Dennis the Menace had his catapult, the Lone Ranger had his six-gun, but Elvis Presley’s weapon of choice was his instantly recognisable vocals. Without those velvety tones, the ‘King of Rock and Roll’ was little more than another bloke in Memphis with a dodgy haircut.
Musicians are pretty lucky in the fact that, if their instrument gets smashed up, or lost, or stolen, they can quite easily waltz down to the high street and buy another. A vocalist, on the contrary, cannot acquire a new voice, so looking after the one they already have is imperative to long-term success. In fact, some vocalists have gone as far as to take out insurance policies on their voices, as a means of protecting their income if some disaster befalls them and they never sing again. Elvis Presley didn’t have any such ludicrous insurance policy, but looking after his voice was still high on his agenda.
After all, the pages of rock and roll history are full of figures who didn’t look after their voices, and now sound akin to dying animals as a result – not wishing to name any names, but I’m sure you can think of some. For a singer like Presley, who was a self-taught vocalist, and a pretty mediocre guitarist, it was his singing ability which made him a worldwide star, but back in 1957 he very narrowly avoided damaging his voice beyond repair.
You see, in addition to being a rock and roll icon, Presley was keen to break onto the silver screen, worshipping film stars like James Dean and Marlon Brando. Unfortunately, the singer’s own acting abilities couldn’t compete with those stars, so instead of Rebel Without A Cause or Apocalypse Now, he was resigned to star in a variety of cash-in rock and roll films, which never redefined cinema, but always had commendable soundtracks.
Richard Thorpe’s 1957 flick Jailhouse Rock was arguably Presley’s greatest film role; it is certainly one of his best remembered. However, it was also the film that nearly derailed Presley’s entire existence. During one particularly action-packed scene in the film, Presley’s character, Vince Everett, slides down a pole – in the fashion that a 1950s rock and roll star might. While filming that death-defying stunt, Presley inadvertently smashed his face into the pole, dislodging a cap on one of his teeth in the process.
This perilous situation was made all the worse when Presley then swallowed the cap, causing him considerable pain when he awoke the next morning. Upon rushing to see a doctor, it was discovered that the cap had found a new home in Presley’s left lung, and a tricky operation would be required to fetch it out. That operation, as it turned out, was done through Presley’s throat.
Of course, the operation went swimmingly and Presley’s tooth troubles were soon forgotten about, but it is worth remembering just how risky that operation was. One small slip-up could have caused serious damage to Presley’s throat and, by extension, his voice.
The ‘King of Rock and Roll’ came dangerously close to being deposed by little more than a loose tooth cap, and despite the grand level of success he had already achieved by 1957, it is very possible that he would have been lost to the realm of obscurity had his music career come to an abrupt end that year. So, the moral of Presley’s Jailhouse Rock tale, if there is one, is to keep on top of your dental hygiene, and also stay away from poles.