Elvis was the king,but he made some horrible creative choices(or allowed them to be made for him)due to indifference and domination of the Colonel. If Elvis was alive and you could produce him,what songs would you pick? Here's three I'd pick:

"I'm On Fire"- Springsteen
" Little Pink Houses'- Mellencamp
" Crazy Little Thing Called Love"- Queen

I don't think it was from indifference. The best and worst thing to happen to Elvis was self proclaimed "Colonel" Parker. The second worst thing is that quack, who got him hooked on so much prescription drugs, that it's amazing he lived as long as he did.

Elvis was the biggest act but he never toured outside the U.S. and the reason it turns out is that Parker was an illegal alien. There are many projects that were offered to Elvis. As well as things, Elvis wanted to do that Parker either declined or talked him out of doing.

You have to remember this is someone that barely had a high school education and who came from a very poor family. Elvis went from being a truck driver to the biggest entertainer in the world in a year. He remained at the top or one of the top entertainer's for half his life.

There was no blueprint for him to follow on the dos and don’ts of rock. Especially at his level of fame. He trusted everyone around him including Parker. And they were more interested in looking after their best interest than Elvis'. Elvis is the first entertainer that you can say had a "Posse". And he supported every one of the "Memphis Mafia" and their families.

Satch, you obviously know what's going on here, so I won't try to add to it. But I will offer three songs I think the King could do a wonderful job on:

"The Dance" by Garth Brooks
"Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M.
"With Or Without You" by U2

I don't think it's fair to lay all the blame on Dr.Nick. Elvis' drug habit started long before he came on the scene and a good case can be made that he would've o.d.ed much earlier if not for Nick. He fell under the spell of Elvis' celebrity like countless other mortals.

Like anyone, Elvis had his free will, so he didn't have to get into all those prescription drugs...but I think in general it is worth noting that there was no precedent for what Elvis was thrust into, and any person with his rural early 20th century upbringing would have probably fared no better or worse, as far as making stupid professional choices and being over-trusting.

I think what you have said is probably along the lines of what Elvis said when he conned all those doctors from Palm Springs to Memphis. It's probably what those around him said when they became targets of his rage. Elvis was NOT stupid.Yes, he had humble beginnings and yes he had unbelievable fame& fortune thrust upon him ...but he also had a choice...and he chose to surround himself with syncophants..he chose to let the colonel run his business and his career. He allowed himself to become besotted with the acoutrements of his position and did become INDIFFERENT. Lennon and McCartney had humble beginnings and they observed what Elvis LET happen to himself. They took steps...each in his own way...to avoid the the same fate.

Yes, I see your point, algernon. But I think it should be pointed out about Lennon and McCartney that they were working class urban kids [translate: "street wise"] who actually attended art school in their late teens [translate: "exposed to intellectualism"]. There is quite a difference there.

By the way, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" was an excellent choice! There's an Elvis impersonator out there these days who calls himself "Kingtinued", who specializes in doing songs written and popularized after Elvis died, doing them Elvis style. Often, he's a "dead-ringer" for the King, and one of the songs he covers best is in fact "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". It's so "Elvis" it's scary.