hi,
i watched a show on VH! last night. In it, stars of the music world commented upon the influence of elvis upon the world in which we live. Now, i do not disagree with the standpoint that elvis was indeed great. However, some of the commentaries made were absoloutley ridiculous. for instance, Bono (of U2 fame) attributed Elvis to illuminating the world to how powerfull the medium of T.V is. What? do these 'stars' even listen to a word they say?

One of the few people to make any sense on the show was Chuck D (Public enemy). Whilst appreciative of Elvis' talent, he highlighted that james brown is of equal significance.

Homer simpson got it right when he said "Rock stars, is there anything they dont know".

NOt only is James Brown of equal relevance, Chuck Berry and Little Richard are of MORE relevance. They just happened to be black in a society that was not going to allow them the fame or respect that they deserved. Chuck Berry is the real King of Rock n Roll and the father of rock guitar. The Beatles and the Stones covered his work before they became icons. Even Jerry Lee Lewis said that Chuck was the true king.

Respect is due...

although i agree with much of what u say, surely the likes of Chuck Berry would also have their own influences. we are ALL standing on the shoulders of giants.

"There are no kings in this world, only princes".

God damn right!!! Those brothers will never get their true ackowledgement and respect Elvis the "King of Rock n' Roll"
yeah right... Just like Enimem another white boy capitalizing on black culture...

BLACKMF said:

and that's no compliment to be taken lightly... getting jerry lee lewis to give props to someone other than himself is like pulling teeth...

i don't think people can deny that chuck berry was the king of rock (or at least little richard)... they wrote the songs that elvis based his career on... and chuck berry completely revolutionized rock with the guitar... before chuck, piano was the instrument of choice for most rockers... chuck came along, and then suddenly everyone was picking up a guitar...

think about it...

how many times did elvis cover chuck berry... countless...
how many times did chuck berry cover elvis... none that i can think of...

in all honesty, jerry lee lewis would have taken elvis's spot as the white king of rock, if he wouldn't have married his cousin ... they both sang with soul and had sex appeal... the difference was that jerry lee lewis could play the fuck out of the piano... but, he committed career suicide...

i'm not trying to knock elvis though... the man had soul and a wonderful voice... he could sing almost any type of music he tried... i just don't think he should be the king...

wow, i feel i should have no say in here because yall said it already!

Elvis: white, sexy, pale, strong voice..had like 50 albums, of course people were gonna call him "the king" and all that stuff.

But if it wasnt 4 the great fathers of Rock & Roll, Elvis would've not even xssted.

Has any1 heard the poem, "Hard Rock returns 2 Prison from the Hospital Of The Criminally Insane" by Ethridge Knight?

Damn the poem explains this whole idea all.

It also appears as the 3rd poem recited in true form in "Weariness" by Meshell Ndegeocello from "Anthroprol;ogical Mixtape". 4 some reason i remember i had 2 stop the cd because it was 2 much at that moment, very emotional.

Nobody claims he is god. I think black folks need to get off his back and open up their minds. Elvis did not cover countless Chuck Berry tunes.He did A couple. Same with Little Richard. Neither of them sold as many records as Elvis, sold out as many live shows, had as many fans, and the list goes on. People seem to make the mistake of thinking that Elvis is called the King Of Rock and Roll because he invented Rock and Roll. Nobody says he did. That's not why he is called that.

He is the most popular rock star of all time.

Elvis mixed all types of music together to create his sound. Richard and Chuck did not have the diversity that Elvis had. If you have heard one of their songs, you have heard them all. Elvis could sing all types of music.

There were people before Little Richard and Chuck berry. everybody is influenced by what came before them. They would never have been as popular as Elvis even if they were white. And Jerry lee Lewis wouldn't have been even if he didn't like having sex with family members.

B.B King said it best when he said that music does not belong to any one race. Music is for everybody.

By the way, that special when it originally aired, drew 12 million viewers. Berry and Richard would have drawn flies. And Elvis's No.1 Hits collection has sold around 10 million copies worldwide so far. Richard and berry can't get arrested anymore.

Spats said:

let us not forget that elvis, little richard, and chuck berry all came along in the 50s...

now, in the 50s, white parents didn't want their kids listening to rock & roll... now, they had to realize that their kids were going to listen to it regardless... now, let's consider the racial atmosphere of the 50s... these parents much preferred their kids listening to captain honkey elvis than black brother berry... therefore, elvis was mainstreamed by the white media... this is why he old-sold his black contemporaries...

this is the same reason why an eric clapton and stevie ray vaughn anthology will outsell b.b. king & buddy guy...

the fact that vanilla ice had the first rap song to reach number one on the pop charts or that the beastie boys are the biggest selling hiphop group of all time...

that has less to do with talent than it does to do with skintone...

yeah eminem has a lot of people who oppose the things he says... but a black man saying those same things would not be nearly as mainstreamed as eminem has become...

that goodness he isn't!

with time you get Understanding&Elvis was a Very Talented Artist Period.He influenced countless other Artists.Chuck D. said something Powerful about Eminem: He said like Elvis He truly Respect Black Music.Elvis is one of the Greatest Musical Talents Ever.the Cat could sing so Many Styles of Music&whatnot.truth be told if Elvis didn't bring the Goods then Neither Black Nor White would have Paid Him much Mind in the First Damn Place.first of all for Him too even Venture into Singing R&B,Blues,Country,etc.. which was all Black Based Speaks Volumes about the Man&what Inspired Him.while I'm not Crazy about Eminem overall as a Artist He does Respect Black Music.Chuck Berry,James Brown,Little Richard,B.B King all give Elvis Props.Eminem gets Props from Rappers around now as well.like you link Elvis with James Brown you can Link Eminem with 2Pac but you can Respect both.

