Ever seen Elvis live?

Subject: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Leadbelly
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 03:29 PM

Well, I haven't, although he spent some of time in Germany. But there must be a lot of other people (and especially Mudcatters) which have had the opportunity to listen to him. If you like, please tell us about your impressions and when and where it was. Do you still remember?

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 03:56 PM

Surely he is dead?

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Leadbelly
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 05:49 PM

Is he? What a surprise! Which difference does it make concerning to my serious question? Nevertheless, Richie, thanks for your reply on a hot saturday evening.

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Bill H //\\
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 06:27 PM

Just yesterday-- in the express checkout lane at the local 7/11---he was just behind Michael Jackson. They both seem to enjoy purchasing Heavenly Ham Sandwiches. Strange.

Bill Hahn

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Art Thieme
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 07:14 PM

Leadbelly

Respectfullly, I think that Mudcat isn't the place to find tons of Elvis fans. More often than not, many of us were repulsed by him and his personna--his voice--his sound and also his repertory. I know I was.

On a personal note, I'll be mailing your small package out to you after our holiday here in the U.S. of A. Hope you'll enjoy it.

Art

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: GUEST,lox
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 07:16 PM

I thought it was the man down the chipshop ...

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: TRUBRIT
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 08:19 PM

I sawchim live at Bloomington Indiana -- I think it was about the last concert he did -- if I remember correctly his concert in Indianapolis was cancelled due to his death. It was a huge facilitiu -- you could only really see him on the huge video screens they had there. But I had loved him as a young teenager and it was exciting to see him -- and he can (could) sing......

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Beer
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 10:12 PM

I was around 10 when Elvis hit the radio and t.v. Hank was already dead. Then there were all the other greats, most of them gone. However to say Art, that "many of us were repulsed by him and his personna--his voice--his sound and also his repertory", I do not agree with. We may not discuss Elvis much on Mudcat but I would gladly wager that many if not most Mudcat members loved his music and what he contributed to music.
Beer (adrien)

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Art Thieme
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 11:09 PM

Adrien,

I respect your feelings. Really. Your posts here at Mudcat are always thoughtful and enlightening.------- The things I said about E.P. were true for me right from the beginning. It was hard to ignore his phenomenon, like it is impossible to ignore Michael Jackson or the popularity of soccer or curling. Nothing about Elvis, or anything that he did musically, ever clicked with me in any way. Lurking here at Mudcat are many folk folks who possibly do agree with me. Inexplicably, there are others who liked him as well.

I'm reminded about how shocked we were when, after Watergate and the presidential resignation, old Richard Nixon was not only coming out and making speeches, but crowds of people were coming out to hear him. ----- We, then, took note of the fact that: Even a dead whale on a flatcar draws crowds!

All the best,

Art

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Beer
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 11:31 PM

Thank you Art for those kind words. My Dad could not stand him. I remember how upset he would get when "All Shook Up" was played. But i had brothers and sisters older than me who were picking up the guitars and playing or forming R&R bands. So although country was very poplar in the house the rock and roll was making it's way in as well. You have also explained it well when you mentioned "Michael Jackson". I for one am not moved in any way by his music but I recognize his musical genius even though it is not to my liking.
Be well Art and thank you for your explanation.
Adrien

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Peace
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 11:35 PM

"Nothing about Elvis, or anything that he did musically, ever clicked with me in any way."

I liked Jailhouse Rock and Fools Rush In. That was it. Never saw him live. Never wanted to.

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Beer
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 11:53 PM

I really loved the way Arlo Guthrie did "Falling in Love with You". The live concert version form Europe somewhere.
Ad.

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Beer
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 11:58 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSF89swJ9IU

Adrien

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Mick Tems
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 07:58 AM

Fascinating article from years back in the Western Mail about Elvis and his Welsh connections, including the Pembrokeshire chapel dedicated to St Elvis, who was a Welsh saint. Can't remember the facts exactly, but it's an interesting theory: Was Elvis Welsh?

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Duke
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 08:18 AM

I was a big fan of Elvis and his music from day one and I still enjoy listening to him today. It was Elvis who got me started on playing guitar. I saw him live once and will remember it all my days. I was in the front seats for his concert at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. It was magical!

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: olddude
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 08:35 AM

Funny but I only liked some of his music after he passed away. Before that I didn't care much. I was never a big fan but I did like "love me tender"
along with a couple of others. Now many of my friends and family absolutely lived for his music. There is no doubt the impact his music had on the evolution of rock and roll however. Some song I could not handle even a little were things like "hound dog" boy I never understood the appeal of that one but many folks sure did. He was another troubled soul that passed way before his time sadly

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: JedMarum
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 08:45 AM

I used to think I was weird because I always disliked Elvis. He was a bit before my time, but I just never understood how everyone seemed to love him. Then I found out I wasn't the only one who couldn't stand him.

