Was Elvis overrated?

ardle1 · 16-08-2013 04:45PM

Now I dont know you and you dont know me,so with all due respect,not that you have much respect, even forTHE KING. Why would you even ask that question?

princess-lala · 16-08-2013 04:56PM

ardle1 wrote: »

Why would you even ask that question?

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion!

IvySlayer · 16-08-2013 05:03PM

Ah lads don't be cruel.....

dark crystal · 16-08-2013 05:05PM

Henlars67 wrote: »

What tends to be constantly overlooked is the fact that he began his relationship with Priscilla when he was 24 and she was a 14 year old child.

That tells me all I need to know about him, and renders his musical talent or lack of it totally irrelevant to me.

They met briefly when she was 14, but, according to Priscilla herself, their relationship wasn't actually consummated until their wedding night when she was 22.

Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13 year old cousin, Jimmy Page had a long-term relationship with a 14 year old girl (whom David Bowie had slept with a year earlier when she was 13), Chuck Berry was prosecuted for transporting an underage girl (14) across state lines for immoral purposes, Bill Wyman slept with Mandy Smith when she was 14 (and married her at 18), Steven Tyler got his 15 year old girlfriend pregnant when he was 24 (and then forced her to abort the baby).

Would you dismiss them all as irrelevant too?

*Not excusing their behaviour btw, just throwing a few more (even worse) examples out there....

Da Shins Kelly · 16-08-2013 05:12PM

Yes. People go on about him as if he invented rock n' roll and was the cornerstone for the popular music that we all still listen to. He just took what black musicians were doing and introduced it to a white audience. He didn't start anything, and he admitted as much himself. Little Richard is the truly seminal artist from that period, and he has never been revered in the same way Elvis is.

That all said, a great showman with a distinctive voice. Definitely deserving of great praise and definitely influential, but overrated to a certain degree, for sure.

Ray Palmer · 16-08-2013 05:19PM

BillyMitchel wrote: »

Seen them twice before and both times they were truly terrible! Some good points there. Never thought about the vinyl to CD one.

Seen someone mentioned rap, I was on reading an article about Puffy and how he made his money. The man is something else.

Puffy was and is a business man, very successful and I don't think anybody can say he isn't smart. He effectively made expensive karaoke a major hit.

Simon Cowell is also a business man and people forget it is called the music business for a reason.

While I love Paul Simon and think he is massively talented he often hides the fact his work has always been cashing in on something. He doesn't come across as a nice person and is very full of his own importance. Ignoring his fame and career involved him choosing a market and catering for it.

Elvis to a certain extent was also manufactured act by the Simon Cowell of the day.

General General · 16-08-2013 05:19PM

floggg wrote: »

It's the 2:pac: effect.

Dead artists sell more records and become almost immune to criticism.

FYP.

Ray Palmer · 16-08-2013 05:30PM

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

Little Richard is the truly seminal artist from that period, and he has never been revered in the same way Elvis is.
.

Little Richard stole most of his act and sound from another guy. I can't remember his name. If you saw the guy and heard him you would easily think it is Little Richard. Same hair, moustache and howling. Have a CD at home

Lots of people end up with similar sounds and looks.

Like Amy Winehouse copied her image from another woman. I think she even copied one of her tattoos.

Da Shins Kelly · 16-08-2013 05:55PM

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Little Richard stole most of his act and sound from another guy. I can't remember his name. If you saw the guy and heard him you would easily think it is Little Richard. Same hair, moustache and howling. Have a CD at home

Lots of people end up with similar sounds and looks.

Like Amy Winehouse copied her image from another woman. I think she even copied one of her tattoos.

I'd be interested to know who that is exactly. Little Richard is probably the single most influential musician there's ever been.

