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Elvis: The Goldman Factor

John Tobler, 'Aspects of Elvis', 1994

ELVIS PRESLEY WAS THE UNKNOWING centre of controversy in his quite short life: only being screened from the waist upwards on TV so that his suggestive pelvic thrusts would not corrupt the young was just one example of the hand fate dealt him, but even greater controversy has dogged him beyond the grave – unless, of course, he really is working in a supermarket in the American heartland. No controversy about that, it’s just an extreme example of his magnetism, and it’s more than likely that he was selected as subject by the late Albert Goldman due to that very magnetism, rather than for any aesthetic or musical qualities.

Total word count of piece: 2381

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