Elvis Never Left the Building!

This may seem a little kitsch, but we love Elvis Presley at My World of Interiors HQ!

-It was not always that way, I can assure you. I grew up in a household where Elvis was frowned upon as very much not the sort of cultural icon we, as “intellectually minded & high class individuals” (I am being somewhat ironic), embraced. Unfortunately, he died on my 2nd birthday, so, on top of all the conditioning from home, I grew up sharing the most significant day of my calendar year with the most tragic day in his. I spent endless time avoiding listening to the radio or watching television on my birthdays, to not be reminded of him – the man whose name I could not mention in my childhood home, and the icon who stole my birthday. The Elvis I knew was the 1970’s bloated jumpsuit Elvis, and I missed out on all the other incarnations. Because to understand Elvis, you must start with the beginning, not the end.

Something strange happened, when an ex-boyfriend (a very high class individual too, and a past as a musician to boot) told me I could not keep hating on Elvis, something that apparently had irked him through all the years we have known each other (which is many, decades even), and sent me a link to his 68 Comeback Special on YouTube. -Hallelujah! I had an immediate quasi-religious awakening to all things Elvis. -That one hour special changed everything! I kid you not. I did not at first understand what had hit me, so I began reading everything I could find, watched documentaries and listened to his music. I needed to understand what this crazy thing was: I had been blind, and now I could see! WTF!
-And with that news, everyone was happy, except for my mother, who was distraught beyond belief. She still leaves the room, if I talk of Elvis Presley.
-What´s up with that? It seems a bit extreme, doesn´t it?

I can recommend the Peter Guralnick biographies: Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love amongst many – the books by Alanna Nash are also worth reading, especially Elvis and the Memphis Mafia – her book on Elvis and his lady friends is slightly unhinged, and draws a host of off the wall psycho-babble conclusions, which seem too mad to mention. Nash´s books, however, are also prolific, she is thorough, interviews everyone, and there is great value in even her worst books. Both authors have weaknesses: Guralnick is sometimes an arrogant wise-ass in the handling of his subject, especially in Careless Love where he also only superficially handles vast parts of Elvis´ life, and is often not all that critical when it comes to his sources – especially when it comes to Pricscilla and Jerry Schilling.

As I stated earlier, I listened to every single song I could find on Spotify, YouTube and elsewhere – including purchasing a critical amout of FTDs and Legacy outputs, watched any and all documentaries, and developed a devotion for all things Elvis (as well as a pretty heavy-going blues habit – have you ever listened to Robert Johnson? – If the answer is no: well, you must!). Very embarrassing for my parents (who thought they had raised me “better”), and all the puzzled friends who were now, and against their will, drawn into my discovery of the Elvis World (I found out that´s a thing).

I started collecting Alfred Wertheimer´s famed Elvis photographs from 1956 (by God, was he beautiful), along with other rare photographs, and slowly built a collection. Then I decided to branch out into records (after joining a collectors group on Facebook), which I began by visiting a record shop (if you are in Copenhagen, I can recommend Accord on Nørrebrogade – they are the nicest record shop people I know – having said that: they are all nice, so are HiFi people, I have discovered) on a whim one day. This was before I had even acquired a record player ( I am not much of a consumer, but in the ways that I am – I am an idiot). I did not tell the men who very kindly helped find, and sell all their Elvis Presley records to me. That was the beginning – I went home with 25 records, and the next day I got myself a turntable. My collection is now pretty solid, which means I have several pressings of all his records (rough estimate: 500), including the old SUN 209 singles, the most important CD boxes (the RCA box set with 60 CDs is my all time favourite, but also the other Ernst Jørgensen produced FTDs and Sony Legacy vinyls and CD collections are good if you want to, like me, listen to every available undubbed take). I am fast running out of space for all my books, films, photos, LPs, CDs and what-have-yous. It has become a problem – my home -at one point- was an Elvis museum, something I have later toned down dramatically, as it just sends a lot of mad signals to visitors, that I can´t really vouch for as a person let loose into the world at large.

