Born in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington in London, Costello is the son of trumpeter, vocalist and band-leader Ronald (“Ross”) MacManus and record store manager Lillian Costello. His family had roots in Merseyside and he moved to Birkenhead at age 16, with his mother, when his parents separated. While he is better known as 'Elvis Costello', a stage name referring to the legendary Elvis Presley suggested by Stiff Records manager Jake Riviera, he has used many other aliases, including 'The Imposter' and 'Napoleon Dynamite'.
In the early 1970s Costello was a participant in London's pub rock scene with the group Flip City. Then in 1977 along with fellow Pub-Rockers Nick Lowe and Ian Dury he made his first releases on the independent label Stiff, tailoring his work towards the burgeoning punk, power pop, and new wave scenes. From 1980's Armed Forces onwards, however, other influences including soul, country, 1960s pop, and classical music began to re-emerge, and he soon became established as a unique and original voice. His output has been wildly diverse: one critic has written that "Costello, the pop encyclopedia, can reinvent the past in his own image".
His prolific and varied 30-year career has been marked by two constants: sharp songwriting and musical restlessness. The latter has seen him dabble in almost every musical form, from country to jazz to orchestral. This stems from the fact that, at heart, Costello is a fan. His desire to work with his musical heroes has attracted collaborators as diverse as Burt Bacharach and Paul McCartney, Anne Sofie von Otter, Allen Toussaint, Aimee Mann, Bill Frisell, and Brian Eno.
But his most successful partners were his long-term band The Attractions. They comprised Steve Nieve (keyboards), Pete Thomas (drums) and Bruce Thomas (bass). Between 1978 and 1983, this outfit produced a peerless series of albums: This Year's Model; Armed Forces; Get Happy!!; Almost Blue; Trust; Imperial Bedroom and Punch the Clock.
These recordings drew on styles spanning soul, country and western and commercial pop. It was only with 1984's Goodbye Cruel World that Costello started to stumble. An album he concedes was one of his worst, it ushered in a period which produced interesting music but lacked the consistent quality of his halcyon days. Interestingly, although he enlisted the other Elvis's band for King of America in 1986, it was a reunion with The Attractions and former producer Nick Lowe that produced his best album of the late 1980s in the form of the scabrous Blood and Chocolate.
The following albums, Spike and Mighty Like a Rose were uncompromising and difficult solo works, as was the string quartet collaboration The Juliet Letters in 1993. It was only reconvening the Attractions for Brutal Youth the following year that gave his fans another glimpse of what first attracted them to him: punchy, angry pop songs, tightly played by an impeccably taut ensemble.
Since then, Costello has become a career dilettante, true to his inner musical quest, but never again returning to heights he scaled in the early 1980s. Maybe the best work of this latter period was 1998's Painted from Memory. This joint effort with Burt Bacharach matched restrained writing from Costello with stately Bacharach arrangements.
Subsequent career nadirs such as the tune-free North (2003), and instrumental orchestral works such as Il Sogno (2004) led many long-term admirers to conclude that Costello had retained his integrity at the expense of his real musical strengths. However, he has given occasional evidence of his former fire. The ballsy bar-room atmosphere of the collaborative The Delivery Man (2004), suggests that he is still capable of giving his fans what they want, in between his more esoteric experiments.
Elvis is married to jazz vocalist Diana Krall and they have twin sons.
*Upon the film's release, it was noted that the name "Napoleon Dynamite" had originally been used by musician Elvis Costello, most visibly on his 1986 album Blood and Chocolate, although he had used the pseudonym on a single B-side as early as 1982. Filmmaker Jared Hess claims that he was not aware of Costello's use of the name until two days before the end of shooting, when he was informed by a teenage extra. He later said, "Had I known that name was used by anybody else prior to shooting the whole film, it definitely would have been changed ... I listen to hip-hop, dude. It's a pretty embarrassing coincidence." Hess claims that "Napoleon Dynamite" was the name of a man he met around the year 2000 on the streets of Cicero, Illinois while doing missionary work for the Mormon Church.
Costello believes that Hess stole the name: "The guy just denies completely that I made the name up... but I invented it. Maybe somebody told him the name and he truly feels that he came about it by chance. But it's two words that you're never going to hear together." To date, Costello has taken no legal action against the film.
Elvis Costello and Elton John to Make a Television 'Spectacle'
Two of the most respected musicians in the world will collaborate on an extraordinary new television series.
"Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." is hosted by its namesake and produced in conjunction with Sir Elton John's Rocket Pictures. Elton John will be one of the program's Executive Producers.
The series begain airing in 2008 on CTV in Canada, Channel 4 in the UK and Sundance Channel in the US. FremantleMedia Enterprises, will handle sales of the show to the rest of the world.
Conceived to provide a forum for in-depth discussion and performance with the most interesting and influential artists and personalities of our time, the show fuses the best of talk and music television.
"Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." is an unpredictable and unprecedented television experience. The series of 13 one-hour programs features everything from intimate one-on-ones with legendary performers and notable newcomers to thematic panel discussions, with a variety of performance elements including unique collaborations, acoustic and impromptu "illustrative" demonstrations of the creative process, and some original interpretations of others' songs by Costello.
