Thoughts from the Publisher

by Neena Strichart
Today’s column is yet another of my Elvis-centric rants.
Believe it or not, yesterday would have been Elvis’s 80th birthday. Since he passed away at just 42 years of age, it is hard for any of us to picture what he might have looked like or sounded like as a true golden-oldie senior citizen.
Many of Elvis’s contemporaries are still with us. Some have done a beautiful job of keeping their careers alive. Who am I referring to? Did you know that Cher will be 69 this year, Tom Jones will be 75, Jack Jones will be 77 next week on January 14, Johnny Mathis is nearly 80 and Tony Bennett this year will be 89 years old?

With many of those entertainers still on tour and performing to packed houses, I admire their solid fan bases of mature as well as new admirers. Especially age-defiant and still quite relevant is the aforementioned dynamo Tony Bennett. Now there’s an entertainer who knows a lot about longevity, both physically and career-wise. Over the last few years he has teamed up with much younger artists to record duets. A CD in my personal collection is Tony Bennett: Duets—An American Classic. Produced in 2006, Duets features 18 of Bennett’s hits and favorite numbers with famous duet partners including Michael Buble, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Bono, Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney and Tim McGraw— all recorded live in studio with Tony Bennett. This is no cut-and-paste album. It’s the real thing. It is my understanding that Tony is now recording duets with Lady Gaga. Now there’s a CD I would love to own.
Reflecting on those years of seeing Elvis perform in person (I attended 40 of his concerts), I wonder what it might have been like if Elvis had followed the same path of reworking hit songs featuring duets with such artists as Tom Jones, Cher, Mick Jagger, or even more stirring might be duets recorded with his daughter Lisa Marie, who is, by the way, quite a singer in her own right. Furthermore, I wonder if Elvis’s fame would have withstood the test of time. I like to believe it would.
Another thing on my mind is whether Elvis would have, in his older years, concentrated more on movies, recording or live appearances.
Into his golden years, if movies were still one of Elvis’s passions, who might have been his co-stars? Can you picture the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll acting alongside Sir Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Depp, Clint Eastwood or Al Pacino? How about Julia Roberts, Helen Mirren or Susan Sarandon? Now that’s some food for thought!
During his movie career, Elvis co-starred with some guys and gals who were already well known or were on their way to stardom: Charles Bronson (Kid Galahad), Barbara Stanwyck (Roustabout), Lizabeth Scott & Wendell Corey (Loving You), Walter Matthau, Dean Jagger & Carolyn Jones (King Creole), Barbara Eden (Flaming Star), Mary Tyler Moore (Change of Habit), Shelley Fabares (Girl Happy and Spinout), the recently deceased Donna Douglas (who played Elly May Clampett on TV’s The Beverly Hillbillies) (Frankie & Johnny), Hope Lange (Wild in the Country), Juliet Prowse (who was once engaged to Frank Sinatra) (G.I. Blues), Ursula Andress (Fun in Acapulco), Nancy Sinatra (Speedway) and of course Ann-Margret (Viva Las Vegas). I love watching those old movies and seeing Elvis exchanging scripted dialogue with performers who either already were, or later became, such well known television or movie stars.
So, happy birthday, Elvis. I miss you now and will miss you always.
Your biggest fan,
Neena