Elvis Had A Request For David Bowie That Could Have Rocked The Music World
Elvis Presley and David Bowie are two absolute icons – but you wouldn’t necessarily mention them in the same breath. They came to prominence in different eras, after all, playing wildly different styles of music. But they actually did have a sliding doors moment in 1977, and it saw “The King of Rock n’ Roll” make an extraordinary request of the man known as Ziggy Stardust!
Elvis and Bowie in ’77
By 1977, Elvis was a shadow of his former self — overweight and in poor health — and unable to deliver the kind of shows his fans were used to. By contrast, Bowie was in the midst of his Berlin Trilogy era, during which he released three albums of material recorded mainly while he was living in Germany. He put out one of his most enduring songs — “Heroes” — in 1977, while that same year Elvis released his final single “Way Down,” which isn’t particularly beloved.
Bowie the Elvis fanatic
Interestingly, Bowie actually grew up an Elvis fan! Born in January 1947 as David Robert Jones, he was raised in London and first encountered Elvis’ music as a child when he saw his cousin Kristina jumping around to “Hound Dog.” In a letter to The Economist, Kristina wrote, “When he was 11 we danced like possessed elves to the records of Bill Haley, Fats Domino, and Elvis Presley.”
Elvis the trailblazer
When Bowie grew up and became an entertainer himself, it’s believed that he took a huge amount of inspiration from Elvis. The King would comb his hair in an iconic way and often wore eye-shadow on stage. In fact, Elvis’ look — including his garish jumpsuits and jewelry — was almost as integral to his success as his music, as were his boundary-pushing dance moves.
Taking inspiration from The King
Bowie’s stage persona was, in many ways, a natural extension of Elvis’. It’s believed Bowie told designer Freddie Burretti to take cues from Elvis’ jumpsuits and he also wore garish clothes and makeup, not unlike his hero. He simply took it further, often into the realm of science-fiction. Music, after all, has to move with the times, just like any art-form.
