A THE CHINA MAIL, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 1957.
At 21 he appeals to the lonely-lost
E
a rootless world
LVIS, The Pelvis,
Presley is
or- an
dinary enough young man from Memphis, Tennessee.
Until a few months ago, Memphis was best known for its whisky (dubbed irreverently by John Stein- beck "Old Tennis Shoes") and for its politics which were exemplified by Boss Crump.
·LES ARMOUR SAYS-
"Mr Presicy and his pelvis have
arrived. Now the question is: Why?”
But let us keep our sense of proportion. Almost any young non cun wiggle his posterior portions and almost any young make a spluttering noise deep an his throat. Nor is there much point in euggesting
that Mr Prezley's glory is his guitar playing. Mr Presley does not claim to be another Segovia.
if he tries a Mitte, can
Indeed, Memphis WBA slow to realise its treasure. It allowed The Pelvis to while away his vital early
He la of medium height, hos years driving a truck for rather Bore hair than most which he was paid about sergeant-majors oppreciate, a
1
T-shirts and lending, his name to the advertisement of various products.
1
He commanded forty thou and dollars for three television performances and twenty-five thousand for a week at a night club.
He now owns four Cadillacs, one Lincoln Continental, n Messerschmit runabout and A motor-cycle,
week. Millions of Jurgish, slightly flattened nose, likes to move about,
£30 teenage girls will never forgive Memphis for that.
of
There were, however, two things which appeared to dis- tinguish The Pelvis from the other specimena budding Memphis munhood.
which was his pelvis course,
to be made of India appens
enables himn and rubber perform various gyrations which would not have amused Queen Victoria but which, nevertheless, are regarded by his admirers Di the very zlth of art.
New Art
10
and large, very sad eyes.
He could not compete with Rudolph Valentino,
And yet this young man is a phenomenon:
Rescued
instance, in Jacksonville, Florida, he had to be rescued by a squad car from a screaming mob of fans who were, ap- parently, determined to cut him up and take home the bits as religious relles,
Fans with similar intentions in Wichita Falls, Texas, broke
HE other was the noise he every window in his car and, in
San Diego, California ta colum-imally peaceable, highly re- spectable community) girl eeverid
was alle to make. Mr John Lardner, Newsweek nist, hus described this nolue as that of a "lovesick motor-boat" and the description appears ad- mirably fair, Mr Lardner, I am sure, intended neither praise nor blame to attach
to thi description but there are those who feel that this noise is best left to molor-bouts-and there are millions who are firmly con- vinced that it marks a new and departure glurious
In the history of art.
the windscreen of his
ear with their phone numbers, written in lipstick.
Tens of thousands of teenage girls are daily sent inlo scream-
ne hysterics by his gyrations, vocal and physical.
He habitually wears his shirts open at the neck, revealing considerable expanse of not very remarkable bare chest.
rather ordinary, not very tune- ful jazz which is characterised by twelve bar "blues' stanza and a simple, monotonous, melody.
It has certain attractions: First of all the beat is so simple and ва regular that anyone сол wriggle in time to it, Second, the muste can be memorised easily and requires little techni- cal skill to
to play. As such, it is ideal for mase demonstrations. No one need feel left out.
To capture a mass audience with "Rock 'n' Roll" therefore requires
mainly a personality wholly without inhibitions armi natural talent for projecting Mr Presley has this last to perfection. He can—and does make a mass audience feel that
friends, that they really do have a place in the scheme of things.
•
when
EDEN...A MAN
OF MANY PARTS
· from
Donald Edgar's Notebook
HAVE just been reading him as the candy he was in the
some fascinating gossip "thirties,
about Sir Anthony Eden,
There is gossip and gos sip.
There is the gossip
which is just mylicious talk based on envy.
