King Of Rock Dethroned

Thats true I think, but it's prolly true for most performers at least in the rock world, they broke new ground or made thier impact in the first few years of they're career....

Scott

Yes, I agree :wink:

When you see black velvet paintings of Kurt, then he will be the King.

Pfft, I have done paintings of Kurt.

Yeah, but where they paint-by-numbers on black velvet?

I had a cousin who had a whole house full of those things . . .

Elvis and Johnny Cash . . .

*shudder*

I understand that you were not putting anyone down.
Courtney sure made a bundle.

as far as Elvis goes, I think he made the biggest impact on the music scene back in Nashville at Sun Records.
he took gospel and rocked it.

over in Memphis the black guys took gospel and bluesed it.

I grew up in Memphis in the early 70's and even though I was just a kid, I remember the day Elvis died and the World Wide sorrow. Sure Kurt was talented, and there was a shift in music at the time Nirvana gained popularity. It was not all about Nirvana though. There were a lot of bands doing fairly similar stuff at the time (early 90's). There really was nobody doing what Elvis did at the time. If not for Elvis, then no Nirvana! Not as much World Wide sorrow when Cobain died. I'm sure there will be a shift in profits from deceased musicians in the next several decades as music changes and fads come and go, but Elvis and the Beatles will always be near the top, due to their true innovations.

He was too short lived and was never as big. now if he had lived another 20 years and gone on to record as well as he had been, then maybe. But to me, how can you compare rock -n- roll to metal or grunge?

metal and grunge are rock and rolls outrageous children.
curious what the grandkids will be like.

Being the youngster I am I don't really feel much with Elvis. I like his music but I can't really grasp the big deal about him too much. I do still remember the fuss about Cobain. At that time I was just a little kid, had no idea who Cobain or Nirvana was, didn't play music and never heared grunge before. But I do remember it very, very clearly, made a huge impact on me to hear and see people be so sad on television. I guess I can't compare the two and I feel little need to, but I do believe that 'impact' varies tremendously on who you ask.

Impact....personal impact is one thing, historical impact is another, I think thats where most of these discussions go off track a bit, someone like Elvis might not have a personal impact on someone younger who is not "into" his style of music, but historical impact is not ...well...impacted by that.

Elvis was a white southern man who sounded "black" this opened the door for that style of music(rock and roll, rhythm and blues), to become more mainstream, which in turn opened doors for black performers ie: Little Richard, Sam Cook, Bo Diddley, ect... that was an historical impact

Now Cobain for example had an impact, he basicly defined a sub-genre of rock(grunge) so there is a bit of historical impact with him also, just not near the same as Elvis.

Scott

sdolsay: That's very true. I was born in '85 in Holland. Black people having problems getting signed is just another story from the past, I didn't personally experience the historical impact he had so it just seems less big to me. Elvis, no Elvis, pretty hard for me to comprehend how the world of music would have looked without him. The idea that maybe people like Bo Diddley would have stayed down&out is just absurd, no matter how correct that assumption might be. I just cannot imagine all those great performers not getting through because of racial discussions. I guess what I'm saying is that it's hard to fully comprehend the historical impact of people that lived in an earlier time-period, and I think that probably goes for my entire generation, if not all generations. And not just Elvis, kinda the same with the Beatles as well, they had a great impact on music but they are perceived as an old-fashioned 'take that' by kids now.

Thats true, most kids do view these people as just old duffers, but I think if you put that aside and think about it, you know who the Beatles are and you are aware that they had an impact and thier music still sells a ton of records every year.

And they havn't made a new record in what 35 years or so....I just am not sure many bands around today are gonna have that kinda staying power.

Scott

I agree ,Historical impact is the real point.

Being one of the old duffers who grew up in the 60s, i personally witnessed racial riots and racism in general in the south. Going to school in New Orleans while living in Algiers made impressions on me that i'll never forget. Being a first hand witness of an artist or groups impact at the time it is first made is nearly impossible to relate.

As a kid walking to elementary school and hearing "Strawberry Fields" over my little portable AM radio for the first time is something that i can't begin to explain.
Elvis, The Beatles, Ray Charles, any of a number of inovators were up against much more than just making new music, they went against the grain socially and in many cases paid heavy dues for their "insolence"