All Quotes

"Rock 'n' Roll was not my cup of tea, so you could understand why I was not crazy about Elvis Presley. Before I met him, one day driving along Sunset Blvd, I heard on the radio a singer, unknown to me, singing beautifully an English version of "O Sole Mio". To my great surprise, the announcer said that the singer was Elvis. When we worked together in "Viva Las Vegas" we became very good friends and I found out what a wonderful person, gentleman, performer and dear friend he really was. I also had an opportunity to work with Elvis off camera. He asked me to help him with the Italian lyrics of "Santa Lucia" I did it with great pleasure and that confirmed what I already knew was another facet of his great talent. He learned the song in no time whatsoever and, as you well know, performed it beautifully. If I had a chance to talk to him. I would tell him how much I miss him."

"He always wore his affinity for Elvis Presley like a batch, covered "Trouble" on his eponymous band's Thrall-Demonsweatlive EP in 1993 and most recently, filmed a Danzig Legacy concert video that stylistically recalled Presley's '68 comeback special, playing in the round with guitarists from throughout his career and singing in front of his name lit up in red. Although he credits director Mark Brooks with the theme for the film, he said he loved the idea himself and is even in the midst of recording an LP of Elvis covers. "Elvis is actually how I got into music, since I was a kid, I was cutting school pretending I was sick and I would lie at home watching old movies, and "Jailhouse Rock" came on and I was like, 'I want to do this. This is great.' And that's how I veered to music. But the thing that has connected all of his sessions is his desire to record new versions of Elvis songs for the upcoming Danzig Sings Elvis LP. "I'm stripping some of the stuff down to the bare bones, very old-school Fifties echoey slap-back vocals," he says. Every time I go back into the studio to work on a new Danzig record, if we have time, I'm like, 'Let's do another Elvis song.' So I keep adding and we'll see what ends up on the record." Some of the songs he has recorded, he says, include "Home Is Where the Heart Is" and the Faron Young–composed "Is It So Strange?" It's a connection that has been a part of him for years. "We have been stopping by Graceland and Elvis' grave since my days in [goth-punk group] Samhain," Danzig says. "Just, you know, hanging out.""

"He adjusted the music and the lyrics to his own particular presentation. Elvis has the most terrific ear of anyone I have ever met. He does not read music, but he does not need to. All I had to do was play the song for him once, and he made it his own. He has perfect judgment of what is right for him. He exercised that judgment when he chose ‘Love Me Tender’ as the film's theme song."

"Screw them all, you can't go on like this."

"I loved Elvis and his music. My grandmother Mary had an Elvis jumpsuit custom made for me and I’d do Elvis tunes around the house. One day my dad came to pick me up from my mom’s for a visit. He said to me “I hear you’re an Elvis fan; you're a traitor like all the rest!” and he laughed. He said "go put on your jumpsuit and let me see your moves!” Now it was one thing to do my Elvis act for my mom and grandmother but my dad was another story. I just froze and felt really uncomfortable. He said again "show me some moves!” I knew he was joking and that it was all in good fun. Years later, I was supposed to meet Elvis with my dad at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1973. Sadly, that meeting never took place. Sometime a year or so after my dad died my mom and grandmother took me to the Hilton to see Elvis live. I will never forget the excitement of seeing him walk onto that stage to the theme of “2001 A Space Odyssey.” The room was electric and quite honestly I've never experienced anything quite like it to this day. Elvis was a musical treasure/phenomenon and a kind and generous human being Because my mom was so painfully shy, she didn’t let Elvis know we were in the audience and so, again, I never got to meet him."

"Elvis Presley was not just an enormous personality, but also a huge comic book fan. Reportedly, a fan of Captain Marvel Jr., he modeled his looks on him, including the hair with a spit curl, high collars, a short cape, and a lightning belt buckle. Notably, Elvis also appeared in DC comics."

"Many say that the his passing was akin to the assassination of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King or Robert Kennedy, in that they remember precisely where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. Like them, I, too, remember. I was on the air at WSRW, filling in for one of the guys on vacation and going to the AP teletype machine when I saw a bulletin in bold print, much as a national emergency bulletin would appear, announcing that earlier in the afternoon he had been found dead in Graceland. I also remember waiting to announce it to make certain it was real and not a hoax. Unfortunately, it wasn't...."

