The Elvis Presley song Bob Dylan called “a commercial”
Although folk music propelled Bob Dylan to international acclaim in the early 1960s, his initial passion for music was roused by rock ‘n’ roll. Learning to play the piano from a tender age, Dylan was deeply infatuated with the genre, idolising such luminaries as Little Richard and Elvis Presley. With aspirations to emulate these musical heroes, Dylan formed his first high school band, The Golden Chords.
Dylan’s tenure as a purely acoustic folk artist was short-lived. By the mid-1960s, he began to explore new pastures, incorporating rock elements into his fifth album, Bringing It All Back Home. This departure from his folk roots caused consternation among some steadfast folkies, especially at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.
Meanwhile, Elvis Presley made his showbiz comeback following his obligatory military service between 1958 and 1960. He coupled his music career with vain attempts at Hollywood stardom with lead roles in several, often musically orientated, movies. As the 1970s approached, Presley entered his final musical chapter as the flare-clad superstar on a marathon residency in Las Vegas.
This move had been presaged by Presley’s popular 1964 hit ‘Viva Las Vegas’, a song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman for the Presley-starring movie of the same name. In his 2022 book The Philosophy of Modern Music, Dylan discussed the track reverently.
“‘Viva Las Vegas’ is also a commercial,” Dylan asserted. “Of course, when Elvis first recorded this Doc Pomus–Mort Shuman composition in 1963 and released it in 1964, he didn’t know that five years later, in July of 1969, the subject of this bright and breezy love song would become the hub of his live performances — and that in turn, the famed man-made nocturnal oasis would vampirically indulge his worst habits and impulses.”
In 1972, Dylan and his famous friend George Harrison attended an Elvis Presley performance in Madison Square Garden. After acquainting one another at the concert, rumours circulated claiming the three were to meet up to record a song together. While some claim Presley was a no-show, Dylan once revealed that he and Harrison failed to fulfil the honour.
In a 2017 interview with Bill Flanagan, Dylan was asked whether this was true. “He did show up,” Dylan said. “It was us that didn’t”. Naturally, Dylan and Harrison would harbour regrets surrounding the missed opportunity following Presley’s death in 1978.
“I went over my whole life. I went over my whole childhood. I didn’t talk to anyone for a week after Elvis died. If it wasn’t for Elvis and Hank Williams, I couldn’t be doing what I do today,” Dylan said, reacting to Presley’s death in an interview with Robert Shelton in 1978.
Listen to Elvis Presley’s ‘Viva Las Vegas’ below.
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