Is it Chuck, Elvis, Lennon, Jerry Lee, Little Richard, Hendrix, Buddy Holley; who did I miss?

The aliens got it right when they radioed in

"Send more Chuck Berry"

Steven Tyler <ducks>

Yes I am serious.

steven tyler, lol.

you could argue who was first or who was best, but i don't think you can argue who was MOST rock and roll with everything they EVER did. the rolling stones! i don't even like them though. they are just the first band that comes to mind. but if you're looking for a specific person i'd say john lennon. only because it's obvious the beatles are the most loved band with the most loved albums and never got a chance to screw up (broke up in 70). plus their music was SO early! compare them to everyone else at the time... i'd also consider brian wilson. the beach boys were JUST brian wilson. the beatles had 5 people (i'm including george martin) contributing. brian alone was competition for 5 brilliant minds.

i couldn't have said it better myself, dixon. of course, i'm a huge brian wilson fan (check avatar). elvis got the title "king of rock and roll" from elvis enterprises inc. lol! go figure.

steven tyler, lol.

you could argue who was first or who was best, but i don't think you can argue who was MOST rock and roll with everything they EVER did. the rolling stones! i don't even like them though. they are just the first band that comes to mind. but if you're looking for a specific person i'd say john lennon. only because it's obvious the beatles are the most loved band with the most loved albums and never got a chance to screw up (broke up in 70). plus their music was SO early! compare them to everyone else at the time... i'd also consider brian wilson. the beach boys were JUST brian wilson. the beatles had 5 people (i'm including george martin) contributing. brian alone was competition for 5 brilliant minds.

Welcome to AK DixonPro.

Has it become fashionable to not capitalize sentences, proper nouns and names? Just wondering. Forgive my analness. :yes:

Brian Wilson?? Rock 'n' roll?? No Way I'll give you Rock music, but what did he ever do that was rock in roll????

All Chuck did was stuff like "Johnny B. Goode", Maybelline", "Carole", "Roll over, Beethoven", "Sweet Little Sixteen", "School Days", "Memphis", etc, etc,

""If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'." - John Lennon

Liberace. Word.

No doubt the Beach Boys were influential, just a little too clean cut and Poppy to be Rock n’ Roll in my opinion. You don’t have to go through the Beach Boys or Steven Tyler to get to Rock n’ Roll man! But try gettin there without going through Elvis or Chuck Berry.

steven tyler, lol.

OK. let's consider R&B roots, songwriting, performance, showmanship and pipes. Tyler is at the very least a candidate worthy of consideration, just like the other nominees. I've seen both the Stones and Aerosmith (in the early 90's) and Steven Tyler blew Jagger away.

Liberace. Word.

Not that I am disputing the nomination but just how was the great one R & R?

drybasement, it's been fashionable for a loooong time! surprised you didn't know it. get with the program dude. not only fashionable but much easier. you don't need proper grammer/spelling/capitalization for poetry and it's the divine language. hmm...

Not that I am disputing the nomination but just how was the great one R & R?

Consume with liberal additions of salt.

drybasement, it's been fashionable for a loooong time! surprised you didn't know it. get with the program dude. not only fashionable but much easier. you don't need proper grammer/spelling/capitalization for poetry and it's the divine language. hmm...

I don't keep up with fashions Nick ol' buddy. My English education taught me otherwise. Shucks, I might even have to press that shift key every now and then. I doubt you would write a resume that way.

Consume with liberal additions of salt.

:nono: :nono: :nono: I'm serious now that I think of it. You have hit on something here: consider the qualities I mentioned ^. Liberace was the original GLAM guy. He was a showman, had great performance skills, .....?

:nono: :nono: :nono: I'm serious now that I think of it. You have hit on something here: consider the qualities I mentioned ^. Liberace was the original GLAM guy. He was a showman, had great performance skills, .....?

He was? He certainly was a showman. " I see you have been admiring one of my rings dear, lovely isn't it. You helped pay for it". I saw him say this to a lady in the audience at a concert once.