Lay down THE LAW EllisDee, lay down THE LAW.

Supernova said:

somebody gotta set these people straight...

elvis has talent, for sure... but elvis is the king - i think not...

I agree.. BUT he does have more talent then other PHONEY "made up white arist, who were invented so white kids didn't have to scream from black arist"

Elvis (white jackie wilson & any known black rockin roller)
The Osmonds (white J5)
Madonna (white prince/MJ)
Vanilla Ice (white hammer)


ALL were PUSHED or made by the Music Industry
so white parents didn't have to see Black Musicans Posters on their White Kids bedroom walls..

100% Honest 100% True..

but Elvis is probably the BEST out of all those other artist.. that were made/pushed.. He actually could sing and respected the music and other musicans.. IT is NOT his fault that The Music Industry had a gameplan..

if you don't like Elvis than say it but don't harp on it.Elvis is a Talented Artist&He Influenced&Inspired alot of People.

Each to their own taste, I say.

At Christmas time, or over my sisters place, I quite enjoy singing along to an Elvi tune!

However, in my own home, no thanx. What makes an artist popular is complex. I think there is some amount of identification with an artist. Appreciation of music, obviously, fanciability, for some being with the in crowd, blah blah blah.

It is unfortunate that the label of 'king of this' or 'queen/king etc of this/that' has to be set to a person. They make music, whatever their intentions behind the music be, whether they in the business just cos they been pushed by the music industry - they are making music and are successful. Doesn't mean they are talented musicians. And lets face it, those that do appreciate non industry music, are experiencing something richer. It's all a matter of choice and the charts are made up of manufactured here today gone tomorrow types, mostly. That's what some people want. What I see, is that what is purchased by people, is a reflection of the people.

And that's ok by me... so long as none of them try to make me listen to it

Am I the only one who thinks that Elvis had some black roots? I mean, he tanned deep, knowwhutumsayin'?

You can blame race for Berry and Richards lack of popularity in the 50's but not after that. They just did not have the appeal. Other than songwriting, Elvis was the total package. He was a better singer than them, better live performer, better looking, and the list goes on.

Elvis made great music throughout his career. 50's, 60's, 70's and still sold lots of records throughout all those years. His only crap tunes were some of his movie songs. Richard and berry's career's peaked in the fifties. The fact that Richard is gay as the day is long, didn't help his chances either.

I agree that "titles" are silly but they exist and some performers even give themselves names. Jackson gave himself "The King Of Pop" and Richard calls himseld the originator. How pathetic is it when you give yourself the title. To Elvis's credit he didn't consider himself the king. One time a fan at one of his shows shouted.."You are the king!!!" He corrected the person and said..."There is only one king. And that is Jesus Christ."

Right on schedule. You're about as predictable as thousands of people rushing to the Post Office on the night of April 14th to send off their tax forms.

Running to each and every thread to defend Elvis Presley for months on end here - I've never seen you in any other threads that have nothing to do with Elvis. Your whole basis for being here is defending a dead man because you can't stand it when other people don't think he's GOD like you do. You'll deny it, but your actions speak for themselves: you react like an insecure fanboy who can't stand the fact that not everybody has Elvis on the same elite pedestal as you. But this malady isn't exclusive to you, a few others here have this affliction that defines their insecurity of their heroes. There's respect, admiration, awe, and fanaticism. Guess which one it is that has you running to every thread with Elvis' name to defend every minute criticism of his ascent almost 50 years ago.

I guess I should say His ascent...

Spats said:

let's add musicianship and innovation to that list... elvis was mediocre (at best) at playing guitar and piano... chuck berry and little richard were masters at each...

and innovation was never elvis' strongpoint either... that is not to say that he didn't make good music, he just didn't do anything that hadn't already been done... he was just the one that brought it to the masses...




i don't think that chart positions and numbers of records sold is necessarily a good indication of the quality of a recording, but since you seem to think it does, let's have a look at elvis...

despite what you claim, elvis' 1970s record sales were nothing to be impressed by... and the majority of his singles recieved very, very little airplay...

the following information comes from elvis's 1970s boxset "walk a mile in my shoes" (which i do own- i'm not an elvis hater, i just don't think he's the king)...

elvis only had 2 top ten billoard singles in the 1970s: "the wonder of you" and "burning love"...

elvis only had 2 top ten albums in the 1970s: "aloha from hawaii" (due in large part to the television special) and "moody blue" (due in large part to his death)...

this is not to say that his 1970s output sucked... i'm just pointing out that he did not (as you claim) sell a lot of records throughout his career...