{"id":3185,"date":"2015-02-04T14:59:30","date_gmt":"2015-02-04T14:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/?p=3185"},"modified":"2015-02-04T16:39:50","modified_gmt":"2015-02-04T16:39:50","slug":"elvis-retrospective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/2015\/02\/elvis-retrospective\/","title":{"rendered":"Elvis Retrospective"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"elvis\"<\/a>In today\u2019s world, where celebrities out of style faster than clothing, it\u2019s almost impossible to imagine one musician transcending the crowd of competing stars and getting to a new level, a step above everyone else. \u00a0Many have tried and failed: The Beatles, arguably the greatest band ever, could not take the step above the Rolling Stones. \u00a0\u2018N Sync, although they tried for years, could never move higher than competition with the Backstreet Boys. \u00a0One Direction, try as they might, will not be anything more than they already are: a boy band – that\u2019s not going to change. \u00a0Moving out of a niche and transcending popular culture is, today, almost impossible.<\/p>\n

At one point in history, however, it happened: the boundaries between rock and gospel, between jazz and blues, between country and soul, were shattered, and one singer transcended the boundaries of popular music and became an icon. \u00a0The man who did the shattering and took a position unmatched to this day in popular culture, was born on January 8th, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, and would have celebrated his 80th birthday earlier this month. \u00a0His name: Elvis Presley.<\/p>\n

When Elvis burst onto the scene with his first single, That\u2019s All Right, in 1954, Rock and Roll was in its infancy. \u00a0Taking inspiration from big band music of the 1940s and popular songs written in the 1930s and earlier, it had a new sound, which was not set in stone. \u00a0Rock could take on many different forms, from ballads based on popular songs to up-tempo interpretations of blues classics. \u00a0Elvis fit perfectly into this fluid musical landscape: his voice, one of the most versatile ever, was a match for any song, from the rapid-fire country-influenced (For example, Blue Suede Shoes) to ballads sung in the style of gospel, like Love Me Tender. \u00a0Elvis could sing anything, and his popularity reflected that: within months of releasing his first album in 1956, Elvis had become a national superstar.<\/p>\n

Elvis\u2019 omnipresence has been recognized time and time again. \u00a0\u201cMore than 20 years ago, he burst upon the scene with an impact that was unprecedented and will probably never be equaled. His music and his personality, fusing the styles of white country and black rhythm and blues, permanently changed the face of American popular culture,\u201d said then-president Jimmy Carter after Elvis\u2019 death in 1977. \u00a0The same sentiment is echoed today. \u00a0\u201cWhen Elvis was there, they stopped everything. \u00a0Elvis had the moment for real,\u201d said 50 Cent. \u00a0\u201cWhile I\u2019m here, it\u2019s not all about 50 Cent, but it was all about Elvis.\u201d \u00a0Elvis\u2019 omnipresence, unequaled since his death, was a breathtaking, jaw-dropping experience for all who experienced it.<\/p>\n

Because of his status as an icon, combined with ridiculously good looks (“I\u2019m straight as an arrow, and you stop, whether you’re male or female, to look at him, he was that good looking,\u201d said television producer Steve Binder in 1968), Elvis, in addition to transcending music, also laid the groundwork for the character of the now commonplace musician\/sex symbol. \u00a0The level of adoration of his fans inspired a new generation of musicians. \u00a0\u201cWithout Elvis, there wouldn\u2019t have been a Beatles,\u201d said John Lennon. \u00a0Similiarly, Billy Joel imparted Elvis\u2019 impact on him to a biographer. \u00a0\u201cI remember doing an Elvis Presley impression when I was in the fourth grade,\u201d Joel said. \u00a0\u201cI sang\u00a0Hound Dog\u00a0and I was moving my hips like Elvis. I remember this because the fifth-grade girls started screaming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Elvis\u2019 health declined precipitously in the 1970s before his eventual death in August 1977, his admirers never left him behind \u2013 to this day, the Graceland mansion, Elvis\u2019 home for most of his life, receives more than 600,000 visitors annually, making it the second-most visited home in the country. Elvis compilations released as recently as 2007 have been certified gold. \u00a0His birthday is celebrated nationwide as well \u2013 Graceland hosts celebrations yearly, featuring memories and music of Elvis. \u00a0Although–despite strangely persistent rumors–Presley is no longer with us, his spirit, his timeless legacy, and above all, his music, live on, and continue to transcend all boundaries of popular culture.<\/p>\n

So Happy Birthday, Elvis Presley. \u00a0You were the King.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In today\u2019s world, where celebrities out of style faster than clothing, it\u2019s almost impossible to imagine one musician transcending the crowd of competing stars and getting to a new level, a step above everyone else. \u00a0Many have tried and failed: The Beatles, arguably the greatest band ever, could not take the step above the Rolling Stones. \u00a0\u2018N Sync, although they tried for years, could never move higher than competition with the Backstreet Boys. \u00a0One Direction,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":3193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"coauthors":[133],"class_list":["post-3185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-slider"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/elvis.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3185"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3194,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3185\/revisions\/3194"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3185"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}