Truth be told, Lib... was a alot more Rock n' Roll than the Beach Boys ever were. Think about it!

Let me start with Chuck Berry.
How many better Rock and Roll songs are there than "You Cant Catch Me."
Ok,Im done.
Jimmy

i don't think brian wilson is the king. i just agree that he himself was more than any particular beatle. i'm not sure who the king is, but i would definitely not vote for elvis presley or chuck berry. i believe the king should be a writer too. not just a model that can sing or an excellent showman with fast, catchy guitar riffs.

i don't think brian wilson is the king. i just agree that he himself was more than any particular beatle. i'm not sure who the king is, but i would definitely not vote for elvis presley or chuck berry. i believe the king should be a writer too. not just a model that can sing or an excellent showman with fast, catchy guitar riffs.

They say it better for all the reasons I could http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Tyler

Like I said before, along with seconding Toze on Lee, a nomination.

FWIW, I don't particularly care for any Aerosmith after Pump.

before naming specifics, what are the requirements? i think songwriting is a huge part of it. being an artist is more important than being high on the rockage scale. in order to be the king that is...
it's obvious that being the earliest isn't as important. that opens it up a lot. led zeppelin, ac/dc, pearl jam, nirvana, and metallica all rock hard and have huge followings (me not being a member). would any of those be considered? or can a band even count?

i don't think brian wilson is the king. i just agree that he himself was more than any particular beatle. i'm not sure who the king is, but i would definitely not vote for elvis presley or chuck berry. i believe the king should be a writer too. not just a model that can sing or an excellent showman with fast, catchy guitar riffs.
Umm,lets see:
Maybellene,No Particular Place to Go,You Cant Catch Me,You Never Can Tell,Memphis,Sweet Little Sixteen,Johnny Be Good,School Days,Almost Grown,Let it Rock,Little Queenie,It wasnt me.
I think Chuck Berry could write a little bit.
Jimmy

i don't think brian wilson is the king. i just agree that he himself was more than any particular beatle. i'm not sure who the king is, but i would definitely not vote for elvis presley or chuck berry. i believe the king should be a writer too. not just a model that can sing or an excellent showman with fast, catchy guitar riffs.

Sum bitch...you're only 19. I just found that out. You have very strong opinions for one so young. Good on you. Can you substantiate your comments any further?

Cheers

PS. I'm not ragging on you Nick

i'm 19, but i'm a rock scholar. :)

man, i'm a chuck berry fan! believe me. i just don't think he can compete with the beatles. we're talking about THE KING here. plus, a king would have no need to video tape girls going potty.

Welcome to AK DixonPro.

Has it become fashionable to not capitalize sentences, proper nouns and names? Just wondering. Forgive my analness. :yes:

I believe the term would be "anality."

Or is it "analmosity"?

a king would have no need to video tape girls going potty.

I was waiting fot that. :D

I second the THE. The origninal question was focused on an individual as opposed to a group.

/yes, i am a lawyer
//yes i have been drinking
//am I in court agin?

I believe the term would be "anality."

Or is it "analmosity"?

Whatever, you got the drift, right, bongoman

I think that if we are talking about "Rock and Roll", it would have to be Chuck Berry. He wrote classic "rock and roll" songs and played guitar riffs that are still the building blocks of any guitarist who is serious about playing rock.
Elvis, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis were great rock and rollers, but Elvis didn't write, and the other two are piano players. The king has to be a guitar player.
The early Beatles played rock and roll , but rock and roll was replaced by "Rock" in the Sixties. The Stones are probably the greatest rock and roll band, but seeing as they were so influenced by Chuck Berry, you have to give him the crown.
Strangely enough, rock and roll today is played by bands that are called Country. And so called Rock music nowadays for the most part pretty much sucks.

i don't think we need to trace it back to the influences... this is the king, not the creator.


my final answer is bob dylan with his sarcastic, cynical attitude. so rock and roll.

