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Sir Galahad as conceived by George Frederick Watts (1817–1904).

Sir Galahad ( /ˈɡæləhæd/; Middle Welsh: Gwalchavad, sometimes referred to as Galeas (/ɡəˈliːəs/) or Galath (/ˈɡæləθ/), in Arthurian legend, is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail. He is the illegitimate son of Lancelot and Elaine of Corbenic, and is renowned for his gallantry and purity. Emerging quite late in the medieval Arthurian tradition, he is perhaps the knightly embodiment of Jesus in the Arthurian legends. Sir Galahad first appears in the Lancelot–Grail cycle, and his story is taken up in later works such as the Post-Vulgate Cycle and Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.

Life[link]

Conception and birth[link]

The circumstances surrounding the conception of the boy Galahad are explained by Sir Thomas Malory and derive from the Lancelot-Grail cycle: Elaine, the daughter of King Pelles, the Grail King, uses magic to trick Sir Lancelot into thinking that she is Queen Guinevere, whom Lancelot loves. According to Malory, King Pelles has already received magical foreknowledge that Lancelot will give his daughter a child and that this little boy will grow to become the greatest knight in the world, the knight chosen by God to achieve the Holy Grail. King Pelles also knows that Lancelot will only lie with his one true love, Queen Guinevere. Destiny will have to be helped along a little, therefore; a conclusion which prompts Pelles to seek out "one of the greatest enchantresses of the time," Dame Brusen, who gives King Pelles a magic ring that will make Elaine take on the appearance of Queen Guinevere.

Sir Lancelot and Elaine sleep together, but on discovering the deception, Lancelot at first tries to kill Elaine for her complicity, but when he finds out that they have conceived a son together, he is immediately forgiving; however he does not marry Elaine or even wish to be with her anymore and returns to King Arthur's court. The young Galahad is born and placed in the care of a great aunt, who is an abbess at a nunnery, to be raised there.

According to the thirteenth century Old French Prose Lancelot (part of the interconnected set of romances known as the Vulgate Cycle) "Galahad" was Lancelot's original name, but it was changed when he was a child. At his birth, therefore, Galahad is given his father's own original name. Merlin prophesies that Galahad will surpass his father in valour and be successful in his search for the Holy Grail. King Pelles, Galahad's maternal grandfather, is portrayed as a descendant of Bron, Joseph of Arimathea's brother-in-law, whose line was entrusted with the Grail by Joseph.

Quest for the Holy Grail[link]

Statue of Galahad in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Upon reaching adulthood, Galahad is reunited with his father Sir Lancelot, who knights him. Sir Galahad is then brought to King Arthur's court at Camelot during Pentecost, where he is accompanied by a very old knight who immediately leads him over to the Round Table and unveils his seat at the Siege Perilous, an unused chair that has been kept vacant for the sole person who will accomplish the quest of the Holy Grail. For all others who have aspired to sit there, it has proved to be immediately fatal. Sir Galahad survives this test, witnessed by King Arthur who, upon realizing the greatness of this new knight, leads him out to the river where a sword lies in a stone with an inscription reading “Never shall man take me hence but only he by whose side I ought to hang; and he shall be the best knight of the world.” (The embedding of a sword in a stone is also an element of the legends of Arthur's original sword, The sword in the stone.) Galahad accomplishes this test with ease, and King Arthur swiftly proclaims him to be the greatest knight ever. Sir Galahad is promptly invited to become a Knight of the Round Table, and soon afterwards, King Arthur's court witnesses an ethereal vision of the Holy Grail. The quest to seek out this holy object is begun at once.

All of the Knights of the Round Table set out to find the Grail.^[1] Galahad for the most part travels alone, smiting his enemies, rescuing Sir Percival from twenty knights and saving maidens in distress, until he is finally reunited with Sir Bors and Sir Perceval. These three knights then come across Sir Perceval’s sister who leads them to the grail ship. They cross the sea in this ship and when they arrive on a distant shore, Perceval’s sister is forced to die to save another. Sir Bors departs from the company in order to take her body back to her own country for a proper burial.

After many adventures, Sir Galahad and Sir Perceval find themselves at the court of King Pelles and Eliazar, his son. These men are very holy and they bring Galahad into a room where he is finally allowed to see the Holy Grail. Galahad is asked to take the vessel to the holy city of Sarras.

Assumption into heaven[link]

After seeing the grail, Galahad makes request that he may die at the time of his choosing. So it is, while making his way back to Arthur’s court, Sir Galahad is visited by Joseph of Arimathea, and thus experiences such glorious rapture that he makes his request to die. After bidding Percival and Bors farewell, Galahad is taken up to heaven by angels, witnessed by Sir Bors and Perceval. While it is not explicit that The Holy Grail is never to be seen again on earth, it is stated (in Le Morte D'Arthur) that there has since then been no knight capable of obtaining the Sangreal.

Medieval characterization[link]

The story of Sir Galahad and his quest for the Holy Grail is a relatively late addition to the Arthurian legend. Sir Galahad does not feature in any romance by Chrétien de Troyes, or in Robert de Boron's Perceval, or in any of the continuations of Chrétien's story of the mysterious castle of the Fisher King. Sir Galahad first appears in the early-thirteenth century Old French Vulgate Cycle. Perhaps it was because King Arthur and the established knights of his kingdom were not deemed to be fit enough for such a holy endeavour, that Sir Galahad was introduced to redeem King Arthur and his knights, and to show that there was one knight alone who was worthy to achieve the quest for the Holy Grail. It is Sir Galahad who takes the initiative to begin the search for the Grail; the rest of the knights follow him. King Arthur is sorrowful that all the knights have embarked thus, for he discerns that many will never be seen again, dying upon their quest. Arthur fears that it is the beginning of the end of the Round Table. This might be seen as a theological statement that concludes that earthly endeavors must take second place to the pursuit of the holy. Galahad, in some ways, mirrors Arthur, drawing a sword from a stone in the way that King Arthur did. In this manner, Sir Galahad is declared to be the chosen one.

