He had an incredible voice, he could move very well, and he was very innovative in terms of presentation. I know his critics knock him because he often used songwriters, but you're kidding yourself if you think Elvis wasn't both extremely talented and extremely inspirational.
Not really. He's singing the blues. People have done that forever... Not to play the race card, but I think he was so popular because he took the "black" music everyone already liked, and brought it to the mainstream in a nice white package.
Before Elvis, there was nothing. - John Lennon He did play a very vital role in the creation (or at least expansion) of rock and roll. He essentially gave African American music to the white culture (and therefore the mainstream). He expanded the blues and such. I don't love the guy's music, but I appreciate what he helped create.
Elvis was a very influential figure in modern music. He somewhat mainstreamed the lines between jazz and rock while at the same time being relatively original in his own way.
I don't particularly find his music that great but to doubt his influence on what I listen to today would be foolish.
and a half >.> anyway I probably should of clarified what I meant. He was very influential (in fact one of favorites was influenced by him) and he did bring rock n roll out, and I do give him credit for that. But I meant as an artist, he's awful...half (all? most of?) of his songs were not even written/or co written by him.
He made innovations in rock. Imagine being thought of as so provocative as to be censored from the waist down on a TV show. He had a dream of being in law enforcement. One of his high points was meeting the president.
Not really. He's singing the blues. People have done that forever... Not to play the race card, but I think he was so popular because he took the "black" music everyone already liked, and brought it to the mainstream in a nice white package.BrianB0422
[QUOTE="topsemag55"][QUOTE="SaudiFury"] Can't compare him to Elvis, as Elvis outcIasses him by a mile. [QUOTE="topsemag55"][QUOTE="SaudiFury"] kinda like Eminem in a sense? Can't compare him to Elvis, as Elvis outcIasses him by a mile. by 8 miles*
[QUOTE="topsemag55"][QUOTE="SaudiFury"] kinda like Eminem in a sense? Can't compare him to Elvis, as Elvis outcIasses him by a mile. well i agree. it's why i meant "kinda' and "in a sense" :)
ITT: People with no sense of history and artistic progression say Elvis isn't worthy of praise.Ace6301
Pretty much this... Elvis is The King. He was the one to bring black music (the blues) into the mainstream. He didn't invent rock n' roll, but popularized it and started a revolution. He's one of the most celebrated artists of all time, and for good reason. But don't take my word for it, just ask the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, etc....
Elvis inovated rock and roll, he had listened and seen afro-american music as he grew up and this influenced him to bring rock out to teenagers who loved his music as it was severely different from what their parents listened too. Teenagers at that time had money and they wanted fun, they didn't want to be kept down by their parents and thus Elvis and his rock music was one of the catalysts for the teenage revolution back in the 1950ties. He was at the time the most popular artist and the King of Rock and Roll which was well deserved, just like Jackson is the King of Pop. Granted everybody has their taste in music, but if you like modern day rock then Elvis had a huge part in bringing that genre out.
and a half >.> anyway I probably should of clarified what I meant. He was very influential (in fact one of favorites was influenced by him) and he did bring rock n roll out, and I do give him credit for that. But I meant as an artist, he's awful...half (all? most of?) of his songs were not even written/or co written by him. Oh, well in that case yes. But everything has to have a starting point, and usually that starting point is easily expanded upon. The caveman who invented fire didn't invent it with a flamethrower, ya get me? Actually that's probably a bad analogy, but whatevs.
Not really. He's singing the blues. People have done that forever... Not to play the race card, but I think he was so popular because he took the "black" music everyone already liked, and brought it to the mainstream in a nice white package.BrianB0422
Thats what he did, but there is nothing wrong with that. Justin Beiber, Justin Timberlake & Eminem use the same formula. As a black dude Coolyfett has no issue with them. One issue Coolyfett does have with Elvis is how he trash talked the Beatles after they took his shine. In Coolyfett opinion Elvis was above that sort of thing.
Elvis was famous in the African-American community for breaking through racial barriers. When Dewey Phillips first aired "That's All Right" on Memphis radio, many listeners who contacted the station by phone and telegram to ask for it again assumed that its singer was black. From the beginning of his national fame, Presley expressed respect for African American performers and their music, and disregard for the norms of segregation and racial prejudice then prevalent in the South. The Memphis World, an African American newspaper, reported that Presley, "the rock 'n' roll phenomenon", "cracked Memphis's segregation laws" by attending the local amusement park on what was designated as its "colored night". Such statements and actions led Presley to be generally hailed in the black community during the early days of his stardom. By contrast, many white adults, according to Billboard's Arnold Shaw, "did not like him, and condemned him as depraved."
I don't. He never even wrote his music. Which is why I look down upon him and other similar artists like Johnny Cash. Chuck Berry is the real king of rock and roll. Not Elvis.
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