The King” passed away 40 years ago today, and, if you’re like most Boomers, you remember exactly where you were when you heard the news, and just in case you could use a reminder of just WHY you remember, it’s because Elvis Presley’s impact on 20th century culture can’t be overstated.
John Lennon put it this way: “Before Elvis, there was nothing.”
Bruce Springsteen is more loquacious. He describes life pre-Elvis as a “great darkness upon the earth” and Elvis’s emergence as… “Then, in a moment of light, blinding as a universe birthing a billion new suns, there was hope, sex, rhythm, excitement, possibility, a new way of seeing, of feeling, of thinking, of looking at your body, of combing your hair, of wearing your clothes, of moving and of living.”
Here’s an almost 7-minute clip of The King at his most alluring and exciting: young, gorgeous, confident but not jaded; dazzling, compelling. It’s from his 1968 TV “Comeback Special” (The one where he’s wearing the black leather outfit.)
Need more? “Elvis Week” continues through Saturday in Memphis, Tenn.