Talk:Elvis Presley

Use of "Scare quotes" in the lead in contradiction with WP:MOS

• Regarding the text string: "One of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as "the King of Rock and Roll", or simply, "the King"."

Per WP:BADEMPHASIS: "Quotation marks for emphasis of a single word or phrase, or scare quotes, are discouraged." Per MOS:ITALIC: "Italics may be used to draw attention to an important word or phrase within a sentence".

I have tried to make the lead MoS compliant, but User:Pstoller has reverted me. So, per WP:BRD, I was bold, he reverted, now lets discuss. GabeMc ^{(talk|contribs)} 20:45, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

The usage of scare quotes is not contrary to MoS; only the usage of scare quotes for emphasis. That is not why these phrases are in scare quotes. The usages are controversial. Elvis is the "so-called 'King of Rock & Roll,'" a label that does not sit well with many African-Americans and scholars of 20th century popular music. Elvis himself rejected the label, "the King," saying that there was only one King (meaning Jesus Christ); others Christians have objected on the same basis. Thus, the usage of scare quotes in the lead is MoS-compliant, while removing them effectively removes important meaning from the article. Pstoller (talk) 20:57, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

It is in no way controversial to refer to him as the King. The vast majority of WP:RS call him that. I hear you that it might be moderately contentious to some, but are you really serious? GabeMc ^{(talk|contribs)} 21:07, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

• From the Rock and Roll hall of fame: "Elvis Presley is the undisputed King of Rock and Roll."
• www.elvis.com uses the moniker: "Elvis Presley: Official site of the King of Rock and Roll". GabeMc ^{(talk|contribs)} 21:13, 12 July 2013 (UTC)
• From allmusic: "Aliases: The King, The King of Rock 'n' Roll". GabeMc ^{(talk|contribs)} 21:17, 12 July 2013 (UTC)
• From the Encyclopedia Britannica: "American popular singer widely known as the King of Rock and Roll and one of rock music’s dominant performers from the mid-1950s until his death." GabeMc ^{(talk|contribs)} 21:29, 12 July 2013 (UTC)
• From Rolling Stone: "While certainly other artists preceded him to the alter of rock & roll, he is indisputably The King." GabeMc ^{(talk|contribs)} 21:29, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

How can it be "contentious to some" and "in no way controversial"? Are you really serious? Yes, the usages are extremely common, and virtually certain to remain so: otherwise, they would not belong in the article, much less the lead. (And, FYI, I have argued that here in the past with one or more users who questioned whether these aliases were sufficiently common to merit inclusion.) However, for many who trace rock & roll's history back before 1955, the very idea of crowning as "the King" a white late-comer to a black musical innovation is more than mildly contentious. That he has the nicknames (as per Britannica and AllMusic) is in itself indisputable; whether it's appropriate that he has them, however, has been (and still is) disputed—regardless of what the R&RHoF, Elvis.com, or anyone else with a commercial interest in his legend has to say about it. Pstoller (talk) 22:45, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

• From Elvis After Elvis: The Posthumous Career of a Living Legend by Gilbert B. Rodman: "[W]hile Elvis was certainly popular with blacks, it was whites who crowned him King. A common thread running through virtually all the critiques of Elvis's coronation … is the accusation that those who put Elvis on his royal pedestal have been far too quick to reject black rock 'n' roll artists—Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Fats Domino, and Bo Diddley are among those most frequently mentioned—as legitimate contenders for the crown. Regardless of whom Elvis's critics offer as alternate candidates for his throne, however, the criticisms leveled at Elvis's coronation point to very serious, and very real, flaws in the ways in which the history of rock 'n' roll has come to be accepted and understood."
• From The Columbia Guide to African American History Since 1939 by Robert L. Harris, Jr. and Rosalyn Terborg-Penn: "Elvis provides a case study in the minstrel appropriation of African American styles that works like Eric Lott's Love and Theft and W. T. Lhamon's Raising Cain: Blackface Performance from Jim Crow to Hip-Hop have placed at the center of American cultural history. Jet magazine and almost every black person who actually knew him have absolved Elvis of personal racism. His coronation by the white media, however, angered those who knew that Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Fats Domino, not to mention Louis Jordan, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf, could make equally legitimate claims to the throne. It wasn't the first or last time the music industry bestowed the crown on a white contender—or pretender. In the 1920s, the music industry anointed the aptly-named Paul Whiteman as the "King of Jazz," and similar patterns have recurred like clockwork, arising in relation to sixties rock (the Rolling Stones), disco (the Bee Gees), R&B (Michael Bolton), funk (the Red Hot Chili Peppers), and hip-hop (Kid Rock and Eminem).

Pstoller (talk) 22:45, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

Quotation marks are not necessarily undesirable "scare quotes". It's perfectly normal, correct and desirable to use quotation marks around Presley's nicknames in this case because he was not, in fact, a King. He was simply called - by some people, sometimes - "The King", as an informal term of approbation. If the quotation marks were removed it would suggest that he was actually a King. Outside the US, such people as Kings do, in fact, exist, and Presley was not one of them. Ghmyrtle (talk) 23:04, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

I'll buy that argument, as well. Pstoller (talk) 23:36, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

Since this is really quite a minute disagreement on style, I'll concede the point for the sake of compromise, though I stand by my assertion that calling Elvis the King does not require Wikipedia to distance itself from the claim with "scare quotes", its one of the least contentious claims one could ever make about a rock star, IMO. GabeMc ^{(talk|contribs)} 01:16, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

