gold star for USAHOF
Don't
21 Mar
2016
Not in Hall of Fame
March 10 – 16, 1958
Elvis Presley
Don’t



Written by the Lieber/Stoller team, Elvis again made it to the top of the charts, and like 1956 and 1957 he was on top of the music world in early 1958. The song itself was another vehicle for him to use his soulful voice to croon unlike anyone else, but as he had already done that before, and frankly did it with more memorable material. While March of 1958 would see him again on the top of the pop charts, this is not what this month means most to Elvis Presley fans. They remember March 24 when the King would become a Private

Athletes and celebrities were not immune from the United States draft, and though exemptions or special considerations would be made for many, Elvis Presley went in as a regular soldier. From accounts and books written about Presley, he was not keen about going into the military at all, nor was he fond of the boot camp, however it was the belief of Col. Tom Parker that a two year army stint would make him a bigger star than ever.

That would prove to be partially correct, and not something that would do him in any favors later in his career; a topic I will get to later.

An awful lot would change on both the political and pop culture world seven years later, but in 1958, patriotism was in the United States was very high, and though Elvis was the biggest star on Planet Earth, he was still detested by many Americans hoping Rock and Roll would pass and their children would no longer be corrupted.[1] Col. Parker’s rationale was that Elvis could attract or at least gain respect from the older demographic by serving his country without receiving preferential treatment would accomplish just that.[2]

Elvis did receive a mild backlash from the media and the establishment when his official induction was delayed so that he could finish the filming of King Creole, but on March 24, he officially became Private Elvis Presley and at the advice of Parker, was a U.S. soldier, and not be a part of special services, where had he accepted that position, he would essentially perform for the troops.

It had even been propositioned by the navy that he would have his own company, comprising of troops who were his friends, and would be able to perform in Vegas, but Elvis feared that this would result not only the disdain of the American public, but from other veterans. The last thing that he wanted to look like was weak.

The Colonel was a very savvy man who already had a lot of Presley’s music in the can and ready to go while Elvis was away. Granted, there would not be any live performances on television to help him, but there would be just as much music put out by Presley even though he would not be in the States. He even had King Creole, another film set to release soon, so it was not like there was no new visual medium for Presley while he was away.

As a result of Parker’s plan, Elvis’ two year stint in the military still saw him generate top ten hits. King Creole was a success and was well reviewed, and his star actually didn’t fade that much. As the Colonel predicted, he did make significant inroads with the older establishment and the early 60’s saw him generate even more number one hits.

Elvis may have completed his duty to his country with a smile on his face and yes this led to begrudging respect from the establishment, but there is a major problem that occurs when that happens. He would lose his rebelliousness and once the counter culture and anti-war sentiment moved in as the Vietnam “conflict: progressed, Elvis would become something that he probably never envisioned in 1956 when he was censored constantly…he would become safe.

No worries Memphis, we haven’t reached that stage of his career yet, and we have quite a lot of the King still to come.

Other Notable Songs that charted but did not go to number one in this time period: March 10, 1958 – March 16, 1958

3/10/58: Betty and Dupree by Chuck Willis went to #33 and peaked at #15 on the R&B Chart.




[1] This is no exaggeration. He was that big.
[2] I remember my grandfather who couldn’t give two shits about Elvis, music or sports in general but he respected Presley for serving his country, and detested Muhammad Ali for not. My dad used to say the same thing.





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