To put some fairness back into the Elvis VS. Michael discussions.....

Granted, it's common knowledge that Michael needed help to write lyrics and/or compose music (Quincy, Rod, Teddy, R, Jam/Lewis, etc.). But at least it's also well known that Michael has written/composed his own songs by himself (Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal, etc.).

With that said.....

Elvis NEVER wrote/composed a song at all. And yet some people (fans, critics, whoever) wanted to called him "The King Of Rock & Roll". How can anyone be consider a king/queen of any music genre/style if he/she NEVER made any attempt to write/compose a potential hit?!?

I know my final opinion isn't going to be a popular one outside of the org, but Michael really was THE better artist than Elvis all along. Yes, Elvis had a lot more albums released than Michael. But Elvis NEVER try to write OR compose any of them.

OK, rant over.
[Edited 8/4/09 22:27pm]

I'm not even going to address this in the context of the Elvis vs. MJ thing. but anyway...


he did write a few. they just weren't any good.

frankly, I don't understand why people insist on artists doing things that they aren't any good at in order to live up to the standard of being an "artist".

I mean, this is why we have people like Mariah Carey, arguably a great singer (at one time) writing a bunch of bullshit songs and wasting that voice on tripe that she wrote herself because of some aspirations to be considered an artist.

Elvis was a great singer and a great performer and I'm happy to leave it at that. There are a lot of people that aren't great singers, performers, songwriters, or producers trying to do ALL of it and turning out hot garbage left and right.

The singer/performer-songwriter is a relatively new concept in the evolution of music and the expectation of it is probably one of the major contributors to the decline in the popular music in general.

Don't get me wrong, it's great if someone can do it all. But if they can't, then I'm not going to hold it against them if they excel at what they're good at and leave what they're NOT good at to others.

just my 2 cents.

the same thing can be said about alot of artists. Like Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, etc.

but yeah errant said it best.

errant said:

SHOTS FIRED!

bboy87 said:

They shootin'! Ah made you look.

Elvis had a great voice

POOK said:

POOK said:

:fallof:

Why didn't composers/songwriters Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, and Harold Arlen sing their own compostions? That's right, known of those brilliant songwriters could sing worth a tinker's damn.

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

No.




_____
[Edited 8/4/09 23:36pm]

There's hardly anyone who can be a great singer AND great songwriter/musician. Only a chosen few have been good at those things. Others have just chosen what they're most talented and if radio don't pay them, they'll get a writing credit so they won't complain when it becomes a hit even though they changed one lyric.

Timmy84 said:

You better stop talkin 'bout Ms. Beyonce'.

TD3 said:

Put a ring on it.

People have to realize that not everyone is a one man band. This is the music industry. People have their strengths and their weaknesses. People have their gifts

Some people write wonderful songs but can't sing them well

Some can play instruments but can't write songs or sing

Some can sing but can't really write songs



If they can make good music, it's all that matters

bboy87 said:

Yeah that's all that matters. Just because someone can't write or can't sing or can't play instruments but can do one of the others don't mean they're a bad artist unless their music just overall sucks.

errant said:

Score!

But that's a helluva a lot more than 2 cents.

There are all kind of artists.

Just look at how cover songs are now almost universally dismissed when they were a staple for almost all of the greatest artists.

Now it shows a lack of talent/originality?

Oh boy. The real lack of talent is in thinking that you can do it all.

errant TORE that up

Timmy84 said:

... U a slave to my rhymebook...

Yeah, i never understood dat thing as well... "The King" has never wrote a hit on his own (he actually wrote some songs.. But they're just sooo corny!!), yet people are still calling him "The King"... Mozart never wrote the lyrics to his Operas, but it made a good music outta them...

Errant, U R right, when U say everybody is trying to dub himself an "artist" nowadays, in a way that "artistry" almost doesnt mean shit today... Just like in some othe thread, I read The-Dream, Keri Hilson and Kid Cudi were called... ICONS!! WTF is wrong with ppl today?? If they are ICONS what are John, Bob, Miles, Michael, Nina, Prince, Bowie??

bboy87 said:

I agree.A one-man band is cool and all,but I'm not gonna be a music snob and dislike another artist who can't do it,lol.

Art comes in many forms.....

I think what's getting on Tony's nerves, is that both Elvis and Michael are the biggest stars in music history and he's wondering how Elvis was able to get that honor when he couldn't write but Michael could. Well, the general public doesn't pay attention to or know anything about whether their favorite artists write their songs or not. All they know is "they like it". The ones that pay attention to who wrote what or who played what is us music lovers. The general public isn't as heavy into music as we are or they'd be complaining about shit hop just like so many of us are.

The reason Elvis is and was as huge a star as he was, is because he was the first white entertainer to expose white people to rock and roll (black music) and start them to liking it. If it weren't for Elvis, classical music, country music, or whatever dull ass slow form of music would still be dominating. Well, thanks to shit hop, slow dull music is once again dominating. Ain't it funny how it took a white man to make mainstream music black and now black so-called artists (shit hoppers) are making it white again.

compare Elvis' impact vs Michael's impact outside America... that will give a better perspective...

POOK said:

errant said:

Mariah has been co-writing her own lyrics since the debut album. Vision Of Love & Love Takes Time are classics! Later years songs like Touch My Body are the real bullshit songs.
[Edited 8/5/09 7:30am]

TD3 said:

Madonna does this sometimes. But at least most of her music is uptempo.

vainandy said:

Bingo! That is exactly what this thread is about.

coolcat said:

Of course! Elvis NEVER toured Europe.

Because he's white

Timmy84 said:

Damn. That's almost haiku-like in its beauty. LOL!