I felt pretty much the same way about Michael Jackson. I never understood how so many people liked this guy - and then blamed it all on music. In the case of Elvis, his musical skill was pretty limited.

In the case of Jackson - if he had musical skill he did his best to hide it.

I just don't get it, with these guys.

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: JedMarum
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 08:50 AM

You know I don't mean to disparage Elvis fans (or Michael fans). I realize that I am in the minority on this issue. This is just my personal response to these guys.

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Becca72
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 09:34 AM

He was due to play in Portland, Maine but died something like 2 days before. I never saw him, but I was 5 when he died. I would like to have, though.

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 10:04 AM

Oh come on, guys, Elvis was very sexy at times! :0) He had the most beautiful face....I loved his later stuff, because I was a born a little later I guess. 'In The Ghetto' was my favourite...

I loved his jumpsuits...they were cool..and the way he wiggled those hips...made me smile. :0)

It was pouring with rain in Pinner, where I lived then, the day Elvis died..Torrential rain, flooding everywhere, and folks were canoeing down in Pinner Village, where the mighty River Pinn, normally little more than a stream, had burst its banks....They were canoeing er..in the road, all very strange.

Maybe the angels were all Elvis fans, and were crying tears of joy that at long last he was going to be wiggling those hips amongst them.

I think, like Michael Jackson, he had a very sweet nature, and one that was taken advantage of terribly, by those who made a fortune from him. It was sad the way he ended his days, very sad indeed.

a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ox1Tore9nw">In The Ghetto - Youtube

My kids love his music, especially this one..
Jailhouse Rock - In Colour - Youtube

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 10:06 AM

Oops!

In The Ghetto - Youtube

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 10:12 AM

Ooh, just found an interview with a 21 year old Elvis...He sounds so *little* ...

Awwww...

1956 interview - Youtube

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Art Thieme
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 12:38 PM

I think I've mentioned before that I was a member of a folk quartet with Elvis, Patti Page and Rosemary Clooney.

We were known to one and all as:





Pressley, Page, Rosemary, and Thieme.

Art

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: fat B****rd
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 02:52 PM

I wish I'd seen Elvis before the films became so awful. That is, with Scotty, Bill and DJ. The two people I know who saw Michael Jackson, saw him in the early 1990s and reckon it was an amazing show.

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Bugsy
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 08:21 PM

I always thought that Elvis had a good voice and quite a large range to boot. I really liked his early stuff, (stuck on you, don't, etc)
He also came across as quite a shy man off stage.

I saw Michael Jackson in Australia a few years ago (My wife made me go). That said, the music and dancing was top notch and the show was quite spectacular. He even ended one song with a Sherman Tank bursting through a wall at the back of the stage!

I don't think there's any denying they were both very talented men. Their private lives is a whole other story.


Cheers

Bugsy

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Arkie
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 10:07 PM

Sometime in the early 1950s, when I was 16 or 17, a cousin and I drove to Norfolk, Virginia to see a country music concert featuring Hank Snow. Elvis had a spot on the show. I saw him for the first time and heard of him for the first time. He was an interesting contrast to Hank Snow and Slim Whitman who was also on the bill. He did not steal the show as far as I was concerned nor did he "bring down the house". We all wanted to see Hank Snow. The M.C came out after Elvis' performance and worked the crowd for an encore. I said to my cousin "it looks like someone is trying real hard to promote this fellow". I was glad to have seen him and really enjoyed Hank and Slim. I began to enjoy some of his recordings more and bought copies of "That's All Right Mama", "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" and "I Forgot To Remember To Forget" and was in the audience for his first film, "Love Me Tender". I was never an Elvis nut though and lost interest as he became an "idol". I did enjoy some of his recordings over the years.

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 05 Jul 09 - 11:44 PM

I grew up on rock and roll and am still a rocker deep in my heart, and to Elvis Presley he is one of the greatest voices in rock, perhaps THE greatest. His influence is still reflected in rock, and country, and blues, to this day. Heartbreak Hotel is probably the earliest, gutsiest recorded performance by a white man of what had previously been a black music idiom. He probably also did more to forge the image of what a "Rock Star" is than anyone after him...isolation, wealth, excess, drugs, drama on stage...and I know many resent that.
Never saw him live. I would love to have seen the pre-army Elvis, raw, bluesy, and breaking down barriers left and right. The Vegas Elvis was long past his sell-by date.

