Entertainment
Before Passing, Johnny Cash Named Elvis Presley As the Greatest Performer of All Time
Johnny Cash hardly needs an introduction; the American-born singer and songwriter was known for his deep voice and defiant persona. During his lifetime and after his death, he became one of the most influential icons in American music history. His many successful songs, such as “One Piece At A Time”, “I Walk The Line” and “Ring of Fire”, have added to his credentials as a raw storyteller and musician with deep emotional depth. But when it came to who Cash felt was the best musician and entertainer of all time, Cash named none other than the king of rock ‘n’ roll.
Johnny Cash Called Elvis Presley the Best Performer of All Time
In 1968, following his widely televised comeback special, several media outlets proclaimed Elvis Presley the most outstanding living music performer. The title of greatest music performer was not given without merit to the then 33-year-old. By the time of his tragic death in 1977, Presley was already one of the best-selling solo artists of all time. To his credit, he achieved seventeen number-one singles and eight number-one albums, starred in seventeen top-ten films, and won three Grammy Awards. But it’s not only fans and music critics who were enthralled by Presley’s artistry. There was another famous musician, too, who sang the praises of the “Blue Suede Shoes” singer, and that was none other than Johnny Cash.
As ardent fans will know, Cash and Presley were not only comrades in the music industry but were also close friends. “They were part of the driving force that created rock and roll. My dad and Elvis were friends; they worked side by side when Elvis was at Sun Records. [Of course,],” revealed Cash’s son during an interview with the Express UK. “Elvis went on to make his films and some more music later on, and they never worked together again after the 1950s. They each had their own individual, unique traits as artists. Dads reached in different directions than Elvis’ did, enduring a legacy as a long-standing artist, having resurgences and renaissances throughout his life. Dad carried on, and he made music up until the very end. In some way, his legacy’s quite a bit different, but he always appreciated and loved Elvis.”
But beyond their friendship, Cash also admired Presley’s art above all else. And he made the admission nearly 21 years after Presley’s death, during a rare appearance on The Late Late Show. When the show’s host, Craig Ferguson, asked Cash, “Of all the performers you’ve seen in action, who do you reckon was the best?” Cash, who stared straight at the camera, answered plainly: “Elvis Presley.” When asked to elaborate, Cash stated that “He [Presley] had a lot of rhythm, he was a very good singer and a fabulous performer. And the way he moved the people…” Cash then went on to recall his first encounter with the king of rock n roll: “When he was 19 years old, that’s when I toured with him for the first time,” said Cash. “And not only did the girls love Elvis, but every man backstage was standing in the wings watching Elvis…He had that charisma, that magic that a great performer needs to get the people right there.“
Elvis Presley Was Crowned the King of Rock n’ Roll but His True Love Was a Different Genre
The King of Rock n’ Roll preferred a different genre altogether.
Elvis Presley Snubbed This Other Contemporary Artist
Elvis Presley may have admired and considered Johnny Cash a friend and respected peer, but the often temperamental artist didn’t extend that same grace to everyone. Case in point, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, who had long been a fan and admirer of Presley’s. During the early 1970s, when both artists were at the height of their fame, Wilson, who was busy recording music at the famed RCA Studios in Hollywood, got wind that Presley was there at the same time recording music with James Burton, he jumped at the chance to meet his idol.
According to Burton’s account of the fateful incident, Wilson asked him to facilitate the meeting: “He said, ‘Oh! Please, please take me to meet Elvis’. I took him in, and he walked up to Elvis and was just looking at him. And Elvis stuck his hand out to shake hands, and [Wilson] couldn’t move.” However, the meeting went from bad to worse after Presley’s friend Jerry Schillling revealed that as a starstruck, Wilson’ stood there in awe of the king of rock ‘n’ roll. The very private Elvis clearly showed no recognition of the Beach Boy and became a little angered that his security team had let a stranger wander in. “Elvis was very upset with us, thinking, ‘How did this guy get in here, and who is he? So Brian said, ‘I’m recording next door. Would you come over and listen?’ And Elvis looked at us; almost in spite of us, since this guy had gotten through. He said, ‘Yeah, I’ll go over.’” Schilling then stated that as the duo headed to the other recording studio, Wilson moved to playfully karate chop Elvis’ arm to break the ice. Presley then reportedly swiped Wilson’s arm away with no look of joviality on his face. “I knew he knew karate, and he karate chopped my arm so hard,” explained Wilson during his visit to Late Night With Jimmy Fallon in 2012. . “And he goes, ‘I’m leaving, I’m leaving,’ and he split. And that was it.”