NOTE: I've linked some RealAudio songs and photographs to the text below -- credit goes to the following for these sources (please let me know if I've inadvertantly left someone out due to my less-than-systematic approach to updating pages):
For Elvis Fans Only -- Australia
Elvis World...by Haruo Hirose
Well, quite apart from Elvis, the Beatles, and the other dudes I already mentioned, I enjoy music from a wide variety of performers. Although not every one features electric guitars, I do tend to like singers who can sing and instrumentalists who can play, which rules out a lot of contenders from the past ten years or so.
....some of those I appreciate to varying degrees.... (and their Elvis connection!)
Allman Brothers...archetypal Southern rockers who followed in the footsteps of Elvis, Jerry Lee, and the others
Louis Armstrong...once said he liked Elvis' style
Beach Boys...who loved Elvis
James Brown...the amazing Godfather of Soul, who called Elvis his brother and sang gospel with him
Jimmy Buffett...who mentions Elvis a fair bit in his quirky "Where Is Joe Merchant?" book
James Burton...one of the greatest lead guitarists ever, who played purely perfect lead for Elvis at every concert and most studio dates from 1969 to the end
Johnny Cash...who, like Elvis, graduated from Sun records and knew him from the early days...he was also present for at least part of the famed "Million Dollar Quartet" studio jam at Sun, in 1956.
Ray Charles..."the Genius," who influenced young Elvis and sang "Jailhouse Rock" in "The Blues Brothers" but has sometimes said unfortunate and misinformed things about Elvis' relationship with black musical forms
Eric Clapton...I'm sure he like Elvis, too, and they both did "Reconsider, Baby"...met Elvis in the '70s
Creedence Clearwater Revival...Elvis worshippers who captured the Sun sound like nobody else and were probably a refreshing change after the excesses of late '60s acid rock and such
John Denver...apparently Elvis gave Colonel Parker a jet aircraft after hearing that the John Denver gave his manager a car
Neil Diamond...Elvis did two songs he wrote and Neil has done at least a couple of Elvis'...while Elvis was recording his legendary 1969 sessions in Memphis, he was alternating tiem in the studio with Neil, who was laying down classics like "Sweet Caroline" and "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show" -- don't know that they ever met, though
The Eagles...if it wasn't for Elvis blurring the border between country, rock, and other musical forms, the Eagles may never have happened
Aretha Franklin...also did "Jailhouse Rock" in "The Blues Brothers" movie and the female voices that backed her in such classics as "R.E.S.P.E.C.T." -- the Sweet Inspirations -- joined Elvis' live crew in 1969 and stayed with him until the end
Marvin Gaye...Marvin Gaye was married to Diana Ross who was idolized my young Michael Jackson who grew up (well, sort of) to marry Elvis' daughter
Another Marvin Gaye site...no, I don't want to try to squeeze out another tenuous Elvis connection here
Heart...who had the good taste to record a song entitled "Barracuda", which has a lot to do with my research but not a lot to do with Elvis, other than the fact that I like him (there you go...a connection, right there)
Jimi Hendrix...who was a major Elvis fan and who attended his wild concert in Seattle, 1957
Chris Isaak...looks a little bit and sounds a lot like Elvis, crossed with Roy Orbison -- captured a different side of the Sun sound than Creedence did
Michael Jackson...used to be really good, and is still multitalented, but (unfortunately, and almost inevitably, given his life story) went off the rails...tackily declared himself the "King of Pop" (by the way, Elvis wasn't comfortable with the "King" title conferred him by his fans and the media) and then married Lisa-Marie, for a while...continues to compete with the ghost of Elvis and with himself...check your friendly neighborhood tabloids for updates
Waylon Jennings...the outlaw who co-wrote a song called "You Asked Me To" that Elvis did an excellent version of in his stellar December, 1973 Memphis sessions
Elton John...got into rock'n'roll because of Elvis and has shown himself to be a tremendously talented, down-to-earth, and versatile performer who like his song, is still standing (and excelling). He met Elvis at least once
Tom Jones...probably closer to being a real friend of Elvis than most of the people who were Elvis' casual acquaintances who are now claiming to have been best buddies...Elvis and Tom hung out together in Las Vegas and away from "work"
kd lang...tremendously influenced by Elvis, and used to do his "I'll Be Back" (a great song recorded for a mid-'60s movie) as a concert closer
Jerry Lee Lewis...joined the Sun ranks after Elvis had left, but knew him from 1956 on and was part of the "Million Dollar Quartet"...once got in a spot of trouble when he was waving a gun outside Graceland early one morning in 1976 and drunkenly insisting to be let in to save Elvis
Little Richard...he was born again a long time ago but is still as wild as ever...like Jerry Lee, he's not exactly strong in the modesty department (he wrote a song about himself called "The King Of Rock'n'Roll") but he credits Elvis with helping to open the door for black performers to be accepted in '50s mainstream society
Lynyrd Skynyrd...more Southern rockers...Elvis was from the South, too!
