I personally think Elvis is one of the best singers, performers ever. Not all of his songs are masterworks, but he really puts those pipes to work on even the mediocre stuff. His sincerety shined through. Too bad Colonel Parker's greed and the bad Doctors drugs killed the promise.

Very controversial around here.

I think he was a great Rock & Roll singer, decent Vegasy singer, a great performer, incredibly stylish (enough to sing My Way & get away with it) & handsome enough that he didn't need any of the above.

To be honest, I've never been a fan. I just don't like that kind of music.

The greatest!

shockadelicaa, there is something in Elvis' catelogue for everyone. He sang every style of music and did it damn well.

Not so great...

I'm not a fan by any stretch, but he brought a lot to the table, and made a lot of things acceptable that wouldn't have been otherwise. You can blame that on his race or whatever, but he had talent regardless.

Motherfuck him and John Wayne - Chuck D

Harlepolis said:

Why?

guitarslinger44 said:

Thats a quote from Public Enemy's "Fight The Power".

Harlepolis said:

I know it is, but what are YOUR thoughts?

guitarslinger44 said:

A 'grand' thief. Thats what I think.

Harlepolis said:

Most great artists are.

guitarslinger44 said:

Disagree,,,,some are individualists. Some are not(he's a perfect case).

Harlepolis said:

Everyone's a product of that which they listen to. Miles Davis's "Sketches Of Spain" is a result of his listening to classical music. In fact, he rarely listened to anything but classical music around his house (until he got into the funk and rock stuff later on). Does that mean he "stole" from the composers whose music he "borrowed?"

guitarslinger44 said:

There's a THICK line between "being influenced" and "ripping the hell off".

Now when you've been influenced, you don't over-shadow it on your character(Like Miles). But when you're ripping-off, you steal another person's WHOLE character(Like Elvis).

When I hear a Miles song, I know who's playing regardless what song or style he's adobting. But when I hear Elvis, I hear a cheap parody of Chuck, Ike, Little Richard and Jackie Wilson,,I don't really hear whats Elvis all about.

Props to Harlepolis (as usual).

I think Elvis was probably the archetypal American artist.

As such, we have him to thank for the Pat Boones, Vanilla Ices, and Justin Timberlakes of the world.

And, as such, I've never been able to stomach him.

Oh Oh!!!


Here we go..

ThreadBare said:

My issue with him is the "The King Of Rock N' Roll" title in which he never lived up to.

Other than that, he doesn't bother me at all.

Elvis wasn't the greatest (no such thing, and it's all subjective anyway), but he was one of the greatest singers of all-time. I'm a real fan of his 70s period. He never sang better then.

guitarslinger44 said:

elvis was a pioneer and a great performer, but he was far from the most accomplished early rock artist, not even among the white guys (I like Buddy Holly, Bill Haley and Jerry Lee Lewis much more than Elvis and they actually wrote songs occasionally, as opposed to Elvis). To say that he "stole" black music however is not a fair pronouncement if you ask me and really reinforces racism much more than his accolades; as though music should be segregated into "black" and "white". Rock N roll may have been primarily pioneered and developed in the african american community, but it had roots in rural white music as well (black "blues" and white "hillbilly" music are practically indistinguishable), and to deny the contributions of white people in its development isn't fair (which is also applicable to jazz and other forms of music considered "black"; really all american music is predominantly african american in origin, but not exclusively).

Furthermore, Elvis played "black" music because he sincerely loved and appreciated it. He would attend the black churches in his community and enthusiastically join in the singing/clapping and dancing, he jammed and fraternized with black blues muscians, he idolized fats domino and arthur big boy kruddup and was very humble and self-deprecating about his role in the creation of the music; he once said (and I paraphrase) "people seem to think I came up with this stuff, but black people have been playing this for years before I came along and nobody does it like they do".

I got quotes too!

“A lot of people have accused Elvis of stealing the black man’s music, when in fact, almost every black solo entertainer copied his stage mannerisms from Elvis.”
Jackie Wilson

“Elvis had an influence on everybody with his musical approach. He broke the ice for all of us.”
Al Green

“There have been a lotta tough guys. There have been pretenders. And there have been contenders. But there is only one king.”
Bruce Springsteen

“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.”
Bob Dylan

“He was a unique artist - an original in an area of imitators.”
Mick Jagger

“I wasn’t just a fan, I was his brother. He said I was good and I said he was good; we never argued about that. Elvis was a hard worker, dedicated, and God loved him. Last time I saw him was at Graceland. We sang Old Blind Barnabus together, a gospel song. I love him and hope to see him in heaven. There’ll never be another like that soul brother.
James Brown

"Ask anyone. If it hadn't been for Elvis, I don't know where popular music would be. He was the one that started it all off, and he was definitely the start of it for me."
Elton John

"Elvis was a giant and influenced everyone in the business."
Isaac Hayes

"I remember Elvis as a young man hanging around the Sun studios. Even then, I knew this kid had a tremendous talent. He was a dynamic young boy. His phraseology, his way of looking at a song, was as unique as Sinatra's. I was a tremendous fan, and had Elvis lived, there would have been no end to his inventiveness."
B.B. King

“You have no idea how great he is, really you don’t. You have no comprehension - it’s absolutely impossible. I can’t tell you why he’s so great, but he is. He’s sensational.”
Phil Spector

“So what it boils down to was Elvis produced his own records. He came to the session, picked the songs, and if something in the arrangement was changed, he was the one to change it. Everything was worked out spontaneously. Nothing was really rehearsed. Many of the important decisions normally made previous to a recording session were made during the session. What it was was a look to the future. Today everybody makes records this way. Back then Elvis was the only one. He was the forerunner of everything that’s record production these days. Consciously or unconsciously, everyone imitated him. People started doing what Elvis did.”
Bones Howe

Elvis is a legend. I love his work. Who gives a motherfuck if he stole shit or not, he did it well.

ThreadBare said:

Same here.

Even Michael Jackson(future son in law) in a sly way said he stole black music and he had actually met him.

As a kid I loved Elvis. I can still watch his corny ass movies. That said, the whole King of Rock and Roll thing is an INSULT 2 all the is RIGHT in the music world. It's just a FLAT out fabrication.

I dont own any Elvis records. Does that answer the question?

jacktheimprovident said:

That would be fine but white folks DON'T see it this way. They BELIEVE he did come up with this stuff.....hence the KING of Rock and Roll.

vastle over rated imo

Graycap23 said:

So instead of him being called The King Of Rock And Roll,


should he be called The King Of Rock And Roll, According To White Folks??