Elvis Specials and Demographics

[firepoint525]

Big difference...Presley never called himself the King. Others did that.... Jackson called himself the King of Pop. He was a self serving ego inflated good dancer who thought he could sing......

Definitely true. Presley didn't like being called "King;" Bruce Springsteen doesn't like being called "the Boss;" and Donna Summer didn't care for the title "Queen of Disco." But Jackson was always called "the self-proclaimed king of pop." More like the biggest egomaniac that ever lived! :

 

[KlunkLetter]

And he had certainly gone (primarily) country by the time of his death. Just listen to "Moody Blue." It's definitely "country," although the way it goes "disco" on the chorus is amusing to listen to now! ;D

If E had lived, my belief is he would have gone Gospel, his real true love of music.

Thanx Sirius for "The Elvis Channel".

 

[GridLeakBias]

Much has been said about Elvis, pro and con, but his roots were with gospel. Elvis' initial rise to stardom came from his entry into R&R music and the ensuing crossover of black music into the world of white teens. I firmly believe Elvis would have had a much longer career (and life) had he not been under the management of Colonel Parker, and the drugs.

Drugs were his downfall. Had Elvis had a manager and promoter more concerned with Elvis and less with the money aspect, well, who knows - Elvis might still be alive and entertaining us with his soul-filled gospel music.

And then again, maybe not.

 

[hornet61]

Since Elvis didn't practice Terminus Of Exordium...we'll never know.....Michael Jackson did consider It , but never did do it......maybe someday Ted W will be able to prove it's worth. And unfortunatley Zager and Evans weren't that good at predicting either demise.

 

[cyberdad]

A crazy thought entered my mind that if he had lived, the Grand Ole Opry might (and I emphasize might) have invited him back. I say "might" because the average age of the current fan base of the Opry is one that might welcome him back. I say that because he and they are from the same generation. He is (or was) one of them.

Interesting thought indeed. And would have Col. Tom let it happen?

 

[Oldbones]

He had a great five-year run as a rock 'n roll headliner and then began putting out ballads and softer songs. By the time of the British Invasion of the early 60's he was pretty much done on the radio.

I dunno, he had a pretty good resurgence in the late 60s/early 70s.

 

[hornet61]

He had a great five-year run as a rock 'n roll headliner and then began putting out ballads and softer songs. By the time of the British Invasion of the early 60's he was pretty much done on the radio.

I dunno, he had a pretty good resurgence in the late 60s/early 70s.

from 01/01/66-7/13/2002 (my whitburn book only goes to 2002)....Elvis charted 64 songs including 2 #1's

Billboard Top artists thru 2002
elvis
Beatles
Elton John
Madonna
Stevie Wonder
James Brown
Michael Jackson
Rolling stones
Janet Jackson
Aretha Franklin
Pat Boone
Marvin Gaye
Rod Stewart
Miriah Carey

 

[KlunkLetter]

A lot of people don't know (or refuse to acknowlege) how good some of his late 60's and 70's music was.

"Stranger in My Own Hometown", for me, is one of his best pieces of work during this time period. In my opinion, it takes him back to the raw roots of his Sun Record days.

I'm more in the Beatles' demographics than Elvis'. However, after I watched Elvis' 68 Special when I was a 15, almost 16 year old teenager, the Beatles weren't anything. Elvis just blew them out of the water.

 

[landtuna]

However, after I watched Elvis' 68 Special when I was a 15, almost 16 year old teenager, the Beatles weren't anything. Elvis just blew them out of the water.

The Beatles were innovative musicians. Elvis was a performer.

 

[firepoint525]

And he had certainly gone (primarily) country by the time of his death. Just listen to "Moody Blue." It's definitely "country," although the way it goes "disco" on the chorus is amusing to listen to now! ;D

If E had lived, my belief is he would have gone Gospel, his real true love of music.
Thanx Sirius for "The Elvis Channel".

I think he could have done both, and done them both quite well!

 

[AZJoe]

... classic hits stations may tend to shy away from that because are afraid that such programming will attract older listeners.

That sounds like an odd statement. Are you suggesting that Oldies stations would intentionally ignore their bread-and-butter listeners to try to attract (temporarily it seems) a younger audience?

Given everything I've been reading on these boards there aren't that many 'younger' listeners of Oldies/Classic Hits genres.

That said, Elvis was indeed big news in his day but he was much more a performer than a musician. His early records introduced music to white audiences which, until that time, had been performed mostly for Black audiences. But the recordings themselves were not pinnacles of the musical arts. It was the acceptance by teens of the day (of which I was one) and corresponding rejection by their parents that made him as popular as he was.....and, of course, the 'teen idol' nature of Elvis himself.

He had a great five-year run as a rock 'n roll headliner and then began putting out ballads and softer songs. By the time of the British Invasion of the early 60's he was pretty much done on the radio.

I equate Elvis to performers like Rudy Vallee and Frank Sinatra of my parent's generation but my kids equate him to the likes of Michael Jackson - a good show but average music.

While it might be nostalgic for us old-timers to pay homage to Elvis annually I'm not sure the adulation is required....or appreciated by audiences of today. I know I haven't listened in many years although I enjoy hearing some of his music every now and then.

