Interesting, I'll have to check him out.

Johnson was CB's piano player - he's suing him for royalties.

To downplay the influence of this man is simply ignorant.

He is responsible for an enormous amount.
To say he started singing gospel in his later years is not quite right either.
He admitted to gospel being a huge part of the blues/r and b and that he drew from that from the very start.

He has the greatest voice in music I've ever known.
He arguably was the greatest looking guy in known history - particularly during the 50s and 60s - and because of that, he created a look that directly or indirectly was responsible for rock stars having a cooler than shit image.

I mean what guy would not want to look and sound like him ala the 68 special?

His performance was sexier and far more charismatic than any before or during his lifetime - Jagger and Jackson are two that can hold a candle to his early day thru late 60s performances.
But how much do these stars themselves owe to Presley re their perfomance styles anyway? (All Lisa Marie jokes aside).

His voice could deliver any style and because of that his songs had quite alot variety from a very early stage in his career.

His style, sound and music had far more global appeal than other 50s contemporaries - and that is proven because he still sells so heavily today.
How many discs did JL Lewis, L Richard, C Berry move last year?

Lennon might have decided to be a career criminal instead of a singer/songwriter/performer if not for Presley.

But I guess that if someone considers Presley a non event, it stands to reason they would consider the Beatles to have been of no consequence either.
And of course we all know they influenced no-one.

Rock on Elvis!

kyle m

Have you ever lent somebody $20 and never seen them again? It was probably worth it.

Right on Kyle - let's let this be the final comment on the issue.

The sad fact about elvis was that after the sun era he was a commercial toy. Now granted most rock stars are, but elvis allowed himself to get put into some good movies, but also into some pretty bad ones as well. It became less about the music and more about the image. While the beatles had the image, they still had the musical talent to back it up. By the late 50's Elvis had changed so much that to think he could still be the truck driver from tupolo mississippi was unbelievable.
Elvis was simply the rock and roll version of Frank Sinatra. Neither wrote their own music, but instead relied upon their image, the only difference was, that when he died Sinatra was still on top. point in case, his albums continue to sell well, and his last albums were the biggest selling albums of his career. Elvis didnt have a legitemite (?) hit after 1969, that wasnt a reissue or remix, or remake of an earlier hit.

Presley actually had a hand in quite a few of the early hits re composition. Why he stopped I'm not sure.
He also was a natural musician. You can tell that even though he's not ripping out lead solos that he is a natural with a guit in his hands.

He also had plenty of hits after 69, what hits did Sinatra have in the last 30 years of his life? I can't think of one.

His (Elvis') chart history worldwide compared to Sinatra's at the time of his death is far, far superior also.

Presley is far more global than Sinatra also. Outside the U.S Presley's popularity is greater by a long shot.

Even in the States I'm sure Frank would have to concede Elvis was and is bigger.
Doubt he ever would have though.

Sorry Stonestod - won't go on anymore.

:0)

kyle m

Have you ever lent somebody $20 and never seen them again? It was probably worth it.

Still the best laugh of the year is caused by that British rock magazine (Mojo or Uncut, can't recall) that had a nerve to rate Elvis as number two in the list of "biggest music icons of all time'.. I know Brits adore their national treasure, the Beatles, over Queen Elisabeth II or Winston Churchill but still to rate J. Winston Lennon over Elvis as "icon" needs much balls and strong self-esteem...

- Doxa

tough,touch,touch. I don't know Rorty.
Lennon once said: "Before Elvis there was nothing".

But Lennon is also a big one in the history of pop music. But I think that Elvis deserve more credits than Lennon, although some people might say Lennon is the biggest of all time

Rorty Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Still the best laugh of the year is caused by that
> British rock magazine (Mojo or Uncut, can't
> recall) that had a nerve to rate Elvis as number
> two in the list of "biggest music icons of all
> time'.. I know Brits adore their national
> treasure, the Beatles, over Queen Elisabeth II or
> Winston Churchill but still to rate J. Winston
> Lennon over Elvis as "icon" needs much balls and
> strong self-esteem...
>
> - Doxa


could have been an even bigger laugh. Had it been Q or some other magazine, they'd have voted Robbie Williams #1. Most of the population who are under 25 seem to think he invented popular music

True Bartman, but 'some people' say lots of things..

I suppose as an icon of the certain era, namely the "happy 60's", an entity called the Beatles might have something to say in the contest of the biggest icon of all times against ELvis the Pelvis, the biggest and the most well-known entertainer of the 20th Century, but any individual member, the saint John included, of that pop pre-Abba pop group, are far behind that sort of iconic status.. Just ask people; everybody, I mean everybody knows the name Elvis and the figure represented by that name, like they know Chaplin and Marilyn, but in the case of Lennon, there will be more answers like "was he one of the Beatles?"..

Heh, I never thought I will be in the middle of the contest of who's bigger and by which criteria (that's not very clear), Lennon or Elvis; namely, neither is not very big favorite of mine... well, in that sense is much easier to be objective..

But what makes John Lennon, despite selling more records and being dead, to be 'bigger' than, let's say, Bob Dylan, other 'generally recognized true musical hero, not any-goddamn-madonna-or-michael jackson'? More well-known? influental? More iconic? More mythical? Better song-writer?

I think Dylan is better and bigger

- Doxa

I remember quite well that Elvis was decidely uncool
among the rock set in the years approaching his death,
an embarrasing shade of what had once been. Perhaps
death was a good career move for the marketing crowd
anyways.

