To this day when I see a picture of Elvis when he was healthy and smiling, I can't believe how handsome he was!

Now, Johnny Cash is another story. That man had talent and demons, and he exorcised them quite well through his lyrics.

I'm not a country/western fan by any means... so, much of that end of the music spectrum/business simply doesn't hold me in its spell. Give me hair metal of the 80's, or music of the 60's through today, include some good, old time Delta blues and some modern rap, and maybe a little pop or top 40, and I'm happy.

Keep me away from Muzak elevator noise, most country/western, and there won't be a problem! ;-)

Classical is ok... but only in small doses.

I'm a rock & roll chick from the days of big hair, and a cross between the anything-goes-Madonna to Joan Jett style of dress, with lots of leather! :-)

Strangely, though, the haunting sounds of some Spanish/Latino/Mexican guitar music can be very intriguing...

My musical tastes are varied and wide, but Elvis never played a role in forming what I like. As it is with too many artistic talents, Elvis couldn't deal with a lot of the stresses, and addictions took him away too soon.

The Beatles woke me up to music when I was a young kid and I just went from there, rock but not hard - pop music really. And classical, my father had classical music playing quietly in the house from sunup to sundown, so who could not like it, it's so beautiful? I can remember sometimes he would stop mid sentence and close his eyes to listen to a portion of a piece, then open his eyes and continue the sentence. THAT'S music appreciation! ;)

I like new orleans jazz, all kinds off stuff. Not blue grass, country or rap though. Lots of the alternative is very, very good.

I don't understand the effect Elvis continues to have on culture but I never did get the whole Elvis thing to begin with. He seemed slick and greasy to me.

Million Dollar Quartet

Never really was a big fan, but there's some good stuff there.

That's for sure.

When Christina Aguilera is on stage, I have to close my eyes so I can hear the words.

Apparently the tickets are worth a lot of money. Alas, I've no idea what ever happened to them.

It's the glitz and extras that I can't handle.

Like many before and after him, meaning Elvis, it's usually the early stuff that's better. It's like that with a lot of artists. Look at Robert Johnson as an example.

Once the fame kicks in, and greed enters the room, it changes. I'd never want to be in shoes like that.

I was never a fan of Elvis altho' I like some of his music. I was working in a photography shop one summer and a customer got some photos and showed me one of her and Elvis together after one of his concerts. She was so thrilled and I wondered, to myself, what's the big deal?

All of Robert Johnson's tunes were early stuff... He died in 1938 at the ripe age of 27.

Unless you have some unreleased music that he performed after his death (can I get a copy?)...

My dad died the week Elvis died and I think Bing Crosby too.

My point, though, really was that once money or fame enters the picture, and greed tags along for the ride, things change. It doesn't really matter who the artist is. Too many have had issues they simply couldn't deal with.

How about Curt Cobain? Better example? :-)

Las Vegas El was his distant cousin, you know, don't you?

Kate

A few months ago, I bought, on a whim, Peter Guralnick's two-volume biography of EP, not having thought about him for a long time, and rediscovered him, especially his wonderful early music. Guralnick's books are a tour de force of research and detail, telling of the abysmal poverty in which the Presley family lived, and then his hitting instantly with the first playing of That's All Right on Memphis radio, and finally, the great tragedy of his downfall. Guralnick is super-knowledgeable about this type of music, gospel, soul, blues, R&B, hillbilly, bluegrass, and all the singers, both black and white, and he tells a very full story.

Don - Million Dollar Quartet - Yes! Have it and love it! Probably only for lovers of the pre-Army songs. It's a jam session that was not intended for recording. There's a lot of jokey conversation between the guys, and a lot of music, some songs done over and over, others abandoned in the middle. We don't hear much, if anything, of Johnny Cash; he was very young and just starting, whereas EP was already a star. Jerry Lee is very anxious to show what he can do on the piano. Elvis was also a pianist - as Guralnick writes, he learned to play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata by ear.

Mylab - I was also raised on classical music, and it's still my favorite. But every so often one needs something else!

Some notable exceptions in my estimation would be the Beatles, Howlin' Wolf, the Pixies, Steely Dan & Miles Davis (although many folks don't care for his later fusion stuff).

I'm not a huge Presley fan, but I do have a dozen or so of his songs in my playlist. Return to Sender popped up unexpectedly on my media player halfway thru this response...

35 years is a darned long time and I agree with all the Sun Label comments. Elvis had a very good voice in his younger years, but I was only a medium fan. Jailhouse Rock always triggers specific high school memories though....

Despite a variety of other more hippieish personal tastes, and much to the chagrin of my "cool young Aunt" (who is now in her fifties lol) I've always liked Elvis better than the Beatles too. The Beatles had great lyrics of course, but on sheer talent, Paul McCartney's pleasant but unremarkable voice just cannot compare. In fact, I can sing better than Sir McCartney after a bender and a full pack of cigarettes ... doesn't mean I don't like any of the Beatles music, but Elvis' voice was truly unusually fine.

I would have added this earlier, but the thread slipped down the page... and as Elvis was not really a favorite... well... it's still a terrible date coincidence to have to bear.