If Elvis was still around in the 80’s what do you think he would’ve been doing? How do you think it would have impacted American culture today?

9 comments

1. More Vegas showrooms, occasional tours, eventual showcase tours with other heritage acts, an “artistic comeback” similar to Johnny Cash where he records with Rick Rubin or whatever, eventually ending up as a judge on American Idol, ill-conceived duets with contemporary artists, and a few Grammys before retiring to Graceland.

2. Many people have reported that they’ve seen him pumping gas at a gas station. Not sure whether as an attendant or a customer. So, yeah, he’d still be working for one of the Big Oil companies.

3. Probably still doing drugs.

4. He was pretty far gone by the mid-70s, to the extent that one of his crew described his concerts as “sad, sloppy affairs where a bloated, drugged Presley struggled to remember his lyrics …”

   Even if he had gotten himself straightened out and not overdosed, his time had already passed, and pretty much his only fans towards the end we’re middle aged housewives.

   I doubt he would have made much of an impact on the 80s. Maybe a forgettable album or two, at most.

5. Cocaine.

6. Sweating!

7. He’d do occasional tours and performances that would be popular with people who grew up with him. Maybe he’d make one or two more hits with widespread appeal, possibly in a different style than he normally does. He’d also collaborate with some upcoming artists and the old guard from his generation.

   Just the usual aging musician stuff.

8. He was already a shell of himself by the time he died. Unless he really, really had a turnaround, he would have had the same kind of death, only a few months or years later.

9. Elvis was hugely popular, at every stage of his life. He was literally a musical icon, on a par with The Beatles and Michael Jackson. If he had gotten his addictions under control he would have performed all through the ’80s and certainly would have had a continuing influence on music as long as he performed.