Actors From Mississippi

"Elvis really bestowed himself on his fans, thus making himself worthy of a Nobel Prize as well."

"There is something magical about watching a man who has lost himself find his way back home... He sang with the kind of power people no longer expect from rock 'n' roll singers. While he sings in a lower voice than ever -and what I liked about the early records was that beautifully vulnerable high voice-, he opened his Boston concert (1971) with "That's Alright Mama" (1954), singing it with enough verve to scare the unsuspecting. It was his very first record, and although it doesn't sound quite the same as when he did it 17 years ago at the Sun studios in Memphis, I was moved by the fact that he was doing it at all. It was a tour de force of theatrics, professionalism, and, happily, music. (In fact), he sings so well, the audience hesitates to press him for more, his purpose being to please himself by pleasing them, never to please them by pleasing himself."

"The music of Elvis inspired me and my son Imanol from a very early age and he is so good at interpreting his songs that the public doesnt really know whether they are going to applaud him or Elvis"

"My roots are deep regardless. I was truly blessed because it's such a rich area for music — a lot of the traditional music, of course, with both Cajun and zydeco, but all the generations that have come up, especially the younger groups, have one foot in the past and one very much in future, and they're doing their own thing with it. In fact, all music was special to me. It was just magical. I was very much hooked by music from Day 1. Elvis Presley was the reigning king coming up when I was still living in Jackson, MS. And then moving here to LA, in addition to whatever was on the radio, there was always, like, a new business opening up, and they'd have Cajun bands play. They also had their own TV shows on Saturdays, and I'd watch those. I was definitely snakebit. Especially with the guitar, obviously."

"His chest and his heart were OK, and he had a fever caused by a significant ear infection, but it never entered my mind that he would shortly die. He was very, very cordial, that is what I remember the most about him."

"He was a wonderful person, and a lovely man to kiss. During the movie shoot, we did it (kiss) in the morning, in the afternoon and at night. He is a wonderful person, you can't define him in one line"

"He had total love in his eyes when he performed. He was the total androgynous beauty. I would practice Elvis in front of the mirror when I was twelve or thirteen years old.""

"I walked up to him, and I just stared at him, on a train, bound to New Jersey, from Texas, as we were on our way to Germany."

"Author Johnny Lang, recalling the first time he reall talked to Elvis.as resported on Fox News' August 15, 2023 edition"

"We were out to dinner one night, with my husband and brother in law, and someone at the bar said he had just passed away, and it really, really, really ruined my night, everything. He was the biggest star that has ever been in the world."

"In 1956, I bought my Elvis records at Duvan Music in downtown Sioux City. They had a booth there where you could sit and listen to the record before you bought it. I had 'em all. So did every kid at Central High. So my friend and I bought tickets for the May 23 Elvis concert, the cheapest ones. It was a mob. It took a half-hour for us to squeeze and wedge our way to the stage. It may have been warm in there, I don't know but all I remember is the electricity. He came out there with a saunter like he knew what he was doing, singing 'Mystery Train' first and all you could hear was the first words 'Train a ride'. After that, it was just bedlam, and screaming, along with Elvis and his two musicians. And he was so cool, rebellion in the flesh. I mean who grows his hair long like that? And shakes his butt? We loved him. I played harmonica at the time, was almost 17 and he was only 21, not much difference. I just stood there with my mouth open thinking, my God, this guy has picked up on something. He had charisma, the crowd in the palm of his hand. His musical ability had a lot to do with it, he wasn't just a pretty face. I used to listen to the blues on black radio stations at night and I said, 'This guy's a black musician in a white man's body. Elvis had a real strong sense of gospel and was just fascinated with gospel groups."

"I was walking through a narrow hallway past Elvis’ dressing room, right after a show when I saw a movie star type a bit further up the hallway. He turned around and it was Cary Grant. He loved Elvis. Anyways he looked up at me, and with that English accent he says: “Here’s the drummer! Is it ‘Bob’? Oh boy, I loved your drumming so much. It was a pleasure to meet you, Bob!”. I remember calling my brother, who’s also an actor, and saying: “You are NOT going to believe this!. Anyways, of all the other artists that I have worked for, he was so professional and at the same time so loving. Elvis was such a good guy, a really good person. I think it was easy for him to be that way, because he was so talented, very confident, and perhaps that gave him a generosity of spirit. Usually it’s the lesser talents that have certain ugly character traits, probably because they are not as confident. But Elvis was just wonderful."

