Elvis on The Ed Sullivan Show - The Real Story about his "primitive physical movement that was suggestive and vulgar, tinged with the kind of animalism that should be confined to dives and bordellos" - September 9, 1956

On September 9, 1956 Elvis Presley made his national television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show before a record 72 million people.  Here is the Man and the real story.



 The Real Story - Elvis on Ed Sullivan Show September 9, 1956

by Christine Gibson, former editor at American Heritage magazine.

Given that many fans think Elvis is still alive despite his death certificate, highly publicized funeral, and gravestone, it’s no surprise that misunderstandings abound about his career. Among those events surrounded by fallacies—perhaps because it strongly affected popular culture as well as Elvis’s work—is his legendary first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, 49 years ago today, on September 9, 1956.

Books and periodicals mentioning the show, which broke ratings records for the young medium and was one of the first to bring rock ’n’ roll to a mass audience, have erroneously reported that Elvis was shown only from the waist up, a triumph of censorship and evidence of the continued prudery of the 1950s. Others, aware of the hoopla surrounding the program, remember it as Elvis’s first performance on TV. The truth, as usual, is a little more complicated—and more interesting.

Presley, who had released his first three number-one hits by the time of the show, was already a TV veteran. He had appeared six times on the Dorsey brothers’ Stage Show between January and March 1956 and then on The Milton Berle Show on April 3, to increasing, if not yet fevered, press attention. But after his second Berle show, on June 5, members of the press expressed sudden revulsion at what the New York Journal-American called his “primitive physical movement difficult to describe in terms suitable to a family newspaper.” The New York Daily News reported that Elvis “gave an exhibition that was suggestive and vulgar, tinged with the kind of animalism that should be confined to dives and bordellos,” while the San Francisco Chronicle deemed it “in appalling taste.”

The reaction was enough to make Steve Allen, who had booked Elvis for his show before the backlash, briefly consider reneging, but in the end, Elvis did appear on his show on July 1, although in strangely tame form. Allen, going comically overboard to avoid scandal, dressed him in top hat, tails, and white gloves. Elvis soldiered on gamely, singing “Hound Dog” to a top-hat and bow-tie-clad basset hound.

Sullivan, never a fan of controversy, had already refused an offer to hire Elvis for $5,000. The famously prickly host had been burned before by rock ’n’ roll stars: He vowed to drum Bo Diddley out of television after his 1955 act on the show, when he sang his own hit “Bo Diddley” instead of Sullivan’s request, Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons.” But Elvis’s ratings—his stint on the Allen show had trounced Sullivan—changed his mind. Even as he professed to the press that Elvis was “not my cup of tea,” Ed Sullivan had already begun negotiations with Elvis’s agent, Colonel Tom Parker. His hesitation cost him heavily, however. He would end up agreeing to shell out $50,000 for three appearances, an unprecedented sum.

Elvis made his Sullivan debut on the show’s season premiere, but on the big night neither Sullivan nor Elvis was in the New York studio. Elvis was in Hollywood, filming his first movie, and he sang from the CBS studio there. Sullivan was recovering from an August head-on car collision, and Charles Laughton, the star of Mutiny on the Bounty, filled in for the host, hailing his guest by saying, “Away to Hollywood to meet Elvis Presley.”

Elvis, wearing a loud plaid jacket, greeted the audience from a set decorated with stylized guitar shapes. He announced that the show was “probably the greatest honor I have ever had in my life,” and then launched into “Don’t Be Cruel.” The camera stayed above his waist for now, sometimes closing in on his face, sometimes turning to show his backup singers, but something Elvis was doing out of lens range was causing unexplained screams from the audience. After the number was over, he acknowledged the vocal segment of the crowd, saying, “Thank you, ladies.” To finish the first segment, he played the title song to his new movie, “Love Me Tender,” introducing it as ”completely different from anything we’ve ever done.” Nationwide, disk jockeys taped the performance and played the song, which had yet to be released, on their radio shows, increasing pre-release orders to almost a million and pushing forward the single’s release date.