American Without Tears
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But my hotel room as usual was freezing and unkind
On TV they prosecute anyone who's exciting
So I put on my overcoat and went down to find
In Revlon and crimpelene they captured my heart
To the strain of a piano and a cocktail murderess
She was singing that "It's Too Late", I agreed with that part
Oh it seems we've been crying for years and for years
Now I don't speak any English, just American without tears
Just American without tears
One had been a beauty queen and the other was her friend
They had known rogues and rascals and showbiz impresarios
While the boys were licking Hitler they had something to defend
From men armed with chewing gum and fine nylon hose
By a bicycle factory as they sounded the siren
And returned into the dance hall she knew he was the one
Though he wasn't tall or handsome she laughed when he told her
"I'm the Sheriff of Nottingham and this is Little John"
Oh it seems we've been crying for years and for years
Now I don't speak any English, just American without tears
Just American without tears
At a dock in Southampton full of tearful goodbyes
Newsreel commentators said "Cheerio, G.I. brides"
Soon they'll be finding the cold facts and lies
New words for suspenders and young girls backsides
Now I'm in America and running from you
Like my grandfather before me walked the streets of New York
And I think of all the women I pretend mean more than you
When I open my mouth and I can't seem to talk
Oh it seems we've been crying for years and for years
Now I don't speak any English just American without tears
Just American without tears
Oh it seems we've been crying for years and for years
Now I don't speak any English just American without tears
Just American without tears
The lyrics of "American Without Tears" by Elvis Costello paint a vivid picture of a man away from home, feeling out of place and disconnected from his roots. In the first verse, the singer is in New Orleans, which is known for being unbearably hot. However, despite the sweltering weather outside, the singer is shivering in his hotel room - this is juxtaposed with the fact that the TV is broadcasting something that is anything but stirring. So, he steps outside to get away from the inanity and goes down to a nearby venue. There, he comes across two English girls singing their hearts out about their American experiences. The singer relates to their feelings of disconnect, both from England as well as America, due to their shared experiences.
The second verse brings in some historical references. The two girls the singer meets had lived through WWII, during which they had to navigate the morals and morale of their fellow citizens. The singer mentions how the men, at the time, were "licking Hitler", while the women had something else to defend, so they did what they could with what they had. They had fun when they could, and met partners who weren't famous, but made them laugh.
The lyrics end with the singer in America, reminiscing about the women who mean more to him than anyone else but can't communicate with them like he used to. From the beginning to the end, the song is an elegy to the feeling of being adrift - not belonging to any country, any culture; of not being understood or understanding anyone. It's a song of longing, of fear, of an uncertain present.
Line by Line Meaning
Outside in New Orleans the heat was almost frightening
The heat outside in New Orleans was so hot that it was scary.
But my hotel room as usual was freezing and unkind
As usual, my hotel room was so cold it was unwelcoming.
On TV they prosecute anyone who's exciting
People who are exciting are prosecuted on TV.
So I put on my overcoat and went down to find
I put on my overcoat and left to explore.
In Revlon and crimpelene they captured my heart
I fell in love with Revlon and crimpelene.
To the strain of a piano and a cocktail murderess
A piano and a woman who seems like she has committed murder were present.
She was singing that 'It's Too Late', I agreed with that part
I agreed with the part of the song where she sings that it's too late.
For two English girls who had changed their address
Two English girls who moved to a new place were there.
Oh it seems we've been crying for years and for years
It feels like we've been crying for a very long time.
Now I don't speak any English, just American without tears
I can't speak English anymore, only American without any sorrow.
One had been a beauty queen and the other was her friend
One of the girls used to be a beauty queen and the other was her friend.
They had known rogues and rascals and showbiz impresarios
They had acquaintances who were scoundrels, villains, and showbiz managers.
While the boys were licking Hitler they had something to defend
While the boys were supporting Hitler, the girls had something they were fighting for.
From men armed with chewing gum and fine nylon hose
They were being harassed by men who carried chewing gum and nylon hose.
By a bicycle factory as they sounded the siren
At a bicycle factory, an alarm sounded.
And returned into the dance hall she knew he was the one
After returning to the dance hall, she knew that he was the one she wanted.
Though he wasn't tall or handsome she laughed when he told her
Even though he wasn't tall or handsome, she laughed when he spoke to her.
"I'm the Sheriff of Nottingham and this is Little John"
He claimed to be the Sheriff of Nottingham and introduced himself and his friend.
At a dock in Southampton full of tearful goodbyes
The dock in Southampton was filled with people saying sad goodbyes.
Newsreel commentators said "Cheerio, G.I. brides"
The newsreel commentators said goodbye to the G.I. brides.
Soon they'll be finding the cold facts and lies
Soon, they will discover the disappointing truths and lies.
New words for suspenders and young girls backsides
They will use different words for suspenders and young girls' backsides.
Now I'm in America and running from you
I'm in America now and running away from you.
Like my grandfather before me walked the streets of New York
Just like my grandfather walked the streets of New York before me.
And I think of all the women I pretend mean more than you
I think of all the other women I pretend are more meaningful than you.
When I open my mouth and I can't seem to talk
When I try to speak, I can't seem to find the words.
Just American without tears
Now I'm only able to speak American without feeling any sorrow.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Elvis Costello
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind