The King of Rock and Roll
I feel like Elvis the king
in the music he wrote
unlike the music of today
I can't understand a note
All the banging
makes my head vibrate
it makes the love I feel
quickly turn to hate
Drink fuels the fire
that burns inside
who would have known
it would be the night I died
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ReplyDeleteThe King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley is the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music, with 600 million units sold worldwide, and in 2014 -- nearly 40 years after his death at 42-- was still earning $55 million a year. Since his death he has become a cult figure, with scores of Elvis impersonators making a good living for themselves. He is also the subject of numerous religious sites, experiences, and institutions, including The First Preslyterian Church of Elvis the Divine; The First Church of Jesus Christ, Elvis; the Church of Elvis; The Eighth Day Transfigurist Cult; The Elvis Shrine; The Gospel of Elvis; the Little Shrine to the King; the Oracle of the Plywood Elvis; and the Elvis Seance.
ReplyDeleteHe's still alive in my heart :)
ReplyDeleteSweet, but Elvis did not write his music. He used/stole music from black artists and made it popular. The black artists who wrote and sang his early songs were seen as "race artist". But when sung by a handsome white man it was good. Yes he brought these songs to forefront but not enough credit or royalties (in fact in some none) to the original writers/artists. How many people know Big Mama Thorton author of "Hound Dog"??
ReplyDeleteAt least Elvis was honest enough to publicly admit that. But it was common practice and benefited the real authors economically -- getting half the royalties on a million-seller sure beats getting 100% of the royalties on a disc that doesn't even clear 10,000 copies. And it sure beats the Led Zeppelin practice of claiming full writing credit for other people's work.
ReplyDeleteYes, Elvis was somewhat honest, although his manager was not. And it was common practice (ala Peggy Lee, Pat Boone) to popularized and make lots of money off of black artists work.A. Yet still it often was the publishers who cashed in and many black artists of the 50s and 60s were cheated out of their rights, and hence their royalties.And yup on the Zeppelin!
ReplyDeleteStill, a cool poem!! Thank you Duane.
ReplyDelete