The result was Cube-E, which told the history of American Music in three pieces.ĭeciding that the third part of the Cube-E performance, ' The Baby King', could stand on its own, The Residents began working on studio arrangements, recording a demo album at Ralph Studios in June of 1988, before debuting the live show in July at The Cowell Theater in San Francisco.įollowing these performances and the particularly positive reception that the Elvis material receievd, the group used their larger than usual recording budget, to book a session at Different Fur Studios, where they, along with backing vocalist Laurie Amat, MX-80 guitarist Bruce Anderson, members of The Cryptic Corporation, Homer Flynn's daughter Jana Flynn, and Ralph Records' owner Tim Timony's son, Simon Timony, recorded the entire album in a single day. When the group were creating their ' Buckaroo Blues ' suite, which explores how modern popular music was influenced by Old-Western poetry and folk songs, they realized that Cowboy Music + African American Work Songs = Elvis, and began to work on a live performance based on that concept.

They parodied and paid tribute to The King several times following his premature death at the age of 42, starting with ' Elvis & His Boss' from 1978's Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen, and continuing with two full studio covers of ' Jailhouse Rock'. The Residents dancing to the Jailhouse Rock, 1986 Each song presented a different aspect of the man's life, even if he hadn't written most of them. The Residents saw this tale of tragedy spelled out in The King's lyrics, hidden behind catchy beats. But over the years, as Elvis' star faded, they instead began to see him as a tragic figure, forced to represent all of American culture, and thus, milked to near death, and ultimately 'killed' by the rising popularity of British music, which had itself been influenced by Elvis' All-American combination. Likely having been aware of him since his debut on Louisiana public radio in 1954, the young music fanatics watched his career develop with great interest, seeing him as the culmination of American music. The Residents have had a strange relationship with Elvis Presley since their childhoods.

When did the enigma album come out