"Melding a range of disparate influences, along with his energetic jiving, to create a new musical form that still sways listeners -- and in its time, helped break race barriers in the US -- he became a best-selling and influential solo musician of his generation and a significant cultural icon. That explains Elvis Presley's depictions across all media, save literature, where his appearances rarely match his status. His fictional forays -- which span cosmic comedy, high fantasy, science fiction, horror and more, by authors from Douglas Adams to Sir Terry Pratchett (along with Neil Gaiman), from Stephen King to Rick Riordan and Robert Rankin to John Grisham -- see him appear in various guises and forms but rarely in the way we know him. And that is rather unfortunate, for his life has all the makings of a captivating story. From a humble background in the first two decades of his life, he rose to global fame which he retained in his remaining life -- despite his visible physical decline in the final years of his short but eventful life.He had good relations with his parents, was courteous to all, respected fellow singers and acknowledged many as better, and hated the title "King of Rock 'n' Roll". His untimely death left many people shocked, and others suspicious. This is behind the most familiar Elvis trope -- "Elvis Lives". It works on the supposition that Elvis is not dead, and that, either by conspiracy, alien abduction (and later return), or retirement, he is still among us."

"Elvis was never short of any stage performance. There is still a lot to be learned there. It gives you an idea of how to work a stage. He drew people in, you know, defiantly. He had that look; he looked like a star. At any rate, I can't compare myself to Elvis, not even a little bit. People put you on a pedestal; it almost feels like you're being worshiped sometimes which is not normal for a human being to deal with, not even a little.""

"When I photographed him in 1960, right after he got back from the Army, I had direct access to him, rode with him in the train all the way from Fort Dix in New Jersey to Graceland. It was so interesting to see all the girls running by and screaming and crying at every stop. And I was right there with him, eating sandwiches and laughing. At that time, there was no wall between the photographer and the star. But then, after I finished that shoot, it was as if a kind of curtain came down. This was the start of publicists getting involved. You didn't have direct access to celebrities anymore."

"One night at about 1 in the morning I got a call for me to get the aircraft ready to fly from Memphis to Denver, a 2 and a half hour flight. En route, I asked one of the people in his staff, what was the reason we were flying there. He told me it was to get some peanut butter sandwiches. Right, I said. But when we landed, a limo pulled next to the plane, and a man got out with silver trays and there they were, peanut butter sandwiches for all of us. It was the best I have ever had..."

"The first time I heard Elvis he was singing a song that my brother, Mack, wrote, called "I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine" and he blew me away. Elvis was no accident, a great singer. He was very distinctive in the way that he interpreted lyrics. His rhythmic patterns and the way that he pronounced words was so distinctive that it was not like anybody else It probably came naturally for him. He did any kind of song an could be real and believable with any kind of song. He didn't restrict himself to any one style, never did."

"He loved all of the well-known performers, but the one that really brought him out of his shell was Elvis Presley."

"i) While writing a song in 1977, I learnt that Elvis had died, which influenced its lyric. Staying in New York at the time, I looked out my window late at night, saw a single light on in one of the buildings, then imagined that light being the apartment of an ardent Elvis fan, which became the character Dan the Fan in the song. In fact, the line, "The King is dead, rock is done," is a reference to Elvis. ii) In fact, Elvis turned up one night during our 1969 gig at the Whiskey a GoGo. He sat in the corner with his wife. I didn't know until after. I wouldn't have been able to cope..."

"i) I think Elvis took a huge chance in doing "In the Ghetto". It was a big risk. ii) The first time I saw Elvis in person I knew he was special. Number one he was the prettiest man you ever saw in your life, he was really beyond handsome. There was something electric about him. Coming along when he did, moving the way he did, jumping around the way he did, plus the fact that every woman was totally mesmerized by him. Everything came to standstill when you saw Elvis. This was when he was 19 and again when he was 30. I saw him at both instances and there was the same reaction both times. You couldn't have wiped the smiles off their faces with a hand grenade. He knew what he could do and what he had and he played on it. He came along at a time in the Fifties, him and James Dean, it was the two of them. They were everything."

"I have a respect for Elvis and my friendship. It ain't my business what he did in private. The only thing I want to know is, 'Was he my friend?', 'Did I enjoy him as a performer?', 'Did he give the world of entertainment something?' – and the answer is YES on all accounts. The other jazz just don't matter'. 'Early on somebody told me that Elvis was black. And I said 'No, he's white but he's down-home'. And that is what it's all about. Not being black or white it's being 'down-home' and which part of down-home you come from. On a 1 to 10, I would rate him an 11"

"After I'd seen through Christianity, I was still influenced by the elegance of the living world, what appeared to be intelligent design. And that was reinforced when I discovered that my great hero, Elvis Presley, had done a religious album, called Peace in the Valley. Elvis was kind of a minor God to me and my companions, so when I discovered that he was religious, it felt like a call from heaven. This is Elvis, personally calling me."

