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.
Put Your Big Toe In The Milk O
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Have you ever seen the like of this mankind?
If a boy or girl is cute, we simply shoot to starry heights
Any maybe, any might
But always so capricious, in the face of wonder we're suspicious
And though we came from frogs and fishes
Our taste is far from fine
Put your big toe in the milk of human kindness
Put your big toe in the milk of human kindness
Have you ever seen the like of this mankind?
You take the Himalayas, you'll take Manhattan's finest mountain top
He wouldn't change his whiskey sour for any bitter crop
But always so contrary, from Father Christmas to the Virgin Mary
And though the moments of belief
Fly by before you find if you'd just unhand your mind
Put your big toe in the milk of human kindness
But always so contrary, from Father Christmas to the Virgin Mary
And though the moments of belief
Fly by before you find if you'd just unhand your mind
Put your big toe in the milk of human kindness
In Elvis Costello's song "Put Your Big Toe In The Milk O", the lyrics speak to the capricious and contrary nature of humanity, juxtaposing our self-importance with the realization of our humble origins. Using a metaphor--that of putting one's big toe in the "milk of human kindness"--Costello suggests that if we take a moment to step back and reflect on our humanity, we will come to appreciate the beauty in the world around us. The opening verses urge us to consider the fleeting nature of our attraction to superficial qualities, and the subsequent verses imply that our stubbornness and reluctance to believe in something greater than ourselves can be limiting. By suggesting that we put our big toe in the milk of kindness, Costello is calling on us to take a step outside of our own selves and consider the wonder and magic of the world.
In terms of the song's historical context, "Put Your Big Toe In The Milk O" was released on Costello's 1991 album "Mighty Like A Rose". The track, which features a mix of rock, pop, and country influences, received moderate success on the British and American charts. However, it was one of the more reflective and introspective tracks on an album that was otherwise characterized by energetic and experimental production.
Line by Line Meaning
Put your big toe in the milk of human kindness
Try to have a kind approach towards others
Have you ever seen the like of this mankind?
Have you ever seen such a human behavior?
If a boy or girl is cute, we simply shoot to starry heights
Any maybe, any might
If someone is attractive, we elevate them to high standards, yet unsure if it's deserved
But always so capricious, in the face of wonder we're suspicious
We tend to be fickle and skeptical towards amazing things
And though we came from frogs and fishes
Our taste is far from fine
Despite having humble origins, we have refined tastes
You take the Himalayas, you'll take Manhattan's finest mountain top
He wouldn't change his whiskey sour for any bitter crop
We prefer what brings us comfort and pleasure, even if it seems illogical
But always so contrary, from Father Christmas to the Virgin Mary
We tend to be contradictory even in matters of faith and beliefs
And though the moments of belief
Fly by before you find if you'd just unhand your mind
We doubt or dismiss moments of belief before giving them a chance
Put your big toe in the milk of human kindness
Try to have a kind approach towards others
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind