Who was bigger, Elvis in 1956 or The Beatles in 1964?

To which the Beatles replied " No, You Can't Do That"

 

I don't think anyone on this board (except you....respectfully) took my stating 'nobody' as actually not a single person ever, and you did call attention to that point. That's being pretty critical of a take.

Granted, I can't argue with any of your points. I was simply referencing the Tom quote and I know he wasn't alone in that opinion. I for one as a wannabe musician would feel exactly the same way as he described if I grew up in that time.

 

Are you sure about that? The Beatles themselves, notably John, and a myriad of others have pointed to Elvis as their 'Year Zero'

From the white country boys who flocked to Sun in Elvis' wake & Buddy Holly through to Elton John, Led Zep, Tom Petty, Springsteen, the Smiths and beyond. And that's just rock n roll.

Barry White was in jail for stealing tyres, heard It's Now Or Never on the radio and the rest was history.

John Peel the famed BBC Radio One DJ said hearing Heartbreak Hotel for the first time was like being plugged into the mains and electrocuted.

Elvis obviously made a BIG impression on little Jimi Hendrix who saw Elvis perform at a Seattle gig in 1957. I saw it displayed at Seattle Airport along with other Jimi memorabilia:

 

The original 'Fab Four' (just kidding) Elvis became the star, but they started off as a band.

More importantly, it's the classic rock group line-up: two guitars, bass and drums. Who had this line-up before these guys? Anyone?

 

"Tell me! Are you enjoying the wine?"

 

Carl Perkins, for one. Exact same line-up, in fact. Carl on electric guitar, his brother Jay on acoustic, his brother Clayton on stand up bass, and Fluke Holland on drums.

By multiple accounts, these guys were playing Sun Records-style rockabilly in the clubs for several years before anyone recorded it.

 

Yeah but who saw them? Point being Elvis & his band did their thing without reference to what the Perkins Bros were doing somewhere else in the country and who knows who else that was out there experimenting - and broke through first. His band was the one all those young budding musicians saw...the Buddy Hollys etc, and thought "I want to be him".

 

Almost impossible to compare, but if we're thinking worldwide then it would have to be The Beatles, but if it's just the USA then Elvis would have to at least be equal - didn't RCA have to use another record company's plants as they couldn't physically press enough Elvis vinyl on their own to keep up with demand?

 

No doubt many were influenced by Elvis. Responding to the question of the thread, I felt that more were influenced by the Beatles, but it’s all anecdotal.

How do we do it?

Volume!

 

Beatles!

No doubt

 

You showed a photo of Elvis, Scotty, Bill and D.J. and followed it with this: "…it's the classic rock group line-up: two guitars, bass and drums. Who had this line-up before these guys? Anyone?"

I answered your question. You're apparently surprised that there is indeed an answer to your question (and in truth, there are probably more answers to it). So as folks often do in such circumstances, you're now trying to move the goalposts to make yourself look a little better.

No one, least of all me, will ever minimize Elvis's importance to rock 'n' roll. But just as is the case with great inventions, the people that are most associated with them rarely are lone wolves. There are nearly always others plowing the same field at the same time. Circumstances often make one name rise to the top, but the story isn't always so simple.

I think it's significant that Carl Perkins and his brothers were likely doing genuine rockabilly on a nightly basis at least a couple of years before such a notion ever entered Elvis's head. By every known account, Elvis, Scotty and Bill pretty much inadvertently stumbled upon it at Sun Studios on July 5, 1954.

In no way does this diminish Elvis's subsequent achievements in the genre. But neither should those of Perkins and others be trivialized either.

 

The Beatles were my "Elvis". The Beatles in '64 appealed to very wide audience. Very young kids, to teens, and to some older than teens.

 

Yeah, tell Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Hendrix, Tom Petty, Jim Morrison, Jimmy Page and John Lennon!

 

Point taken, I walked into that one

I have the greatest admiration for Carl Perkins, Sleepy La Beef, the Burnette Brothers and many of the other musicians out there ploughing the same soil, as you put it, but I think you might be looking at history through a rear-vision mirror. I would still argue that Elvis' band had more reach than Perkin's band for people who were exposed to this music for the first time. That's not trivialising Perkin's contribution to the music, which was very important and should have been greater - had life been fairer.

I think we're on the same side here in this respect.

 

Tom Petty is where that quote that I paraphrased came from. See the attached vid above.

 

I’d have to say The Beatles. Here are just some of their highlights from 1964:

Arrival at JFK Airport and the surrounding media coverage (February 7, 1964)
They would be performing on the Ed Sullivan Show in another two days, but this moment was their explosion into the American media.

The First Ed Sullivan Show (February 9, 1964)
The first time the American audience got to see them in action and more importantly the first time the American audience got to see the fans reaction to The Beatles in action.

The release of ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ (March 20, 1964)
Topped the charts in just about every country it was released in.

Sold 2,000,000 copies in American in its first week alone and had a pre-order of 1,000,000 copies in England.

Having Number One through Number Five on the American Billboard Charts (April 4, 1964)
On April 4, 1964, The Beatles held positions 1 thru 5 on the American Charts:
1 - Can’t Buy Me Love
2 - Twist and Shout
3 - She Loves You
4 - I Want To Hold Your Hand
5 - Please Please Me

In addition The Beatles also held the following positions on the American singles chart that same week:
31 - I Saw Her Standing There
41 - From Me To You
46 - Do You Want To Know A Secret
58 - All My Loving
65 - You Can’t Do That
68 - Roll Over Beethoven
79 - Thank You Girl

And for the album charts that week The Beatles also held:
1- Meet The Beatles
2 - Introducing The Beatles
77 - The Beatles With Tony Sheridan and Guest
135 - Jolly What, The Beatle and Frank Ifield

Having Number One through Number Six on the Australian Charts (April 11, 1964)
Even more impressive than holding positions 1 thru 5 in the American charts, but often overlooked, is The Beatles holding positions 1 thru 6 on the Australian charts on April 11, 1964.

That week they held the following positions:
1 - Roll Over Beethoven
2 - All My Loving
3 - Love Me Do
4 - She Loves You
5 - Twist And Shot
6 - I Want To Hold Your Hand

In addition they also held:
14 - This Boy
16 - I’ll Get You
22 - Hold Me Tight
50 - My Bonnie

From what I researched there was no charts for albums at that time in Australia, (please someone correct me if I am wrong). I’m sure if there was, The Beatles would have a bit of action there too.

Holding the Number One spot on the UK Album Charts for 52 weeks straight (April 25, 1964)
Between May 4, 1963 and April 25, 1964 The Beatles held the number one position on the UK album charts starting with ‘Please Please Me' and then continued the run with ‘With The Beatles’.

300,000 fans greet the Beatles in Australia (June 12, 1964)
On June 12, 1964, 300,000 fans turned out to see The Beatles on route to and at their hotel in Adelaide Australia. Three days later an additional 250,000 lined the streets to greet The Beatles in Melbourne Australia.

The release of their feature film ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ (July 6, 1964)
The critical acclaim plus box office sales, (and the fact this film inspired thousands of others to get into music), proved The Beatles were more than just a very successful pop group.


Having the Number One spot for 39 weeks in 1964 in the Australian Single Charts (December 26, 1964)
In Australia, The Beatles held the number one spot on the single charts for 39 out of the 52 weeks in 1964, (which included a run of 23 weeks in a row).

I Want To Hold Your Hand – 6 weeks
I Saw Her Standing There – 7 weeks
Roll Over Beethoven – 2 weeks
All My Loving (EP) – 3 weeks
Can’t Buy Me Love – 6 weeks
Requests (EP) – 1 week
A Hard Day’s Night – 6 weeks
I Should Have Known Better – 5 weeks
I Feel Fine – 3 weeks

Having the Number One spot for 41 weeks in 1964 in the British Album Charts (December 26, 1964)
In the U.K. The Beatles held the number one spot on the album charts for 41 weeks out of 52 weeks in 1964.

This included the albums ‘With the Beatles’, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ & ‘Beatles For Sale’.

 

People often point to The Beatles having 3 consecutive songs at #1 for 14 consecutive weeks but they forget Elvis spent 16 weeks in a row at the top with 3 songs except 2 were part of a double sided single.
Also they reference the 70 million who watched Sullivan for the Beatles.
Elvis drew 56 million but in 1956 there were less televisions so more families with tvs actually watched Elvis.
Elvis sales, charts and tv audiences are actually more impressive for 1956 when one considers the conservative culture, the traditional pop that he had to contend with which was the established genre and the lesser amount of folks buying records and going to shows as a normal activity.
Elvis singles sales in 56 and 57 still are some of the all time best selling singles and we need to consider the EP era he was part of and how big he was there. He also had a million selling LP which is crazy for 56.

 

The Beatles killed Elvis...his career anyway.

 

"Before Elvis, there was nothing"
"If there was no Elvis, there would be no Beatles"
- Lennon

 

I disagree, Elvis was pretty great in '68-'69. Also Can't forget Aloha in '73. Plus Elvis' movie career sent his career in a lull. Lennon once said the army killed Elvis, I agree from a career standpoint. That's when that horrible movie deal happened.

I like The Beatles too and celebrate their catalog, but I just can't get on board with the folks who say the sun rises and sets with the Beatles. (I'm a stones guy though )

 

Which is ridiculous by the way. It blows my mind that Elvis never toured outside the U.S. Colonel Parker, what a piece of work...

 

I have to disagree, I don't think The Who were bigger than both Elvis in '56 and The Beatles in '64. I mean, I love The Who. But they weren't ever that big.

 

Elvis was one of the top earning and selling entertainers during the 70s and had a billion view worldwide concert.
In 68 he had the top television special and became a gold and platinum artist again in 69.
So you're not correct.

 

Four grown men or one? I'd say the Beatles were bigger.

Or is that not what you meant?

 

Or rather The Beatles were evolution but Elvis was the big bang.
Comparing Elvis to John the Baptist who merely prepared the way is an insult because John the Baptist was no loner influential once he was gone.

Elvis first appearance on Ed Sullivan drew 56 million viewers which considering there were far less TVs in 56 compared to 64, Elvis actually had more households with televisions watching him on his first appearance even though The Beatles had 70 million viewers.
Elvis success on The Dorsey Brother's Stage Show and Milton Berle was so big he forced both Steve Allen and Ed Sullivan to book him although they both swore he'd never be on their shows.
Elvis coverage of his tv appearances were huge news.
He was only being filmed from the waist up by his 3rd Sullivan show
and Allen had him wear a tux and cowboy gear all to try and tone him and the audiences down.
His shows were being recorded by the police.
The Hy Gardner calling show did an entire segment with him over the controversy.