The King Of Rock 'n Roll And The Story Of His Downfall - Research Paper Example

The King Of Rock 'n Roll And The Story Of His Downfall Introduction Though the career of a celebrity is, every now and then, accompanied by a set of ups and downs, the downfall of Elvis Presley could be viewed in the same fashion unless the manner of his downfall itself lays some of its reasons bare. This man, who, at the 28th anniversary of his death, was considered the honour of the “King of Rock n roll”, is treated such due to his contribution in bringing the rock n roll back to the masses in the 50’s. Also this celebrity had to embrace his fate –though critics differently allege the nature and causes of his upheaval to contribute to his downfall more than his fate- that pushed him toward the bottom of popularity. It is true that critics differ on various points as to his downfall, but the commonplace of their arguments is: the approach that he chose toward the peak of his popularity took him down. Obviously his approach was one way and left point of return. This essay aims to substantiate that Pelvis’s trend for cheap popularity contributed mainly to his premature demise as both an acoustic artist and a film actor. Deviation from Devotion to Commerciality Even if the beginning of Elvis Presley showed a clear disposition of a marvellous musical artist, in the later part of his career he is to be remembered more as an artist who used to manipulate his innovative disposition to draw cheap popularity than an artist with excellence of Performance. An in-depth analysis of his ride to the peak of his career sufficiently envisages his downfall at the end. It is significant to note that Elvis began his career as an acoustic artist. After several failed attempts Elvis became successful to pocket the desired popularity with the release of his single “Blue Moon of Kentucky” in 1954. But the popularity winning trend is significantly visible in his later performances. He dared to innovate showmanship with his acoustic performance that was targeted to draw the youngster. Unlike other artists of the 40’s he “brought sex on stage, with his pelvic gyrations and dance steps that shocked and titillated youngsters while horrifying their parents” (Dave). Now the question that confront here is why Elvis ‘with the appalling lack of musicality, as the US society of the 1950s alleged, continued reaching the peak of popularity. It must be taken into concern that in the eye of the critics of the 1950’s US society Elvis’s suggestive showmanship was obscene enough to be characterised as the “appalling lack of musicality”. But the reality was that ‘sex in art’ and the excellence of his performance was so intertwined that none of them can be detached from the other. As a result the Elvis was quite successful to accumulate heap of popularity that made him careless enough to keep an eye on the quality of his performance. Increasingly he was being submerged under the commercial benefit of his art. Simply commerciality occupied the place of his devotion. In this regard Dave comments, “this was the first appearance that generated significant publicity and, of course, his primary audience, teen girls, were too busy swooning to see anything vulgar in what Elvis was doing on TV” (Dave). Views of Opposing Critics and their Refutation Purposed showmanship to draw cheap popularity reached extreme for the first time in the Milton Berle Show in his RCA single “Hound Dog” in June 5, 1956. Suggestive hip movements with pelvic gyrations that are in most cases appeared to be obscene to the elders, incurred the flux of scathing criticism all over the country. Here one thing must be noted that the commonplace of the criticisms was the “appalling lack of musicality,” “vulgarity” and “animalism” that simply can be expressed as the lack of art. So those critics that allege his vulgarity of performance as the pitfall of his career are instantly refuted with his continuing popularity in the later years. One of the critics of this school was Carol Oates the famous story-writer who tries to outline the darker side of Elvis’s rock n roll. According to Alice Hall Pretty, one of her themes was to disparage rock’ n’ roll: "And what better way to suggest the dangerous illusions and vacuous-ness generated by the romantic promises and frantic strains of music sung by . . . Elvis Presley than to have an Elvis figure participate in the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl?" (157) But it is not that due to such darker impact of the rock n roll on the society and the increasing concern of the parent the angel won over the evil of teen broiling blood. Elvis’s downfall was rooted in stagnancy of his creativity that failed to meet the teen mind in quest of new. Indeed this stagnancy in his career was generated by his satiety of his audience of what he can present them. As Helen asserts, People without any interest in Elvis generally choose not to watch his films. This is because his films are very much lacking in artistic credibility. They are merely star vehicles that were only ever intended for commercial success, rather than to be taken seriously. The majority of them lack credible plots, credible actors, and most of them even lack credible music, as they included songs of the calibre of ‘Old Macdonald had a farm (Helen). Commerciality of the Industry: Responsible for the Downfall? Popularity is one but not the only target of an artist. Art wins the heart of the audience with artistic excellence of presentation. But in Elvis’s attempts, it is remarkable that the popularity was stressed as the primary requirement of both of his careers in the acoustic industry and the film industry. To what extent Elvis himself can be blamed for his deviation of the artistic devotion may engender a lot of controversy. If Elvis is viewed as a part of the film industry with which he was involved in starring, the maximum of the responsibility of the downfall of Elvis goes upon the shoulder of its helmsmen who were more eager to make money of Elvis’s sky-scrapping popularity, as Laurence Scott says, “If we think of Heath Ledger, Judy Garland or Elvis Presley, we think of people exalted by an industry whose demands and pressures contributed to their downfall.” (Scott). Satiety of Actor Elvis’s Fans: The Impact of Beatles Helen says that Elvis’s film manager was “a man who was always led by economic motives and as he thought romantic songs and happy endings was more likely to make high profits, these were what he advised. He was confident Elvis’s singing would guarantee success, but he was less confident about his acting” (Helen). Though the quality of the performance of Elvis as a film actor is a matter of argument, his start in the film industry was totally based on the popularity that he had gained before he entered into the seven years contract with Paramount Picture. Elvis as a film actor made a triumphant journey till the arrival of British cultural invasion in 1965. Some critics assume that the British rock band “Beetles” had a devastating influence on the popularity of Elvis. But Elvis’s cheap teen popularity can be held responsible for not letting Elvis to cope with the influence of the “Beatles”. By the moment the evasion of the “Beatles” began, Elvis’s fans were saturated with the sensual entertainment what he could provide. As most of Elvis’s films were intended to attract audiences of particular ages and taste, his popularity was vulnerable to any type of similar influence to crucial extent. According to Helen, “The only people who would probably admit to watching them would be hardcore Elvis fans, who would watch anything containing their idol”. Elvis as a film actor, who manipulates his cheap popularity as a singer to entertain his fans was not successful enough to retain his position. Ultimately he turned into a vandal of the art of starring. Works Cited Helen. “The Downfall of Elvis’ Acting Career,” 18 Apr. 2009 Petry, Alice Hall. "Who Is Ellie? Oates’ ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’" Studies in Short Fiction, 25 (1988): 155-158. Scott, Laurence. “Jade Goody Goes to Heaven”, London Review of Books. 28 Mar. 2009. 18 Apr. 2009 Taylor, Dave. “Why was Elvis Presley called the King of Rock 'n Roll?” Ask Dave Tylor. 01 Jan. 2008. 18 Apr. 2009 Read More