HIST 415
Elvis Presley was one of the greatest musicians in rock 'n roll history. H - he revolutionized the way in which people enjoyed pop music, and became an all-American icon with untold wealth throughout the 60s and 70s. He was one of the catalysts whothat brought rock 'n' roll, primarily thought to be a black musical style, to wider acceptance by whites, and pushed boundaries of raciness and eroticism in American live musical performance. For such a living legend, one would expect his house to be incredible and lavish. - Graceland fits all of these definitions and more. Graceland, because of its importance to rock and American history, and its eclectic and fascinating aesthetic and historical elements, remains one of the best public history institutions in the United States.
After Elvis bought Graceland in March of 1957, he made many of the significant changes to the property that you can still see today. Elvis turned Graceland into an opulent palace , a fitful place from which to rule the genre world of rock and roll, as well as the American cultural revolution. In 1964, Elvis built a meditation garden in the courtyard of Graceland, anchored by a circular, twelve-foot-long fountain pool and a series of jets that sprayed water up constantly. This allowed Elvis a measure of quiet in his private sanctuary away from the demands of the world, and it is where he would be buried after his death. In 1982, Graceland opened to the public and provided tours throughout the property. Since that time, Graceland has entertained millions of people who visit it, with thousands coming by every year. In fact, it is second only to the White House as the most-visited home in America..
Graceland, along with other opulent celebrity homes such as Neverland Ranch, itself speaks volumes about America’s obsession with celebrity. Figures like Elvis Presley helped to create the image of the ‘rock star’ as a cultural icon in American culture; throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s, singers and musicians became superstars due to the increasingly wider distribution of music and the post-WWII economic boom, which led to much more free time and disposable income for American families. Add to that the enticement that sexually provocative and rebellious rock stars provided to baby boomers, allowing them to forge their own, more liberated identities outside of the cultural norms presented to them in the 50s., andcColorful figures like Elvis Presley would become incredibly influential figures to an entire generation of Americans. Graceland’s size and boldness is representative of the financial success and cultural impact that Elvis had as a rock star, and indicates the ability for controversial and unconventional figures in American entertainment to express themselves in the most flamboyant ways.
Part of the symbolic importance of Graceland can be seen in its unconventional appearance. The main house is decorated in an incredibly gregarious flamboyant and quirky fashion, with different rooms having their own aesthetic. The Graceland Dining Room is filled with marble and richly decorated Romanesque chairs and class cabinets. The Jungle Room is the den in which green shag carpeting, comfortable furniture and strange 1970s wood paneling and coloring dominate; the room was also capped by a built-in waterfall.. He would also use this room (as well as the TV and pool rooms in the basement) to record some of his most famous albums, Moody Blue and From Elvis Presley Boulevard. These visual aesthetics remain in the estate, providing another draw for people to explore this part of the public history; the sheer weirdness of the Presley home. The loudness and diversity of these rooms helps to reflect a time in America’s history when rock stars and entertainment figures were so financially successful as to command large sums of money. – that This success being is mostly attributable to the music industry’s ability to capitalize on their larger-than-life personalities to fashion marketable, attention-grabbing press to sell their products and records. This was the era of the music industry mogul – figures who could command immense power in this rapidly-growing area of show business, and who needed to find ways to attract new customers. Due to the width and breadth of musical artists out there, and the shifting tastes in musical style, Elvis rapidly evolved into not just the marketable white face of a predominantly black musical genre but the over-the-top cartoon with the sequined jumpsuits that comes to mind when one thinks of the King. Elvis managed to enjoy this kind of immense wealth (which was rare for artists even through their success) because of the capitalization of his brand by said moguls; not only did he make records and go on tours, but he had a fairly successful film career throughout the 60s in romantic musical comedies specifically groomed for him.
Using a personal home of an historic figure (especially one as flamboyant as Elvis Presley) as an institution for public history allows a more intimate connection between public and subject, and Graceland is no exception. By taking a walk through Graceland, one takes a walk through Elvis’ life – and by extension, the lives of many Americans living through the counterculture and Vietnam War eras. Artifacts from Elvis’ time in the Korean War remain in Graceland, showcasing both the details of that war and the publicity surrounding Elvis’ deployment there during his time in the army. AtIn Graceland, you can also learn about the history of rock music, which is closely tied to advances in technology developed in America (like the development of FM radio stations, vinyl EPs and LPs, and television/film distribution). His influence and encounters with famous historical figures, such as Richard M. Nixon, can also be explored atin Graceland, further showing how influential rock stars were to politics and culture at the time. Because of their high-profile nature and their ability to gauge public interest, celebrities of all kinds (including rock stars) were given political and cultural cachet afforded to few others outside of the actual political sphere; their opinions were highly publicized, and so they became culture-makers in other respects than just music.
