It's a reference to his porn career.Originally Posted by 3LockBox
It's a reference to his porn career.
Presley was obviously a huge cultural phenomenon, but musically it was Chuck Berry who was far more influential on Lennon/McCartney and Harrison and the Rolling Stones for that matter than Elvis, and I think they would all tell you that (if John were alive). The Beatles sound template early on was direct via Chuck Berry. The Beatles (and Stones) covered a bunch of Chuck's tunes, I don't recall them covering much if any Elvis album wise. Elvis was the more popular star because white America would more readily accept him than a Chuck Berry back in the 50s, but most critics, musicians etc regard Chuck as the real King of Rock and Roll.
Last edited by DocProgger; 12-11-2017 at 12:17 AM.
¿Porqué no los dos?
I was thinking of the Taste of Honey cover of this song today. I think that was a little love letter to Japan, as they were the country that embraced the band first.
Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...
I discovered that Hallyday did a big show here in the Royal Albert Hall a few years back which was very well received in the press.
'Elvis I love ya!'- J. Lennon, Madison Square Garden, 1972, whilst covering 'Hound Dog'
Elvis was a catalyst for a generation. There are not covers on Beatles albums but various Elvis-related songs can be found within their BBC sessions. 'That's Alright Mama', 'I Forgot To Remember To Forget', 'I Got A Woman', 'I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry Over You'. They never did any covers of Everly Brothers songs in the studio and only one for the BBC, but they were clearly a major Beatles influence. Similarly, only one Buddy Holly cover in the studio, but an obvious influence again.
I never claimed they didn't ever play any Elvis tunes live, I said they didn't cover any his tunes on the albums. I also never said they weren't influenced at all by Elvis, I said that Chuck Berry was a bigger musical influence. They had many musical influences obviously (Carl Perkins for example).
And yes, Elvis was a catalyst for a generation because he was white and could be marketed to the public at large much easier than guys like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley etc. Elvis took southern gospel and r&b tunes that black artists were playing and was able to market them to the larger white audience of the 50s.
Chuck Berry was an outstanding guitarist who pioneered rock and roll guitar licks, unlike Elvis. Chuck Berry wrote his own songs and was a clever lyricist, unlike Elvis.
Watch Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll.
One here with Jimmy Page involvement:
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thread...#post-17695956
Never heard it before but I liked it.
^^^
a much better thread than this one, really
Johnny was certainly not the best or most inventive (far from it), nor the most talented or truest, nor whatever you want, not even the clear n°1at any point after the 60's (but he was never far behind), but the man did survive all trends, one near-death blow, a couple near-bankruptcy, had to escape for tax reasons, etc....
I'm certainly not a fan and I'm sick of Belgo-French TV spending 10 hours a day remembering him, but love him or loathe him (there were periods where I was closer to the latter), he didn't leave anyone cold, and I think everyone must feel something sad after these five days, whether he likes it or not.
Last edited by Trane; 12-11-2017 at 08:11 AM.
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
Most of his music in the past 30 years at least has been an insult to good taste, but in his early work, there are some records of interest (Jimmy Page and Peter Frampton played with him then) circa 1966-1974. Nothing groundbreaking or progressive, certainly (although he did record a concept album on "Hamlet" !), but his cover versions are often superior to the originals : Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fortunate son), Gary Wright (Wildfire, Lovetaker, If you treat someone right, Stand for our rights, Whether it's right or wrong), Henske and Yester (Salvation), Lynyrd Skynyrd (Sweet home Alabama), the Rolling Stones (Honky Tonk women), the Beatles (Got to get you into my life), Humble Pie (Bang !), Bob Seger (Brave strangers), even ELP and Sammy Hagar (Red)...
His albums Rivière ouvre ton lit (1969), Flagrant délit (1971), Insolitudes (1973) and the live at Pavillon de Paris (1979) aren't too shabby. The J'ai tout donné film of his 1971 tour gives a good sense of his best period (and you will learn from the man himself the arcane recipe for tabasco soup).
Perceptive comments from the New York Times :
"With the death of Johnny Hallyday, France has lost a member of an imaginary royal family and a working-class hero all at once. It was Mr. Hallyday’s combination of rebellion and hard work, of divinity and authenticity, that made him such an icon here.
If Anglophones always scoffed at him, it was because Mr. Hallyday wasn’t French enough for them. If the French adored him, it is precisely because he represented a fantasy of America: successful, fast, furious and yet vulnerable. In other words, heroic. (...) He proved, in a country that prizes erudition above almost everything else, that you can have no formal education, no university degree, and yet achieve tremendous success if you work hard enough. Mr. Hallyday was a source of incredible pride for his working-class fan base".
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/a...ay-france.html
"Mr. Hallyday adored America but it never loved him back" : yes, it's a shame that a performer of such immense stature never got much recognition outside his country. Here was a man who owned the stage. I must be one of the few on this forum to actually have seen him in concert (once). That was during his 'Mad Max' period in 1983 (there are some videos of that on YT, that's as cheesy as it gets but it made a strong impression at the time). Earlier on that tour, he had a severe accident : the stuntsmen were using actual axes, heavy ones, for the staged fight, and he was badly hit. Broken hip. He continued the show anyway.
Last edited by unclemeat; 12-11-2017 at 12:49 PM.
Both Lennon and McCartney have claimed that Presley was their biggest influence. They had a wide taste too. As a Beatles fan who does not like Presley, I would prefer it to be otherwise. It surprises me that Greg Lake claims to be a Presley fan in his autobiography (after Hank Marvin which is not a surprise at all), and he uses very little small talk. I suppose for them, born in the forties, rock 'n' roll was exciting, like the Beatles and then ELP were to me.
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