Bob Marley...I remember reading a quote in which Bob Marley said something nice about Elvis...regardless, in death his popularity is reminiscent of Elvis'
Moody Blues..."Moody Blue" was the title of the last album released during Elvis' lifetime
Lorrie Morgan...I'm sure she's heard an Elvis song or two before
Willie Nelson...another outlaw -- may have met Elvis, but Elvis recorded his "Funny How Time Slips Away", which he also did live on hundreds of occasions, and Willie has recorded more than his share of songs Elvis did, including "Always On My Mind"
Roy Orbison...Elvis knew him, liked him, and apparently appeared on his local TV show in Texas (in 1955) before Elvis was a national star and before Roy made his first recording...Elvis once said that Roy Orbinson's voice was the best he'd ever heard and Roy recorded a song called "Hound Dog Man" as well as a hit remake of Elvis' 1957 song, "Mean Woman Blues"
Dolly Parton...likes Elvis, of course!
Tom Petty...mentions Elvis in his lyrics and got excited about music partly because of Elvis...Elvis shot "Follow That Dream" in 1961 on location in young Tom Petty's back yard (well, not exactly in the back yard, but close by
Wilson Pickett....I'm thinking...
Queen...ummmmm...well, Freddie Merury and the boys did a decent attempt at an Elvis-style song with "Crazy Little Thing"
Otis Redding...his performances were intense and he died too soon, like Elvis
Cliff Richard...basically started out in 1958 as an Elvis imitator
Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs, who brought us not only "Little Red Riding Hood", but "Wooly Bully"!...he's from Memphis, and we all know who else was from there
Spinal Tap...who paid tribute at Elvis' grave (well it wasn't really) while singing "Heartbreak Hotel"
Bruce Springsteen...a shy kid who idolized Elvis -- mirroring Elvis' own youth and idolization of great singers -- and then stormed the stage with Elvis-like intensity: also has done a few of Elvis' songs, recorded at least one song about Elvis, and provided some of the most perceptive and meaningful celebrity soundbites about Elvis
The Bruce Springsteen Discography
Three Dog Night...Elvis did their "Never Been To Spain" live many times
Travis Tritt...working within the whole country-rock complex that Elvis stirred up -- including doing covers of his "Burning Love" and "T.R.O.U.B.L.E." (both '70s rockers from Elvis...Travis has said he loved that period and that his first real exposure to Elvis came with the 1975 "Promised Land" LP) -- and also showed the hypocrisy and narrow-mindedness of the folks behind the Country Music Hall of Fame (the Nashville establishment, many of whom probably hated Elvis and all he stood for, even in his later years) who used Elvis' gold Cadillac and other possessions to draw the crowds in but who failed to induct him until 1998 (Travis Tritt and a couple of other generations of country singers beat Elvis into the Hall by a wide margin)
Tina Turner...performed at the Las Vegas International at the same time as Elvis -- they both did "Proud Mary"
Steve Vai...plays some darn good guitar -- Elvis liked good guitarists
Stevie Ray Vaughn...ditto, and I'd guess that he had a bit of Elvis in his background, too (different dress sense, though -- when I saw him, in 1985, he had neon-colored clothes on...hard to miss up there on the stage)
Jackie Wilson...he'd been dubbed the "black Elvis" as well as "Mr Dynamite"...Elvis and Jackie had some commonalities (both excellent vocalists able to tackle a wide range of musical material, including the operatic...though I don't know if he knew him by name at the time, Elvis discussed Jackie Wilson's treatment of "Don't Be Cruel" (he saw him in Vegas a few months earlier) during the 1956 "Million Dollar Quartet" session and, on his last Ed Sullivan show (1957) did part of the song in Jackie's style...1962's "Return to Sender" was a tribute to Jackie both in song and in the movements Elvis (who was a very astute mimic) did in the film. In 1975, when Jackie Wilson entered the coma he would linger in for years before dying, Elvis paid for the hospital bills. Here's a picture of Elvis and Jackie in the early '70s.
Yanni...not exactly a lot of commonality here in terms of background or music (my wife likes Yanni, which is why he's here...to me it's decent background music) but his wife, Linda Evans, was married to John Derek, who was previously married to Ursula Andress (Elvis' co-star in 1963's "Fun In Acapulco")...Linda Evans also co-starred in the series "Big Valley" with Lee Majors (yep, Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man of my '70s youth), who was a good friend of Elvis'
Dwight Yoakam...Elvis is part of his influences and he's done versions of "Suspicious Minds" and "Little Sister"
The Little Ol' Web Page from Texas...ZZ Top...Texas bluesmen who got popular, who did a cool version of "Viva Las Vegas"
A HUGE music page...with lots of links
This Day in Rock & Roll History
50's Rock'n'Roll lyrics & chords
Sixties British Pop Chronology
Life magazine - The Best on Guitar
An analysis of the song, American Pie
Vinyl...includes RealAudio from rockabilly and other singers
American Music Information Source Guide
Andrew's ace tabs...guitar tabulature
OLGA, the On-Line Guitar Archive
More guitar tabulature
Screams...and grunts, including those of the Godfather of Soul...
Highly Illogical..Spock sings
The Travoltas Disco Art Gallery
As a child of the 70s, I was inevitably affected by flared pants and the Disco craze...some of the artists from back then inspire happy memories (I said some) of such earthshaking tunes as "Disco Duck" and "Disco Inferno", so here's a few links to the good, the bad, and the ugly (sometimes very, very ugly) of that polyester-swamped era:
The Unofficial Village People Home Page
Deborah Harry and Blondie
