{"id":1313621,"date":"2019-08-15T23:01:08","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T05:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1810484"},"modified":"2019-08-15T23:01:08","modified_gmt":"2019-08-16T05:01:08","slug":"remembering-elvis-from-graceland-to-the-promised-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/music-news\/remembering-elvis-from-graceland-to-the-promised-land\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Elvis: From Graceland to the Promised Land"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:ao:image:cmt.com:680039?width=1200&amp;height=675&amp;.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"byline\">by <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/author\/morrise\/\" title=\"Posts by Edward Morris\" rel=\"author\">Edward Morris<\/a><\/span> <span class=\"date\">10m ago<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<p>On the sultry Tuesday afternoon of August 16, 1977, it seemed that the only news in the world was that Elvis Presley had died at the age of 42. All the planet\u2019s other happenings were of secondary concern.<\/p>\n<p>Presley\u2019s health had been declining for years, reducing him to a bloated, mumbling caricature of the handsome young man who\u2019d changed the sound and thrust of popular music, supercharging it with sexiness and glamour. But dying? That was unthinkable.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\">Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UzObEM77vL8?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UzObEM77vL8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p>Newspapers outdid themselves on the day following his death with the size and loudness of their headlines. Memphis\u2019 <em>The Commercial Appeal<\/em>, Presley\u2019s hometown daily, ran a two-line, six-column-wide banner headline that said, \u201cDeath Captures Crown Of Rock And Roll\/Elvis Dies Apparently After Heart Attack.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>London\u2019s <em>The Daily Mirror<\/em> gave over its entire front page to his passing under the heading \u201cELVIS PRESLEY IS DEAD,\u201d followed by a sidebar subhead that asked, \u201cWas King of Rock Killed by Drugs?\u201d Looming large in the layout was a photo of the clearly overweight monarch.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\">Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/X88NOtEiCGg?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/X88NOtEiCGg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p>Even the graphically stodgy <em>New York Times<\/em> accorded his death top-of-front-page status the next day, placing the story and his picture opposite an article concerning the potentially warming relations between Russia and the US. The ever-enterprising <em>National Enquirer<\/em>, in its September 6 edition, ran a closeup picture of Presley in his coffin under the headline \u201cELVIS\/THE UNTOLD STORY.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wikipedia lists 173 songs about Elvis or that \u201csubstantially\u201d or \u201cnominally\u201d refer to him. Of these, two had a special impact on country music in the weeks immediately following his death. The first was Ronnie McDowell\u2019s \u201cThe King is Gone,\u201d the second Merle Haggard\u2019s \u201cFrom Graceland to the Promised Land.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\">Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3RmHJToYaeA?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3RmHJToYaeA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p>McDowell came out of nowhere with a singing voice that sounded eerily like Presley\u2019s. His song, which he co-wrote, recounted his growing up idolizing and imitating the star. It charted on both the country and pop charts on September 10, 1977, and reached No. 13 in both instances.<\/p>\n<p>More significantly, it launched McDowell\u2019s recording career. Over the next 13 years, he would score three Top 10 hits, including the No. 1 singles \u201cOlder Women\u201d and \u201cYou\u2019re Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\">Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kziplXHkhe4?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kziplXHkhe4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p>Haggard, who also wrote his Elvis tribute, surprised some at the reverence he felt for a performer so unlike himself. \u201cFrom Graceland to the Promised Land\u201d entered the country chart on October 8, 1977 and the pop chart on October 22. It went No. 4 country but only to No. 58 pop.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElvis touched the life of every ear that heard him,\u201d Haggard intoned, \u201cand they couldn\u2019t help but listen when he sang.\u201d Surely Presley was Heaven-bound, Haggard opined, asserting that \u201cJesus finally came to lead him home.\u201d As a further act of respect, Haggard used the Jordanaires, Presley\u2019s longtime backup singers, to accompany him on the record.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\">Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0QbSgZxjTuI?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0QbSgZxjTuI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p>Presley\u2019s prominence on the pop charts was diminishing at the time of his death. \u201cMoody Blue,\u201d which charted in the last week of 1976, peaked at No. 31 after only a 13-week run. Its follow-up, \u201cWay Down,\u201d debuted about three weeks before Presley\u2019s death and topped out at No. 18 nearly three months afterward.<\/p>\n<p>He did considerably better on the country rankings, where \u201cMoody Blue\u201d and \u201cWay Down\u201d both reached No. 1. After sprinkling four Top 10 country singles during the rest of the decade, Presley again scored a No. 1 in 1981 with Jerry Reed\u2019s \u201cGuitar Man.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\">Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/u-pP_dCenJA?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/u-pP_dCenJA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p>Even disembodied, the King still reigns. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, followed by the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2001.<\/p>\n<p>Just last month, Graceland reached a deal for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialappeal.com\/story\/news\/2019\/07\/02\/graceland-expansion-elvis-presley-enterprises-memphis-city-council\/1632959001\/\">$75 million expansion<\/a>. And on the current <em>Billboard<\/em> top country albums chart, <em>The Essential Elvis Presley<\/em> sits enthroned at No. 18.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n<div class=\"description\">Edward Morris is a veteran of country music journalism. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a frequent contributor to CMT.com.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/1810484\/remembering-elvis-from-graceland-to-the-promised-land\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: CMT News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Edward Morris 10m ago On the sultry Tuesday afternoon of August 16, 1977, it seemed that the only news in the world was that Elvis Presley had died at the age of 42. All the planet\u2019s other happenings were of secondary concern. Presley\u2019s health had been declining for years, reducing him to a bloated, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1313621","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-13 08:39:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1313621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1313621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1313621\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1313621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1313621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1313621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}