Phoenix - The Elvis Forum

It's all in the name of this topic.

What made you an Elvis fan? How did you discover him? Was it through listening to other types of music, or maybe your parents or siblings or friends had his records? Once you started listening to Elvis, did it lead you to discover other types of music and other performers?

What other artists do you like? Do you already have their music, or would you like to discover more?

Don't be shy, let us know.

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colonel snow

The very first time I was aware of Elvis was when a UK newspaper [could have been the Daily Express] printed a photo of him at the stage door:


This would have been in 1956.

Then I heard Heartbreak Hotel on the radio & I was hooked !

Already 'into' the rock 'n' roll singles from Bill Haley, I then went on to enjoy the stuff from Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Fats Domino, The Platters, Freddie Bell & the Bell Boys et al.

In later years, it seems that it was mainly girl singers whom I liked.

For instance: Wanda Jackson, Brenda Lee, Pat Benatar, Sinead O'Connor, Dolores O'Riordan [Cranberries], Deborah Harry [Blondie], Chrissy Hynde [Pretenders] Kim Wilde et al.

As a child I heard tenors at home, and all the popular American singers usually at the cinema and on radio.
Elvis's RCA hits 1957 got me actually buying records. To be played on my Modern Jazz loving brother-in-law's portable record player.
Loved a lot of the rock n roll singers but only bought a few. Roy Orbison Little Richard, Brenda Lee. and the Platters etc.

As Elvis became bored in those 60s movies, so did I.

Discovered the wonderful world of Classical music. First Mozart, Chopin, and Tchaikovsky etc., and then my favourite of them all, the one and only Ludwig Van Beethoven , to this day.

I shall now walk an hour listening to his glorious 9th Symphony. LOUD!

But just imagine this!!! 10,000 Japanese. singing the Ode to Joy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6s6YKlTpfw

After hearing white Christmas I wanted to discover more,which lead to my mum getting all her old Elvis records out for me which lead to me discovering Buddy Holly Roy Orbison Eddie cochran,Adam faith, Billy haley jerry Lee Lewis Billy fury marty wilde

My parents sometimes played Elvis when I was growing up (I’m 23 now) so I was always aware of Elvis and how iconic he is and I was always familiar with his well known songs. I grew up thinking of Elvis as a mythical figure because of how famous he is. But it was around 5 years ago I came across performances on YouTube from TTWII and I was blown away at how talented he was and in particular, how good he sounded live, so since then I have pretty much become Elvis obsessed.

Colin B wrote:The very first time I was aware of Elvis was when a UK newspaper [could have been the Daily Express] printed a photo of him at the stage door:

Wertheimer - Stage Door [1a] [Red].jpg
This would have been in 1956.

Then I heard Heartbreak Hotel on the radio & I was hooked !

Already 'into' the rock 'n' roll singles from Bill Haley, I then went on to enjoy the stuff from Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Fats Domino, The Platters, Freddie Bell & the Bell Boys et al.

In later years, it seems that it was mainly girl singers whom I liked.

For instance: Wanda Jackson, Brenda Lee, Pat Benetar, Sinead O'Connor, Dolores O'Riordan [Cranberries], Deborah Harry [Blondie], Chrissy Hynde [Pretenders] Kim Wilde et al.

Have you got everything by all these artists Colin or would you like to obtain more of it?

Elvisinvegas wrote:My parents sometimes played Elvis when I was growing up (I’m 23 now) so I was always aware of Elvis and how iconic he is and I was always familiar with his well known songs. I grew up thinking of Elvis as a mythical figure because of how famous he is. But it was around 5 years ago I came across performances on YouTube from TTWII and I was blown away at how talented he was and in particular, how good he sounded live, so since then I have pretty much become Elvis obsessed.

That's great stuff Elvisinvegas. So has this led you on to discover music by other artists?

John wrote:Have you got everything by all these artists Colin or would you like to obtain more of it?

I've got some stuff by all of them, but Elvis is the only one I strive to have every 'proper' recording by.

It should be remembered that back in the 1950s and early 60s money was very short. We could not possibly purchase all the artists we admired.

