Elvis Quotes

Elvis quotes are wonderful to read because his fans, famous or otherwise, believe him to be the greatest thing that ever lived.

Everyone loves Elvis, and there are enough quotes about the man and his life to fill a set of encyclopedias.

Quotes About Elvis

Here's a long list of my favorite Elvis quotes from people who knew him, people who loved him, and people who want to see his legacy live on.

“I wanted to say to Elvis Presley and the country that this is a real decent, fine boy.”

Ed Sullivan

“There are several unbelievable things about Elvis, but the most incredible is his staying power in a world where meteoric careers fade like shooting stars.”

Newsweek, August 11, 1969

“A lot of people have accused Elvis of stealing the black man’s music, when in fact, almost every black solo entertainer copied his stage mannerisms from Elvis.”

Jackie Wilson

"Elvis was a giant and influenced everyone in the business."

Isaac Hayes

“Elvis Presley’s death deprives our country of a part of itself. He was unique, irreplaceable. More than twenty years ago, he burst upon the scene with an impact that was unprecedented and will probably never be equaled. His music and his personality, fusing the styles of white country and black rhythm and blues, permanently changed the face of American popular culture. His following was immense. And he was a symbol to people the world over of the vitality, rebelliousness and good humor of this country.”

President Jimmy Carter, 1977.
His official statement following Elvis' death.

“Elvis had an influence on everybody with his musical approach. He broke the ice for all of us.”

Al Green

“A Presley picture is the only sure thing in Hollywood.”

Hal Wallis

"I don't think there is a musician today that hasn't been affected by Elvis' music. His definitive years - 1954-57 - can only be described as rock's cornerstone. He was the original cool."

Brian Setzer

“There have been a lotta tough guys. There have been pretenders. And there have been contenders. But there is only one King.”

Bruce Springsteen

“Elvis was the king. No doubt about it. People like myself, Mick Jagger and all the others only followed in his footsteps.”

Rod Stewart

“He was a unique artist - an original in an area of imitators.”

Mick Jagger

“I wasn’t just a fan, I was his brother. He said I was good and I said he was good; we never argued about that. Elvis was a hard worker, dedicated, and God loved him. Last time I saw him was at Graceland. We sang Old Blind Barnabus together, a gospel song. I love him and hope to see him in heaven. There’ll never be another like that soul brother.

James Brown

“It’s rare when an artist’s talent can touch an entire generation of people. It’s even rarer when that same influence affects several generations. Elvis made an imprint on the world of pop music unequaled by any other single performer.”

Dick Clark

"It was Elvis that got me interested in music. I've been an Elvis fan since I was a kid."

Elton John

“It’s always been my dream to come to Madison Square Garden and be the warm-up act for Elvis.”

Senator Al Gore

“You know, Bush is always comparing me to Elvis in sort of unflattering ways. I don’t think Bush would have liked Elvis very much, and that’s just another thing that’s wrong with him.”

Bill Clinton
During the 1992 presidential campaign.

"He had total love in his eyes when he performed. He was the total androgenous beauty. I would practice Elvis in front of the mirror when I was twelve or thirteen years old."

K.D. Lang

“Elvis Presley was an explorer of vast new landscapes of dream and illusion. He was a man who refused to be told that the best of his dreams would not come true, who refused to be defined by anyone else’s conceptions. This is the goal of democracy, the journey on which every prospective American hero sets out. That Elvis made so much of the journey on his own is reason enough to remember him with the honor and love we reserve for the bravest among us. Such men made the only maps we can trust.”

Dave Marsh

"I'm sitting in the drive-through and I've got my three girls in the back and this station comes on and it's playing "Jailhouse Rock," the original version, and my girls are jumping up and down, going nuts. I'm looking around at them and they've heard Dad's music all the time and I don't see that out of them."

Garth Brooks

"Ask anyone. If it hadn't been for Elvis, I don't know where popular music would be. He was the one that started it all off, and he was definitely the start of it for me."

Elton John

“You have no idea how great he is, really you don’t. You have no comprehension - it’s absolutely impossible. I can’t tell you why he’s so great, but he is. He’s sensational.”

Phil Spector

“Elvis is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century. He introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes, it’s a whole new social revolution - the 60’s comes from it.”

Leonard Bernstein, 1960s.

“Before Elvis, there was nothing.”

John Lennon

“This boy had everything. He had the looks, the moves, the manager, and the talent. And he didn’t look like Mr. Ed like a lot of the rest of us did. In the way he looked, way he talked, way he acted - he really was different.”

Carl Perkins

"There have been many accolades uttered about Elvis' talent and performances through the years, all of which I agree with wholeheartedly. I shall miss him dearly as a friend. He was a warm, considerate and generous man."

Frank Sinatra, 1977

"The first concert I attended was an Elvis concert when I was eleven. Even at that age he made me realize the tremendous effect a performer could have on an audience."

Cher

“...it was like he came along and whispered some dream in everybody’s ear, and somehow we all dreamed it.”

Bruce Springsteen

“When I first heard Elvis' voice I just knew that I wasn’t going to work for anybody; and nobody was going to be my boss...Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail.”

Bob Dylan

"I learned music listening to Elvis' records. His measurable effect on culture and music was even greater in England than in the States."

Mick Fleetwood

"I remember Elvis as a young man hanging around the Sun studios. Even then, I knew this kid had a tremendous talent. He was a dynamic young boy. His phraseology, his way of looking at a song, was as unique as Sinatra's. I was a tremendous fan, and had Elvis lived, there would have been no end to his inventiveness."

B.B. King

“He was the firstest with the mostest.”

Roy Orbison

“That’s my idol, Elvis Presley. If you went to my house, you’d see pictures all over of Elvis. He’s just the greatest entertainer that ever lived. And I think it’s because he had such presence. When Elvis walked into a room, Elvis Presley was in the f***ing room. I don’t give a f*** who was in the room with him, Bogart, Marilyn Monroe.”

Eddie Murphy