American Country Singers

"Few people in my village have the slightest clue about life in America. To them we might as well be the center of the universe. I'm one of few lucky or unlucky ones (depending on how you look at it) who happened to, miraculously, have had the opportunity to live in both worlds. It goes without saying that I can also speak with confidence that my level of confusion is unparalleled. Once, I had confused Elvis Presley for Yuri Gagarin. In fact, there are people in Kokoland who still believe so. What difference will that make, anyway, when folks still believe that the Earth is flat?"

"The recent news about robocalls takes me back to last November. I was coming in the back door loaded down with stuff for Thanksgiving. The phone was ringing, but I told myself, “Let it ring, don’t answer it. Don’t do it — you are going to drop something, you know it." “Ignore the phone call,” I said aloud to no one, yet I knew I wouldn't ignore the call. So I put down the bags — really dropped the bags — and rushed to the phone. As I put away bags of squashed lettuce and more — thank goodness, no eggs that day. “Return to Sender.” an old Elvis Presley song came to my head. In my mind's eye I saw a tall, handsome man standing in front of me singing that song. I picked up the phone to look at it — and like a light bulb, an idea came to me. A button. That's what we need: a button, I said in my head. When the calls come in and you know it's not for you — it's not for anyone human — you could press the "star" button twice, maybe, and the call goes back. Every single time. So here's my question for the technicians and scientists out there: Why can't we return robocalls to the people who send them? We should be able to. In fact, we would all be so thankful to the technicians and scientists of the world for developing such a technology. And they don't even need a new name for it. “Return to Sender” would do. I'm sure Elvis wouldn't mind."

"Elvis? He was great, a real natural guy..."

"Love me tender. love me true...."

"In 1959 (during his time in the Army), he came under the weather and military doctors diagnosed tonsillitis and suggested that the vocalist, then the biggest performer in the universe, have his tonsils removed. Presley, already more trustworthy than most modern performers in his pleasant acceptance of military duty, agreed. The problem was that no doctor nearby wanted to risk operating on the star, fearing that malpractice would leave him without his golden voice and either a lawsuit or an an angry fan could ruin any medical career and/or life. They gave him penicillin instead and fortunately everything worked out."

"From the first quavering notes of the song, it was obvious that there was something different about him -- you could detect his influences, but he didn't sound like anyone else. There is a quality of unutterable plaintiveness as Elvis, in 1953, sings "My Happiness", a pop hit, in 1948, for Jon and Sandra Steele, and a sentimental ballad that couldn't have been further from anyone's imaginings of rock-and-roll. It is just a pure, yearning, almost desperately pleading solo voice reaching for effect. The guitar, Elvis said, "sounded like somebody beating on a bucket lid," with an added factor of nervousness that Elvis must surely have felt. But even that is not particularly detectable -- there is a strange sense of calm, an almost unsettling stillness in the midst of great drama. When he finished, the boy looked up expectantly at the man in the control booth. Mr. Phillips nodded and said politely that he was an "interesting" singer. "We might give you a call sometime.""

"So often in the careers of great men and women of history, there came a point in time where they were told their talents were not sufficient to realize their dreams. In the case of Elvis Presley, these words came early and often. But by the end of the 1950'a he was a musical phenomenon who electrified millions of attendees at his live performances. Until his untimely death in 1977, Elvis had an indisputable role in creating the modern American musical landscape and the development of a unique youth culture. Elvis' importance to the inception of rock and roll, and contemporary music as a whole, cannot be overstated, his image transcending the categories of the music he played and the movies he starred in to become a cornerstone of modern pop culture. Depicted in every material form imaginable, his estate at Graceland remains a pilgrimage site for fans of his music. In February of 1961, at a charity luncheon and concert arranged by the record company with the Governor of Tennessee present, RCA Records presented him with a plaque commemorating the 75 million records he had sold worldwide, the first artist in history to reach this impressive milestone. Accompanying this plaque, RCA Records also gifted Elvis with an 18-karat white gold and diamond Omega wristwatch, purchased by them at Tiffany & Co. The concert itself was an immense success, raising $51,612 (close to a half a million in 2018 dollars) for various charities. Sometime in 1962, the watch was exchanged by Presley to the current owner's uncle after the latter had expressed his admiration for the timepiece during a chance meeting inside a lounge at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas. We are proud and thrilled to present, for auction, what once belonged to the man who simply said, in response to questions regarding his popularity, "All I do is sing and dance a little." It is, without a doubt, a superb vintage timepiece with one of the most fascinating provenances to ever appear on the world auction market."

"Elvis came by the "Memphis Funeral Home" often, our employees all new him, and he would even sing for service. I also remembered the time Elvis buying a new Lincoln for a mother and her children who would walk by the local dealership often just to eyeball the cars. The young mother, as she walked out of the showroom, asked the salesman, “Was that Jesus?". I never met a more humble man than Elvis but what made him so special to me was I got to know him. I guess he was the most famous person I’ve helped bury, and I’ve buried thousands over 60 plus years."

"Just above the lobby, the “Impact of the Bible” floor highlights how Scriptures have influenced cultures across the globe — from education and literature and art and architecture to a King James Bible owned by Elvis Presley which is just steps away from mannequins adorned with dresses by fashion designers such as Dolce and Gabbana, who have featured icons of the Virgin Mary in their brand."

"While vastly different individuals, Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley and Martin Luther King Jr. were all brave Americans who firmly stood for what they believed."

"Some people adore goats, some people believe the earth is flat, some even believe Elvis Presley is still alive. Simon Busuttil can believe whatever he wants but when the rest of the country hears these things, they laugh."

