Entertainment For Lively Minds
Story of the Guitar
Posted by ceepee on 3 February 2011 - 1:49pm.
Repeated from 2008, I missed this first time around, but am enjoying the repeat. Available on iplayer if anyone missed it/fancies watching it again.
Brought to mind a question: could Elvis really play the guitar? Obviously he could strum a bit and throw it around a lot, but was it the guy behind him who did most of the work?
Alan Yentob stated that in his hands (Elvis', that is) the guitar was more than just an instrumnt, but did he mean it was transported to another level of musical possibilities or that it became a prop as well as a way of conveying a tune?
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I suspect he meant as a prop...
When you have Scotty Moore or James Burton behind you, you don't need to worry about playing the thing yourself.
Elvis was a
Good, solid rhythm guitarist. It's his guitar that kicks off That's Alright Mama, for instance.
Check out the sit-down session on the '68 Comeback. He's bang-on. Wasn't a bad piano player, either.
During the Vegas years towards the end his guitar was solely a prop - not even plugged in.
But could he play? Oh, yes.
This is what I mean
Are there any girlies anywhere..
..who can watch that without geting just a little bit excited? And that's now. Just imagine the effect of him in the 1950's. Proper talent. Proper rock 'n' roll.