[78-L] Not ONE mention..

[David Breneman]

From: Cary Ginell <soundthink at live.com>


> J. J. screamed through the talkback "GET ME AN ELVIS RECORD!!!" I 
> dropped the UPI wire copy and dashed into the music library and came up empty. I 
> thought it was quite ironic and sad that even though Elvis was currently on top 
> of the charts with the song "Way Down," there was not one Elvis record 
> to be found in the entire library of the number one rock station in town. And 
> this was 1977 - when the birth of rock 'n' roll was not all that 
> distant.

I remember this very well.  It was the summer after I graduated from
high school (the proverbial "best summer of your life").  By that time
Elvis was a joke, a self-parody.  The fat, sweaty guy that the blue-
haired ladies went to see in Vegas if the Liberace show was sold out.
We all liked "thin Elvis" - songs like Treat Me Nice, Hound Dog and
Don't be Cruel; but contemporary Elvis, and especially Gospel Elvis
were a ticket to nap time.  I remember very well the skit that Akroyd
and Belushi did on SNL (I think it predated the Blues Brothers) where
they played a Vegas act called "The Elvii".  Akroyd was rockabilly
Elvis and Belushi was jumpsuit Elvis.  It was perfect.

What amazed me was, that as soon as he died, he regained instant
credibility, and all the Elvis collections started showing up on
TV.  "It's Elvis, THE KING!"  Not to be disrespectful, but dieing was
the best career move he made.