NEWSUEM TO PRESENT ELVIS EXHIBITION

Elvis' Clash with Media on View at Newseum in Washington
A SPARK THAT HELPED IGNITE ELVIS PRESLEY'S FAME MORE THAN 50 YEARS AGO WAS LIT BY THE NEWSPAPER EDITORS AND CRITICS WHO HATED HIM. THEY DETESTED HIS VOICE AND THOUGHT HIS MOVES WERE UNFIT FOR FAMILY PUBLICATIONS, ALL THE WHILE TEENAGERS WENT WILD. IT'S THAT SHOCKING STYLE AND CLASH WITH THE MEDIA THAT ALSO WILL MAKE ELVIS THE SUBJECT OF A NEW EXHIBITION AT THE NEWSEUM, A HISTORY MUSEUM THAT CELEBRATES THE FIRST AMENDMENT IN WASHINGTON DC. 'NEWSPAPERS IN THE MID-'50s VIEWED THEMSELVES AS ARBITERS OF SOCIAL VALUES, AND THEY FELT THEY SHOULD BE AMONG THE ONES TO SPEAK MOST LOUDLY WHEN THEY SAW SOMEONE THREATENING AMERICA'S MORES', SAID NEWSEUM'S PRESIDENT. 'WHAT'S INTERESTING IS THAT FIERCELY NEGATIVE COVERAGE DROVE ELVIS' FAME. . . AFTER THE NATIONAL NEWS COVERAGE KICKED IN, HE WAS THE KING OF ROCK AND ROLL.' ELVIS' TWO YEARS IN THE US ARMY, THOUGH, WAS THE TURNING POINT. PARENTS COULDN'T HATE HIM ANYMORE, AND THE NEWS MEDIA EVENTUALLY CAME ALONG, TOO. THE EXHIBIT OPENING 19.MARCH TRACES ELVIS' RISE IN THE 1950s, IN PART A STUDY IN IMAGE MANAGEMENT BY HIS LONGTIME MANAGER, COL TOM PARKER, TO HIS MEETING WITH PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON AT THE WHITE HOUSE IN 1970. IT WILL INCLUDE RARE OBJECTS FROM PRESLEY'S LIFE, SOME NEVER BEFORE DISPLAYED OUTSIDE GRACELAND AND OTHERS NEVER BEFORE PUBLICLY DISPLAYED ANYWHERE. OBJECTS IN THE COLLECTION INCLUDE ELVIS' 1957 HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLE THAT WAS KEY TO HIS REBEL IMAGE, HIS FIRST GRAMMY AWARD FOR HOW GREAT THOU ART IN 1968, THE OVERCOAT AND GOLD BELT ELVIS WORE TO MEET NIXON AT THE WHITE HOUSE, AND THE BUREAU OF NARCOTICS BADGE THE PRESIDENT GAVE PRESLEY. HE HAD REQUESTED TO BE MADE A 'FEDERAL AGENT-AT-LARGE' TO HELP FIGHT DRUG USE. MANY DOCUMENTS WILL BE DISPLAYED FOR THE FIRST TIME, INCLUDING THE 1955 EXCLUSIVE MANAGEMENT CONTRACT ELVIS AND HIS PARTNERS SIGNED, GIVING PARKER 25% OF HIS INCOME. (LATER, IN THE 1970s, PARKER'S STAKE ROSE TO AN UNPRECEDENTED 50%)