Victorian portrayals[link]

Alfred Lord Tennyson[link]

Memorial Stained Glass Window to Arthur Smith depicts three angels and Sir Galahad, who is shown on foot leading a horse., Memorial Stairwell, Mackenzie Building, Royal Military College of Canada with a line from the poem `Sir Galahad` by Alfred Lord Tennyson “My strength is as the strength of ten because my heart is pure.”

In Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, Galahad's incredible prowess and fortune in the quest for the Holy Grail are traced back to his piety. According to the legend, only pure knights may achieve the Grail. While in a specific sense, this "purity" refers to chastity, Galahad appears to have lived a generally sinless life, like Jesus Christ, and so as a result, he lives and thinks on a level entirely apart from the other knights around him. This quality is reflected in Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem Sir Galahad:

"My good blade carves the casques of men,

My tough lance thrusteth sure,

My strength is as the strength of ten,

Because my heart is pure."^[2]

Galahad is able to conquer all of his enemies because he is pure. In the next verse of this poem, Tennyson continues to glorify Galahad for remaining pure at heart, by putting these words into his mouth:

"I never felt the kiss of love,

Nor maiden's hand in mine.”.^[3]

Sir Galahad pursues a single-minded and lonely course, sacrificing much in his determination to aspire to a higher ideal:

"Then move the trees, the copses nod,

Wings flutter, voices hover clear

'O just and faithful knight of God!

Ride on! the prize is near.'^[4]

Tennyson’s poem follows Galahad's journey to find the Holy Grail but ends while he is still riding, still seeking, still dreaming; as if to say that the quest for the Holy Grail is an ongoing task. Unlike many other portrayals of the legend of Sir Galahad, Tennyson has Sir Galahad speak in the first person, gives the reader his thoughts and feelings as he rides on his quest, rather than just the details of his battles, as in Malory.

William Morris[link]

Sir Galahad’s thoughts and aspirations have been explored as well by William Morris in his poem Sir Galahad, a Christmas Mystery,^[5] published in 1858. In this poem, written more than twenty years after Tennyson's Sir Galahad, Galahad is "fighting an internal battle between the ideal and the human", believing that he is like God and that he is able to be a "savior capable of imparting grace",^[6] following a dream in which he saves a dying knight with a kiss. Galahad isolates himself because he is a “self-centered figure.”^[6] Morris’ poem places this emotional conflict at center stage, rather than concentrating upon Galahad’s prowess for defeating external enemies, and the cold and the frost of a Christmas period serve to reinforce his “chilly isolation.”^[6] The poem opens on midwinter's night; Sir Galahad has been sitting for six hours in a chapel, staring at the floor. He muses to himself:

"Night after night your horse treads down alone

The sere damp fern, night after night you sit

Holding the bridle like a man of stone,

Dismal, unfriended: what thing comes of it?"^[7]

Twentieth century[link]

Thomas de Beverly[link]

A poem by Thomas de Beverly published in 1925, the Birth of Sir Galahad, tells of the events leading up to the conception of Sir Galahad, his birth and a visit soon afterwards by Sir Bors, to see Elaine and the baby Galahad. Sir Bors sees a vision of the Holy Grail whilst in a chapel with the baby and his mother.

The poem begins with Sir Lancelot attending a banquet given by King Pellas, the father of Elaine. The king decides that he wants Sir Lancelot to lie with his daughter. De Beverly says that “High God was urging him to this”; he claims that God is behind the union of Lancelot and Elaine because He knows that from it Galahad will be born. Galahad will be:

"the best of Arthour's Knights,

Who should achieve the quest of the Sangrael

Which only they shall see whose lives are pure.

No bravery is such a virtue as the Graele may gain.”^[8]

King Arthur and Sir Lancelot can never achieve this honor because their lives have not remained pure. Of the three knights who are untainted by sin – Sir Perceval, Sir Bors, and Sir Galahad – Galahad is the only one predestined to achieve this honor of attaining the Holy Grail.

Novels[link]

Image of Galahad from a tapestry by Edward Burne-Jones, c. 1894

Edmund Wilson's story "Galahad," published in 1927, presents a humorous story about the attempted seduction of a virginal High School student by a debutante.

In John Erskine's novel Galahad: Enough of his life to Explain his Reputation, Galahad’s main tutor for his knightly training is not his father Lancelot or King Arthur, but in fact Queen Guinevere. Erskine follows Malory’s text through Galahad’s childhood. Just as in Le Morte d'Arthur, Galahad grows up in the court of his mother Elaine and travels to King Arthur’s court to be reunited with his father and to become a knight. When Galahad arrives at the court, Guinevere is upset with Lancelot because he does not want to be her lover anymore and she takes an interest in the young knight, persuading him to go above and beyond regular knightly duties. At first Galahad seems content with just being an ordinary Knight of the Round Table, going out on quests and saving maidens in distress. Guinivere is the main contributor to Galahad’s destiny in this work. She says “you’ll waste your life if you don’t accomplish something new, something entirely your own.”^[9] This is Galahad’s motivation to seek the Grail.