I already had an improv history comedy fiction podcast (yes, it is as ridiculous as it sounds). A project I started during the Covid lock-down, and now it was time to devote it to an Elvis Season. I discovered how interesting his place in cultural history was, while reading the various books about him, drawing connections to the ones who came before and after him, his inspirations and how he inspired others, and found an irresistible depth to his musical genius, while deep diving into his back catalogue of songs. It very quickly became apparent to me, that I needed to do a season on his life, seen from a comedic point of view, obviously. I set out to tell his life story through the lens of his time-travelling childhood imaginary friend, Birdie (aka an alternative version of me. A role I play in the pod through all the various seasons and hundreds of episodes of imperfect nonsense – Podcast Birdie goes through a transformation over the current six seasons: from spoiled, selfish and insular to open minded, generous and mature. It´s a ride, I tell you).

The podcast has been described as a Proustian work, my In Search of Lost Time, a philosophical journey into the human condition, a diamond in the rough, and lots of other less flattering things by friends, fans, family and myself. It is a demanding listen, it´s a rough cut -and a tremendous journey to embark on, if you have the patience for the human condition in its entirety: especially the imperfect and boring bits. But if you are into what seems like mindless conversations between Birdie and Elvis, but really are quite profound and meaningful insights into two oddball´s inner workings -if you know how to listen (I am going to take the cult leader stance, that if you hate the pod, then you must be daft, although I won´t hunt you down and punish you for it – I come in peace, not vengeance), then this oyster can be your world too! But only if you understand Danish. The podcast is in Danish. -Did I not lead with that? My bad.

Now, I am out on the other side of this all-encompassing journey, that swallowed me up and digested me whole, I can honestly say my Elvis years were two of the most rewarding of my life, however nuts they seemed to even me at the time. Elvis will always have a very special place in my heart, and he has in many ways grown into the fabric of my soul. Maybe because I went totally method in the process, and really pretended I was there with him, to the extent of traipsing the borders of Lunacy-Land.

Because I had so ardently avoided looking straight at Elvis before, I came to him with fresh eyes, and gained an understanding of how he hit America in 1954-1956. He (almost, sort of) literally came crashing into my universe too, like a comet, and changed my axis, and every which way of seeing the world. I have no idea why, -or how else to explain it. As I said: it was a quasi-religious experience, and a mind-altering one. I completely understand the comparison to the Greek Gods when discussing his impact, and I also understand how he, himself, would develop a Messiah Complex in order to make sense of what and why exactly he was. He was just too big in most senses of the word. But that is a very time consuming and different tangent to go down…

Quick Q&A:

Q: A lot has been said about Elvis´ film career. What is your take on Elvis at the movies?

A: In all honesty, I think there are quite a few truly great films among them, and he is as good an actor as any other “star”. I say this, having revieved films for many years. I am a sort of expert on them TBH. The only one I cannot stand is G.I. Blues and to an extent Viva Las Vegas, but that is because I find Ann-Margret a bit annoying. That´s personal preference, and nothing to do with her. I have listed the ones I like below (links copied from Wikipedia):

• Love Me Tender (1956) – baby Elvis being adorable.
• Loving You (1957) – Not a cinematic masterpiece, but I enjoyed it.
• Jailhouse Rock (1957) – The funniest Elvis film. I have watched and rewatched a thousand times, or maybe a bit less.
• King Creole (1958) – Beautiful, and with the best soundtrack. Elvis is on top form in this one.
• Flaming Star (1960) – a genuine look at class and caste in America.
• Wild in the Country (1961) – So good. Elvis plays a young troubled writer.
• Follow That Dream (1962) – Did I say Jailhouse Rock was his funniest film? Well, this is Elvis at his top peak performance most funny bones self. He is also chubby in a fun casual still loving himself way. And I adore that.
• It Happened at the World’s Fair (1963) – Silly, but ok.
• Elvis: That’s the Way It Is (1970) – LOVE LOVE LOVE!
• Elvis on Tour (1972) – Where was I?

TV concert specials:

• Elvis (1968) – my Elvis conversion course!
• Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite (1973) – Strong, mature performance.
• Elvis in Concert (1977) – heartbreaking to watch, but part of his history.

Q: This is taking on a life of its own, and is fast becoming too long a post. But can you quickly sum up why you got into all things Elvis in the first place? What drew you in?

A: That is a big question. I have always had a passion for History. I have a degree in it. I am always diving into a period of history, a time, a place and trying to make sense of it all, and what impact it has had on our current times. When it came to Elvis there was so much stuff, that I hadn´t yet spent a lot of conscious time on (yet, growing up in the 1970s and 80s it was always buzzing around in everyone´s head), namely American History and Culture.