"After a day on set we were talking about how youngsters have to save every penny to buy a car after their graduation. In the US, most youngsters were given a car, not so in the UK.I was 17, but soon after Elvis took me outside and told me to close my eyes, at that moment I knew he had a surprise waiting for me, but never in my wildest dreams could I have thought of a sports car. It was a white 1967 Ford Mustang convertible. Elvis handed me the keys and said 'It's yours.' I couldn't believe it, but I think if he was able to help somebody, he liked to do that."

"i) At the time (circa 2016), I was just listening a LOT to Elvis Presley. It was my ring phone, and the ring tones and it was all about Elvis. ii) I was only able to get through the pandemia thanks to my two puppies, Elvis and Salsa. Their names tell you what I really like""

"I think he’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen since Elvis. I love him"

"It just fired him up to be in front of people again. He had a charisma where he and the audience became one thing. Not just the little girls, but also women and everybody got caught up in it."

"Well, Elvis of course! What an extraordinary question!"

"Although most of the other boys wore white tuxedos, Elvis chose a relatively conservative dark blue suit. Shyly, he pinned a pink carnation corsage on Regis' dress and as they entered the Continental Ballroom at the Peabody, the band was playing, and couples were already out on the dance floor. But Elvis steered her to a seat and offered her a Coke. "I can't dance," Elvis apologized. She took it that he didn't dance because he was so religious and sweetly replied, "That's all right." And so they sat out the entire night, talking and sipping on soda pop while watching the other couples. Finally, they all lined up for the grand march, stepping through a mammoth heart as their names were called and their picture was taken. A few weeks after the prom, Elvis dropped by Regis' house to see her and found that she and her family had simply vanished. Regis's mother, financially strapped, had decided to move the family to Florida to live with her relatives. Regis said she was "embarrassed" to tell Elvis how bad their financial situation was, so she never said goodbye. In the family's move to Florida, she lost her photo but Elvis always kept his, and a few years later Gladys gave a copy to a fan magazine. By then, Elvis was a sensation, with very specific dance moves all his own."

"Before becoming an artist, was a youngster who was not happy selling textiles with his dad, adored Elvis, rock and even R&B but one day decided to do it the rhumba way. Then suddenly, after a show in Madrid, he received a little piece of paper with a time, a room number and a hotel so that they could meet, alone. Then a few days later, he received a similar one, but from the man's wife."

"Only I know if there was romance or not"

"was saying "Hoffa's like the Beatles, you know – so famous, like Elvis Presley". Well, 'size' was important for this ( 40 year old) story, told in such a small, intimate way..."

""Happy Xmas" by John Lennon "A Marshmallow World" by Dean Martin and "White Christmas" by Elvis Presley."

"i) My young black panther, he is a fine young man. He has the look of a Latin, dark and lithe, moves like a cat, is a good actor and I even like his singing. I would like him for a son ii) In 1960 Dolores del Río finally returned to Hollywood. She starred with Elvis Presley in "Flaming Star" directed by Don Siegel. Having been out of Hollywood for eighteen years at this point Presley nevertheless received her with a bouquet of flowers and said: "Lady, I know exactly who you are. It's an honor to work with one of the biggest and most respected legends of Hollywood. As you will be my mother in the film, I want to ask permission for my ophthalmologist to make contact lenses that mimic the color of your eyes". Del Río immediately took maternal affection to the young Presley."

"But then there's Elvis. I love Elvis Presley, in a totally non-ironic way."

"Elvis Presley had a world-shaking transformative talent, and his genious, joy, soul, sadness and danger were admirable, especially when seen through the brilliant lens of director Baz Luhrmann, whose take on Presley's life, as played by Austin Butler, I consider the best movie of 2022."

"Well, I guess could use the extra income because I've waited a long time for my present Elvis Presley hit. The money from the juke boxes would help me and my family a lot. Why shouldn't I be paid? I wrote the lyrics for the song."

"Elvis Presley`s talent as a musical artist was double barrelled and more; his voice, on the one hand, was extraordinary for its quality, range and power, as well as being a unique stage performer with instinctive natural abilities in both areas; he was the master of a wide and diverse range of vocal stylings and ventriloquist effects, from the clear tenor of his C&W heroes, to the vibrato of the Gospel singers he loved, his voice invariably possessing an aching sincerity and an indefinable quality of yearning virtually impossible to pigeonhole."

"He was wearing black and looked like ten Greek Gods as he tore through "Love me Tender, "Don't be cruel, and "Jailhouse Rock". He was sweating, in the flesh, alive, inhaling and exhaling. And there I was, breathing the same air, sitting with and , completely and entirely beside myself. Some sideburned greased monkey appeared after the show, asking Jimmy if he would like to meet Elvis. He said "No, thank you," and I never quite got over it...."