Matt Cohen satirizes Galahad’s virtuous character in his short story Too Bad Galahad. Cohen describes Galahad as the “perfect knight” who does no harm. In part, “Galahad’s virtue is a compensation for Lancelot’s indiscretion.” However Cohen, instead of glorifying Galahad's virtuous character, makes it into a weakness. He writes that Galahad tried to “swear and kill and wench with the rest of the knights but he could never really get into it.” Cohen's Galahad is not well liked by the other knights because he is so perfect and seems unapproachable. Cohen pokes fun at Galahad's “calling” by saying that his life would be wasted if he failed to remain pure and holy in order to be the bearer of the Holy Grail.

Thomas Berger’s Arthur Rex, portrays Galahad differently. In most works, Galahad is depicted as an emblem of perfection. Berger shows Galahad’s arrival to court in a more satirical light. Gawain comments that he cannot tell whether he is male or female. Berger shows that even though Galahad is in fact the greatest knight in the world, he does not appear to be. Appearance versus reality is a common theme throughout this novel. In most versions of the story of Sir Galahad, Galahad's death comes about after his greatest achievement, that of the Holy Grail. In Arthur Rex, however, Galahad is killed in a battle where he mistakes his own father Lancelot for a Saxon. Galahad is too weak and sleeps through most of the battle and, when he does wake up, he kills his father as well as being killed himself. Just like the Grail, perfection is unattainable; only glimpses of the Grail and of perfection can be seen.

Movies[link]

The movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) is a modern, irreligious and comical interpretation of Malory’s text. In this film, Galahad is introduced as Galahad the Pure. The filmmakers create a satire of Galahad’s chastity and imply he is not a virgin by choice. In Galahad’s adventure, he follows a Grail-shaped beacon to a castle. Inside, instead of the Holy Grail, he finds beautiful young maidens who use the beacon to lure men to their castle in order to offer them sexual favors. Just as Sir Galahad is about to be seduced by a hundred beautiful maidens, Sir Lancelot enters and rescues a very-reluctant-to-be-rescued Sir Galahad.

In Merlin (1998), he is portrayed as Lancelot's only son, living at Joyous Guard. He is referred to by the Lady of the Lake as being pure-hearted. Merlin mistakes this description to being Lancelot. At the end, it is said that he was the one intended to guard Arthur's throne and that he has brought the Holy Grail to Britain and, with it, peace and prosperity.

Music[link]

Joan Baez uses the legend metaphorically in her song "Sweet Sir Galahad", which is about the courtship of her sister.

The band America mentions Galahad ("... or the tropic of Sir Galahad") in the chorus for the song "Tin Man".

Josh Ritter has a song about Galahad's encounter with an angel charged with protecting the Holy Grail in a song on his album To the Yet Unknowing World.

Appears on the song Galahad by the Levellers

Cistercian inspiration[link]

The original conception of Sir Galahad, whose adult exploits are first recounted in the fourth book of the thirteenth century Old French Arthurian epic the Vulgate Cycle, may derive from the Cistercian Order. According to many interpreters,^[who?] the philosophical inspiration of the celibate, otherworldly character of the monastic knight Galahad came from this monastic order set up by St. Bernard of Clairvaux.^[10] The Cistercian-Bernardine concept of Catholic warrior-asceticism that so distinguishes the character of Sir Galahad also informs St. Bernard's projection of ideal chivalry in his work on the Knights Templar, De laude novae militiae. Significantly, in the narratives, Galahad is associated with a white shield with a vermilion cross, the very same emblem given to the Templars by Pope Eugene III.

God's Knight[link]

Sir Galahad’s success in the high religious endeavour that was the search for the Holy Grail was predicted before his birth, not only by King Pelles but by Merlin: Merlin had told Uther Pendragon that there was one who would fill the place at the “table of Joseph”, but that he was not yet born. At first this knight was believed to be Perceval; however it is later discovered to be Galahad.

Galahad's conception is later glossed by Malory: "And so by enchantment [Elaine] won the love of Sir Lancelot, and certainly she loved him again passing well.” Galahad was conceived for the divine purpose of seeking the Holy Grail.^[11] But Galahad's conception happened through pure deceit; under a cloak of deception that was very similar, in fact, to that which led to the conception of Arthur and of Merlin himself. Despite this, Galahad is the knight who is chosen to find the Holy Grail. Galahad, in the Lancelot-Grail cycle and in Malory's retelling, is exalted above all the other knights; he is the one worthy enough to have the Holy Grail revealed to him and to be taken into heaven.

Portrayals in Media[link]

• George Reeves in The Adventures of Sir Galahad (1949)
• Michael Palin in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
• Justin Girdler in Merlin (1998)
• Hugh Dancy in King Arthur (2004)

See also[link]

• Sir Galahad (poem)
• Holy Grail
• HMS Sir Galahad Three Royal Navy vessels named after him, including one lost in the Falklands War.

