Is Elvis Overrated?

I think we have to look at it this way.
Elvis fans thinks Michael is overrated - and Michael fans thinks he's overrated.
I respect his legacy though, however... (oh I'm gonna get hated for saying this) - I think that a big part of his huge legacy is because of his tragic death.
It's like, he never got to fade away into oblivion - just like Michael never did.

It's so sad when I you read Moonwalk and Michael talks about Elvis and how tragic his death was - and Michael goes out in a similar way.

I can't answer what Elvis legacy is since I've never been a fan, but I respect the phenomenon his legacy is.
 
I like Elvis. I have his music on my Ipod. So yeah, he's okay. But I do think he is overrated and it has nothing to do with Michael. I don't think he really ever kept pushing himself? He got his sound...and then stayed with it? It never grew, it never became something else...he stayed with what he had and what he had was good. But he could have been better, he could have pushed himself more but I don't personally believe he did! I like him and I enjoy some of his songs but I think he's very overrated.
 
I don't think that Elvis's Legacy is overrated. I am also one of those people who don't try and make it a 'war' between Michael and Elvis. Both are Great Artists in their own right. To me You can't Compare them. One thing that you may be able to do is see some similarities. Elvis has fans from all ages from all over the world,just as Michael Jackson.
They come from different generations,as All other Genuises God has blessed the world with. They're only ONE of each. Everyone may or may not have their Favourite pick of them all,but in my humble opinion We should respect what they did to help change the world we live in. More chances are that each one of them through-out the centuries stood up and spoke out to the world through their art. Everyone of these people help shape the way the world is seen to this day. An artist is an Artist.. and without these people we may be still be looking through the same-old same old cloudy window...with the same old view.


My answer is NO Elvis is not overrated
 
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I think we have to look at it this way.
Elvis fans thinks Michael is overrated - and Michael fans thinks he's overrated..

True. But I resent the so call respected music industry elitist know it alls who will always put Elvis in the top 3 when naming the greatest contemporary artists and Michael sometimes doesn't even rank in the top 25 on their list!!!

One of the reasons Michael worked so hard was to get acceptance from the industry. The public readily gave it to him, but outside of Thriller, he's been often disrepected by music critics.

Elvis always gets props. Michael certainly deserves them as much, and I'm being generous to him by even putting him in Michael's league, but as you said I have Michael fan think. LOL. To me there's only one King and he doesn't sing about "you aint nothing but a hound dog."
 
I don't think he really ever kept pushing himself? He got his sound...and then stayed with it? It never grew, it never became something else...he stayed with what he had and what he had was good. But he could have been better, he could have pushed himself more but I don't personally believe he did!
That's because Colonel Parker didn't allow him to. He was supposed to be working for Elvis, but it was the other way around.
 
I think we have to look at it this way.
Elvis fans thinks Michael is overrated - and Michael fans thinks he's overrated.
I respect his legacy though, however... (oh I'm gonna get hated for saying this) - I think that a big part of his huge legacy is because of his tragic death.
It's like, he never got to fade away into oblivion - just like Michael never did.

It's so sad when I you read Moonwalk and Michael talks about Elvis and how tragic his death was - and Michael goes out in a similar way.

I can't answer what Elvis legacy is since I've never been a fan, but I respect the phenomenon his legacy is.
True but I didn't start this thread to compare Michael to Elvis (because in all HONESTY there is NO comparison, imoh) but I just want to know what he DID in terms of MAKING and CHANGING music as we knew and know it. Some people don't believe he was the real "King of R&R" or even derserved that title. Some people say that all he did was make whats was considered "black music" acceptable to the mainstream. I personally don't think this (simply because I just don't know enough about him) but I'm inclined to believe what I read... so can anybody truely educate me?

P.S. please stick to the FACTS and not what you as a fan (as we are all guitly of doing for those we love lol) would like to believe.
 
Yes, to answer the thread question!

And What you said in the bottom is the reason why. Some people act like there was no other before or after him better, when that isn't even true! He never even wrote his own materials! To me that doesn't show growth in a artist and doesn't prove how real they truly are/were only manufactured to appeal to a certain group as Elvis was! Like the song hound dog that was about a slave talking about her master it was a song by a black women. But, it didn't due anything until they gave it to Elvis!

Some people don't believe he was the real "King of R&R" or even derserved that title. Some people say that all he did was make whats was considered "black music" acceptable to the mainstream.
 
i never know Elvis untile Mike married his daughter.
i really didn't understand why LMP's mother was so arrogant. Mike was Far greater than HIm.
 
