Presley shouldn't even be in a poll like this. For starters, he was not really a songwriter - he was for the majority of his career either a covers artist or singer of songs written specifically for him by professional songwriters. I repeat: Elvis was not a songwriter. Costello, on the other hand, is an actual singer/songwriter artist. In other words, there are no actual grounds on which to compare the two other than purely as singers.
So, if you want to ask the question "who was the better songwriter", then it's a no contest: Presley wasn't really songwriter to begin with so Costello wins by default. If you want to ask "who was the better singer", then I think anybody with working ears can tell that the answer is clearly Presley. Really good voice.
Presley is not overrated either. Which claim about Elvis is suggestive of him being overrated? All people say is that he was a great singer and concert performer, which he was. Anybody who denies that has simply got to be an idiot. If he was neither, he would never have been the most popular singer on earth.
I am literally amazed that in 2008 people still don't realize that Elvis Presley was not a songwriter or a trained musician of any sort.
Last edited by Rainard Jalen; 07-12-2008 at 11:56 AM.
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