Way Down: Elvis Lives Till the 2000s

[JesterBL]

So as not to derail other threads, reposting some discussion from another thread:

Sort of a huge one that I am surprised wasn't mentioned here or in the pop culture thread- Elvis. He died at 42. If we can get him to live as long as Johnny Cash (died at 71 years, also struggled with health issues and substance abuse) he would honestly have witnessed the birth of and nearly made it to the death of the last major rock-based subculture (emo) in the United States (and I personally think that even in an Elvis Lives! scenario he probably would have been peripheral to the mainstream from the late 70s on so we probably could have been able to see a mostly similar pop culture trajectory*).

You could even have some fun with such a scenario, like him going into the studio with The Cramps a la Wanda Jackson or Charlie Feathers in the 2000s, maybe him weighing in on country music's divisions in the 1990s as a Johnny-come-lately elder statesmen, or for max parallelism, rediscovering his heavy rock'n'roll roots for a series of solo albums with a famed American producer**.

*Elvis despite being viewed as kind of a joke nowadays had two extraordinarily successful stages in his career, better than any other rock'n'roll contemporary and he did so with a manager who is probably among the worst managers of all time, even judged against his peers, so this may be underselling Elvis and would likely depend on how well and in what condition we can get him past '78

**I know, I know, Johnny Cash was country yada yada- I think his career and reputation is better understood when you realize he was Sun's rock'n'roll sensation immediately after Elvis- and rather than coming into the fold of rock fans, he was just rejoining them after a long career and sideline in country, and I bet alt-Elvis would still have appeal to an alt-Rick Rubin

Elvis with Rubin would probably have been massive, since as you say if he's in good condition he's got a lot going for him even before you add in his name would still be iconic. And like Cash later on, he'd have the power of age behind him if he wants to tap into it: the once youthful hip swinger, now a hardworn 60-something with a history of addictions and being screwed over, and he's still standing.

So the first question is- how do we get Elvis to live longer? There's actually a recent Reddit post (outside of AH circles, it's in r/elvis) that gives a few potential inflection points, with 1973/1974 being their earliest proposed POD to save Elvis, while I think that is probably about the latest you can get.

I have two theses on this- number 1 is that the road to recovery for musicians goes through the studio. Reduce touring time, increase studio time and you will increase the chances of an artist getting clean or at the least reducing their drug intake. The record label was even willing to build a recording studio at Graceland IOTL, so it isn't like there wouldn't be support. Elvis did a blistering 168 live shows in 1973, which is an insane number for an artist at that stage of their career, and he continued to do a ludicrous number every year until his death. How you reduce it brings us to thesis number 2 which is....

You must get rid of Colonel Tom Parker. He blocked international concerts (which would be far more profitable on a per day basis than US touring and would, therefore, reduce total time on the road) because of his status as an illegal immigrant (and probable murderer). People disagree about whether he was an impediment to Elvis's career (I tend to believe he held back Elvis's career at every juncture, some people believe he only became an impediment late in his career, regardless, he was definitely an impediment by the 1970s). Moreover, his emotional abusiveness and intentional isolation of Elvis- from the press, from others in the music industry, from anyone not dependent in some way on the Colonel- definitely contributed to Elvis's increasing mental health problems and accelerating drug use. Elvis will not be able to get clean with the Colonel in charge. Colonel Tom Parker had been having semi-regular heart attacks since the 40s, but somehow still lived to 88 years old, so I think getting him to die maybe isn't a huge stretch, but probably isn't as likely or plausible as getting him fired (which we know Elvis got the closest in his whole career to doing in '73 and '74).

And the second question then is- Elvis Lives, what then? What does pop culture look like without The King having left the building?

 

[Coiler]

We get Elvis Presley at a Super Bowl halftime show instead of Elvis Presto .

(If he lives and is in good health through the mid-1990s, which is when Super Bowl halftime shows became serious spectacles instead of novelty throwaway acts, he's a good fit, especially if you need a "safe, reliable" act by that time).

 

[Charles EP M.]

I assume Elvis has a period of being a sad old loser, this past-it guy your dad liked - which IIRC was already starting - as happens to Big Stars, and then he (probably) has a comeback and everyone forgets or rehabilitates the lesser albums.

