, Monday, May 14. As newspaper man, parent, and former member of Army Intelligence Service, I feel an obligation to pass on to you my conviction that Presley is a definite danger to the security of the United States."

"Oh good, they didn’t send me the photograph of me and Elvis to sign.I get three or four fan letters a week and they all send me that picture of me and Elvis to autograph. I just hate that picture. I hate that dress I’m wearing and the bag I’m carrying. I just wish there were one other picture out there. It was taken in November of 1955, at the Country Music Comvention, in Nashville. He knew who I was, but I didn’t know who he was. I looked to get away from him and he kept following me.LOL. He had that charisma. Some people are just destined for fame. Later, while in NY, one of the movies we saw together was "Helen of Troy". I looked at Elvis, and I thought: he’s better looking than the guy on the screen. He had a magnificent profile, like a Roman coin. At the time, Elvis felt all the tumult about him was very amusing and in fact never really quite understood it, at that age. When I rode with him to Idlewild aiport after the Ed Sullivan Show, these girls were running after the limo and I realised that that was probably the last time I was going to see him. And it was. I once played Memphis and the phone number that he had given me was no longer in service. When he died, I remember just feeling so badly. Later, I realised that he was trapped."

"About five or six years ago, I met the guys who bought the so called Graceland West in Palm Springs, CA. RCA Records had acoustically treated the residence and Elvis recorded a few records there. I asked the owners if we could record there, and they agreed to it. We came prepared with songs, set up shop and had most of the “Here to Eternity” record done that first week, but the finality was premature. As a kid, I always dreamed of doing a double-album and that just sort of happened. Stepping into Elvis’ one-time California escape, I felt his influence throughout the album-making process. Shawn Grove and I slept in the home for the majority of sessions. It was all very magical, because we all grew up on Elvis, being from the South and all, and he’s still all godlike down here. As far as I can tell, I’m the first man to sleep in his bedroom since Elvis himself. We recorded in the bathroom, the kitchen, out by the pool. Then Lisa Marie’s bedroom became the production control room. As fate would have it, our stay in Palm Springs coincided wih her own untimely death on January 12, 2023. The night she passed, the ceiling in her bedroom fell..."

"Recently, I was watching a tribute to Elvis Presley, and the host mentioned how much Elvis loved singing gospel music. However, his record producers were not interested in him making a gospel album. They thought it would be a waste of time and would not be profitable. But Presley proved them wrong. Elvis released his first gospel album “How Great Thou Art” in 1967. It was a very personal album for him, and ended up winning him his first Grammy Award. Later, he won two more Grammies, each were for gospel music."

"Calistoga up the road was significantly affected by the fire along with other regions like Atlas Peak and Mt. Vreeder, but on the latter there were properties like the reservation-only "Outpost Wines" — known especially for its juicy Zinfandels — that survived. Thankfully the fire didn't affect the recent opening of "The Ink House" on the way to Rutherford, an 1800s house where Elvis Presley once slept and was reimagined as a hyper-luxurious B&B with butler-style service, not to mention plentiful Castellucci wine by the same family and a Bentley house car for dropoffs and pickups."

"So I went to his show and he introduced me as his friend. I went for about eight nights in a row just to hear him introduce me that way. And I found a little way to get backstage before the normal people got backstage and I went back there and he always treated me with such respect. I loved that about him. I remember one night backstage when he said, ‘Where are you going?’ I said, ‘I’m going to go play a little blackjack. Why don’t you come with me?’ And he said, ‘You know, I would give anything in the world to go out there with you’. But he thought he would get hurt, and the more I think about it, he couldn't have sat at the table like I did. I judge people by how well they treat me. That's what I loved about him. He made me feel so comfortable and I didn't really know him..."