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Arthurian Tradition Essays in Convergence. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama, 1988. 90–95. Print. Atkinson analyzes Malory’s motives for writing about the Holy Grail quest. He compares the knights and focuses on how Galahad sticks out from the rest of the knights.
• Berger, Thomas. Arthur Rex: A Legendary Novel. Boston: Little, Brown, 1990. Print.
• Cohen, Matt. Too Bad Galahad. Toronto: The Coach House Press, 1972. Print. A comical approach to the legend of Sir Galahad, his quest for the Holy Grail, and his pier character is made to seem foolish.
• De Beverley, Thomas. The Birth of Sir Galahad 1925. <http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/TDGalahad.htm>. This poem gives details regarding how Elaine, daughter of King Pellas, receives a magic ring that will trick Lancelot into sleeping with her and conceiving Galahad.
• Erskine, John. Galahad: Enough Of His Life To Explain His Reputation. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1926. Print. Follows the story of Galahad’s conception and his whole life. Underlines the influence of Guinevere on Galahad’s knightly training, which ultimately pushed him to exceed all others who surrounded him.
• Hyatte, Reginald. "Reading Affective Companionship In The Prose Lancelot." Neophilologus 83 (1999): 19–32. Print. Explores the varying speculation gravitating around a potential homosexual relationship between Galahad and Lancelot.
• Kennedy, Edward D. "Visions of History: Robert de Boron and English Arthurian Chroniclers." Fortunes of King Arthur. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 2005. 29+. Print. Examines the relationships between the Holy Grail quest and Galahad by giving overviews of other Author’s inquires.
• Malory, Thomas. Le Morte Darthur: The Winchester Manuscript. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Print. Follows the quest for the Holy Grail and how Galahad became knighted by his father.
• Mieszkowski, Gretchen. “The Prose Lancelot’s Galehot, Malory’s Lavin, and the Queering of Late Medieval Literature.” Arthuriana 5.1 (1995): 21–51.
• Monty Python and The Holy Grail. Dir. Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. Perf. John Chapman and John Cleese. Python Pictures, 1974. DVD. The movie makes a satire of Galahad’s purity and chastity in the scene with the castle full of beautiful women.
• Ruud, Jay. "Thomas Berger's Arthur Rex: Galahad and Earthly Power." Critique 25.2 (1984): 92–99. Print. This text expresses how Galahad epitomized perfection in knightly-hood, the clear emulation of him by other knights and the truth behind his personal actions.
• Stevenson, Catherine B., and Virginia Hale. "Medieval Drama and Courtly Romance in William Morris' "Sir Galahad, A Christmas Mystery"." Victorian Poetry 38.3 (2000): 383–391. Print. Shows how Galahad is depicted in William Morris’ “Sir Galahad, A Christmas Mystery”. Displays Galahad’s struggle between being perfect and being human.
• Tennyson, Alfred. "Sir Galahad." Galahad and The Grail. University of British Columbia. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. <http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/sechard/344GAL.HTM>. This site contained many pictures depicting Galahad accompanied by groups of angels. The story accounts Galahads emotions before embarking on the quest for the Grail.
• Waite, Arthur. The Holy Grail: The Galahad Quest in the Arthurian Literature. New York: University Books, 1961. Print. This text gives a detailed discourse covering Galahad’s life story from his birth to his death, with specific emphasis on his contribution to the quest for the Holy Grail.
• Wilson, Edmund. "Galahad." The American Caravan. Ed. Van Wyck Brooks, Alfred Kreymborg, Lewis Mumford, and Paul Rosenfeld. New York: Macaulay Company, 1927. Print.

External links[link]

• The full text of the poem Sir Galahad
• poem by Alfred Tennyson
• poem about the conception of Galahad

Josh Ritter
Ritter with the Love Cannon String Band Wexford, Ireland on October 20, 2009
Background information
Born	(1976-10-21) October 21, 1976 (age 35) Moscow, Idaho, United States
Genres	Folk, Alternative Country, Rock
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter, Author
Instruments	Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, lute, violin
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Signature Sounds V2 Sony BMG/Victor
Associated acts	The Frames, Hilary Hahn
Website	joshritter.com

Josh Ritter (born October 21, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and author who performs and records with The Royal City Band. Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics.^[1] In 2006 he was named one of the "100 Greatest Living Songwriters" by Paste magazine.^[2]

Early life[link]

Ritter was born and raised in Moscow, Idaho, a college town in the north central part of the state. As a teenager, after hearing Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan’s “Girl from the North Country” on his parents' copy of Nashville Skyline, he attempted to write songs on a lute that his father had built, before abandoning the lute and buying his first guitar at K-Mart.^[3]

Ritter graduated from Moscow High School in 1995^[4] and attended Oberlin College in Ohio to study neuroscience, but later changed his major to the self-created "American History Through Narrative Folk Music". At the age of 21 Josh recorded his first album Josh Ritter at a recording studio on campus. After graduating, Josh moved to Scotland to attend the School of Scottish Folk Studies for six months.^[5] Josh then moved back to Idaho for a few months, before moving to Providence, Rhode Island, then Somerville, Massachusetts, where he worked temporary jobs and played at open mic nights. During this time, Ritter sold copies of his album and was spotted by Glen Hansard and his band The Frames, who invited him to return with them to Ireland. As an early sign of his success to come, Ritter found on the trip to Ireland that his album sold particularly well at open mics there. With the money from merchandise sales, Ritter was eventually able to quit his day job and devote himself to music full-time.

Career[link]

A year and a half after recording Josh Ritter, Ritter recorded his second album Golden Age of Radio for $1000 and self-published it. The album was recorded in three different studios: Soundgun in Philadelphia, Electric Cave in New Hampshire, and a friend's basement studio.^[6] While promoting Golden Age of Radio, he met Jim Olsen, head of independent record label Signature Sounds, who offered to remaster and re-release the album after hearing Ritter play. The song "Me & Jiggs" was subsequently released as a single in Ireland, where Ritter was quickly becoming a word-of-mouth success, first opening for The Frames, then headlining his own shows. Ritter's third record, Hello Starling, produced by former Frames guitarist Dave Odlum, debuted at #2 on the Irish charts.^[7]

Ritter, left, in concert with long time bassist Zack Hickman

In 2003, Ritter shared top billing with the French Kicks at Sepomana, the annual music festival produced by WRMC 91.1 FM. Ritter and Ron Sexsmith headlined the Friday night singer-songwriter event at the Hotel Viking at the 2004 Newport Folk Festival. He also appeared at Oxegen 2005, and has headlined with artists such as Joan Baez, who later released her own version of Ritter's song "Wings" on her album Dark Chords on a Big Guitar. He was signed by a British label, V2 Records, in 2005 and Hello Starling was subsequently re-released. He began performing and touring in a crossover duo with the classical violinist Hilary Hahn in 2005.

