Johnny Cash impersonating Elvis.
posted by twoleftfeet on Aug 23, 2009 - 42 comments

Fifty years ago, those decrying rock 'n' roll as devil music that would crumble the morals of America needed to look no further than Wanda Jackson for evidence. Her raspy, brassy voice, suggestive lyrics, and sexual energy were almost unbelievable for the Eisenhower years. Coaxed into singing rockabilly by her then-boyfriend, Elvis, she had a string of rock hits, before marrying and IBM programmer and switching to more traditional, conservative country music.
posted by Jon_Evil on Aug 20, 2009 - 23 comments

Bono's poem Elvis: American David, annotated by professor John Sutherland
posted by fearfulsymmetry on May 6, 2009 - 57 comments

A thing called love.
posted by vronsky on Mar 6, 2009 - 18 comments

This past Spring, Oklahoma State Representative Joe Dorman (D-Rush Springs) and State Senator John Ford (R-Bartlesville) joined together to put their bipartisan support behind House Concurrent Resolution 1047, a bill to designate the Official Rock Song of Oklahoma, as to be chosen by the people. As long as the song was written or recorded by an artist from Oklahoma, it would be eligible. The lengthy list of nominees has now been pared down to ten, and the voting has opened online. The finalists vary from Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" (written by Okie Mae Boren Axton) to "Do You Realize," by The Flaming Lips, and my personal pick, Three Dog Night's "Never Been to Spain." [more inside]
posted by Navelgazer on Sep 4, 2008 - 50 comments

Meet gold-toothed Vegas rapper Thug "Money Man" Presley, cousin to The King. Real name Kristopher Presley, Thug has been serving time in jail and just pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter for running over someone with an SUV in 2004. [more inside]
posted by miss lynnster on Sep 2, 2008 - 53 comments

"The most brutal, ugly, degenerate, vicious form of expression it has been my displeasure to hear," Frank Sinatra wrote of rock 'n' roll during the time of Elvis Presley. But Frank wasn't stupid... he knew his relevance was fading and if you can't beat 'em, you have to join 'em. So in 1960, Elvis Presley was welcomed home from his two year military tour by the Frank Sinatra Timex Show "Welcome Home Elvis" special. Later Sinatra said, "I'm just a singer. Elvis was the embodiment of the whole American culture."
posted by miss lynnster on Feb 26, 2008 - 17 comments

Often described as Elvis's favorite sandwich, the Fool's Gold Loaf has to be seen to be believed. Not satisfied with mere still pictures? Try the video from this Spokesman-Review story. Even in its glory, though, the Fool's Gold Loaf is just one (three-pound) part of the Elvis gastronomen: if you want to eat like Elvis, the way is clear. And, of course, there are plenty of cookbooks.
posted by scrump on Feb 5, 2008 - 67 comments

Hamsters are pretty good at video games. Maybe he would have done better if he and his hamster coach had mastered the super hamster wheel. Or maybe he should have brought along his slithery pal for backup. At least he tried, and didn't turn to the bottle for comfort. Here little guy, have some popcorn and some Elvis as a reward.
posted by lazaruslong on Aug 27, 2007 - 8 comments

Today is the 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley so it seems somewhat appropriate that we remember not only The man King but his music as well, including Jailhouse Rock, Love Me Tender, In The Ghetto, Unchained Melody, Always on My Mind, Burning Love, Suspicious Minds, Return to Sender, Blue Christmas, Heartbreak Hotel, It's Now Or Never, Hound Dog, My Way, Don't Be Cruel, Way Down, Are You Lonesome Tonight, Amazing Grace, You've Lost That Loving Feeling, Promised Land, Viva Las Vegas and many more. Here's the lyrics if you want to sing along to any of those. Not a fan of his music? Fair enough. Why not go make yourself a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich? Just don't eat 12 to 15 of them in one sitting!
posted by Effigy2000 on Aug 15, 2007 - 78 comments

Elvis Lives.
posted by sgt.serenity on Jul 14, 2007 - 34 comments

Fifty years ago today Elvis Presley recorded what would prove to be one of the iconic standards of the rock'n'roll canon, Leiber and Stoller's Jailhouse Rock. The song's sly allusions ("number 47 said to number three, you're the cutest jailbird I ever did see") to same-sex prison liaisons went unnoticed (or at least uncommented on) at the time, and it stayed a US #1 radio hit for 7 weeks straight. The unisex production number [youtube] from the movie of the same name has come to be recognized as one of the grandfathers of the pop/rock video. A black-leather-clad, still-svelte Presley performed the song on his 1968 [youtube] "comeback" TV special, and was singing it (slurred delivery, sequins and all) right up into 1977 [youtube], the year of his death. In 1980 John Belushi and company turned in a fine version [youtube] as the closer to the Blues Brothers movie, and the song was a regular feature of their live [youtube] shows as well. Happy 50th birthday, Jailhouse Rock!
posted by flapjax at midnite on May 2, 2007 - 52 comments

Twenty-two browned, hollowed-out loaves of Italian white bread. Twenty-two pounds of bacon. Twenty-two jars of peanut butter. Twenty-two jars of jelly. Forty-eight tablespoons of butter. A case of Perrier. A case of champagne. And the King.
posted by WCityMike on Apr 5, 2007 - 40 comments

Rock 'n Roll Disciples [qt] (also known as Mondo Elvis and The Cult That Is Elvis) is a 30-minute 1984 indie documentary about Elvis worshippers.