First, I thank you for your concession. Second: it's certainly not contentious from the POV of said rock star's most ardent fans, though Presley himself repeatedly asked people not to call him that. On the other hand, let me be clear that I don't favor injecting the quoted arguments into this article, nor do I necessarily agree with all of the components (or all of the conclusions) of those arguments. I merely think it behooves Wikipedia to acknowledge that such arguments exist; and that, while they may not be mainstream arguments, neither are they especially obscure. Scare quotes are just about the most minimal nod WP can make to that perspective. Beyond that, while I think there is a place on WP to explore this issue, I think we can all agree that this article isn't it. Pstoller (talk) 01:48, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

WHAT A LOAD OF TRIPE. Elvis is commonly known as the king because he dominated billboard, movies and sales.elvis is commonly known as the king because the majority of people agree with that term.there will always be someone who disagrees, but majority rules. elvis is the most sucessful and popular aritist in history based on sales, impact and billboard.riaa, chart company, soundscan and gwr. thank you 68.199.5.149 (talk) 17:50, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

It's still total rubbish to refer to Elvis as "The King" in an encyclopedia, without some kind of explanation. Elvis himself intensely disliked being called "The King" (see: The Gospel Side of Elvis" by Joe Moscheo). If some promotional Nashville flyers called him "The King", then it should be noted that this is a label applied to all kinds of entertainers, and mostly it doesn't mean much of anything. Santamoly (talk) 21:07, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

It would be "total rubbish" if the article referred to Elvis Presley as "the King." But, it doesn't: Rather, it states that he was and is commonly called by that name. (Indeed, he has been very commonly called "the King" by the general public and the press for decades; a far cry from "some promotional Nashville flyers".) That's a significant fact, whether Presley liked the honorific or not, and it would be "total rubbish" for the article to omit it. This is completely different from adopting or endorsing the usage. The article also reports Presley rejecting the title, telling a journalist that "the real king of rock and roll" was Fats Domino. Pstoller (talk) 22:04, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

They are not "scare quotes". They are just quotes. Britmax (talk) 00:47, 4 November 2013 (UTC)

elvis dominated billboard

Joel whitburn ( official billboard expert)

Puts elvis by far as the number one artist on billboard 1955-2009

Top 100 artists Elvis 7,537 points The beatles 4,611 points Madonna 4,317 points Elton john 4176 points Mariah carey 3,942 points Stevie wonder 3,470 points Michael jackson 3,410

Billboard top 40 hits Joel whitburn Ninth edition Page 870

Please put in the beginning that elvis is still an unmatched chart performer who dominates billboard .

Thank you

67.102.252.66 (talk) 19:48, 1 October 2013 (UTC)

Elvis Presley tops list of digitally streamed artists

the king tops the list of digitally streamed artists. please put in the beggining that besides being the highest selling solo artist in history, he tops the lists of digitally streamed artists.

Even in the world of digitally streaming music, Elvis Presley is still the King.

According to SoundExchange, a performance rights organization that collects royalties from more than 2,000 digital music services, Presley ranks as the most frequently streamed artist of the past decade, followed by Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam.

Contemporary R&B and hip-hop acts are well represented on the SoundExchange list, with Rihanna ranking No. 4, Drake No. 5, Usher No. 6 and Lil Wayne No. 7. But the list clearly favors classic rock acts, with The Beatles coming in at No. 8 and the Grateful Dead at No. 10. Country-pop queen Taylor Swift completes the list, ranking ninth.

"I find it interesting you've got Elvis Presley, you've got The Beatles," says Marie Knowles, SoundExchange's vice president of communication. "They're among the most listened to on this new platform. These are iconic rock acts, and they've got staying power."

usa today 10/3/13

thank you 68.199.5.149 (talk) 17:57, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

Edit request on 21 October 2013

Elvis Is Back

Presley returned to the United States on March 3, 1960. On the way back from Germany he stopped to change planes at Prestwick Airport, Glasgow, Scotland (as shown in this report from the Scottish Daily Mail http://digital.nls.uk/scotlandspages/timeline/1960.html). This turned out to be the only visit Elvis Presley would ever make to the UK, and inspired the 2011 short film "Elvis Prestwick". The film showed Presley transforming the life of a strait-laced office worker. "Elvis Prestwick" was accepted for competition at four international film festivals in 2012 and its trailer may be seen here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRVXwPqR8ew.

Royston37 (talk) 14:59, 21 October 2013 (UTC)

 Not done: There needs to be consensus informed by reliable sources before this is added to the article. Callanecc (talk • contribs • logs) 11:07, 22 October 2013 (UTC)

I see no reason to include it. It doesn't tell us anything significant about Presley; it just promotes the film (which may be well worth promoting, but not here). Pstoller (talk) 20:02, 22 October 2013 (UTC)

Edit request on 5 November 2013

Thank you for the information on the life of Elvis Presley. However, I think you should drop the f word from your article. It is very offensive. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.23.44.104 (talk) 18:18, 5 November 2013 (UTC)

The use of the "f word" in this article is consistent with Wikipedia policy. Pstoller (talk) 03:32, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

Did Elvis visit the UK (London)?

According to [1] [2] [3] Elvis did in fact visit the UK, London to be precise with his friend Tommy Steele.

Should this not be mentioned? Has it been accepted as a fact or dismissed?--Windows66 (talk) 18:15, 22 November 2013 (UTC)

Elvis Aron Presley

Please change "Elvis Aaron Presley" to "Elvis Aron Presley" evidence for this request can be seen by this YouTube video at the one minuet mark

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2sUZ16hpmU&list=PL4708288DABCA70F3 As seen in this documentary of Elvis if you skip to one minuet into the video they explain that Elvis changed the spelling of his middle name to one "A" rather than 2 so that his name was closer to his twins name Garon who sadly past away.

Thank you, Kind Regards Robert Holmes 80.0.73.29 (talk) 20:28, 22 November 2013 (UTC)