Elvis Presley

[Freypower]

MF, regarding Guitar Man, I knew of the song but only heard it recently when I bought it on iTunes. I fell in love with it instantly because it is an Elvis 'attitude' song. He walks into this bar in Mobile and takes over this band.. (Does that sound like anyone else we might know)?

As for American Trilogy.... perhaps it is contrived, but the way it pulls together the Northern, Southern and African American view of the Civil War is heartrending. And Elvis means every single word. The climax is astonishing.

Ah, FP, you're beginning to see things from my perspective now... Elvis and Glenn... Glenn and Elvis... Elvis and Glenn...

"American Trilogy" is, in my opinion, one of Elvis' greatest vocal performances. It's just magnificent. When he sings:

Now hush little baby, don't you cry
You know your daddy's bound to die

OH! I have to hold back the tears... I start thinking of Elvis speaking to his daughter, Lisa Marie (it was only 4 years before his death...). I don't know anything about American Civil War history to appreciate the deeper meaning of the song , but thank you for that perspective.

American Trilogy begins with Dixie ('I wish I was in the land of cotton') the anthem of the Southern (Confederate) states. It then moves to the spiritual All My Trials ('hush little baby') representing the slaves. It ends with the Battle Hymn of the Republic ('glory glory hallelujah') for the Northern (Union) states.

[Maleah]

Maleah, Maleah, Maleah... my GIRL!!! (Now if you watch the '68 Comeback closely, and take note of how Elvis speaks to those ladies at the "brothel", you'll know where I get that last expression from... ) You pretty much made my day, having posted those photos. OH, what sexiness, what beauty, what perfection, what absolute dreamy gorgeousness... And that's just how he looked... "Don't Be Cruel" is a great song, isn't it? And it's your mom's favourite, too! Yes, this DVD is a must have indeed. And he sings "Don't Be Cruel" in it, too! Then's there's the "Deluxe" 4-DVD edition. A bit too expensive for me at the moment, but I plan to get my hands on it at some point! "Trying To Get To You" is one of his 1955 Sun recordings. He was still only 20 years old when he recorded that! His vocals are just unbelievable. Another one that he does so powerfully in the '68 Special. His intensity moves me so much...

Anytime Mrs. F! Glad to make your day Isn't he gorgeous? *sigh* Absolutely beautiful...it's almost wrong for a man to be so beautiful The '68 special is definently a must have.......and oh yes....I remember the way he spoke to the ladies I also remember some of his "moves" woohoo!

Don't Be Cruel is definently a great song! I grew up on that one just about every day And I'll never forget that one, Tryin' to Get To You, or I Can't Help Falling In Love With You.........if for no other reason than the moments spent with my Mom. Treasures!

[Mrs Frey]

American Trilogy begins with Dixie ('I wish I was in the land of cotton') the anthem of the Southern (Confederate) states. It then moves to the spiritual All My Trials ('hush little baby') representing the slaves. It ends with the Battle Hymn of the Republic ('glory glory hallelujah') for the Northern (Union) states.

Thank you for this information, FP. It is much appreciated! Whenever I've read about the three songs making up the trilogy, the history of the songs was never dealt with. Now I finally understand the significance!

[Mrs Frey]

Anytime Mrs. F! Glad to make your day Isn't he gorgeous? *sigh* Absolutely beautiful...it's almost wrong for a man to be so beautiful The '68 special is definently a must have.......and oh yes....I remember the way he spoke to the ladies I also remember some of his "moves" woohoo!

Don't Be Cruel is definently a great song! I grew up on that one just about every day And I'll never forget that one, Tryin' to Get To You, or I Can't Help Falling In Love With You.........if for no other reason than the moments spent with my Mom. Treasures!

Thanks, Maleah! Oh, he's so gorgeous. And his MOVES! I hear you, girl. It must be wrong for a man to be so gorgeous. Elvis has been gone for 30 years, and yet he's been messing with my head and my heart for 22 of those years! It's great that Elvis' songs bring back such beautiful memories of your mother. I understand completely how precious those memories are...

[Brooke]

I didn't know all that about Elvis' American Trilogy song either. Fp, your knowledge of music all around just amazes me. Thank you for mentoring. I really appreciate it.

I guess I would call myself a "light" music lover. I never delved (?) deeper in to it until I became so infatuated with the Eagles through the internet a few years ago. All I knew about them was through the albums I had and hearing the hits on the radio. I did read a few Rolling Stone articles about them back in the 70's and thought I was in love with Don and Glenn, but that's as far as it went. The internet has opened up a whole new world of music to me.

[SweetHolly]

SH, I was also 8 years old when I first got interested in Elvis ! I only got my first tape for my 11th birthday, and that pretty much started my Elvis mania. The album was "His Hand In Mine", his first (and best, IMHO) gospel album. I've got the CD version now, which includes a couple of bonus tracks. Isn't it amazing that the only Grammy awards Elvis ever received were for gospel performances? And only three, to boot. No wonder the Eagles were less than enamoured by the Grammy's.

Cool!

[DonFan]

Don't Be Cruel is definently a great song! I grew up on that one just about every day And I'll never forget that one, Tryin' to Get To You, or I Can't Help Falling In Love With You.........if for no other reason than the moments spent with my Mom. Treasures!

Elvis has been gone for 30 years, and yet he's been messing with my head and my heart for 22 of those years! It's great that Elvis' songs bring back such beautiful memories of your mother. I understand completely how precious those memories are...

Great way to put it, Mrs F--Elvis has been messing with my head for my entire life.

And I agree about yours and Maleah's statements about precious memories. Songs can bring back memories of people and places so easily. My parents used to slow dance to I Can't Help Falling in Love with You--they called it one of "their "songs. My mom couldn't listen to that song for awhile after my dad died, but now it brings back sweet memories again.

[Brooke]

Awwwww, that's so sweet about your parents, DF. I can see how it would be hard to listen to when your love has passed on. I love that song of Elvis' too.

I wish that was me and my hubby's "song". Somehow, The Joker just doesn't conjure up such romantic images!

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I'm slow responding here, but I visited Graceland with my family a couple of Christmas' ago. It is much more to see there than I thought, and well worth the trip. American Trilogy is also one of my favorite Elvis songs, along with If I Can Dream.

I liked Elvis, but I was more of a Beatles girl (until another band found a permanent place in my heart in the 70's). However, my sister is a huge fan. She talked me into going to an Elvis concert with her in the early '70's. I remember the ticket was around $20 and I really had to scrape to get the money to buy it. However, I must say, Elvis was one of the most dynamic performers I have ever seen to this day. The man had enough charisma to mesmerize everyone in the arena that night, including me.

[Maleah]

Don't Be Cruel is definently a great song! I grew up on that one just about every day And I'll never forget that one, Tryin' to Get To You, or I Can't Help Falling In Love With You.........if for no other reason than the moments spent with my Mom. Treasures!

Elvis has been gone for 30 years, and yet he's been messing with my head and my heart for 22 of those years! It's great that Elvis' songs bring back such beautiful memories of your mother. I understand completely how precious those memories are...

Great way to put it, Mrs F--Elvis has been messing with my head for my entire life.

And I agree about yours and Maleah's statements about precious memories. Songs can bring back memories of people and places so easily. My parents used to slow dance to I Can't Help Falling in Love with You--they called it one of "their "songs. My mom couldn't listen to that song for awhile after my dad died, but now it brings back sweet memories again.

awww...that's sweet. I understand why it was hard for your Mom to listen to that song for a while. My Mom used to LOVE Vince Gill's "Go Rest High On That Mountain" and to this day I have a hard time listening to it.