Elvis didn't smile enough on record covers

[lucio]

Have you noticed that in general Elvis had very sullen looks on his lp covers through the years?
Certainly there were exceptions with the Gold Records series/Lp Fans/Date With Elvis/Elvis For Everyone/Let's Be Friends but I consider these compilations of previously released or leftover (Elvis for Everyone/Friends) material.
The only other lps with Elvis flashing that famous grin which come to mind are Something For Everybody, Pot Luck, Clambake and to a minor extent, Elvis Is Back. As a teen, people laughed at me for trying to imitate the unique, crooked grin of his but they all knew who I was trying to copy. His smile was and still is one of a kind. Even at this heaviest, when he smiled you could see the young kid of 1956 taking the world by storm.
I would imagine that RCA would have taken advantage of this on the record sleeves more often. Perhaps Elvis was imitating the serious look of James Dean or Marlon Brando in the 1950s but by the 1960s when Parker turned him into the All American Boy, I would have expected more teeth showing on the covers.
Weirdly the Elvis that was forced to smile throughout the movie career of the 60s is rarely seen smiling on the soundtrack lp front covers.
I would enjoy hearing your comments.
Lucio

[EPA4368]

It was Parker's call which photos to use on the EPs, LPs and 45 sleeves.

[sitdown revamped]

No insult intended, but it seems that we are not only recording material wise getting to the bottom of the barrel...this becomes silly. Sorry, but I feel like this reading such a post. The image is one thing, the human being is another, is a probable answer to your concern. Regards, Peter

[The Pirate]

This:



vs this:



There's your answer.

[First In Line]

They discussed this I think on one of the volumes of The Definitive Elvis. Elvis once said he didn't want to smile too much because James Dean and others hardly ever did. I guess his thinking was to stay "cool" and only smile occasionally

[HAPPIES]

A bit of trivia about his smile, Elvis said he never liked it because it was crooked. Go figure!

He damaged his lip when he put a tooth through it after falling off his bike as a youngster.

Cheers.

[r&b]

A topic like this is why people ridicule Elvis fans.

[lucio]

Thought I would do some quick replies before my silly post fades into the darkness

No insult intended, but it seems that we are not only recording material wise getting to the bottom of the barrel...this becomes silly. Sorry, but I feel like this reading such a post. The image is one thing, the human being is another, is a probable answer to your concern. Regards, Peter

No offense taken. I am indeed scraping the bottom of the barrel with this topic since there seems to be so little to look forward to in terms of unreleased audio and video these days. I was going through my lps remembering the excitement of buying new Elvis records back in the mid seventies after saving up for 4-6 months, noticed the 'smile' free covers and posted.

It was Parker's call which photos to use on the EPs, LPs and 45 sleeves.

Yes, I do remember reading that which kind of surprised me. Perhaps Parker figured girls would be attracted to the tough bad boy image.

A topic like this is why people ridicule Elvis fans.

True which is why I would never post this on a non-Elvis board

They discussed this I think on one of the volumes of The Definitive Elvis. Elvis once said he didn't want to smile too much because James Dean and others hardly ever did. I guess his thinking was to stay "cool" and only smile occasionally

Agree 100%. Thought it might have changed during the 1960s.

This:



vs this:



There's your answer.

Haha. The sullen look is definitely the cooler look in your example

A bit of trivia about his smile, Elvis said he never liked it because it was crooked. Go figure!

He damaged his lip when he put a tooth through it after falling off his bike as a youngster.

Cheers.

Very interesting. I did not know that. Thanks
Appreciate the replies. Have a great week.

[EPA4368]

A topic like this is why people ridicule Elvis fans.

True which is why I would never post this on a non-Elvis board

I've heard your question brought up many times when someone's talking about their favorite artist and/or band/group's artwork for their albums in non-Elvis board/events and never seen/heard any negative responses towards it. I do agree us fans have many topics why people ridicule Elvis fans but this is far from any one of them. It's not even close.

[HAPPIES]

I don't see why some need to be so negative about this. It may not be groundbreaking, but gee, being ridiculed for it?

May I ask the nay-sayers how many non-Elvis fans you questioned about this topic to come to your conclusion?

I agree with EPA, and I don't think think you need to apologize lucio. It seems there are too many killjoys and mean spirited people in the Elvis world. Maybe that's why we are ridiculed? Lighten up folks.

Thanks for your thanks lucio. Cheers folks.

[shiatsujake]

I agree happies,its just a bit of fun.Non elvis fans would not come here.I dont think elvis could dance,but he knew how to strike a pose,and had great moves.Its just a trivial thing ,but its all a part of the whole image.Personally I like the mean and moody look,but they could have been more inventive with the cover art. Jake

[When In Rome]

He's smiling on 'Something For Everybody'

Something For Everybody.jpg

and 'Pot Luck',

Pot Luck.jpg

not so much on 'Girl Happy...

Girl Happy.jpg

and he's positively sulking on 'Harum Scarum'... Well, you can hardly blame him really...

Harum Scarum.jpg

But this is my all time favourite...

For LP Fans Only.png

[Tim C]

The one on the bottom you posted The Pirate is more of a sneer and a rather poor comparison to a real Elvis smile like the one posted by When In Rome (For LP Fans Only). That one has a classic Elvis smile. The one you posted seems to have a Elvis joking around making faces to the camera feel to it imo.

[The Pirate]

The one on the bottom you posted The Pirate is more of a sneer and a rather poor comparison to a real Elvis smile like the one posted by When In Rome (For LP Fans Only). That one has a classic Elvis smile. The one you posted seems to have a Elvis joking around making faces to the camera feel to it imo.

Of course there are some great pictures of Elvis smiling, but overall I think the "mean and moody" look was a better one career-wise, at least it was back in the early days.

[Tim C]

The Pirate, I was reading a Yahoo article today that women prefer the mean moody look on men more than the smiling men. Don't know why...but it was a good career move for Elvis...it kept the women coming back for more, LOL.

[The Pirate]

The Pirate, I was reading a Yahoo article today that women prefer the mean moody look on men more than the smiling men. Don't know why...but it was a good career move for Elvis...it kept the women coming back for more, LOL.

Women really do like the bad boys, huh? That's advice I could have done with when I was a teenager.