All Quotes

"It hosted presidents and one king — Elvis Presley in 1955,”."

"He was a nice young man. There was no problem with him at all. I worked as his drill sergeant for about a month after Elvis was drafted into the service. During his time at Fort Hood Elvis was treated like all other soldiers, and not as THE rock 'n' roll superstar he then was. He wanted to be a tanker, taking armored training. I think it was great to be exposed to a person like that."

"He was pioneer of doing a little bit of everything, a triple threat, so yes I am following on his footsteps."

"Dot continued to travel between Britain and America when I was out there, in between her tours and engagements. In Los Angeles, she once appeared at the 'Moulin Rouge' club in Hollywood, one of her biggest fans being a young Elvis Presley, who attended most of her performances and repeatedly asked her to sing 'This Is My Mother's Day!' He came backstage and, being very nervous, introduced himself to me – as though I didn't know who he was.'Hello, I'm Roger,' I said.'How are you, sir?' he asked.'Lovely to meet you, sir.' He insisted on calling me 'sir' throughout our chat, and acted as though he was in awe of me. Him! In awe of me! Elvis then told Dot how much he admired her and hoped he might have just a little of the success she had achieved. If only he knew. If only I knew!"

"Sam Phillips used what we call 'slapback' or 'tape delay', which lent an otherworldly patina to Presley's voice. And I don't know if Sam was really conscious of it at the time, but if you listen to old pop and country records back then, the voice was always so much farther out from the music; Sam kept Elvis' voice close to the music, so, in essence, Elvis' voice became another instrument."

"I want to be like Marlon Brando, dress like James Dean, and sing Like Elvis Presley,""

"i) My delight in dating Elvis hinged entirely on one fact. I knew that no one could possibly make Marlon Brando more jealous. I wanted to get even, Brando had done me wrong, so I went from one kind of king to another. I dated Elvis, who was absolutely gorgeous and had a perfect kind of face, but he was not interesting to me. When Brando saw a photo of us two, in the papers, he was furious, he threw chairs, It was wonderful. ii) When he took the polio vaccine, he was wonderful, a fabulous and important advocacy which should continue to work with today's celebrities vis a vis the COVID 19 pandemia."

"Elvis, yes! Elvis was my man. You know, I used to go up and view his shows."

"I never met a more polite kid in my life."

"Just pretend everyone in the audience is sitting there in their underwear."

"It probably will require a hurricane to de-contaminate this area properly after hix appearance here. I know hundreds, and there must be thousands, who deplore the type of music that is being fed to the younger elements of our community. Let us hope that those who feel as do will make themselves heard so that something may be done to curb the mouthings of that avaricious maniac."

"He is the best ever, the most original, started the ball rolling for us and deserves the recognition."

"As a musician, I was inspired by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Beethoven and Chopin and so I will always be the same Michele, but with different moods. We are going to have a lot of rough and strong things but a lot of emotion, too. As far as the lyrics are concerned, it will be more mature."

"We have a mutual friend who uses the phrase "That’s skinny Elvis", all day long when describing something cool"

"They did a survey not too long ago about how many people believe Elvis is really dead. And if I remember correctly, it was around 20 percent thought it was some government plot, that Elvis was still alive somewhere, and the government was served well by promoting the idea that he died when he was still alive. And I like Elvis. But I’m pretty sure he’s dead"

"The 2019 arrival of a new BMW 3 Series as an event that resets the parameters of the executive car class, because every time a new one comes along, it usually succeeds in smashing its key rivals and becoming the car to beat. It is as momentous in the motoring world as the Apollo moon landings or the death of Elvis."

"Representing Elvis is something only dreams are made of..."

"I have to say I had some very good scenes with him in "Loving you", but I found myself going to every shot, every scene in which he sang because I was completely taken by listening to him sing. I could not believe the charisma. Incidentally, my uncle was the opera star Mario Lanza (married to my dad´s sister Betty) and I knew what it was like to encounter not just an actor or a singer, but somebody that you knew was going to be a legend. Mario was going to be the next Caruso and Elvis, I thought, ´he is in that class´. This man is going to live forever because that voice is not just for us, but for the people of God."

"When something is ‘out’ in the golf swing, the body has a way of trying to adapt and doing the best job it can to hit the ball - and the 'Elvis leg' is one of those examples! If you’re really narrow, the legs can kick in and you’ll start extending up to try and find some space. There’s just no room here.This is a classic poor impact position among those who have a penchant for early extension. The ‘Elvis leg’ is where players are basically trying to get out of their own way."

