Elvis Presley's legacy is muddled says Pete Townshend of The Who

Pete Townshend says that the true power of Elvis Presley's early work overshadows the myth that has built up in the 30 years since his death. The Who have been performing Townshend's personal tribute to Presley, called "Real Good Looking Boy," on their recent tour, despite the fact that Presley was never a major influence on Townshend growing up. He explained to Goldmine that, "He is not as important to me as some other late 1950s artists, but Elvis was the first truly beautiful man, rather than rugged handsome man, that young men like me, and Roger (Daltrey), felt safe to adore."

Townshend added that when Presley became an actor and a global superstar, it came close to ruining him as an artist: "His legacy is muddled. We have to focus on (his) early work, and just one or two of his movies, and elements of his TV shows, to keep his memory pure. People now know that Elvis could play a mean rhythm guitar himself, and needed no other musicians to perform a great song. But Elvis was not just a rock star, he was an all-round entertainer. He flew on our adoration for the last 10 years of his life and he is probably still flying on it now."

We spoke to Townshend while he was in the States during the Who's last set of dates. Townshend said that he viewed Presley's movie years as a wasted opportunity: "I was watching the TV yesterday, and Blue Hawaii was on. I just thought, 'What was Elvis doing?!' You know, the Beatles were about to appear, Ricky Nelson was putting out 'Hello, Mary Lou,' the Everly Brothers were doing 'Cathy's Clown' -- the most unbelievably brilliant music! Dion was doing great stuff. It was the most fantastic records being made! (Elvis was) dressing up in Hawaiian shirts, playing the ukulele and getting married on a raft."

"Real Good Looking Boy" includes passages from Presley's 1962 Top Two hit "Can't Help Falling In Love." It was originally released on the band's compilation The Who: Then And Now - 1964-2004, and was the band's first original studio track in 15 years.

In October, the Who released their first new album since 1982, the critically acclaimed Top Ten hit, Endless Wire.

Townshend has just released a new solo compilation titled Definitive Collection, featuring such favorites as "Let My Love Open The Door," "Rough Boys," "Slit Skirts," "Give Blood," and others.

Pete Townshend will next perform on February 20th with his girlfriend Rachel Fuller, and other yet-to-be-named guest artists, at Joe's Pub in New York City. The Who kick off their next series of dates on February 23rd in Reno, Nevada at the Reno Events Center.
Submit the above story to:

Del.icio.us   Digg   reddit   StumbleUpon   Facebook