Elvis Presleys Rise and Fall, and his contribution to the Rock and Roll Music Industry - Research Paper Example

A Critical Analysis of Elvis Presley’s Rise and Fall, and his contribution to the Rock and Roll Music Industry A Critical Analysis of Elvis Presley’s Rise and Fall, and his contribution to the Rock and Roll Music Industry Introduction The career of a celebrity is usually accompanied by a cause-and-effect based sequence of ups and downs that are supposed to be connected. But though Elvis Presley’s rise to the peak of popularity in the 1950s’ rock-n-roll music industry can fairly be explained in terms of the dynamics that an artist needs, the causes his downfall remains apparently mysterious and shrouded by some unpredictable events. At the 28th anniversary of his death he was entitled the “King of Rock n roll” due to his contribution to the rock n roll back in the 1950’s, this celebrity was fated to touch the bottom of popularity. For years Presley’s downfall has engaged the scholars in debates on the question why Presley’s popularity had to face a sharp downfall in the midway of his career forcing him to withdraw himself from the public affair. Though some critics hold the opinion that his rise as well as his subsequent downfall is the natural parts of a celebrity’s life, most of the critics explain Presley’s downfall as a result of his pursuing for cheap popularity. The commonplace of these critics’ arguments is: the path that he chose to reach the peak of his popularity took him down. Obviously his approach was one-way and he reached the point of no-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 Quality and Devotion to Commerciality Even though at the beginning of his career, Elvis Presley showed a clear disposition of a marvellous musical artist, he began to increasingly depend on cheap popularity, shifting his attention from the quality of performance. A close investigation of his journey to the peak of his career fairly 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). The infusion of sex in art and the excellence of his performance were so intertwined that none of them can be detached from the other. As a result the Elvis was quite successful to accumulate heaps 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.” (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 (Campbell 132). 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. In this regard Helen notes, “The only people who would probably admit to watching them would be hardcore Elvis fans, who would watch anything containing their idol” (2). 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. Conclusion Elvis Presley’s success largely pivots on the infusion of sex into art and his sexually indicative body-movement on the stage. Employing this sexual trope in his art he was able to attract a large audience of both sexes. But the audience soon became tired to this trope and due to the lack of innovation Elvis Presley began to face a sharp decline in his popularity. Indeed the path that took him the peak of success led him to his downfall. Works Cited Campbell, Michael. Rock and Roll, An Introduction Belmont, CA: Schirmer, 2008. 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