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Can we stop with Elvis being “King” of Rock and Roll


TheMadIrishman

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6 hours ago, chef free said:

But Elvis introduced white '50's teenagers to black music.  For that alone, he wears the crown...

I don't get that logic at all. There couldn't be a king of rock and roll until a white guy imitated it and played G rated versions to white kids? I suppose Taylor Swift is the Queen of country since she introduced it to millennials.

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1 hour ago, gibsonfan159 said:

I don't get that logic at all. There couldn't be a king of rock and roll until a white guy imitated it and played G rated versions to white kids? I suppose Taylor Swift is the Queen of country since she introduced it to millennials.

Let's try this again gibsonfart. Understand that generally speaking, before there was Elvis Presley, there was no acceptance of rock 'n roll. When Taylor Swift creates (or merely popularizes) an entire genre of music AND impacts the lives of millions of people around the world then she can be called the Queen of it.

 

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Elvis had a great voice, stage persona and he came from poverty in Tupelo, Mississippi to the biggest star of his time. Chuck Berry could not sing near as well as Elvis and Elvis couldn't play guitar as well as Chuck. Elvis was awesome and a huge influence on Rock and Roll, he earned his place. The whole race thing being brought into this is ridiculous - denigrating Elvis for playing music he obviously loved ?
Why does race have to be brought into every single conversation, it is soooo tiresome. Why are some people so fixated on race ? Elvis was a great musician and he took from blues and gospel and country to create and make Rock and Roll popular, thank you Elvis.

Attempted progressive virtue signalling FAIL !!

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17 minutes ago, mknopfler said:

Elvis had a great voice, stage persona and he came from poverty in Tupelo, Mississippi to the biggest star of his time. Chuck Berry could not sing near as well as Elvis and Elvis couldn't play guitar as well as Chuck. Elvis was awesome and a huge influence on Rock and Roll, he earned his place. The whole race thing being brought into this is ridiculous - denigrating Elvis for playing music he obviously loved ?
Why does race have to be brought into every single conversation, it is soooo tiresome. Why are some people so fixated on race ? Elvis was a great musician and he took from blues and gospel and country to create and make Rock and Roll popular, thank you Elvis.

Attempted progressive virtue signalling FAIL !!

No one is denigrating Elvis for playing music he loved. Everything you say I agree with, except the FACT that race had a lot to do with his popularity... had Elvis been black or brown, he wouldn't have become as famous as he did. No progressive virtue fail there...LOL. 

I'm not fixated on race, but I don't deny that it has factored heavily into our history and still does. 

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1 hour ago, SteveAJones said:

Let's try this again gibsonfart. Understand that generally speaking, before there was Elvis Presley, there was no acceptance of rock 'n roll. When Taylor Swift creates (or merely popularizes) an entire genre of music AND impacts the lives of millions of people around the world then she can be called the Queen of it.

 

Elvis didn't "create" anything, he was the poster boy who popularized it and yes, brought it into the living rooms of white kids. How many of these "creations" did he write? If anyone is the king of rock and roll, it's Sam Phillips. Elvis was simply a performer. 

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If you do a little reading on Elvis' early career, you would understand that Sam Phillips was actually looking for someone like Elvis before he even met him.  He already understood that it would take a white artist to bring 'black music' to the masses.  We're talking about an era where races didn't share schools, drinking fountains, etc....

Elvis was surrounded by gospel music, and that was one of the few bridges between black & white in the South.  Memphis was the crossroads of music, and Elvis' talent was a direct reflection and perfect mix of what created Rock & roll in the first place.....the melting together of gospel, blues, & country.  The roots of all three were front & center from the day he was born, until the very end of his career. 

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Elvis is the exact personification of someone being called "The best" at something simply because they were embraced more by the mainstream. Only about a fifth of the songs he performed could be considered"rock and roll" (though most were certainly more rockabilly). 

Now obviously the man had a huge influence and was maybe the greatest entertainer ever, but he certainly did not encompass early rock music like some others did.

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Let's not forget that Elvis had a guitar player in his band named Scotty Moore.  A little research into the early influences of Clapton, Beck, Page, and others from a following era might be helpful here.  Specifically a song called, "Baby Let's Play House".  Since this is a Zeppelin Forum, I shouldn't have to add to that point.  :)   But I will !

   "The record that made me want to play guitar was 'Baby, Let's Play House,'" Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page recalled in 1977. "There was just so much vitality and energy coming out of it."

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It’s funny how many here seem to buy into the idea that all Elvis did was repackage black music in a good looking white guy.  This totally leaves out the country aspect of his influence.  It’s also ironic because it’s the exact same kind of criticism many heap on Jimmy and the boys, wrongly in my view.

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3 hours ago, porgie66 said:

No one is denigrating Elvis for playing music he loved. Everything you say I agree with, except the FACT that race had a lot to do with his popularity... had Elvis been black or brown, he wouldn't have become as famous as he did. No progressive virtue fail there...LOL. 

I'm not fixated on race, but I don't deny that it has factored heavily into our history and still does. 