Amy Winehouse's hairstyle was influenced by the 1960s girl groups:

http://www.topito.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/The-Ronettes1.jpg

http://www.luckymag.com/blogs/luckyrightnow/2011/07/in-memoriam-the-amy-winehouse-sky-high-beehive/_jcr_content/par/cn_contentwell/par-main/cn_blogpost/cn_image.size.Amy%20Winehouse1.jpg

Other than that though, I don't think her image was taken from someone else.

ScumLord · 16-08-2013 05:57PM

dark crystal wrote: »

*Not excusing their behaviour btw, just throwing a few more (even worse) examples out there....

Here's another one, the virgin MAry would more than likely only have been 12 when god got her up the duff. These were different times. Women were married off young and were still essentially 2nd class citizens in Elvises time.

It's easy to underestimate the effect Elvis has when you're looking at his music from a modern perspective. There hasn't been any big shake ups in music since the dance revolution so this generation just can't appreciate how a new form of music can seriously upset the cart with the older generation. This generation is still playing music that's not much different to the stuff I was listening to 20 years ago.

floggg · 16-08-2013 05:57PM

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Apparently when it comes to sales. Sean Combs probably has made more money given the businesses he has.

UB40 are the most successful reggae band.

Seeing a pattern?

You could say Vincent Price is the best selling rapper of all time too by rapping on Thriller

If you judge it by No. 1 albums (Stateside*) it's Jay Z.

On that measure, Jay Z is also more successful than Elvis.

*The US market being the main market for hip-hop.

floggg · 16-08-2013 06:10PM

BillyMitchel wrote: »

Seen them twice before and both times they were truly terrible! Some good points there. Never thought about the vinyl to CD one.

Seen someone mentioned rap, I was on reading an article about Puffy and how he made his money. The man is something else.

That why its a bit unfair using sales as a measure of success.

There are a numerous reasons which have nothing to do with the quality if the music why new artists won't be able to outsell the old.

The redundancy of various old formats and the need to replace them every 10 years is one (older Elvis albums for example may have been bought in some combination of vinyl, 8 track (what ever that was), cassette, cd, mini disc and mp3).

Hell, even the fact that digital sales negates the need to buy replacement copies is a big deal. You know longer have to worry about losing or scratching CDs or vinyls - or even worse your beatbox eating your tape.

The increasing ease with which music could be bootlegged, copied or stolen in various formats is another. I imagine it was tricky to copy vinyl. Taping was easier. Burning CDs too. And then when digital came there was no stopping it.

And now streaming services mean you don't even have to copy or download an album illegally.

So now it's an achievement to go platinum. 10 years ago people could go platinum in a week. And diamond or greater albums were a regular occurrence each year. Even Puffy got one or two.

And that's not even counting the 50 year head start Elvis had.

Henlars67 · 16-08-2013 07:08PM

dark crystal wrote: »

They met briefly when she was 14, but, according to Priscilla herself, their relationship wasn't actually consummated until their wedding night when she was 22.

Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13 year old cousin, Jimmy Page had a long-term relationship with a 14 year old girl (whom David Bowie had slept with a year earlier when she was 13), Chuck Berry was prosecuted for transporting an underage girl (14) across state lines for immoral purposes, Bill Wyman slept with Mandy Smith when she was 14 (and married her at 18), Steven Tyler got his 15 year old girlfriend pregnant when he was 24 (and then forced her to abort the baby).

Would you dismiss them all as irrelevant too?

*Not excusing their behaviour btw, just throwing a few more (even worse) examples out there....

I would class them all as paedophiles.

Banjo String · 16-08-2013 10:17PM

ScumLord wrote: »

Here's another one, the virgin MAry would more than likely only have been 12 when god got her up the duff. These were different times. Women were married off young and were still essentially 2nd class citizens in Elvises time.

It's easy to underestimate the effect Elvis has when you're looking at his music from a modern perspective. There hasn't been any big shake ups in music since the dance revolution so this generation just can't appreciate how a new form of music can seriously upset the cart with the older generation. This generation is still playing music that's not much different to the stuff I was listening to 20 years ago.

