Gospel at Graceland

On Saturday morning, we woke up early (as in it was still dark) and got on the road to Graceland. It was a foggy quiet morning with almost no cars on the road. We made it to Graceland at around 7:30 a.m. My car was the only one in the giant parking lot at that time (although that would soon change).

A line was already forming at the ticket window. We had bought tickets for an early-morning gospel concert, starting at 8 a.m. It took place in the ticket pavilion right across the street from Graceland. The morning was grey and foggy, the grass yellowed and wintry. All colors were muted. Graceland still has the giant (as in life-size) nativity out in front of it, and the house looks quiet and homey. Watchful.

Across the street, a hearty group of people were lining up to see a gospel concert by former members of J.D. Sumner & The Stamps: Bill Baize, Donnie Sumner, Larry Strickland and Ed Hill. If you know Elvis, you know of The Stamps, and you know how much Elvis loved those guys, personally as well as musically. They sang with him onstage, they sang with him in Vegas, at Madison Square Garden, and he also basically just hired them to hang out with him and sing for him. He loved gospel music and it made him feel good, it made him transcend, it helped him relax. He was obsessed with J.D. Sumner’s voice (that crazy deep bass), and loved listening to them. I wrote a whole post about Elvis listening to The Stamps on stage, and how powerful it is when someone just stops and listens. I would even call it holy. True listening is a sacred space and that’s what I see in that moment. The fact that Elvis was able to do that in a giant stadium in front of thousands of people is just more evidence of his uncanny gift. Some people take the act of listening and somehow make it about them. They have pride in it, they “show” it off (“look how intently I am listening, aren’t I awesome?”). Elvis was beyond that. He knew how to listen, full-stop.

So The Stamps were going to be performing on this early grey morning, under the watchful sleeping eye of Graceland, and another gospel quartet would be opening for them, a group called Soul City, who sing out of First Assembly of God church in Memphis, which was Elvis’ church.

There were about 60 people there, sitting in chairs facing the small stage area, where there were still flashy Christmas trees set up. Jen and I sat in front. I befriended a woman sitting next to me, who was dressed in head-to-toe Elvis regalia and was friendly, enthusiastic, and kind. She showed me her charm bracelet, filled with Elvis charms, all bought for her by her husband over the years. Her husband was sitting there next to her, a quiet supportive presence, but he did roll his eyes at me behind his wife’s back a couple of times. It was all in good humor, though. He was supporting her. They were in their late 50s, early 60s, probably.

It was chilly and early in the morning. These poor singers – having to be in full voice that early in the morning!

The organizer made a nice speech at the outset, giving for those of us who might not know a bit of context for Elvis’ gospel music. But I imagine that everyone in that room already knew the score. The organizer would say, “Elvis loved to praise God with his music …” and a couple of people in the room would murmur, “Amen …” So seriously, these were hard-core people who understood why they were there. It was a great vibe in that room.

Soul City came on first. Four young-ish guys, singing exquisite harmonies, and they seriously rocked the roof off the joint. There is something in men singing together which has always thrilled me (harmonizing men? Fuggedaboutit), and these guys were tight as a drum. Sweet, open, and friendly with us, and so happy to be there.

Singing together they made a magnificent sound, but each one of them had various solos where you could hear the power of their individual voices. One guy (unfortunately he’s hidden in that photo, he was over to the left) had a moment where he basically stopped, and looked over at his colleagues, murmuring, “It’s too early for this …” and then, in the next moment, he let it rip – and Jen and I were both in tears. He knew where he had to go during that song, and it was barely past sunrise at that moment, but then, when the time came, off he went into this glorious explosive sound. People cheered for him. Each one made little speeches in between songs, talking about Elvis and the kinds of music he liked. They did a couple of Elvis’ favorite songs, but mostly it was stuff I didn’t know. They were phenomenal.

Then came the Stamps. And by that point, I was warmed up enough emotionally that I was basically a wreck for the rest of it.

These guys knew Elvis. They shared some anecdotes about him, and also their own personal feelings about what it was like to work with him. “He liked us to sing for him gospel songs because 1. It made him feel good, and 2. He loved the message of the songs.”

Watching these elderly men, each one of them impeccably dressed, like to the NINES, people – up there singing, all of those gospel songs that Elvis loved and recorded – songs they have been singing now for 50 years or so, was potent and powerful. Each one had his moment in the sun, and the other three would stand behind the one performing, arms crossed, or not, supporting their friend, listening, and nodding. I recognize these guys from pictures, from when they were young, and on the road with Elvis.

They were warm, hilarious, and made jokes about Botox, diuretics, and which one was the oldest or the baldest. They were DUDES, and still filled with the spirit, the spirit that they loved sharing, that they have devoted their lives to sharing. Donnie Sumner was really the master of ceremonies, and he told stories about growing up as the son of a Pentecostal minister, and how his father would not allow rock and roll in the house. But Elvis recording gospel turned a lot of that energy around (something I have read about with other people, and heard about from other fans). His appeal didn’t just expand with singing gospel, it exploded and became something entirely universal and untouchable (and is one of the reasons why I think his star continues to shine so brightly). Elvis was for everyone. He did not go through his relatively short life THWARTED in his goal to sing gospel. He wasn’t trapped. He did what he wanted to do. That gospel stuff is his home turf, and you can tell when you listen to him sing it. He is in another zone entirely. This is not my religious background at all, but I know honesty when I hear it.

Sumner was jovial, funny, and also emotional. He was thankful we were there, he said, and thankful for Elvis – because without Elvis his whole career wouldn’t have been possible. And so every year, in August and January, the group gets back together to sing gospel in Memphis and celebrate Elvis, and you could tell how much it meant to him. To have that community gather together every year. This is this man’s life.

They sang How Great Thou Art, they sang The Lighthouse, they ripped it up and got people clapping, and – best of all – they sang Sweet Sweet Spirit, one of Elvis’ favorite songs (maybe his favorite?). It’s the one in the “listening” link I provided above. Bill Baize, featured in that clip, is now an old man, but I would recognize his voice anywhere. He started off by saying, “In all the years we hung out with Elvis – I don’t think a night went by … not one night, right, fellas?” And the three guys in the back all responded, “Nope, not one night …” Bill went on, “… without Elvis requesting us to sing this song. It would be after a show, and he would ask us to sing it again. Every night. It always provided him comfort, and he just loved how we sang it, so we’d like to sing it for you now.”

So they did and it was a haunting and beautifully transcendent moment. One of those moments where I was not aware of anything else except the music that was pouring into my ears and the men in front of me. No worries, no wondering what was coming next, no self-awareness at all. They ended with “Sweet Sweet Spirit” and I was sorry the morning had ended. It was only 9:30 and we had already been through a world of experience with these phenomenal singers.

There was also a strong rock-hard sense of being part of a continuum. Stepping into the river of love and community that is this fan-base. What was created “back then” has not died. There is no tragedy, there is no loss. Because it continues.