"I've been an Elvis fan all my life. It started in 1957, but regrettably, I never met him."

"You knew it was going to be a dismal night this Wednesday when just a few minutes into the debate, ABC interrupted the candidates for a long commercial break -- the first of many. By the time it was over, the audience had had enough.Makes you think that if Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were around, they'd be sandwiched between a Viagra ad and Victoria's secret. In a real debate the candidates would face each other on the stage with no one but a timekeeper to enforce the clock. As it is, these 'debates' are commercially-staged press conferences about as connected to reality as an Elvis Presley sighting."

"I can still remember when you visited me in my humble home at Beatrice Cottages and we listened to Elvis and sang along and laughed together, then you revealed your soul to me, your dreams, your hopes – and I wrote your first biography..."

"I don't admire nobody, but Elvis Presley was the sweetest, most humble and nicest man you'd want to know. Singing ability, he a had everything and he was pretty, I know. And when it comes to boxing nobody has the class, the style, the wit, the speed and beauty of Ali. When it comes to singing nobody had everything like Elvis. And the last thing, he did lot for poor people, he cared for people, he had a good heart, he just wasn't a person who was great with talent but great in spirit and with God in his heart, and this is great too. I realise how good I am in my profession, I don't praise nobody if he don't deserve it, cos I am the greatest of all time in boxing, in boxing. I said boxing! I'm telling you, not just you all, the Elvis fans, so naturally you praise Elvis, he's of European race as you are, but I'm black, I'm a Islamic, I'm 100% different from you. And I tell the world Elvis was the greatest of all time. I'm a Muslim who's black who stands up for what he believes. I don't have to say what I don't feel, I'm not false I don't have to say this. I'm free. He to me is one of the greatest singers, actors and all round men of all time. With all the brothers together, none are better than Elvis Presley"

"A day for people to reflect about the things that were most important to my father, like self-love and self-respecy. My father loved children, so in some way, developing around them through the school curriculum. I think the "Ali Center" is just terrific to always mention and something called "ighters Heaven in Deer Lake", Pennsylvania, where my father trained for all of his big fights, and where he lived in between his fights. The Beatles photograph, the famous Michael Jackson photograph, the Elvis Presley photographs were all taken there. It’s been totally reconditioned into its original state; so along with preserving my father’s legacy through Muhammad Ali Day, I know from my own family how important it is to create these centers to connect with the community to house all the core values of my father and what was important to him."

"I) So, I think it started with "Lilo & Stitch" but one day when my then 2 year old son and I were listening to this podcast called "A History of Rock 'n' Roll in 500 Songs", he heard Elvis' 'Mystery Train'and he goes, "Dad, I like that song". Then we started listening to more Elvis and, as were sitting at home one day, I said, 'Do you want to see what Elvis looks like? Do you want to watch him sing?' He goes, 'Yeah," I turned on the Elvis 1968 comeback special, and my son, 2 years old, was riveted, more than "Inside Out", "Moana"... anything. He was staring at Elvis in a leather suit, seating down and singing and he could not look away. And then he got his own guitar, and he played it in his chair, as Elvis did, so he now he thinks you only play guitar while sitting. He's never gonna stand up. LOL II) So, we're in the jungle room, ... and we're looking around, and Malcolm goes, 'Dad, can I meet Elvis now?' "It had never come up while listening to 'Hound Dog.' You don't go, 'You know, son, this guy's dead, right? You want to know how he died?'" "So, I go, 'No, you can't.' And, he goes, 'Please, I want to.' I go, 'Oh, no. It's not like a permission thing.' Then I realized all his grandparents are alive and he's never had a goldfish," he continued, realizing at that moment that his son wasn't familiar with the concept of death. "He doesn't know. Like, he doesn't know. And he's about to find out in the jungle room at Graceland that everybody dies. And so how did you convey this?" "I said, 'Elvis is in heaven now.' And he said, 'Why?' "And I said, "Uh, well, sometimes when people are in their early 40s, and they have a job and schedule a lot like daddy. Uh, and some of the same issues as daddy. They go to the bathroom and they go to heaven.'""

