Back on August 16, 2002, cable network CNN did something interesting to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of Elvis’ death.  It ran an article on one of its websites – www.money.cnn.com -- titled Viva the Elvis Portfolio.  The article started like this:  “Elvis may have left the building, but you can find a way to make him stay in your stock portfolio.”

CNN/Money listed 13 stocks for Elvis fans who wanted to invest in the King.  The stocks had a connection to Elvis, although a few would have to be considered a stretch.  Nike (NKE) had one of the strongest connections, because it had commercials running at the time using Elvis’ song  “A Little Less Conversation.”  Walt Disney (DIS) was another, because its recent hit film Lilo & Stitch featured six Elvis songs.  NBNA (KRB) also had a strong connection, because it was the bank that had issued Elvis credit cards.

Other good choices included:  American Greetings (AM) that produced greeting cards and Christmas tree ornaments with Elvis’ image; Department 56 (DFS) that marketed Graceland Christmas collectibles; International Game Technology (IGT), manufacturers of Elvis slot machines; MGM (MGM), the producer of Elvis movies; and Hilton Hotels, where he performed in Las Vegas.

In my opinion, the other five companies had fairly weak connections to Elvis:  Mattel (MAT), General Motors (GM), J.M. Smuckers (SJM), Mead/Westvaco (MWV), and Guitar Center (GTRC).  Mattel had a Barbie Doll wearing a poodle skirt with “Elvis” stitched on it.  Elvis owned Cadillacs made by GM.  Smuckers made grape jelly and peanut butter.  Mead/Westvaco, a huge paper company, had a tiny part of their business coming from Elvis calendars.  And Guitar Center was a place where Elvis ‘could’ have bought a guitar according to CNN/Money.

What if any loyal Elvis fans had followed CNN’s advice on August 16, 2002 and invested in the eight stocks with true Elvis connections.  How well would they have done? 

Keep in mind the trend in the stock market at that time.  Because of 9-11 and the collapse of the dot-com bubble, the market had been in decline for almost two-and-a-half years.  Most stocks and the major indexes bottomed out during the fourth quarter of 2002, and the trend since has been generally up.  So, we would definitely expect the ‘Elvis stocks’ to have made money.  Here are the results:

                                   8/16/02            4/26/07            Change

Nike                             $20.76             $53.84             +159%

Walt Disney                  $15.08             $35.18             +133%

American Greetings       $16.93             $25.61             + 51%

Int. Game Technology    $15.48             $39. 50            +155%

MGM                            $18.33             $70.53             +285%

Hilton Hotels                 $11.85             $35.19              +197%

Wow!  That’s impressive.  The CNN/Money article never actually advised people to buy these stocks, but that sure would have been a good call.  Two stocks could not be listed above because they no longer exist as separate corporate entities.  NBNA was part of the merger/acquisition trend to bigger banks, and Department 56 became part of the Lennox Group family of giftware and housewares. 

Stock performance is often measured against the major market indexes.  For the same period, the Dow is up 49%, the S&P 500 is up 61%, and the NASDAQ is up 88%.  So, relative to the broad market, the group of ‘Elvis stocks’ did great.  

Today, you actually can invest in Elvis.  EPE, Elvis’ estate, is now 85% owned by Robert Sillerman’s media empire CKX Inc.  (CKXE).  Back on March 20, 2005, in an Elvisblog article, I recommended buying some CKX stock.  It was selling at $26.73 at the time.  How good a tip was that?  Three months later, the stock was selling for $13.72.  Since then, it has bounced around and now sits at $11.73.  I don’t get it.  CSX also owns American Idol, and that is a money generating machine.  With Elvis Cirque du Soleil coming, as well as the projected new attractions at Graceland, I still feel like CKX has to be a growth stock.  However, it might be smart to follow CNN/Money’s recommendations rather than mine.

©  2007   Philip R Arnold   All Rights Reserved   www.elvisblog.net

VH1 has filled hundreds of hours of viewing time with their various lists.  Many of the lists had Elvis in there somewhere, but he never got enough respect in my opinion.  In a 2003 Elvis International Magazine article, I slammed VH1 for the shabby treatment they gave Elvis in these lists:  100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll (#8), 100 Greatest Albums of Rock & Roll (only one, “The Sun Sessions - #21), and 100 Greatest Songs of Rock & Roll (only four, “Jailhouse Rock” - #18, “Hound Dog” - #31, “All Shook Up” - #68, and “Heartbreak Hotel” - #71).

