Was Elvis overrated?

Banjo String

36 years dead today.

No denying he had some tunes under his belt!

What was/is your favourite Elvis moment?

Did you prefer skinny/early Elvis or did you like him in later years, pie eater with the jump suits etc?

This is one of my personal favourites of his.

The man had some moves!

Was he overrated though?

kingtiger

good singer and showman

but never wrote a song in his life

gimme Muddy Waters or Albert King anyday

mickdw

No.

MJ23

Extremely. Most of his songs sound the same, and I heard he hardly wrote any of them.
He is as over rated as The Rolling Stones, a band who haven't had a decent song out for over 30 years.

RikkFlair

He was no Buddy Holly

MidlandsM

Over Weight at the end, but not overrated.

Frosty McSnowballs

Yes totally.

naughtysmurf

Too young to die....too fat to live

Seriously though, he came on the music scene at the right time, talented singer & serious mover considering what else was going on in 1956

G.O.A.T

Links234

Yes

sbsquarepants

Enormously over rated. He was just a pretty boy, with a few moves who sang other peoples songs. The king of rock and roll my arse - he was basically a 1950's Justin Timberlake (only Justin writes at least some of his own stuff).

FatherLen

His karate career never really shone through...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Iv6dmSw0k

Banjo String

MJ23 wrote: »

Extremely. Most of his songs sound the same, and I heard he hardly wrote any of them.
He is as over rated as The Rolling Stones, a band who haven't had a decent song out for over 30 years.

Get out!:mad:

Dravokivich

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Enormously over rated. He was just a pretty boy, with a few moves who sang other peoples songs. The king of rock and roll my arse - he was basically a 1950's Justin Timberlake (only Justin writes at least some of his own stuff).

I suppose you'd be wanting all performers to write everything they perform?

iDave

Kanye West is grossly overrated, the King is not

kfallon

"And in all the times you were in Graceland, did you ever.......did you ever see Elvis.....ya know.....doing drugs?"

"No brother!"

"I knew it......and you ya little bollix....."

anncoates

Completely trivial fact:

Elvis Presley has 12 letters.

I know this because my ma bought an Elvis wall clock in 1980 and instead of 12 numerals it has the letters of his name.

The clock still works and is still on my ma's kitchen wall where it has attained a legendary kitsch status amongst my friends and extended family.

GLaDOS

Dravokivich wrote: »

I suppose you'd be wanting all performers to write everything they perform?

I have a lot more admiration for musicians who perform music they've written themselves, it's hardly an outlandish concept. Elvis' musicianship can be rightly criticised because he wrote so little.

Richard Hillman

Bullshoot, Elvis was the balls.

gobnaitolunacy

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Enormously over rated. He was just a pretty boy, with a few moves who sang other peoples songs. The king of rock and roll my arse - he was basically a 1950's Justin Timberlake (only Justin writes at least some of his own stuff).

That's fcukin' blasphemy!:mad:

hidinginthebush

Jimmy Rabbitte: Elvis is not soul.
Jimmy Rabbitte, Sr.: Elvis is God.
Jimmy Rabbitte: I never pictured God with a fat gut and corset singing "My Way" at Caesar's Palace.

kingtiger

gobnaitolunacy wrote: »

That's fcukin' blasphemy!:mad:

but you have to take the point that he nicked most of his act from the likes of Little Richard

which if he was the correct colour in the 50ies would of been bigger than Elvis

Ush1

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Enormously over rated. He was just a pretty boy, with a few moves who sang other peoples songs. The king of rock and roll my arse - he was basically a 1950's Justin Timberlake (only Justin writes at least some of his own stuff).

Surely Justin Timberlake is a modern day Elvis you mean?

Not overrated at all in my opinion. Incredible entertainer, different, unique voice, broke boundaries and lets not forget the main one, clearly was the inspiration for a certain Sir Cliff Richard!

BeerWolf

Uh huh huh

sheesh

Ii am everyone seems to write their own material today or pretends to anyway.
Why no love for the interpretaive artist

billy holliday
Frank Sinatra
Elvis
Dusty Springfield

With Autotune and other technology today we forget how rare a talent it is to have a perfect singing voice.

ahlad

The King is alive!

stop animal cruelty

No way. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CMlYVu9J4g

I perfer the younger Elvis tho, 50s & 60s were his best imo

Uriel.

I don' think he was overrated personally.

if he was new on the scene today with his style of music, he probably wouldn't be as successful,

But at that time, he really did pioneer rock and roll in a way that no one else did. At the time he shared the scene with the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Roy Orbison, Little Richard, Richie Valens etc... And while each had a certain level of success in their own right, none, have the lasting appeal or commercial success of Elvis.

Justin Timberlake is mentioned. Will Justin Timberlake have the same appeal and fame in 50 years that Elvis has 50 years after he broke onto the scene. That's the test. I don't think Justin Timberlake will and I'd be hard pushed to name solo artists of the last 20 years that would have that lasting appeal. But who knows.

In conclusion, IMO Elvis was not overrated.

blue note

We can't see him live, so can't comment on one of the main reasons he was so loved. My uncle saw him in Las Vegas and said he was the best he ever saw.

But I wouldn't be mad about the songs to be honest. I like them, but just on the recordings I wouldn't have him up there with the greats, let alone sitting on top of the pile.

I Heart Internet

No.

He was/is a GREAT performer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcJac6OykfM

Dravokivich

ScienceNerd wrote: »

I have a lot more admiration for musicians who perform music they've written themselves, it's hardly an outlandish concept. Elvis' musicianship can be rightly criticised because he wrote so little.

Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Pavarotti?