I've seen plenty of degrading remarks about Elvis right here, mostly because he was white and dared to use some music created by blacks as inspiration. Imagine if someone came on this board and complained about Chuck Berry being black and playing musical instruments created by whites and singing in English created by whites, having his sounds put onto records created by whites and played over the radio airwaves set up to enjoy for free all across the country, also all created by whites. We would all say that's bullshit !!>Just like the OP's post.
 Bringing race into every discussion, TV show, movie, comedy routine, etc. is the tool of the progressive elites to drive us apart. Leave race out, this is a music forum and both Elvis and Chuck Berry were Rock and Roll icons. Elvis was and still is the biggest worldwide icon of Rock music, that's not gonna change because progressives want to make everything about race.

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Elvis introduced the average white middle class American to Rock and Roll (and black music in general).  Where would popular music be without that?  Before Elvis, the music world was a segregated as the rest of America. "Race records" were recorded, manufactured, and sold by segregated companies, factories, and stores, even the labels and covers were printed in segregated shops.  Elvis caused white American teenagers to embrace black music and began the breakdown of racial segregation which changed the whole nation. 

Perhaps "The King" needs an even greater title...

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Quote

Bringing race into every discussion, TV show, movie, comedy routine, etc. is the tool of the progressive elites to drive us apart. Leave race out, this is a music forum and both Elvis and Chuck Berry were Rock and Roll icons. Elvis was and still is the biggest worldwide icon of Rock music, that's not gonna change because progressives want to make everything about race.

I just heard the same misplaced logic when people were arguing about the new lynching memorial.  We're talking about over 60 years ago when race was an important factor in every aspect and facet of life in the South.  It's not an effort to drive us apart....it's an acknowledgement of historical fact.  It's also not a knock on Elvis, but a huge compliment to him.  

Quote

Before Elvis, the music world was a segregated as the rest of America. "Race records" were recorded, manufactured, and sold by segregated companies, factories, and stores, even the labels and covers were printed in segregated shops.  Elvis caused White American teenagers to embrace black music and began the breakdown of racial segregation and changed the whole nation. 

:bravo:

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1 hour ago, Bong-Man said:

I just heard the same misplaced logic when people were arguing about the new lynching memorial.  We're talking about over 60 years ago when race was an important factor in every aspect and facet of life in the South.  It's not an effort to drive us apart....it's an acknowledgement of historical fact.  It's also not a knock on Elvis, but a huge compliment to him.  

:bravo:

Bingo!   Ignoring racial inequality doesn't bring "us" together....it makes white people feel better about themselves for the huge inequalities of our checkered history. I prefer progression, not regression.  

I didn't see much degradation of Elvis in these posts, especially related to his using black music as inspiration. Maybe one or two comments, and they weren't that bad at all. 

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1 hour ago, chef free said:

  Elvis caused white American teenagers to embrace black music and began the breakdown of racial segregation which changed the whole nation. 

Perhaps "The King" needs an even greater title...

Umm, that is quite a stretch.  Again, no disrespect to Elvis , he was the real deal....but white kids finally discovering black music didn't bring about the civil rights movement. It certainly helped that some young whites became more appreciative of black art as a result of Elvis' popularity, and maybe as a by product , more sensitive to racial inequality ...but the credit of breaking down segregation goes to the people who marched, who's blood, sweat and tears was spent protesting, riding the buses, being attacked by mobs , and police dogs on TV so the world could see the shameful disgrace that was segregation.  

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8 hours ago, gibsonfan159 said:

I don't get that logic at all. There couldn't be a king of rock and roll until a white guy imitated it and played G rated versions to white kids?

You are thinking of Pat Boone...

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3 hours ago, chef free said:

 

Perhaps "The King" needs an even greater title...

This is what I've said all along. Elvis wasn't just rock and roll. That title is actually beneath him considering all the stuff he's done. He was truly the King Of Pop (popular music). Sorry Michael.

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12 hours ago, gibsonfan159 said:

Elvis didn't "create" anything, he was the poster boy who popularized it and yes, brought it into the living rooms of white kids. How many of these "creations" did he write?  

He's not the King of Songwriting, he's The King of Rock n' Roll. Elvis Presley epitomized rock n' roll and was the first global pop music celebrity/icon.   

9 hours ago, Bong-Man said:

I just heard the same misplaced logic when people were arguing about the new lynching memorial.  We're talking about over 60 years ago when race was an important factor in every aspect and facet of life in the South.  It's not an effort to drive us apart....it's an acknowledgement of historical fact. 

 They're just acknowledging historical facts about the South, huh? Ok then, put back my Confederate statues. All of them.

7 hours ago, porgie66 said:

The credit for breaking down segregation goes to the people who marched, who's blood, sweat and tears was spent protesting, riding the buses, being attacked by mobs, and police dogs on TV so the world could see the shameful disgrace that was segregation.  

I guess delivering this performance for a race riot ravaged national television audience in prime time doesn't count.

 

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1 hour ago, SteveAJones said:

He's not the King of Songwriting, he's The King of Rock n' Roll. Elvis Presley epitomized rock n' roll and was the first global pop music celebrity/icon.   

 They're just acknowledging historical facts about the South, huh? Ok then, put back my Confederate statues. All of them.

I guess delivering this performance for a race riot ravaged national television audience in prime time doesn't count.

 

OK, this is a whole other level of whack. I'm done here. Goodnight folks. 

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