What if Elvis had lived another twenty years..
#1
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What if Elvis had lived another twenty years..
Do you think he would have made an impact in the music scene or was his best days way behind him? From everything I have seen and read about him, he was planning yet another comeback shortly before his death on August 16th, 1977.
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Two words: Wayne Newton.
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Hmmm.... Elvis would have been 70 next January.
Engelbert Humperdink will be 70 in February 2006.
Tom Jones will 65 next year and seems to reinvent himself at least once a decade.
I can't speak for EH but, considering the success of Reload, I'd say that TJ's best days are not behind him.... so maybe Elvis could still be out there accomplishing something.
Engelbert Humperdink will be 70 in February 2006.
Tom Jones will 65 next year and seems to reinvent himself at least once a decade.
I can't speak for EH but, considering the success of Reload, I'd say that TJ's best days are not behind him.... so maybe Elvis could still be out there accomplishing something.
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He would have stayed enormously famous. As far as his weight is concerned Elvis was vain enough-no offense intended- to have undergone surgical proceedure to cure his problems with obesity, or he would have found a trainer in the 80s that would have gotten him into good form.
Had they had some of these techniques in the 70s he would have DEFINITELY got a handle on them.....how many people here on the forum know people who have been obese for years, watched them get their stomachs stapled or banded, had part of their stomachs removed, and now weight half what they used to? Lots I'm sure.
Sinatra made a comeback and gained popularity in his waning years, hell, even guys like Mel Torme' and Tony Bennett did so....do you think Elvis wouldn't have made another great run? Tom Jones reinvented himself, and Johnny Cash was able to do the same in his last years with the right record company. The bigger rock acts would also have loved using him for duets, guest appearances on albums and the likes. Artistically I do think his best days were behind him.........but his albums WERE still producing some decent songs/hits right up to his death. Moody Blue, Hurt, If You Talk In Your Sleep....these all came in his last years and there would have been more of them. He was already doing covers of popular contemporary songs and would have continued to do so. He had a penchant for going into the studio and recording SCADS of songs in those sessions, one reason why there was so much material to package and repackage years after his death. Some of them would have been bound to catch fire with the fan base Elvis had. Would he have become a Vegas act? Almost certainly.......but he was touring a mere few months before he died and likely would have continued doing that had he gotten his weight problem under control.
Had they had some of these techniques in the 70s he would have DEFINITELY got a handle on them.....how many people here on the forum know people who have been obese for years, watched them get their stomachs stapled or banded, had part of their stomachs removed, and now weight half what they used to? Lots I'm sure.
Sinatra made a comeback and gained popularity in his waning years, hell, even guys like Mel Torme' and Tony Bennett did so....do you think Elvis wouldn't have made another great run? Tom Jones reinvented himself, and Johnny Cash was able to do the same in his last years with the right record company. The bigger rock acts would also have loved using him for duets, guest appearances on albums and the likes. Artistically I do think his best days were behind him.........but his albums WERE still producing some decent songs/hits right up to his death. Moody Blue, Hurt, If You Talk In Your Sleep....these all came in his last years and there would have been more of them. He was already doing covers of popular contemporary songs and would have continued to do so. He had a penchant for going into the studio and recording SCADS of songs in those sessions, one reason why there was so much material to package and repackage years after his death. Some of them would have been bound to catch fire with the fan base Elvis had. Would he have become a Vegas act? Almost certainly.......but he was touring a mere few months before he died and likely would have continued doing that had he gotten his weight problem under control.
Last edited by nightmaster; 08-15-04 at 02:22 PM.
#11
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Elvis's last Top 10 hit, Burning Love, occurred in 1972 - five years before his death. His new songs failed to make an impact on the charts - and the public - and I don't see that changing had he lived past 1977. His albums, on the other hand, might have been a different story. His 1973 live album, Aloha - From Hawaii was a chart-topper.
#15
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He probably would've gone from Vegas to Branson. Then he'd stop for a while and have a big Johnny Cash-like comeback by singing covers and the critics would love him once again before he died.
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Larry King 's show last Thursday was about the death of Elvis. His guests were the two step brothers of Elvis and the best man at his wedding. They all said that if Elvis were alive today, he would still be making music. One of the guests said he thought Elvis would have become a more serious actor than he was when he was younger.