I agree that Perkins was the more weighty talent as a musician and a songwriter. However, pop idol status is largely determined by how easy the company finds it to market the star. Elvis had the looks, the voice and a story. I mean, in terms of songwriting influence, Morton/Pomus, Lieber/Stoller, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley were all more important. As it happens, I liked Perkins better than Elvis too, but I don't think he was ever destined to be an idol on the scale of Elvis. Do you think anyone else's career could have survived that many duff films?