Do you think he will go down in history as being a better performer than Elvis was? Michael Jackson was getting close, in my opinion, but then he kind of blew it by turning weird. I think if Prince keeps up with what he is doing he will surpass Elvis' legacy. That is of course my opinion because I am a huge Prince fan.

girl66 said:

Xactly

I don't know what will happen, but I do know that I will love Prince's music till the day I die

(that was a little drastic )

PLEASE!

Elvis was a better actor.....

skywalker said:

I saw the post about is Prince better than the Beatles, I just thought comparing him to one person instead of a band made a lot more sense.

abierman said:

Elvis was a hero to most
But he never meant shit to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Motherfuck him and John Wayne

Cause I'm Black and I'm proud
I'm ready and hyped plus I'm amped
Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps
Sample a look back you look and find
Nothing but rednecks for 400 years if you check
Don't worry be happy
Was a number one jam
Damn if I say it you can slap me right here

- Public Enemy... Fight the Power - 1989!

Hell yeah... FUCK ELVIS!

lol... but I like some of his music... especially Love me Tender! LOL
[Edited 4/7/07 12:59pm]

Erm.. yes. Has this site lost it's mind!?

Presley or Costello?

No way, I don't think anyone will ever match the pure electricity that elvis could generate onstage. There is no way Prince could come close in terms of originality or impact. However, there are plenty of areas he easily surpasses Elvis, he's a better instrumentalist, a great songwriter (Elvis never really wrote a song) a producer, a one man hit machine. More importantly, Prince kept his sanity better than Elvis and most stars of his magnitude did, some may disagree but I don't think he ever wavered too far from his own vision, Elvis was co-opted by everyone from his own fans to the colonel to hollywood and perhaps, in the end, that is the difference that sustained Prince. He always had faith in what he was doing and did it with his own passion.

skywalker said:

Very well put, Skywalker. Like I said on The Beatles thread, a comparison is impossible. I'm a HUGE fan of Prince, The Beatles, AND Elvis so I think they are all awsome!

girl66 said:

Right now, white men call the shots based on their pov.
Diversify the judges and the game will change.

JonnyApplesauce said:

I'm with you all the way on that one. Can you imagine as a Seattlelite how angry I get when local magazine polls constantly place Kurt Cobain over Jimi? I mean if nothing else, people usually go with the person who's been in the public mind longer, but moreover, how is Cobain better in any way? All he had was songwriting, he couldn't play and sing at the same time or at least not well, he couldn't match Jimi for showmanship or even production. So they are just racist bastards whether they think they are or not.
However: ELVIS ARON PRESLEY WAS ALWAYS A BREED APART, A SPECIAL CASE.

mozfonky said:

Pretty subjective stuff, plus I would not say that Prince couldn't touch Elvis in terms of originality. Elvis just took already existing rock and roll roots and popularized them--he didn't invent them, nor drastically change them- he DID bring it to the masses.

That's a common take on not only Elvis but the rest of the early rockers. But not entirely true, rock was both more idiosycratic and eclectic than blue and country but the biggest dividing line is an easily missed one: the JOY with which Rock and Roll expressed was the main difference between blues and country. Elvis was an original in his spastic moves onstage that had their own way and manner of grace which were practically involuntary and spontaneous. His charisma was untouchable, charisma is a mysterious quality that can't really be explained without sounding kooky, but Elvis could just show up when he was a noone and drive people crazy. That's a rare gift and all the great ones have it, but I don't believe anyone ever had it like Elvis. Musically, Prince is mainly a hybridization of styles that were already well defined and he added little new to them, he was expert at whatever he did but that does not equal originality. He was a genius, they both were, and it's hard if not impossible to make such comparisons, besides, they are both my all time favorites.

Elvis was great!!

Prince is much greater!! Prince is the greatest !! No compare !!

Prince writes all his songs by himself, elvis not.

Prince during a concert 1995 : "When Elvis is king? Who is James Brown ? GOD ?"

I give Elvis the win for greatness. Even if Prince is a better song writer and musician. But Elvis goes the win because of the timing and over all impact.

No I don't think Prince's greatness will ever get the recognition he deserves, because he is not White.

mozfonky said:

I'll give Elvis all the credit in the world for impact, but not for originality, considering how much he borrowed vocally and choreographically from the R&B and gospel circuits.

timur said:

I also recall reading on this forum that Prince did call elvis the king and dedicated a song to him. I think it's strange how people overlook his influence on Prince when it's fairly obvious in some of the things he has done onstage. Hell, even Michael borrowed that tippy toe move from Elvis. Face it people, Elvis was bad in a way that goes beyond race.

Definitely, Prince is better than Elvis in some ways, in many ways even. But Elvis was, is, and always will be the King.

The King? Maybe of mimicry, Meaning you go to Harlem or the local jook joint and see what the colored people are doing. Remember it and clone it for consumption by people not in the know. Then claim it was always yours. He did what Justin Timberfake is doing today, except Justin found himself a producer to add the Blackground (not a typo) he wanted.

that is a myth, elvis ADDED to the versions he did, not take away or totally copy. His versions were usually better, do your homework and go listen before you say those things. most people who say that are just repeating what the overheard. And it was not just black music, but country and pop too. He was a brilliant amalgamation of american music. To put him in the class of Justin Timberlake is silly. One was an indisputable great artist who will go down in history, whether you or I like it or not, and the other is a image driven, no talent chump who won't even be remembered in a couple years.

Elvis was a brillant singer and entertainer, one of the all time greats. But he never wrote his own songs and a lot of his famous songs were cover versions.

Prince is a brillant singer and entertainer, who writes and produces his own songs. So it's obvious Prince is a far greater talent than Elvis. I never see genius attached to Elvis's name like I do everytime I read or hear about Prince.

rainbowchild said:

If Elvis could see Prince "Solo" on guitar. Elvis would be like how you do that in his ("all shook up voice")!!!

Isolar said:

My thoughts exactly.

Hell yeah Prince is a better overall performer. But, since Elvis is proclaimed to be the King of R&R. Since he was there in the beginning and he is most of all white(the reason why he was called King in the first place), the sayers and critics will always put Elvis on the top pedastal. No matter what I say or you or anybody else. Don't get me wrong, I like Elvis but not as much as I like Prince. And I always had a problem with the media calling him king when he didn't start R&R or wanted to sing it in the first place. He wanted to be a bluesman. But that's my opinion.


Shockadelica! She's got you tied with a golden rope.

I know this is a Prince forum and don't expect you guys to be elvis historians but the facts are all wrong. Elvis never "proclaimed" himself king, he was always too modest for that. In fact, Little Richard said he called him King. Either way, Elvis was and has been called "genius" by many sources and so has Prince. Prince is a huge talent and a genius but his impact is small compared to all the early rockers, not just Elvis. Prince was never as innovative as many people believe, it's not even all his fault, many of the styles he acquired had already been well mined before he got there. He was a brilliant assimilator of music and dance but we can't say he really changed all that much of history, musical or otherwise as did the early rockers. All of whom had to pay huge tolls in their lives, careers and minds for being so different and so innovative.