Sounds of silence
February 23, 2023

Ted Gioia: How long does pop culture stardom last?

"I’ve long believed that 80 years is a typical span of pop culture fame for superstars. I’m referring to the biggest names—the lesser stars burn out in 80 months or 80 weeks or 80 days. But the top draws retain their fame for the entire lifetime of their youngest fans—and given current life expectancies of the US audience, that can’t be much more than 80 years. We already see the price of Elvis Presley memorabilia starting to drop" - music writer Ted Gioia estimates how long stardom lasts.

A new David Bowie documentary 'Moonage Daydream', directed by Brett Morgen (best known for the Kurt Cobain doc, Montage of Heck) and the first Bowie doc to have the approval of the late musician’s estate, is set to screen at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. The film is described as both a concert documentary and an “experimental cinematic odyssey” that will track Bowie’s life and career, delving into his work as a musician, but also his multidisciplinary approach to his craft. Ethan Coen’s doc, 'Jerry L

A fan described Nick Cave on his Red Hand Files blog how he gave his father an Elvis-themed funeral, and wondered what Cave had in mind for his final hour. Cave answered he would "be very happy with one too - to be ushered into the next world by the voice of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll singer of them all. 'Kentucky Rain', that’s what I’d like, 'Kentucky Rain' and 'How Great Thou Art' - Elvis singing gospel, with heaven and all its angels listening".

Only the women survive
July 13, 2020

Elvis Presley's only grandson dies aged 27

Lisa Marie Presley's son and Elvis Presley's only grandson Benjamin Keough has died on Sunday aged 27, CNN reports. According to TMZ, Keough died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Lia Marie Presley's close relationship with her son, whose middle name was Storm, apparently inspired the title track on her third album, 'Storm & Grace', released in 2012. He was the younger of the two children Lisa Marie Presley had with her first husband, musician Danny Keough, before their divorce in 1994. The other is actress Riley Keough, 31. Lisa Marie also has twin 11-year-old daughters with her fourth husband, musician and producer Michael Lockwood, who she wed in 2006 after brief marriages to pop star Michael Jackson and actor Nicolas Cage. Benjamin Keough has tried to become a musician - he struck a record deal back in 2009 worth $5 million.

"Fandom is intoxicating. Anyone who truly, wholly loves a boy band or a football team will tell you the same. But there’s something transcendent about the way Elvis fans love Elvis. It’s eternal" - Guardian's journalist writes about Elvis Presley festival that she went to planning to make good jokes about it, but ended up joining the […]

Michael Jackson has topped Forbes’ 2019 list of highest earning dead celebrities after his estate made over £46 million in the last 12 months. Jackson’s streaming numbers “surged” to “2.1 billion US spins, up from 1.8 billion a year ago”. It's his seventh year in a row on top of this list. Elvis Presley came in […]

Nobody will know whether the Agent King has left the building, since he is a spy, there's just an issue of him having a good mask. His former wife Priscilla Presley, who is the executive producer of the animated series, says that "from the time Elvis was a young boy, he always dreamed of being […]

Austin Butler has won the coveted lead role in Baz Luhrmann's upcoming biopic of Elvis Presley, beating out Harry Styles, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who were also reportedly in the running. The film will be shot early next year in Queensland, Australia and it will trace Presley’s elevation to a level of […]

Drake's single 'Nice For What' returned to #1 on the Hot 100 chart, and his 'Yes Indeed' collaboration with Lil Baby came 6th, which earned him the distinction of passing Elvis Presley on an exclusive list - it's Drake's 26th Top 10 entry, one more than Elvis. Madonna maintains the #1 position with 38 Top 10s, […]