What no Elvis? Better start a thread.........

The greatest Rock and Roll 'singer' the world has ever seen?

Can't imagine anyone doing it better. The absolute and total King.

The prototype for all others to follow. He invented bling.

Sharky wrote:

The prototype for all others to follow. He invented bling.

Not sure if I can agree on that. Check out some of Fats Domino early pics. He's got a ring so huge and sparkley, I have no idea how he played the piano with it.

René

Elvis was a great singer, and interpreter of songs, but for me Chuck Berry is the King of rock and roll.

go ahead and flame me!

g

i would say the King of Performimg and awesome singing was Elvis. He was really a King

But Chuck Berry is the King for generations of guitar players. All his riffs and licks are still living in Rock music in these days.

And his sound in the fifties, only guitar and overdrived Tube amp, is cult.

To me, NO rock'n'roller outrocks Little Richard's first two albums on Specialty. I mean; there's Earl Palmer on drums, Lee Allen and Alvin Tyler on saxophones, and the voice of Little Richard! IMO, a band couldn't ask for more.

When my folks upgraded their stereo system in the early/mid seventies, I got the old one, and a stack of 7" (Elvis, Beatles etc.) When my dad was gonna show me how to operate the record player, he put on "Good golly miss Molly" by Little Richard, and it's one of the most intense recordings I've heard to this day. He played my hometown some 15 years ago, and "...Molly" kicked off the concert. WOW! Of course, his band wasn't anywhere near as rockin' as the J&M house band, but it was Richard Penniman, and he STILL had the voice

So for me, Little Richard is the king of rock'n'roll.


Anders

I couldn't agree more about Chuck Berry's impact as the true king of rock-n-roll. Fats Domino and Little Richard are great, but because they're pianists, they probably didn't impact rock-n-roll nearly as much as those bands where the much more portable guitar was front-n-center. Few could touch Chuck Berry as a songwriter, and his influence on future generations of guitarists is remarkable. Elvis did cover a lot more Little Richard in his prime, but that was because of timing more than anything else. Chuck didn't have quite as many hits out when Elvis blew up - Little Richard happened to be hot when Elvis first landed at RCA, before the studio started bringing in Lieber and Stoller, Otis Blackwell, and other songwriters to generate material for Elvis. So the first two Elvis LPs had a number of Little Richard songs - Tutti Frutti, Rip It Up, Long Tall Sally, and Ready Teddy.

But this thread was about Elvis being the greatest rock-n-roll singer. It's hard for me to argue that. For one high energy side of a 45 rpm, I love Little Richard. But have you tried to listen to a 3-disc retrospective of the man lately? You'll be reaching for the Tylenol before too long listening to all those shouters back-to-back-to-back. Meanwhile, I could listen to Elvis all day long (as long as you leave out Old Shep - bleah!).

Never mind rock-n-roll. Elvis was a great singer in every genre he attempted. Who can sing Old MacDonald better than The King? Nobody! I don't think his excellence on ballads, gospel, and country music takes anything away from how great a rock-n-roll singer he was back in the 50's, when it really was rock-n-roll. We judge Chuck, Fats, and Little Richard largely on what they did from 1955-58 (early 60s for Chuck and Fats, too) so even if you're not a fan of Elvis' operatic 70s prowess, consider his output from the same segment of the 1950's, and I think most would agree Elvis comes out on top when judged purely as a singer.

King Me-billy

Bigbassape wrote:

Elvis was a great singer, and interpreter of songs, but for me Chuck Berry is the King of rock and roll.

go ahead and flame me!

g

no flame man, give the black man the hi-fives cuz they made rock n roll happen!
You listen to early early elvis and you can hear Sarah Vaughan big time.
Elvis was incredible at pickin' up that Black crooning goodness besides gettin'
the boogalo inside his legs! He stole the Cool for sure... just look at
chuck berry man..

my daddy taught me "johnny B. Goode" on a double cutaway fender coronado, and
cried the day Elvis died. It just doesnt get anymore rockabilly than that....but
I still really like Wynn Stuart, the pioneer of the bakersfield sound.

Rick, Fantastic post!!!!