"The board meets every Wednesday at the old courthouse in Inverness. Last week I walked into the old courthouse and there was a portrait of Elvis Presley on the wall, greeting me. “Good morning,” I said to Elvis as I entered the building. I did a double take because he appeared to wink at me. Later in the meeting we had a visit from Paul Perregaux, a Citrus Hills resident who has qualified to run for the Citrus County Community Charitable Foundation board, the nonprofit organization that will decide how the proceeds from the lease of Citrus Memorial Hospital will be used. I asked Paul to give us some background on his life experience so we could let residents know why he was running for the office. The longtime banker pointed out that he had an Army career before he worked for the financial industry in New England and noted he was once assigned a driver by the name of Elvis Presley. And yes, it was that Elvis Presley. “He was a very nice young man” said Paul. Later that same day, back at the Chronicle office in Meadowcrest, we had a very extraordinary visit from April Royal, the widow of Phil Royal I sat for a few minutes with April and as we sat there talking, April Royal explained to me that her recently deceased friend Dorothy Jean's absolute favorite musician was Elvis Presley. Her residence at the Key Center was adorned with photos and paintings of Elvis. In July of this year, April and Phil attended the Key Center's annual auction. Phil had been on the Key Center board for 20 years and had a special relationship with Dorothy Jean Cole. At the July charity event, what comes up for auction but a large velvet portrait of Elvis Presley? According to April, Phil took one look at Elvis and said he needed to purchase the velvet masterpiece for Dorothy Jean. “I don’t care what it costs,” Phil told April. “We need to buy Elvis.” The Royals were the top bidders. Phil wanted to wait until after the Run for the Money to give the present to Dorothy, but fate got in the way. Phil died during the run at a very young 47 years old. His family and our entire community have been rocked by the tragedy. April Royal has been an incredibly strong woman during the aftermath of the tragic events. Just last week she saw the Elvis portrait at her home and decided she had to go visit Dorothy Jean. So she loaded Brelyn and Elvis into the car and went to the Key. She presented the Elvis portrait to Dorothy as a last gift from Phil. Dorothy was delighted to spend time holding Brelyn and she had a big smile on her face. And now, just a few days after that visit, Dorothy Jean Cole has passed away. The irony was almost too much to comprehend. In a very strange way, the velvet King helped me better understand what courage looks like."

"I used to babysit for a Sergeant Phelps at the US airbase and was at work one day when he turned up at my house and told my mum that Elvis would be at the airbase that night and I should go if I wanted to see him. My mum ran to a phone box to call me at work. I couldn't believe it – I loved Elvis, I had all his records. I changed into my American jeans, lumberjacket, bobby socks and blue suede shoes and cycled the three miles to the airport base. I dropped in at my friend Muriel's and she said she would come too but I couldn't manage to give her a ‘backie’ so we skipped and ran all the way. When we got to the base there was a small group of people already there, standing at the barrier in front of two huge Cadillac cars. Muriel and I were right at the barrier, were so excited and suddenly the plane was in front of us. The door opened and there was Elvis. He was so handsome in his uniform. He waved and we started screaming. He shouted: ‘Where am I?’ and people shouted back: ‘Prestwick’. Elvis came down the stairs and looked fantastic with that beautiful smile. We could nearly touch him. Then Muriel did an amazing thing. She jumped over the barrier and threw herself on him – a couple of huge military policemen scraped her off and put her back over the barrier. The next thing we knew, he was away. We went to the café where the young folk hung out and told people we had seen Elvis. They were all laughing at us but the papers the next day proved it.”"

"He wasn't quite human, looked angelic. Jailhouse Rock is my favourite of his songs because he could turn a really shitty life, in a prison, into something happy"

"In fact, the overwhelming influx of white rappers has become so pervasive that hip-hop queen Nicki Minaj offered a tongue-in-cheek Instagram observation on the trend: “It’s a great time to be a white rapper in America huh?” Nicki also came with receipts — a screenshot of the iTunes Top 10 Rap/Hip-Hop songs displaying six slots filled with Caucasian spitters: the aforementioned Malone and G-Eazy as well as NF, Macklemore, Machine Gun Kelly and a certain gifted-yet-weary rhyme legend (Eminem), who is most responsible for flipping hip-hop's racial course as Elvis Presley once did with the Black musical art form known as rock and roll."

"I named this huge dinosaur Elvis inter'alia, because of its uniqueness and Pristine Pelvis."

"But things began to change in late October 1957, thanks to Elvis announcing the impending arrival of “a rock ’n’ roll Christmas.” The setting was a San Francisco press conference and the reference pertained to the imminent release of Elvis’ Christmas Album. Unsurprisingly, the media took the bait, waxing indignantly about the desecration of Christmas music. Even Time magazine got into the act. At the height of its influence, the magazine did one of its trademark putdowns, warning of the “most serious menace to Christmas since I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.”"

"It's now or never, as Elvis Presley used to say."

