A New Religion

Billboard Magazine's No. 1 single in 1954 was Kitty Kallen's "Little Things Mean a Lot."

Billboard's No. 1 single in 1956 was Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel."

Do you see how the world changed?

Elvis didn't start it. But he was the one who nailed it down. If it had just been Bill Haley and Chuck Berry, the culture wouldn't have shifted the way it did. Rock and roll needed a king, and Elvis Presley was it.

It is 30 years today since Elvis died. I remember where I was. Can't say that about Kitty Kallen (if she is no longer with us) or Bill Haley, or even Buddy Holly. Just JFK and Elvis Presley.

Elvis fulfilled his destiny in four years. He did it with beauty, sex and records. He was exactly the right figure, in exactly the right place, at exactly the right time. Just like Jesus. The two men grew in public consciousness because of unique sets of qualities. Take away one of those qualities, and maybe history doesn’t happen. When Elvis walked out of Memphis, practitioners of a new movement circled around him. They knew they were only rock and roll disciples, and they gave thanks for this beautiful white boy who could sing like a black man, and for his outrageous name, Elvis Presley, and the way he walked, and held himself, and twitched. He had everything that Uncle John need, oh boy. They could see this individual was going to make news, and for them it was good news.

Elvis made news with his looks, sex appeal and attitude. The music was great, but that's not what drove a huge wedge between kids and their parents, particularly girls. Parents were dead serious when they wondered if their daughters should be listening to this guy alone in cars. The teen rebel mood, that had started showing up in "The Wild One," "Blackboard Jungle," and "Rebel Without a Cause," fed smoothly into the Elvis image and created the kind of 24/7 demand for Elvis that gave rock and roll its first real air time. In the 1950s, only the really big cities had more than one or two radio stations, and car radios were clogged with stuff that let only a few minutes of rock and roll get through on any given day.

Elvis blew the clog plumb out, and by 1957, new stations were going on the air to play nothing but Elvis and the disciples, and a new religion was certified. There were no more Elvises, and only one band of Beatles, so the worship has mostly been about music and attitude. With Elvis, on his death anniversaries, it is never just about the music. "Jailhouse Rock" is a great song, and so many of them – "Any Way You Want Me," "Tryin' to Get to You," "Baby Let's Play House" – still make your hair stand on end. But "Jailhouse Rock" is not complete without the movie, this god who looks like Elvis Presley, black hair and lips and skinny, singing "Jailhouse Rock" and doing that dead-man-walk thing with his legs and hips. You have to see that, to know what happened.

I didn't pay much attention to Elvis after 1958. He got drafted, served his Army time, came back and for the rest of his life made bad movies and ordinary music. He didn't seem to care. His work was done.

Playing with a Brand

I appreciate Jim McDonald's comment on the branding Abilene blog. He is another member of the Abilene High Class of 1961, which is a damn good group if I do say so. Re the fee for the Abilene brand, I waxed sentimental about those roots and briefly considered setting my fee for "Abilene, Texas Style" at $61,616.161, tacking on the tenth of a cent, like the gas pumps do, to preserve symmetry.

Then I decided against it. My fee is firm, $99.999.99, one cent less than the six figures the Abilene authorities are willing to pay North Star Destinations. That name – "North Star Destinations" – pops to mind another possibility for the Abilene brand: "Lone Star Destination."

But you can't do as much with that as Abilene, Texas Style. I know the deal is done, but it is still fun to play with the thing. Right, Jim? On a yellow pad, I doodled everything that Abilene, Texas Style, might go with, in setting Abilene apart in the global mind. "Global" includes Tye, Potosi, Hawley, Hamby, View. Global starts at the front door, and it's as vital that "Abilene, Texas Style" means something in Colorado City, as much as it does in London, Paris or Dallas. Imagine, Dallasites driving 180 miles for a weekend of "Abilene, Texas Style." Getting somebody to leave Dallas for a weekend wouldn't take all that much, actually, but that is a direction for another day.

So I doodled.

Thanksgiving, Abilene, Texas Style
Christmas Parade, Abilene, Texas Style
Fourth of July, Abilene, Texas Style
Easter Sunday, Abilene, Texas Style
Education, Abilene, Texas Style
Football Classic, Abilene, Texas Style
Football playoffs, Abilene, Texas Style
Golf tournament, Abilene, Texas Style
Resort Ranch, Abilene, Texas Style
Weekend getaway, Abilene, Texas Style
Corporate retreat, Abilene, Texas Style
Regional Outlet Mall, Abilene, Texas Style
Filming location, Abilene, Texas Style
Senior prom weekend, Abilene, Texas Style
Culture, Arts, Music, Abilene, Texas Style
Broadway road show, Abilene, Texas Style
Concerts, Abilene, Texas Style
Championship rodeo, Abilene, Texas Style
Livestock shows, Abilene, Texas Style
Horse shows, Abilene, Texas Style
Any kind of celebration, Abilene Texas Style
Barbecue championship, Abilene, Texas Style
Premier, Abilene, Texas Style
Partnership, Abilene, Texas Style
Conventions, Abilene, Texas Style
Drag racing, Abilene, Texas Style
NASCAR, Abilene, Texas Style
Worship, Abilene, Texas Style
Leadership, Abilene, Texas Style
Patriotism, Abilene, Texas Style
Business, Abilene, Texas Style
Caring telethon, Abilene, Texas Style
Historical pageant, Abilene, Texas Style
Lifestyle, Abilene, Texas Style
Pride, Abilene, Texas Style

So there are things that can be done with it. The project has not turned out to be a burning issue in the Abilene community. I've counted about a dozen letters to the editor, some in favor, some opposed, most against paying anybody money to create a brand. There were a couple of offers to do it for free, or have a community contest with the winner receiving not much more than recognition and a few free dinners at participating restaurants.

I would never do it for free, and no one else should, either. I do think six figures to Tennessee thinkers is excessive, but there is a thing called "perceived value," which gives a thing value in the public mind simply by placing a value on it. Branding Abilene is something that will have to have value, both in the public mind and the participators' mind. This is a business deal. A brand should prove to be worth millions of dollars to whatever the branded thing is. To a city like Abilene, it should be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, to spend on infrastructure, schools, culture, subsidized water rates, rehabbing the near north side before the wind blows it over. Whoever conceives it, the brand should not be cheap, and it certainly should not be provided free by its creator.

While we're on the subject, does Abilene have a city flag?