Did Elvis Presley actually play his guitar or was his playing "synced"?

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Request for Question Clarification by scriptor-ga on 09 Aug 2005 07:23 PDT

Do you mean in his movies, or on stage?

Scriptor

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 09 Aug 2005 09:16 PDT

Also, do you mean throughout his career, or during a particular
performance or set of performances?

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Clarification of Question by kayebee-ga on 10 Aug 2005 06:44 PDT

Sorry... it took a while to learn the system.  Did Elvis play guitar
at all?  I have been told that his guitars had no strings and that all
the guitar music was played by other people around him at concerts and
synced on films.

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Request for Question Clarification by scriptor-ga on 10 Aug 2005 07:15 PDT

I'm an Elvis fan, and I can say this for sure: He could play the
guitar, and he did.

Scriptor

Dear kayebee-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question.

Indeed Elvis Presley could, and did, play the guitar. On his early
recordings of ?That?s Alright? and ?Blue Moon of Kentucky? Elvis
Presley accompanied himself on guitar with his 1942 Martin D-18
acoustic guitar (Serial #80221), that recently sold at auction in
Atlanta, Georgia for $18,000.

The historical research on this musical instrument comes from the
manufacturer, Martin & Company
http://www.martinguitar.com/artists/famous.php?id=14. Even though the
owner of the guitar was once a very significant figure in early rock
and roll history it is highly unlikely that such a guitar would have
sold at this unusually high price if it had not had a famous and
verifiable provenance of having been actually ?played? on a historical
recording.

In addition there are many other known recordings over the years of
Elvis Presley playing guitar:

?This was a song that Elvis liked, another private recording of it
(with Elvis playing guitar) was released in 1983 on volume 4 of the
LEGENDARY PERFORMER series.?
ELVIS IN NORWAY
http://home.online.no/~ov-egela/platinum.html

??Like A Baby? Tk1&4. A magnificent first take with Elvis playing
guitar remarking, "I can?t think of two things at once".
ELVISINFONET.COM
http://www.elvisinfonet.com/ftdreview_elvisisback2.html


?His singing is so soulful and committed on these sessions, his first
in Memphis since 1955, it's a thrill and an honor to be privy to this
material. "After Loving You" rolls along for eight plus minutes, Elvis
playing guitar along with the house band on this one.?
ELVISNEW.COM
http://www.elvisnews.com/Presentation/Functional/Page/encyclopedia.aspx?command=show&category=Import%20List&item=351

Did he feign playing now and then on stage? Perhaps; some performers
do. Was his playing backed up or overdubbed by instrumentalists who
played much better? That may be true to some extent do. This technique
has taken on many albums. He was certainly no Eric Clapton or John Bon
Jovi when it came to the magic axe, but Elvis did occasionally play
his own guitar.

I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher



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Played

Guitar

Elvis Presley

Yes.
Elvis actually did play guitar and sing, before he got a backing band
and label etc.
I have seen an interview with Chet Atkins (Elvis main guitarist) where
he talked about Elvis's talent for guitar playing.

I'm unsure what you mean by 'sync/sync'ing..', if this is a question
about a performance being overdubed with music (faked live music).
This may have been done in the later part of Elvis's life, though I
have know knowledge of it, but in the early part of his life - this
active was not done, it was much too complex for that time period.

Hope this helps quick answer helps, Sean.