Artie Mentz, professional Elvis impersonator, tells of how Elvis' death has altered his experience as an impersonator. "Now it's sort of like being a duplicate without an original." He also discusses his five year old son following in his footsteps. Artie's wife Ellie is obviously supportive of Artie's profession, despite financial hardships. Judy and Jenny Caroll, teenage identical twins, on their relationships with boys: "If they say anything against God or Elvis, they get thrown out on their ass." They reveal their belief that Elvis is their father. Frankie "Buttons" Horrocks tells us that her husband left her because of "excessive devotion to Elvis."

Poignant and hilarious. Also available on YouTube in three segment: 1,2,3.
posted by Armitage Shanks on Mar 14, 2007 - 7 comments

"Window in the Sky" is a YouTube style video synch mash-up done on a professional budget with the magic of copyright clearances. "It's a triumph of postmodern reconstruction" says the Washington Post.
posted by stbalbach on Jan 29, 2007 - 160 comments

Elvis: King of the Rock 'n' Roll Jews? Unlike George Allen, Elvis proudly embraced his Jewish heritage. Through his mother's side of the family, Elvis could trace his lineage back to his Jewish great-grandmother, Martha Tackett, which makes Elvis Jewish by matrilineal descent. A former shabbos goy who did chores on the Sabbath for a rabbi in Memphis, Elvis had his biggest-selling success with a #1 hit by a Jewish songwriting team. Known to wear a Hebrew Chai pendant and to donate to Jewish charities in Memphis, Elvis also put the Star of David on his Mom's gravestone.
posted by jonp72 on Oct 2, 2006 - 49 comments

The Afghan Elvis (with YouTube clip), the Soviet Elvis (played by Tom Hanks), the French Elvis (now seeking Belgian citizenship), the Mexican Elvis, the Swedish Elvis, the Filipino Elvis, the Chinese Elvis, the Sikh Elvis, the Japanese Elvis who became a Prime Minister, and other foreign Elvii.
posted by jonp72 on Aug 21, 2006 - 20 comments

Bush and Koizumi: Roadtrip to Graceland - NYT link
posted by lilboo on Jun 29, 2006 - 10 comments

What song was #1 (in the U.S.) on the day you were born? On my b'day, it was "Stuck on You" by Elvis the Pelvis
posted by mickeyz on Feb 20, 2006 - 245 comments

Looks like mah horse has left ... From 1974, a 35 minute montage of Elvis’s on-stage banter, non-segues, non-sequiturs, bad jokes, requests for scarves, and whole lotta “Well…well…well”’s.
posted by carter on Jan 8, 2006 - 18 comments

Glaucoma [w/Flash audio. NB: mouse-over bottom-left for Elvis. Obviously]
posted by Pretty_Generic on Oct 21, 2005 - 16 comments

Jackie Brenston , Ike Turner, Joe Hill Louis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and of course Elvis all passed thur Sun Records in the 1950's. PBS American Masters Good Rockin' Tonight The Legacy of Sun Records has good music and history of the blues and rock and roll. Paul McCarty, Live and other preform the old tunes.
posted by bjgeiger on Aug 3, 2005 - 24 comments

Elvis Post-It Note Mosaic "My boss decided that we needed to do something fun and creative in one of our conference rooms - the one we use for brainstorming and internal meetings - and together we came up with the idea of filling the wall with post-it notes in a multicolored mosaic of (and i’m not sure whose idea this was) Elvis."
posted by ColdChef on Jun 22, 2005 - 15 comments

Doctor Ammondt. When Jukka Ammondt is not too busy teaching European Romantic Literature at Finland's Jyväskylä University, he enjoys recording rock'n'roll covers in Latin. For Dr. Ammondt's 1997 CD, "Rocking in Latin", he has covered, among others, Shake, Rattle and Roll (Quate, Crepa, Rota) and All Shook Up (Nunc Distrahor). More recently, Dr. Ammondt has released an EP in which he sings Sumerian, featuring a cover of the Elvis hit "Blue Suede Shoes" ("E-sír kusv-za-gìn-g-á", which roughly translates to "On my sandals of sky-blue leather do not step!"). Live, he wears a leather kilt, blue sandals and is "backed up by musicians dressed as Sumerian governors". He has received the Pope's Medal in 1994. Ammondt will release a single, Codex Fluitans, and dedicate it to the Pope on the day of his funeral. (Previous Metafilter mention here.)
posted by ori on Apr 7, 2005 - 1 comment