There is the gossip based on an intimate knowledge,
An old. homburg
dusted daily
5 for the famous hot, Low-
TC-
A food reminds us that in war- time he rarely wore a hat at all -although he still loopt superannuated black homburg And Valentine Lawford, on a side-table in his room at who has written about Eden the Foreign Office, where it was
dusted
And religiously -and also Lord Halifax and Mr Ernest Bevin in the placed each day by the char
women." current issue of the Corn-
You gather, as you read Law- hill, has an intimate know- ford, that, Eden hus in a way ledge of his subject. !
been a prisoner of the Foreign his Ofice where he won all He was assistant private cartier reputation,
2 and large, very sad ayos.
television Nowadays stations across the country a
10 hours a day and operating gobbling talent at a ferocious They take ittle persuading.
rate, the process has changed. But there is something even Coast-to-coast pubile relations on each organisations move
in on more interesting Presley phenomenon. He is not
new find. Newspapers are
aro fed the first to achieve this trick private life, the wild behaviour with sensational stories of his There There was Frank Sinatra. After of his audiences, and the great time, it is the study of Eden their fringe or dark lashes, his
Mr Presley is a man who each and every member of it
is his closest personal friend.
But this achievement is rather like the
effect of an electric spark jumping a gop: must be my equal attraction on the other side of the gap.
And why are these audiences, beyond any doubt, wide open to Presley's technique?
NO
Lonesome
Finally, his arrival in what is called the big time" was su den and remarkable indeed.
He went one day In Memphis to a record shop and made
recording that ht private could hear his voice, The shop- con
was surprised by its keeper
man quality and contacted
it a local is a country whose social who played records on radio station, He suggested values centre around fierce com- that Presicy
It is a country con- make some more petition. records.
stantly on the move, a country In which millions of people have
Demand
FL
THESE, in turn, were heard
a man from RCA Victor who had Presley make a record of song called "Heartbreak Hotel." The record company very soon had to lease plant from other record companies in order to keep up the demand.
Mr Presley and his pelvis had arrived.
In one year, his records have camed hiz more
fve than million collura and he has mnde double that by endorsing Roll."
TIME
Now the question is: Why? He is associated with a type of musle described ng "Rock ́'n' This music consists of
WAITS FOR NO
MAN
But if you are one of the many wanting a TISSOT timepiece, it will pay to wait on the arrival of the 1957 collection — expected shortly."
The manufacturers of Tissot regret the temporary shortage and promise that their ladies and gent's quality timekeepers will shortly be available in the latest models, and all in the famed tradition of Société Suisse
Geneva, Switzerland,
SINCE 1853
Pour
l'Industrie Horlogère S.A
Tissot
TREASURED WATCHES FOR 100 YEARS
Société Suisse Pour l'Industrie Horlogère S.A. Geneva, Switzerland,
Sole Age OMITIS LTD OMEGA : 111101 110 Giercester Building
DECAUSE, perhaps, America is Dessentially a lonely country.
no roots.
It is o country where the family unit-howevoz much
idealised by the advertisements,
praised by politicians, and bols- tered by religious leaders 13 extremely weak.
(Indeed, the
fact that tremendous effort must be made to inculcate family values is itself indicative of the fact that family tics are weak.)
These, of course, are generalisations and they certain- ly do not apply to every Ameri- can. But they do apply tq, millions.
about the
him, there was Johnnie Ray.
And it is obvious that Sinatra had more talent than Ray and that tay had more talent than Presley
This is not
ness of his talent. necessarily so in Presley's case; but it is the accepted formula for "overnight success." Another current phenomenon, A lew paragraphs seep the cult of the late James Dean, through
into the great news- very young actor who was papers, audiences take their cuo killed before he had a chance from what they read and the
to show
any
consistently
He looked like a professional diplomat, His background was that of a professional diplomat,
His looks...
"fine eyes, with
secretary to all three men when they were masters of the Foreign Office.