Viewers got to see the full Elvis—legs, hips, and all—during the second segment, when he performed the up-tempo Little Richard song “Ready Teddy” and two verses of “Hound Dog.” Young rock fans today would doubtless have a hard time understanding what all the scandal was about, as his frenetic swivels and shuffles look chaste compared to the gyrations common on MTV. But Elvis on that night (and his rock star peers in general around the same time) arguably set in motion a trend that continues today.

The press was quick to note that the cameras switched to close-up shots whenever he started dancing, in effect censoring him, but the TV audience got to see plenty, and besides, the girls screamed when he grunted, moved his tongue, crossed his eyes, or even stood perfectly still. With Elvis, censorship began to seem irrelevant. As Laughton noted at the end of the hour, ”Well, what did someone say? Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast?”

The viewing audience certainly wasn’t so offended that it changed the channel. The September 9 Sullivan show reached 82.6 percent of the TV audience, and Steve Allen hadn’t even seen fit to offer an alternative; NBC had showed a movie instead. Censorship did enjoy one last gasp during Elvis’s third appearance, on January 6, 1957, when Sullivan—or, as some historians believe, a publicity-hungry Parker—did indeed instruct the camera operator to show him only from the waist up, even when he sang the gospel tune “Peace in the Valley.” It was the last song he would ever perform on the show. Parker was now demanding $300,000 for future TV engagements, stipulating that a network must also commit to two guest spots and an hour-long special.

Even as he priced his client out of its range, Parker credited the program with the success of “Love Me Tender” and earning Elvis the esteem of American adults for the first time. Historians assert that Elvis’s three nights on the Sullivan show helped bridge the gap between the first rock ’n’ roll generation and their parents. Whether at the same time his behavior on those shows ultimately caused today’s generation gap—that is, whether MTV’s rump-shakers should look to Elvis as their earliest role model and parents can blame him for Britney Spears—is still up for debate.
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Elvis on The Ed Sullivan Show - The Real Story - September 9, 1956

On September 9, 1956 Elvis Presley made his national television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show before a record 72 million people.  Here is the Man and the real story.  While estate restrictions prohibit playing the Ed Sullivan appearance, here is live footage from his return to Tupelo after the Sullivan national broadcast made Elvs a star.  Double click video for full screen.



The Real Story - Elvis on Ed Sullivan Show September 9, 1956

by Christine Gibson, former editor at American Heritage magazine.

Given that many fans think Elvis is still alive despite his death certificate, highly publicized funeral, and gravestone, it’s no surprise that misunderstandings abound about his career. Among those events surrounded by fallacies—perhaps because it strongly affected popular culture as well as Elvis’s work—is his legendary first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, 49 years ago today, on September 9, 1956.

Books and periodicals mentioning the show, which broke ratings records for the young medium and was one of the first to bring rock ’n’ roll to a mass audience, have erroneously reported that Elvis was shown only from the waist up, a triumph of censorship and evidence of the continued prudery of the 1950s. Others, aware of the hoopla surrounding the program, remember it as Elvis’s first performance on TV. The truth, as usual, is a little more complicated—and more interesting.

Presley, who had released his first three number-one hits by the time of the show, was already a TV veteran. He had appeared six times on the Dorsey brothers’ Stage Show between January and March 1956 and then on The Milton Berle Show on April 3, to increasing, if not yet fevered, press attention. But after his second Berle show, on June 5, members of the press expressed sudden revulsion at what the New York Journal-American called his “primitive physical movement difficult to describe in terms suitable to a family newspaper.” The New York Daily News reported that Elvis “gave an exhibition that was suggestive and vulgar, tinged with the kind of animalism that should be confined to dives and bordellos,” while the San Francisco Chronicle deemed it “in appalling taste.”

The reaction was enough to make Steve Allen, who had booked Elvis for his show before the backlash, briefly consider reneging, but in the end, Elvis did appear on his show on July 1, although in strangely tame form. Allen, going comically overboard to avoid scandal, dressed him in top hat, tails, and white gloves. Elvis soldiered on gamely, singing “Hound Dog” to a top-hatand bow-tie-clad basset hound.

