Classic Albums: Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley 23 years old

Classic Albums

Classic Albums: Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley

"It was like the world went from black & white to Technicolor," says Keith Richards of the emergence of Elvis Presley in the mid-'50s, and this look at the King's first official album (the legendary Sun Sessions weren't issued in album form until well after the fact) backs up that claim. The one-hour program (plus 40 minutes of bonus interview material on the DVD) combines performance footage (the early TV shows are not to be missed), photos, and more to limn Presley's early days, when he combined country, blues, and R&B to forge a unique, galvanizing style. Sun producer Sam Phillips, author Peter Guralnick, Presley's musicians, and others are on hand to provide insight and background. But in the end, of course, it comes down to the music--and when you're talking about the likes of "Blue Suede Shoes," "Tutti Frutti," "Money Honey," and "Heartbreak Hotel" (a single that actually wasn't on the album), "classic" hardly begins to cover it.

Credits

Classic Albums: Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley Cast

Name Character
Elvis Presley He was 66, 42 years old when he died as Himself (archive footage)
B.B. King He was 75, 89 years old when he died as Himself
Peter Guralnick He was 57, now 80 years old as Himself
Dixie Locke Emmons as Herself (as Dixie Locke)
Ernst Jorgensen as Himself
The Rolling Stones was 39, now 62 years old as Himself

Classic Albums: Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley Crew

Name Department
Classic Albums: Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley poster
Classic Albums: Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley (23 years)

Classic Albums

  • Release day: Monday, March 12, 2001
  • Runtime: 60 minutes