In Jailhouse Rock, he was everything rockabilly's about. Nah, nah, I mean, he is rockabilly: mean, surly, nasty, rude. In that movie, he couldn't give a f**k about nothin' except rockin' and rollin', livin' fast, dying young, and leaving a good-lookin' corpse, y'know?
--
Clarence Woorley in True Romance (1993)Elvis Presley
» Elvis Presley - all quotes »
Well I looked at my watch, it was 9:54
I said, "Dance ballerina girl, go go go!"
And we rolled, reelin' and a rockin'
We was reelin' and a rockin'
Rollin' till the break of dawnChuck Berry
Blues, country, pop, rock and roll, gospel, and beyond, this man could sing anything. From the rockabilly of the Sun Sessions, to the MOR of "Wooden Heart"(1960), to the later day "Burnin' Love" (1972), Elvis proved that he had the skills as a vocalist that few have, or will ever have.
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley's incendiary vocal performance of "Baby, let's play house" (1955), hails from rockabilly's formative era, when the rules hadn't yet been cast in stone, and Elvis was still experimenting in overdrive, searching for the compelling sound that would catapult him to icon status in little over a year. Presley's slapback, echo laden hiccuping - briefly rendered "a cappella" before the snarling low end guitar of Scotty Moore enters -, segues into an irresistibly lascivious declaration of lust, and a not-so-subtle hint of violence. Both of Scotty Moore's immaculately conceived, and executed solos were monstrously influential to the rockabilly idiom, copied by countless Southern axe-wielding teens. And Bill Black slaps his thundering upright bass so percussively, that no drummer was necessary.
Elvis Presley
Summertime and the livin' is easy,
Fish are jumpin', and the cotton is high.
Oh yo' daddy's rich, and yo' ma is good lookin',
So hush, little baby, don' yo' cry.Ira Gershwin
(Sylvia) I'm planning to live fast, die young, and make a good looking corpse. (Bartender Harry) I think you're off schedule.
Nicole Hollander
Presley, Elvis
Pressel, Wilhelm von
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z