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| MJ | 70% | 660 votes | Total: 939 votes | |
| Elvis | 30% | 279 votes |
MJ
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Add to FavoritesWhen it comes to Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson, trying to decide which one had more of an influence on music is tricky business. It's obvious that both of them definitely defined certain decades; what Elvis was to the 1950s, Michael certainly was to the 1980s. Their respective styles of showmanship began as unprecedented (I'm thinking of Elvis's swiveling hips and Michael's moonwalk here,) and remain unparalleled.
Both had unrivaled claim to their very different thrones as The King and The King of Pop, but the fact remains that they both dominated very different areas of the field, as it were. Elvis was rock and roll, blues and gospel, while Michael was Motown, pop and new jack swing. Trying to compare the two is like comparing apples and oranges; they both fall under the same category, but in the end, it really comes down to personal taste as which one is best.
Also, when it comes to judging influence, there is something to be said about personal influence as well. As a child of the 1980s, there isn't a memory of my formative years that doesn't have Michael Jackson popping up somewhere, whether it was hearing his music blaring from someone's boom box, his videos in heavy rotation on MTV or joining my peers in contests to see who could do the moonwalk better. Elvis had died three years before I was born, so he was nowhere to be seen or heard.
So which one was more influential? Depends on what set of criteria you're using. If we're talking about album sales, Michael's "Thriller" still remains the highest-selling album ever released, which means that more people paid to listen to his music than anyone else. If we're talking about sheer length of career, the kid from Gary, IN, had a good twenty years on the kid from Tupelo, MS. If we're talking about awards and honors, Michael Jackson could fill a medium-sized home with all his accolades, and so on. In short, if you want to look at cold, hard statistics, Michael's got Elvis beat six ways to Sunday.
But statistics aren't everything. When it comes to famous examples of people who were on the receiving end of the influence, Elvis does have some serious heavyweights in his corner. The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones; all cite The King as a major inspiration. Don't count the King of Pop out, though, as that Beyonce Knowles, Justin Timberlake, Usher, and Britney Spears all refer to him as an inspiration. While Michael's list might pale in comparison to Elvis's, it doesn't change the fact that several of today's musical scene's heaviest hitters all look to him for inspiration.
Lastly, there is the matter of race in music. Elvis Presley did help open the doors for black musicians by turning white kids on to black music. I'm not going to deny that. However, he also held the door open for white copycats to step in as well, which - while the initial exposure was nice - didn't really help to bring black musicians into the mainstream. Instead, they were more often than not drowned out by the majority, their music never really reaching beyond the boundaries of the black community.
Michael Jackson, on the other hand, not only marched through the door but demanded that the door be opened wider than ever before. With the backing of his label, CBS records, he broke onto MTV, which had been practicing an unstated policy of playing only white musicians' music videos. Their prevailing theory was that black artists just didn't have enough universal appeal to attract viewers, which Michael proved was emphatically untrue. As his popularity soared, so did the then-fledgling station's ratings, which helped pave the way for future black artists to gain airtime on the channel as well as changing the format of MTV forever.
Again, I'm not knocking The King; he did good, and he's earned his spot as an American icon. But when it comes to sheer influence, there is no doubt in my mind that Michael Jackson's reach was further, deeper and more profound. Granted, there is a bit of bias in all this, as that I am clearly more of Jackson fan than a Presley fan. What can I say? Tell 'em that is human nature.
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Elvis
Elvis had more influence over popular music. First and foremost, he was the first "cross-over" star-meaning he was able to bring a black style of musical genre to a white audience. What Elvis did was bring a newly created art form(Rock 'N Roll) to the masses,via television. Sadly the Blacks of that era were not going to be able to do that until a white guy gave it a kick start. And no one was able to do that but one man, Elvis Presley.
I was born in 1959. I bring a special perspective to this debate since I actually remember the 1968 live TV special with Elvis looking fit in that black leather get up. I also grew up with Michael and his brothers." ABC" and "I Want You Back "were not only the top hits on the radio while I was in elementary school but were sang in music class (along with "One Bad Apple" by the Osmond Brothers-OUCH!)
Elvis did not create Rock N Roll. Those honors undoubtedly belong to the likes of Chuck Berry , Little Richard,-or even go further back to the blues artists who predated them all. And can anyone tell me who was as charismatic as Elvis ? There were individuals in history who were able to transcend race, gender, and specific genre.In the sports world think of Jackie Robinson, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods. These stars all "cross overed" into popular culture and were (and are) historical figures. Elvis is also a cultural icon who is historical as well. Michael Jackson was a cultural icon of the 1980's, however, it is unlikely history will treat him as kindly as Elvis Presley.
It can be said that Elvis fit the mold of the original musical icon in American society. The generation before me will mention names like Frank Sinatra and Big Crosby as musical icons. But lets get serious..they didn't shake their booties and get the joints jumpin'. Music in other formats was technically more complex than the simplistic sound of Rock. But music in the past never spoke to a generation. Elvis was the first to make the music talk to a youthful generation. He truly was the innovator, not the imitator.
Michael Jackson,in all likelihood , was the third most influential artist in popular music. Realistically, he was a distant third ( let's not forget the Beatles who are arguably more influential than Elvis. But that is a different debate.) Michael was the creator of danceable canned music. The Quincy Jones produced studio music of "Thriller" was groundbreaking in its widespread appeal. But besides the original Jackson Five songs and the "Thriller" album,what will the average popular music fan remember about Michael Jackson ? We all know of the sad life of the self-titled " King of Pop ". Elvis's final years were arguably nearly as tragic, however, he is not completely remembered as the bloated pill-popping caricature of himself that he became. He will always be remembered as the creator and innovator of a new musical genre that is still running strong. LONG LIVE THE KING!
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