George Washington University's National Security Archive carries a collection of declassified US documents and articles on Saddam Hussein; Mexico, Cuba and other Latin American countries; Nixon's meeting with Elvis; the CIA and Nazi war criminals; etc.
posted by plep on Feb 10, 2005 - 8 comments

If rats can distinguish between Japanese and Dutch , why would Elvis have looked like this at age 70?
posted by mcgraw on Jan 9, 2005 - 21 comments

If you've been paying attention, then you're probably aware that Clear Channel own your favorite (or least favorite) radio station, your local concert venues, the promoter who organizes shows for them, the billboards that advertise the show, and the company you bought the tickets from. And now they own your favorite dead rock star. SFX Entertainment, a promoter owned by Clear Channel, has bought an 85% share of Elvis Presley's estate and name from Lisa Marie Presley. That includes Graceland. Wow, do they ever suck. (Salon agrees.)
posted by logovisual on Dec 16, 2004 - 37 comments

More Elvis ice cream flavors! After Edy's introduces All Shook Up Sundae and Love Me Tender Brownies.
posted by braun_richard on Jul 21, 2004 - 9 comments

Chinese Elvis.
posted by reklaw on Jul 10, 2004 - 17 comments

Cutting up the King: This seems sacrilegious, even if the tapes are deteriorating. They're planning to cut up some of Elvis Presley's original master tapes from Sun Studio and sell them as collectibles. I suppose one could email the publicity contact if this bothered them. The snipping starts tomorrow.
posted by bendybendy on Jan 26, 2004 - 8 comments

I wish Elvis had lived long enough to record La Vida Loca... but since he did not, I have to content myself with "Kingtinued", a CD of modern, largely A.E.D. (After Elvis' Death) tunes recorded in the style of the large one. Only the highest quality material was selected for the CD, to be sure.
posted by jonson on Apr 17, 2003 - 13 comments

Saddam sightings. SARS sightings. It's just like Elvis, right? But why use the tired "Elvis sighting" cliche (and trivialize his memory) when you could use Lord Lucan instead? Like this example from the BBC: [scroll to the Baghdad :: Andrew Gilligan :: 1016GMT entry]. Saddam Hussein has already been spotted in more places than Lord Lucan. He's been in the Russian embassy, he's been in the mosque this morning, he's alleged to be on a convoy to Syria - no doubt he'll soon be found on a sofa in Huddersfield.
posted by TheManWhoKnowsMostThings on Apr 10, 2003 - 4 comments

Ladies & Gentlemen, the Elvis Presley Jumpsuit Index. I was little more than five years old when he died, but to my little kid comprehension he looked in real-life the way my Saturday morning heroes looked on television.
posted by grabbingsand on Mar 18, 2003 - 4 comments

Elvis so loved the world that he died, fat and bloated, in a bathroom. For unto you is born this day in the city of Memphis a Presley, which is Elvis the King. And Elvis saw them berating the poor recording artist, whose music was terrible and lyrics insipid, and Lo, the King said unto the mob: "Let him who is without bad singles cast the first rhinestone." And the mob turned down their eyes, each considering his own Don't Worry Be Happy or Man in the Mirror, and shuffled off. "Thank you," said Elvis. "Thank you very much."
posted by quonsar on Feb 28, 2003 - 18 comments

Since it's Elvis Presley's 68th birthday today and Richard Nixon's 90th birthday tomorrow, it's only natural to herald the December 21, 1970 meeting that has inspired a novel, a Showtime made-for-cable movie, musical novelties, and a mini-memoir from a Nixon staffer. The National Archives has received so many requests for photos of Elvis shaking hands with Nixon that they posted this online exhibit.
posted by jonp72 on Jan 8, 2003 - 8 comments

The King As Art. Artist Naoki Mitsuse writes, "I remember reading an article in the morning paper about a local teenage girl who had thrown herself out of a balcony of a tall apartment building, leaving a note that said something like, 'now that Elvis is dead, I have nothing to live for and goodbye.' This had a profound impact on me and I realized then, that Elvis was a very powerful man." So the artist created two series of Elvis paintings that are way better than any Elvis on black velvet you might find on eBay.
posted by VelvetHellvis on Dec 30, 2002 - 10 comments

Elvis was a hero to most but he never meant shit to me … "Media arrogance and dishonesty means we are eternally bound to live in a skewed world where Elvis is king of rock'n'roll, Clapton is the guitar god, Sinatra is the voice and Astaire is the greatest dancer." Is it right to celebrate an artist who’s fame derived from appropriating and diluting the original music of black America?
posted by niceness on Aug 16, 2002 - 111 comments

