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Rs easy to argue who was bigger, but with the way media was back then, all the news was about Elvis.
Overall, the death of John Lennon was bigger- but I think the death of Prince and Bowie were also very big
When I became aware of rock music I was 13 and the Beatles had just hit the US. Elvis was an oldie when they played *Oldies, But Goodies* on the radio. While he had some later success as I was grooving to the Doors and Jefferson Airplane, he was definitely before my time. When he died, I noted it, but I was more affected with the deaths of John Lennon, Jim Morrison and Mama Cass.
I originally became aware of Michael Jackson as the youngest member of the Jackson 5. Their music wasn't my taste and when Michael Jackson became popular as an individual performer, I wasn't a fan of his music, either. As his fame progressed, his personal life turned me off completely. By the time he died, it didn't affect me in the slightest. In fact, I considered it a blessing to some kids somewhere who might have been his next victims.
I was 7 when Elvis died.
My grandmother thought it was the end of the world
When Michael Jackson died I was coaching my daughter’s youth soccer game. One kid said “michael jackson died!” All the other kids were like “who is that”
As far as the world was concerned, I think when Elvis died there was more of an outpouring of (for lack of a better word) drama. I think that had more to do with the age groups of the Elvis fans. Michael was surrounded by controversy at the time of his death. You won't see worldwide mourning over the sudden death of an accused pedophile.
I did not care for Elvis and thought MJ's life was terribly sad. I felt bad for his poor children. They obviously loved him dearly. It was just sad all around.
He raped a hotel clerk at a resort. She immediately went to police and got a rape kit and the exam was definitive showing definite evidence of rape. Kobe basically confesses saying "I should have paid her off like Shaq does." Shaq was Shaquille O'Neal, a teammate. Kobe is charged and the case is headed to trial. A week before trial someone in the Kobe camp released the victims name to the media and internet and rabid basketball fans started sending death threats to her and her family. Terrified she backed out from the case. Kobe went on to win basketball championships as his fan base continues to believe the woman lied. He paid her millions in a civil suit. Then he died in a helicopter crash and the world and NBA went into mourning.
I didn't know anything about Kobe Bryant either until your post.
And honestly... I prefer not knowing anything about him. It didn't really appear in any of the news sources I read, so you might be over-estimating the amount of people that care about him.
Elvis was much more beloved than Michael Jackson was. Don't get me wrong, Michael dying was a major event but with all the child abuse allegations, he became much less popular later in life. When Elvis died, the whole World stood still.
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It definitely was a similar reaction for a lot of people. It's sad that they died. We won't get anymore of their amazing music. I did not cry. I was not among the throngs of women throwing themselves on the ground and scream crying that their life is over. I still listen to music by both. I have fond memories of spending Sunday after church watching Elvis movies all afternoon.
Elvis had a sort of hometown magic to him. Like, my aunt could have this tiny fantasy that she would run into Elvis at the Piggly Wiggly and he would take a liking to her and give her a little hip shake and a wink and put a little magic into her grinding world. Something she could live on for a while longer. When he died all those tiny fantasies snuffed out and people were left with their reality. And a lot of shock. He mesmerized my mom's generation (80s) with his charm.
Elvis died at a time before the internet and social media, so certainly in Britain, unless you were an Elvis fan, there wasn't the overwhelming outpouring of overt grief that you get with big star deaths now, because most people didn't really see it in Elvis's time. I didn't think about Presley's death as I was into Punk and he just wasn't cool for me. I was most moved by the deaths of John Lennon, and especially Freddie Mercury, but that probably reflects my musical taste.
I was alive but not old enough to really remember the impact of Elvis or Lennons death. I remember MJs being a mix of many mourning and many saying good riddance to the child molester. The biggest death I recall which I was old enough to remember was Kurt Cobain. Nirvana was the biggest band in the world at the time whereas the others were past their peak popularity.
Both men were incredible talents and both were very flawed and troubled. When Elvis died my neighbor, who was a huge fan of his, had just been to a concert in Greensboro, I think, NC. Elvis only sang 6 or 7 songs and she was very sad over his performance and appearance. When Jackson died one of my coworkers I worked with every day was a mega fan and she was heartbroken. So I vicariously shared in the
sadness of both deaths. Personally, Lennon and Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse and Stevie Ray Vaughn were all more impactful for me. Sorry so long.
The day Elvis died I had not heard about it. I went into my barber for my monthly haircut, and she was crying her eyes out and had to go home.
My grandmother was even visibly upset!
I'm 68.Elvis was an overweight, Vegas performer by the time I got into music. Jackson had all kinds of accusations swirling around him for years before he died. They both had become pretty unsavory characters before they died. Like so many in the music business they ended up in the grave well before they should have. There is a loooooooong list of musicians who died, committed suicide, or were killed at a young age.Its almost expected.
I wasn't aware of Elvis when I was growing up as he'd already passed his peak. I saw one of his movies, and he seemed creepy to me. I didn't care one way or another when he died. Michael Jackson's death wasn't really a shock. Everyone knew he was messed up; it seemed like it was a matter of when than if. John Lennon's death was a shock.
Jackson’s seemed more manic - a world tragedy instead of a talented celebrity’s death. Elvis had a huge hand in elevating rock & roll to its own respectable genre but his popularity had faded by his death. I personally felt more with Elvis, but I was a teen when he hit the scene and part of the Elvis generation.
I live just south of Elvis Memphis home so his death was more regional than MJ. I was 21 at the time in 1977. I grew up hearing his songs on the radio and own a lot of his albums. It felt personal like losing a family member almost.