After listening to the discussion, I have to go with Chuck Berry.
1. He set the stage on fire with theatrics equalled only by The Who and Van Halen. The duckwalk is a quintessential rock 'n' roll image.
2. He wrote a boatload of fabulous songs (but the American public being populated by turds, "My Dingaling" was probably his biggest hit).
3. A guitarist could STILL make a living if he could just play the licks on one Chuck Berry album.
4. He had a wonderfully expressive voice and was a fine vocalist.
5. He was instrumental in the crossover of "race" music to the mass market.

Elvis Presley could not be King because he never wrote anything.
I love Pete Townshend because he meets all of the same criteria as Chuck,
but he clearly is not King.

The biggest posers were Bo Diddley and Chubby Checker. Bo Diddley had the Bo Diddley beat. That's it. No more. One rhythm.
Chubby Checker couldn't even come up with an original name.
"Well, 'Fats Domino' is already taken... I know, 'Chubby Chessboard.'
No, wait, 'Chubby Checker'!"

I don't know why EString has to steal all of my good ideas before I even have them.

i don't think we need to trace it back to the influences... this is the king, not the creator.

i was thinking the same thing, post DB's post. Think of Chuck as Prince Regent?

Define King of rock n roll:

1) Has influenced the most bands?
2) Can play guitar, sing, or both? Or maybe he's a badass drummer? (Although Moon and Bonham would never be the King, they may well be close to King of rock n roll drums but I guess that's why it has to be a singer or guitar man)
3) Also can drink and do drugs at least as well as Keith Richards?
4) Got laid better than McCartney and Page?
5) Was outspoken like Lennon enough to rally people and make the government piss their pants?
6) Had at least more than a handful of non-cover #1 hits? (U.S. or otherwise)
7) Maybe it's really a group together that kicked ass like none other?

.

dylan covers most of those.

i don't think we need to trace it back to the influences... this is the king, not the creator.


my final answer is bob dylan with his sarcastic, cynical attitude. so rock and roll.

Bob Dylan I can live with.

Dylan,Wilson,Townsend,Berry.
Now there you have it:Four posterchildren for mental hygene if ever I saw them:D
Jimmy

Elvis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Otis Blackwell, Little Richard, and Hank Williams. They were just Kings of the different nations, or styles of Rock and Roll

Little Richard was brilliant, but he wasn't influential long enough to be King. Buddy Holly packed more incredible songwriting into about 3 years than just about anyone. Each of his songs was recorded by numerous acts. I doubt I'm alone in saying: I don't know squack about Otis Blackwell. Is that the Otis from "Animal House"? Otis, My Man?

JFine: That's an intriguing point about No. 1 hits. The man who would be King should be king of the world, not king of a continent or country. Our friends from the UK can help with this, but I think Status Quo, which had one US hit, "Pictures of Matchstick Men", was big for decades in England.

Little Richard was brilliant, but he wasn't influential long enough to be King. .


Hi
Haven't you all seen "Why do fools fall in love"? It's all there when Little Richard takes the stand in court - and we know he'd never commit perjury:

He says in his usual modest way: " I'm the architect of rocknroll - I'm the originator, the innovator, motivator, ....I defined it, refined it, molded it, sold it and then the white man stole it - they stole my Whoooo and my lop bop loo bop...."

N. B. John English, an Australian performer once met Paul McCartney after a concert and thanked him for the enormous influence he'd had on his life - Paul replied - that's OK - I said the same thing to Little Richard when I met him.

So I guess the rest are just pretenders!
Cheers
Mick

The one with the title wins. The King is the King, that's why they call him the King. Of course it's Elvis. Jerry Lee would get my vote for second in command. Love Chuck Berry, he's just not the King.

You're all wrong. Everybody knows it's....Elvis Lee Berry.

my final answer is bob dylan with his sarcastic, cynical attitude. so rock and roll.

