Why is Elvis so popular even though he didn't write any of his own songs?
Elvis Presley recorded over 600 songs during his lifetime, but he didn't write any of them. Why is he so popular? Given the fact he didn't write any of his own songs, he cannot be considered to be an artist, but merely a performer. That being the case, he doesn't deserve the popularity he attained. A true artist is a musician who can sit down and write their own songs, their own lyrics, own music, etc. So why is he so popular? I don't get it.
(edited 12 years ago)
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Rock and roll did not exist in the white consciousness until Elvis Presley brought it into acceptance. He was a trailblazer of modern popular music - all popular music since has spawned solely from his courage to bring that kind of music into the white world. If you watch him perform right at the start of his career, every little vocal quirk, every little dance move, may seem so simple to us but when they happened, you've gotta remember that people had NEVER heard or seen a man do such things before. He was an originator, he was unique, he courted controversy.
In American popular music of the day, it was the system that music was made like mass produced items - people were put in roles that they were best in to make music quicker. Not many musicians were lucky enough to perform their own songs and not many singers /performers were allowed (even if they were talented enough) to control their own musical output. I suspect Elvis was a victim to this. Today we are taught to scoff at people who perform music that wasn't written by themselves. I think Elvis was an artist because his singing provoked an emotional response in many people then, and still does today.
In American popular music of the day, it was the system that music was made like mass produced items - people were put in roles that they were best in to make music quicker. Not many musicians were lucky enough to perform their own songs and not many singers /performers were allowed (even if they were talented enough) to control their own musical output. I suspect Elvis was a victim to this. Today we are taught to scoff at people who perform music that wasn't written by themselves. I think Elvis was an artist because his singing provoked an emotional response in many people then, and still does today.
Original post by misst911
Painters rarely make their own paint.
Plenty of singers write their own songs. Almost no painters make their own paint.
And in artistic (or any) terms, the paint is like sound, the painting is like the song.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by misst911
Painters rarely make their own paint.
That's a false analogy. A painter always paints their own paintings. A musician should write their own music. The paint is the equivalent of the musical instrument. Usually painters don't make their own paint, just as musicians don't usually make their own musical instruments. But in either case, the painter and the musician both create their own art. The point is, Elvis never created anything. He was just a performer; a puppet singing someone else's songs, yet he took all the credit.
Your analogy really is idiotic. Next time, THINK about what you're saying before you write!
Original post by Kink
In American popular music of the day, it was the system that music was made like mass produced items - people were put in roles that they were best in to make music quicker. Not many musicians were lucky enough to perform their own songs and not many singers /performers were allowed (even if they were talented enough) to control their own musical output. I suspect Elvis was a victim to this.
Today we are taught to scoff at people who perform music that wasn't written by themselves.
In American popular music of the day, it was the system that music was made like mass produced items - people were put in roles that they were best in to make music quicker. Not many musicians were lucky enough to perform their own songs and not many singers /performers were allowed (even if they were talented enough) to control their own musical output. I suspect Elvis was a victim to this.
Today we are taught to scoff at people who perform music that wasn't written by themselves.
Not much has changed then, with all these **** programs such as X Factor, American Idol, etc where nobody writes any of their own songs at all...they merely perform bad cover versions of other peoples' cheesy pop songs.
Original post by Kink
I think Elvis was an artist because his singing provoked an emotional response in many people then, and still does today.
No, an artist is someone who CREATES something. Elvis didn't create any music. He was a good PERFORMER....but an artist he was not.
Original post by Raving_Hippy
No, an artist is someone who CREATES something. Elvis didn't create any music. He was a good PERFORMER....but an artist he was not.
No, an artist is someone who CREATES something. Elvis didn't create any music. He was a good PERFORMER....but an artist he was not.
We'll have to agree to disagree there. Theres a certain art in interpreting music differently. The writer of his music may not have written it the way Elvis performed it so surely it was Elvis's interpretation and the way he sang it to the audience that made the music artful.
Original post by Raving_Hippy
That's a false analogy. A painter always paints their own paintings. A musician should write their own music. The paint is the equivalent of the musical instrument. Usually painters don't make their own paint, just as musicians don't usually make their own musical instruments. But in either case, the painter and the musician both create their own art. The point is, Elvis never created anything. He was just a performer; a puppet singing someone else's songs, yet he took all the credit.
Your analogy really is idiotic. Next time, THINK about what you're saying before you write!