In 2006, Ritter released his fourth album The Animal Years. 2006 also saw the release of Ritter's first full-length live album and DVD In The Dark - Live At Vicar Street which was recorded over two nights in May 2006. Ritter released his fifth album, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, in 2007. Both The Animal Years and Historical Conquests received warm critical reception^[8][9] with Stephen King calling The Animal Years the best album of 2006 in his column for Entertainment Weekly.^[10] In support of Historical Conquests, Ritter appeared as a musical guest on such high profile television shows as Late Show with David Letterman in America and Later... with Jools Holland in Britain.^[11][12]

Ritter re-issued his second and third, Golden Age of Radio and Hello Starling on April 7, 2009 and January 17, 2010 respectively. Each re-issued albums were packaged as two-disc deluxe editions. The deluxe editions contain both the original studio album as well as solo acoustic versions of all the original tracks, live and remixed bonus songs, and never-before-seen photos and artwork. The deluxe editions also feature liner notes written by Ritter fans, including Dennis Lehane and Cameron Crowe.^[13][14]

In Autumn 2009 Ritter toured with Love Canon String Band, where he reinterpreted his songs with a band composed of banjo, double bass, mandolin and guitar. This tour included three nights in Whelans Dublin, where he performed his albums Golden Age of Radio, Hello Starling, and The Animal Years in full.^[15] In 2009, Ritter also provided the soundtrack for the documentary film, Typeface, by Kartemquin Films.

Ritter's sixth album, So Runs the World Away, was released April 23, 2010 in Ireland and May 4, 2010 worldwide.^[16] The vinyl version of the album had an earlier release on April 17, 2010 as a part of Record Store Day celebrations. The vinyl record came packaged with a CD version of the album as well.^[17] To promote the album, Ritter made the song, "Change of Time" from So Runs the World Away, available for free download from his website on February 8, 2010.^[18] The song also appeared in the March 23, 2010 episode of the television series Parenthood. In support of the new album Ritter toured with his newly named The Royal City Band - starting with six dates in Ireland - including a sell out performance at the newly opened 2100 capacity Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin^[19] and continuing with an extensive tour of the United States.^[20] So Runs the World Away largely garnered positive reviews.^[21][22] "Change of Time" was featured on the Parenthood soundtrack in August 2010, and quickly became a fan favorite. The song was also featured in the trailer for the 2011 Natalie Portman film, The Other Woman.^[23]

On February 15, 2011 Ritter reissued The Animal Years on vinyl and as a two-disc deluxe edition on CD. The deluxe edition contains both the original studio album as well as a solo acoustic version of the album. The bonus disc includes four b-side recordings, two videos, new artwork, and liner notes by author Tom Ricks.^[24]

During his early 2011 tour, Josh Ritter released an EP album of previously unreleased material from the So Runs the World Away recording sessions, titled To the Yet Unknowing World. Ritter began streaming the EP for free on his website as well as made it available for digital purchase on February 8, 2011.^[25] To the Yet Unknowing World hit Apple's iTunes and record stores February 15, 2011.^[26] In February 2011, Ritter and his band continued their extensive tour in support of So Runs The World Away touring America and Europe.^[27] During his European tour in April 2011, Ritter released his third live album, Live at The Iveagh Gardens. The limited edition two CD and one DVD set is a live recording of Ritter's performance of 21 songs at the Dublin venue on 18 July 2010.^[28]

Personal life[link]

Josh Ritter married Dawn Landes, a fellow musician, in Branson, Missouri on May 9, 2009.^[29] However, in a February 2011 interview with the Boston Herald, when asked about Dawn Landes, Ritter said "we’ve actually decided to split, which is hard, but is going to be better in the end".^[30]

On November 22, 2009, Ritter played at a Benefit Concert at Moscow Junior High School in Moscow, Idaho for Jim LaFortune, an Earth Science teacher at the school struggling with a brain tumor. LaFortune was one of Ritter's teachers. Ritter attended the school from the 7th through the 9th grade.^[3]

Apart from music, Ritter also has interests in writing. Ritter has claimed many different writers as influences on both his songwriting and fiction work. Some of his favorite authors are Flannery O'Connor, Philip Roth, and Dennis Lehane (who wrote the intro for the Deluxe Edition of Hello Starling). The title of Ritter's sixth album, So Runs the World Away, comes from a line in the third act of Shakespeare's Hamlet.^[31] Ritter's own novel, Bright's Passage, was published by Dial Press on June 28, 2011. Ritter has said of the novel, "Besides my songs, Bright’s Passage is the first [written] work I’ve wanted anyone to see".^[32] Ritter has said that "It’s about a kind of sweet normal guy from West Virginia. He goes to the first World War and he comes back and he has an angel. And it’s about him and this angel escaping this wildfire for five days. It’s sort of this short little comedy".^[33]

The Royal City Band[link]

In 2010, Ritter's band members - some of whom had been performing with him from the early 2000s - were given the name "The Royal City Band" (a reference to the song "Thin Blue Flame" from The Animal Years).