Bob Dylan ain't "rock n roll";The Beatles were early on and I'm not sure how much The Beach Boys" were. Elvis might be "The King", but not of "Rock n Roll"

Rock n roll is a very special, particular type of rock, and it really is Chuck Berry music. There certainly are a bunch of rockers out there, but when they want to rock n roll, the Chuck Berry music starts aplayin' :yes:. The Beatles covered him as did the Stones, and tons of others like Aerosmith copied him , heck maybe even The Beach Boys did too and Dylan (Highway 61), but when the dust settles, it's Chuck :thmbsp:

There's no way you can listen to rock n roll (not rock, acid rock, country rock, pop rock etc, etc,) and not hear Chuck Berry :no:

Interesting. Very little mention of the Blues Men that really made Rock possible. And then Gospel. And then Appalacha.

The most rock 'n' roll thing the Beach Boys ever did WAS Chuck Berry.

Welcome to AK DixonPro.

Has it become fashionable to not capitalize sentences, proper nouns and names? Just wondering. Forgive my analness. :yes:


Forgive MY analness...

"We Used To Know" was on "Benefit", not the pictured "Stand UP". But, everybody already knew that!!

Roy Orbinson,If you disagree I am running scared

The original premise of the question (in my mind) centered on a single individual who was so influential that his influence can be heard in just about every song that would pass for Rock n’ Roll. There’s no doubt that Berry’s probably on the top of the list. As a guitar player, I can tell you that Rock n’ Roll can’t be played without rendering homage to Berry. Even John and Paul were his disciples.

Then gain, Elvis changed everything. He made Rock n’ Roll acceptable to the “white” masses. Though he had to clean in up quite a bit, his influence would be felt all over the world, especially in Liverpool. The rest is history.

[ I don't know squack about Otis Blackwell. Is that the Otis from "Animal House"? Otis, My Man?

JF



Otis Blackwell wrote a lot of the tunes in the early years of rock such as All Shook Up, and Return to Sender for Elvis, Great Balls of Fire for Jerry Lee Lewis. He also wrote Handyman, Fever, and Hey Little Girl (in the Highschool Sweater)

Bob Dylan ain't "rock n roll";The Beatles were early on and I'm not sure how much The Beach Boys" were. Elvis might be "The King", but not of "Rock n Roll"

Rock n roll is a very special, particular type of rock, and it really is Chuck Berry music. There certainly are a bunch of rockers out there, but when they want to rock n roll, the Chuck Berry music starts aplayin' :yes:. The Beatles covered him as did the Stones, and tons of others like Aerosmith copied him , heck maybe even The Beach Boys did too and Dylan (Highway 61), but when the dust settles, it's Chuck :thmbsp:

There's no way you can listen to rock n roll (not rock, acid rock, country rock, pop rock etc, etc,) and not hear Chuck Berry :no:

I agree with all that.

Although there's still a part of me that is hesitant to give Chuck the crown. Now before I get my nuts chopped off, I'm not implying anything about how Chuck looks. Chuck looks cool too. But let's face facts. Elvis has a "look". It may be the hair, the sneer, his stance, clothes, a body that girls like, etc., This is what most people will also equate with a King of r n r. Let's face it, if Elvis looked like don knotts, he never would've made it. I'm not voting at all for Elvis, on the contrary, I can think of only 1 song I can stand. Chuck blows him out of the water tune wise. But I'm trying to point out that most people I know, the looks department will usually be the prevailing, if not subconscious, factor for choosing one over the other. Look at Spears (I hate her)....well, before the shave...hehe

.

Translated, Kommagene means Rock & Roll.:D

Interesting. Very little mention of the Blues Men that really made Rock possible. And then Gospel. And then Appalacha.

I agree, Dust My Blues is pretty rock & roll to me along with Sweet Home Chicago. Robert Johnson is the king of something.

Robert Johnson is king of the delta blues.

