A Rock Star Had a Religious Experience While Watching an Elvis Presley Documentary
In the years following his death, Elvis Presley became the subject of several movies, including a documentary called This Is Elvis. A 1980s and 1990s rock star saw the movie. Subsequently, he said watching a scene of the film was a religious experience for him.
Elvis Presley sang a song with Confederate overtones
The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll performed many covers over the course of his career. One of his songs is essentially three covers in one song. The song “An American Trilogy” combines three folk songs. The songs are the Confederate anthem “Dixie,” the Union anthem “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and the spiritual “All My Trials.” It’s unclear if “All My Trials” has American or Bahamian origins.
According to the booklet for the compilation album Elvis: 2nd to None, the “Hound Dog” singer performed “An American Trilogy” in an attempt to promote national unity. Of course, his use of “Dixie” would be a lot more inflammatory today. In the 1980s, a rock star was very moved by the appearance of “An American Trilogy” in an Elvis documentary.
This rock star was moved by a documentary about the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll
Nick Cave of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds is a massive Elvis fan. On his website, The Red Hand Files, he discusses his interest in the singer. He said he was moved by the use of “An American Trilogy” in the documentary This Is Elvis.
“Elvis dies and as the world media reports his death, we hear him sing ‘Dixie’ over shots of his funeral procession,” Cave recalled. “We see the motorcade, the weeping crowds, the coffin, and the flowers, as the film returns to the Vegas concert and Elvis sings the eternally beautiful ‘All My Trials.’
“To me it is immeasurably moving, Elvis’ head bowed, his extraordinary voice steeped in sorrow – then the band rises, he lifts his head and sings ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic’ and Elvis is resurrected, triumphant,” Cave continued. “It is pure religion and as powerful as anything I have ever seen. The final shot of him, in slow motion, arms outstretched, the angel wings of his silver cape flung wide, shows his exultant ascent into heaven.”
Cave further discussed his feelings about Elvis. “Elvis continued performing until the end,” Cave recalled. “In my eyes, he was some kind of angel; both terribly and awfully human yet divine in his meteoric reach that touched so many hearts.”
‘An American Trilogy’ made an impact beyond that Elvis Presley documentary
“An American Trilogy” was a hit. It reached No. 66 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for six weeks. The Official Charts Company reports it was a much bigger hit in the United Kingdom. The song reached No. 8 in the U.K., staying on the chart for 11 weeks. It’s certainly notable that a song called “An American Trilogy” seemed to resonate more with U.K. audiences than U.S. audiences and it really resonated with Cave.