"Sam Phillips originally drafted Elvis to replace an absent ballad singer but, after pairing him with ambitious guitarist Scotty Moore and his upright bass-playing friend Bill Black, the music quickly veered in another direction entirely; the SUN Sessions began as an impromptu jam, the absence of drums being purely incidental given it was a small studio, but the light echo the producer used to compensate, inadvertently had an effect on Presley's own voice which was far more interesting; Elvis himself was a raw talent, but his singing prowess was immediately apparent, with a vocal range of roughly three octaves, perfect control and ability to jump between bass, baritone and tenor with the greatest of ease; over fifty years after the fact, we can see that what teenagers saw in him, was a genuinely brilliant vocalist that could just as easily convey a soft ballad, as it could a wild rock song; as a rule, the importance of an album is completely separate from its actual quality but, invariably, albums this influential are influential because they're genuinely great recordings, and "The Sun Sessions", though not formally compiled until 1976, were certainly great, great classic recordings."

"The voice of Elvis Presley is perhaps the most contested acoustical phenomenon in modern culture. I can understand why some listeners may prefer the original versions (of R&B artists) to Presley's covers, but it is more difficult to claim that these were immoral or unethical. In terms of vocal style and instrumental arrangement, Presley actually borrows relatively little, his appropriations (being) more straightforward, taking from the materials already protected by copyright: lyrics and melody. So, unless he can be criticized for not imitating an original R&B artist's rendition, we have to reevaluate Elvis' transgressions."

"Anyways, after his midnight show, I spent about fifteen minutes with him, in the hope to take him to bed, but there is a limit to what a woman can say to arouse a man, even for a French woman. I have yet to see, to this day, a more strikingly beautiful man.."

"In terms of being a groundbreaker, Elvis is at the forefront, breaking ground before groundbreaking was invented. What comes before groundbreaking, anyway? Whatever it is, that's Elvis. Elvis's career took off with the torque equivalent to that of ""Space Shuttle Atlantis[, and rarely slowed. Elvis had entered the building with an uncompromising style that began with black pants within which his famous hips tortured everyone from young women to fathers. Summing it up, slicked back, jet-black hair in a subtle pompadour with modest sideburns, black button-down shirt tucked into black straight-leg jeans with pair of slender, 50s-style Gucci boots will forever be a cool look..."

"It’s a song about being a Jesus for somebody else, someone to give you hope and care. It’s about how Elvis was her man and her mentor and how often that happens in love relationships – how everybody’s heart is like a god in some way, and that’s not a very balanced view of someone, is it?”"

"Once the vaccine is available to the early majority, it is important to employ word-of-mouth “seeding” techniques. That means enlisting mega-influencers—celebrities, prominent clergy, and social leaders—and everyday people who serve as micro-influencers to endorse the vaccine and encourage people to seek it. In the 1950s, when polio was rampant, Elvis Presley extolled the benefits of his own widely publicized vaccination, generating buzz about the shot."

"A 262-year-old rare artifact stolen in 1952 from the Dearborn Historical Museum was returned Tuesday — just in time for the city's 90th birthday. The artifact, a powder horn on loan from the Detroit Historical Society which originally went missing just before the opening of an exhibit entitled "Saga of a Settler.", was recovered by the FBI's Art Crime Division team in Philadelphia, from an auction in Pennsylvania. That Division, created in 2004, has recovered since more than 14,850 items valued at more than $165 million in art-related investigations worldwide, diving into cases such as the theft of Elvis Presley's memorabilia to pre-Colombian South American artifacts."

"Elvis Presley is ready to help pedestrians rock'n'roll across the street in the German town of Friedberg near Frankfurt. Three traffic lights featuring his image have been placed around the town's Elvis Presley Square to commemorate the singer. While people are waiting to cross, he appears in the red light striking a pose at a microphone. When the lights go green he is shown swinging his hips in a famous dance move. Transforming traffic lights has become something of a trend in Germany, with the most famous being the Ampelmännchen in East Berlin now installed throughout the united city followed by the Kasperl character in a pointed hat in the city of Ausberg, the Mainzelmännchen in Mainz, the Beethoven traffic lights in Bonn and even the Karl Marx figures in Trier."