We get Elvis Presley at a Super Bowl halftime show instead of Elvis Presto .

And probably some guest spots on Sesame Street.

 

[GBW]

If he does other things beyond the early 1970s, you might not see him as heavily associated with Las Vegas. Elvis himself may become less enchanted with Sin City as it becomes more corporate over the course of the 1970s and onward, and that may drive him to more overseas performances if the Colonel is out of the way. Not going to be as many impersonators with the man himself still around. Popularity in overseas markets might make up for a waning of interest in him in the US until he can make a comeback later on. Of course, in this TL he's not going to be nearly as much of an icon as he is in OTL - no Presleytarian Churches of Elvis the Divine, or alien conspiracy theories.

 

[JesterBL]

I assume Elvis has a period of being a sad old loser, this past-it guy your dad liked - which IIRC was already starting - as happens to Big Stars, and then he (probably) has a comeback and everyone forgets or rehabilitates the lesser albums.

So that's the thing- Elvis had kind of already done that. His first career from '56 till it petered out in '61 and then the '68 comeback special to '72 or so. Elvis by the time of his death had already had what other artists would consider two successful careers.

His latter 70s output, mostly, went right to the bargain bin until his death (although after the Colonel helped him to sell all of his pre-73 output to the label [a deal the Colonel made more from than did Elvis], there were a number of reissues that did very well for the label, but not for Elvis). Those recordings could have been better- I actually think there is some good stuff, especially in the Elvis at Stax sessions, but it really all suffered from how overworked and drugged up the man was.

Some tantalizing possibilities for Elvis hits that never were would be him getting to cut a version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" (Elvis wanted to record it, Dolly wanted Elvis to record it, The Colonel did his extortion thing and Dolly- rightfully- balked and Elvis didn't push for it) and "Fire" by Bruce Springsteen (written for Elvis).

 

[Talwar]

"Fire" by Bruce Springsteen (written for Elvis).

Did not know that, yet can easily imagine what it would sound like.

 

[Coiler]

The reddit thread linked in the OP talked about how it eases a lot of pressure on Elvis if his finances are better, but that's going to be a tall order for obvious reasons.

 

[JesterBL]

The reddit thread linked in the OP talked about how it eases a lot of pressure on Elvis if his finances are better, but that's going to be a tall order for obvious reasons.

Any manager who replaces Parker will have their work cut out for them and will have some of the same pressures on them, as regards finance- only they'll be quite a bit cheaper than Parker (Parker took 50% of most revenues, would charge his own expenses to Elvis' 50% and would often double-dip as in publishing where he took his own 25% cut and then took 25% of Elvis's own 25% share as a manager's commission). That deal I mentioned for Elvis' pre-1973 catalog- RCA bought it for $5.4 million dollars. Elvis saw less than $2.5 million dollars from that, with the remainder going to The Colonel. He also discouraged any kind of professional management of what assets Elvis did end up with, which is why on his death the estate had nothing but some real estate and merchandising deals to found Elvis Presley Enterprises. Elvis didn't have any real assets to speak of, and that was a conscious decision by The Colonel starting in the 50s (he had been afraid of introducing a money manager to Elvis and had been adamantly opposed to any kind of tax shelters or other structures for Elvis).

Colonel Tom Parker is sort of the @dril candle meme of managerial finance. Just getting rid of him makes getting out of the hole easier. About the only positive thing that can be said is that he made sure he and Elvis overpaid on taxes because of his fear of the IRS.

 

[Coiler]

Unfortunately there's a potential biological ceiling to Elvises life. A lot of his relatives had heart conditions and also died young. While Elvis' lifestyle and pressures certainly made it a lot worse, that possible base has to be considered.

(Save for perhaps Alexander the Great, there is no one, and certainly no one modern who died of natural causes whose death has been obsessed about and studied more than Elvis Presleys).

Likewise I'm not seeing him as much more than a largely irrelevant classic rock act even if he survives longer and gets a hit or two in. That being said, New Wave Elvis would at least be a curiosity, and Way Down has enough electric quirkiness to make me think he was moving in that direction.

Of course the worst case but woefully realistic scenario is it comes across as a rightly panned 'how do you do fellow kids' mess, and Elvis survives just long enough to get it out the door before dying of whatever nature/nurture combo.