Sullivan, never a fan of controversy, had already refused an offer to hire Elvis for $5,000. The famously prickly host had been burned before by rock ’n’ roll stars: He vowed to drum Bo Diddley out of television after his 1955 act on the show, when he sang his own hit “Bo Diddley” instead of Sullivan’s request, Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons.” But Elvis’s ratings—his stint on the Allen show had trounced Sullivan—changed his mind. Even as he professed to the press that Elvis was “not my cup of tea,” Ed Sullivan had already begun negotiations with Elvis’s agent, Colonel Tom Parker. His hesitation cost him heavily, however. He would end up agreeing to shell out $50,000 for three appearances, an unprecedented sum.

Elvis made his Sullivan debut on the show’s season premiere, but on the big night neither Sullivan nor Elvis was in the New York studio. Elvis was in Hollywood, filming his first movie, and he sang from the CBS studio there. Sullivan was recovering from an August head-on car collision, and Charles Laughton, the star of Mutiny on the Bounty, filled in for the host, hailing his guest by saying, “Away to Hollywood to meet Elvis Presley.”

Elvis, wearing a loud plaid jacket, greeted the audience from a set decorated with stylized guitar shapes. He announced that the show was “probably the greatest honor I have ever had in my life,” and then launched into “Don’t Be Cruel.” The camera stayed above his waist for now, sometimes closing in on his face, sometimes turning to show his backup singers, but something Elvis was doing out of lens range was causing unexplained screams from the audience. After the number was over, he acknowledged the vocal segment of the crowd, saying, “Thank you, ladies.” To finish the first segment, he played the title song to his new movie, “Love Me Tender,” introducing it as ”completely different from anything we’ve ever done.” Nationwide, disk jockeys taped the performance and played the song, which had yet to be released, on their radio shows, increasing pre-release orders to almost a million and pushing forward the single’s release date.

Viewers got to see the full Elvis—legs, hips, and all—during the second segment, when he performed the up-tempo Little Richard song “Ready Teddy” and two verses of “Hound Dog.” Young rock fans today would doubtless have a hard time understanding what all the scandal was about, as his frenetic swivels and shuffles look chaste compared to the gyrations common on MTV. But Elvis on that night (and his rock star peers in general around the same time) arguably set in motion a trend that continues today.

The press was quick to note that the cameras switched to close-up shots whenever he started dancing, in effect censoring him, but the TV audience got to see plenty, and besides, the girls screamed when he grunted, moved his tongue, crossed his eyes, or even stood perfectly still. With Elvis, censorship began to seem irrelevant. As Laughton noted at the end of the hour, ”Well, what did someone say? Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast?”

The viewing audience certainly wasn’t so offended that it changed the channel. The September 9 Sullivan show reached 82.6 percent of the TV audience, and Steve Allen hadn’t even seen fit to offer an alternative; NBC had showed a movie instead. Censorship did enjoy one last gasp during Elvis’s third appearance, on January 6, 1957, when Sullivan—or, as some historians believe, a publicity-hungry Parker—did indeed instruct the camera operator to show him only from the waist up, even when he sang the gospel tune “Peace in the Valley.” It was the last song he would ever perform on the show. Parker was now demanding $300,000 for future TV engagements, stipulating that a network must also commit to two guest spots and an hour-long special.

Even as he priced his client out of its range, Parker credited the program with the success of “Love Me Tender” and earning Elvis the esteem of American adults for the first time. Historians assert that Elvis’s three nights on the Sullivan show helped bridge the gap between the first rock ’n’ roll generation and their parents. Whether at the same time his behavior on those shows ultimately caused today’s generation gap—that is, whether MTV’s rump-shakers should look to Elvis as their earliest role model and parents can blame him for Britney Spears—is still up for debate.
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When the tide began to turn - When Pro-Choice was hijacked by the "Life What a Beautiful Choice" campaign

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As America closes in on a staggering sixty million deaths from abortion since the passage of Roe versus Wade, there is a nearly silent but stunning shift in the pro-abortion movement, the benchmark of the progressive left and Hollywood celebrity elite.

Life What a Beautiful Choice

(Double click for full screen)

Since abortions hit a peak around 1981 there has been a steady erosion of public support for the Pro-Choice movement and a consistent reduction in abortions with 2016 seeing the fewest abortions, less than a million, since the nearly 1.6 million in 1981.

One of the highlights of my NYC career was working with Phil Dusenberry, Chairman and CEO of BBDO, on a project for the Arthur S. DeMoss Foundation called "Life What a Beautiful Choice."

