Elvis Presley was born 75 years ago today. To mark the occasion, we’ve compiled a list of 75 reasons to be grateful for the King’s existence, which you’ll find after the jump.
But have we Taken Care of Business? Or should we be leaving the building in shame for what we’ve left off? Take a look and tell us what you think.
Thankyouverymuch!
Photo credit: Doc Pele/Retna Ltd.
“Can’t Help Falling In Love With You”
His hair
His sideburns
The fact that his hair stylist Larry Geller was also his spiritual mentor
His pelvis
The fact that “Pelvis” rhymes with “Elvis”
“Love Me Tender” (the laughing version)
Jailhouse Rock (the movie)
The fact that, as a child, Kurt Russell appeared with him in It Happened At the World’s Fair…
…and then played him in Elvis – The Movie
Aloha from Hawaii
The irony of Richard Nixon giving him a Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs badge
Elvis Presley (the album)
Elvis’ Christmas Album
A Date With Elvis
Mystery Train (the movie)
Stephen King’s short story, “You Know They Got A Hell Of A Band”
Ann-Margret in Viva Las Vegas
The legend that, after Viva Las Vegas, he sent flowers to Ann-Margret’s dressing room whenever she performed until the day he died
His postage stamp
The album artwork of The Clash’s London Calling
Elvis Costello
Dread Zeppelin
Kirsty MacColl’s “There’s a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis”
Public Enemy’s “Fight The Power”
The fact that he named his plane “Lisa Marie”
Scotty Moore
James Burton
The Jordanaires
His Vegas-era outfits
“Thin” Elvis impersonators
“Fat” Elvis impersonators
“Are You Lonesome Tonight?” (laughing version)
His signing to RCA which bankrolled Sun Records
Most Sun Records acts
Most rock acts, period
The Million Dollar Quartet
The very small chance that he might still be alive
Peter Guralnick’s book Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley
Peter Guralnick’s book Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley
Are You Hungry Tonight?: Elvis’ Favorite Recipes
King Creole
Priscilla Presley in Naked Gun
Val Kilmer in True Romance
Bruce Campbell in Bubba Ho-Tep
Graceland
Mulder visiting Graceland while on holiday in The X-Files
The ’68 Comeback Special
His penchant for singing “Shove it up your nose!” while performing “Suspicious Minds”
His love for his mother
His love for fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches
“Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building”
(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)
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God, is there anything worse than Elvis? Horrible, horrible music.
So horrible that he’s still celebrated a million years after his death. Let’s see how honored your favorite musicians are after they die – if anyone even acknowledges their deaths at all.
It’s called having an opinion. If you want to torture me put on an Elvis record. Elvis is more popular than Freddy Mecury, but does that mean he was more talented then Mecury? Hell to the N-O! “He loved his mother” Wow, Daddy gets no love. No wonder a lot men don’t give a you know what.
I would like to hear you sing! If it was so Horrible it won’t be still selling today! It wasn’t my time and I love it!!! I guess you are just another hater who just enjoy putting negative stuff on the web!
Britney Spears, and countless other talentless people are still selling records. FACT.
Elvis > JPX
Yeah, so “horrible”, he’s still making millions upon millions of dollars years after his death.
Shut it
Hey, Muffy I love both men (no, not in that way), there’s no need to compare the two. Just so you know, Elvis was one of Freddie’s musical inspirations, Queen would perform Jailhouse Rock at their shows on occasion. Elvis was also a major influence on The Beatles, they practically worshiped him. I’m sick and tired of Queen fans bashing Elvis, it doesn’t matter if you dislike him or not, he influenced a lot of great artists, including your beloved, so you’d be wise to show some respect and give credit where it is due.
I loved Elvis as a kid, and I always will. Thanks for the list.
wow, loser much?
To each his or her own, TexFan. I’ll like who I like, and you’ll like who you like. Thanks for the input, though.
Lemon is posting a comment on an article celebrating Elvis. Seems like you’re the loser Texfan.
“Elvis was a hero to most
But he never meant sh!t to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Mother f— him and John Wayne”
“As a musicologist — and I consider myself one — there was always a great deal of respect for Elvis, especially during his Sun sessions. As a black people, we all knew that,” the rapper [Chuck D] said.