Members:^[34]

• Josh Ritter - Lead vocals, guitar
• Zack Hickman - Bass, guitar, tuba, strings
• Sam Kassirer - Piano, keyboards, organ, accordion
• Austin Nevins - Guitar, lap steel, baritone
• Liam Hurley - Drums, percussion

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Josh Ritter (1999, self-released)
• Golden Age of Radio (2000, re-released 2002, Deluxe Edition 2009)
• Hello Starling (September 9, 2003, re-released 2005, Deluxe Edition 2010)
• The Animal Years (March 20, 2006 in UK, April 11, 2006 in US, Deluxe Edition 2011)
• The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (August 21, 2007 in US, October 1, 2007 in UK)
• So Runs the World Away (April 17, US (Vinyl Release - Record Store Day), April 23, 2010 in Ireland, May 4, 2010 in U.S./World)
• Bringing in the Darlings (February 21, 2012 in World)

Live Albums[link]

• In The Dark - Live At Vicar Street - Live Album/DVD (November 24, 2006 in Ireland, February 5, 2008 in U.S.)
• Live at the 9:30 Club (April 19, 2008)
• Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band, Live at The Iveagh Gardens (April 2011)
• Josh Ritter: Live at the Record Exchange (2006)

EPs[link]

• Me & Jiggs EP (2002 in Ireland only)
• Come & Find Me EP (2002)
• 4 Songs Live EP (February 22, 2005)
• Good Man EP (August 18, 2006, Ireland only)
• Girl in the War EP (August 29, 2006 on iTunes, November 27, 2006 in UK)
• Live at The Record Exchange EP (January 30, 2007)
• To the Yet Unknowing World (February 8, 2011)
• Bringing in the Darlings (February 21, 2012, February 17, 2012 in Ireland)

Singles[link]

• "Hello Starling (Snow Is Gone)" (May 31, 2004, UK single)
• "Bright Smile" (2004, Irish single)
• "Man Burning" (2004, Ireland promo-only single)
• "Thin Blue Flame" (2005, US promo-only single)
• "Girl in the War" (April 11, 2006)
• "Lillian, Egypt" (May 29, 2006, UK single)
• "Wolves" (July 25, 2006, promo only)
• "Mind's Eye" (October 15, 2007)
• "Right Moves" (December 17, 2007)
• "Empty Hearts" (March 31, 2008)
• "Real Long Distance" (May 5, 2008)
• "Change of Time" (March 16, 2010)
• "Lantern" (2010)

Other contributions[link]

• Sweetheart: Love Songs (2004, Hear Music) - "Tonight You Belong To Me, featuring Blake Hazard"
• Acoustic 05 (2005, Echo) - "Kathleen"
• The Cake Sale (2006, Oxfam Ireland, Yep Roc Records) - "Vapour Trail"
• Acoustic 07 (2007, V2 Records) - "Girl in the War"
• House M.D. (Original Television Soundtrack) (2007, Nettwerk) - "Good Man"
• 1% For The Planet, The Music (Vol. 1) (2010, One Percent for the Planet) - "Great Big Mind"
• Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows - John Prine Tribute Album (2010, Oh Boy Records) - "Mexican Home"
• Americana 2004 UNCUT "Wings"

Notable performances[link]

In January 2010 Ritter opened at New York City's Radio City Music Hall for Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova of The Swell Season.^[35]

Josh Ritter performed at the South by Southwest Music & Media Conference and Festival, March 18, 2011 at the Historic Sanctuary of St. David's Episcopal Church.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Official blog
• Official fansite
• Official MySpace page
• Josh Ritter collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
• 2009 interview
• Josh Ritter "So Runs the World Away" Review www.AwaitingTheFlood.com

Elvis Presley
Publicity photo for Jailhouse Rock (1957)
Background information
Birth name	Elvis Aaron Presley
Born	(1935-01-08)January 8, 1935 Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S.
Died	August 16, 1977(1977-08-16) (aged 42) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Rock and roll, pop, rockabilly, country, blues, gospel, R&B
Occupations	Musician, actor
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	1953–77
Labels	Sun, RCA Victor
Associated acts	The Blue Moon Boys, The Jordanaires, The Imperials
Website	elvis.com

Elvis Aaron Presley^a (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King".

Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, Presley moved to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family at the age of 13. He began his career there in 1954, working with Sun Records owner Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African American music to a wider audience. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley was the most important popularizer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country and rhythm and blues. RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who would manage the singer for over two decades. Presley's first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel", released in January 1956, was a number one hit. He became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll with a series of network television appearances and chart-topping records. His energized interpretations of songs, many from African American sources, and his uninhibited performance style made him enormously popular—and controversial. In November 1956, he made his film debut in Love Me Tender.

Conscripted into military service in 1958, Presley relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He staged few concerts however, and guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of the 1960s to making Hollywood movies and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided. In 1968, after seven years away from the stage, he returned to live performance in a celebrated comeback television special that led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of profitable tours. In 1973 Presley staged the first concert broadcast globally via satellite, Aloha from Hawaii, seen by approximately 1.5 billion viewers. Prescription drug abuse severely compromised his health, and he died suddenly in 1977 at the age of 42.

Presley is regarded as one of the most important figures of 20th-century popular culture. He had a versatile voice and unusually wide success encompassing many genres, including country, pop ballads, gospel, and blues. He is the best-selling solo artist in the history of popular music.^[1][2][3][4] Nominated for 14 competitive Grammys, he won three, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36. He has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame.

