Elvis

He seemed to be a little boy lost. Lost in a world he could not comprehend. The radio legend, Steve Dahl, used to say that Elvis was like the ''Jethro'' character in ''The Beverly Hillibillies''. Steve called him ''Jethro on drugs''. That is a funny description, but, also, a penetrating one. Jethro was a southern boy thrust into a fortune, surrounded by people who wanted to use him for his money. Add music and prescription drugs and you have Elvis... The 35th anniversary of his death is coming up. The faithful will go to Graceland and pray for him. There will be candlelight vigils and open weeping for his passing. That is fine. It is a tribute to what he meant in their lives. That is the heart of what an entertainer should be: someone who takes you away from the problems of life and gives you a fresh breath of life for a few minutes. He was no saint, but, he was no sinner either. He was a boy from a small town who was given a great gift.... He gave that gift in spades. When he burst on the national scene in 1954/ 1955, he was what the public was looking for. Well, really, the white youth was looking for. He had that sneer. He had the voice. He had stage presence. He had the killer looks. And, he was white. This last desciption is very crucial because basically Elvis sang the black man's music. R&B, mixed with the white music of the South. It had been around for many years, but, the music needed a symbol. That symbol needed to be white, for no black music would be played on white radio stations. This was based on racism, pure and simple. Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Ray Charles, etc, all had in talent what Elvis did, but, not the color. Elvis was the Perfect Storm.... This is not written to diminish his impact. He was sensational. An absolutely electric performer. Even in later years-- when he was fat and bloated and a parody of what he once was-- he still rose up and showed that true talent never leaves. But, in the 50's, he reigned supreme. He put attitude in the music. There was sexual heat in his voice. That sneer, along with his good looks, created in popular music a feeling that had never been seen before. Sex. Along with the sexual appeal came rebelliousness. It is hard to imagine now, but, Elvis was a direct threat to the establishment. There were protests against his music by civic groups who thought the boy from Tupelo was singing the music from Satan himself. This is standard procedure of older people. What you don't understand you fear. Looking at the old newsfilms from that time I scratch my head and wonder what the big deal was.... If Elvis was not singing the music of Satan then he did have the Devil as his manager. Colonel Tom Parker was his name. His name is a virus. This man was a pure show-business huckster, plain and simple. Now, in the world of entertainment this is nothing out of the ordinary, but, Parker stands head and shoulders above the sharks that swim in this industry. He never met a dollar he couldn't steal, no matter the moral angle. Stealing in ''the best interests of his client'' was his justification. An example of his dealings would be when he made an investment for Elvis. He would use the money from Elvis, but, when the investment would pay-off Parker would keep fifty percent of the return for himself. The standard client/manager agreement is twenty-five percent. However, if the investment failed Parker would not give up one dime of his own money. Basically, he was gambling with the Elvis money to better himself. And, because he had a client who was dim when it came to money Parker never bothered to hide his mishandling of the Presley fortune. In fact, Elvis was so far in debt and never knew it that had he lived just one more year he would have had to file for bankruptcy..... But, a big reason why Elvis was in dire financial straits was his innate goodness. He showered both friend and stranger with lavish gifts. All of the people around him lived the rich life [ which was good and bad for Elvis ] and, there are countless stories about his goodwill towards people he never met. If Elvis was watching TV and a story came on that touched him-- say, a family that could not afford to pay their medical bills-- then Elvis would be on the phone, and, those bills would magically disappear without anyone knowing why. Or, if someone was driving a car that was old and couldn't afford a new one, the next day there would be a brand-new Cadillac sitting in this person's driveway. I like this part of Elvis. Because he was doing what we all would if we had the money. We would help those who needed to be helped. Sinatra and many other celebrities were like this, but, Elvis seemed to take his giving to another level. Maybe, it was how he was raised..... He worshipped his mother. Plain  and simple worship. Many biographers later tried to paint a seedy spin on his devotion to her. This was a cheap trick by these exploiters. She babied him in his youth and made him feel like the center of the world. Elvis gave his love back. One day in 1954, Elvis went into a small studio and cut a record for her. It was called, ''That's All Right, Mama''. The