Lisa Marie Presley
She’s the only child of Elvis Presley. She’s had three high-profile marriages, including ones to Michael Jackson and Nic Cage. Fact is, people have been hearing about Lisa Marie Presley since before she was born. Now, at 35, Presley has decided it’s time people heard from her.
“ This is me. This record is me,” she declares. “Every song is me. You’re going to see who I really am and not what the tabloids say or whatever anyone has to say about me.”
Not surprisingly, Presley’s debut album, To Whom It May Concern, has received massive interest. It deserves the attention; this is the real deal.
Given her genetic make-up, that Lisa Marie has talent shouldn’t be a surprise. Still, it is impressive that her voice — literally and figuratively — is her own. Filled with strong, personal lyrics (who else could have written “Lights Out” with the lines “Someone turned the lights out there in Memphis/That’s where my family’s buried and gone/Last time I was there I noticed a space left/Next to them there in Memphis in the damn back lawn’?), her sound is unwavering, aggressive, assertive and occasionally even sweet. Just like Presley herself.
Previously, she had resisted attempts to push her toward a recording career. She simply didn’t feel that she had the chops and backed out of an earlier recording contract. This time around, she believes that she not only has something to say, but the ability to say it.
“I didn’t want to do anything just based on who I am,” she says. “The stuff I’ve been offered in my life is insane and I didn’t do any of it because I didn’t care. I was doing this because my heart’s in this. This is what I’m good at doing. I’m good at putting myself in a song. That’s it.”
When the results are as good as To Whom It May Concern, that’s enough.
Community
Connect with BMI & Professional Songwriters