Phil was an ad genius with his incredible Pepsi campaigns with Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, and even one of the top Super Bowl spots of all time with Cindy Crawford.

(Double click for full screen)



A decade before I worked with Phil on the Ronald Reagan re-election campaign and he brought me in to handle the media planning and buying for the DeMoss effort.  Never has there been a family more involved in crucial social issues than the DeMoss family.

Over the next couple of years millions of dollars a year were spent on this national campaign on nationwide television and extensive tracking polls showed it had one of the most dramatic impacts on those undecided ever recorded, bringing about a shift in public attitudes towards support for the Pro-Life movement.

Life What a Beautiful Choice
(Double click for full screen)

Today, there are sixty percent fewer abortions a year, nearly 700,000 per year, than when we started.  Phil was a genius and one of the most caring people I even knew.  He is sorely missed in the world of advertising and social causes.

Life What a Beautiful Choice
(Double click for full screen)

1/26/2017 9:07  PM

Total Abortions in US Since Roe versus Wade

59,752,093

Total 2016 population of California and New York

58,875,447

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Elvis on The Ed Sullivan Show - The Real Story - September 9, 1956

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On September 9, 1956 Elvis Presley made his national television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show before a record 72 million people.  Here is the Man and the real story.  While estate restrictions prohibit playing the Ed Sullivan appearance, here is live footage from his return to Tupelo after the Sullivan national broadcast made Elvs a star.  Double click video for full screen.



The Real Story - Elvis on Ed Sullivan Show September 9, 1956

by Christine Gibson, former editor at American Heritage magazine.

Given that many fans think Elvis is still alive despite his death certificate, highly publicized funeral, and gravestone, it’s no surprise that misunderstandings abound about his career. Among those events surrounded by fallacies—perhaps because it strongly affected popular culture as well as Elvis’s work—is his legendary first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, 49 years ago today, on September 9, 1956.

Books and periodicals mentioning the show, which broke ratings records for the young medium and was one of the first to bring rock ’n’ roll to a mass audience, have erroneously reported that Elvis was shown only from the waist up, a triumph of censorship and evidence of the continued prudery of the 1950s. Others, aware of the hoopla surrounding the program, remember it as Elvis’s first performance on TV. The truth, as usual, is a little more complicated—and more interesting.

Presley, who had released his first three number-one hits by the time of the show, was already a TV veteran. He had appeared six times on the Dorsey brothers’ Stage Show between January and March 1956 and then on The Milton Berle Show on April 3, to increasing, if not yet fevered, press attention. But after his second Berle show, on June 5, members of the press expressed sudden revulsion at what the New York Journal-American called his “primitive physical movement difficult to describe in terms suitable to a family newspaper.” The New York Daily News reported that Elvis “gave an exhibition that was suggestive and vulgar, tinged with the kind of animalism that should be confined to dives and bordellos,” while the San Francisco Chronicle deemed it “in appalling taste.”

The reaction was enough to make Steve Allen, who had booked Elvis for his show before the backlash, briefly consider reneging, but in the end, Elvis did appear on his show on July 1, although in strangely tame form. Allen, going comically overboard to avoid scandal, dressed him in top hat, tails, and white gloves. Elvis soldiered on gamely, singing “Hound Dog” to a top-hatand bow-tie-clad basset hound.

Sullivan, never a fan of controversy, had already refused an offer to hire Elvis for $5,000. The famously prickly host had been burned before by rock ’n’ roll stars: He vowed to drum Bo Diddley out of television after his 1955 act on the show, when he sang his own hit “Bo Diddley” instead of Sullivan’s request, Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons.” But Elvis’s ratings—his stint on the Allen show had trounced Sullivan—changed his mind. Even as he professed to the press that Elvis was “not my cup of tea,” Ed Sullivan had already begun negotiations with Elvis’s agent, Colonel Tom Parker. His hesitation cost him heavily, however. He would end up agreeing to shell out $50,000 for three appearances, an unprecedented sum.

