Elvis and Me

Finished off the Elvis compilation, this morning, with a selection of significant performances ranging from 1956 to 1977. The last performance was quite painful to watch but, so much of the earlier material demonstrated what an amazingly charismatic person he was. Speaking as a mere 'straight' man, I find it far too easy to acknowlege his tremendous sex appeal and charm; it's no wonder the girls went crazy over him whereas, many of the male popstars nowadays would be considered quite ordinary were it not for the particular 'sex-appeal' granted by the simple fact of fame/ celebrity.

Surprisingly, after 1958, I never paid much attention to the Presley canon; perhaps Hollywood over-exposure didn't permit me to take him seriously. On the other hand, I'd already become a bit of a jazz freak by my mid-teens, so perhaps I quite arrogantly dismissed him on the basis of my 'more mature' aesthetic sensibility!. I can't help the feeling though, that Elvis, in those early days was very much his own person and, one sensed that his 'rebellion' mirrored one's own!.