The King is dead ... long live the King?
posted by walrus on Aug 16, 2002 - 8 comments

Is The King Finally Dead, After 25 Years? Elvis Presley died on 16 August 1977 and, silly season or not, The Observer, kicking off with Nik Cohn's above-linked essay, has assembled a cracking collection of articles, interviews and humorous pieces about the controversial crooner, mainly directed (I'd say) at non-fans. To my mind, the most enjoyable are Nigel Slater's brave attempt to make the famous Presley sandwich; the weird interview with Larry Geller, his hairdresser and spiritual advisor; the account of Elvis's only (secret) visit to Britain; Michael Odell's funny set of instructions on how not to behave at an Elvis party; an interview with George Nichopoulos, the doctor who wrote out more than 10,000 prescriptions for him; a round-up of ludicrous ex-girlfriends' memories and, as an after-thought, a collector's report on locating that legendary first "Uh-huh" of his. It's all good stuff but one has to ask whether, in this day and age, it isn't, er, overkill. Is Elvis Presley still that relevant or is he slowly becoming a figure of fun? Whether or not he's actually dead, of course, is entirely another matter...
posted by MiguelCardoso on Aug 11, 2002 - 22 comments

Fanatic or aficionado??? 3000 photos, 30 concerts, three oil paintings, and more. Obsess much? If he didn't already live with his mother, he should shack up with the hostess of the now defunct 24 Hour Church of Elvis.
posted by illusionaire on Aug 2, 2002 - 23 comments

Act quick! Your chance to own an important piece of history may be passing you by. You'll show the TV who the king is!
posted by jazzkat11 on Jul 13, 2002 - 2 comments

The King Lives! Elvis is back on top of the United Kingdom Singles chart with the remix of "A Little Less Conversation". This is Elvis' 17th UK #1 moving him past the Beatles for the most ever. In other news, Disney's Lilo and Stitch features an Elvis imitating alien. All this is in advance of the 25th Anniversary of the King's Passing, which will be commemorated with an RCA album "ELV1S 30 #1 Hits", which is to include all #30 of Elvis' hits internationally. The King Truly Lives!
posted by wsfinkel on Jun 19, 2002 - 17 comments

Elvis: a sign of the coming of the Messianic Age? Yup, Elvis Memphimus Rex Rocandrollus. He has his own shrine in Jerusalem. And now Schmelvis resurrects the King. (Not to be confused with Schelvis , though, a tasty treat of a different order).
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen on Apr 1, 2002 - 11 comments

Kansas doctor claims Elvis has left the surgery What would you do if you just published a book?
posted by ginz on Mar 5, 2002 - 11 comments

More Elvis Goodness from Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi, who recently released a CD of his favorite Elvis tunes. What's next, a collection of Dubya's favorite Garth Brooks tracks?
posted by dogmatic on Aug 23, 2001 - 3 comments

Oops, I guess we missed Elvis' return (and so did everyone else). This guy claims to have met the ghost of Elvis, and that 'The King' wrote songs for him from the grave. Need a bigger laugh? Then check out the audio clips on the home page.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Elvis has most definitely left this universe!"
posted by Sal Amander on Aug 23, 2001 - 6 comments

Buckley (Heart) Elvis? No, it's not a liberal v. conservative thing. Writing an Elvis book just does not fit the William F. Buckley image. Ontime spy novelist. Erudite PBS show host. Shows up in places like House Beautiful, waxing witty about homes and home decor, with references to the Metropolitan Opera and such. I too love the Big E, but this is baffling and hilarious. He apparently discusses his E fixation in the upcoming (and usually outstanding) Southern Music Issue of the Oxford American. Thoughts? Is the new American literary dream to retire and write an Elvis book, as opposed to the Great American Novel?
posted by raysmj on Jul 16, 2001 - 22 comments

What do Elvis, Jackie Robinson, and Lucille Ball have in common? They were the first 3 'famous persons' to have their FBI files put online. And this is about as close you'll ever get to the real X-Files
posted by bison on Jul 10, 2001 - 6 comments

Only in Las Vegas... If you're considering an elopement to Las Vegas, but don't want the friends and family to miss out, the Little White Chapel on the Strip now offers live streaming and on-demand replays of those touching moments when the Elvis impersonator goes into "Falling In Love With You". This is what the net was meant for.
posted by holgate on May 14, 2001 - 3 comments

Happy Elvis Day! The Oregon Legislature considers a bill to make January 8 Elvis day. Considering Portland is the home of the 24-Hour Church of Elvis and a beloved (and weird) street performer named Elvis, this is somewhat fitting.
posted by frykitty on Mar 6, 2001 - 21 comments