Elvis made his Sullivan debut on the show’s season premiere, but on the big night neither Sullivan nor Elvis was in the New York studio. Elvis was in Hollywood, filming his first movie, and he sang from the CBS studio there. Sullivan was recovering from an August head-on car collision, and Charles Laughton, the star of Mutiny on the Bounty, filled in for the host, hailing his guest by saying, “Away to Hollywood to meet Elvis Presley.”

Elvis, wearing a loud plaid jacket, greeted the audience from a set decorated with stylized guitar shapes. He announced that the show was “probably the greatest honor I have ever had in my life,” and then launched into “Don’t Be Cruel.” The camera stayed above his waist for now, sometimes closing in on his face, sometimes turning to show his backup singers, but something Elvis was doing out of lens range was causing unexplained screams from the audience. After the number was over, he acknowledged the vocal segment of the crowd, saying, “Thank you, ladies.” To finish the first segment, he played the title song to his new movie, “Love Me Tender,” introducing it as ”completely different from anything we’ve ever done.” Nationwide, disk jockeys taped the performance and played the song, which had yet to be released, on their radio shows, increasing pre-release orders to almost a million and pushing forward the single’s release date.

Viewers got to see the full Elvis—legs, hips, and all—during the second segment, when he performed the up-tempo Little Richard song “Ready Teddy” and two verses of “Hound Dog.” Young rock fans today would doubtless have a hard time understanding what all the scandal was about, as his frenetic swivels and shuffles look chaste compared to the gyrations common on MTV. But Elvis on that night (and his rock star peers in general around the same time) arguably set in motion a trend that continues today.

The press was quick to note that the cameras switched to close-up shots whenever he started dancing, in effect censoring him, but the TV audience got to see plenty, and besides, the girls screamed when he grunted, moved his tongue, crossed his eyes, or even stood perfectly still. With Elvis, censorship began to seem irrelevant. As Laughton noted at the end of the hour, ”Well, what did someone say? Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast?”

The viewing audience certainly wasn’t so offended that it changed the channel. The September 9 Sullivan show reached 82.6 percent of the TV audience, and Steve Allen hadn’t even seen fit to offer an alternative; NBC had showed a movie instead. Censorship did enjoy one last gasp during Elvis’s third appearance, on January 6, 1957, when Sullivan—or, as some historians believe, a publicity-hungry Parker—did indeed instruct the camera operator to show him only from the waist up, even when he sang the gospel tune “Peace in the Valley.” It was the last song he would ever perform on the show. Parker was now demanding $300,000 for future TV engagements, stipulating that a network must also commit to two guest spots and an hour-long special.

Even as he priced his client out of its range, Parker credited the program with the success of “Love Me Tender” and earning Elvis the esteem of American adults for the first time. Historians assert that Elvis’s three nights on the Sullivan show helped bridge the gap between the first rock ’n’ roll generation and their parents. Whether at the same time his behavior on those shows ultimately caused today’s generation gap—that is, whether MTV’s rump-shakers should look to Elvis as their earliest role model and parents can blame him for Britney Spears—is still up for debate.
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SPIRITS IN THE SKY - ELVIS - AUGUST 16, 1977 - THE KING IS DEAD!

THE KING OF ROCK AND ROLL HAS LEFT THE STAGE!

Born: January 8, 1935, Tupelo, MS

Died: August 16, 1977, Memphis, TN

Only in America could a country kid from Tupelo, Mississippi grow up to become King, sell over 600 million records, and become one of the greatest icons in American history.

While amassing 14 Grammy nominations and winning three, Elvis was awarded a Grammy lifetime achievement award at the ripe old age of just 36.

Single handed Elvis brought life and controversy to the fledgling rock and roll movement in the 1950's and by the end of the decade it was the dominate music genre in the world.  Every rock and roll success story since his time was because of what he did.

Elvis used television and movies like no other star at the time to make the public aware of him but it was probably the military that helped make Elvis.

Why do I say this?  Back in the mid-1950's when Elvis was starting out rock and roll did not exist. He was known locally and some of those early fans were in the military and would take copies of his records to Germany and other bases where they would share them with fellow soldiers from other parts of the country.

One of my closest friends had a brother in the army who was stationed in Germany and when he came home he brought his brother and thus me copies of the early Elvis records.  