But in the 1970s onwards I would buy Frankie Laine, Josef Locke, Marty Robins gunfighter ballads, Kate Bush, Enya, etc etc.. Not to mention all the great composers. A small fortune.

maurice_colgan wrote:It should be remembered that back in the 1950s and early 60s money was very short. We could not possibly purchase all the artists we admired.

But in the 1970s onwards I would buy Frankie Laine, Josef Locke, Marty Robins gunfighter ballads, Kate Bush, Enya, etc etc.. Not to mention all the great composers. A small fortune.

That's right !

I had Elvis' first album, the well-known Rock 'n' Roll with its iconic sleeve, but had to sell it !

The reason ?

Well, all the tracks were covered by later RCA releases, which had other tracks on them & I couldn't afford the duplication !

My friends were fans and took me to see TTWII at the drive-in.
Yes elvis did inspire me to listen to more early rock, Tony Joe White and others

John wrote:

Elvisinvegas wrote:My parents sometimes played Elvis when I was growing up (I’m 23 now) so I was always aware of Elvis and how iconic he is and I was always familiar with his well known songs. I grew up thinking of Elvis as a mythical figure because of how famous he is. But it was around 5 years ago I came across performances on YouTube from TTWII and I was blown away at how talented he was and in particular, how good he sounded live, so since then I have pretty much become Elvis obsessed.

That's great stuff Elvisinvegas. So has this led you on to discover music by other artists?

Yeah it has, I listen to Glenn Campbell, Roy Orbison, Everly brothers, Bobby Vee and Dean Martin a little bit. I’m also a massive fan of Motown, Bee Gees and some John Lennon Beatles songs. I don’t listen to any current/ new music.

My Dad had tworked Elvis LPs in the early 70s when I was a kid , Live on Stage February 1970 & the Girl Happy soundtrack he had purchased while in the Army. They were played often, which may be why these are still two of my favorite original albums. My paternal grandmother also had a few Elvis 45s and LPs and loved him from his start in the 50s. When Elvis died in '77, people in my family and our area ( Deep South), were in shock and mourning as though a family member had passed. At that point, I was hooked and begin buying LPs, books,etc.with my allowance.
As the years have passed, the passion went on into cassettes ,cds, books, and now vinyl again, as well.
My musical tastes are very eclectic...from Sinatra to Elvis to Waylon Jennings to Sam Cooke to Metallica,etc.

I became a fan in 1982 when Dutch television showed GI Blues ( I missed that one) Fun in Acapulco and Blue Hawaii. To this day Fun in Acapulco has a special place in my heart and it remains one of my favourite Elvis movies.

My parents only listened to classical music, opera mostly. I think as I child I’ve seen every Verdi opera there is. My brother introduced me to musicals, a logical choice if you want something lighter than opera. From musicals to Elvis films of course is a small step.
I had heard about Elvis before obviously, my brother had acquired 3 records in 1977 and those were the beginning of my collection which grew rather rapidly. Initially I gravitated towards his 50s output but later on I came to love most of the things he recorded. Through Elvis I was introduced to his contemporaries, most notably Fats Domino, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and vocal groups like the Drifters and the Platters.

After that first introduction to Rock ‘n’ Roll others followed. I discovered Bruce Springsteen shortly before Born in the USA came out and he has been a constant ever since, I really admire him, not just for his music but for who he is and how he always knows to say or do the right thing.
Since the mid eighties, lots of favourite acts have been added to the list:

Chris Isaak, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Counting Crows, Slobberbone, Kings of Leon, Michael Franti, and more recently The Gaslight Anthem, Brian Fallon, Frank Turner, JD McPherson, the Brandos, Jason Isbell, Ryan Bingham and Dale Watson.

In the mid 90s I had this short lived thing for hiphop, Kanye West’s early albums were pretty good, but I don’t think I will ever listen to those again. I go through these phases where I listen to just one thing. Some months ago it was Elvis’ early 60s output. When I first discovered Counting Crows in the early 2000s I listened only to them and became all but obsessed, seeing 3 concerts in a row. At the moment Dale Watson is all I want to listen to. As for my brother.....he grew up to be a metalhead, much to the dismay of our parents