Echoes of Elvis

The impact of the 2022 Elvis movie on the Elvis fan world

We’re in a Hollywood biopic “moment”. In the past few years, the number of biopics that have been released, most of which have enjoyed at least some popular success, is staggering. And many of the most popular of these have told the story of musical “celebrities” (mostly individuals but also a few bands).

Elton John/Rocketman, The Four Seasons/Jersey Boys, Queen/Bohemian Rhapsody, Celine Dion/I Am Celine Dion… It seems like the well of music biopics featuring the lives and careers of contemporary musical celebrities is bottomless. The majority of these films center around performers who are either still alive or are recently deceased, and whose music is still in the repertoire of current listeners.

In the midst of this wave of current and planned musical biopic releases stands Elvis — a film about a performer who is deceased, and not recently, and yet is widely acknowledged as a man whose impact on music, and on American (and global) culture is almost unimaginably huge.

Many believe that Elvis Aaron Presley was the “greatest entertainer of all time”. His global fan base far exceeds that of any of the other entertainers or bands mentioned here. And this is true despite (or in part because of) the fact that Elvis died more than 45 years ago at the age of 42.

Elvis is an icon. He is larger than life. He is far more than “just a man”. And there is so much to him that, when fans talk about the movie, they often bring up things that they wished the movie had more of — the “country music” influence in Elvis’s music; Elvis’s love of gospel music; his generosity with friends, family and fans. Far too much to ever fit into a single movie — even one as long as Baz Luhrmann’s epic.

Elvis the movie has expanded the Elvis fan base to include a generation of young people in their teens and twenties. Importantly, these younger fans have come to Elvis in part because of his music, but also because of who he was as a man. Most young fans talk about his generosity, his relationship with his fans, his “rags to riches” story, and his spirituality as much as (or more than) they talk about his music when asked why they are drawn to him. And these are things that they hadn’t known about him before they saw the film.

This influx of new younger fans has also reinvigorated the world of Elvis Tribute Artists. Not only have they expanded the size of the audience for Elvis tribute performances and festivals around the world, but they have also expanded the pool of tribute artist talent. Many of the Elvis Tribute Artists performing professionally today are under the age of 30, with a significant cohort under the age of 20. It seems difficult to believe that a host of young men, some of whose parents weren’t even born when Elvis was alive, and who were raised in a musical world dominated by rap/hip hop artists and pop icons like Taylor Swift, would dedicate their lives to performing tributes to him.

These Elvis Tribute Artists, young and old alike, don’t just sing his music. They do their best to transform themselves into a credible image of him, including his wardrobe, his “moves” on stage, his southern drawl, and his charisma. And they are not just from the US. There are Elvis Tribute Artists around the world, which is especially impressive considering that Elvis himself never left the US outside of his stint in the army which took him to Germany for a couple of years (1958–1960).

This expanded audience for everything Elvis should go a long way toward keeping Elvis’s music and legacy alive for at least the next generation, and potentially for generations to come. And the expanded audience for Elvis Tribute Artist shows, festivals and competitions should help to support that mission.

Baz Luhrmann has announced plans to release a new Elvis concert film created from previously unreleased concert footage recently found in the archives, and those in the fan community that are aware of this (including the Elvis Tribute Artists themselves) are chomping at the bit. Assuming Baz Luhrmann delivers, interest in everything Elvis should peak once again, and I, for one, can’t wait.

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