Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

I was just getting off from work. It was a dark, stormy day; as I pulled out of the parking lot in my 1969 Nova, I flipped on the radio. "Elvis Presley has died" said the news.

Wow has it been that long? I was working at Houston Iron And Steel Co. and they played country music over the itercom system (it was a country radio station) the D.J. cut in and stoped the music to tell the listeners. It seems like yesterday but I was 19 then!

We were all a lot younger then. There was no cable TV, no cell phones, no personal computers, no internet. But it seemed like we had much more time to play guitar, visit with friends and enjoy life.

Jimmy, when I think about those days and the way things have changed. I can't help but get that longing feeling way down in the pit of my stomach wishing I could get those day's back. You know these are supposed to be the good ole day's. I suppose I will feel the same way about these day's in another 33 years. I don't think I'll be around then LOL!

It's possible but we'll be old farts lol.

I just saw a bio on Presley. The way he died was horrible. It must have been the synthetic speed that made him almost bite all the way through his tongue. Another man pushed, prodded, and killed by the money snakes that followed him.

I don't remember when and where I was the day Elvis died but I wasn't surprised. He was a very sick man and I'll bet he wasn't at all a happy man for quite a few years before he died. I believe he would have been happy if he was just a successful local or regional musician and probably still alive today. Fame and fortune aren't always a good thing for some people...I heard that today there are over 85,000 Elvis impersonators making a living today all over the world. 85,000, that's the population of some cities for crying out loud. Elvis is the highest paid dead entertainer in history. I wonder if he's rolling over in his grave...

Sheesh, I wonder if Elvis would have even wanted this much attention after he died.

He checked out long before he gave out. From the biography, it was said that towards the end he would laugh in between songs and often forgot his lyrics. There were days when he would have been better off resting, but the promoters weren't having it. I don't think Elvis was in his right mind to even how bad he was. If he did, maybe he would have realized that his best days were over.

To an extent I think he did know that he wasn't fresh like he used to be, but he was still trying to run from his pain. Like you said Bob, he wasn't happy, I didn't realize to what extent until I watched that bio.

Graceland is quite nice...

I remember being surprised, but far from shocked, when I heard about it.

I figured a guy with that much $ could afford to have his Dr's keep his ticker running forever...kinda like what Michael Jackson thought, I suppose.

Neither man was particularly old when he died, but I did note that it was THE COMBINATION OF A DOCTOR'S CARE & PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS what did them both in, & not the far safer street drugs & pushers, combined with a touch of self restraint & common frikken sense.

I'll never see eye to eye with the law on this issue...& I'm NOT A HIPPIE, Zip!

The last few videos & films I saw of Elvis showed a man that had traded in his fabulous voice for the eternal buzz. He couldn't carry a tune in a bucket anymore. His timing was gone, his tone was lost, he couldn't recall the lyrics, & oh my gawd the PITCH PROBLEMS! Stage presense? He looked as ridiculous as he would have felt, if he'd have been sober. By the mid-to-late 70's, I had lost all respect for him, if I remember correctly. There's nothing sadder, imho, than seeing a fat junky trying to retain the appeal & abilities of his wasted youth long after he should have retired.

I recall seeing Frank Sinatra at the age of what...83? 86?...& thinking, "Wow! He's still got most of it!" He even had that awesome stage presense, Although his range had been ravished a bit by age, he still had that great tone & control.

Comparing Sinatra in his far advanced years to Elvis in his middle age is like comparing an original Napolean Brandy to fresh moonshine, in that there is simply no comparison...

jimmydanger wrote:We were all a lot younger then. There was no cable TV, no cell phones, no personal computers, no internet. But it seemed like we had much more time to play guitar, visit with friends and enjoy life.

We did have more time because there were no cell phones, no internet, no cable TV. THat's why I refuse to learn how to text or go on the internet with my cell phone. I put on 5 freakin' lbs this summer because I can't pull myself away from the dam computer.

Oh, I thought that I was at marching band practice when I heard about Elvis' death but that would be impossible if today is the anniversary of his demise. Oh, I know, I saw it on the news on TV. Back when you had to actually come in contact with the TV in order to change the channel.

I remember it well. I suppose I was far more shocked than I should have been. I was never a really big Elvis fan after the 1st year he arrived on the scene. I guess I didn't think Elvis would be kicking off that early in life. That is what surprised me. Then again I didn't follow his career or maybe I would have seen something on the way. Now MJ was another story. I guess if Elvis could die so could MJ.

MJ was getting so weird that I could never be surprised at anything as far as he was concerned.

But what a trade off. To live the life and have that many fans and sold out performances. To say nothing of the money. But even I would have to wonder if the two choices were laid before them :

Fame, fortune, adoration, great sold out concerts, people loving every song that you performed ....anything you wanted..... or driving a truck or living a long life in a getto?

I wonder ...... What would they choose? I even wonder what I would have chosen had it been laid out before me like that.

That's the Devil's Bargain: short life and immortality (as far as your work and name) or long life and obscurity. Mozart had the same dilemma, since he only lived to 39, as did Jimi Hendrix (27) and countless others.