As great as some of those nominees are, I would have to pick Elvis as the
most influential. When Sinatra died a few months back, a colleague of mine
tried to suggest he was the most influential singer of the century, and he
was outraged I would even suggest Presley was greater. But to me, Elvis
hasn't just influenced music. He has had such an impact on every aspect of
culture, including movies and fashion and, really, the sexual liberation
that flew in the face of the restrained 1950s (for a hilarious look at how
subversive Presley was, check out www.thesmokinggun.com. They've got a
declassified FBI letter from an informant about how Presley's 1950s stage
show threatened the entire USA. It's easy to forget, but important to be
reminded that people really took this stuff seriously).
A few years back, I interviewed Greil Marcus and we were talking about the
very earliest recordings of Presley (That's When Your Heartache Begins, in
particular) which had recently surfaced on the first volume of the RCA box
sets. He said that when you listen to that performance, it isn't just a
great song, it is the sound of Elvis Presley INVENTING cool. And if he
doesn't get credit for anything else, at least you've got to give him that:
For a couple of generations, Elvis Presley invented cool.
Paul Cantin
np: Nashville West-Nashville West
