MEMPHIS, tenn. (Elvis Presley Fans Website) -
Elvis Presley might have become a decent actor if manager Tom Parker hadn't been so eager to cash in on a string of lacklustre movies, says the legendary songwriter who created music for some of the films.
Mike Stoller and partner Jerry Leiber, authors of the title song for the movie Jailhouse Rock, wrote more than 20 songs recorded by Presley, including his number one hit Hound Dog. With Stoller handling the music and Leiber providing the lyrics, they also contributed many songs to the Presley movie soundtracks.
Presley longed to be a serious actor but Parker, who adopted the title Colonel, did nothing to help him, Stoller said.
Stoller, 70, met with Elvis fans who crowded into the Presley estate's Beale Street club Monday night to watch Jailhouse Rock and begin a weeklong observance of the 26th anniversary of the death of the King of Rock 'n' Roll. "Unfortunately, the Colonel had the golden goose and he wanted him to keep cranking it out," Stoller said.
Presley starred in 31 movies between 1956 and 1969, each a work only Elvis fans could love.
Stoller said he never understood why Presley gave Parker so much control over his life and career. Many of Parker's decisions appeared to be more for his own benefit than for Presley's - taking 50 per cent of the star's income for management fees, while the industry standard was 10 to 20 percent. "The Colonel's only interest was the Colonel's," Stoller said. "Elvis was merely a vehicle for the Colonel's greed."
Parker died in 1997, aged 87. Presley was 42 when he died August 16, 1977, of drug abuse and heart disease at his Memphis residence. The house, Graceland, now draws more than 600,000 tourists a year.
Graceland is the centre of an annual string of parties, fan get-togethers and memorials focused on the death anniversary. Over the week, estate managers expect up to 4,000 people a day to tour Graceland and for even more to shop at its complex of souvenir stores and museums.
The week's highlight is a candlelight procession past Presley's grave in a garden beside Graceland. Beginning on the night of the 15th and running into the next day, it often draws 15,000 to 20,000 fans.
This year, the fans also will celebrate the 35th anniversary of Presley's 1968 TV special "Elvis," which marked his return from Hollywood to the concert stage. It's also the 30th anniversary of his 1973 TV special broadcast around the world, Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii.
Like many other fans, Canadians Jocelyne Menard, 56, and Denise Dumaine, 58, attend every Elvis anniversary they can. And they leave their husbands behind in Montreal. "They don't love it like us. They cannot share like us, so we come together," Menard said.
Susan Ritter, 31, a budding singer from Dayton, Ohio, made her first Memphis visit hoping to pick up some Elvis pointers on pleasing a crowd. "I've never seen Elvis on a big screen before so I'm really excited," she said. "Elvis is like the consummate performer."
Leiber and Stoller, 1987 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, wrote hundreds of songs for a long list of entertainers. They got a major career boost and their first contact with Presley after he recorded "Hound Dog," which Leiber and Stoller originally wrote for rhythm and blues singer Big Mama Thornton.
Stoller was on vacation in Europe when Presley recorded Hound Dog. On Stoller's return, Leiber greeted him at the New York harbour. "He said, 'Hey man, we've got a smash hit,'" Stoller said. "I said 'Big Mama Thornton's record?' He said, 'No, some white kid named Elvis Presley.' I said, 'Elvis who?'"
