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No ELVIS, Beatles or the Rolling Stones in 1977

sang the Clash and how true. Elvis Presley died 30 years ago today. Public enenmy said "he don't mean shit to me" (correct me if I'm wrong on that).

More than a white boy who could sing black IMHO. He and the Jordanaires blended black R & B with white Country and made rock and roll as we know it. No Elvis, no rock music.

Every piece of popular music you listen to know is directly or indirectly as a result of Elvis and what he did at Sun records. Discuss.

Comments

  • I'm itching like a man on a fuzzy tree.
  • The King.
  • [cite]Posted By: DJ Davey Dave[/cite]The King.

    I expected you to say "my thoughts are with his family" ;- 0
  • That's your line.
  • Never really got Elvis ... indeed Chuck D did take a pop at Elvis ...“Elvis was a hero to most, but he never meant shit to me.” Fight the Power had more influence on me than any ELVIS tune.

    However there are two arguements ... certain elements in American society, including many black people, have dismissed Presley as no more than a racist Southerner who stole black music, and others have said he amalgamated Country, Gospel and Blues and spread the word.

    "Racists attacked rock and roll because of the mingling of black and white people it implied and achieved, and because of what they saw as black music's power to corrupt through vulgar and animalistic rhythms. ... The popularity of Elvis Presley was similarly founded on his transgressive position with respect to racial and sexual boundaries. ... White cover versions of hits by black musicians ... often outsold the originals; it seems that many Americans wanted black music without the black people in it, and Elvis had undoubtedly "derived his style from the Negro rhythm-and-blues performers of the late 1940s.

    Chuck D was coming from the school of thought that had Elvis as a a symbol of all that was oppressive to the black experience in the Western Hemisphere. What is more, Presley was widely believed to have said, "The only thing black people can do for me is shine my shoes and buy my records.

    Personally I thought Shakin Stevens was better ...
  • [cite]Posted By: DJ Davey Dave[/cite]That's your line.

    Which you have borrowed so I can't use it anymore ;-)
  • Given Elvis's upbringing in a very racist and secregated Mississippi I wouldn't be surprised if he were racist himself.
    There's no doubt that no black singer could have had, or been allowed to have, the success or record sales that Elvis did because of the racism in America. On the other hand people such as Chuck Berry and Little Richard become national and International successes partially as a result of Elvis making them and their music more "acceptable" to a white audience. To a lesser extent this still happens with singers like Joss Stone.

    Elvis certainly did more than do cover versions of black artist's songs. "It's all right moma" is a different version and not the watered down civer that people like Pat Boone did.

    As someone born in the 60s who was always aware of pop music I can't imagine what it must have been like for kids in Britain to turn on the radio and hear Little Richard scream "Wop-bop-a-loo-mop alop-bom-bom" or hear Elvis do his "it's a one for money, two for the show" for the very first time. Like something from a different planet.
  • Elvis always said black musicians were the biggest influence on his music, he made lots of cash for the writers of the songs he recorded. He was a huge fan of gospel music, recording albums of gospel songs. He used black backing singers and musicians once the segregation laws allowed him to. I think the problem was with Chuck D. not Elvis.

    As for the quote, I have been an Elvis fan since just before he died, and have never heard that in my life.

    No Elvis = no Fight the Power Rick, influences are not always direct old bean...
  • Hmmm in this case is Eminem an Elvis for the 21st Century? A white boy who has helped make rap music accessible and acceptable to a white audience?
  • [cite]Posted By: BlackForestReds[/cite]Hmmm in this case is Eminem an Elvis for the 21st Century? A white boy who has helped make rap music accessible and acceptable to a white audience?

    In a way but rap music was already popular and black artists were selling lots of records in the mainstream unlike Elvis and rock and roll. He is certainly an example of a white artist having more success than similar black artist would have done IMHO.
  • Sponsored links:


  • Little Richard: "RHYTHM AND BLUES stands for Rhythm and Black"
    Keith Richards, Rolling Stones: "I was listening to it (ROCK AND ROLL) in 1946 not in 1956 (early ROCK AND ROLL was black blues music but newer heard by whites.)
    Joe Strummer, The Clash: "Everything I've heard in my life is rooted in the Blues."
    Chuck D, Public Enemy: "I'm a big Blues fan . . . "
    Rick Ocasek: (The Cars): "Juvenile delinquents played it in the 50's and wore leather jackets; in the 60's hippies played it, in the 70's they called it Punk, and now cleaned it up with New Wave and put a tie on it."