You've got a very dire opinion with regards to musicianship.

lee_baby_simms

hidinginthebush wrote: »

Jimmy Rabbitte: Elvis is not soul.
Jimmy Rabbitte, Sr.: Elvis is God.
Jimmy Rabbitte: I never pictured God with a fat gut and corset singing "My Way" at Caesar's Palace.

"Now don't upset your father!"

Oink

The boy had talent when he started.



I like to think Beelzebub has a devil set aside for Colonel Sanders (give him a jab for me wontcha Mister).

dub_skav

ScienceNerd wrote: »

I have a lot more admiration for musicians who perform music they've written themselves, it's hardly an outlandish concept. Elvis' musicianship can be rightly criticised because he wrote so little.

I don't believe his musicianship can be questioned as that is about music/singing, not writing.
You seem instead to question his validity as an artist.

Do you not respect any actors unless they write the film too?

GLaDOS

Dravokivich wrote: »

Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Pavarotti?

What about them? I never said anyone who doesn't write music is awful, lets burn everything they produced. They're still great musicians, but you can criticise them from a song writing perspective.

You've got a very dire opinion with regards to musicianship.

That's fine by me.

dub_skav

Oink wrote: »

The boy had talent when he started.



I like to think Beelzebub has a devil set aside for Colonel Sanders (give him a jab for me wontcha Mister).

Not a chicken fan?

Charlie Babbitt

Ella says: No.

Oink

dub_skav wrote: »

Not a chicken fan?

Estupido... Wrong colonel!

pauliebdub

Yes he was over-rated.

Leiber Stoller wrote him some great songs, he had a great voice and was a great showman. However apart from a handful of great singles, there wasnt a lot of quality output and no decent albums of note.

AckwelFoley

Elvis was a racist.

0ph0rce0

Elvis was muck, A Shíte musician and singer.

But the man had great delivery.

BadCompany

He was the singular face of the Rock n' Roll movement and he was excellent at what he did. I know there was Rock n' Roll around at the same time and even before him (Chuck Berry and Little Richard come to mind) but no one made even close to the impact that Elvis made. Did his "whiteness" and good looks play a part? I think it would be naive to say no, it certainly didn't disadvantage him in a still very segregated US. But the man had immense talent, charisma and was an incredible performer that whipped the youth of the day into a frenzy, something only paralleled (and probably exceeded) by Beatlemania. Short answer - it is almost impossible to over-rate him in a musical context. I think this sentence says it best -The mark of greatness is when everything before you is obsolete and everything after you bears your mark.

John Lennon: "Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadn't been an Elvis, there wouldn't have been the Beatles."

irlirishkev

No.
Folk, gospel, blues, rock, r&b.. he sang it all and sang it brilliantly. He could take any song and make it his own. Nobody told him how to do that.

He was an inspiration to countless artists who repeatedly sing his praises.

It saddens me that despite him making millions of people happy, there are those who insist on concentrating on the last couple of years of his life.

Overated? No way.

raven136

So incredibly important for breaking down barriers for a generation

His voice was fantastic and plenty of the great singers of that time wrote little or none of their own songs

I personally love his live version of American Trilogy

Charisma,vocals,dancing and came along at the right time so not overrated imo

His gospel stuff is still incredible to listen to

The comeback special is his best work

Sam Cooke the greatest of them all tho.

BadCompany

raven136 wrote: »

So incredibly important for breaking down barriers for a generation

His voice was fantastic and plenty of the great singers of that time wrote little or none of their own songs

I personally love his live version of American Trilogy

Charisma,vocals,dancing and came along at the right time so not overrated imo

His gospel stuff is still incredible to listen to

The comeback special is his best work

Sam Cooke the greatest of them all tho.

Are you and I the same person!? Meant to mention in my post that his latter day (or "Fat Elvis" years as I affectionately call them) live version of American Trilogy is definitely one of my favourites, makes my hairs stand on end!

And also Sam Cooke is the best ever, 100% agree

andy1249

BadCompany wrote: »

He was the singular face of the Rock n' Roll movement and he was excellent at what he did. I know there was Rock n' Roll around at the same time and even before him (Chuck Berry and Little Richard come to mind) but no one made even close to the impact that Elvis made. Did his "whiteness" and good looks play a part? I think it would be naive to say no, it certainly didn't disadvantage him in a still very segregated US....

Your getting to the heart of it now .... Elvis was the acceptable white face of Rock n Roll , most americans at the time being racist.

Elvis was the Corporate "Acceptable" face of Rock n Roll , the most original and much more talented artists at the time being downtrodden and black , and deliberately pushed and kept to their own lesser known and lesser publicised charts and labels.

For me , Elvis' Success is simply a reminder of the disgusting racism throughout America at that time ...nothing more , and it makes me sick to see him.

Jimoslimos

The acceptable face of black music in America. There were better, but less marketable performers at the time.

BadCompany wrote: »

John Lennon: "Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadn't been an Elvis, there wouldn't have been the Beatles."

Lennon also reportedly said "Elvis really died the day he joined the Army"

Fighting Irish

Yup, just like the beatles

sbsquarepants

Dravokivich wrote: »

I suppose you'd be wanting all performers to write everything they perform?

Not at all. Just the ones being lauded as the king of rock and roll. There are any number of outstanding performers who do just that, perform. I'm a fan of dozens of these.
But to be hailed as the king of rock and roll, you should be doing more than merely performing.

Pumpkinseeds

Fighting Irish wrote: »

Yup, just like the beatles

+ 1 for that. If John Lennon hadn't been murdered I think people would have forgotten them long ago, the same with Elvis and James Dean

Hoop66

AckwelFoley wrote: »

Elvis was a racist.

Elvis was a hero to most
But he never meant **** to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Mother **** him and John Wayne