“Elvis” the king of rock’s story

Elvis Presley was a huge part of the birth of rock and roll. His music was one of a kind. But many argue he had heavy inspiration from southern Black music. 

“Elvis” the movie and musical depicts his rise to stardom from the time he was an innocent, curious and gifted child in music and spirituality to a middle-age man who loses himself along the way to fame. 

The rock and roll star was known for his remarkable voice with hints of southern Black musicality. You could feel the hormones in the air, as the teenage girls first saw the way he shook his hips on the stage. They screeched for Elvis with excruciating excitement, sometimes making it almost impossible to hear the music over the screams.

The opening scene shows a young boy in a small, southern town who is curiously hiding as he and his friends search for the source of the exhilarating sounds of a revival. He is running to the music, you can feel his desperation to feel the rhythm of the base, the percussion and voices of the music of “That’s All Right.” 

This experience opened his heart and soul to music. Each time he began to hear music, he felt electrified and pulled as if a magnet into the sounds. You can feel a rush of anxiety rush through your legs, when watching his love for music burst out into dancing and shaking.

Elvis’ upbringing made him vulnerable and gave him a thirst for fame. Ironically, Elvis was chasing fame, while The Colonel, a struggling artist manager, was chasing Elvis. The Colonel was a predator hungry for Elvis’ profitability. He guarantees to Elvis that he will become “the biggest star in the world,” and his family will never know poverty again.

 As time goes on, The Colonel became a father figure to Elvis during his hardships in the film. As Elvis gains his riches, he begins to lose himself. As he loses different parts of himself, the cinematography drastically changes to graphic and darker scenes. The spinning and bursts of blasting, loud music at each scene can almost make you feel ill. It feels so real, as his mind unravels from the intoxication of drugs and alcohol.  

This raw musical takes you on a rollercoaster of exhilaration, excitement, happiness, fear and grief. After watching this movie, you will begin to realize the impact that Elvis had on the world, not only with music, but how he expressed himself.