It has long been accepted by society that Elvis Presley is the "King of Rock and Roll" - and while that can certainly be agrued or even accepted as fact for many reasons, some people believe otherwise.
I, for example, maintain that the real King of Rock and Roll is Jerry Lee Lewis.
While Elvis was tamed and made for mass consumption - Jerry Lee was wild. Guns, drugs, booze, fire, violence, frenzy: Jerry had it decades before anybody else.
Anybody else have an opinions?
Elvis wasn't tamed for public consumption. Elvis realized his ambition to explore music beyond rock. Some of his idols included Dean Martin, Mahalia Jackson, Howlin' Wolf, etc. And he conquered the genres represented there as well.
Jerry Lee is great musically, but a mediocre vocalist AT BEST with a very narrow range. I like Jerry Lee, but the Killer ain't no King.
Two extremely talented lads indeed, but it's with deep regret that I must inform you that your both WRONG. In his time Chuck Berry rocked the pants off either of those two.....pretenders. Love Elvis, love Jerry Lee Lewis, but Berry is the true king of R&R.
I was just going to say....the crown belongs to Chuck Berry IMO.
Funny this topic came up I was just thinking about it yesterday. I am a huge fan of '50's music, particularly rockabilly, and I love Elvis' stuff from the 50's, but as much as I like his stuff I've always preferred some of his contemporaries like Gene Vincent and guys that had more of a raw feel to them. So while "The Killer" was never the king in my book, yeah, I do know what you mean.
Without Louis Armstrong, there'd be none of them, and Armstrong did the first Blueberry Hill.
Love Louis Armstrong, he had 'The Voice". His hit "Wonderful World" still touches me inside to this day, and they still play it every few months on the oldies station here. Armstrong definitely put a lot of feeling into his songs. As far as Elvis, I prefer his religious songs to his rock songs. I think that's where he put his heart into everything. Still have to stick to my original opinion, and stand by Chuck Berry.
The title "King of Rock 'n' Roll" is kind of like the Grammys, it is awarded based on sales/popularity not so much on talent; though at least in Elvis case he definitely had a voice. I would love to see an alternate universe Elvis that actually was a song writer as well as a great vocalist though.
Just a follow up to my opening statement my comment was not inferring that any other artist mentioned wasn't talented in their own right, as I to like the other choices mention, my comment was only aimed at Elvis distinction as the King of Rock 'n' Roll and why he has garnered that title.
~Elvis, it is said, called Fats "the King of Rock 'n' Roll."~
Solomon Burke casts a dissenting vote right here - and it's a big one!
Rolling Stones-Solomon Burke (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAPXC9g6sNg#)
;)
Neither Berry (another limited vocalist) nor Lewis ever gave a single performance that could touch this.
Elvis Presley Milton Berle Show 5 Jun 1956: Hound Dog (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5JALwwaASg#)
Elvis went off like an atomic bomb, changed music and culture forever. He changed the way we dressed, talked, walked, thought, sang, and dreamed. Berry and Lewis, while positively great, could never dream of impacting the world the way Elvis Presley did. Sorry guys, it's not even a debate.
Rod Stewart
Elvis was the king. No doubt about it. People like myself, Mick Jagger and all the others only followed in his footsteps.
Mick Jagger
He was a unique artist... an original in an area of imitators.
Jackie Wilson
A lot of people have accused Elvis of stealing the black man's music, when in fact almost every black solo entertainer copied his stage mannerisms from Elvis.
Bruce Springsteen
There have been a lot of tough guys. There have been pretenders. And there have been contenders. But there is only one king.
Bob Dylan
When I first heard Elvis' voice I just knew that I wasn't going to work for anybody; and nobody was going to be my boss. Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail.
Leonard Bernstein
Elvis is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century. He introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes, it's a whole new social revolution... the 60's comes from it.
Frank Sinatra
There have been many accolades uttered about Elvis' talent and performances through the years, all of which I agree with wholeheartedly. I shall miss him dearly as a friend. He was a warm, considerate and generous man.
President Jimmy Carter, on Elvis' Death,
Elvis Presley's death deprives our country of a part of itself. He was unique, irreplaceable. More than twenty years ago, he burst upon the scene with an impact that was unprecedented and will probably never be equaled. His music and his personality, fusing the styles of white country and black rhythm and blues, permanently changed the face of American popular culture. His following was immense. And he was a symbol to people the world over of the vitality, rebelliousness and good humor of this country.
Al Green
Elvis had an influence on everybody with his musical approach. He broke the ice for all of us.
Huey Lewis
A lot has been written and said about why he was so great, but I think the best way to appreciate his greatness is just to go back and play some of the old records. Time has a way of being very unkind to old records, but Elvis' keep getting better and better.
John Lennon
Before Elvis, there was nothing.
Johnny Carson
If life was fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead.
