ELVIS THE GREEK GOD
ELVIS (The Pelvis) PRESLEY and his rock ‘n roll gyrations may henceforth be regarded as culture.
It’s official.
Professor Harry Wood, head of the art department at Arizona State College, as much as said so yesterday.
“Elvis,” said Harry, is like the gods of the Golden Age of Greek art.
“He resembles the statues of Apollo and Hermes – even to the side whiskers.
“And Apollo was the god, sponsor and patron of Greek singers. They must have had a style very like Presley’s”
THOSE rock ‘n roll contortions? Just like the ancient Greeks, said the Prof. But in those days it was known as “twitch and twist.”
“It was the twitch and twist that made Greek art popular,” said Harry. “Elvis in action looks like the Greek statue, Charioteer of Delphi.
“The same heavy jaw, thick lips and half-lowered eyelids. The same proud adolescent look of a young hero”
Which means Presley is art. And all this time I just thought he did it for the money.
Newspaper article, 21 September 1956
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmdAw0lK1ko