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.