"David Karns and John Grabish, since a very early age, were influenced by three kings: Jesus Christ, Elvis Presley and King Coal. They grew up, as Elvis fans, in two small Schuylkill County towns shaped by King Coal and graduated from Nativity BVM Catholic High School in the 1960s. As priests at Catholic parishes in Berks, Lehigh and Schuylkill counties, they devoted their adult lives to preaching the word of Christ the King. But Father Grabish is a solo act now. Father Karns, who last served as pastor of St. Stephen's in Port Carbon, Schuylkill County, died a year ago of cancer at age 69. Not surprisingly, he left his collection of Elvis memorabilia to Father Grabish, pastor of St. Paul and St. Joseph parishes in Reading. On Nov. 10, 2018 from 7 to 11 p.m., Father Karns' Elvis collection and other 1950s and '60s memorabilia will be auctioned during a gala in the Inn at Reading, Wyomissing whose proceeds will go to the St. Paul and St. Joseph maintenance funds. In his homily at Father Karns' funeral at St. Ambrose Church on Oct. 12, 2017, Father Grabish recalled their visits to Normandy Beach on Memorial Day in 1994, the 50th anniversary of D-Day. and, of course, to Graceland, the Sun Studio and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Both priests had been celebrants in the annual Mass in observance of Elvis' death, which is held on Aug. 16 at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Memphis. Though his homily quoted the Book of Job and the Gospel of John, Grabish's most poignant tribute to his friend came as he quoted Elvis : "Memories, pressed between the pages of my mind. Memories, sweetened through the ages just like wine"."

"When in 1955 Chuck Berry arrived in New York for the Alan Freed Big Rock and Roll Show, he checked into the Alvin Hotel and soon after, went over to Manhattan to meet Freed. It was from Freed that Berry heard some gossip about Elvis, but Barry told Freed that he was already aware of him. Not only had Elvis played St Louis, his hometown, but he had heard about him all over the South. The crossover popularity of Berry's music was further demonstrated when ̊"Maybelline" was covered by white jazz artists and established orchestra leaders looking to rock music for new material. Berry was surprised at the number of jazz and big band artists that liked his song. He had realized during those shows that his music and that of Elvis were in fact creating a new sound..."

"I started watching a lot of videos of Elvis Presley. The way he held the crowd in the palm of his hand. He also said in one of his interviews that the crowd is like sheep. They will go as directed. You have to actually own that moment so I imagined myself being Elvis Presley the next time he was on stage and it worked."

"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."

"I have never made no secret of my affinity for Elvis Presley. My favorite song is "Suspicious Minds. I first got into Elvis after discovering a longtime associate provost, who was an avid Elvis collector, was retiring. So, one night I dressed up as Elvis and sang at her retirement party. Here's the interesting thing: I put on the Elvis outfit and parents flock to me and want to take a picture, but their kids didn't recognized me"

"I went down to Vegas, had never met him, I was awed, amazing live performer, electric, and halfway through the show he introduced me and it was like, worshiping a God, and then that God says, hey stand up, take a bow, so I stood up and the audience started to cheer, and some telling me to get on the stage with him. Over the years, I thought of it, but I am glad I didn't, it wouldn't have been a good idea. He was warm, very generous to me and I think it was best left at that."

"That is going to be my Elvis dress, Catherine"

"Two uniquely American art forms spawned in the 20th century were comic books and rock n' roll. But before that, in the early 1940s, the Captain Marvel comics became so popular that he even outsold those of Superman for several years. So, the character's publisher decided to create a spin-off hero and one of the new Captain Marvel Jr. comics' most ardent fans was a young boy named Elvis Aaron Presley. So when did he exactly come across it? No one is sure but a copy of 1947's Captain Marvel Jr. #51 is placed on the desk in the recreation of his childhood room at Memphis' Lauderdale Courts housing complex. There are the other clues: Elvis' early haircut seems very much based on that of Freddie Freeman from his late '40s period. Elvis' signature "half capes" worn on stage also seem very inspired by those worn by the teenage hero. And the insignia for Elvis' core rhythm section, the TCB band? It's a very Shazam-esque lightning logo. These all point to direct homages to the superhero he grew up loving the most. And in turn, ever since it was revealed how much Elvis loved Captain Marvel Jr., the comics themselves have returned that inspiration. In the 2000s era Teen Titans series, Captain Marvel Jr. was described as a big Elvis fan. Another famous homage took place in DC's seminal graphic novel Kingdom Come, where we get a glimpse of a future version of Captain Marvel, Jr., whom artist Alex Ross specifically designed to look just like '70s-era Elvis. He even named the character "King Shazam," as a tribute to him. So, will Jack Dylan Grazer pay homage to Elvis in Shazamǃǃ, the movie? Unknown, but if it were to happen, it would sure be in keeping with tradition."

"I was 11 when he died and that's when I saw King Creoleǃǃ What a guyǃǃ The moment I got to school I spent the whole day imitating him. It was like a rocking pneumonia."