"If you are an Elvis fan, no explanation is necessary. If you are not an Elvis fan, no explanation is possible."
- George Klein
In December 2021, I posted on my Instagram account my day-by-day experiences discovering Elvis over the course of five days. Some of my followers on there have heard me tell this story a bunch of times, but I will be adding more details. I hope you all enjoy this retelling of how it all went down!
Day 1: December 14, 2020: The gateway to my Elvis fandom doesn't even involve Elvis, believe it or not! The reason I became a fan was because of another important artist in my life: Michael Jackson, whom I have been a fan of ever since 2009. On December 14th, 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, I watched the infamous 1995 Primetime interview that Michael did with Diane Sawyer. His wife at the time was Elvis' daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. As I was watching this interview on YouTube, I randomly thought to myself, "Why don't I check out Lisa Marie's father's music?" My knowledge of Elvis Presley was very minimal at that time. I knew he was a VERY famous figure in culture, but I was also aware of the "dying on the toilet" and "fat Elvis" jokes. On top of that, due to my immaturity, certain music before the 1960s didn't appeal to me at all. So, no, Elvis was not on my radar. I do vividly remember watching the "Elvis Presley: The Searcher" documentary when it first aired on HBO in 2018, but its subject didn't interest me much at the time. Once I decided to look into Elvis, I stumbled across a documentary called "Elvis: The Last 24 Hours" on YouTube. This probably isn't the best place to start when one is curious to learn about Elvis's life because there are a lot of better documentaries out there. I, however, didn't know where to start and settled on that. Looking back, I should have begun listening to his music, but I admit that his catalog was quite overwhelming to comprehend due to its enormity. I should reiterate that it took me FIVE whole days to realize that my newfound interest in Elvis wasn't going anywhere. Oh boy, this was going to be one hell of a ride!
Day 2: December 15, 2020: Although I can't recall what I watched or listened to Elvis-wise on this day, I'm sure I found some more documentaries and videos. I want to briefly write about some of my preconceived notions about him and how I was forced to put them aside. Being a person of color, you hear certain criticisms of him in the media, like how he was a "music thief". Although this came a bit later in my fandom, I was nonetheless interested in learning about this dude. Now that I had the opportunity to dig into his life, I sought out the truth. Personally, I try not to judge people until I read or see in which direction the facts point. So, that's exactly what I did with Elvis Presley. My parents grew up with him and were moderate fans, as were my grandparents. My wheelhouse with music was harder rock and alternative from the 1960s to the 1990s; therefore, Elvis was kind of an outdated oldies act to me. It's embarrassing for me to say now, but I was somewhat close-minded in my youth when it came to certain styles of older music.
Day 3: December 16th, 2020: I watched a two-hour YouTube documentary called "A Boy from Tupelo, MS" (a fan-made video that combines the 1987 documentaries "I Don't Sound Like Nobody" and "Cut Me and I Bleed"). This was one of two moments when something clicked for me. Not only were my ears introduced to Elvis' deeper cuts like "I'm Leavin'", but also to some old blues songs like "Mystery Train" by bluesman Little Junior Parker. The only knowledge that I had of the blues was that it was the root of all the rock music that I loved. Watching that documentary gave me a whole new appreciation for the styles of music that influenced what I was used to listening to. After completing that video, I watched the 1977 performance of "Unchained Melody". This was a tough video to get through because I had no inkling of Elvis' health issues at the time. His voice, however, was captivating and powerful. I was left speechless, to say the least. I thought to myself, "This guy can actually sing! Where was I all this time?" Little by little, my perception of Elvis Presley was starting to shift.
Day 4: December 17th, 2020: This day was spent listening to Elvis' music catalog. I came across a 50s compilation called "Elvis Presley: The Early Years" on Amazon Music and gave "Anyway You Want Me" a listen. To this day, I hold that song close to my heart. It's such a sweet ballad, and Elvis sings it with such yearning. The next track was another ballad, "Love Me". It takes a lot for a song to affect my emotions, but that song was one of them. Then, "My Baby Left Me" played, and that was it for me. These early 1950s rock and roll songs made such an impression on me. The one thing that stood out to me was Scotty Moore's guitar solo on that song; it was minimal but perfect for that song. Over the course of an hour, I went from "Mystery Train", to "Don't Be Cruel", to "Blue Moon". As you can tell, I gravitated toward the 1950s material. I did get around to "Suspicious Minds" and "Way Down", which I found on the "30 #1 Hits" album.
Day 5: December 18th, 2020: I consider this day the moment that I became an official Elvis fan. It was movie day, which meant that I finally got to watch one of his films. Like his massive music catalog, I had no idea where to start with any of them. I was completely unaware that this man starred in a bunch of what people consider "cheap b-movies", so I looked at anything I came across on Amazon Prime Video. Quite a few popped up, but I only looked at the first two options: "Blue Hawaii" and "G.I. Blues". I picked the second one for no reason and pressed play. In the beginning, the movie wasn't all that interesting to me because I was NOT a fan of musicals. The plot was dull until Elvis' character in the movie, Tulsa, started singing the song "Pocketful of Rainbows" with Juliet Prowse's character, Lily. I don't know what it was, but something about this movie had me in a chokehold! Was it because of the chemistry these two had? Possibly. Could it have been how handsome Elvis looked? This was certainly part of it! I can objectively realize that "G.I. Blues" isn't one of his best movies, but it is one of his better "formula movies". It remains in my top 3 list of favorite Elvis movies for nostalgic reasons. After all, this was the film that made me fall in love with him. Some of you may be wondering how in the world I can remember all these details. Becoming a fan of something or someone that you find comfort in is truly a memorable experience. That initial adrenaline rush when you've found that thing or person is something that I can't explain. Even better, I have gotten the chance to chat with fans from various parts of the world. I'm so glad that I have "Elvis pals", one of the closest being a fellow New Yorker named Nicole, whom I befriended via Instagram.
Whether you become an Elvis fan through his music, movies, or any other way, there is a story to tell. Mine might be out of the ordinary, but I'm glad that I was able to experience what I did. Thanks for reading!
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