monk37
02-10-2010, 11:05 PM
I visit another Elvis forum - a public one - which naturally draws anti-Elvis people.
Anyway, I find that I am responding to the same nonsense over and over and I did a post today that I am rather pleased with and want to share. I'm just posting my response - and I know you all will know what crap I am responding to.
Anyway, in case you want to copy and paste or add to this - feel free to post this in defense of Elvis on other forums:
As for Elvis' influence, I guess the question is - if Musician C is influenced by Musician B - who was in turn influenced by Musician A
isn't C also therefor influenced by A?
Major Elvis fans:
Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Led Zep, Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Beatles.....and more
Singers today in 2009 still use the Elvis template for their careers - get famous singing, then try to mainstream your appeal by acting
so far, no other singers have managed to do it half as well as Elvis.
As for being a Vegas Lounge act, I will strongly disagree.
Lounge acts are background noise, they are a supplemental to the casinos, a mild but not compelling diversion and in terms of money, a throw away - not what people are coming to see.
Elvis never toured or performed as a 50's nostalgia act.
He didn't recreated his early days, when he did his earlier songs, they had different musical arrangements and were generally done as medleys.
His stage wear in the 70's was very different from his 50's clothes - and this 70's stage wear was largely copied by the major teen idols of the day - David Cassidy, the Osmonds, Leif Garret and even the Jackson 5 wore jumpsuits
When Vegas had headliners, it was the gamblers in Vegas who went to the show.
After Elvis became a headliner there, he was the point of the travel - Vegas' hotels filled and when his shows were on, the casino's emptied.
Elvis remade Vegas into a vacation destination that mere gambling couldn't do.
I am not saying that everything Elvis did was gold
I am not saying ever song, every concert was perfect.
Elvis did become a parody of himself. Elvis was for several stretches of time not at the top and sometimes, not even relevant.
He had several comebacks in his career, and had he lived, he would have continued to do so.
Elvis was a thoroughbred horse who was for most of his career used to cart hay to the stables for the other horses.
His movies were used to fund more lofty films.
His record sales to underwrite developing other artists.
And it's for this reason that he has not ever been given his artistic due.
No artist from the mid 60's onward would let themselves be used as Elvis was.
He churned out 3 movies a year, with 3 soundtracks and 1 non-soundtrack movie through the sixties.
From 1956 to 1977, he put out 68 long play albums and hundreds of singles and EPs.
Between 1969 and 1977, he did over 1000 concerts, often one night after the other - and twice on Sundays.
Especially when he was in Vegas - sometimes there was an afternoon mantinee, a dinner show and a midnight show.
No other artist would do three concerts in a day.
Artists today take 3 years in between albums and often don't tour - relying on videos for promotion.
Elvis remains the bar that others try - and fail - to measure up to.
Anyway, I find that I am responding to the same nonsense over and over and I did a post today that I am rather pleased with and want to share. I'm just posting my response - and I know you all will know what crap I am responding to.
Anyway, in case you want to copy and paste or add to this - feel free to post this in defense of Elvis on other forums:
As for Elvis' influence, I guess the question is - if Musician C is influenced by Musician B - who was in turn influenced by Musician A
isn't C also therefor influenced by A?
Major Elvis fans:
Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Led Zep, Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Beatles.....and more
Singers today in 2009 still use the Elvis template for their careers - get famous singing, then try to mainstream your appeal by acting
so far, no other singers have managed to do it half as well as Elvis.
As for being a Vegas Lounge act, I will strongly disagree.
Lounge acts are background noise, they are a supplemental to the casinos, a mild but not compelling diversion and in terms of money, a throw away - not what people are coming to see.
Elvis never toured or performed as a 50's nostalgia act.
He didn't recreated his early days, when he did his earlier songs, they had different musical arrangements and were generally done as medleys.
His stage wear in the 70's was very different from his 50's clothes - and this 70's stage wear was largely copied by the major teen idols of the day - David Cassidy, the Osmonds, Leif Garret and even the Jackson 5 wore jumpsuits
When Vegas had headliners, it was the gamblers in Vegas who went to the show.
After Elvis became a headliner there, he was the point of the travel - Vegas' hotels filled and when his shows were on, the casino's emptied.
Elvis remade Vegas into a vacation destination that mere gambling couldn't do.
I am not saying that everything Elvis did was gold
I am not saying ever song, every concert was perfect.
Elvis did become a parody of himself. Elvis was for several stretches of time not at the top and sometimes, not even relevant.
He had several comebacks in his career, and had he lived, he would have continued to do so.
Elvis was a thoroughbred horse who was for most of his career used to cart hay to the stables for the other horses.
His movies were used to fund more lofty films.
His record sales to underwrite developing other artists.
And it's for this reason that he has not ever been given his artistic due.
No artist from the mid 60's onward would let themselves be used as Elvis was.
He churned out 3 movies a year, with 3 soundtracks and 1 non-soundtrack movie through the sixties.
From 1956 to 1977, he put out 68 long play albums and hundreds of singles and EPs.
Between 1969 and 1977, he did over 1000 concerts, often one night after the other - and twice on Sundays.
Especially when he was in Vegas - sometimes there was an afternoon mantinee, a dinner show and a midnight show.
No other artist would do three concerts in a day.
Artists today take 3 years in between albums and often don't tour - relying on videos for promotion.
Elvis remains the bar that others try - and fail - to measure up to.