Your analogy really is idiotic. Next time, THINK about what you're saying before you write!
Firstly, I was describing the paint as the music, not the instruments, and the painter as the musician. I am very sorry that you didn't
understand that.
Can't apologise more that my analogy seems to have offended you.
Kind of an unhappy misunderstanding, don't you think?
Your description of my analogy, and therefore myself, does insult me somewhat. It's a shame you had to resort to calling me an idiot.
Oh well, I am certain I shall recover.
Unfortunate we had this disagreement though.
Original post by Raiden10
Plenty of singers write their own songs. Almost no painters make their own paint.
And in artistic (or any) terms, the paint is like sound, the painting is like the song.
And in artistic (or any) terms, the paint is like sound, the painting is like the song.
What I'm saying is, they take something and turn it into their own.
Original post by misst911
Firstly, I was describing the paint as the music, not the instruments, and the painter as the musician. I am very sorry that you didn't
understand that.
Can't apologise more that my analogy seems to have offended you.
Kind of an unhappy misunderstanding, don't you think?
Your description of my analogy, and therefore myself, does insult me somewhat. It's a shame you had to resort to calling me an idiot.
Oh well, I am certain I shall recover.
Unfortunate we had this disagreement though.
understand that.
Can't apologise more that my analogy seems to have offended you.
Kind of an unhappy misunderstanding, don't you think?
Your description of my analogy, and therefore myself, does insult me somewhat. It's a shame you had to resort to calling me an idiot.
Oh well, I am certain I shall recover.
Unfortunate we had this disagreement though.
You ARE an idiot. No, it wasn't a 'misunderstanding', but it was a false analogy on your behalf. Let me explain...
The paint is not the music. The paint is what the painter uses to create a picture with. In the same way, the musical instrument is what the musician uses to create the music. Therefore the paint is the equivalent to the musical instrument, i.e. it's the tool used to create the art.
In summary, here are the equivalents....
The paint = the musical instrument
The painter = the musician
The picture = the music
You must be ****ing thick if you don't understand this.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Raving_Hippy
You ARE an idiot. No, it wasn't a 'misunderstanding', but it was a false analogy on your behalf. Let me explain...
The paint is not the music. The paint is what the painter uses to create a picture with. In the same way, the musical instrument is what the musician uses to create the music. Therefore the paint is the equivalent to the musical instrument, i.e. it's the tool used to create the art.
In summary, here are the equivalents....
The paint = the musical instrument
The painter = the musician
The picture = the music
You must be ****ing thick if you don't understand this.
The paint is not the music. The paint is what the painter uses to create a picture with. In the same way, the musical instrument is what the musician uses to create the music. Therefore the paint is the equivalent to the musical instrument, i.e. it's the tool used to create the art.
In summary, here are the equivalents....
The paint = the musical instrument
The painter = the musician
The picture = the music
You must be ****ing thick if you don't understand this.
Why are you so het up about this??
I think she knows what her own analogy was about more than you
Calm the **** down.
Yes, Elvis didn't write any of his own songs but he performed them well. Lots of actors and actresses we admire didn't write their own films yet we still admire them.
Performance is still an art, it's just different to writing songs/music.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Raving_Hippy
You ARE an idiot. No, it wasn't a 'misunderstanding', but it was a false analogy on your behalf. Let me explain...
The paint is not the music. The paint is what the painter uses to create a picture with. In the same way, the musical instrument is what the musician uses to create the music. Therefore the paint is the equivalent to the musical instrument, i.e. it's the tool used to create the art.
In summary, here are the equivalents....
The paint = the musical instrument
The painter = the musician
The picture = the music
You must be ****ing thick if you don't understand this.
The paint is not the music. The paint is what the painter uses to create a picture with. In the same way, the musical instrument is what the musician uses to create the music. Therefore the paint is the equivalent to the musical instrument, i.e. it's the tool used to create the art.
In summary, here are the equivalents....
The paint = the musical instrument
The painter = the musician
The picture = the music
You must be ****ing thick if you don't understand this.
Jeez man... Pull yourself together
I think this will answer your question.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEsGf0PMXNc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEsGf0PMXNc&feature=related
He's not alone, though, is he?
E: He "co-wrote" about 8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category
ongs_written_by_Elvis_Presley
E: He "co-wrote" about 8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category
ongs_written_by_Elvis_Presley
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