Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

A couple of years ago, my cousin from Turkey came to visit us in our NJ home. I wasn’t sure about her English, so I was ready to translate between her and my American wife. I hadn’t seen her for more than twenty years and she certainly was a blast from the past as she stirred some distant memories. At one point in our daily conversations, she told my wife that I was crazy about Elvis. I was taken by surprise as much as my wife. It felt like my mother exposing my most disturbing childhood secrets to my wife. I was embarrassed. After a brief pause, my wife talked back with a smile, “Well, everybody was at the time.”

It was long forgotten but it was true. During my teen years, I was fascinated by him. He was my shinning star. His songs filled my rooms. Thus, I couldn’t pass up the chance to write a few lines, since August 16, 2008 marks the 31st anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death.

So, why the obsession with a long-dead Rock ‘n’ Roll star? And who are those people keeping Elvis alive?

I think Elvis fans differ dramatically, and it would be fallacious to place them under one umbrella as they reflect unique groups.

The first group represents people who genuinely enjoyed his music in the context of their era, which peaked between the 1950s and 60s. The music was Rock ‘n’ Roll then, and Elvis was undoubtedly “The King.” As the years went by, these people managed to outgrow Elvis mania. For them, Elvis still remains as a sweet memory of their youth. It was something in which they could only be involved for a certain period of time. They would not make a pilgrimage to Memphis, they would not hold candlelight ceremonies, they would not offer flowers, and they would not display icons.

I think my mother-in law and I fall into this category. We never visited Graceland, never collected Elvis stamps, lamps, or became a member of an Elvis fan club. Now and then we listen to his songs, and that would be enough to satisfy our needs. Yet, there was one item on her wall that helped me to feel at home when I first met her in her NJ home. It might seem weird to know that a Turkish man feels at home in an American home because of one of those wall clocks where the minute and hour hands are synchronized with Elvis’s swinging hips. This was Elvis’s legacy. His music and style deeply penetrated across cultures, unified people who never met before, and made them love the same thing. This was more than what a politician can ever dream to achieve.

What is all this about, really? What might all this fascination with Elvis tell us about ourselves? We may not truly know. But, by looking at clues and reflecting on my own experience, I am almost certain that Elvis represents undeniable universal elements which allow him to cross over language barriers and to enter into the hearts of people from other cultures. During my teen years in Turkey, I barely spoke English, but I managed to memorize the lyrics of all the popular Elvis songs word for word, while I rehearsed his songs over and over. I enjoyed listening to and singing them not because I understood them fully but because they sounded fantastic to me. It wasn’t the semantics; it was the sound of music. Today, twenty-five years later, despite my fully developed auditory capabilities in English, I do not enjoy his songs as much as I did in Turkey. In fact, I rarely listen to them. It almost feels like something magical has been taken away. This may account for other non-native speakers as well.

And what about those revolving hips? Few may realize that Elvis’ only Grammy for a single was awarded for his 1974 recording of How Great Thou Art, a famous hymn. The lyrics which likely reflected his own spiritual roots point to hope beyond human accomplishment.¹ So, Elvis was not all hips. In fact, his softer (Love Me Tender), romantic (It’s Now or Never), melancholic (Are You Lonesome Tonight?), and spiritual-religious side (You Saw Me Crying In The Chapel), seem to weigh more than his vulgar, erotic, and wild side (Jailhouse Rock). Yet, he offered a fascinating unification of all to his generation and the next. During my pre-college years, I remember once giving in to my teasing friends’ persistent demands to sing. They had obviously heard my Elvis inflection, and I must have sounded horrible as my voice cracked and trembled from extreme shyness (even after a few drinks); needless to say, a hip swivel was out of the question.

In summary, the first group represents the average Joe who happens to enjoy his music. This group may represent the fans around the globe more so than the fans in the nation.

The second group, I call them “Elvis professionals.” They are the ones who we are not sure how much “inner Elvis” is left in them. But they are surely active, commercialized, or social members of an Elvis club. They keep the Elvis economy alive. They can provide you with the entire ten- Elvi [plural for Elvis] team on your special day. They invented Elvis fan clubs and even Elvis baby food. And from them you can buy “Always Elvis Wine,” “Barbie Loves Elvis” doll sets, and Elvis mouse pads.¹

For the third and final group, you might want to add “atics” at the end of “fan.” This group ranges from weird collectors to Elvis worshippers. They passionately collect Elvis memorabilia ranging from Elvis lamps—complete with swinging hips—to a Franklin Mint medal. The prized possession of an event manager from Washington, DC is a photocopy of Elvis’ final electrocardiogram, obtained from a nurse who worked in the Memphis hospital where doctors desperately tried to revive his corpse in 1977. The photocopy may be quite valuable.¹

One scholar at the University of Mississippi’s International Conference on Elvis noted, “without looking at spirituality, you can’t explain the Elvis phenomena… There’s a tremendous force that brings people back to Graceland.” Here is a quote from a New Jersey follower, “I sit and talk to him, I feel he hears what I say to him and he gives me the will to go on when things are really bad… I know if anybody ever saw me, they would probably tell me that I was crazy, but I do… I love him… I think I always will.” A southern California doctor wonders if fans may be bonding with a romanticized part of their youth. He adds, “People who don’t have God make a god out of all sorts of things.” Do you know that there is even a “First Presleyterian Church?”¹ It is obvious that for people in this group, Elvis is here to stay. It is a lifestyle. It is bread and water.

Of course, there are those who dislike him—dislike his voice, dislike his look, dislike his vulgar moves. Perhaps for many of us, tension between what we wish to repress and what we wish to express may count for our likes and dislikes. Perhaps, for some, this raven-haired, swivel-hipped entertainer is a national joke or he reveals something that we are not readily willing to share.

Whatever our positions may be, Elvis was and still is one of the most influential musicians of our time.

References

¹ http://www.probe.org/content/view/628/169/