"I was awed by "the presence" and was a wonderful caring person and he was fit, slender and couldn't be nicer to me. It was really wonderful..."

"I'll tell you something, last Christmas I saw Elvis do something. The Salvation Army kettle at Main and Beale Streets wasn't getting any money. Elvis watched the people passing by for a while not putting money in, then he went over and put a bill in, then he began to cut up and told the people 'Let's help the poor folks out so they can at least have a Christmas dinner'. He got complete strangers to smile and then the money started dropping. So, give the boy a break. Memphis will be proud of him. He's a grand boy. I'm 53 and I grew up in the Jazz Age, so we never thought much about the Charleston or the Black Bottom crazes. I don't like rock and roll, but Elvis is different. They talk about juvenile delinquency and here is a boy who didn't have much except what was inside himself. He just has Rhythm in him and it has to come out. I think he has done a pretty good job of lifting himself. He's full of life and already I can see the rough edges being smoothed out. That dance he does, nobody said anything when Marguerite Piazza did the 'St. Louis Blues'."

"It may surprise you, but I am a Presley fan. Elvis recently saw my folks in California and told them he was a fan of mine, that I had been an inspiration to him.... What that boy has done is phenomenal. He has busted many of the disc sales records I held, in little over a year."

"I have everything ever done by Elvis, I have all his master recordings. And if you go to my home,it's like a museum there..."

"All we ever heard about back in the fifties was the space race and how we were lagging behind the Russians. That and Elvis"

"Steve Allen's ethics were questionable from the start. He fouled Presley, a fair-minded judge would say, by dressing him in white tie and tails. This is a costume often seen on star performers at funerals, but only when the deceased has specifically requested it in his will. Elvis made no such request—or for that matter, no will. He was framed. It was a gag from which no ordinary twitching vocalist ... could be expected to recover. Elvis recovered. As he left the hall, more dead than alive, he found the street hip-deep in bobby-soxers. And he bloomed like a rose, they tell me, and writhed again as of old."

"He is one of the great American icons. Rock'n'roll just kind of formed around him. Even Elvis called him the King."

"When I came on the sound stage and met him for the first time, he was like a mannequin, sitting there, so still and I thought, “Wow they have a mannequin that looks just like Elvis!” He got up, shook hands with me, and said “Nice to know you, Sir.” He was just as polite and nice as he could be. We talked about a lot of different things. He was interested in karate, which I had studied with Chuck Norris many years before. He was also interested in many of the books and writings I was involved in. He told me about his reading of Gibran's The Prophet, as well as certain things I had no idea I was going to use later, years after he passed away. I did a lot of the things that he told me in the Kurt Russell TV biography, where I had to write in an annotated script, which meant you had to take note of where each thing came from in the margins (almost like a bibliography). The legal department didn't know how much could be done without being sued, so they wanted to have every part of it locked down. It was a lot of Elvis..."

"The year was 1956 and I was in grade 6. Elvis Presley made his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on TV and the music world was changed forever. Our school music appreciation teacher, Mr. Francis, was visibly upset, trying to teach us to love Brahms and Beethoven — but at recess, the girls would bring out a little record player and we'd hear Elvis. Mr. Francis responded by bringing an Elvis record to class, and using a hammer to smash it in front of us. He told us the music of the masters would live forever, but by next year at this time, this flash in the pan — Elvis Presley — would never be heard of again. Now, fast forward to yesterday where a paper cup Elvis drank from back in a 1956 outdoor performance just sold for more than $3,300. Maybe fittingly, it was bought by the owner of the "Icon Hotel" near London, England. What do I learn from this? I doubt some of today's entertainment will stand the test of time, but I keep watching for paper cups. Let me know what you think."

