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ELVIS: Legend in a Cage
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"The most notable event that occurred in the course of their stay was that Red and David Stanley and several of the other guys beat up a land developer from Grass Valley, California, who showed up drunk and disgruntled outside the suite after paying a security guard to gain admittance for hmself and his date. A number of fans witnessed Elvis simply standing there and observing the fight without doing anything to stop it, as four guys held the developer down, according to his later complaint, and the rest beat him to a bloody pulp."
-- Peter Guralnick, Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley
That scene goes with the last years of Elvis' life, when he was struggling in vain with a soul-suffocating ennui and a crippling drug addiction, and when he was also unable to deliver his solid show for his fans, being barely able to even stand at times, as he toured the smaller venues again almost desperately seeking the cash to maintain the profligate lifestyle to which he, his family, and entourage had grown accustomed.
No gods ever walked the earth. Elvis was a man. But a legend was made and that magic keeps rockin' and rollin'. Below is an excerpt from a review of the '68 Comeback Special. It was printed in the CD that Monk bought in the mid '90s, being curious about how he might take to Elvis music after having left Elvis behind as a toy of his childhood. Needless to say, he had Monk at "Looking for trouble?" Last night he watched his Deluxe Edition DVD of the Comeback Special to mark this twenty-eighth anniversary of the King's death.
___ ___ ___
Eighteen million households tuned in on December 3rd, 1968 to find Elvis' face on the screen telling them that if they were looking for trouble, they'd "come to the right place." Launching into "Guitar Man," Elvis appeared in front of a two-story tall scaffolding filled with 100 Black-clad, dancing, guitar-slinging Elvis silhouettes.
Next, as if to prove thet he was indeed bigger than life even without elaborate stage props, Elvis appeared alone in an empty boxing ring. Dressed head to toe in black leather and completely surrounded by the studio audience, Elvis looked like a caged animal ready to strike. Literally forced to "deliver the goods" in this confrontational setting, he tore through blistering versions of such favorites as "Jailhouse Rock," "Hound Dog," and "All Shook Up," and fairly radiated emotion on "Can't Help Falling in Love." Free of any encumbrances, Elvis seemed to be reaching into the bottom of his soul as he stood on that naked stage, singing with all of his heart like an ambitious young kid with absolutely nothing to lose. It came off as a veritable rebirth."
-- Christopher Niccoli, 1991
"The most notable event that occurred in the course of their stay was that Red and David Stanley and several of the other guys beat up a land developer from Grass Valley, California, who showed up drunk and disgruntled outside the suite after paying a security guard to gain admittance for hmself and his date. A number of fans witnessed Elvis simply standing there and observing the fight without doing anything to stop it, as four guys held the developer down, according to his later complaint, and the rest beat him to a bloody pulp."
-- Peter Guralnick, Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley
That scene goes with the last years of Elvis' life, when he was struggling in vain with a soul-suffocating ennui and a crippling drug addiction, and when he was also unable to deliver his solid show for his fans, being barely able to even stand at times, as he toured the smaller venues again almost desperately seeking the cash to maintain the profligate lifestyle to which he, his family, and entourage had grown accustomed.
No gods ever walked the earth. Elvis was a man. But a legend was made and that magic keeps rockin' and rollin'. Below is an excerpt from a review of the '68 Comeback Special. It was printed in the CD that Monk bought in the mid '90s, being curious about how he might take to Elvis music after having left Elvis behind as a toy of his childhood. Needless to say, he had Monk at "Looking for trouble?" Last night he watched his Deluxe Edition DVD of the Comeback Special to mark this twenty-eighth anniversary of the King's death.
___ ___ ___
Eighteen million households tuned in on December 3rd, 1968 to find Elvis' face on the screen telling them that if they were looking for trouble, they'd "come to the right place." Launching into "Guitar Man," Elvis appeared in front of a two-story tall scaffolding filled with 100 Black-clad, dancing, guitar-slinging Elvis silhouettes.
Next, as if to prove thet he was indeed bigger than life even without elaborate stage props, Elvis appeared alone in an empty boxing ring. Dressed head to toe in black leather and completely surrounded by the studio audience, Elvis looked like a caged animal ready to strike. Literally forced to "deliver the goods" in this confrontational setting, he tore through blistering versions of such favorites as "Jailhouse Rock," "Hound Dog," and "All Shook Up," and fairly radiated emotion on "Can't Help Falling in Love." Free of any encumbrances, Elvis seemed to be reaching into the bottom of his soul as he stood on that naked stage, singing with all of his heart like an ambitious young kid with absolutely nothing to lose. It came off as a veritable rebirth."
-- Christopher Niccoli, 1991