Elvis Presley, country artist

[Lonely Summer]

One thing that surprises me when perusing old trade magazines online is how strong Elvis' record sales were in the country market. At a time when his studio albums weren't even breaking into the top 40, he was regularly topping the country charts. I know for some, that's small consolation, but as a country fan myself, I think it's pretty cool that the country fans still supported him.

[jokerlola]

In some major record store chains in malls in the US like “Musicland”, they had Elvis’ albums in the Country section in the 70’s.

[Colin B]

Elvis' recordings did include some 'country' stuff in the 70s.

Maybe he was inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis who, after a lull in the popularity of his original rock 'n' roll style,
had a second 'career' as a country artist.

[John]

Elvis' recordings did include some 'country' stuff in the 70s.

Maybe he was inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis who, after a lull in the popularity of his original rock 'n' roll style,
had a second 'career' as a country artist.

Maybe.

Or maybe he was always a country artist.

[Colin B]

Elvis' recordings did include some 'country' stuff in the 70s.

Maybe he was inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis who, after a lull in the popularity of his original rock 'n' roll style,
had a second 'career' as a country artist.

Maybe.

Or maybe he was always a country artist.

His style certainly contained elements of 'country' right from his earliest Sun days...

[John]

Elvis' recordings did include some 'country' stuff in the 70s.

Maybe he was inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis who, after a lull in the popularity of his original rock 'n' roll style,
had a second 'career' as a country artist.

Maybe.

Or maybe he was always a country artist.

His style certainly contained elements of 'country' right from his earliest Sun days...

and even before that.

[jokerlola]

I never totally understood Country as a secondary market, especially in the 70’s. I don’t know how things were in England but here in the states, Country was mainstream entertainment. Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Mac Davis and Hee Haw were high rated network TV shows. Many Country stars had crossover big Pop hits like Charlie Rich, Donna Fargo, Lynne Anderson, Freddy Fender, of course Campbell and Cash and so many more. Olivia Newton-John ‘s song were Country and Pop hits. And of course Dolly Parton broke out in 77 on the Pop charts. Right after Elvis died, Kenny Rogers became huge and was even called “The New Elvis” by US magazine.

Had Elvis lived, he likely would have continued in that vein but probably even more so. Country became even bigger here because of the Urban Cowboy movie.

I’ve always read that in the last several years of his life, Elvis only listened to the Country radio stations and you can argue that all of his 70’s studio albums were essentially Country albums.

[Lonely Summer]

Certainly by 1975, Elvis' album sales in country were much stronger than in the pop market.

[John]

I never totally understood Country as a secondary market, especially in the 70’s. I don’t know how things were in England but here in the states, Country was mainstream entertainment. Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Mac Davis and Hee Haw were high rated network TV shows. Many Country stars had crossover big Pop hits like Charlie Rich, Donna Fargo, Lynne Anderson, Freddy Fender, of course Campbell and Cash and so many more. Olivia Newton-John ‘s song were Country and Pop hits. And of course Dolly Parton broke out in 77 on the Pop charts. Right after Elvis died, Kenny Rogers became huge and was even called “The New Elvis” by US magazine.

Had Elvis lived, he likely would have continued in that vein but probably even more so. Country became even bigger here because of the Urban Cowboy movie.

I’ve always read that in the last several years of his life, Elvis only listened to the Country radio stations and you can argue that all of his 70’s studio albums were essentially Country albums.

Country had its time here in the UK. At Easter they used to put on the country shows at Wembley. I went a few times and saw Crystal Gayle, Johnny Cash, the Jordanaires, and many more. Also saw Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins but Jerry Lee played rock 'n' roll. which many of the audience didn't like, and walked out.

We used to have country programmes on the radio (maybe we still do) which were very popular. We had country programmes on the TV too.

There were lots of country hits. Maybe with the advent of Beyonce's new album, Country Cowboy, the genre could make a comeback.

Yes, there were large elements of country in Elvis' albums in the 70s, but also pop, MOR and R&B. We'll never know if Elvis would have gone strictly country, but I doubt it.

