“Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some people sway back and forth. I just sorta do ‘em all together, I guess.”
-Elvis in 1956, talking about his way of moving on stage.
"I ain't no saint, but I've tried never to do anything that would hurt my family or offend God...I figure all any kid needs is hope and the feeling he or she belongs. If I could do or say anything that would give some kid that feeling, I would believe I had contributed something to the world."
-Elvis commenting to a reporter, 1950's.
“Beatles, Beatles, Beatles, Beatles…” Barb, who had her locker next to mine in high school, spent many hours writing “Beatles” over and over on her notebook paper. If there was a lull in her note-taking in class, her latest Beatles page would come out, and, in tiny letters, she’d add to it. I imagine if she’d been present at one of their Ed Sullivan’s performances, she would have screamed and screamed. Maybe she would have even fainted. The Beatles were the rage when I became a teenager in the 1960s.
Before them, it was Elvis. He could swivel his hips and sing at the same time. He had those sexy blue eyes, Paul-Newman-eyes, and bad boy hair. He recorded hits one after another like Love Me Tender, It’s Now or Never, Can’t Help Falling in Love and Are You Lonesome Tonight, but I was still playing with dolls. I wasn’t ready for him…yet. I Want to Hold Your Hand was more my speed.
As the years passed, I enjoyed a lot of popular music and can still sing along with Sonny & Cher, the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, and so many others. I think listening and dancing to the music of our teenage and early adult years is a rite of passage, and, in some ways, it can even impact who we become.
Yes, the Beatles were the rage when I became a teenager, but Elvis became the one who touched my heart. We lost him too soon, but he lives on in the movies and recordings he left behind. Happy 76th birthday, Elvis.
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