All hail The King

The website was dark yesterday as it was The King's birthday.  He would have been 76.

I love Elvis.  I used to think he was just a fat, Bedazzled joke, but after some age and a new perspective I have great appreciation for the man.

Elvis was one of the men that made young women aware of their sexuality.  He made them scream and sweat through their white blouses with the peter pan collars and their plaid, below the knee skirts.

Yes, there were other amazing rockers who came out of the south at the same time bringing black music ot the masses, but Elvis out-shone them all.  Johnny Cash was married, of course, and didn't ooze sexuality.  Jerry Lee Lewis was certainly sexual but always appeared to have this thin film of sweat on his skin and was, for lack of a better term, kinda trashy.  Yes, there was the big scandal when he married Myra, but there was an underlying attitude of Well, that's no big surprise.  


And Elvis was incredibly good looking, people sometimes forget that before he got puffy and spangled, he was a very handsome man.  Now as a near-forty-year-old mother when I watch the early films of Elvis performing , I can see why parents were terrified of the man.  I bet the moms felt that flutter in their stomachs and thought Ohhh, no,no,no,no,no!  Maybe he made them think of the soldiers during World War II, so tall and manly in their uniforms or the  mobsters and bad men in their pin-striped suits during the 1920's and 1930's.

Elvis was unapologetic about who he was and how he lived his life, he didn't need to be as everyone just accepted what went on with him.  The man had an underage girl openly living with him and he still sold out concerts.  Jerry Lee was not afforded this over-looking of his personal life.

Elvis Presley was one of the original rock star train wrecks, sex, drugs, an Oedipal complex, religious fanaticism, an entourage that included his father, paranoia, a lavish mansion furnished with questionable taste, he did it all before the debauchery of the disco age got ramped up.

Elvis was one who paved the way for glam rockers in his Nudie suits and his spangled jumpsuits later in life.  My husband Scott, points out that before there was any thought of David Bowie or Freddie Mercury there were Grand Old Opry regulars who wore suits covered in rhinestones complete with matching boots and hats.  Elvis took a hint from these men, so secure in their masculinity they felt good wearing a bejeweled suit and donned his own shiny costumes.

I've said it before to many people, everyone who listens to rock n roll of any kind needs to own an Elvis album because almost everything can be traced back to him.  Steven Adler, former drummer of Guns n Roses said that when they were doing photo shoots early on in the band's career, he didn't know what to do so he pretended to be Knicky from Grease.  And Knicky was pretending to be Elvis.  Elvis Presley to Guns n Roses in two degrees.

And so, I say, All Hail to The King!  Go turn on "Little Less Conversation" and note how women will just start to shimmy!  They just can't help it!

Amanda's Beauty tip of the day:  If you are looking to learn how to do retro hairstyles, go to Youtube and check out Ilovegerardo's how-to videos.