I saw footage of Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley just hanging out together in Memphis when they were young guys getting started at Sun, listening to records together. That was beautiful to me.
Maybe Elvis was inhibited by inbred religious prohibitions or an Oedipal complex, or maybe he simply preferred the thrill of a denied release. Whatever put the brakes on the famous pelvis, it ground to a halt at a certain point, and that was it.
I’ve been with certain stars; some are caring and pay attention to their fans and to their fellow performers and some are too busy. Elvis never seemed too busy.
Elvis was a great guy. We’d just horse around together or go to see a movie. He drove me around Graceland in a golf cart. He was a fan of our music and was curious about how I sounded so black.
You look back at people like Elvis and The Beatles and still get their music because it’s timeless. That’s what I want.
I never felt more loved than when I was with Elvis.
I made up my mind that I was going to be just like Elvis. It never occurred to me that Elvis was a man. I just wanted to be him. He had a huge impact on me, right down to that black leather jumpsuit he wore on the ’68 Comeback Special.
I’ll tell you this: Tommy Morrison has a tattoo of Elvis Presley on his butt, he likes to hunt and fish, and his favorite movie is ‘GoodFellas.’
Throughout the ’50s, tons of unknown locals came through Sun to record their demos. Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis all made their first recordings at the former Memphis Recording Service.
Rolling Stones came later for me. I was a Beatles guy. All of us were pretty much more along the lines of Beatles guys than we were Stones or Elvis.
Elvis is this thing, this commodity, and people forget that he was a real person.
Elvis Presley’s Sun stuff – there’s an album out in England with just about all those sides on it – you know, the sound of that upright bass slapping away: that’s what I like to listen to. That and Richard Pryor, that is.
At first, when we got engaged, I asked him if we could just go to Vegas and get married by Elvis, just because I didn’t want to deal with planning a wedding.
I had an opportunity to meet Elvis, only once. It was at the MGM Grand. It was certainly not at the height of his career. No, it wasn’t at the height of his career, but it was still a thrill to see him and meet him anyway. You know?
I came close to signing Elvis Presley. I offered $25,000 for his contract and they asked for $45,000 and I just didn’t have the other $20,000.
I looked at all the superstars. What is their different thing? Their hair. Beatles, Elvis, James Dean, James Brown, Marilyn Monroe. I wanted to be a star. I said, ‘I have to fix my hair.’
I like the Carpenters and Elvis.
I was raised on Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly and discovered the Stray Cats when I was 11 or 12 years old.
My husband was a pilot. He flew Elvis when Elvis first started making appearances around the country.
And I just remember, you know, breaking into tears and feeling so empty because, as long as Elvis was in the world, you always knew something was going and he always had something that kept everybody mesmerized.
Elvis was a way bigger influence than Waylon Jennings, but you don’t wanna tell people, ‘I never really listened to Waylon.’
Volbeat is one of those bands, where as soon as I hear them, I know who it is. It sounds like Elvis – backed by a Metal band.
There used to be Engelbert dolls with sideburns. Now they sell Elvis dolls with the sideburns, but I don’t begrudge him that.
I think that Vegas is one of the wildest places I’ve ever been to. You can look to your left and there’s a drag queen getting married by Elvis, to the right there is some old bird sticking quarters into a slot machine for hours.
I think, describing Elvis for me would be a very generous king. He was the king of rock and roll, will always be. He’s whats made it possible for everyone to be performers and to do the things they do now.
I used to go down every year for the remembrance of Elvis’ birthday. Memphis State College invited me to sit in the auditorium and speak to the people for one of those Elvis days.
As you know, I played a little trumpet with Elvis. I overdub a few drum licks here and there on a session, but I’m not a drummer by any means.
No, there will come a time where I’m not gonna do this anymore. I mean, there will come a time, definitely, where I’ll turn into Elvis – I’m gonna be fat and fishin’, I guarantee you.
My first guitar was a Gretsch 6120, and I just loved listening to artists like Elvis, Chuck Berry and Stray Cats.
I got the honor of traveling some with Kerry Von Erich. He was as close to a rock star as I’ve ever seen. He had a presence that when he walked into a room, it was like Elvis walking into the room.