engineer liked the sound and told the owner of the studio, Sam Phillips, about it. That started his ascension. But, it all came back to his trying to please his mother. That was his only thought that day.... The most crucial point in the life of Elvis Presley, both professionally and personally, came when he was drafted in the army. To his credit, he served his country. He could have pulled some strings and been declared ''4F'', but, he went and did his duty. However, this also is the beginning of the end for him. While he was gone popular music, which he reigned supreme in for a few years, did a big switch. The early ''Rock N Roll'' music was moved out to be replaced by silly, harmless fluff. Elvis could only watch as the industry he mostly changed turned into mush. He had other pressing issues to deal with. His mother took ill and died soon after he went in the army. No other event in his life shook him like losing his mother. A light seemed to go out of him, never to return. He became a different man after his mother died. Part of it was his grief, but, another part of his changing was his discovery in the army of narcotics. He relied on them, at first, to stay awake for guard duty, but, later, came to use them as a necessary way for him to deal with life. His mother had been his buffer between him and the world. Now that she was gone forever drugs became that buffer..... There is the widely held perception in music that when Elvis was discharged from the army in 1960 he was never the same artist. The virile, take no-prisoners rocker from a few years earlier, that sang ''Jailhouse Rock'', ''Hound Dog'', ''Heartbreak Hotel'', was now a shell of his former self. He was now obligated to no more live performances, but, instead an endless series of silly movies that he hated doing. This was Tom Parker's doing. And, Elvis followed him like a dog. There were some good songs at times, but, nothing like the classics he had sung a few short years earlier. Somewhere, in his soul, he must have had known that he was producing product that was beneath his talent, but, he kept up whatever he was told to do. This hurt him in the industry and he never recovered the golden luster that he once had. As his disciple, John Lennon, sadly said when he was informed that Elvis had died, ''Elivis died in the army''... His influence on popular music cannot be said enough. The rock of the Sixties, and, after, bore his fingerprints. It is not a too much of a stretch to compare him and Mick Jagger [ whom Elvis hated, along with most music that followed him]. For, in their different ways, they both showed the freedom of expression that is the backbone of the rock and roll feeling. Elvis had the better moves, but, Mick had the attitude. He taunted, dared with his body, and, brought out women and their desires. As did Jim Morrison, Robert Plant, etc. To tease and still back it up with a stunning performance, these guys all did it. And, the genesis of what they did came from Elvis Aaron Presley.... He grew fat. He had crazy episodes. He shot guns at people and TV sets. He ordered a contract on the life of his wife's lover [ never, thankfully, carried out]. He met Nixon and said that Nixon should make him a special DEA agent-- that meeting had to be classic comedy. He played Vegas in his white jumpsuits. He was controlled by a demon manager and the sycophants that surrounded his every move. All of these episodes can be traced to his ever spiraling out-of-control drug use and the loss of his mother. Here was the sad boy, with no one to love him. He was on an island of solitude. No one could reach him. He did have a few people that genuinely had his best interests in mind, but, they were shut out by his ''gang''. If Parker was a bad guy in the Presley story, then his ''Memphis Mafia'' cohorts were a close second. Of course, now they talk about how they tried to save him and help him. This is nonsense. If they genuinely cared they would have gotten him the help he so desperately needed. No one tried. If Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston lost their lives because of fame and the people around them, then Elvis is the template of where it all got started. He was no innocent, to be sure. He knew what he was putting in his system and the danger of over-indulgence. There comes a time, however, when the addict no longer sees himself clearly. That is when people around them need to step in. Some celebrities have those people who help. Elvis had no such person.... So, the end came for him in August of 1977. I remember hearing the news while I was watching a Cubs game. I have never been a big Elvis fan. I like some of his music and admire him for many things he did in life. Some things I do not admire him for. That is why he was human. Just human. His many fans continue for him to be some deity, but, I think he would not want that.... One day, I plan on going to Graceland. Not so much to pray at the shrine of Elvis Presley, but, rather, to pay tribute to a boy who did so much, gave so much, and lost so much. And, I will stare at his grave. I will be thinking about the lonely boy who I hope had finely found peace....