  

The Elvis and Priscilla love story remains one of the greatest in rock history as he asked her father, an officer in Germany when Elvis was serving in the military, if he could take his 14 year old daughter under his protection until they were old enough to marry.  It was seven years before they were married.  

His one child, named Lisa-Marie, went on to become wife to Michael Jackson thus merging two families of the most revered singers in the world.

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Elvis was also friends with my favorite 20th century icon Marilyn Monroe thus insuring him a permanent place in my mind.

During his life he reinvented his career several times, had a manager whose love for money made Elvis a fortune but may have cost him a lifetime of unhappiness, and he became addicted to prescription drugs.

Both Elvis and Michael Jackson would die prematurely from an overdose of prescription drugs.  Still, he remains one of the greatest icons of the 20th century.

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Spirits in the Sky - August 16, 1977 - The King is Dead!

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Born: January 8, 1935, Tupelo, MS

Died: August 16, 1977, Memphis, TN

Only in America could a country kid from Tupelo, Mississippi grow up to become King, sell over 600 million records, and become one of the greatest icons in American history.

While amassing 14 Grammy nominations and winning three, Elvis was awarded a Grammy lifetime achievement award at the ripe old age of just 36.

Single handed Elvis brought life and controversy to the fledgling rock and roll movement in the 1950's and by the end of the decade it was the dominate music genre in the world.  Every rock and roll success story since his time was because of what he did.

Elvis used television and movies like no other star at the time to make the public aware of him but it was probably the military that helped make Elvis.

Why do I say this?  Back in the mid-1950's when Elvis was starting out rock and roll did not exist. He was known locally and some of those early fans were in the military and would take copies of his records to Germany and other bases where they would share them with fellow soldiers from other parts of the country.



One of my closest friends had a brother in the army who was stationed in Germany and when he came home he brought his brother and thus me copies of the early Elvis records.  
  

The Elvis and Priscilla love story remains one of the greatest in rock history as he asked her father, an officer in Germany when Elvis was serving in the military, if he could take his 14 year old daughter under his protection until they were old enough to marry.  It was seven years before they were married.  

His one child, named Lisa-Marie, went on to become wife to Michael Jackson thus merging two families of the most revered singers in the world.

.
Elvis was also friends with my favorite 20th century icon Marilyn Monroe thus insuring him a permanent place in my mind.



During his life he reinvented his career several times, had a manager whose love for money made Elvis a fortune but may have cost him a lifetime of unhappiness, and he became addicted to prescription drugs.



Both Elvis and Michael Jackson would die prematurely from an overdose of prescription drugs.  Still, he remains one of the greatest icons of the 20th century.  Happy birthday Elvis.
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Elvis - The King of Rock and Roll

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January 8, 1935 - August 16, 1977

Today is the 75th anniversary of the birth of Elvis Presley, husband of Priscilla Presley, father of Lisa Marie Presley and one time father-in-law to Michael Jackson. As I have written before, 32 years after his death Elvis continues to make far more money than he ever did during his 42 years of life, topping $55 million in 2009 alone with an international tour of his music scheduled for 2010.



In his early years the only way we could hear Elvis records in the Bible belt was when friends in the military were stationed in the south and would bring back Elvis recordings. Over time I got to see him twice in concert including during his last tour in 1977. It was June 19 in Omaha, Nebraska and RCA was recording the concert for a new Elvis project. One week later, June 26, he performed his last concert in Indianapolis and died three weeks later.



This much I can tell you. His voice was as powerful as ever that June in 1977 though he appeared to be physically exhausted. There was a certain melancholy in his voice as if he wanted one last time to give his fans what they expected. When he performed his ballets and gospel songs like My Way and The Impossible Dream there was not a dry eye in the auditorium.

Presley almost single-handedly created the genre of rockabilly and rock and roll and he was the first white person to merge the Black blues and gospel with country rock. In 1973 Elvis performed the first global concert via satellite and 1.5 billion people tuned in making it the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer in history, including to this day.



The dance sequence from his movie Jailhouse Rock has been considered one of the best motion picture dance sequences ever recorded which he choreographed himself and I hope you will take a look at the number on the YouTube video I added. This is the Elvis we will always remember, the shy kid from Tupelo, Mississippi who grew up to become King of the world.