I think music is kinda cyclical tbh.

electro pop is making a comeback for example. But I get your point SL.

wendell borton · 16-08-2013 10:22PM

No not overrated, he over ate'd.

NuckingFacker · 16-08-2013 10:43PM

He's quite popular outside AH. And I doubt he's too bothered if people think he's over-rated, at this stage. He's gone to Graceland, sharing a Porsche with James Dean and they're giving all the haters two fingers over the hood. Me, I think he was great.

HondaSami · 16-08-2013 10:48PM

Elvis was great, who the feck does not like at least one elvis song.

Yamanoto · 16-08-2013 11:10PM

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

I'd be interested to know who that is exactly. Little Richard is probably the single most influential musician there's ever been.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGCCZYgfFN0

johnr1 · 17-08-2013 12:08AM

Henlars67 wrote: »

I would class them all as paedophiles.

Well then you would be wrongly classifying them. Paedophilia is an attraction to pre-pubescent children. None of these were that. Children? Now?-yes definitely, then? More of a grey area.
Btw, I'm not trying to defend reprehensible behaviour, which is what I think it was, - in Elvis case, probably grooming, just pointing out the difference between paedophilia and illegal sex with minors/children.

Compu Global Hyper Meganet · 17-08-2013 12:32AM

I think that Elvis is comparable to David Beckham in a way. Not the most talented, but he made the most of what he had, well marketed, desired by women everywhere etc.
I'm not a fan of his by any means, but he's certainly a whole lot better than any of the mainstream acts around today.
I'm open to correction on this, but I have heard that he had a predilection to barely pubescent girls, and that Priscilla was not an isolated liason in this regard. However, I don't want to assail his character unfairly so don't take that as gospel. Just remember reading it somewhere.
He wasn't a racist - he made a comment about shining shoes that was taken completely out of context. Most evidence suggests that he was the opposite if anything.
Finally, Elvis was naturally blonde. Something which surprises a lot of people. And that's all I know of the man.

Too Tough To Die · 17-08-2013 12:34AM

He was absolutely overrated.

floggg · 17-08-2013 11:10AM

NuckingFacker wrote: »

He's quite popular outside AH. And I doubt he's too bothered if people think he's over-rated, at this stage. He's gone to Graceland, sharing a Porsche with James Dean and they're giving all the haters two fingers over the hood. Me, I think he was great.

He's dead. He doesn't think anything about anything.

And the bacteria and bugs ate his fingers.

NuckingFacker · 17-08-2013 11:37AM

floggg wrote: »

He's dead. He doesn't think anything about anything.

And the bacteria and bugs ate his fingers.

The king ain't dead man, he's just restin.

mattjack · 17-08-2013 11:49AM

What Irish singer/song writer wrote a hit for Elvis ?

Banjo String · 17-08-2013 12:27PM

mattjack wrote: »

What Irish singer/song writer wrote a hit for Elvis ?

Niall Horan

mattjack · 17-08-2013 12:29PM

SamHall wrote: »

Niall Horan

Ye .... no :pac:

Jimmy Rabbitte Snr · 17-08-2013 12:35PM

Anyone who has said the King is overrated in this thread should be immediately banned from boards... He was underrated. Anyone who says anything else is blasphemous!

dougm1970 · 19-12-2018 06:40AM

mattjack wrote: »

What Irish singer/song writer wrote a hit for Elvis ?

phil coulter ?

feargale · 19-12-2018 06:44AM

anncoates wrote: »

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.

It must be very confusing when the time is S past E.

sbsquarepants · 19-12-2018 09:04AM

I suppose you would have had to be there at the time to have an opinion worth having - but what I can say is he certainly hasn't stood the test of time, he sounds absolutely shíte today.

Great music still sounds great even decades later.

Elvis is the 1950's equivalent of 1 direction in my opinion - might have been the biggest act in the world, but the king of rock and roll?

Not for me he's not, the king of sausage rolls is more like it!:D

Was Elvis overrated?

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