"I was the twenty-seventh person on standby, on the last flight out of New York City to Memphis the night before the funeral. Miraculously, I got to Memphis and took a cab to Graceland- They'd stopped letting people into the house at that point but everybody was trying to get a photograph of Elvis in the casket, and there was a $50,000 bounty on it.. But the actual funeral was a spectacular thing. I still have incredibly powerful impressions of it, to drive the route and see all the hundreds of thousands of people waiting for him to roll by. It was incredible—very powerful and was about 90 degrees. Waiting in the shade, and all the signs said "God bless you, Elvis. When the hearse rolled out on the street, and it reached the speed it was going to go at, I burst into tears. It was like the long, slow walk And it was just so poignant, then all the helicopters converged on the cemetery, overhead, and there was a riot at the other gate, you know, at the back gate—people were trying to storm into the cemetery. The hearse was arriving, and I started racing, running from where we were. We started running towards where I thought the riot was coming from. On the way I encountered the hearse being led by 24 motorcycle cops. It was one of the most terrifying things I have ever seen, because these cops they were guarding Elvis. And all of the sudden there was one man standing in the cemetery right where they were passing by, and there was not supposed to be anybody there. There's one guy, and it's me. And this cop gave me a look that said, "If you move, I will shoot you right through the heart." I mean, I just froze—you know, like when your hair stands on end. Anyway, as they tried to carry it up the steps, they almost dropped it—it fell like sideways. But then there was a very strange moment when Priscilla actually left. Because you could feel Elvis. You could absolutely feel his presence everywhere. And when she left, it was almost like you could feel his real love went with her, as she rode out of the cemetery. It's was an amazing feeling. I'll never forget it. Well, you gotta have role models. He was an extraordinary guy."

"He had an incredible, attractive instrument that worked in many registers; he could falsetto like Little Richard, his equipment was outstanding, his ear uncanny, and his sense of timing second to none; (in short) he could sing. And when it came to the blues, Elvis knew his stuff, his knowledge being almost encyclopedic. Mike (Stoller) and I were blown away. In fact, the conversation got so enthusiastic at the studio that Mike and Elvis sat down at the piano and started playing four-handed blues. He definitely felt our passion for the real roots material and shared that passion with all his heart. Just like that, we fell in love with the guy. ‘Let’s get started,’ Elvis said. ‘Let’s cut some records.’ And then we jumped right into ‘Jailhouse Rock""

"Elvis's music is the one true gift he's left behind, and it is continually being shared with the world. The music will never die, but apart from that, it's the other intangible things that keep him alive- his love, his laughter, his films, all the photos that we see and have access to will keep him alive, for generations to come. The last time I saw him, In 1974, he did put in a great show."

"He looked, sounded like anyone on the planet in 1956"

"i) Elvis was the thing. Whatever people say, he was it. I was not competing against Elvis, Rock happened to be the media I was born into. He was the one, that's all. Those people who picked paint brushes like Van Gogh, probably wanted to be Renoir, or whoever went before him. I wanted to be Elvis."

"I would show people and it felt like bragging rights. The public was like fascinated when they saw all the presidential cars: Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower. Now, we have a large collection of Abraham Lincoln cars that I am proud of because we are in the Land of Lincoln. Then I got into stuff like Elvis Presley...."

"Ali was my idol, Bruce Lee was my idol, Sugar Ray Robinson was my idol and Elvis Presley was my idol, so I combined those 4 to make Sugar Ray Leonard."

"You need more glitz in your act"

"In any case, there's something beautifully uncomfortable at the root of the vocal style that defines the pop era, the simplest example coming at the moment of the style's inception, i.e. Elvis Presley: at first, listeners thought that the white guy was a black guy and it's not too much of an exaggeration to say that when Ed Sullivan's television show tossed this disjunction into everyone's living rooms, American culture was thrilled by it, but also a little deranged, in ways that we haven't gotten over yet; ultimately, the nature of the vocals in post-Elvis popular music is the same as the role of the instrumental soloist in jazz; that's to say, if it isn't pushing against the boundaries of its form, at least slightly, it isn't doing anything at all; so, we judge popular vocals since 1956 by what the singer unearths that the song itself could never quite, and (this) explains why Elvis is always rock, even when singing "Blue Moon""