I actually like Elvis, and I do think it's generational. MJ is an Icon to some generations and Elvis is a Icon to some other generations. I love so many songs by both. :yes:
 
I love Elvis. I think he had a great voice and was a great performer. What I loved most about him was his energy. His songs, even the love ballads, are packed with energy. And it's his voice that does it. A raw, untrained, naturally-good voice. The rawness of his voice in especially his early recordings is to die for. He may not of written his own songs, but he made them his by giving each song such character and energy. He sung every song like he had written them. So I don't care much that he wasn't a singer-songwriter. He was brilliant nonetheless.
 
he is very overrated, a lot of artists are better than him, they consider him as the king of rock and roll!!he is good but king? can he be compared to Freddie Mercury and David Bowie for example? hell no! they are a lot more creative than him, not that I don't like his music, he is one of my top 10 favorites singers
 
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True but I didn't start this thread to compare Michael to Elvis (because in all HONESTY there is NO comparison, imoh) but I just want to know what he DID in terms of MAKING and CHANGING music as we knew and know it. Some people don't believe he was the real "King of R&R" or even derserved that title. Some people say that all he did was make whats was considered "black music" acceptable to the mainstream. I personally don't think this (simply because I just don't know enough about him) but I'm inclined to believe what I read... so can anybody truely educate me?

P.S. please stick to the FACTS and not what you as a fan (as we are all guitly of doing for those we love lol) would like to believe.

Look, I think that Elvis was one of the first artists that were provocative - I mean, the TV channels refused to show his lower half because they felt his movements were too "sexual".
Elvis had an unique tone to his voice, and I think he had a somewhat unique sound.
He was also working in the movie industry.
He's the best selling artist of all time (source: Wikipedia)

His legacy is that he was himself and people loved him for who he was - I think it's just as simple as that.
If you sell a billion records, then you're doing something right.

I give the man the respect he deserve.
 
I question his raw talent. But his catalogue is kickass... i don't think anyone hates all of elvis's music.
 
Personally I never understood what the hype was about Elvis and thought he was a bit overrated. But maybe his importance lies in the cultural impact and you just.. had to be there in order to appreciate it. So I'll just take the word of those millions who do adore him. *shrug*
 
I don't like Elvis and I'm not interested therefore I can't judge because I know nothing.

However, I get annoyed when he gets placed above Michael cause Michael is music's biggest selling artists so people should just accept it and go.
 
I guess 'over-rated' applies to what about Elvis -- his creativity (yes), his cultural impact (no), his voice (subjective), his ability to mix genres (no), etc. To Elvis' credit, he's been quoted as saying he never liked the title "King" because as some of you have already said, people were doing it before he came along. I think he was the 1st 'mainstream' rock n' roll celebrity/artist, and that did pave the way for other acts, including mainstream acceptance/popularity for some of the black artists who came before him (Chuck Berry, Little Richard). So there, yeah, he did impact music.

Culturally, he was again the 1st mainstream performer whose act, for the time at least, oozed w/ sex appeal. Rock N' Roll (even the name) is synonymous w/ sex (even today artists like Adam Lambert garner attention for sexually-laced performances), and Elvis was pretty much the 1st artist who brought that to people's attention by shaking his hips. Yeah, of course it's very tame by today's standards, but for the time, 1950s America was VERY conservative (it was improper for a woman to wear jeans!), so his dancing was like a revelation to audiences seeing that style for the 1st time.

Plus, stylistically, Elvis' music could be categorized as a mixture of country, rock n' roll, and R&B, again one of the 1st mainstream artists to cross a few genres (again Chuck Berry did it before him and did it better IMO, but Elvis is the 1st to give it mass popularity). Yeah, on the one hand it sucks that people give Elvis the credit, but on the other hand, Elvis always deflected the credit to those before him; and his popularity and therefore ability to generate so much money from his brand of music, opened the door of radio stations to playing more black artists like the aforementioned great Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and then after Elvis artists like Fats Domino, Screamin Jay Hawkins, etc, other edgy 60s artists like Wilson Pickett, plus the pop/R&B labels of Motown and Stax. So Elvis at least proved to the bigoted radio stations/TV networks (remember, this was the 1950s in the US, were segregation was still legal!) that the mainstream (ie "white people" back then) would support and enjoy 'black music.'

So long of the short of it, creatively, I don't think Elvis did much beyond interpreting how a song should sound (still a talent, but he didn't write his music or 'invent' rock music), but culturally, the guy is an icon, and paved the way for the acceptance of 'black music,' culturally helping America out of the dark ages! Since he was the 1st huge rock act seen by everyone, he influenced lots of future artists, including the Beatles and Queen (Crazy Little Thing Called Loved is Freddy's idea of an Elvis song).
 