"It had been a sensational interview and I knew I had everything I needed for an excellent story for Rolling Stone. I truly felt a real connection with Paul Rogers and his new band Band Company which gave me the courage to do what I did next: invite the singer to see Elvis Presley, who was performing on the night of May 11, 1974 at the Inglewood Forum. And I knew Rodgers was a huge fan, even trying to sneak into Graceland one time back when he was with his previous band Free. As we made the 45-minute drive to the Inglewood Forum —a huge 20,000-seat arena where the Los Angeles Lakers played— Paul couldn't stop talking about finally seeing Elvis. We parked and I handed Paul his ticket. He looked at it like it was the Holy Grail itself. We walked inside, found our seats and from the moment Presley took the stage, Rodgers could barely contain himself, screaming, shouting and jumping up and down like a kid, acting the way I did when I first saw his previous band, Free, so many years earlier when they opened for Blind Faith. Watching Paul while he watched a then-34-year old Elvis do his thing felt like an out-of-body experience. It was like some perfect circle. When the lights came up and as everybody was exiting the arena, Paul saw various members of Led Zeppelin along with Peter Grant, who by then managed both Bad Company and Led Zeppelin, going backstage. I knew I wouldn't be able to go there myself, but I didn't really care, all I wanted was for Paul to get to meet his hero. However, we were stopped by a pair of burly bodyguards guarding the backstage entrance. I tried to explain to them that this was Paul Rodgers, but they weren't bulging. Eventually, we had a message relayed backstage and when Peter finally came back out, he told Paul he couldn't get him in. If Paul was hurt by being treated so selfishly —it felt as if Led Zeppelin wanted an audience with the King all by themselves— he didn't show it. Paul was still jubilant so when we returned to the hotel, that's when Paul told me, “I’ll just tell my friends I talked to him anyway." He had purchased a souvenir booklet and would use that as evidence though Paul and I would always know the truth."

"I'm not a singer, and I'm not from the United States. But I randomly listened to country music growing up in England. My dad would play old songs and I was obsessed with Elvis Presley to a point where my family, if it was Christmas or something like that, they'd always get me an Elvis LP. My auntie—who's a Scottish jazz singer— was massively supportive of me liking Elvis. So when this movie came up, I was like, ‘This is the closest I’ll ever get to playing Elvis Presley.’"

"The next frontier for immersive storytelling may be your headphones, thanks to a new spatial audio platform that Vrai Pictures is set to unveil at SXSW next month. Traverse, as the platform is called, allows users to map their surroundings with the help of mobile augmented reality (AR) technology, and then explore immersive audio experiences in their own living rooms. One of the first experiences to be powered by the new platform is called “From Elvis in Memphis.” It allows users to experience his music by walking through a physical space, with Traverse's app making it spatially sound like they're in the studio with Elvis himself. In the middle of a performance, you can walk right up to him. You can also walk up to any of the other band members. The music suddenly shows a dimensionality that was always there but couldn't be experienced. It just needed the creative insight, the right platform, the tools, and the technology to be realized."

"I must confess that when Fidel spoke despectively about “elvispreslians”, I felt a conflict within me because since I was a kid, I loved both Elvis and his songs. I felt that more than the music itself, Fidel wanted to criticize the old youth in Cuba, those that did not think like he did. It was a truly awkward moment for me, but I was able to get over it, perhaps because my political hierarchies were always more mature than my musical ones..."

"Looking at the last century of US history, no other individual can fairly be said to have changed US culture so much while receiving so little recognition for having done so: the gap between what Elvis actually accomplished and the degree to which we understood those accomplishments is far wider for him than it is for any other figure."

"Woooooo, oh my God, he's so good"

"When things are happening you don't appreciate them as much as later, like when Elvis Presley made his comeback special, I was in the recording studio and this was an historical milestone. Photography takes you there."

"It's like if you're playing Elvis Presley and you've only got whatever amount of scenes in the movie, you're not gonna work any less hard on the part because you've got less material. You're gonna be like, 'I'm playing Elvis Presley!"

"Well, here we go again. Like Elvis in 1968 we eagerly await for the Tiger Woods Comeback Special. We've been here before, of course. Only last month, the former world's No 1 who is now 898th, called off his return at the PGA Tour's Safeway Open just three days before the start of the event..."

"In "T.R.O.U.B.L.E", (1975), his baritone was still as solid as ever, with its humorously cavernous bottom and its nasal vibrato on top. When he is putting out, reaching for the top notes and shaping phrases with the same easy individuality that has always marked his best work, he is still the King."

"Few have probably heard of him unless you're a serious fan of Jewish cantorial music. But if you have, you know he's the equivalent of Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti -- a singer to be remembered forever."

"Just about everywhere we played, it happened. Sometimes it would be more people than other times, depending on the size of the crowds, but after that first time, when there was a riot, Elvis did not invite the girls backstage anymore. I think he learned that it was not a good idea."