Michael Jackson and Farah Fawcett - With Elvis On the Road to Kingdom Come

Three stars who helped distract the world during the turbulent 1960's and 1970's with Viet Nam and Watergate, the worst economy since the Great depression and a world caught up in turmoil. Each was born in three consecutive decades, Elvis in the '30's, Farah in the '40's and Michael in the "50's. Each helped America to get through one of the toughest periods in our history.

In the 1970's the three converged on the American conscience and there was the passing of the baton from the first King of Rock 'n Roll Elvis, to the new King of Pop Michael. At the same time there was the emergence of the beautiful young woman from Texas, Farah Fawcett with her million dollar smile.




History often works in threes and between the Bicentennial celebration of America in 1976 and 1979 these three all helped turn around a nation. In 1976 Farah Fawcett was introduced to the world in the television classic Charlie's Angels. That year Life Magazine published the Farah swimsuit pose in this article which became the best selling poster in history with over 12 million sold.



It was also the year the Jackson 5 left Motown Records over artistic differences and that Michael began his separation from his brothers with his solo career. In 1977 Elvis died suddenly at age 42. The crown of King of Rock 'n Roll was vacant for the first time. Michael stepped into the void as the new record label gave him artistic control and first The Wall, in 1979, followed by Thriller in 1982 firmly established him as the King of Pop.

The Wall was the first album to have four songs in the Billboard Top Ten. Thriller set a new standard for success that has never been matched since with seven Top Ten hits and over 109 million album sales and there was no longer any doubt he had inherited the title of King.

In time there would be an even stronger tie between the first and reigning Kings of Rock 'n Roll as Jackson would marry Elvis's only daughter Lisa Marie who helped him through some of his darkest hours. Even after their divorce she remained a good friend.




In death we have a tendency to make people bigger than life, as we let adoration and sorrow not to mention the news media make up stuff about them that never was true and that had nothing to do with their real contributions to the entertainment industry. Michael Jackson did not bring down the walls of racism in music any more than Elvis was responsible for the edgy and provocative direction Rock 'n Roll first took.

Here are a few undisputed facts. In pop and rock music only the Beatles and Elvis have sold over 1 billion records. The Beatles said Elvis was one of the strongest influences on their music. Jackson was close behind as he was approaching a billion in records sold. Ironically, any hope for a Beatles reunion vanished in 1980, between Jackson's release of The Wall and Thriller when Lennon was gunned down in NYC.




Elvis, Michael and even John Lennon were revolutionaries in the music industry as they achieved levels of artistic control never before achieved by artists. Elvis and Michael were benefactors and probably victims of strong managers and handlers who kept them isolated from the world and probably drove them to death with abusive quantities of prescription drugs. Both only wanted to keep their fans happy and seemed to tire of the demands on them to "stay on top".




They were both generous to a fault. Both had strong fathers but managed to isolate themselves from them as their careers unfolded. Michael was never able to experience a childhood as he was performing from the time he was 6 years old and it seemed he spent the rest of his life trying to capture what he had been denied.

Abusive parents were replaced by abusive managers but the music never stopped. Both introduced electrifying dance routines to their performances. Both elevated the choreography and staging of concerts to levels never before seen. Their performances became events, their endurance legendary. But in time both would physically breakdown because of the incessant pressure to be number one. Both were kept from contact with people. Both became trapped in their own creations of Graceland and Neverland.




If adversity built success, super stardom came from the heart and soul of the entertainers doing what they do best, performing before their adoring legions of fans. On stage they created magic. They never got enough of concerts and touring and never stopped trying to increase their contact with fans. But alas they were never able to break free of the incredible parasites who surrounded them and viewed them as a commodity and meal ticket.




What they gave us need not be bigger than life because it was hope, inspiration and knowledge that here was someone who made it, their way, and who left a legacy of their body of work that will survive the ages. Honor them for what they gave, not who they were. Two shy kids from poor backgrounds and struggling towns became King of the world of music and set the standard for success for all time.

Let us hope now that Michael and Farah have joined Elvis on the Road to Kingdom Come and in that Kingdom they find what they never had in life, the peace and love they so richly deserve. They have touched the world and we all owe them a debt of gratitude for what they have done.