Elvis

Why is it that all the Elvis impersonators try and cover the wrong era? They all go for the later, older Elvis in his stupid rhinestone costumes and gaudy rubbish singing his trite Pop crap.

Is that because the Young radical Elvis is too hard to do? Is it because the fat Elvis is easier to impersonate and provides longevity to an impersonators career? Or is it because the vast majority of people have no taste?

The young Elvis was a revelation. He exploded on the scene with the smouldering good looks of a James Dean/Marlon Brando, the style of the wildest hep-cat, the music of the black geniuses, and the sexuality of an incarcerated cougar on heat. I can see why that might be difficult to copy! He was a one-off! His feline movements were raw, unadulterated sex. Nobody, white or black, had ever moved quite like that. The way he dressed with his long hair greased back into a quiff and duck-tail, sideburns he could tie under his chin, contrasting shirts, ties and jackets in whites, pinks and black, trousers so baggy you could see him move inside them like a bag of ferrets; it was so original that it sparked a revolution.

Why do none of the imitators try to capture a little of magnetic magic?

The older, fat Elvis was a ponderous parody in comparison. The songs, crooned and wailed, were a shadow of the energy of those early performances. Even the lip curl and sultry looks were practised imitations of himself. Elvis had faded into his own jaded tribute act. And as for the ‘Circus’ costumes – they were just there to take the attention away, to create a gaudy façade behind which he could perform. They were as fake as any clowns costume and twice as ludicrous.

Yet this sad, though still good, shadow of the supernova he started out as, is the one that everyone tries to ape.

Why?

And how sad!

T