Okay. Let's Settle This Once & For All Times!!!

[Saccopoo]

Elvis. Not even remotely close.

Michael Jackson had one good album - Off The Wall, a small handful of good songs over the course of his career on his other albums and an understanding/taking advantage of being in the "right place at the right time" and utilizing a relatively new avenue/medium (MTV) to it's fullest extent for maximum impact. In addition, he was constantly in the public's eye for not his music, but his excentricities in his private life; e.g., trying to turn himself into a white pixie elf, sleeping in a hyperbolic chamber, Bobo, snuggling up with kids, Neverland, etc. While Thriller remains the highest selling album of all time, remember that the current biggest selling act in music right now is the Jonas Brothers.

The Beatles pushed the boundaries of rock in terms of melody, song writing and instrumentation, but they were almost unique in a sense rather than paving a road that a multitude of bands followed. More of their generations Nirvana than an overall influence of other bands. They were simply better in terms of overall creativity and musical understanding. Sure, St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club was a genre shattering record that pushed the boundaries of creativity, and did spawn numerous imitators, but one would have to argue that the Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin (at the tail end of the Beatles musical collective life) were actually more important in terms of overall impact and influence to music than the Beatles. Yes, their catalog of music, in a relatively short amount of time is nothing less than stunning (SPLHCB, Revolver, Let It Be, etc.), but they were more of being simply better than any other band at the time rather than being a bigger influence than any other band at the time.

Elvis, however, "invented" Rock and Roll. Redefined the whole concept of popular music in terms of what the buying public understood popular music to be. Without Elvis, there would be no "British Invasion," no Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, etc. No appreciation nor widespread public acceptance of the black blues influeneces that shaped not only Rock 'n Roll, but the Motown sound and numerous other styles. Elvis brought together a number of musical influences (such as blues, gospel, country/western, poppy bugglegum WWII Andrew Sisters stuff, Bing Crosby crooning, etc, etc, etc.) and combined them with raw sex appeal and an understanding of showmanship and entertaining that the world had never seen before and reinvented music as the world knew it.

Again, it's Elvis, and it's not even remotely close.

[Reaper16]

Originally Posted by Saccogoo

Elvis. Not even remotely close.

Michael Jackson had one good album - Off The Wall, a small handful of good songs over the course of his career on his other albums and an understanding/taking advantage of being in the "right place at the right time" and utilizing a relatively new avenue/medium (MTV) to it's fullest extent for maximum impact. In addition, he was constantly in the public's eye for not his music, but his excentricities in his private life; e.g., trying to turn himself into a white pixie elf, sleeping in a hyperbolic chamber, Bobo, snuggling up with kids, Neverland, etc. While Thriller remains the highest selling album of all time, remember that the current biggest selling act in music right now is the Jonas Brothers.

The Beatles pushed the boundaries of rock in terms of melody, song writing and instrumentation, but they were almost unique in a sense rather than paving a road that a multitude of bands followed. More of their generations Nirvana than an overall influence of other bands. They were simply better in terms of overall creativity and musical understanding. Sure, St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club was a genre shattering record that pushed the boundaries of creativity, and did spawn numerous imitators, but one would have to argue that the Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin (at the tail end of the Beatles musical collective life) were actually more important in terms of overall impact and influence to music than the Beatles. Yes, their catalog of music, in a relatively short amount of time is nothing less than stunning (SPLHCB, Revolver, Let It Be, etc.), but they were more of being simply better than any other band at the time rather than being a bigger influence than any other band at the time.

Elvis, however, "invented" Rock and Roll. Redefined the whole concept of popular music in terms of what the buying public understood popular music to be. Without Elvis, there would be no "British Invasion," no Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, etc. No appreciation nor widespread public acceptance of the black blues influeneces that shaped not only Rock 'n Roll, but the Motown sound and numerous other styles. Elvis brought together a number of musical influences (such as blues, gospel, country/western, poppy bugglegum WWII Andrew Sisters stuff, Bing Crosby crooning, etc, etc, etc.) and combined them with raw sex appeal and an understanding of showmanship and entertaining that the world had never seen before and reinvented music as the world knew it.

Again, it's Elvis, and it's not even remotely close.

Racist.

[RNR]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

Racist.

He just hates Jackson because he was white. It makes me sick

[Duck Dog]

Originally Posted by Saccogoo

Elvis. Not even remotely close.

Michael Jackson had one good album - Off The Wall, a small handful of good songs over the course of his career on his other albums and an understanding/taking advantage of being in the "right place at the right time" and utilizing a relatively new avenue/medium (MTV) to it's fullest extent for maximum impact. In addition, he was constantly in the public's eye for not his music, but his excentricities in his private life; e.g., trying to turn himself into a white pixie elf, sleeping in a hyperbolic chamber, Bobo, snuggling up with kids, Neverland, etc. While Thriller remains the highest selling album of all time, remember that the current biggest selling act in music right now is the Jonas Brothers.

