Elvis Presley Claimed He Was ‘Tame’ Despite Uproar For Sexy Moves: ‘All I Did Was Just Jiggle’

When Elvis Presley first burst onto the music scene, no other performer in history was like him. He became a sensation for his blues-based rock music and sexy onstage moves. However, the King of Rock and Roll claimed he was “tame” despite public uproar. He claimed, “All I did was just jiggle.”

Elvis Presley’s sexy moves caused an uproar in 1959

In the late 1950s, singers and musicians did little more than stand still when they performed for fans. There was very little suggestive movement during their concerts.

However, when Elvis Presley burst onto the music scene, he changed the trajectory for other performers coming after him. He moved his body to the melodies and sent fans into a frenzy as he swirled his hips, shook his backside, and thrust his pelvis toward the crowd.

Looking back on those earlier days in a 1972 press conference, Elvis reflected on how risque he once was. He maintained that he wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary with moves previously never seen performed publicly.

Elvis AU shared a transcript of his remarks. Elvis maintained that his movements were just how he danced. A reporter questioned Elvis, saying he used to “be bitterly criticized so much for your long hair and gyrations, and you seem so modest now.”

He responded, “Man, I was tame compared to what they do now! Are you kidding? I didn’t do anything but just jiggle, you know?”

Elvis Presley said his image was ‘one thing’ and personally, he was another

During the same press conference, Elvis Presley discussed differentiating between the performer and the man with reporters. He explained these were two different things.

He discussed the differences in how performers behaved on stage in the early 1970s. Elvis shared his perspective after almost 20 years in the entertainment industry.

“I really can’t criticize anybody in the entertainment field. I think there’s room for everybody, and I hate criticizing another performer, you know?” Elvis said.

However, he did weigh in on questions regarding how closely the image he projected matched him in real life. Elvis Presley said that they were two different things.

“Well, the image is one thing, and the human being is another, you know,” he explained. “It’s very hard to live up to an image; I’ll put it that way.”

Elvis Presley said celebrity happened ‘very fast,’ and his father, Vernon, agreed

Within two years of beginning his professional career in 1954, Elvis Presley was an international superstar. Elvis’ musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church, and the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager. 

He said he had “no regrets” regarding his quick rise to stardom. However, he did admit that it was an “adjustment.”

“It happened very fast to all of us. My mother [Gladys], and my father [Vernon], and all of us,” Elvis explained.

“You know, everything happened overnight, so we had to adjust to many things really quickly. A lot of good things,” he continued.

Elvis Presley remains the King of Rock and Roll. He died in August 1977 at 42.