Yeah, Elvis was "thru" when the Beatles came into the picture. He only charted 85 more times, including 22 top 20 hits, 6 top 10s and a number 1. Most artists would call that accomplishment if they had done so , a major success! He was the #1 artist of the 50's, #2 of the 60s, #10 of the 70s and continues to sell more music 30 plus years after his death than most artist do today - alive. Did he enjoy the same success as he had pre Beatles? No, but to say he was washed up & had no more hits or impact is a gross inaccuracy.

 

[landtuna]

No, but to say he was washed up & had no more hits or impact is a gross inaccuracy.

Your post would be easier to understand if you would learn how to reply.

That said, I didn't say Elvis was "washed up". What I said was "By the time of the British Invasion of the early 60's he was pretty much done on the radio."

Like it or not that was pretty much true. Although he still had a great performing career going in Vegas and elsewhere you weren't going to hear him singing on Top-40 radio as he had done in the late 50's. And the songs you did hear were mostly ballads - which teens of the day weren't demanding.

Part of the problem was his (or Col. Tom Parker's) choice of music. Some of it was just familiarity - he was old news to the teens always on the lookout for new sounds. And some was over-exposure in all those B-list movie potboilers - although he was a decent actor and probably could have gone on to have an excellent and meaningful acting career had he been given decent scripts.

 

[TheFonz]

However, after I watched Elvis' 68 Special when I was a 15, almost 16 year old teenager, the Beatles weren't anything. Elvis just blew them out of the water.

The Beatles were innovative musicians. Elvis was a performer.

The Beatles "innovated" from American 1950s rock & roll music. Their early albums and the "Live At The BBC" sessions verify that. John Lennon once said "If there hadn't been an Elvis, there wouldn't have been the Beatles". [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Lennon]

 

[landtuna]

The Beatles were innovative musicians. Elvis was a performer.

The Beatles "innovated" from American 1950s rock & roll music. Their early albums and the "Live At The BBC" sessions verify that. John Lennon once said "If there hadn't been an Elvis, there wouldn't have been the Beatles". [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Lennon]

Virtually every successful musician innovates from music previously performed. The Beatles credit Buddy Holly and groups not associated with Elvis for inspiration as well. Without Elvis the Beatles undoubtedly would have sounded a bit different in their early days but their music later on had little, if any, relation to what Elvis had done.

 

[firepoint525]

However, after I watched Elvis' 68 Special when I was a 15, almost 16 year old teenager, the Beatles weren't anything.  Elvis just blew them out of the water.

The Beatles were innovative musicians.  Elvis was a performer.

The Beatles "innovated" from American 1950s rock & roll music.  Their early albums and the "Live At The BBC" sessions verify that.  John Lennon once said  "If there hadn't been an Elvis, there wouldn't have been the Beatles". [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Lennon]

John Lennon's Rock And Roll album (1975) contains his cover versions of all the '50s (and a few early '60s) classics that he grew up listening to.  It's actually much better than all the "preachy" crap he put out in the early '70s.

 

[AZJoe]

No, but to say he was washed up & had no more hits or impact is a gross inaccuracy.

Your post would be easier to understand if you would learn how to reply.

That said, I didn't say Elvis was "washed up". What I said was "By the time of the British Invasion of the early 60's he was pretty much done on the radio."

Like it or not that was pretty much true. Although he still had a great performing career going in Vegas and elsewhere you weren't going to hear him singing on Top-40 radio as he had done in the late 50's. And the songs you did hear were mostly ballads - which teens of the day weren't demanding.

Part of the problem was his (or Col. Tom Parker's) choice of music. Some of it was just familiarity - he was old news to the teens always on the lookout for new sounds. And some was over-exposure in all those B-list movie potboilers - although he was a decent actor and probably could have gone on to have an excellent and meaningful acting career had he been given decent scripts.

And your posts would be easier to understand if you stated some facts instead of your opinion. While he didnt have as many hits as he did in the 50s and early 60s, Elvis certainly was not thru on radio in the late 60s or 70s. As I stated, he had far more hits and airplay than most artists who were considered successful. If you just judge him by his earlier airplay and he did have a decrease, yet that is still far from being over with on radio. His hits old and new still got far more airplay than the vast majority of other artists out there.....that is not being over with on radio. Oh by the way, on Country & AC radio Elvis was a huge success in the late 60s, 70s & 80s he had 35 Country charted hits(12 top 10) and over 3 dozen AC charted hits(24 top 10) in same period. Last I heard those were also played on the radio.You dont have his standings in the 60s and 70s by not getting airplay. As they said in the 70s "Have a nice day"....

 

[landtuna]

And your posts would be easier to understand if you stated some facts instead of your opinion.

Ah, you mean all those "references" and "links" you provided?

Not only did Elvis' radio airplay not "get far more airplay than the vast majority of other artists" but he also became a parody of himself. That parody still exists today and has encouraged hundreds of "Flying Elvises" and other strange performers - all built on the stage version of Elvis. A remarkable precursor to Michael Jackson.

 

[AZJoe]

I provided far more facts than you. Go get a Whitburn and do your homework yourself. Elvis impersonators nor your view of Elvis have anything to do with how much radio airplay he received. I stand by my facts, you can stand on your soapbox. 8)