Late iconâs music continues to be discovered by younger generations
By Brandon Yip, Senior Columnist
Elvisâ hips were so threatening and dangerous to society that during his third and final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, he was filmed from the waist-up
Elvis Presley has been dead for 44 years. January 8 would have been the Kingâs 86th birthday. Presleyâs estate, Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee, recently held a three-day birthday celebration event. The festivities included a hidden Graceland tour, Elvis birthday proclamation ceremony, tour of Tupelo (Elvisâ birthplace), musical performances, complimentary appetizers at Vernonâs Smokehouse restaurantâfollowed by more Graceland mansion tours.
Presleyâs music and image has endured as younger generations have discovered his music. Another boost to help expose Elvisâ enduring popularity to younger fans is a new Baz Luhrmann biopic about the Kingâscheduled for release in November 2021. Austin Butler portrays the King while Tom Hanks has the role as Presleyâs polarizing manager, Colonel Tom Parker.    Â
Notably, Presley has sold over an estimated billion records worldwideâmore than any solo artist in history. He had 39 number one hits (combined US and UK charts). He also starred in 31 films and won three Grammys during his careerâall for gospel music. Presley, with his talent, charisma, and unique style was a phenomenon in the 1950sâhelping to bring rock ânâ roll music to a wider audience. He was also a sex symbol and was controversial; his wiggling hips were considered vulgar by the older generation. Elvisâ hips were so threatening and dangerous to society that during his third and final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on January 6, 1957, he was filmed from the waist-up. The nerve of Elvis to move his legs and hips like that while singing, how dare he do such a thing! Today, fans young and old have kept Elvisâ memory alive with Facebook groups, fan clubs, and annual festivals (all canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic).
Barb Dobie, who lives in Duncan, BC, is an Elvis super fan. She had the opportunity to meet the King during the late 1960s and saw him live 30 times during the 1970s. Dobie says from her experience in interacting with younger people, they prefer the older Elvis instead of the younger Elvis. âIt seems the younger people really love the early [1970s] the most for [his] music and specials!â Dobie said in an email interview with the Other Press. âHowever, they really love how Elvis sounded and looked in that sexy leather suit in the [1968 Comeback] Special (recorded in June of 1968) [âŚ] As for the [1970s], itâs the [films] That’s the Way It Is (1970) and Elvis on Tour (1972) [âŚ] Then the Aloha Special from [January 1973] too!â        Â
However, Elvisâ popularity has not been fully embraced by some young people. A quick YouGov poll conducted in the UK in 2017 interviewed 2,034 British adults. The findings revealed that 29 percent (aged 18 to 24 years) stated they had never listened to an Elvis song. Also, none of the same age group listened to Elvis daily; with only eight percent listening to the King monthly. As well, the group was asked their thoughts about other musicians. Twice as many said they liked The Beatles (23 percent) and David Bowie (25 percent) compared with Elvis (12 percent).        Â
Nonetheless, Presleyâs music on Spotify has revealed no lack of interest from subscribers. The Kingâs music has been streamed and downloaded at an astonishing rate; as of January 10, Presley has 25,522,790 monthly listeners. In August 2019, Spotify issued a statement published in the Memphis Commercial Appeal pertaining to Elvisâ appeal with younger audiences: âItâs not often we see an artist stream in similar numbers across different age groups, but it seems Elvis appeals to 18-22-year-olds almost as much as listeners aged 45-59. The former group accounts for 20 percent of all Elvis streaming on Spotify in the last month, while the latter accounts for 17 percent.â In addition, Spotify states that Presley continues to be one of their top artists during the holidays with the Kingâs classic song, âBlue Christmasâ being streamed over 116 million times. In November 2020, Spotify announced that âBlue Christmasâ was ranked number 19 as part of Spotifyâs list of the top 25 most-streamed Christmas songs of all time.Â
Plus, the King has a strong presence on YouTube, as there are numerous videos posted with younger fans filming reaction videos to Presleyâs music. Elvis Presleyâs image and music has transcended generations. With younger fans discovering Elvisâ music as evidenced by his massive number of monthly listeners and followers on Spotify, the Kingâs popularity will continue to endure.