FRED HALE SR.

They owe everything to Elvis. He made their brand of music popular and thus created careers for them that would have gond unnoticed in the mainstream. The Presley family has nothing to be ashamed of. Elvis was a very talented guy.

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" I slashed and burned thru my 15 minutes of fame."

Soulflower

I disagree sugar foot.

Elvis took most of their potential intergrated audience because white people assumed that Elvis was doing something that was "new" while the black artists in the juke joints were already doing it.

Elvis is unfairly given credit for pioneering a genre that he had no part in innovating nor creating because he was a popular white man during a segregated era.

Elvis's popularity reinforced racial stereotypes and a false assumption.

I think the family could give songwriting Royalities to those African American songwriters Elvis stole credits from. Some of them are still alive and they are not credited for their songs that Elvis sung which is why I said the Presly family should be ashamed.

FRED HALE SR.

Elvis created an entire new audience for the music. I don't see how adding numbers to their plight caused them any harm. He brought rnb to the masses and thus was instrumental in making their music appeal to a vast new audience. Elvis was amazing for that time period. He had an awesome voice and was made to make music in that genre. He entertained people of all race creeds and colors. He was popular because he was talented. You can't take away the success of him and he was very instrumental in bringing rnb to the forefront. Elvis's popularity wasn't just because of white people, ask little richard, fats and chuck berry whether they think Elvis was talented? I assure you each one of them would back up his talent and be thankful that he brought their music to the masses along with his own. Elvis was brought up singing gospel music in churches just like everyone of the guys you mentioned, he lived no differently then they did. Its a tired argument and Elvis does deserved to be called King because he was the biggest entertainer that may have ever existed.

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" I slashed and burned thru my 15 minutes of fame."

The Batlord

I think you're assuming that had Elvis not come along that the black musicians would have made the break through that he did instead. He got popular partly because he was able to get play on white radio stations that never would have played black artists. I imagine that he actually gave them an audience that they wouldn't have had otherwise.

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Scotty The Redneck

I am just not a fan of the Alternative Rock ,i.e., The Stone Roses and The Smiths, that seems to be so popular on here. They are so blasé to me.

Soulflower

Okay, I agree with that but what I disagree with is the media pushing that he innovated a musical genre that was already established before he had a recording contract.

Just because he created an entire new audience for music does not mean he innovated/ originated "Rock N Roll"


Well first off Elvis did not sing R&B. He mostly did Rock N Roll/Blues. Once again, there is nothing wrong with Elvis's popularity but what is troubling to me is how he is credited for a musical genre and a performance style that was originated by African American musicians and entertainers. I am not taking the success of Elvis away from him but some of his accolades are overrated because he did not originate or start these things himself.


Why did he his camp not credit those African American songwriters? Do you think there is anything wrong with stealing songwriting credits?

Those African American songwriters were never credited and do not get royalities for those famous Elvis songs they wrote. That is problematic.


I don't think he was because I think he reinforced stereotypes and reflected racial problems that negatively impacted the time period. His popularity showed that in order to have cross over success making African American music, you had to be white making Rock N Roll. You couldn't be a black man or woman making your own music.

To be fair, Elvis was not the only successful white entertainer/singer that was credited for things African American artists originated but because he is the biggest selling solo artist he is often cited.

Elvis was popular because he was Caucasian and made artificial imitations of black music that was safe for the masses during a racially driven era.


There is a reason why African American artists like Fats Dominos and Jackie Wilson never made it to his popularity making the same type of music and dancing the same type of style way before Elvis even had a recording contract.

I am not trying to take away his success. I thought Elvis was a handsome man with a descent singing voice but he was not the best of the best of that era. He did not write any of his songs nor did he originate any of the things in music he is often credited for creating.




I agree.... but none of them would ever insist he was the originator of Rock N Roll/Blues which is my only argument.





You are right.

I just don't think he deserves to be called the originator or the pioneer of a genre that he had no part in creating. Popularizing and creating are two different things.

Yes, he is the biggest selling artist ever but I disagree with him being called the biggest entertainer that ever existed. He was surpassed, years ago....

Soulflower

This is partially true but why does the media credit him for originating Rock N Roll?


That is not right or suddenly should be justified simply because he popularized a genre. Don't you agree?

Why is he credited for songs he did not write?

Why are these African American songwriters not given credit?


Why is Jackie Wilson not credited for the hip and twisting leg dance steps he originated way before Elvis started copying his style?



I don't care about his poplarity or success because he can have it... but what I want to know is if he was friends with all these black artists and entertainers why would he steal credits and not insist they were the real originators?

I have never heard Elvis insist Jackie inspired him or Fats.

It is disgusting that it is always presented that he originated all of this.

If someone has it on paper that Elvis said out his mouth that these black singers and artists inspired him please send me to the link. Thanks.

FRED HALE SR.

Elvis Presley music was mostly co-written/written by Weisman on his credits. He was not african american. It was not standard for people to list writers in the credits of music until much later in Elvis's career. That is something that was done due to litigation at a later point. None of the african american singers of the time credited writers of their songs either, just thought i'd point that out. I am gonna fail to see anything but talent when it involves Elvis, he was an innovator and he would have had breakthrough talent whether he wrote his music or not. Elton John doesn't write his own music does that make him a hack also?

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" I slashed and burned thru my 15 minutes of fame."

Frownland

@realtalk It was also a different time and yes, being white made a big difference. It got him radio play but that pushed people into thinking 'hey I like this kind of a tune,' which pushed them to look into other artists ie Little Richard and the rest of them. Elvis shouldn't be the official inventor of rock and roll but he's the king because of the advances made by bringing the style to the mainstream.

You're actually agreeing with those you're arguing with on this forum in my eyes. Even though it was a racist standard of the Caucus radio that pushed Elvis into fame (he was a ripoff artist but) he still brought the idea of a black mans music to the mainstream. I'm not saying this is okay, he was the poster boy of a different time, WHICH YOU SHOULD CONSIDER because without him the artists you had mentioned would see zero to .00005 percent of what the artist would see without Elvis or an artist like him.

Originator of rock and roll **** no. But in terms of helping the public learn about music you love he really is the king. Racism was rife in those times and I figured that you of all people would appreciate that since your favourite artists are born from the mentality inspired by Elvis.

He is not an innovator, but he is so overwhelmingly important that him being the first to ripoff black music in a rock n roll perspective is actually considerable. Hopefully you can see the situation in a wider context than '**** it's racist I gotta hate it right?' mentality like you have been since you joined this forum.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

Urban Hat€monger ?

I think it's insulting how all those hip hop artists of the 80s & 90s stole so many samples & beats from white rock millionaires without giving them one ounce of credit.

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