    The music was around before Elvis, but as Henry points out it was Elvis who popularised the sound.

    No Elvis = No Rock music.
    No Blues = No Elvis.
  • Keef must have done well to listen to the blues when he was three years old and living in Dartford.

    I think it is more than just the blues. Country music and instruments, gospel singing styles, pop music etc added to the blues became rock and roll. It wasn;'t just Elvis on his own but he was the catalyst.
  • [cite]Posted By: Algarveaddick[/cite]No Elvis = no Fight the Power Rick, influences are not always direct old bean...

    Have to disagree with this. Chuck D was a Rapper, rap came about when Kool Herc a Jamaican in New York, started toasting over breakbeats. Toasting is the Jamican term for speaking, chatting ... MCing over a record. Elvis didnt really effect Jamaican Music, so we would still have had Rap. We would still have had Chuck D ... and the line would have been JOHN WAYNE WAS A HERO TO MOST ...
  • John Wayne couldn't sing though!
  • and he didn't like toast.
  • Origin of Music (from the net):

    "... the evidence is reviewed to re-construct the processes that brought music into existence. What is unique is the interdisciplinary approach. Evidence used is garnered from a large variety of subjects: Archeology, biology, psychology, anthropology, ethnomusicology, physics, acoustics, physiology, as well as history and from social processes outside the arts such as religion and economics."

    Blimey ... and I thought it was just because I enjoyed listening to it!
  • [cite]Posted By: Riscardo[/cite]
    [cite]Posted By: Algarveaddick[/cite]No Elvis = no Fight the Power Rick, influences are not always direct old bean...

    Have to disagree with this. Chuck D was a Rapper, rap came about when Kool Herc a Jamaican in New York, started toasting over breakbeats. Toasting is the Jamican term for speaking, chatting ... MCing over a record. Elvis didnt really effect Jamaican Music, so we would still have had Rap. We would still have had Chuck D ... and the line would have been JOHN WAYNE WAS A HERO TO MOST ...

    But was not rap music influenced by the german band Kraftwerk? It's all interconnected and feeding off each other.

    And Country music is/was very popular in Jamacia and had an influence on reggae as shown my the number of country songs covered by reggae artists and songs by Elvis.

    http://www.elvisinfonet.com/cdreview_allshookup_reggae.html
  • [quote][cite]Posted By: Riscardo[/cite][quote][cite]Posted By: Algarveaddick[/cite]No Elvis = no Fight the Power Rick, influences are not always direct old bean...[/quote]

    Have to disagree with this. Chuck D was a Rapper, rap came about when Kool Herc a Jamaican in New York, started toasting over breakbeats. Toasting is the Jamican term for speaking, chatting ... MCing over a record. Elvis didnt really effect Jamaican Music, so we would still have had Rap. We would still have had Chuck D ... and the line would have been JOHN WAYNE WAS A HERO TO MOST ...[/quote]

    Will have to agree to disagree Rick, without Presley there would have been no opportunity for young people, black or white to become worldwide stars. Everyone has heard of Elvis, I have never heard of Kool Herc, the first rap I remember making it mainstream was Sugarhill Gang. Thanks for the musical history lesson though, Kool Herc's part in it is now firmly lodged in my mind, and I look forward to using it in discussions with young people who are "into" rap and have no idea who he is either...
  • So the whole argument here is that musicians are directly or indirectly influenced by other musicians?

    Chuck D, whether he likes it or not, has had people from different races influence his music. Besides, if he can fall for that N-O-I b*llshit he must be prepared to listen to anything. (the only comment I'll make about that Barts!).

    Perhaps the world would be a better place if music had never stretched beyond cracking two rocks together in a cave - does that Neanderthal who founded rhythm have rights to claim all our music as their own based on what he/she started?
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