Elvis Presley is the king of white rock 'n' roll (see Sun sessions) as a performer, where he fuses blues, country, black gospel, etc. into something new -- with no small help from Sam Phillips. It was safer for the masses to buy his records -- he was such a good boy -- at least safer than trying to buy and bring Big Joe Turner (another candidate for the king) records into our Southern house I'll tell you. As a cultural influence, though, Elvis is unmatched.

To my mind, Chuck Berry is more based in the blues, but what is RnR at its musical base but sped up blues riffs? I watched the concert tribute movie about him, Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll, again last night. What a band. What a lyricist. What a pain in the ass Berry could be. If he had been white, he would have been "easier" to promote and sell to the teen market. The brave DJ and promoter Alan Freed tried to get black musicians credit and air time, and eventually was pilloried for it.

Chuck Berry just couldn't be marketed to be the king of RnR, but he should wear the crown.

Although there's still a part of me that is hesitant to give Chuck the crown. Now before I get my nuts chopped off, I'm not implying anything about how Chuck looks. Chuck looks cool too. But let's face facts. Elvis has a "look". It may be the hair, the sneer, his stance, clothes, a body that girls like, etc., This is what most people will also equate with a King of r n r. Let's face it, if Elvis looked like don knotts, he never would've made it. I'm not voting at all for Elvis, on the contrary, I can think of only 1 song I can stand. Chuck blows him out of the water tune wise. But I'm trying to point out that most people I know, the looks department will usually be the prevailing, if not subconscious, factor for choosing one over the other. Look at Spears (I hate her)....well, before the shave...hehe

.

Mmmm. Chopped nuts.
Duran Duran had "the look". While having stage charisma is great, Elvis was a SINGER, not much of a musician. I have never heard a guitarist rave about anything he played, or even say, he was actually "pretty good." Did I miss something? If songwriting makes Otis Blackwell the King, then Carole King is the Double King. Pop music is vaguely related to Rock 'n' Roll. Exactly what do Britney Spears and Cher and Madonna have to do with "music?"

And while Little Richard is somewhat accurate in taking credit, it's also a completely absurd and shortsighted attitude (not that anyone thinks
Richard Penniman might be "narcissistic.") As someone amply pointed out, everything had "roots" music, and the Blues, along with the Country 'n' the Western, was clearly the genesis of the Rock 'n' the Roll. Little Richard is disrespecting Leadbelly and John Lee Hooker and Robert Johnson, et al. Then to act like the Blues sprung solely from the genius of American slaves is idiotic, too. I don't think they invented the scale, crafted the first guitar, or even the basic form, which can probably be found in lots of English folk songs.

And Don Knotts could crank it out.
When Barney broke into "Juanita," tears were shed.
How much more Rock 'n' Roll can you get than Don sitting at that
keyboard in "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken"?
(Try to get more obscure than that, without straining something beyond your credibility.)

Duran Duran had "the look".
Haha looked good to you eh? Kiss did too, but not the same universally accepted way as elvis.

While having stage charisma is great, Elvis was a SINGER, not much of a musician.

He sang, but he had showmanship to win over the ladies as well. In a very wide age group.

Exactly what do Britney Spears and Cher and Madonna have to do with "music?"
The point was looks are what is usually judged first, and no they have nothing to with music, except cher knew gene simmons once.

And Don Knotts could crank it out.
When Barney broke into "Juanita," tears were shed.
How much more Rock 'n' Roll can you get than Don sitting at that
keyboard in "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken"?
(Try to get more obscure than that, without straining something beyond your credibility.)
Pass whatever you got my way, I need some.

Forgive MY analness...

"We Used To Know" was on "Benefit", not the pictured "Stand UP". But, everybody already knew that!!

I suggest you check your facts, bucko..

Wow! You must feel real dumb....asss. :yes:

The problem with Elvis (besides the fact he didn't write his music) is that most people who call him "The King" are thinking of the "White Jump Suit" Elvis. He did make some great rock and roll records early on, but most of his career he was not a rock and roll performer. I still maintain that Chuck Berry, followed closely by the Stones would have to be the front runners, and since The Stones were influenced as were everyone else so much by Chuck Berry, he has to be the top dog.
I would say that The Stones are the greatest rock and roll band.

