Which is the best ?. For me it's Johnny Cash although Elvis is ace.

Johnny was the musician whilst Elvis was the good looking young lad who had his songs written for him , Johnny is the ONE

Definately Johnny.

Hank Williams Snr.

or maybe, Charlie Feathers. And then, when the moon is full… Hasil Adkins!!

And, thinking about it, let's not forget Junior Thompson…and thankfully not a U2 cover in sight 😉

But ya gotta love JC.

JC every time.

JC for me,
remember going to get the paper for my parents on the caravan site in wales and finding out that Elvis was dead, felt amazed, slgihlty bewildered etc, might have been my age ?

also remember getting off a ferry from milos to paros in the cyclades, then going to get something for breakfast and hearing on the radio in a taverna that Johnny cash had died, i was actually upset and saddened instead of amazed, bewildered etc,

diffenece is when i hear elvis on the radio i don't miss his voice,

with JC he always sounds as if he is singing to you alone, and his death still makes me sad inside,

odd but there you go.

…but then you hear tales of Elvis the benzedrine-fuelled truck driver strutting around in a pink suit and mascara sending the women crazy and then think about how the way he covers 'That's All Right' sits in things sounded at the time and you can hear how he turned music upside down.

How did The Cramps put it?

Well the devil gave us Elvis
Drugs, sex and rock'n'roll
Greenbacks, fuzz and feedback
Demonseed and banshee hole
Frogs fallin' down from Heaven
Thunder under Hell
Troglodynamite times seven
Cold titty witchin' spell

Johnny Cash every time. American VI on repeat at the moment, beautiful.

Too late to edit previous post. But:

I guess the one thing that'd hold me back from JC is how deeply ingrained his Christianity is in his music. I admire him for his bravery in making it so evident in an industry in which it is so deeply unfashionable but if I want to hear sermons on sin, redemption and judgement I'll listen to Jerry Lee's cousin.

How did Public Enemy put it……?

Elvis was a hero to most
But he never meant sh*t to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Mother***k him and John Wayne

How did Public Enemy put it……?

Except Public Enemy were about as wrong as it is possible to be wrong….

As it points out, if he was racist he would never have been Elvis….

To contend that Elvis was a racist is hardly shocking. ("The only thing black people can do for me is shine my shoes and buy my music", he once opined.)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2002/aug/15/elvis25yearson.elvispresley

I have no interest in elvis' music, it's not for me, but to hear him labelled as the king of rock n roll doesn't sit right when you think of artists like little Richard, fats domino and chuck berry who were real artists not some record company created pop idol.

when you think of artists like little Richard, fats domino and chuck berry who were real artists not some record company created pop idol.

I'm not a fan – i was a big Cramps fan years ago and got to know a lot of early rockabilly through them and Kicks magazine – I never really took to Elvis but his multicultural hybrid sound transformed music in the early 50s. He was doing what he was doing prior to the Colonel's involvement and the colonel's management of him. He also repeatedly pointed to people like Fats Domino whenever the 'king of rock'n'roll' thing came up – don't blame musicians for promotors mismanagement of them. He didn't steal anything: he combined sounds that he liked – that he was able to like because he was *not* a redneck racist. Someone repeating tired clichés on the Grauniad's Comment pages won't change that.

Just listened to JC cover of Hurt by NIN and every time I do it give the massive goose bumps love it.