But, inevitably at this
regular head, handsome hair and well-knit body" hin clothes that fascinates.
in those early days-everything Such information as that was against his winning a re Eden "could overwhelm one putation as a statesman outside with fury over matters the Foreign Office,
becomes great and small"
Of course, it-ia a reasonabla important in judging the argument to say that the world events of last autumn,
was right. That, in fact, 110 should
never have tried to "An official car that broke achieve a reputation outside the
Foreign Office, down in Piccadilly, the im- portunity of a bevy of flashlight photographers, a Tention is to reveal your-fused to scramble, some- fall to appreciate the latest secret telephone that
scit us insensitive, dense, and out-of-date.
e genuine riot,
Echuine talent at all, illustrates next show is likely to crupt in that such is the impulse of the So it goes.
ari American teenager to find idol that even a fiction will do.
The social malaise which de... mands Idols, then, seens to be growing stronger and its victims less discriminating.
And Britain
AURTHERMORE, it is not only
The Craze
From every angle the indivi- divi dual Is bombarded attempts to make him At the newest group, I he is des- perately
in Amerlar that the phone menon is powerful: In Britain there have been "Rock 'n' Roll"
naxlous to fit some- riols and Presley is already where, he will respond all the famous although he has never more quickly. yet been seen,
that the suggests
hos another phenomenon
That element, most element.
probably, is the effect of moss communication.
"This
The question is: How long will it
The go on?
newest crazes seem to disappear more quickly than the older ones did. inaced,
rushed Hollywood through
the first Presley film Me Tender" in п
"Love
In the heyday of Crosby, and even in the heyday of Sinatra, month -- so afraid is it that
re-
times threatened to assume the proportions of a hideous departmental faux pas or major diplomatic reverse
11
But Lawford adds im- mediately that Eden would quickly forget his temper and was icindness itself.
He was always 'Anthony'
And It is to the teenage offspring of these millions in whom the social problems are it took time to make a reputa- Presley may be forgotten before THE same traits of character accentuated 15 ali soclat on and an entertainer had to they can get trim into the problems are inevitably accen- come up the hand way through cinéma. luated in teenagers—ihat Presley appeals.
Mr
the
a long succession of small jobs. No doubt, eventually,
On the way, the second rate, public will become jaded, will and the minor talent was weeded respond less quickly and talent
will once again and its place.
He makes them feel that they belong, that they really are his out.
By Thomas Wisem
New Year
suggestions
THIS
about time. The world could not have stood much longer the
not of Buspense
knowing Gardner When Miss Chiari
mary.
HIS is the time of year for turning over a new leaf: and that is what I pro- precisely whom Miss pose to do for certain would hand-picked show business Gardner becomes Mrs celebrities. It is much easier I hope we shall hear no more to make good resolutions for about the Agony of being Avo;
I had got rather tired of hear others.
ing how unhappy she is, how lonely she is, how mixed up First person who, I sug- inside she is, how solitary ehe at the Cafe de Paris, Arthur gest, ought to turn over a la, how gregarious she is and Miller found something to smile new leaf is Sir Laurence how, basically, simple she is. I
Olivier. I have a suspicion ought to put her out
kcept feeling that
Britain Sir Larence. who
SIR LAURENCE
The outing has got out of hand.
A
somebody out; if Mario Lanza went on
dlot; if Anits "Ekberg wore.
of her dresses that do not make her look
like the front of a Cadillac; if
that he has been suffering agony. for some time now from a
I suggest that Miss Gardner's Elvis Presley were chiled up. surfeit of dignity.
New Year resolution should be On the other hand. It would This is д condition with to stay engaged and, in due be disastrous in 1957 if Yul possibly serious consequences course, married to Mr Chiari: Brynner bought a toupee if Pomposily can easily set in. and to leam cooking. I hope Brigitte Bardot learned deport. White Marilyn Monroe was in she will be very happy. It is ment; if Victor Mature met the going to be, such a bore for all right girl; if Rod Stelger went of us she is not.
to RADA if Audrey Hepburn us, was about the only person Rita Hayworth obviously had changed her hairstyle again; if visibly unaffected by her
When he became already turned over a new lent Rex Harrison maried being nice
In 1955; we have been hearing to Frimlly.
it Tyrone newspapermeny the ballyhoo that go little of her, comparatively Power, having tried Shaw and she inspires, he had the air of speaking. In her case, I suggest, Strindberg, now! a vicar at a Sunday School he turns back to the old leat. King Lear,
attempted outing which has got rather it was more fun.
was closer to her than most of
out of hand.
