between the beatles and elvis, who do you think is more important to rock and roll?
my answer: elvis invented r+r, but the beatles defined it.
2006-09-20 15:11:51 · 15 answers · asked by littlpeter 2 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Music
R&R was already being formed by the blues (Little Richard-Chuck Berry etc. well before Elvis. The Beatles brought a different take on rock than Elvis did, but they didn't define it. They merely adapted due to the changing times. Don't get me wrong, I dearly love the Beatles. I don't think you can truly define R&R tho. It is constantly changing with each subsequent generation and there will always be a new kind of rock. It's all perception. There are so many genres of music now that it would be truly difficult to say that any one is more important to rock and roll over another. They have all all added their contribution to the definition based upon the times, but the times, they are a changin.
2006-09-20 15:15:09 · answer #1 · answered by hippiechick 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If you had to make this choice, I would say Elvis.
Rock 'n roll really got it's roots when white artists began selling the work of black artists to the American public. Elvis, The Beatles and The Stones concentrated heavily on early rhythm & blues when they started out, but Elvis remained more faithful to the roots of rock as his career developed. Although he never publically admitted it, Elvis patterned much of his vocal and dance style after the black artist Jackie Wilson. Throughout his career, he often covered songs that harkened back to the early days of rock (like Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On & Long Tall Sally) even has his contemporaries were diving into psychedelic wierdness.
The Beatles were clearly more influential to the total body of musical work than Elvis, but much of what they did was far afield from rock n' roll, and by this I mean the incredible Yesterday or While My Guitar Gently Weeps are timeless classics, but a long way from the early days of rockabilly and Sun Records.
2006-09-20 22:30:39 · answer #2 · answered by Elwood Blues 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Ha! Elvis did Not, repeat, did Not invent r&r. That's Little Richard's & Chuck Berry's department. Just ask the Beatles...
Elvis *popularized* it to the masses for the 1st time, though on a somewhat smaller scale than the Beatles.
2006-09-20 22:17:43 · answer #3 · answered by Fonzie T 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Elvis
2006-09-20 22:13:39 · answer #4 · answered by TheDude 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
elvis didn't invent rock and roll, it was already here before he became famous. I would say Chuck Berry introduced us to rock and roll. The Beatles were a pop rock band not a rock and roll band. Big difference.
2006-09-20 22:14:53 · answer #5 · answered by couchP56 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Elvis. He invented the art of rock and roll. The Beatles weren't geniuses because they changed rock and roll, they were good because they changed styles along with rock and roll.
2006-09-20 22:14:42 · answer #6 · answered by Cannibal Ox 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Its got to be Elvis. He came along and shook the world and did so right to the end! I mean dam! The man is still making millions almost 30 yrs after his death! Plus he was the coolest cat on the block. Dean Martin ran a close second! lol! I would say Elvis!
2006-09-20 22:19:48 · answer #7 · answered by noname 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Elvis,but Tom Petty is the best rocker!
2006-09-20 22:13:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Elvis is the King. Know your music.
2006-09-20 22:18:06 · answer #9 · answered by Exousia Skotos 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
it's got to be the beatles. no one shaped rock and roll and music as we know it today more than the beatles. probably the most influencial band in history.
2006-09-20 22:14:10 · answer #10 · answered by ganstagolfer_89 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