Well, VH1 has done it again, but maybe we should be thankful that Elvis doesn’t rank too high in the most outrageous rock & roll moments.  Five of the top six on the list were violent deaths:  Marvin Gaye (1984), Curt Cobain (1994), John Lennon (1980), a fan at the Rolling Stones concert at Altamont, CA (1969), and eleven fans at a Who concert (1979).  Breaking up that string of deaths is Michael Jackson getting charged with child molesting (1993).  Who wants to be in a group like this?

Elvis is on the list three times.  #99 is “Elvis Presley meets President Richard Nixon (1970).”  I don’t think of that as very shocking.  However, not many people could show up at the White House unannounced and get in to see the President, so, in that respect, it is somewhat outrageous.  I’m glad it made the list and have no problem with it being #99.

#21 is “Elvis Presley Dies (1977).”  This was very big news when it happened, but fortunately it lacked the violence that propelled those other rock deaths into the Top 6.  However, it should have at least ranked ahead of at the three picks immediately in front of it on the list: Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s sex video (1996), Michael Jackson getting burned while filming a Pepsi commercial (1984), and Ozzie Osbourne biting the head off a dove (1981).

VH1 decided the14th most outrageous moment in rock & roll was “Elvis Presley shakes his hips on national TV (1956).”  When I saw the website promo, I thought, “Oh man, they’re going to get it wrong again and talk about the Ed Sullivan show.”  Well, I was very pleased when the narrator cited Elvis’ June 5 appearance on the Milton Berle Show.  They showed the whole clip of him singing "Hound Dog," and it’s easy to see what set off the national outrage.  Near the end of the song, Elvis switched into a slow, bump-and-grind bluesy version.  It would be nothing today, but back then, Elvis scared the heck out of most parents.  They were sure he was leading the nation’s teenagers straight into juvenile delinquency.

VH1 did get one thing wrong.  They made reference to the three Ed Sullivan Shows that came later, but said Elvis was filmed from the waist up in all three.  Actually, it was only the last show in January 1957.

I’m OK with Elvis' appearance on thr Milton Berle Show not ranking up there with those violent deaths at the top of the list.  But, relative to the times when it occurred, the furor over Elvis shaking his hips on TV in 1956 should rank in front of these selections:  Madonna’s racy book “Sex” (1992), John Lennon saying, “We’re bigger than Jesus” (1966), Sinead O’Conner ripping the Pope (1991), Woodstock ’99 turning into a riotous mess (1999), and Milli Vanilli getting exposed for lip-synching (1990).

VH1 has been compiling these lists for almost a decade, and they are running out of good categories.  They have regressed to stupid subjects such as “The 40 Worst Celebrity Mug Shots.”  I have a suggestion for them: “The 40 Best Elvis Jumpsuits.”  Now that would be fun.

©  2006   Philip R Arnold   www.elvisblog.net

It’s doubtful that many Elvisblog regulars have ever read Blender Magazine.  Until a week ago, I had never even heard of it, but that’s not surprising.  It’s a rock & roll magazine aimed at a much younger audience.  Some of the acts it has featured lately include the bands Gorillaz and People In Planes and the singers Christina Malian and Ghostface Killah.  Have you heard of any of them?  Me neither.

Blender Magazine likes to compile strange rock lists.  A few months back they had "The 50 Worst Things Ever to Happen to Music."  #10 was Colonel Parker getting his hooks in Elvis in 1955.  They call him the Slobodan Milosevic of artist management.  Later came “Rock’s Most Awesomely Differently Abled,” which is a painfully contorted title for a list of rock stars who overcame serious maladies and physical afflictions.  (For example, Neil Young survived polio as a child)  The magazine seems to be fond of the word ‘awesomely’ because they currently feature a list of “The 50 Most Awesomely Dead Rock Stars.”

So what does most awesomely dead mean?  The lead-in to the list says this:  “For many musicians, death in not a final reckoning – it’s the best career move they ever made.  So which immortal souls are raising the most hell in 2006?”  Most awesomely dead seems to be a loose characterization for still having one’s name in the press, still racking up record sales, and still making lots of money.

Well, Elvis certainly fits that description, but he is not #1 on the list.  He is #3.  Surprisingly, the commentary about him by Blender sounds like he should be their champ:  “Dead, he earns 10 to 20 times more than he did alive.  With licensing, merchandising and CD sales … the Elvis industry is worth $45 million a year.  Graceland draws 600,000 pilgrims a year, there are 500 active fan clubs and 35,000 professional impersonators.  Elvis, the blue chip stock of dead rockers.”  That doesn’t sound like #3 to me.