[Lonely Summer]

I never totally understood Country as a secondary market, especially in the 70’s. I don’t know how things were in England but here in the states, Country was mainstream entertainment. Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Mac Davis and Hee Haw were high rated network TV shows. Many Country stars had crossover big Pop hits like Charlie Rich, Donna Fargo, Lynne Anderson, Freddy Fender, of course Campbell and Cash and so many more. Olivia Newton-John ‘s song were Country and Pop hits. And of course Dolly Parton broke out in 77 on the Pop charts. Right after Elvis died, Kenny Rogers became huge and was even called “The New Elvis” by US magazine.

Had Elvis lived, he likely would have continued in that vein but probably even more so. Country became even bigger here because of the Urban Cowboy movie.

I’ve always read that in the last several years of his life, Elvis only listened to the Country radio stations and you can argue that all of his 70’s studio albums were essentially Country albums.

Nice post, thank you. There were always country songs that crossed over to pop, from the 50s right on through to the 80s. El Paso, Ring of Fire, Wichita Lineman, Happiest Girl in the Whole USA, Rose Garden, Behind Closed Doors, Let Me Be There. Kenny Rogers was HUGE on the pop and country charts in the late 70s/early 80s. I don't know why some people are so quick to dismiss success on the country charts. Moody Blue and Way Down were both #1 hits on the country charts - BEFORE Elvis died.

[Colin.Bee]

Also saw Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins but Jerry Lee played rock 'n' roll. which many of the audience didn't like, and walked out.

That’s funny, when I saw Jerry Lee in the late seventies it was a rock ‘n’ roll audience and he did mainly country. It was a big disappointment but nobody walked out. I saw Cal around that time too, he was great but I couldn’t believe how much more hair he had than in the fifties.

[Colin B]

Also saw Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins but Jerry Lee played rock 'n' roll. which many of the audience didn't like, and walked out.

That’s funny, when I saw Jerry Lee in the late seventies it was a rock ‘n’ roll audience and he did mainly country. It was a big disappointment but nobody walked out. I saw Cal around that time too, he was great but I couldn’t believe how much more hair he had than in the fifties.

Carl Perkins needed a bit of tonsorial help very early on in his career:

Carl Perkins [5].jpg

Luckily, he was able to afford wigs that were indistinguishable from real hair...

[John]

Also saw Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins but Jerry Lee played rock 'n' roll. which many of the audience didn't like, and walked out.

That’s funny, when I saw Jerry Lee in the late seventies it was a rock ‘n’ roll audience and he did mainly country. It was a big disappointment but nobody walked out. I saw Cal around that time too, he was great but I couldn’t believe how much more hair he had than in the fifties.

That's what rock 'n' roll does for you baby...or maybe it's music in general. Tony Bennett also seemed to get more hair, and as for Mick Jagger....

[Lonely Summer]

Also saw Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins but Jerry Lee played rock 'n' roll. which many of the audience didn't like, and walked out.

That’s funny, when I saw Jerry Lee in the late seventies it was a rock ‘n’ roll audience and he did mainly country. It was a big disappointment but nobody walked out. I saw Cal around that time too, he was great but I couldn’t believe how much more hair he had than in the fifties.

That's what rock 'n' roll does for you baby...or maybe it's music in general. Tony Bennett also seemed to get more hair, and as for Mick Jagger....

People have told me that if you saw Carl at home in Jackson, TN, he'd be outside mowing his lawn, no hat, no hair, just all real.
And there's a great photo on the back of his final album, "Go Cat Go", with Carl, 1996, standing next to Carl, 1956, holding his gold record for BSS. So I don't think the man had any real vanity. He always said "There was two cats that had it all - talent, looks, hair - Elvis Presley was one of them. Rick Nelson was the other one". Carl knew there was no way he could compete with them, looking like, as he put it, "Mr. Ed"

[cadillac-elvis]

Of course they have better toupe's now. Look at William Shatner's. I think his is very natural.

Carl's looks like the Hank Snow model.