Well i'm not knocking Chuck Berry or Little Richard.....LEGENDS!!!!
But Vocally Elvis was the best.
Consider the rawness of 'Hound Dog' 'Jailhouse Rock' etc.....
Chuck, Little Richard, Jerry Lee had that....but Elvis had extra qualities -
The Power of songs like 'Tomorrow never comes' 'Lost that Loving Feelin' etc,
sung with emotion that i've never heard as good by anyone else.
Then there's the late 1960's recordings - 'After Lovin' You', 'Stranger in my own hometown', 'Wearing that loved on look' ....
For me there were 6 diferent Elvis eras - the sun collection 1954-56, The king of Rock and Roll 1956-59, The king of Ballads 1960-63, The Films 1956-1969, The Comeback King 1968-70, The Latter Concerts 1973-1977.
Elvis is the best because he (like Setzer actually) covered a wider range of materail,
rock and roll, rockabilly, country, blues, pop rock, gospel, the list is endless.
The downpart as mentioned is that E didn't write these songs, and we have songs that range from 10/10 to 2 out of ten for some of his film tracks.
There was no one with that vocal range - from 'Houng Dog' to 'It's now or never',
from 'That's Alright mama' to 'My Boy'.
Well that's my thoughts.

I'd contend that Elvis was the best ever not only because of his voice, but also his style and attitude. The Rock and Roll Rebel-teen angst thing starts with him, and I can't think of anyone since that isn't conciously or unconciously trying to mimic that attitude in any form of rock. You name it, they're all Elvis impersonators to some degree. The guy changed everything.

For sale..



Julien's Auctions
Elvis Presley's Nasal Douche: Entering the realm of the surreal


This "nasal douche," a term which hopefully will somehow enter the slang lexicon in the coming weeks and months, was used to irrigate the King's sinuses when they got clogged. Poor Elvis. All that trouble and a stuffy nose, too. (Note: nasal douches look to have a duel purpose as a little glass bong.)

Title: ELVIS - NASAL DOUCHE
Description: Glass nasal douche used before each concert to irrigate Elvis' sinuses with a mixture of warm salt water. The design allowed Elvis more control of the salt water entering his sinuses. Not only did it assist his sinuses but it also improved the health of his throat.

Estimated Winning Bid: $1000 - $2000

I think that was used for Red Hair, I see resin.

No rocker is better than Eddie Cochran and Johnny Burnette.
To me, the best Rock & Roll voices ever!

Slim Jon Phantom wrote:

No rocker is better than Eddie Cochran and Johnny Burnette.
To me, the best Rock & Roll voices ever!

no gene vincent? I feel bad saying this but eddie cochran seemed kinda
sock hoppy teen scene in videos I've seen. I know it was the times but
you watch guys like Elvis and Johnny Cash and they were mucho macho!

Eddie was great musician & rocker but as a VOCALIST Gene Vincent was lots of better & versatile. I think
I've read from somewhere that EC didn't like his voice at all in the beginning and his producers
had to convince him that his voice is allright. Eddie's bluesy rock & roll tunes are great but can't
recall more than one ballad type song of his that IMHO is ok. The song? "I've waited so long"

Tavo, you might be right but no one sings better than Eddie!!

Slim Jon Phantom wrote:

Tavo, you might be right but no one sings better than Eddie!!

uhm.... okay. enjoy.

What about Roy Orbison? Not "The King", but good ol' Roy sure could belt out some tunes. Underrated, in my opinion. Who has the authority to 'rate', anyway?



ELVIS LIVES!!!

Cristo wrote:

What about Roy Orbison? Not "The King", but good ol' Roy sure could belt out some tunes. Underrated, in my opinion. Who has the authority to 'rate', anyway?



ELVIS LIVES!!!

Roy Orbison... totally awesome! did you ever get to see the special
with elvis costello and springstink? Very cool DVD.

Nossir, never seen it. I'm a bit technologically disadvantaged. But, I trust you, and I don't use the word 'trust' lightly. I will get to it when I get to it.

CHEERS!

Cristo wrote:

Nossir, never seen it. I'm a bit technologically disadvantaged. But, I trust you, and I don't use the word 'trust' lightly. I will get to it when I get to it.

CHEERS!

Its called ROY ORBISON aND FRIENDS; A black and white night
ITs available in HD on DVD now.
here's a taste:

Thank you, Sir.

I swear it, man! I was born at LEAST thirty years TOO LATE!

Rock will never die!

Is this a joke
Off cause Elvis is the King of rock'n'roll, no one is even close to him.
Think it over, listen to the records once again, and you'll know