With great artists like Elvis, sometimes the songs weren’t the greatest thing about him. When I tried to perform some of the songs, I noticed some of the tunes weren’t all that brilliant, but it was the performance that sold them.
A lot of your rock people, even early, like Elvis, have always come from the South.
Over the years, I’ve come to realize that writing ‘I Ain’t Living Long Like This’ was an exercise in combined musical influence, mostly that of Hank Williams, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Beatles, and Bob Dylan – artists no one has ever heard of.
I don’t think I look like him at all. There is only one Elvis and there Is only one Shakin’ Stevens and I’m getting sick of people asking me that.
Michael’s the ultimate entertainer. After Michael Jackson, it’s Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and Bruce Lee.
I’m completely absorbed by Peter Guralnick’s definitive, two-part biography of Elvis Presley: ‘Last Train To Memphis’ and ‘Careless Love.’ Meticulously researched, this is a compelling mix of history, myth-busting, and, of course, some timeless music.
Elvis walked over and signed a few autographs over the fence. They were screaming. I had never seen this.
As an entertainer, Justin Timberlake has learned from the past. He can cradle a mic stand like Elvis Presley, move like Michael Jackson, and swoon like Frank Sinatra.
Elvis used to have parties at his house – and I’ve told this story a million times – but they weren’t really parties, because there was no chips or dip. Just Elvis and his boys watching TV, and him making funny comments, and everybody laughing at them. Is that a party? Not really. But that’s Hollywood.
I was very keen on people like Elvis, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Gene Vincent.
I can remember just learning to walk and trying to dance like Elvis and sing like Elvis, so I was very, very passionate about music at a very young age.
I was obsessed with Elvis Presley when I was little.
I was onstage with Menudo since I was 12 years old. To us, the most successful one was the guy with the most fans. If you moved your hips and the girls screamed, you were getting it right. Who wouldn’t want to be like Elvis or Jim Morrison!
Elvis deserves a lot of credit for bringing the blues to middle America, not the Vegas stuff. The early stuff, The Sun records, and the first few RCA records. He was wonderful, he had the power, the drive, and he was so dedicated to his music.
They say Elvis is dead. I say, no, you’re looking at him. Elvis isn’t dead; he just changed color.
Anyone who’s got a guitar, you like to pick it up. I can play a couple of songs, some ’50s rock and roll, a bit of Elvis. That’s it, really – I’m not a musician, I’m not a singer.
Guys like Otis Blackwell and Bobby Darin, and all the guys who were writing songs for Elvis at the time, just hanging around, writing songs, talking about music.
When people say Jerry Lee Lewis invented rock n’ roll, they forget Little Richard. People talk about Elvis Presley and forget he was singing black music. I don’t blame Elvis. It was the music business figuring it could make more money from this music if it weren’t presented from the original source.
When I was a kid, and Elvis Presley broke through to a middle class, white audience, it was a sociological phenomenon that lasted through the Beatles and even a bit through Fleetwood Mac.
Every performer who ever performed in rock and roll or even close to it is lying if they tell you that they weren’t influenced in some way or another by Elvis Presley. He turned the world around.
When somebody like Elvis Costello comes along, anybody can make a good record with him.
I am to wrestling what Elvis was to rock n’ roll!
When I heard Elvis Presley, then I knew I had to do music. Music is my god, and is the only love that has never left me. It has always been there and is my best friend.
Elected office holds more perks than Elvis’ nightstand.
I’m sure that Elvis was happy for me. I think he was the kind of guy that enjoyed other people’s success, especially if he had something to do with it.
The Best of Elvis Presley, Doris Day, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Hailey and the Comets, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Frankie Laine all topped the charts in the ’50s. Load a playlist of rock n’ roll royalty. You’re spoilt for choice.
I met Elvis first in Las Vegas. I think I was appearing with Tom Jones and he came backstage to say hello to Tom or we went to his dressing room to say hello.
I still have an old painting the Colonel gave me. It was the first time the Colonel had been back to the Hilton since Elvis had passed away.