Who beat Elvis?  #2 is rapper The Nororious B.I.G.  Give me a break.  What has Biggie accomplished since he was gunned down?  One album that sold 10 million copies followed by one that sold 2 million.  That’s it, plus he is considered the inspiration for the next generation of New York rappers.  How can anybody think this beats Elvis?  Totally stupid.

Number 1 on the list is Johnny Cash.  A few years ago, he was probably way back in the pack, but his legacy is on a roll right now.  His posthumous Unearthed CD box set scored big on the immediate sympathy wave.  Later, his career-spanning compilation, The Legend of Johnny Cash became a chart staple.  Of course, his big bang was the recent biographic movie “Walk The Line.”  Blender describes it this way: “Walk The Line” does a good job of sexing up the craggy Cash and his late wife June while boosting his early music.”  They also declare he thrives as a touchstone of cool.

OK, I’m not going to fuss about Johnny Cash beating out Elvis as the most awesomely deal rock star in 2006.  But, I’ll bet if Blender Magazine does this list again in five years, Elvis will be ahead of him.  He certainly will be ahead of Notorious B.I.G.

Earlier this year the Discovery Channel cable network presented their list of the 100 Greatest Americans as determined by their viewers’ votes.  To the surprise of many, Ronald Reagan came in first, just ahead of two other rather significant presidents, George Washington and Abe Lincoln.  Perhaps some folks might have been equally surprised to see Elvis ranked Number 8, but not us fans.

Inspired by the Discovery Channel list, I dug through some boxes in storage and found the 1994 issue of Life magazine containing their choices for the “100 Most Important Americans of The 20^th Century”.  Without any 18^th or 19^th century notables, the list looked much different, but there were no specific rankings.  Of course, Elvis was included.  In the eyes of the Life editors, Elvis was right up there with such notables as Albert Einstein, Frank Lloyd Wright, Walt Disney, Martin Luther King Jr., and Douglas MacArthur.  That’s some pretty select company.

Each person honored had a page devoted to him/her, containing a picture, a 200-word review of their accomplishments, and a short subtitle at the top of the page.  Many of these capsule subtitles bordered on corny.  Elvis’ was pretty good: “The King Of Rock And Roll Led A Teenage Rebellion.”  But other entertainers on the list didn’t fare so well: Bing Crosby (The Crooner Who Begat Easy Listening), Bob Dylan (Electric Minstrel Of Times That Were A-Changing), and Louis Armstrong (With Mr. Jazz The First Truly American Music Came Marching In).

Unfortunately, reading about these 100 most important Americans made me feel a little stupid.  There were 28 people I had never heard of, but maybe I’m not alone.  Do you know these names?  Robert de Graff (invented paperback books for Pocket Books, Inc), James D. Watson (DNA Code), Frank MacNamara (father of the credit card), John Von Neumann (early computer innovator).

All of the men and women selected were pioneers in their fields and brought significant changes to American life, but so did one other man I would like to suggest -- Sam Phillips – and my subtitle would be “The Man Who Discovered Elvis And Changed American Popular Music Forever.”

© 2005  Philip R Arnold

In the 24th Anniversary issue of Elvis International magazine, this writer hammered cable channel VH1 pretty good for their shabby treatment of Elvis in their various Top 100 Greatest lists.   So, it's only fair to give them praise for their "100 Sexiest Artists Of All Time."

Elvis ranks #2 on the list, trailing only Madonna.  As the sexiest male rocker of all time, Elvis is followed on the list by Mick Jagger, Prince, Jim Morrison, and Sting.  For once, Elvis killed the Beatles on a VH1 list.  They rated only the 25th sexiest artists.

However, VH1 left me shaking my head with the corny comments in their web-site feature on the Top 100 list.  "Even before 50's teens had seen Elvis' bad boy good looks, the languid drawl of "That's All Right Mama" made them aware of a world spinning below their belts.  When he finally hit the TV screen, he became Public Enemy # 1 of sex." 

What the heck does that mean?  It is obviously from the reference point of teenage girls, but I can speak for the teenage boys of the day,  We wanted hair like Elvis, attitude like Elvis, clothes like Elvis.  Basically, we wanted the sex appeal of Elvis.  He was our Public Envy # 1.

© 2005  Philip R Arnold