"Wise men say, only fools fall in love"

"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."

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

"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.”"

"Eminem is a King in his own right, a genius. He's our Elvis and I think we should claim that.""

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

"Like myself, Elvis was introduced to the world of self defense while in the military. He would study many styles under many different ethnic instructors throughout his life. In 1959 he started as a student under German , (a Shokotan sensei), then was mentored under Japanese Teugio Murakami (a Shokotan master), Korean Kang Rhee (Sa-Ryu TaeKwon Do Grandmaster), Americans Hank Slemansky (a Chito Ryu stylist) and Ed Parker (the founder of American Kenpo – who would remain his lifelong teacher), and Filipino Dan Inosanto (later Bruce Lee’s student). Elvis’ love for martial arts permeated his career in music and movies, where he'd often demonstrate his self-defense moves. I'll never forget seeing him perform, sitting in the front booth with Bob Wall as the special guests of his wife Priscilla at a dinner show at the Las Vegas Hilton and being captivated by his charisma and showmanship. That was the day Bob and I first met him, when, after the show Elvis invited all of us up to his suite, where we talked until 4:00 in the morning. At first I thought, “What are we going to talk about?” I knew nothing about music, but I knew I could talk about martial arts all night long! And we did! I was impressed with his self defense insight and devotion. Even after two shows earlier that evening, Elvis stayed to the early morning hours shooting the breeze with us. That was a special night for all of us, which I'll never forget. Elvis was a real nice, down-to-earth guy, who made you feel in a few hours like you had known him forever. I still enjoy his music and films."

"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."

"That’s my idol, Elvis Presley. If you went to my house, you’d see pictures all over of Elvis. He’s just the greatest entertainer that ever lived. And I think it’s because he had such presence. When Elvis walked into a room, Elvis Presley was in the f***ing room. I don’t give a f*** who was in the room with him, Bogart, Marilyn Monroe.”"

"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.”"

"The entourage was assembled, and the caravan headed out so Puffy, Biggie and I got into my Ford Explorer. I had a six-disc player, and it automatically went to Elvis 'Suspicious Minds' and Puffy was like, ‘What’s wrong with you? Biggie was in the back and he said, ‘Hey, man, chill out. Elvis was cool,’ I thought it was so awesome that Biggie was sticking up for me for listening to Elvis.” ~"

"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) 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.'""

"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."

"So go ahead Bruce, and give me the Elvis take on cultural appropriation right now. I don’t want to get waylaid I should say, but I am a big Elvis fan. And I’m not a believer of narrowingly defining who gets to do what. I think we steal from everybody, from everywhere and that’s the nature of humanity, of culture, that is how ideas migrate. That’s how music gets created. That is how food gets created. I don’t want us to be thinking that there’s this way for that person and that way for the other person. I think what’s always been relevant about cultural appropriation is if the black person who writes the song and who performs it better can’t also perform it and can’t get the record deal. I’ve got no problem with white artists doing black music cause I don’t think there’s such a thing as simply, exclusively black music or white music, or Hispanic music. It’s the economics and the power dynamics underneath it which Elvis obviously was part of, but he didn’t create it."

"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"

"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..."

"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."

"As you know, I died in Chicago. I lost my life and I went to heaven because I was very good and sang very lyrical songs. And I got to talk to God and he said, 'Well, what do you want to do? You can go back and be anyone you want.' So I thought who do I want to be? And I thought, I wanted to be the guy who was the King of Pop, the king of show business, Elvis Presley If there's any hope for America, it lies in a revolution. If there's any hope for a revolution in America, it lies in getting Elvis Presley into becoming Che Guevera. If you don't do that, you're just beating your head against the wall, or the cop down the street will beat your head against the wall. We have to discover where he is, he's the ultimate American artist.""

"I was in love with Elvis Presley and I wanted him to be in "A star is born" so Barbra and I flew up to Vegas and we met with him. Parker didnt agree. Later, after the movie was shown, Priscilla Presley called me and said he wanted to see it on opening day, which he did, and that he cried that he didn't do it..."

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

"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."

"There is just too much difficulty for getting radio airplay for my new music. Most every song today is the same chords for maybe 300 bars. But I imagine they said the same thing about us when we were jumping around on Elvis Presley and Little Richard and Fats Domino and Sam Cooke and Otis Redding and James Brown. I guess it's all in what you call evolution..."

"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."

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

"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."

"I don’t like to seem like I’m bragging, but I’m going to ask you a question. Who owns Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Forever 21? and JC Penney? Me!!! My real business is I own 50 brands, So, when I was retiring, I’m looking around, I’m like ‘How does Michael Jackson and all these guys live forever?’ So, one of the chapters in the book, joint venture-ship. So, I called the three companies, seemingly Authentic Brand Group, Simon Property Group, and Brookfield Property Partners and they bought my brand for a lot of money. So, I took half that money, put it back in the company, now I’m the number two guy in the company. I put money back in the company, and now I own all those other brands, so if I ever go away, we still got Elvis."

"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"

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

"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."

"As Elvis noted, 'A little less conversation, a little more action, please.'"

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

"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."

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

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

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

"I remember watching this guy walk through the door as a regular human being, and the night before he was a master of the stage. That magic that aura, that whatever, he left it on the stage, because when he was with you he was a someone you could talk to, in other words, a very, very nice person."

"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."

"He phoned me and asked me if I would mind if he recorded 'The Wonder of You.' I said, 'You don't have to ask permission; you're Elvis Presley.' He said, 'Yes, I do. You're Ray Peterson."