I dont want to get in to this too much, but YES, I beleive Elvis is well at least well Over-Hyped if not Overrated.

Because to be honest, and let's face facts, When it comes down to who is better, More
TALENTED in Any category ! Mikey surpasses Elvis by Light-Years :yes2:


But i have recently found a new respect and liking for Elvis, but i still believe what i Believe:D
SO don't get me wrong, and i don't like it when Elvis is placed higher(like someone said above) or Compared to Michael In ANY way shape or form, because i truly think that Mikey is just Otherworldly !!

The Greatest of the Best, The GREATEST Of ALL Time.

And That's the Truth:yes:
 
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To be honest, i cant stand Elvis. I think he's overrated and i know because i dont like him im obviously gonna be biased & say Michael is soo much better etc (which he obviously is) But even if i did like Elvis music etc i still think he is overated because at the end of the day Michael did more than Elvis. Michael toured- alot! He changed his style of music, always trying new things, wrote his own songs, made short films, had his own movie, appeared in other movies and so much more. Now i dont know much about Elvis' work so maybe i shouldnt comment here but im pretty sure Elvis didnt accomplish as much as Michael. Also, the one thing that i think makes you can icon and legend is how you appeal to generations. I dont see kids and teenagers listening to Elvis these days & i dont think they ever have or will, whereas Michael can appeal to so many different generations & THAT is what will continue his legacy and ithink long term will make him bigger & better than Elvis. Also, Elvis didnt break down cultural barriers, i just think Michael had a bigger impact on this world than what Elvis did, which is why i think he's overated and Michael is possible underrated in some ways- particularly by the media! But thats another story...
I know i've compared him to Michael here, but i just wanna sum up in general i do think he's overrated! No matter what! :laugh:
 
No I don't think he's overrated. He has some of the best music ever recorded, and revolutionized rock and roll.

It's tragic that Michael and him died the same way. The King of Rock and Roll and the King of Pop...and prescription drugs.
 
He is! Granted, a great unique artist, but not even close to being the greatest. MJ's incredible supreme talent and achievements grants him that title.
 
Extremely overrated, i dont understand whats wrong with the people really liking him like really beeing fans of him, i like some stuff he did, but my ears get tired of his voice super soon, he was boring, i mean, we all my respect to him but he was like super obvious, sorry, im just beeing sincere
 
I've been a kind of fan of Elvis since I was ten. I used to watch all his movies on our black-and-white TV and loved them. Many of them are rather cheesy now but the music is still amazing. I love Elvis' voice. Creatively he doesn't match Michael, not by a long shot. But he represents a different era, a different kind of music too. I love both Michael and Elvis, so to me there's really no competition. They are quite different in many ways. I love Michael more than Elvis but I don't think Elvis is overrated. Both are legends. One day the whole world will realize Michael's brilliance too.
 
Let's look at it this way....

Elvis is a talented singer and performer...

Michael is a child prodigy and a musical genius...

Both of their impact in the industry are INCOMPARABLE!

That's why they are often compared to each other...

But I am indifferent with Elvis... Just don't care about him... I love Michael and believe that he is the GREATEST! Elvis don't even stand a chance against him... creatively and visually!
 
Let's look at it this way....

Elvis is a talented singer and performer...

Michael is a child prodigy and a musical genius...

Both of their impact in the industry are INCOMPARABLE!

That's why they are often compared to each other...

But I am indifferent with Elvis... Just don't care about him... I love Michael and believe that he is the GREATEST! Elvis don't even stand a chance against him... creatively and visually!


I fail to see how Elvis impacted the world like Michael did. Michael is well known and revered ALL around the world. Even in the most remote outskirts of the globe. Elvis doesn't even come close. People impersonate Michael all the time. Never ever seen an artist that was impersonated as much as Michael. Now what does that tell us? Could someone enlighten me?!
 
You guys are going to hate me for this - but I think Elvis was overrated. He started off good, then became a caricature of himself. So yes, in the end, Elvis was overrated, IMHO.
 
I fail to see how Elvis impacted the world like Michael did. Michael is well known and revered ALL around the world. Even in the most remote outskirts of the globe. Elvis doesn't even come close. People impersonate Michael all the time. Never ever seen an artist that was impersonated as much as Michael. Now what does that tell us? Could someone enlighten me?!

Girl, read what I said....

I said... the music industry.....

Like it or not, Elvis did impact the industry in ways before anyone else. It was just the timing... He was the first... But as for talent, Michael is miles AWAY!
 
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