“My whole thing was the one-sidedness — like, Elvis’ icon status in America made it like nobody else counted. … My heroes came from someone else. My heroes came before him. My heroes were probably his heroes. As far as Elvis being ‘The King,’ I couldn’t buy that.”
Disrespecting the King, on his birthday no less, and the Duke at the same time. Shows you have no taste or class. Two icons that will never be surpassed.
Tell it to Mistachuck.
my loser much was ment for you! Elivs was wonderful, and so was John Wayne. Nice how if someone says something about MJ, everyone says, “respect the dead”, but then look at you, again I say, LOSER!
As for Elvis being “racist”, I think it is a well-known fact that he wasn’t racist. If it’s about the popular story that Elvis said black people were only good for shining his shoes and buying his records, that is pure myth. He never said that.
We’ve had 44 presidents…but only one king! Hail to the King Baby!
And he died on the throne!
“Black Velvet”–one of the best one-hit wonders ever.
LOVE Elvis! I don’t care what people say about the drugs, his weight, etc. The man had a beautiful voice that was born from inside HIM, not pro-tools or some other musical software out there today, and had a unique style that was all his own and NOBODY can deny that he changed music forever. Before anybody in music did anything, Elvis did it first. He and Michael Jackson left this world too soon; they could have lived to be 100 and it would have been too soon. It’s too bad we didn’t appreciate them more near the end.
Very nice..I thought he had a really terrific voice. One of a kind!
Let’s all hear it for 75 years of musical mediocrity. And bad dancing … let’s not forget the bad dancing.
Wow, thanks JPX, perhaps you can get your skinny jeans on, put on some Gaga and go kill yourself
Love, love, love Elvis! That man is magnetic. I used to never think I could watch an “Elvis movie” until King Creole. He is one of a kind. Amazing.
Wow, now I’m in such an Elvis mood! LOVE HIM!
Thanks EW! I’m 27 and I love, love Elvis. I’m sure this board will be filled with way more JPXs and Chichis, but I wanted to tell you that I enjoyed this list and appreciate a current pop-culture website acknowledging pop-culture history too.
Elvis! Loved him then, love him now. He was one of us of a certain generation. Can remember the exact moment I first heard him, in a car, driving home for spring break, dark highway, friend at the wheel. An Elvis moment…seems like yesterday.
Pure talent
Oui c’est vrai, et sur la scene un naturel d’une gentillese rare!
Elvis Presley was an outstanding singer; however he Should have fired his manager Tom Parker who took him for everything he got and had ‘the king’ star in a bunch of crappy movies that made Parker rich and kept Elvis from being a credible singer/actor, similar to Frank Sinatra.
Elvis cheated left and right on Priscilla, until she finally had enough and left him. Thank goodness, Vernon Presley (father) gave control of Gracland to Priscilla, (instead of Parker) after Elvis died. Elvis was a person who loved sex more than fidelity, as well as drugs and the later killed him. When the people around him tried to get him to stop taking drugs, Elvis ignored them and wound up dead, exactly like Michael Jackson ignored the Jan. 12, 2009 National Enquirer cover story that said he had Six Months to Live!
Elvis Presley was one of the greatest singers of the 20th Century, but, he should have fired Parker and not thrown his life, [and the most important woman he ever met (Priscilla)], away in favor of promiscuous sex and drug abuse. He could have lived a whole lot longer, as did Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra.
Elvis is the King and the best that ever was and will ever be.
Elvis – King of Rock and Roll
James Brown – Godfather of soul and hardest working man in show business.
Michael Jackson – Queen, and factually proven to be a Pedophile
Prince – Midget
Beatles – Lymies who copied Elvis and Rythmn and Blues scene. Never made anything original
This is to Chris. The Beatles were musicians/songwriters and Elvis was a vocalist so comparing them is silly.
I think Elvis was good but the Beatles influenced rock, pop, singer-songwriters to even modern electronic music. The Beatles musically moved way beyond Elvis and Buddy Holly who was the Beatles main early influence. “Tomorrow Never Knows”, Revolver, Sgt Peppers and “Strawberry Fields Forever” have no relation to Rythmn and Blues. Music moved way past Elvis and the relation to Modern Rock and Pop music is greater with the Beatls than Elvis.