Paul McCartney on Elvis

OMG! Thank you Creamy for this post. You said everything I was feeling!!! Articulate and intelligent description of Elvis the Artist

Granted, Elvis did not do it alone. Those people who got theirs hand on him to make him what he became knew one thing - he is their meal ticket. True music is the impact but, if the song being sung is without any feel then it is nothing. In Malay, 'menjiwai' a song means singing it with all your heart and soul - in other words, the singer is the song and the song is the singer. People started listening to the Beatles because life was "meaningless" back during that era. It was also the "hippie" era.

For anyone to get offended about an opinion about Elvis needs a serious reality check. No question he is going to go down in history for changing music. He was a pretty man, he had a good voice, and he could shake his hips. Sounds like the very first American Idol winner to me. He was a face, The very beginning of American entertainment brainwashing. But don't forget about the people that got their hands on him to make him what he became. He did not do that alone and Im a strong believer that talent is in the soul and the writer of the music. Its the music that is the impact, not the person. And yes, people started actually listen when the Beatles arrived, They proved that they were more then just faces. Still, I will never argue that he is the king, but he even said that he was "lucky because nobody else was doing that at the time".

omg!! All of you are soooo right on. You could not have expressed the words better when it comes to these morons asking how many songs did Elvis write? WHO CARES?? He turned them all into great and beutiful songs with his unbelievable voice. Sure do miss you Elvis...

NO ONE, and I do mean NO ONE, black, white, red, yellow or green, EVER moved like Elvis. Jolson? That's a joke!!
Elvis was HIMSELF, all rolled up into the blues and gospel and all the sounds he heard from the time he was a child.
He was unique unto himself and there will never be another like him. His sweet spirit and humility...I saw this and that was a part of what made him so special.
His sensuality. That VOICE. The way he moved about that stage in Vegas in the early years there with the grace of a panther stalking his prey. It was beautiful to watch the complete control he had of his body and the strength in his legs...well just don't miss that. Those legs!
The love he had for his fans goes unsurpassed by any entertainer in history. In fact, we may have asked way too much from him at a time when he should have been in a hospital.

When anyone brings up that he didn't write his songs, I just laugh to myself at their ignorance. Most songs Elvis sang became his own.
And it has been said that a song hasn't been sung until Elvis sang it.
I know that's not true of them all, but I know it IS true of MANY.

God Bless you Elvis Presley. Thank you for the joy you brought into my life.

Music is a form of Art Which has always been redone and redone by many in different ways it's all just a matter of interpretation and how the individual see's it or hears it in this case. I'm not a huge Elvis lover but I do love many different types of music and to question Elvis's impact on the music world, or even compare him to anyone else is crazy. Al Jolson was great just like the other singers that made note of Elvis, but there was only one Elvis and no matter how you cut it if not for him, I doubt very much we would be able to say today that we had so many great singers after him. Why? Because they all learned so much from Elvis. Yes Elvis was a student of music at one time like all artists of any form have to be. But you tell me if he didn't become the teacher in his own time? I definitely don't Idolize Elvis but it's not hard to see why so many of his piers did. It's been thirty years since his death, even I remember that day, and even then as a non-Elvis Idolizer realized we lost (The King) To even question what he did for the music Industry is ridiculous.

Rest In Peace, Elvis.

This stuff like "how many songs did Elvis write?" etc is stunningly ridiculous nonsense from people with no clue about the man, his roots, his career and what he accomplished. None of this sort of blatant stupidity was ever mentioned by anyone throughout the time of his career, including the other legends who were there during his time and the many legends who came along after him and who were profoundly influenced by him. These people knew why Elvis was Elvis and what made him Elvis and what made him "The King," and they knew that such stupid comments would be profoundly ridiculous and would be missing the point by a thousand miles.

Now it's simply the typical revisionist stupidity spewed by people, many of latter day generations of music fans and hack journalists who have no clue about Elvis, what he did for popular music, and his massive and everlasting impact and influence on popular music; and in some cases some peoples' ridiculous remarks are for purely racial reasons only.

Elvis had a unique and innate musical gift and talent that defies explanation. He was a master interpreter of music and song with a peerless voice and peerless vocal versatility who took any song he wanted and turned it into something original and all his own. His roots and influences were profound and from many different musical styles and genres from the time he was a little boy, and he was the first person to blend those many different styles of music to form what was true "Rock & Roll". Not piano-based boogie or sped up Rhythm & Blues with honking horns etc, but full-throttled guitar-based Rock & Roll from a unique and very original "combination" of country, hillbilly and bluegrass, blues, R&B, jazz, pop, etc, etc. One listen to his Sun Records stuff and his early RCA stuff is all one needs to take to hear that none of his peers' sound was the same, nor did they have the wide range of musical range and versatility Elvis had. They also could not touch him vocally.

He kicked the door open for everyone else around him, white and black both, and they have most all stated this. Rock music would not have lasted past the 1950s without him and his huge talent and stardom carrying the rest of them along with him. His looks and sex-appeal etc have long been legend, as are his incredible charisma, stage presence, and performances. There's a reason he's sold billions of records and continues to sell and have #1 records decades after his death, and that his huge star continues to shine bright, and that millions still love him to this day. He was "The King" without question, the Icon of Icons, and was indeed the original "Rock Star".

To simply toss off "how many songs did he write?" is the epitome of complete ignorance on a very large scale and really doesn't even merit a response because anybody who has a clue about the history of music and Elvis' life, roots and career knows better than that.

Elvis was Great, still is. But The Beatles are the Best of all time. Why, because they validated rock and roll as an art form. The Beatles are when people stopped "dancing to music and started listening". Having said that, no elvis no beatles.

You know? I read all the crap about how many songs did Elvis write and the above comment about Jolson. I dont care if Elvis did not write 1 song or not. HE sold over 2 billion records. Who can do that? Nobody ever will again. Elvis did. And how many did Jolson sell? So lets look at all this and put it into perspective. Elvis is the King even if you think he sucks. Record sells is the answer no matter what anybody thinks, including me. Even if I don't like his music, he still is the King. But, I do like Elvis. So go &%$# yourself.