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: GUEST,Jimmy. C.
Date: 06 Jul 09 - 12:32 AM

I liked him but was never a huge fan. My wife was and she had the opportunity to see him in 1975 in Buffalo(I believe). She went with some friends but I took a pass, a bit sorry that I did not go. All they saw was a little figue in white a good distance from their seats.

I did go to Graceland though and from what I gather he was a very ordinary chap and really like the simple things in life, but having to live day after day with that level of publicity around you would change anybody. I much preferred Little Richard.

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 06 Jul 09 - 12:45 AM

as much as i love some of Elvis classic culure definitive performance,
I'd have been so much more enthralled to see Billy Fury
in concert
in his prime..

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Jul 09 - 01:34 AM

I never saw Elvis live, but we were living near Memphis, in Oxford MS, when he died. The Michael Jackson coverage reminds me of the wall-to-wall coverage the Memphis media gave Elvis' death and funeral. They couldn't have hyped the story any more if Elvis had risen after in three days.

I like Elvis' very early stuff. In 1956 his music was tremendously exciting compared to the bland, predigested tinpan alley crap on the radio at our house -- and once Elvis was on the radio they started playing other exciting musicians, too. Some of the other guys had been around for years, but I'd never heard them on our radio. It was quite an eye-opener. Those first couple years were great, but I didn't care much for anything Elvis did after that.
- Phil

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: fat B****rd
Date: 06 Jul 09 - 04:46 AM

Billy Fury !! Punkfolkrocker, I saw BF 3 times in package shows at the (then) Ritz cinema, Cleethorpes in the early 60s. The first time he was...slightly incapacitated..and only sang Wondrous Place. the other two shows were great.He could rock a bit as well as the ballads he was best known for.

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Will Fly
Date: 06 Jul 09 - 05:34 AM

I remember being totally knocked out when I (at the age of 12) first heard "Heartbreak Hotel". It just blew a gust of fresh air through what was, in the UK at any rate, a cloud of dull, drippy, boring musical crap. That's how it seemed to me as a young lad at the time.

And time, of course, has coloured and changed that initial impression. I found out later about the earlier Sun recordings, which I think are outstanding - gutsy, rocking, and a great mix of musical styles from the black and white racial sides of America. He was a great singer and a great performer in those days - and incredibly influential. I didn't care much for him post-1969, and I never saw him live. Presley was an original. I actually preferred rockers like Little Richard and Chuck Berry, but early Presley is not to be dismissed.

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 06 Jul 09 - 08:09 AM

"I'd have been so much more enthralled to see Billy Fury
in concert
in his prime.."

I did, Lincoln ABC (or might have been Donny). One of the first shows, if not the first, I ever went to. He was excellent.

"Was Elvis Welsh?"

Not unless they moved Tupelo.

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 06 Jul 09 - 08:32 AM

Sorry, I was a Buddy Holly fan.

And the first major performer(s) I saw was, believe it or not, the Beatles in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (followed a few months later by the Rolling Stones).

Linn

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Leadbelly
Date: 06 Jul 09 - 05:19 PM

Art: I didn't expect to find "tons of Elvis fans". And obviously he has a splitted image amongst Mudcatters and in the universe, too.

On the other hand, this question which has nothing to do with gone Michael Jackson was made by pure interest in this singer and people, who have had a chance to see him live.
At least at the beginning he was an impressive phenomena. By the way, in contrary to Jackson his music came in first place. His music worked without clips on television. He-like all others in this period of time- managed to impress people by pure music while Jackson impressed by dancing/ choreography in first line.

Art, I'm absolutely sure that I will enjoy your package! Counting days..

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Arkie
Date: 06 Jul 09 - 05:42 PM

I am very glad to have seen Elvis live and in his early days with Scotty and Bill at his side. In the days before the high collars and fancy scarves. There was a little movement but not the exaggerated and rehearsed gyrations that later became trademarks. At that time showmanship in country music meant lavish rhinestone suits. Elvis put something personal in his performance and was dressed in a red blazer and black pants. While I was not blown out of my seat, it was a historic occasion for me and I enjoyed it enough to seek out a Sun 78rpm record.

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 06 Jul 09 - 05:59 PM

By the time I was old enough to have seen Elvis live, he'd already made the transition from "King of Rock-'n-Roll" to "King of Overpaid Lounge Singers".

Subject: RE: Ever seen Elvis live?
From: Les from Hull
Date: 07 Jul 09 - 12:20 PM

Never saw Elvis. Never saw Michael Jackson. Ahh, it's been a good life!