For most people the definitive image of Elvis Presley is of him on stage in Las Vegas, dressed in the white-sequined jump-suit that has became de rigueur for thousands of Elvis impersonators.
For the most part it is the Vegas-era, roughly the final third of his career, that undergoes reassessment in the recently reshown BBC 4 Documentary REBIRTH OF THE KING – a noble, yet ultimately unconvincing attempt to show how Presley took control of a career that was floundering badly by the mid-60s, but recovered to the point where sell-out concerts and some great singles saw him reclaim the title of ‘King of Rock ‘n’ Roll‘.
But for all the excitement of his early-70s Vegas appearances and undoubted brilliance of records such as ‘In The Ghetto‘ and ‘Suspicious Minds,’ the ominous presence of manager Colonel Tom Parker is always lurking in the nearest shadow.
By the time of his death at the age of 42 in August 1977, Elvis, obese and dependent on prescription drugs, had lost any semblance of being in charge of his life let alone career.
The programme does a fine job in setting the scene of how Mississippi-born Elvis Presley became the standard bearer for a new form of rebellious popular music called rock ‘n’ roll – under the guidance of Parker rising from small-time country singer to global superstar.
With a series of records that were revelatory due to their fast, countrified arrangements and his instinctive phrasing, Presley turned into a phenomenon – and while he rose to become the undisputed ‘King of Pop‘ so Parker developed into ‘King of the Deal.’
An early financial masterstroke was signing Presley to a Hollywood film contract that would generate millions of dollars for both men, despite most of the ensuing movies containing little of artistic worth in either plot or soundtrack songs.
As the documentary shows, once Parker hit upon a cash generating scheme it was not easily relinquished, noted rock essayist and author Greil Marcus making the observation: ‘Colonel Parker was a formula person – and in that respect the formula worked as no Elvis movie ever lost money.’
Financially successful they may have been, but by the mid-60s this largely woeful chapter in his story had alienated Elvis from an audience now becoming absorbed in protest and psychedelic music. The singing-actor persona of his lame films looked hopelessly out of step with current trends – a far cry from the hip-shaking whirlwind that had taken the world by storm barely ten years earlier.
But in one of the rare instances when he stood his ground against Parker, Elvis determinedly pushed ahead with a ‘comeback’ show broadcast on American television toward the end of 1968 – one that re-emphasised his dynamism as a live performer.
This hugely successful performance, in both critical and commercial terms (the resulting soundtrack restoring him to the top of the album charts), was followed by his first live shows of the decade – Presley debuting in Las Vegas on July 31st 1969, the first time he had been seen beyond a cinema screen in ten years.
For a short time the ‘Rebirth’ of the documentary title does sound credible. The concerts became a huge box office draw and were briefly aligned with some fine recordings – when they were not jeopardised by Parker that is.
Always insistent that Elvis received a large share of the song writing publishing royalties, Mark James, composer of ‘Suspicious Minds,’ tells the documentary how he, supported by producer Chips Moman (who had overseen the excellent ‘From Elvis In Memphis‘ album from which ‘Suspicious Minds‘ was lifted to become a huge hit single), refused to budge in turning over any of his dues.
Parker did eventually relent, although suffice to say neither James or Moman ever worked with Presley again. This hard-nosed approach to business had already cost Elvis dear in that many renowned songwriters would not waive most of their publishing rights, which often led to him receiving banal material that failed to do him justice.
Sadly the practice continued right up to the end – Dolly Parton steadfast in her refusal of not parting with a penny of ‘I Will Always Love You,’ a song that would have effortlessly been a huge latter-day Elvis hit.
But as the Vegas appearances become ever more lucrative so they increased in frequency, Parker, always with an eye on the main chance, committing Presley to a punishing schedule that would often involve nightly performances for weeks on end – Elvis playing over 600 Vegas shows in eight years by the time he died.
Marcus may well be right when he says: ‘The first shows in Las Vegas are fantastic. Not only for the way he sings and moves but for the way he talks about himself and jokes with the audience – he’s having a wonderful time.’
Sadly, however, the joy was to be short-lived.
The unrelenting pressure of live work combined with a painful divorce caused an alarming decline in his health, Presley becoming hopelessly overweight in the final years of his life and not even collapsing on stage in April 1977 was enough to convince Parker he was seriously ill – ‘the show must go on,’ mantra so beloved of the Colonel keeping Elvis on the boards virtually until his death.
Aside from the disconcerting sight of a bloated, pill-addled Elvis bumbling through his final few shows, the worst aspect of his deterioration is that nobody close to him had the strength of character to flout Parker’s authority and save Presley from a fate becoming sadly inevitable.
Indeed, the most resounding remark made in the documentary comes from Parker biographer Alanna Nash, who reflects on how indebted Elvis felt he was to Parker for his managerial manoeuvrings in the early days – before going on to state: ‘The Colonel always had the upper hand in their relationship.’
Ultimately the ‘Rebirth’ became a slow, painful journey to the grave – Elvis giving up on everything beyond Vegas and the tired old standards he was churning out night after night.
Forty one years have now passed since Elvis Presley died, but even today his importance to popular music cannot be overstated.
The 1978 edition of the ‘New Musical Express Encyclopaedia of Rock‘, ends his entry with the passage:
‘He was the first, he inspired hundreds of others who in turn inspired thousands more. He was there at the birth of – if not responsible for – youth culture. Few artists, in any field, have left such a lasting impression on their times.’
Arguably the most important single figure in the history of rock ‘n’ roll, as a singer only Frank Sinatra can be mentioned in the same breath and in terms of influence Elvis is rivalled by Bob Dylan – and nobody else.
‘Elvis recorded a song of mine,’ Dylan once said, ‘that’s the recording I treasure most.’
No further comment necessary.
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This article was first published on 21/08/18;
NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of MONTY’S DOUBLE – an acclaimed thriller now available as an Amazon Kindle Book.