The success of Graceland as a museum emphasizes the appeal of rock n’ roll and kitsch in public history, but also shows Elvis as a product of his time. The museum itself offers this tour of the King's life, as relics and artifacts of Elvis' history and career adorn the halls of Graceland. Elvis is also buried at Graceland, in a mediation garden where people often pray and sing hymns celebrating the artist..Elvis’ impact on popular culture is reflected in the man’s history himself; growing up in the South, learning Negro spirituals and early rock ‘n roll music, he was discovered by record executives as a way to popularize black music for whites in a culture where blacks were still suffering under the thumb of Jim Crow. By packaging rock ‘n roll with a white face, Elvis and his producers were able to bring rock music to a whole new audience, and popularize the genre further (without carrying the social responsibility of having to actually uplift the culture that created it). As the 1960s went on, Elvis’ image alternated between the clean-cut all-American cultural standard (as evidenced by his short film career and his outward distaste for the hippie drug culture) and being a prescription drug addict himself, which contributed to his early death.
The aforementioned meditation garden further indicates a fluid, contradictory perspective on religion, which was evidenced by his mid-60s obsession with mysticism and Eastern religions, fuelled by his hairdresser Larry Geller.. Elvis in the 60s was a man in transition, torn between his straight-laced past and his drug-addled future in a rebelling, counterculture-heavy America. ;iIf anything, his experiences are representative of the growing pains and transitions America itself was experiencing in the 1960s. To that end, Graceland’s open display of Elvis’ home (which was perfectly styled to this contradictory personality) shows visitors a taste of America itself in the rock/hippie era. If anything, the fact that Elvis ‘The King’ spent so much of his money making an isolated castle for himself (complete with gates adorned with musical notes) showcases both how obsessed the American public was with him and his need to maintain a distance from said public. At the same time, it became a palace from which he could ‘rule’ rock ‘n roll and create an aura of mystique around himself; by accepting the role audiences imposed upon him, he benefited from the success he found as an artist and a popular American figure. It was the best of both worlds; the audience got to gawk at this opulent symbol of the figure they adored, and the King got all the power and space he demanded because of it.
In addition to Elvis' home, Graceland became a cultural institution, and an international phenomenon. Celebrities and notable figures from around the world would be invited to visit Elvis' mansion and property, further indicating its relevance and significance as an American cultural landmark. In 1957, fellow musicians Richard Williams and Buzz Cason came to see Graceland; this was but the first of many instances in which Graceland would be guest to public figures in rock and roll, as well as in politics. In 2006, George W. Bush invited the Prime Minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi, to tour the mansion, making it the first non-political venue for a meeting between two heads of government. The universal and global appeal of such a well-known figure is shown to be a great transition to attract others to public history institutions such as this one.
Given the colorful history and novelty appeal of Graceland, it is easy to see how it has become a rare success story in the world of public history institutions. However, it may be difficult to replicate the success and appeal of Graceland in other ways in public history. The question remains: how can we make public history appealing without resorting to the kinds of tourist tricks that often happen in places like Graceland? The history of rock ‘n roll holds a unique place in the heart of America, as it provides an accessible way to bring people into the past, allowing them to learn more about history through the context of the artists and songs they adore. Elvis, for example, has a history that is tied in closely with the Korean War, pop culture, counterculture, Vietnam and much more; public history institutions such as these can help to transition people into other aspects of history through their sheer eccentricity.. To that end, it can be argued that, in order to enhance the draw of public history to the general public, it must be tied into contexts that already appeal to them. By linking the history of the United States with the history of rock ‘n roll, and treating them to the more unusual elements of American history as a gateway to these events, it is possible to attract people to other aspects of public history as a result.
Works Cited
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Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO (2002).
Elvis Australia. "Elvis Presley's Graceland." Elvis Australia. (Apr. 18, 2012).
<http://graceland.elvis.com.au/>.
Guralnick, Peter. Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley. Back Bay Books (1999).
History.com. "Elvis puts a down payment on Graceland." History.com(Mar 19, 2012).
<http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/elvis-presley-puts-a-downpayment-on-graceland>.
Marling, Karal Ann. Graceland: Going Home with Elvis. Cambridge: Harvard University Press
(1997).