My HOPE
Zsa Zsa Gabor's most philan throple New Year resolution would be to leave at least one millionaire for someone else.
I RESOLVE.. Provided everybody keeps all
But Sir Laurence, who seems Martine Carol might be well the resolutions I have foisted part, to despioo all the vulgar advised to buy a bathing suit upon them, I, for my publicity and blatant .com- In 1887, so she will not have resolve in 1957: mercialism that дося with to keep on swimming in the 1. To say nice things about Bir being Monroe, stands to beneft nudo,
Laurence Olivier.
from it
most. He should not Liberson should change his 2. Not to make, 'any cracks Appear to be so condescending tailor; Diana Dors should learn about his bread and butter to swim--just in case. nor about his Jam.
It might be nice if James
So
1
I hope that Sir Laurence's "Mason, took na much pleamire la 3. New Year resolution will be to the society of people as he does 1000 a little of his dignity. Or, in the company of his cats; If alternatively, to confine himself Elsa Marinell talked to me; if
Shakespeare.
Joan Collins.. didn't play úny
to
The news that Ava Gardner is more nuns; if Grace Kelly to marry Walter Chiari cems played: Eliza Doolittle if Frank to suggest that she is turning sinatra took that chip of his 4 over a new last-without any shoulder if Orson Welles did prompting from me. It was not do Bhylock na s'onbaret tures
about ||(n). Liberace, (b)
Anita 4 Ekberg, (c) Noel Coward,
Not to bully Frank Sinatra at Prom conferences; not to Interview, Brigitte Bardot in her bedroom; not to`ark Interviewees my
two stock. queations (1) How much do you cam? (b) Why? Not to mention Marilyn Monrbo for at least two 'ponsécutive weeks,
They say that no man can be hero to his valet, and a highly Intelligent private secretary will probably be rather less merciful.
but some pleasant aspects of Eden are recorded,
For example, his regard for his regiment, the 30th, in which
he served in the First War.
And from that his regard for all fighting men-so that during last war he would keep the
an ambassador walling while he talked 10 two wounded Canadiana
And then there is his tre mendous sense of duty. Law. ford comments that for Eden his duly was senzed "most often in terms of England."
Aare borng out by Eden's handwriting.
During his week-ends at the house he then had in Sussex, ho The meticulous, all-observing was able to relax only partially. secretary observes that "those At dinner, in the garden, or on who profess to read character the Downs his mind was on the from calilgraphy might have papers which had been brought Interpretes Eden's us denoting a down by the Foreign Office nature at once more impulsive, messenger. more sensitive to criticism, and less prone to compromise!"
I am afraid that if you have ever referred 10 the Prime Minister as "Tony" you would have incurred this sensitivity,
He was always "Anthony" in the Foreign Office,
As for his appearance, Law
'Isn't that right?" {
he asked
EDEN'S career as Prime Minis-
is done,
The detalls that Valenting Lawford has revealat enable ford confirms one's suspicions one to fill out the, incompleto that Eden began to realise during picture presented in public. the war that his reputation as the best-dressed member, of the
Perhaps the most significant
Government might do him petall in the article is that Eden, harm:-
when discussing the text of n speech he was to make, would knowing that the world wallpausing once in a while to and down the room
the
world in general:
is inclined to under-estimate the intelligence, not the actual ask moral worth, of notoriously pro= "Isn't" that right?' or simply to rentablo men
say: 'Stop me if you don't agree with this one.""
.."
for
That l why Eden has years dressed so badly although many people, including cartoonists, continued to show
Those remarks are the out- ward aign of a character fundamentally unsure of itself,
badbye, polities!