As one who was there at the begining i,m trying to jog the old memories as to what was playing on radio in the 50s and not meaning to offend ,,white kids listened to rockabilly ,black kids listened to r&b and while i,m far from being an Elvis fan i believe he was the start ,i hated the a-hole ,,I,ll take chuck berry anytime but Elvis made rock legitimate,,,of course thats only my opinion i could be wrong

David Cassidy.

David Cassidy.
Bobby Sherman

Just a thought.

King:

The most important chess piece of the game. No material equivilency can be applied to the King because his "loss" means the end of the game, therefore he is considered "invaluable".

John Lennon R.I.P. December 8th, 1980

Just a thought.

King:

The most important chess piece of the game. No material equivilency can be applied to the King because his "loss" means the end of the game, therefore he is considered "invaluable".

John Lennon R.I.P. December 8th, 1980
Hmm. A good thought in my opinion.

Long John Baldry did say it, but naw he aint no King, interesting though...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Rock_and_Roll

Funny never heard of GG Allin

It's a little known fact:
Marie is a little bit Country, and Donnie is a little bit Rock 'n' Roll.

Sorry. Have to say Bobby Sherman trumps David Cassidy.
Speaking of Bobbies, "Watching Scotty Grow" by Bobby Goldsboro.
Now THAT'S Rock 'n' Roll.
Plus, he had the look:

http://images.google.com/images?q=Bobby+Goldsboro&gbv=2&ndsp=20&svnum=10&hl=en&start=40&sa=N

Keith Richards is the king of rock 'n' roll.
I believe the king should be a currently active player, which I don't believe Chuck is anymore. If I am wrong about that then Chuck is king and Keith is
Prince of Wails.
I can't decide whether the queen is Ann Wilson or David Bowie.

I think alot of the reason Elvis is usually considered The King has to do with more than just his music. It had alot to do with his overall image. He made all those cool movies, he drove Cadillacs, he wore those flashy jumpsuits, he had that RCA-2000 TV. That and all the "Elvis is still alive" stuff you hear, and Elvis impersonators, while some of the other guys mentioned in this thread were good musicians, none of them have impersonators.
But that being said, I still think he qualifies for the title based on his music. I first discovered Elvis' music through his movies, when they were showing them on cable (I think it was back in '94 when I first saw them). After I saw the movies, I got some of his records and started listening to his music. And I've been listening to them ever since. Of all the music I listened to in high school, Elvis' stuff is the only music I still listen to on a regular basis.

Actually, Little Richard has a very successful impersonator. His name is Prince, or was Prince, then a symbol to connote a certain hermaphroditism, then Prince again. I think Prince may be the Prince of Rock 'n' Roll.
and Little Richard and Prince are also contenders for Queen. As is Elton John. And Queen could be Queen of RnR, except the Queen of Queen is dead.

"Hail, Hail (the king of) Rock 'n Roll". 'Nuff said!

Funny never heard of GG Allin

GG Allin liked to defecate on stage, roll around in it, then smash a whiskey bottle over his forehead, then jump into the crowd to try and rape any woman who was brave enough to attend his "show".

Glad he's dead. He was one vile bastard. Definitely not the King of Rock, unless you are talking about crack rock.

Is it Chuck, Elvis, Lennon, Jerry Lee, Little Richard, Hendrix, Buddy Holley; who did I miss?


David Geffen

Everyone knows that the real King of Rock and Roll is: Pat Boone!
His rendition of Tutti Frutti had to be the lamest..err.. I mean GREATEST piece of Rock and Roll ever recorded. :yikes:

I once heard Ted Nugent say that if Chuck Berry were white, HE would've been the King of Rock & Roll.
Little Richard said he was the architect of Rock & Roll. Whatever he meant by that, I can't say for sure. (He drew up the plans?) :D

Where did it start ? Do Woop started it. and Elvis is still the King.
Joe