Carl Perkins
This boy had everything. He had the looks, the moves, the manager, and the talent. And he didn't look like Mr. Ed like a lot of the rest of us did. In the way he looked, way he talked, way he acted... he really was different.
It's rare when an artist's talent can touch an entire generation of people. It's even rarer when that same influence affects several generations. Elvis made an imprint on the world of pop music unequaled by any other single performer.
Dick Clark
At Sun Studio in Memphis Elvis Presley called to life what would soon be known as rock and roll with a voice that bore strains of the Grand Ole Opry and Beale Street, of country and the blues. At that moment, he ensured — instinctively, unknowingly — that pop music would never again be as simple as black and white.
David Fricke in Rolling Stone (1986)
Elvis was a giant and influenced everyone in the business.
Isaac Hayes
Without Elvis, none of us could have made it.
Buddy Holly
Ask anyone. If it hadn't been for Elvis, I don't know where popular music would be. He was the one that started it all off, and he was definitely the start of it for me.
Elton John
It was like he came along and whispered some dream in everybody's ear, and somehow we all dreamed it.
Bruce Springsteen
He was the firstest with the mostest.
Roy Orbison
If any individual of our time can be said to have changed the world, Elvis Presley is the one. In his wake more than music is different. Nothing and no one looks or sounds the same. His music was the most liberating event of our era because it taught us new possibilities of feeling and perception, new modes of action and appearance, and because it reminded us not only of his greatness, but of our own potential.
* Greil Marcus, Rolling Stone
King of Rock?
RUN-DMC - King Of Rock (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXzWlPL_TKw#)
I don't go much on what the founders of rock say about one another. Not out of disrespect but everyone obviously dug everyone else (except Ike Turner has famously come out against Chuck Berry music). I mean John Lennon said "Before Elvis there was nothing" and Jerry Lee Lewis said in the Taylor Hackford film Hail Hail Rock and Roll that he and even his mother think that Chuck Berry is the KORAR. When asked if there is any singer out there he's afraid of, Elvis told the press how much he thought about Roy Orbison, the only singer who's records Big E made sure he got a hold of while stationed overseas.
This is not about choosing one and damning the others.
But like I said before: Rock and roll, R&B, Country and Western, Gospel, Heaven, Hell, girls, sex, drugs, booze, fire, gasoline, controversy, calamity, tragedy, triumph, sinner, saint - Jerry Lee Lewis was all of it before anybody was any of it.
And you can quote ME on that one.
I tihnk the issue here partially is how you define the "King of Rock 'N Roll." You'll nvere be able to give the title to a performer based on either his ability to perform or by trying to define "Who was the best" because ultimately those are subjective. You'd even have trouble defining who did RNR first because RNR isn't alays so easily defined. Its roots were largely out of the Blues, but where did the Blues end and RNR begin. Music, RNR specifically, isn't a sessile organism, it's dynamic and always changing and evolving. Early RNR brought in Rhythym and Blues, and along the way there's been some Gospel, Country, even Classical and Opera (Queen, anyone?). There's even been new branches added to the RNR tree like Metal, Grunge, and Punk. Also, where does one draw the line separating RNR with a lot of Pop music? But I digress...
The King of Rock 'N Roll is a title that refers to someone as a cultural icon. Surely that belongs to Elvis. I would imagine if you asked most people who's the King of Rock 'N Roll and "Elvis" is the answer you're most likely to get. He was not only hugely successful while alive, but still is one of the top celebrities still, even so many years after his death. Surely, as far as RNR goes, no one had as much of an impact on the world, as Elvis. Long live the King! Thank you very much...
Rob has left the building
Quote from: monsterphile on April 08, 2011, 06:55:44 AM
The King of Rock 'N Roll is a title that refers to someone as a cultural icon. Surely that belongs to Elvis.
True. Elvis definitely became the world's biggest cultural icon ever, also, the Beatles generated the biggest cultural change ever.
Guys, guys......listen, I can play Peggy Sue and I can play Wild Thing.....badly. I think it's pretty obvious who the real King of Rock is 8)
But like I said before: Rock and roll, R&B, Country and Western, Gospel, Heaven, Hell, girls, sex, drugs, booze, fire, gasoline, controversy, calamity, tragedy, triumph, sinner, saint - Jerry Lee Lewis was all of it before anybody was any of it.
That's debatable
Hell, girls, sex, drugs, booze, controversy, tragedy, triumph, sinner. Throw in the Devil and a Hell hound, and you've got blues man Robert Johnson 20yrs before rock n roll even started. :)
Quote from: CreepysFan on April 10, 2011, 12:20:57 PM
Hell, girls, sex, drugs, booze, controversy, tragedy, triumph, sinner. Throw in the Devil and a Hell hound, and you've got blues man Robert Johnson 20yrs before rock n roll even started. :)
it's funny that you mentioned that, cause that was who I was thinking about when I posted. :)