Quote
Aquamarine

Quote
kleermaker

Quote
Aquamarine

Quote
guitarbastard
elvis had a great voice and of course was important somehow. but he could hardly play the guitar and didnt write a song on his own. how can anyone call him the KING of rock n roll?? this title goes to chuck berry. when i travelled down the mississippi last year i was shocked how little attention the old (black) blues and rock and roll masters get. no street is named after them, no museum, nothing. but elvis is @#$%& everywhere. it's just so wrong!

You should have called me before you came! You obviously missed the Mississippi Blues Trail, the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale (and all the other Clarksdale sites), the guitar monument at the crossroads on Highway 61 where Robert Johnson supposedly met the devil, all the birth sites and grave sites, such as Sonny Boy Williamson's . . . And that's just in one small area of Mississippi!

But why no street names?? I wonder why.

Not many, admittedly, but there are some--John Lee Hooker Lane, McKinley St., plus Muddy waters has a Chicago street named after him.

Quote
Justin
I can't say I'm surprised by most of the comments here because most of these comments reek of typical "classic rock" mentality. In a genre comprised mainly of guitar heroes/gods, it's no surprise why Presley is generally misunderstood to most classic rock fans. The lack of songwriting, the crappy 60's movies, Vegas and whatever flimsy reasons to dismiss Presley are generally very weak that more often than not usually hide a personal dislike for Presley that one cannot admit. Whatever the reason, it displays a hugely irresponsible view on his impact on popular music and proves taht there is much room for education regarding Elvis Presley.

A popular notion that Presley was less "musical" than his peers is incorrect. Presley in essence produced all of his sessions himself. All those great songs we know and love? Yeah Presley arranged them. The music all came through the filter that was Presley's. The inspiration started with him and worked its way throughout the band. It was his guitar playing that served as foundation to Scotty Moore and Bill Black on what is considered the first rock and roll record ever: "That's All Right." His rhythm playing which was clearly based in country music, combined with his voice dripping of blues is the basic recipe for any rock and roll tune which is still being used today.

The cheap shot that Elvis never wrote a song is nothing but that: a cheap shot. "Hound Dog" was originally recorded by the great blues singer Big Mama Thornton but the song was written by two Jewish men from New York: Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. Does that make Thornton's version any less great? The truth is by the time the song got to Elvis Presley---he had transformed the song into something that never existed before. He took a blues song and completely transformed it into a rock and roll song. Whether he wrote the song or not has become of a footnote to the bigger issue: he created something that no one had heard before.

One cannot also forget that the song that single-handedly brought our guy Keith Richards to rock and roll was Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel." It was Scotty Moore's guitar playing that influenced not only Keith Richards but Jimmy Page and a slew of other players from the period. It goes without saying that the effect Presley had on singers was immeasurable: from Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey to Elton John...the list is long. Musicians have gone on record to cite Presley's music as a huge influence on them.

Presley's influence was humongus. It was more than what you saw and what he sang or what he did/didn't play. It's how he made people feel. The essence of rock and roll however you want to call it: danger, fear, sex, anger...Elvis Presley pulled it right out of everyone during a period when no one knew they had it in them. His contribution to music extends into popular culture in a way that even the great Chuck Berry could not even reach. Bob Dylan said it best: "When I first heard Elvis' voice I just knew that I wasn't going to work for anybody; and nobody was going to be my boss. Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail." Chuck Berry's influence is tangible: it comes in the form of his songwriting and guitar work which laid the foundation to the "sound" of rock and roll. Elvis Presley's influence was much much larger.

Quote
Wroclaw
I used to be an Elvis fan as a kid - even read quite alot about him and did my first steps in reading English (above the school exercise) reading P. Presley's "Elvis and Me" which my father owned. I knew then the "classic" chronology of the Elvis career:

1956-58: the rebel rockers
1960-62: the comeback
1962-68: the actor
1968-77: the Vegas Elvis.

I remember feeling that "The real idol" was the Elvis of 1956-58 ad was actually upset that so little filmed documentation of those years existed as I felt there must have been a similar to a Beatlemania situation in America. A few years ago, for the fun of it, I spent some time re reading and re checking my old concepts about Elvis using the now available flow of online resources. I was actually rather surprised to find out Elvis did a descent amount of "touring" during 1956, rather limited touring in 1957, none in 1958 and only some 2-3 shows after his army period! (one being a benefit in Hawaii). It was the TV hosting shows (Ed Sullivan etc.) that were most of his fans (not to mention all Americans) were able to see him. Made me feel that the observation mentioned earlier in this thread - that Elvis was the first American Idol" is somewhat true.

Quote
DandelionPowderman

Quote
Justin
I can't say I'm surprised by most of the comments here because most of these comments reek of typical "classic rock" mentality. In a genre comprised mainly of guitar heroes/gods, it's no surprise why Presley is generally misunderstood to most classic rock fans. The lack of songwriting, the crappy 60's movies, Vegas and whatever flimsy reasons to dismiss Presley are generally very weak that more often than not usually hide a personal dislike for Presley that one cannot admit. Whatever the reason, it displays a hugely irresponsible view on his impact on popular music and proves taht there is much room for education regarding Elvis Presley.

A popular notion that Presley was less "musical" than his peers is incorrect. Presley in essence produced all of his sessions himself. All those great songs we know and love? Yeah Presley arranged them. The music all came through the filter that was Presley's. The inspiration started with him and worked its way throughout the band. It was his guitar playing that served as foundation to Scotty Moore and Bill Black on what is considered the first rock and roll record ever: "That's All Right." His rhythm playing which was clearly based in country music, combined with his voice dripping of blues is the basic recipe for any rock and roll tune which is still being used today.

