–Copyright Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Grace Under Pressure
Once, it was enough if you could sing, dance or act. Those who did it better than others became stars.
In the turbulent, rebellious ‘60s, Elvis Presley became a superstar, not for his less-than-stellar abilities, but because of those of his agent, who promoted the Hell out of him.
Paul Simon, another performer with perhaps as much talent, but less marketing, sang of going to his mansion, ‘Graceland.’ Decades after he died, Presley’s estate still makes more in a year than I did my entire life.
And so I am here, willingly, foolishly, adding my money to theirs.
Go to Rochelle’s Addicted to Purple site and use her Wednesday photo as a complete 100 word story.
Archon's Den 
Elvis was in the Army, and he was a Tanker. He’s good in my book.
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My interest in Elvis almost equalled my current interest in Bieber. If I ever knew that he was a Tanker, I’ve long forgotten it, though that does explain the assignment to Germany that made a man of him. Even if Bieber weren’t Canadian, he’d probably only wind up a SeaBee. 🙄
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No, just a cabin boy. Seabees are actually pretty cool. I’d hate for Beibs to denigrate their awesomehood.
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😀
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Good story, Archon. Elvis did have a heck of a good manager. The movies were to promote him. They were just churned out. I read that even he didn’t think much of them as art. 🙂 — Suzanne
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(Colonel) Tom Parker demanded 50%, rather than the customary 10% fee, but half of hundreds of millions of dollars was lots more than 90% of a few.
I watched Roustabout because it showed Elvis riding a motorcycle, (without a helmet, or any other protective gear) and indulging in Karate, which I’d recently discovered. Nowadays he looks more like a 9-year-old, practicing a magic trick. 🙄
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Tom Parker was good at promotion but all the promotion in the world won’t work unless the product has appeal, something I see as different from talent. Measuring appeal is easy, it’s just a matter of counting the cash and the house, but how do you measure talent? I dunno. Elvis had it, but less so in my opinion than Paul Simon or, say, Don Mclean.
Just for an odd comparison, consider the peculiar case of news anchor, Brian Williams, who was reportedly given a 5 year contract at $10 million a year. Must be some appeal at that kind of money, but talent? Nah. The guy reads the news without stuttering and has a soothing voice. And a talent for self-aggrandizement. That’s it as far as I can see. The phenomenon of human fascination with celebrity never ceases to amaze me.
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I absolutely agree. One of the worst examples is the Kardashian clan, several of whom, individually make more than Williams, and not even his limited abilities among them. But we can’t look away from the slow-motion train wreck. 😯
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