Blake Shelton, Lainey Wilson And More Talk About Elvis Presley
Today (1/8) would have been Elvis Presley’s 90th birthday had he not died at the age of 42 in August of 1977. I remember being a young kid when Elvis died and my parents reacting to the tragedy with disbelief. It’s a tragedy that affects so many people still today. What would Elvis have done had he lived? We will sadly never know.
Presley influenced so many country music stars, as well as rock ‘n’ roll singers, throughout the years, and even today, new artists are influenced by the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll on their musical journey. I gathered a couple of country music stars, who were huge Elvis fans who talked about the King and what the man and his music meant to them.
Blake Shelton
Blake Shelton has always been a big Elvis fan and told NBC before he performed a few times on a 2019 Elvis Tribute Special, “I think when I came out of the womb, I’ve been saying this, but I mean it, I came out knowing who Elvis is.”
He added, “The name Elvis is part of the fabric of humanity he is this thing…that it just exists in the air. he contributed obviously so much to music, but I think he is the definition of what’s cool.”
Blake performed Elvis’ “Suspicious Minds” on the NBC 2019 Elvis Tribute Special.
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Keith Urban
Keith told NBC before the 2019 Elvis Tribute Special, “For me it’s like, when did I discover Coca-Cola, he’s just always been there for me. My dad used to play a lot of Elvis records when I was growing up. He was a huge influence on my dad, who was a drummer in the late 50s, so they covered all this new music called ‘Rock and Roll.’ He’s been a part of my life, especially his Christmas album. It was a big hit in our house, every year.”
Keith performed Elvis’ song “Baby What You Want Me To Do” with Post Malone on the NBC 2019 Elvis Tribute Special.
Urban also performed Elvis’ “Burnin’ Love.”
Lainey Wilson
Lainey Wilson performed in her own signature Elvis-style bell bottoms at a Christmas special from Graceland in 2023. She told Graceland’s cameras before the special began, “Elvis has influenced me in a lot of different ways as an artist. Even when it comes to the ways that he steps outside of the box. He colors outside of the lines, whether it’s his dance moves or what he’s wearing, he never played it safe. It’s given me the courage and it makes me feel like, ‘You know what? You can do it, you can still be yourself at the same time. When you think about the word ‘icon,’ I mean you can ask anybody in the entire world and I can promise you most people would say Elvis.'”
She added, “The way that he carried himself, the way that he stayed true to his roots but all at the same time. I could go on and on: Elvis is a icon.”
Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw told me of the influence The King Of Rock and Roll had on him a few years back, “Every kid thinks about being a rock star, and I certainly did that. I was a big Elvis fan, I used to dress up like Elvis and imitate Evis all over the house.”