The Beatles pushed the boundaries of rock in terms of melody, song writing and instrumentation, but they were almost unique in a sense rather than paving a road that a multitude of bands followed. More of their generations Nirvana than an overall influence of other bands. They were simply better in terms of overall creativity and musical understanding. Sure, St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club was a genre shattering record that pushed the boundaries of creativity, and did spawn numerous imitators, but one would have to argue that the Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin (at the tail end of the Beatles musical collective life) were actually more important in terms of overall impact and influence to music than the Beatles. Yes, their catalog of music, in a relatively short amount of time is nothing less than stunning (SPLHCB, Revolver, Let It Be, etc.), but they were more of being simply better than any other band at the time rather than being a bigger influence than any other band at the time.

Elvis, however, "invented" Rock and Roll. Redefined the whole concept of popular music in terms of what the buying public understood popular music to be. Without Elvis, there would be no "British Invasion," no Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, etc. No appreciation nor widespread public acceptance of the black blues influeneces that shaped not only Rock 'n Roll, but the Motown sound and numerous other styles. Elvis brought together a number of musical influences (such as blues, gospel, country/western, poppy bugglegum WWII Andrew Sisters stuff, Bing Crosby crooning, etc, etc, etc.) and combined them with raw sex appeal and an understanding of showmanship and entertaining that the world had never seen before and reinvented music as the world knew it.

Again, it's Elvis, and it's not even remotely close.

Very well said.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by Saccogoo

Elvis. Not even remotely close.

The collective opinion of this board disagrees with you, sorry...

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by BigChiefDave

The collective opinion of this board disagrees with you, sorry...

That right there probably is the best indicator that I am, without a doubt, 100% correct.

[Fire Me Boy!]

KEEP F-IN' DOUBTING CHARLIE DANIELS.

[Reaper16]

Elvis invented nothing, assholes. He was an effective swindler of black music, though.

[RNR]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

Elvis invented nothing, assholes. He was an effective swindler of black music, though.

That is not true however Colonel Parker was.

[Reaper16]

Originally Posted by RNR

That is not true however Colonel Parker was.

Good point. Screw that Svengali-like mother****er.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

Elvis invented nothing, assholes. He was an effective swindler of black music, though.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

Elvis invented nothing, assholes. He was an effective swindler of black music, though.

Jesus...don't make me go back to the Neanderthal banging on a log to find who invented music, or who swindled or pillaged from who. Music is one of a few "cultural universals." Nobody invented it. However, Elvis took/borrowed/implemented from a myriad of styles to redefine what the conceptualizations were of "music" and was the established pioneer of what we now call "rock 'n roll." Prior to Elvis, there was gospel, blues, C & W, swing, big band, crooner, jazz and a vast number of regional influences. He took a bit from each and put something together that had never been heard before. All of a sudden, the world heard the blues, gospel, jazz, C & W all rolled into one - rock 'n roll. And it opened up the world to these sub-genres of rock and allowed these to influence the music of people across the globe.

Do I prefer Big Momma Thorton's Hound Dog over Elvis' version? Yep. But if it wasn't for Elvis, I'd have no idea who Thorton was, and that could be applied to a number of other artists as well.

No, I disagree. Rock'nRoll was invented by Elvis. Not intentionally, but he brought together the styles of guys like Muddy Waters (greatest blues artist ever), the progression of swing bop from Bill Haley, the boogie woogie of Fats Domino, the vocalizations and lyrics of Hank Williams, the crooning of Frank Sinatra, the punch of Ike Turner, the drive of the boom-chaka-boom Johnny Cash rock-a-billy, and utilized the genius of people like Les Paul and his guitar and studio innovations and combined them all with a soulful voice, good looks and infectious charisma to bring it all together in a package that people in a wide ranging demographic (globally) found acceptable. He was also helped by record companies switching to 45 rpms, as well as the increased popularity of musical radio pushing the "black sound" by such people as Alan Freed.

However, look at the music scene prior to 1954, and then from 1954 and thereafter. It was Elvis that changed the entire face of music. Yes, the Beatles pushed the envelope, sonically, creatively, harmonically, and were, barely arguably, the greatest musical artists of their day.

But to quote John Lennon: "Before Elvis, there was nothing."

Edit: And this is coming from a person (me) who currently has 67 Beatles songs on my iPod and 1 Elvis song.

[urgmasdaughter]

The Beatles are the greatest popular group of all-time. Arguably the most successful entertainers of the 20th century, they contributed to music, film, literature, art, and fashion, made a continuous impact on popular culture and the lifestyle of several generations. Their songs and images carrying powerful ideas of love, peace, help, and imagination evoked creativity and liberation that outperformed the rusty Soviet propaganda and contributed to breaking walls in the minds of millions, thus making impact on human history.

For those who say that Elvis influenced the Beatles, that's not entirely correct. Elvis revolutionized Rock and Roll but his style was rockabilly. Rock with a country twang. Plus Elvis got his style of music from spirituals and rhythm and blues not to mention he didn't write all of his music himself. He pilfered music from other blues artists most noteably Howlin Wolf. Gotta give it to the Fab Four!

[MOhillbilly]

Hiram King Williams & Elvis.

thats it kids, thats the list.

[stumppy]

Elvis always will be the King.