"I think many hugely successful people have slight imposter syndrome or a great deal of imposter syndrome. When you think of Elvis’ background, he came really from very simple, impoverished origins. He was the first person to graduate from high school in his family. So you have this guy who has a vision for himself, who meets this extraordinary merchandiser, entrepreneur, manager. And in the space of a couple of years, Elvis becomes one of the most famous people on the planet. I think that there was some kind of marriage made in that alchemy, where Elvis would’ve thought to himself, would I be Elvis without the Colonel? And the Colonel certainly believed that he was 50% of that Elvis-Colonel alchemy, because that’s how much of Elvis’ money that he took."

"In 1991, Graceland gained a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, keeping Elvis Presley ahead of his time even in death. The National Park Service now honors the place Elvis called home from 1957 to 1977 when he died. It's very, very rare that a site is placed on the register when its the home of a famous person whose achievements are less than 50 years old, said George Berklacey, chief spokesman for the National Park Service. But the keeper of the national register, Jerry Rogers, felt Graceland and Presley were “an exceptional significance,” Berklacey said."

"Robinson was a harbinger of an important shift in American life, one of the first of a burgeoning black culture, held in check by legal and social stricture that was about to burst forth and dominate the mainstream. He and Elvis Presley both played black, brought black style into the mainstream and were demonized as polluters before they were lionized as cultural heroes. Would Presley have been possible if not for Jackie Robinson? Perhaps, but it is probably more correct to see Robinson and Presley as historical inevitabilities, as the first cracks in the cultural dam."

"Elvis was the best looking, nicest, most down to earth man I have ever met, funny to say that, but it's true, it was like a guy you went to school with, anyone who spend any time with him would tell you. He cared how he looked, but no conceit. The best gig I saw had to be his concert at Empire Stadium. There was nothing like it beforehand. He was the first guy to rent stadiums. I'd emceed shows, but standing in front of 26,000 people was nerve-racking."

"It's the birthday of the King, as Elvis Presley would have said.""

"Sixty-two years ago Sunday, Elvis Presley took the stage at CBS studios in New York and smiled as a city health official stuck a needle in his left arm. The publicity stunt, broadcast nationwide before Presley's 2nd appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” was meant to convince the American public that the new polio vaccine was safe. It worked. And playing to Presley's demographic apparently helped. About 75 percent of Americans under 20 had received at least one polio shot by August 1957, when the first national survey was taken; this rose to nearly 90 percent by September 1961, according to a 1962 public health report."

"Not only did blacks know Presley, he also knew blacks. “I always wanted to sing like Billy Kenny of the Ink Spots. I like that high, smooth style. I never sang like this in my life until I made that first record—That’s Alright, Mama. I remembered that song because I heard Arthur (Big Boy) Crudup sing it and I thought I would like to try it. Presley was making more money singing rhythm and blues than black performers of the day, with Elvis’s nearest competitor, Fats Domino, expecting to earn $700,000 in 1957. (In fact) Otis Blackwell, writer of two huge Presley hits “Don’t Be Cruel” and “All Shook Up.” confirmed, “I got a good deal. I made money and I am happy.-"

"Here is what is was for me. Elvis came along and this soundwave came out that ran right through me"

"My goodness, we all loved him, I met him many times, our children went to school together, he was terrific, a true gentleman"

"This friend of mine and I got tickets for a couple of bucks apiece. In fact, was just a kid when a country music show came to Baton Rouge, LA. In the middle of the show, they announced a special guest sensation from Memphis. So this guy comes out in a pink suit – he didn't even have a drummer – and starts jumping around while they're setting up the amp and a big acoustic bass. Then he started in with, “Well that’s all right, mama,” and we all went, “Hey, that’s the song we like on the radio,” because the station was playing it in Baton Rouge. There was Elvis. He did That's All Right and Blue Moon Of Kentucky, the B-side of his first record. We went to the back of the school afterwards, where he had this little Cadillac pulling a trailer, and they were loading the bass and stuff into it. He was talking to some of the country music guys about cars. He was probably 18 or 19, and I was 12 or 13. I'm just looking at him, thinking this guy is really cool and different. Little did we know..."

"I went to the cinema to see "Loving You" and when I decided to pursue a career in rock, I changed my last name to that of the character played by Elvis."

"Anywhere in the world, not before, during or after has there been a bigger music star than Elvis Presley. I always wanted to record one of his ballads, but in English, and I chose the title track for his second movie, "Loving you" ..."

