The Lightning Strikes!


Leonard Bernstein called Elvis Presley “the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century. Elvis introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes. It’s a whole new social revolution -- the 60’s comes from it.”

Disc jockey John Peel describes the sense of shock Elvis brought: “It might sound pretty safe .now, but in the context of what was happening in the 1950s, hearing Heartbreak Hotel was as shocking as if someone was dancing naked in your living room.”

Even Presley himself agreed. Years later, Elvis would comment, “Man, I was tame compared to what they do now. Are you kidding? I didn't do anything but just jiggle.”

Rolling Stone magazine thought Elvis did a bit more than just jiggle: “At Sun Studio in Memphis (1954, label pictured left), Elvis Presley called to life what would soon be known as rock and roll with a .voice that bore strains of the Grand Ole Opry and Beale Street, of country and the blues. At that moment, he ensured -- instinctively, unknowingly -- that pop music would never again be as simple as black and white.”

John Lennon:
“Before Elvis, there was nothing.”

Elton John: "If it hadn't been for Elvis, I don't know where popular music would be. He was the one that started it all off."

Mick Jagger: “Elvis was a unique artist -- an original in an area of imitators.”

Keith Richards: "Before Elvis, everything was in black and white. Then came Elvis. Zoom, glorious Technicolor."


Elvis' Manager: Colonel Tom Parker

It was 1955. Elvis had been booked as a warm-up act for another singer, Hank Snow. Snow’s manager was a colorful West Virginian who had run away from home at an early age to join the circus. He became a music .promoter in the late 1940s, managing musicians Minnie Pearl and Eddy Arnold, and western film star Tom Mix. When Elvis was introduced to Snow’s manager for the first time, he must have been thunderstruck -- the man's name was Colonel Tom Parker.

Elvis knew well that Freddy Freeman transformed into his boyhood hero, Captain Marvel Jr., by saying the name “Captain Marvel.” Now, here he was, being introduced to the man who would soon transform him into an immortal superstar -- not a Captain, but a Colonel! Holy Shazam. It was destined to be!

Parker wasn’t a real Colonel -- he received the honorary title in 1948 from Jimmie Davis, the governor of Louisiana. But then again, Captain Marvel wasn’t actually a real “Captain” either! And, as fate would have it, the Navy rank of Captain is directly equivalent to the Marine rank of Colonel! Elvis must have felt fate was calling.


Elvis' relationship with the Colonel could not be damaged, even when the truth about Parker's past was finally revealed. It turned out Colonel Tom Parker, West Virginian, was actually a Dutch citizen, and his name wasn’t Tom Parker. He had been born Andreas Cornelius van Kuijk, in Breda, Netherlands, in 1909. When he was 18, he fled to America and joined the US Army, changing his name to Tom Parker.

Some have speculated that the reason Elvis never performed abroad may have been that Parker was worried that as a non-citizen, he would not be readmitted to the United States. One book even claims he left the Netherlands to escape a murder rap. But whatever the Colonel’s past may have been, it had no effect on his legendary management of the future King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Mirror, Mirror: Elvis and Cap Jr.




. .

Right: Elvis belts out a
tune, striking a
similar typical pose.

. .
Above: Master Comics #54, with C ap Jr.'s black hair, long sideburns and red cape.

Right: Elvis with dyed black hair (his
natural hair color was sandy brown),
long sideburns and red shirt.

Elvis and Cap Jr. in the Seventies



Now middle-aged, Elvis took to wearing jumpsuits during his numerous live performances. Where did the designs for these outlandish, theatrical outfits come from? According to Elvis' confidant Billy Smith, “If you go back and look at a drawing of Captain Marvel Jr., it looks a whole lot like the seventies Elvis -- one-piece jumpsuit, wide belt, boots, cape, lightning bolt and all.”

. .

Right: Elvis in 1972, wearing
a blue jumpsuit with gold trim,
wide belt, and short cape. This outfit
has been dubbed "The Blue Owl."

Captain Marvel's alter ego, Freddy Freeman, also inspired several of Elvis' stage outfits. According to Elvis expert Elaine Dundy, “Subconsciously, the grown Elvis copied his hero’s glistening black hair, his sideburns and his triumphant stance. Years later he wore his version of the Marvel Jr. cape, and the white scarf Freddy Freeman often wore turned up around Elvis’ neck in performance.” Below: Freddy Freeman, and a similiarly-clad Elvis on stage, in concert.

. .
Above: Captain Marvel Jr.'s alter ego, Freddy Freeman, wore a blue coat with a long white scarf.

Right: Elvis wearing a
blue jumpsuit with a
long white scarf.

.The TCB Thunderbolt Logo

Elvis' motto was "Taking Care of Business in a Flash," represented in his personal logo by the letters TCB and a lightning bolt. Elvis wore a famous ring with the TCB logo on it (pictured left). Where did the phrase and logo come from? It was designed in the Seventies by Elvis and his new bride, Priscilla.

."Taking Care of Business was a Black expression,” recalls “Memphis Mafia” member Marty Lacker, “and Elvis used to say it in a sort of ethnic way. It was just a hip saying. Aretha Franklin sang “Take care/TCB” on her version of Respect, for example.”

“The lightning bolt has two meanings,” Lacker explains. “One is ‘in a flash.’ In other words, ‘whatever you need to do, do it quick.’ But the lightning bolt was also the insignia for the West Coast Mafia. In addition to doing things in a flash, [Elvis] liked the idea that the West Coast Mafia used it.”

Billy Smith, another of Elvis’ “Memphis Mafia” pals, strongly disagrees with Lacker. “Nah. The lightning bolt came from his army days. It was the insignia of his battalion. Or maybe in the back of his mind, he .identified it with Captain Marvel Jr. That’s where he got the idea for the capes. From the comic books.”

Given the fact that the "C" is elevated far above the "T" and "B" in the logo, I, Robby Reed, the creator of this blog and author of this article, tend to agree with Billy Smith. Why would Elvis raise the middle letter so high -- unless he wanted to pay homage to someone whose name began with a "C." Someone such as ... Captain Marvel Jr.!

Elvis gave various diamond-encrusted gold jewelry pieces bearing the logo to members of his inner circle as a gift. According to Lacker, the TCB jewelry was created around 1970. "The lightning bolt emblem Captain Marvel Jr. wore on his chest .became Elvis’ logo, his signature," says Elaine Dundy. “The lightning bolt turned up on Elvis’ private plane, the Lisa Marie (pictured left), and in the Graceland game room (pictured above). It turned up on the jewelry he gave special friends: the gold neck chains and bracelets. All of them were designed with Captain Marvel Jr.'s lightning bolt in the center.”

There was also a “TCB Oath,” written by the King himself, which Elvis’ pals were required to follow. It stated:


That last sentence is not an editorial insertion -- Elvis had a great sense of humor, and he actually included the phrase "Freedom from constipation" in his otherwise-solemn “TCB Oath.”




The KING on the COUCH!