From techno to glam rock, the brothers behind Sparks have repeatedly affirmed themselves as shape-shifting musical chameleons capable of adapting to a wide range of disparate musical styles and influences. Formed in 1971, Ron and Russell Mael have been a mainstay of pop and rock music for the past five decades. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the frontman was originally drawn to the world of rock ‘n’ roll by the king himself, Elvis Presley.
The rock ‘n’ roll boom of the 1950s was a global phenomenon, capturing the imagination of youth culture worldwide. Among the countless artists that sprang up during this time, there were few as iconic as Elvis. Hailing from Mississippi, the young musician soon became a household name across America, famed for his slicked-back hair, outrageous dance moves and, above all else, unforgettable songs.
The cultural revolution of Elvis was not lost upon Ron and Russell, who had a front-row seat to the rock ‘n’ roll boom, growing up in 1950s California. According to Russell, the younger of the two brothers, it was Elvis’ 1957 film Jailhouse Rock which first inspired the pair to pursue a life in pop music. To this day, the track ‘(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care’, from the movie, remains a favourite of Russell’s.
Explaining his adoration of the track to The Line of Best Fit in 2023, the Sparks frontman said, “It’s from the film Jailhouse Rock, which we saw when we were really young. Even if you divorce it from that scene in the movie, for me, it’s musically kind of the essence of everything that pop music should be.” His brother, Ron, clearly took this on board, as the keyboard player has been tirelessly writing pop classics for the past five decades.
Russell went on to explain that the track awoke something in him, beckoning him to the world of pop stardom. Upon watching the movie, he shares, his younger self couldn’t help but think, “Oh God, someday, I want to be that guy at that swimming pool, being as cool as I can possibly be, standing there singing in front of all these women at the pool party.”
In many ways, ‘Baby I Don’t Care’ acts as a blueprint for many of Sparks’ hits. As Mael explains, “With this song, there’s something so basic about it, and it’s really, really short. I think it’s just around two minutes long, but it also shows you don’t need to overstay your welcome in a pop song.” Adding, “You can say it all in around two minutes, and if you’ve got the goods, like he did, there’s no problem. It just makes you go and want to replay it that much quicker.”
The prevailing image of Elvis tends to be one of a washed-up, bloated rock star in a white suit playing endless shows to audiences in Las Vegas. It’s a somewhat depressing image, and it certainly does not represent what Presley meant to people like Russell Mael, as he affirms, “There was another Elvis in his pre-army days, and he was the absolute coolest person there was.”
Listen to the song below.
