Posted on 08/16/2011 6:47:07 AM PDT by US Navy Vet
You have no idea what you’re talking about. Elvis was blessed with perfect pitch. He always sang in key, had a very powerful voice and had 3+ octives of vocal range.
“I always wondered what the record producers were thinking when they started having him sing Hollywood movie tunes.”
Yeah, I hear what you are saying-But at the same time, what about (not sure of the title) “if you’re looking for trouble”. Now that was a great great song. Also Jailhouse rock, was that a hollywood showtune?
There were a few good tunes, but nothing as good as the stuff he did before the army. I wish Elvis had continued to put his spin on the blues.
Sinatra couldn’t move. Eventually, he just became a glorified lounge singer.
Sammy Davis Jr was a black Elvis which ended up being worth a minor amount. There really was a race division although being ugly as spit didn’t help Sammy. Michael Jackson came along at the right time.
As some might say, too much ****ing perspective...
Although featured in a movie, Jailhouse Rock comes from 1957. Smack in the middle of the 1956-58 string of legitimate hits.
The slam on Elvis's show tunes reflects his post-Army era when he recorded a string of dreadful show tunes. I didn't say he recorded only dreadful show tunes. But he did record a string of dreadful show tunes.
You mean he didn’t sing “In a Yugo”?
“But he did record a string of dreadful show tunes. “
I absolutely agree. Many were beyond horrible, especially when looking at them now. I was 6 years old in 1965 and I have to admit that my friends and I thought Elvis was about the coolest thing ever. Man did we love to playact the roles in his movies and sing the songs.
Not much real value in that-but to a six year old, man those were good times.
One does wonder though what might have been if he could have pursued his own interest.
Best entertainer ever! No one could replace his voice. Great loss. I was his biggest fan. We lived in Amarillo TX at the time of his death and the local radio rock station put out a call for people to bring in Elvis Records. I had them all.
I am with your Father in-law. I was born in 53 so Elvis was not my age group. But as a 8-9 year old I saw a Elvis movie on tv. I think it was “loving you”, and I was hooked ever since. No one could do it like “The King”.
From the beginning, throughout his lifetime and until the end, John Lennon frequently cited the King as his idol. Naming Elvis on countless occasions as his mentor, as far back as 1963 with statements such as, I always wanted to be thistough James Dean type, but Elvis was bigger than religion in my life.
When I heard Heartbreak Hotel it was so great I couldn’t speak, I didn’t want to say anything against Elvis, not even in my mind.
Although by 1965 Elvis had lost his appeal with the 60’s hippie generation while resting on his laurels by starring in a series of asinine movies and his recorded output reduced to soundtrack albums when the Beatles arrived in the USA, without skipping a beat when asked what the Fab Four liked about America John Lennon retorted, “Elvis!”
Elvis was the king after Jerry Lee Lewis blew his career by marrying his young cousin. If JLL hadn’t done that to his career Elvis wouldn’t have been the king of R&R. JLL was a song writer and a musician. He was a wild man and gave a crap what the critics said about him.
Elvis was a good performer. I don’t care much for his “acting” abilities. his movies were famous because he was in them. He was hyped to the max by his manager. That happens to all of them in that era. Elvis didn’t have a great voice, he was just in the right place at the right time and had the right manager to see him through. He was a classic, but not as great as many here are saying. His music will live on until his fans are all gone from the earth. Is his music catching on with the new generation?
No. Most kids don’t care for his style and his sound.
The Beatles are still finding fans after all the years since they broke up. They had a similar fortune as Elvis. Right time. Right sound. Right place. Right manager. The thing about the Beatles is they had talent as song writers and performers. They also didn’t self destruct.
One thing I remember after the Death of Elvis, and John Lennon. In Iowa, they sold the Elvis whiskey decanters at the local liquor stores. But, they refused to sell the John Lennon ones because Lennon was associated with drugs and the hippie lifestyle. Funny thing is, Elvis died of a drug overdose on the toilet. John Lennon was murdered by a crazed stalker fan.
I'd respectfully suggest that Elvis preceded Jerry Lee Lewis. Here's the chronology:
In 1956, Elvis records "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel," "Heartbreak Hotel," "Blue Suede Shoes" (his version, although I prefer Carl Perkins'), and "Love Me Tender," among others. In 1956, Jerry Lee Lewis is a backing piano player for Sun Records. He doesn't release any singles.
By 1957, when Jerry Lee Lewis records "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire," Elvis was already a star and Jerry Lee was a year late coming to the party.
Then, by the time Jerry Lee Lewis's career started to crater in mid-1958, Elvis was already . . . Elvis.
I say that although I believe Jerry Lee Lewis was more of an entertainer than Elvis.
Check the chronology: Jerry Lee Lewis didn't start his career until after Elvis and didn't lose his career until after Elvis was already a superstar beyond anything Jerry Lee ever achieved.
And yes, Jerry Lee Lewis was part of Sun Records' "Million-Dollar Quartet" sessions in 1956 with Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash, but that was a million-dollar quartet only in retrospect. Those recordings weren't released until 1987.
I just noticed you put Elvis in the same category as Frankie Avalon!! I have to say that is bizarre!
Anyway, as you mentioned ‘looks’ I did not think you were talking about his songwriting abilities in the comparison to Holly, but popularity. Nobody, including him, AFAIK, ever said he was a songwriter or a guitar player. But one of the best performers ever, and a truly great singer, yes. A lot of people disagree of course, but I thought and still think he was, and I was there too.
You are entitled to your opinion that Elvis was as popular as he was because a handler fed him different songs from time to time, but frankly, it doesn’t hold up.
I enjoyed Holly’s songs and his singing, but to me I did not feel there was much variance in what I heard from him. He didn’t generate the excitement in me or my ‘gang’ like Elvis did, and it wasn’t because of his looks vs Elvis’ or the way Elvis was ‘handled’. As you know, in those days we mostly sat around someone’s record player, and we heard what we heard.
Actually, I believe it was PzLdr who made that comparison. I don't see any comparison at all between Frankie Avalon except maybe that they both appeared in movies and sang. In my opinion, that virtually sums up Frankie Avalon and is a tiny, tiny part of Elvis.
You are entitled to your opinion that Elvis was as popular as he was because a handler fed him different songs from time to time, but frankly, it doesn’t hold up.
I never intended to suggest that Elvis' popularity was based on the songs he was given to record (at his peak, Elvis could have sung the phone book and made at least #3 on the Billboard charts). Elvis had one of the greatest white voices in popular music.
What I meant is it's much easier to show variation in your music over a two+ year period when you're recording what Sam Phillips is handing you from a stable of accomplished songwriters than it is when you're recording your own music. I still realize that Elvis had to be a great artist for those recordings to become hits.
Rest in Peace Elvis.
I don’t post stories generally, Rest in Peace Jimmy “Orion” Ellis, Elvis look alike and sound alike according to many.
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