50's Elvis was a rockabilly God, the 68 comeback had
unrealized potential, but other than that? He only
seems better in retrospect. Jeez, the reissues
cleaned up his so called musical canon- it was
largely a commercial embarrasement for years.

davido, I really agree with you that death is "a good career move for the marketing crowd".

The same goes for giants like the Beatles or Led Zeppelin.. those lucky bastards surely didn't know what an unbelievable legacy and commercial phenomenon they will have in their hands after retiring.. Did John and Paul knew that in 1970? Did Page or Plant knnew that in 1980? Surely not. When I had my young and dangerous years (early 80's) I remember both of those bands to be ranked not very high... they were quite 'out'; in fact, the Stones were much 'cooler' than both of them back in 1981-82...

But jeez, the situation is totally different now.. both of those bands sell like hell, and their image and musical heritage is brighter and bigger than ever... Beatles, the sunshine and the icon of the 60's, Zeppelin, the biggest band of the 70's (and ever).. and all this in total contrast to the band we all love here...

And well, to be honest, if you consider the reflection of the younger rock scene, how does the image of 'King of Rock&Roll' of the 70's (when he was not dead yet) differ from that of 'Greatest Rock&Roll Band in The World' of today? Not really much...

- Doxa

Happy Jack:

Elvis had a ton of hits after '69 - I was a disc jockey in those days and the hits never stopped. Not sure what record charts you were looking at!

This thread should have stopped after Kyle's eloquent post....

Elvis was surely an originator of R'n'R as we know it. With proper management, no telling what he could have acheived musically. However, Col. Parker was in it for the money. That's why we have the cheesy movies and even more cheesy songs (although some of them are quite good and/or interesting, i.e. You're So Square). That said, who can argue with the continuing success and fascination people have with him?

I always liked artists that took other people's music, never gave them any credit & never wrote anything themselves.

Sorry...I'll take the real deal any day.

For those who say he had a look, attitude, whatever...great...there are plenty of bubblegum pop bands that can shake their ass too...I don't like them either.

Well, see how good the PR stunt was, even after 50 years you think he is the King. Talk about efficient marketing They knew how to do it already in the 50's.

Seriously, I can give Elvis a big credit. He was actually the first artist to put sex into music. There I can agree with you. But otherwise,... Good to see that I have others who agree with me like Ket and Bartman.

To JamesBurton. I have a music book collection that is not that big, maybe 60-80 books on rock and blues music, I have some 1400 vinyls plus lots of CD's appart from my Stones collection. Around 100 of them are great rock'n roll artists like Gene Vincent, Johnny Burnette, Buddy Holly, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and so on. In addition to the 50's rock I have a nice blues collection of about 200 LP's/CD's of guys like Skip James, Son House, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charlie Patton, Jimmy Reed, Otis Spann in addition to all the standard Howlings, Hookers, Kings and Waters. So, i think I know my blues/rock history.
And that is exactly why I still claim that Elvis was the biggest PR stunt in the last century








Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2005-02-15 22:51 by Jan Richards.

Presley's Sun Recordings are essentional to anyone even half serious about collecting rock & roll. These recordings have been released on different CD sets over the years but you cant go wrong with

Sunrise - Elvis Preseley RCA 07863.

Preseley collector and expert Ernst Jorgensen is currently working on a set that will bring together every Sun recording and out-take, plus every known photo from the Sun era. This set is rumoured to be released in late 2005

If you want in depth read about the Sun years then check out

Last Train To Memphis - Peter Guralinck.

ROCKMAN

Elvis' Sun Recordings are no doubt essential,
and I'd add the 1956 RCA releases too.

Yeah davido 56 material ....I didn't wanna rush 'em with too info much too soon but another esssential Elvis item is 5CD set

ELVIS - The King Of Rock & Roll The Complete 50's Masters

ROCKMAN

Definately!
I'd say after that it's pretty
slim pickings, with ocassional
flashes of brilliance, lotsa fun
tacky stuff, but not much I'd
consider essential. Some of the
boots, raw uninhibited Elvis in
the studio, still shows a blues
rock flare, but again lotsa crapola
too, so won't name names, definately
not essential. Or is there something
else that you'd venture should be
included, Rockman? "Tiger Man",
the 68 comeback cd reissue-
fun in an off cuff way,
showed promise but but
but.............?

Who cares about that boring Sun records and '56 RCA stuff.. the true and essential Elvis hit the stage in Las Vegas - that's what Elvis (with that white uniform and movements) is for me..! Great entertainment; Always makes me smile, even laugh..

- Doxa

That's the way it is and Aloha from Hawaii are the the best concerts IMO

Maybe entertaining and essentially Elvis,
I wouldn't disagree, but not neccesarily great,
definately not essential rock and roll, that's for sure.
But if you ike it that's all that really counts anyway.

Dear davido, I need to confess that the very idea of Elvis that I got comes from that Las Vegas period, and I was grown up to hate anything related to the name "Elvis", that is, the total greasy antithesis to anything that 'real' rock music represents. But jeez, in the last few years I have found that music quite amusing.. but I still have to admit that despite that outstanding talent there is so much unintentional irony and all that 'extra' fun.., I am a bit (?) pervert.

- Doxa




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-02-17 11:12 by Rorty.

I'd totally agree with you on this Doxa.
It's essentially Elvis, in the way you
describe, but not essential rock,
if you get my drift. I'd limit
the latter to his Sun and
RCA 56 stuff, very little
more. But oh yeah, the latter
stuff is unintentionally
funny and I love it too!