Life and career[link]

Early years (1935–53)[link]

Childhood in Tupelo[link]

Presley's birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi

Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, to 18-year-old Vernon Elvis and 22-year-old Gladys Love Presley.^[5] In the two-room shotgun house built by his father in readiness for the birth, Jesse Garon Presley, his identical twin brother, was delivered 35 minutes before him, stillborn. As an only child, Presley became close to both parents and formed an unusually tight bond with his mother. The family attended an Assembly of God church where he found his initial musical inspiration.^[6]

Presley's ancestry was primarily a Western European mix: On his mother's side, he was Scots-Irish, with some French Norman; one of Gladys's great-great-grandmothers was Cherokee.^[7]b His father's forebears were of Scottish^[8] or German^[9] origin. Gladys was regarded by relatives and friends as the dominant member of the small family. Vernon moved from one odd job to the next, evidencing little ambition.^[10][11] The family often relied on help from neighbors and government food assistance. In 1938, they lost their home after Vernon was found guilty of altering a check written by the landowner. He was jailed for eight months, and Gladys and Elvis moved in with relatives.^[12]

In September 1941, Presley entered first grade at East Tupelo Consolidated, where his instructors regarded him as "average".^[13] He was encouraged to enter a singing contest after impressing his schoolteacher with a rendition of Red Foley's country song "Old Shep" during morning prayers. The contest, held at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show on October 3, 1945, saw his first public performance: dressed as a cowboy, the ten-year-old Presley stood on a chair to reach the microphone and sang "Old Shep". He recalled placing fifth.^[14] A few months later, Presley received his first guitar for his birthday; he had hoped for something else—by different accounts, either a bicycle or a rifle.^[15][16] Over the following year, he received basic guitar lessons from two of his uncles and the new pastor at the family's church. Presley recalled, "I took the guitar, and I watched people, and I learned to play a little bit. But I would never sing in public. I was very shy about it."^[17]

Entering a new school, Milam, for sixth grade in September 1946, Presley was regarded as a loner. The following year, he began bringing his guitar in on a daily basis. He played and sang during lunchtime, and was often teased as a "trashy" kid who played hillbilly music. The family was by then living in a largely African American neighborhood.^[18] A devotee of Mississippi Slim's show on the Tupelo radio station WELO, Presley was described as "crazy about music" by Slim's younger brother, a classmate of Presley's, who often took him in to the station. Slim supplemented Presley's guitar tuition by demonstrating chord techniques.^[19] When his protégé was 12 years old, Slim scheduled him for two on-air performances. Presley was overcome by stage fright the first time, but succeeded in performing the following week.^[20]

Teenage life in Memphis[link]

In November 1948, the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. After residing for nearly a year in rooming houses, they were granted a two-bedroom apartment in the public housing complex known as the Courts.^[21] Enrolled at Humes High School, Presley received only a C in music in eighth grade. When his music teacher told him he had no aptitude for singing, he brought in his guitar the next day and sang a recent hit, "Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Me", in an effort to prove otherwise. A classmate later recalled that the teacher "agreed that Elvis was right when he said that she didn't appreciate his kind of singing."^[22] He was generally too shy to perform openly, and was occasionally bullied by classmates who viewed him as a "mama's boy".^[23] In 1950, he began practicing guitar regularly under the tutelage of Jesse Lee Denson, a neighbor two-and-a-half years his senior. They and three other boys—including two future rockabilly pioneers, brothers Dorsey and Johnny Burnette—formed a loose musical collective that played frequently around the Courts.^[24] That September, he began ushering at Loew's State Theater.^[25] Other jobs followed during his school years: Precision Tool, Loew's again, and MARL Metal Products.^[26]

During his junior year, Presley began to stand out more among his classmates, largely because of his appearance: he grew out his sideburns and styled his hair with rose oil and Vaseline. On his own time, he would head down to Beale Street, the heart of Memphis's thriving blues scene, and gaze longingly at the wild, flashy clothes in the windows of Lansky Brothers. By his senior year, he was wearing them.^[27] Overcoming his reticence about performing outside the Courts, he competed in Humes's Annual "Minstrel" show in April 1953. Singing and playing guitar, he opened with "Till I Waltz Again with You", a recent hit for Teresa Brewer. Presley recalled that the performance did much for his reputation: "I wasn't popular in school ... I failed music—only thing I ever failed. And then they entered me in this talent show ... when I came onstage I heard people kind of rumbling and whispering and so forth, 'cause nobody knew I even sang. It was amazing how popular I became after that."^[28]

Presley, who never received formal music training or learned to read music, studied and played by ear. He frequented record stores with jukeboxes and listening booths. He knew all of Hank Snow's songs^[29] and he loved records by other country singers such as Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb, Ted Daffan, Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmie Davis, and Bob Wills.^[30] The Southern Gospel singer Jake Hess, one of his favorite performers, was a significant influence on his ballad-singing style.^[31][32] He was a regular audience member at the monthly All-Night Singings downtown, where many of the white gospel groups that performed reflected the influence of African American spiritual music.^[33] He adored the music of black gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe.^[30] Like some of his peers, he may have attended blues venues—of necessity, in the segregated South, only on nights designated for exclusively white audiences.^[34] He certainly listened to the regional radio stations that played "race records": spirituals, blues, and the modern, backbeat-heavy sound of rhythm and blues.^[35] Many of his future recordings were inspired by local African American musicians such as Arthur Crudup and Rufus Thomas.^[36][37] B.B. King recalled that he knew Presley before he was popular when they both used to frequent Beale Street.^[38] By the time he graduated high school in June 1953, Presley had already singled out music as his future.^[39][40]