The cheap shot that Elvis never wrote a song is nothing but that: a cheap shot. "Hound Dog" was originally recorded by the great blues singer Big Mama Thornton but the song was written by two Jewish men from New York: Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. Does that make Thornton's version any less great? The truth is by the time the song got to Elvis Presley---he had transformed the song into something that never existed before. He took a blues song and completely transformed it into a rock and roll song. Whether he wrote the song or not has become of a footnote to the bigger issue: he created something that no one had heard before.

One cannot also forget that the song that single-handedly brought our guy Keith Richards to rock and roll was Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel." It was Scotty Moore's guitar playing that influenced not only Keith Richards but Jimmy Page and a slew of other players from the period. It goes without saying that the effect Presley had on singers was immeasurable: from Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey to Elton John...the list is long. Musicians have gone on record to cite Presley's music as a huge influence on them.

Presley's influence was humongus. It was more than what you saw and what he sang or what he did/didn't play. It's how he made people feel. The essence of rock and roll however you want to call it: danger, fear, sex, anger...Elvis Presley pulled it right out of everyone during a period when no one knew they had it in them. His contribution to music extends into popular culture in a way that even the great Chuck Berry could not even reach. Bob Dylan said it best: "When I first heard Elvis' voice I just knew that I wasn't going to work for anybody; and nobody was going to be my boss. Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail." Chuck Berry's influence is tangible: it comes in the form of his songwriting and guitar work which laid the foundation to the "sound" of rock and roll. Elvis Presley's influence was much much larger.

Post of the month!

Quote
slew


JamesfDouglas is spot off Freddie Mercury in no way is better than Mick Jagger. he has a better voice technically and that is where it ends.

Quote
Aquamarine

Quote
slew


JamesfDouglas is spot off Freddie Mercury in no way is better than Mick Jagger. he has a better voice technically and that is where it ends.

They're both amazing frontmen/showmen, with different styles. One doesn't have to be better than the other. Add Springsteen to the trinity, too!

Quote
stewedandkeefed

Quote
Aquamarine

Quote
slew


JamesfDouglas is spot off Freddie Mercury in no way is better than Mick Jagger. he has a better voice technically and that is where it ends.

They're both amazing frontmen/showmen, with different styles. One doesn't have to be better than the other. Add Springsteen to the trinity, too!

Freddie Mercury may have been a great frontman but unfortunately he fronted the band Queen. Mick Jagger on the other hand fronted the Stones which means a hell of a lot more to me.

Quote
Koen
Elvis broke a lot of barriers, but I've regarded him to be a great frontman.

Quote
JuanTCB
But yeah, the only person that could give Mick a run for his money was Elvis at his prime ('56-'58, '68-'70).

Quote
Youngie
Before anyone did anything, Elvis did everything

Quote
Aquamarine

Quote
kleermaker

Quote
Aquamarine

Quote
guitarbastard
elvis had a great voice and of course was important somehow. but he could hardly play the guitar and didnt write a song on his own. how can anyone call him the KING of rock n roll?? this title goes to chuck berry. when i travelled down the mississippi last year i was shocked how little attention the old (black) blues and rock and roll masters get. no street is named after them, no museum, nothing. but elvis is @#$%& everywhere. it's just so wrong!

You should have called me before you came! You obviously missed the Mississippi Blues Trail, the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale (and all the other Clarksdale sites), the guitar monument at the crossroads on Highway 61 where Robert Johnson supposedly met the devil, all the birth sites and grave sites, such as Sonny Boy Williamson's . . . And that's just in one small area of Mississippi!

But why no street names?? I wonder why.

Not many, admittedly, but there are some--John Lee Hooker Lane, McKinley St., plus Muddy waters has a Chicago street named after him.

Quote
Munichhilton

Quote
Koen
Elvis broke a lot of barriers, but I've regarded him to be a great frontman.

...i've regarded him the same way Koen...

Quote
deadegad
Have you seen the Elvis Comeback television special from 1968?

Well at one point during it Elvis just sits around with his band and plays the guitar and makes some funny self deprecating commnets here and there. Now that was good music!

That might have been Elvis' key to returning to music if he had had better managment. He could have left the Hollywood glitz and corniness behind and released something less commerically obvious. Imagine Elvis cutting a record with The Band, Bob Dylan, etc? If they were at all interested.

The what ifs!

To answer the original question: There is some truth to the critiscm in this thread but Elvis helped, to put it mildly, midwife Rock and Roll. Imagine if there were not an Elvis and his impact on so many who are now regarded as 'Classic Rock?'

Quote
stewedandkeefed

Quote
deadegad
Have you seen the Elvis Comeback television special from 1968?

Well at one point during it Elvis just sits around with his band and plays the guitar and makes some funny self deprecating commnets here and there. Now that was good music!

That might have been Elvis' key to returning to music if he had had better managment. He could have left the Hollywood glitz and corniness behind and released something less commerically obvious. Imagine Elvis cutting a record with The Band, Bob Dylan, etc? If they were at all interested.

The what ifs!

To answer the original question: There is some truth to the critiscm in this thread but Elvis helped, to put it mildly, midwife Rock and Roll. Imagine if there were not an Elvis and his impact on so many who are now regarded as 'Classic Rock?'

You raise an important point here. Elvis had the worst manager in rock n roll history. Elvis wanted to be a great artist but Colonel Tom didn't know or care what that meant.