I am a European through and through, and although I have happily visited America on many occassions; -Some of my dearest friends are American, if you can believe such a silly notion! -I even have an American friend, whom I jokily refer to as “my American twin”, because we have the same tastes and opinions on almost everything – he is a delightfully clever, sweet, profound and fun person, whom I love dearly. We also have the same taste in men, which is wonderful, as we always understand each other´s choices, when no one else does. Both of us are also sassy blonde bimbos (his words, not mine). But that´s a side wagon, and my American twin´s cart is very much hitched to mine. Let´s get back on track! Where was I? Oh, yes, American History:
-I have always turned my nose up at the US a bit. No more! Now, I am obsessed with everything to do with the History, culture and impact this, sometimes still, great and fantastic place has had on all of us. Do I despair at all the ugliness in Western Colonial Culture as well? Yes, I do. But, I am much more positively inclined towards America now, than I was before. It is a dreamy and magical place, as well as a living nightmare. I cannot get enough of it.

I also grew up in a rural backwoods part of Denmark (Mid-Jutland – textile industry vs. Mid-South cotton, ed.), which has a lot of comparable parts to the Mid-South Elvis grew up in, so I somehow grew closer to my long-discarded roots as well. I spent the entirety of my youth going to school-, and living in England, and when I returned to Denmark in my thirties, I had more or less forgotten where I came from. My Elvis experience let me re-connect with all that was in my long-forgotten past. However silly that sounds.

So, no. In all earnestness, I cannot quickly sum up anything, as you may have noticed.

With my deep dive into Mid-Century America, I learned a lot, and I am not yet finished. My latest passion project is a closer look into the Deep South. Then there was the music, the pictures, the moving images. For the first time, I dug into a piece of history with so many aspects to it: modern culture, art, the personification of a God-like man who set up a new cult of mass adulation, and I needed to understand why I found it so enchanting.

Q: We have to ask: Did you enjoy the Elvis film? What did you think of the Baz Luhrmann film, -and also Priscilla by Sofia Coppola?

A: I found the first one had certain qualities: it gave a good picture of how Elvis came onto the scene, and how he impacted his audience. Other than that I hated it. I thought it was a blight onto Elvis´ likeness and image, and I felt it danced all over his grave. In regards to Priscilla – I do not have one single nice word to say about that film. -Aside from the unpopular opinion that Jacob Elordi (however much too tall he is) was a better version of Elvis than Austin Butler was in Elvis. Both of them were awful though, so that´s not saying a lot. Other than that, all I can say is that it was tedious -and so boring! And I am not saying that because it famously portrayed Elvis as a bit of horrible selfish person. I am well aware he had some fantastically poor qualities, but to me it was just so lazily done and so very bad. It also didn´t do justice to Priscilla: she was a peppy, stubborn go-getter of a girl/woman. She was/is a shapeshifter, and a very resourceful person. Elvis was always drawn to quite fun and active women (although they also had to be subservient to him – what can I say; he was a dichotomy). I read none of the meekness of the Priscilla character into her as a person from anything I have read, seen or concluded myself about her. Without ever meeting her, I hasten to add.

If you want to learn something real about Elvis, then read Peter Guralnicks books and Alanna Nash´s Elvis and the Memphis Mafia. That way you get the whole picture: he was fun, he was wild, he was lazy, he was conceited, he was a genius, he was a stroppy spoiled little boy, he was generous and kind-hearted, he was a total dick, he was dictatorial and at the same time subservient and an employee in his own life and business, he was passive and he was aggressive and sometimes both. Above all; he loved his momma. However much he tried to take charge, he was always the dutiful son, even when he became a parent himself. He was everything – both very human and also totally godlike with an other-worldly charisma! There will never be another like him. He was an original, an eccentric and had a talent of the sort of magnitude that is hard to believe can exist in our broken little world. I could talk about him, his impact and his story for days on end. But for everyone´s sake, I will stop here. In the end he died on the loo, in the most undignified way, but boy, did he live while he was here. We can all learn a lot from the story of Elvis, and his place in the modern canon, and his personification of The American Dream – which has all gone to pots now. What´s next, I wonder…

Love Etc,

Birgitte Hahn-Rahbek
My World of Interiors, March 2024

Elvis Never Left the Building!