"Top Ten Things Elvis Would Say if He Came Back Today. 10. I’ve been dead 38 years, and I still look better than Keith Richards 9. What do you know? The Jets still suck 8. I’m hungry — is there are any food stuck in my sideburns ? 7. I can’t believe I missed the McRib Sandwich!6. Who’s this ‘Richard Simmons,’ and why’s he keep trying to hug me?5. I’ve been dead 38 years, – of course I want fries with that! 4. Heaven was great until that freaky bastard Tiny Tim showed up 3. That Letterman punk’s on the TV — where’s my revolver? 2. I haven’t been dead — I’ve been starring in a series on CBS 1. Lisa Marie married who? Top Ten Things Elvis Would Say if He Came Back Today Top Ten Things Elvis Would Say if He Came Back Today II 10. Maybe I should get me one of them Wonderbras 9. Sonny, Red, help me brush the dirt out of my sideburns 8. This new President and I disagree on a lot of things, but french fries ain’t one of them 7. Is there something I just don’t get about Pauly Shore? 6. What happened to Ed Sullivan, and who’s that dork using his theater? 5. Can I get that Miata in pink? 4. What’s my old smokin’ buddy Suzie Molinari doin’ these days? 3. All you people who thought I was alive this whole time — you morons! 2. I’d heard Lisa Marie married Michael Jackson, but this guy in the wedding photos is white 1. Bob Dole? Didn’t I meet him back when I was dead?"

"I got a portable radio that I put under my pillow at night and played quietly: listening to the Platters sing “Only You” and “The Great Pretender” (with its alternating high A flats and B flats at the start of the reprise, which was way out of my capabilities) or the Five Satins singing “In the Still of the Night” or even Johnnie & Joe singing the wonderful"

"I started looking around for new acts—like some country-and-western people. I tracked Presley down in New Orleans and spoke to his manager Tom Parker. I told him we'd like to use Elvis on several shows. He was thrilled to death. I booked Elvis for the following Saturday. I bought him for four shows for a total of five thousand dollars. Presley's national debut on Stage Show was like nothing that anyone had ever seen before on national television. It was the raw against the cooked, postwar prosperity versus prewar propriety, an atomic burst of sexual vitality obliterating the palled remnants of Depression-era glamour. The sloe-eyed Presley had a leering smile while his body gyrated with unabashed sexuality. A strong country blues sense emanated from the handsome young singer ... whose forelock drooped over his face, added to his allure. Elvis Presley was rock ’n’ roll, which was suddenly embraced by the emerging generation as its own music. Its sound shattered the complacency of the 1950s and broke the ground for the anti-establishment culture coming in the following decades And with its visual impact, television would suddenly cause the look of a musical artist to become almost as important as the content of his or her music. His arsenal of bumps and grinds again alternately shocked, terrified, and delighted the television audience. He had nothing to learn from Tommy Dorsey musically."

"As our Chief Investment Officer opined on the morning after the Brexit vote, in the aftermath of the financial crisis, perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that uninspiring economic outcomes lead to unexpected political outcomes— or at least those considered outside the mainstream... So, with apologies to Elvis Presley, 59 million Donald Trump voters and 13 million Bernie Sanders supporters can't be wrong."

"It sounds trite,contrived, but that was like the Holy Grail. The light went off. This spark led me on a musical journey that took me from running around my house as a boy wearing Elvis-inspired cardboard sideburns glued to my face, to receiving a birthday kiss from Elvis' wife, Priscilla Presley, at the Box Tops' induction ceremony into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in November of 2018."

"Well, I don't know. I had a really good role model. When I was thinking about getting out of the Draft, I thought of Elvis going into the service at the height of his career and doing what he had to do for his country without complaining. So, thinking of how Elvis did that, I thought to myself, I'm going to do the same thing and I'm going to be proud the rest of my life for it, and I am. It's just amazing how many Vietnam vets come up to me at these shows and thank me for doing what I was supposed to do. So, I wouldn't change that for anything."

"Well, I don't know. But they had Katharine Kersten and me and two liberals in rotation. Now they don't. Although I will have a column on Elvis in there pretty soon. It's called, “Why Elvis Still Matters.” I love Elvis. But, in fairness to the Star Tribune, they have been exceedingly open-­minded. And so has the Pioneer Press for that matter."

"I said, ‘Elvis, I’m going to ask you one thing before we part company here. If you die, do you think you’d go to heaven or hell?’ And he got real red in the face, and then he got real white in the face, and he said, ‘Jerry Lee, don’t you ever say that to me again."

"I knew him when we were both making movies at Paramount, where he made his presence quite well known at the studio. He was a really nice kid, one of the nicest people I have met in show business. We had our own projects to work on, of course, so we didn't see each other a lot, but when we did it was always good. Elvis seemed very humble, and he had great respect for other actors."