"I was starting in the movies, had no money then, he knew it, so after liking a few of the stunts we did in "Blue Hawaii" he gave me a US$100 bill which I used to have a great meal, a filet mignon, and pay the rent. Had I saved it, and asked him to autograph it, I would have made US$100,000 on that US$100 note. He was a great guy."

"It seems almost inexplicable that the human race, with its ravenous appetite for entertainment, should have failed over so many decades to produce another Callas and Elvis. Neither Pavarotti nor Madonna come close, nor ever will. The desperate efforts of a universal music industry have yielded nothing more enduring than Cecilia Bartoli, the mini-voiced mezzo who tops the opera charts, and the high-kicking, faintly archaic Kylie Minogue, who belongs more to the smiley era of the Andrews Sisters than to the grim virtual reality of Bill Gates. In fact, when we commemorate the Presley and Callas anniversaries, one month apart, we confirm a catastrophic failure of cultural renewal."

"Despite the name and best-known (striped t-shirt) scenes, Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock" is not really a “prison flick.” His character does go to jail, where he discovers his musical prowess and pursues it once he gets out, but his journey to stardom proves even more challenging than his time behind bars. His James Dean-ish “bad boy” character makes bad choices, and it all leads to an obvious journey of redemption. But this one ain't about the story; it's about the exhilarating music and its star, whose charisma was so off the charts that it was quite fittingly criminal."

"I once certified the authenticity of an Elvis Presley soundtrack album, kept and played by Bruce Lee for over a decade. He had put his personal Chinese chop on it, as was customary in all his albums. This one we listened to endlessly, huge admirers of Elvis as we both were."

"He never lost that Southern, genteel, gentlemanly persona. Of course, that came from his mother. I loved that about him. He was that way to the end"

"What was once a tiny town of considerable character is now 6 times it size. Guess what: They are trying to turn me into a tourist attraction like Graceland and Elvis Presley.""

"I remember the first time I saw him on TV, when he burst upon the music scene like a blazing comet and the indescribably powerful impact he had on the youth of the nation -and the world.""

"The spirit of Elvis is way bigger than the music. I don't know how many Elvis records I actually bought. It wasn't my generation, but the spirit, the attitude, the vibe, the cool of Elvis? Elvis had many phases, many stages. Depending on who you are and how old — are you military Elvis with the perfect complexion? Were you beginning Elvis when he upset everybody with [imitates Presley's voice]? Or were you end-stage Elvis, which frankly, I enjoy that as much."

"He named the band "Ten Year After" because by 1966 it had been ten years since Elvis' advent. Some time later, in 1969, we got invited by Warner Brothers to see Elvis in Las Vegas. I thought he was terrific with James Burton on lead, Ronnie Tutt on drums, Cissy Houston and the Sweet Inbspirations on back up vocals. Fabulous. Alvin, who was the biggest Elvis fan amongst us, was disapponted because that night Elvis didnt sing "Jailhouse Rock" LOL."

"I wanted to channel my inner Elvis..."

"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."

"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."

"A lot has been written and said about why he was so great, but I think the best way to appreciate his greatness is just to go back and play some of the old records. Time has a way of being very unkind to old records, but Elvis' keep getting better and better.”"

"You need more glitz in your act"

"In the beginning, Elvis was like a tornado skipping erratically across the musical landscape, his talents raw, wild, and unfocused but within a short time he was able to rein in his vocals and become a master of both seductive nuance and mesmerizing bursts of energy. Scotty Moore was the perfectionist who worked to find musical counterpoint to Elvis's energetic vocals, setting a new standard for lead guitarists with his precise musical licks. Bassman Bill Black was the person who entertained Elvis and first showed him how to relate to the public. Finally, working in sync with Bill, drummer D.J. Fontana provided the rhythm that transformed high-energy, country-blues selections into rock 'n' roll. Whether the magic that occurred during the Sun Sessions was an accident or a logical amalgam of diverse musical talents, will be debated for years. What will not is the immense impact those sessions had not just on the genesis of rock 'n' roll, but on American culture itself, setting in motion social and political changes that ultimately redefined America in the eyes of the world."