"He was a kind, very nice, honest and beautiful person. He had a lot of heart and that’s why he sang so nice."

"Elvis Presley had also one Grammmy (single), for a spiritual, Now if Elvis had one, what can I say...LOL"

"On my radio show, I recall hearing Elvis Presley's “Heartbreak Hotel” playing on my Aunt Babe's radio. It was my most impactful musical memory. That happened when I was six and it just slayed me. Nothing would ever be the same."

"I never quite “got” Elvis until after his death, but now I fully understand people's fascination with him. That man could really sing. He reinvented himself more times than David Bowie and I remember dancing to this song with the most beautiful woman in the world."

"For me, he was always "Saint Elvis", so when I had the chance to sing in Las Vegas at a luxury hotel and as back up to the Smothers' Brothers act, I immediately rushed to the Hilton, where he was appearing. Just his entrance was out of this world, indescribable and peerless, and, as singer he always pushed the envelop, an amazing performer all the way to the end"."

"Although many people have a hard time defining charisma, they believe they know it when they see it. Most will agree that certain historical leaders, say like Presidents Kennedy, FDR, Ronald Reagan and leaders of social movements, Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, as well and celebrities like Elvis Presley all had charisma. But when it comes to the specific political leader that people support, charisma may be in the eye of the beholder. Charismatic leadership, as theorized by sociologist, Max Weber, was primarily in the relationship between leader and followers. According to Weber, certain followers are drawn to a particular leader and imbue that individual with charisma. An emotional bond forms between leaders and followers, and as long as the followers are happy with their chosen, charismatic leader, all is well. One thing is certain, however. In order to be considered charismatic an individual has to have the ability to connect with and “captivate” followers. So what is the common element that underlies charisma potential? It seems to be the ability to communicate emotionally to others – to be able to inspire them with emotions communicated nonverbally."

"I thought Janet Leigh, who played my part in the movie, was beautiful and that Kay Medford should have done the mother. Maureen Stapleton is a brilliant actress, but she’s not funny and Kay was funny. Somebody else should have played the Elvis Presley part. That’s my opinion, but who the hell am I?"

"A Graceland expansion would mean economic growth. Representatives with Elvis Presley Enterprises told the council that this decision would be a big deal for the city, with local impact over the next 30 years expected to be $9.3 billion dollars."

"The record industry is fully aware that premature death sells records. After Chester Bennington, the 41-year-old lead singer of the group Linkin Park took his own life, there was a 7,000% surge in the group's music plays. When rock 'n' roll legend Chuck Berry died aged 90, his music sales went through the roof, even though he hadn't released a new album in nearly 40 years. Prince was the top-selling artist of 2016, according to Billboard, outselling every other artist, living or dead, with a total of 7.7 million that year. While in even more notable moments of music history, John Lennon's musical comeback album went on to sell seven million copies in the following six months. But it was Elvis Presley who eclipsed them all. If there was Elvis product in stores following his death, they all got picked clean". In fact, Presley catalogue sales reportedly totalled 200 million copies worldwide in the four months after his passing."

"I decided if I was going to China, I was going to go to Shanghai, I just love that word. What Madrid was for Hemingway and Paris was for Dorothy Parker, I want Shanghai to be my Paris. Next thing I know, I'm in China and the people there are so sweet and they'll do anything for you. At one school, in preparing the students who would be attending Columbia University and due to my association with “The Catcher in the Rye,” I assigned it as reading for students and said the idioms in the story would cause confusion. Another assignment to write about a famous person led to a humorous exchange with a student who asked me to write about “Cat King, King of Cats.” Following some research together, I finally learned who was being referenced. He was talking about Elvis Presley. In China they know him as the Cat King, King of Cats.”"

"I remembered meeting Elvis and he was the one who told me my dad was the king of cool. I'll never forget that."

"He once rode a freight elevator to avoid fans but just as the elevator doors opened, workers were wheeling a deceased guest out on a gurney. “I hope I don’t leave that way,” Elvis quipped."

"Elvis Presley’s home, Graceland, is behind me. I just went on a tour throughout the crib. Very enlightening. Elvis was a legend, an icon. As we all can see, me and Elvis had a lot of things in common. His ranch is Graceland, mine is Promiseland. I love the planes. I love he was a hustler. He was a man amongst the people. I’m doing something different today.”"