Unless you lived through the emergence of Elvis - or studied his music in the connext of the music of the '50s, it's difficult to get a true perspective. Eddie, Gene and Buddy grew out of Elvis; indeed, Buddy got his irritating "hiccup" from Elvis ( Elvis was a lot more subtle with his use of it). As a singer/interpreter, Elvis was head and shoulders above his "white" 50s rivals, but Buddy was a terrific song writer, Eddie produced some terrific tracks ( I remember the first time I heard " Somethin'else"- wow!!), and I have a soft spot for Gene. But Elvis!