First recordings (1953–55)[link]

Presley in a Sun Records promotional photograph, 1954

Sam Phillips and Sun Records[link]

In August 1953, Presley walked into the offices of Sun Records. He aimed to pay for a few minutes of studio time to record a two-sided acetate disc: "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin". He would later claim he intended the record as a gift for his mother, or was merely interested in what he "sounded like", though there was a much cheaper, amateur record-making service at a nearby general store. Biographer Peter Guralnick argues that he chose Sun in the hope of being discovered. Asked by receptionist Marion Keisker what kind of singer he was, Presley responded, "I sing all kinds." When she pressed him on whom he sounded like, he repeatedly answered, "I don't sound like nobody." After he recorded, Sun boss Sam Phillips asked Keisker to note down the young man's name, which she did along with her own commentary: "Good ballad singer. Hold."^[41] Presley cut a second acetate in January 1954—"I'll Never Stand In Your Way" and "It Wouldn't Be the Same Without You"—but again nothing came of it.^[42]

Not long after, he failed an audition for a local vocal quartet, the Songfellows. He explained to his father, "They told me I couldn't sing."^[43] Songfellow Jim Hamill later claimed that he was turned down because he did not demonstrate an ear for harmony at the time.^[44] In April, Presley began working for the Crown Electric company as a truck driver.^[45] His friend Ronnie Smith, after playing a few local gigs with him, suggested he contact Eddie Bond, leader of Smith's professional band, which had an opening for a vocalist. Bond rejected him after a tryout, advising Presley to stick to truck driving "because you're never going to make it as a singer."^[46]

Phillips, meanwhile, was always on the lookout for someone who could bring the sound of the black musicians on whom Sun focused to a broader audience. As Keisker reported, "Over and over I remember Sam saying, 'If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars.'"^[47] In June, he acquired a demo recording of a ballad, "Without You", that he thought might suit the teenaged singer. Presley came by the studio, but was unable to do it justice. Despite this, Phillips asked Presley to sing as many numbers as he knew. He was sufficiently affected by what he heard to invite two local musicians, guitarist Winfield "Scotty" Moore and upright bass player Bill Black, to work something up with Presley for a recording session.^[48]

	"That's All Right" noicon Presley transformed not only the sound but the emotion of the song, turning what had been written as a "lament for a lost love into a satisfied declaration of independence."[49]
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

The session, held the evening of July 5, proved entirely unfruitful until late in the night. As they were about to give up and go home, Presley took his guitar and launched into a 1946 blues number, Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right". Moore recalled, "All of a sudden, Elvis just started singing this song, jumping around and acting the fool, and then Bill picked up his bass, and he started acting the fool, too, and I started playing with them. Sam, I think, had the door to the control booth open ... he stuck his head out and said, 'What are you doing?' And we said, 'We don't know.' 'Well, back up,' he said, 'try to find a place to start, and do it again.'" Phillips quickly began taping; this was the sound he had been looking for.^[50] Three days later, popular Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips played "That's All Right" on his Red, Hot, and Blue show.^[51] Listeners began phoning in, eager to find out who the singer was. The interest was such that Phillips played the record repeatedly during the last two hours of his show. Interviewing Presley on-air, Phillips asked him what high school he attended in order to clarify his color for the many callers who had assumed he was black.^[52] During the next few days the trio recorded a bluegrass number, Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky", again in a distinctive style and employing a jury-rigged echo effect that Sam Phillips dubbed "slapback". A single was pressed with "That's All Right" on the A side and "Blue Moon of Kentucky" on the reverse.^[53]

Early live performances and signing to RCA[link]

The trio played publicly for the first time on July 17 at the Bon Air club—Presley still sporting his child-size guitar.^[54] At the end of the month, they appeared at the Overton Park Shell, with Slim Whitman headlining. A combination of his strong response to rhythm and nervousness at playing before a large crowd led Presley to shake his legs as he performed: his wide-cut pants emphasized his movements, causing young women in the audience to start screaming.^[55] Moore recalled, "During the instrumental parts he would back off from the mike and be playing and shaking, and the crowd would just go wild".^[56] Black, a natural showman, whooped and rode his bass, hitting double licks that Presley would later remember as "really a wild sound, like a jungle drum or something".^[56] Soon after, Moore and Black quit their old band to play with Presley regularly, and DJ and promoter Bob Neal became the trio's manager. From August through October, they played frequently at the Eagle's Nest club and returned to Sun Studio for more recording sessions,^[57] and Presley quickly grew more confident on stage. According to Moore, "His movement was a natural thing, but he was also very conscious of what got a reaction. He'd do something one time and then he would expand on it real quick."^[58] Presley made what would be his only appearance on Nashville's Grand Ole Opry on October 2; after a polite audience response, Opry manager Jim Denny told Phillips that his singer was "not bad" but did not suit the program.^[59] Two weeks later, Presley was booked on Louisiana Hayride, the Opry's chief, and more adventurous, rival. The Shreveport-based show was broadcast to 198 radio stations in 28 states. Presley had another attack of nerves during the first set, which drew a muted reaction. A more composed and energetic second set inspired an enthusiastic response.^[60] House drummer D.J. Fontana brought a new element, complementing Presley's movements with accented beats that he had mastered playing in strip clubs.^[61] Soon after the show, the Hayride engaged Presley for a year's worth of Saturday-night appearances. Trading in his old guitar for $8 (and seeing it promptly dispatched to the garbage), he purchased a Martin instrument for $175, and his trio began playing in new locales including Houston, Texas, and Texarkana, Arkansas.^[62]