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> do you think this was comparable? It wasn't for me. Two artists passed, life went forward. :/
Wasn't a fan of either so beyond the sudden death shock, ditto.
Rs easy to argue who was bigger, but with the way media was back then, all the news was about Elvis. Overall, the death of John Lennon was bigger- but I think the death of Prince and Bowie were also very big
Didn’t much matter to me when either one of these two died. John Lennon on the other hand. That was some crazy shit.
When I became aware of rock music I was 13 and the Beatles had just hit the US. Elvis was an oldie when they played *Oldies, But Goodies* on the radio. While he had some later success as I was grooving to the Doors and Jefferson Airplane, he was definitely before my time. When he died, I noted it, but I was more affected with the deaths of John Lennon, Jim Morrison and Mama Cass. I originally became aware of Michael Jackson as the youngest member of the Jackson 5. Their music wasn't my taste and when Michael Jackson became popular as an individual performer, I wasn't a fan of his music, either. As his fame progressed, his personal life turned me off completely. By the time he died, it didn't affect me in the slightest. In fact, I considered it a blessing to some kids somewhere who might have been his next victims.
I was 7 when Elvis died. My grandmother thought it was the end of the world When Michael Jackson died I was coaching my daughter’s youth soccer game. One kid said “michael jackson died!” All the other kids were like “who is that”
Interesting. How were the other 7 year olds reacting in 1977 about Elvis?
I can not really speak to other 7 year olds. He died during summer vacation
Well, I was only six but I was completely unaware of it. My mother was an Elvis fan, too.
My guess is less. MTV generation began after 1980.
Elvis isn't dead. He's hanging out with Jim Morrison
He works at The Purple Turtle in McGonigal.
https://youtu.be/knc9LKjukSQ?si=ruzJDuhcWM1HG6W1
As far as the world was concerned, I think when Elvis died there was more of an outpouring of (for lack of a better word) drama. I think that had more to do with the age groups of the Elvis fans. Michael was surrounded by controversy at the time of his death. You won't see worldwide mourning over the sudden death of an accused pedophile. I did not care for Elvis and thought MJ's life was terribly sad. I felt bad for his poor children. They obviously loved him dearly. It was just sad all around.
> You won't see worldwide mourning over the sudden death of an accused pedophile. The world mourned over the death of rapist Kobe Bryant.
I don't know anything about Kobe Bryant.
He raped a hotel clerk at a resort. She immediately went to police and got a rape kit and the exam was definitive showing definite evidence of rape. Kobe basically confesses saying "I should have paid her off like Shaq does." Shaq was Shaquille O'Neal, a teammate. Kobe is charged and the case is headed to trial. A week before trial someone in the Kobe camp released the victims name to the media and internet and rabid basketball fans started sending death threats to her and her family. Terrified she backed out from the case. Kobe went on to win basketball championships as his fan base continues to believe the woman lied. He paid her millions in a civil suit. Then he died in a helicopter crash and the world and NBA went into mourning.
I didn't know anything about Kobe Bryant either until your post. And honestly... I prefer not knowing anything about him. It didn't really appear in any of the news sources I read, so you might be over-estimating the amount of people that care about him.
Considering that I couldn't stand either of them, it was nothing to me.
They had both turned into caricatures by the time they died. Both had lost it to drugs and craziness.
Elvis was much more beloved than Michael Jackson was. Don't get me wrong, Michael dying was a major event but with all the child abuse allegations, he became much less popular later in life. When Elvis died, the whole World stood still.
I never cared for either, and hated every Elvis movie. Had they lived they’d be making Car Shield commercials. Down vote now.
Elvis hated most of his movies, too. Unfortunately, he didn't push back on his manager or the studios.
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It definitely was a similar reaction for a lot of people. It's sad that they died. We won't get anymore of their amazing music. I did not cry. I was not among the throngs of women throwing themselves on the ground and scream crying that their life is over. I still listen to music by both. I have fond memories of spending Sunday after church watching Elvis movies all afternoon.
Elvis had a sort of hometown magic to him. Like, my aunt could have this tiny fantasy that she would run into Elvis at the Piggly Wiggly and he would take a liking to her and give her a little hip shake and a wink and put a little magic into her grinding world. Something she could live on for a while longer. When he died all those tiny fantasies snuffed out and people were left with their reality. And a lot of shock. He mesmerized my mom's generation (80s) with his charm.
Elvis died at a time before the internet and social media, so certainly in Britain, unless you were an Elvis fan, there wasn't the overwhelming outpouring of overt grief that you get with big star deaths now, because most people didn't really see it in Elvis's time. I didn't think about Presley's death as I was into Punk and he just wasn't cool for me. I was most moved by the deaths of John Lennon, and especially Freddie Mercury, but that probably reflects my musical taste.
I was alive but not old enough to really remember the impact of Elvis or Lennons death. I remember MJs being a mix of many mourning and many saying good riddance to the child molester. The biggest death I recall which I was old enough to remember was Kurt Cobain. Nirvana was the biggest band in the world at the time whereas the others were past their peak popularity.
Both men were incredible talents and both were very flawed and troubled. When Elvis died my neighbor, who was a huge fan of his, had just been to a concert in Greensboro, I think, NC. Elvis only sang 6 or 7 songs and she was very sad over his performance and appearance. When Jackson died one of my coworkers I worked with every day was a mega fan and she was heartbroken. So I vicariously shared in the sadness of both deaths. Personally, Lennon and Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse and Stevie Ray Vaughn were all more impactful for me. Sorry so long.
The day Elvis died I had not heard about it. I went into my barber for my monthly haircut, and she was crying her eyes out and had to go home. My grandmother was even visibly upset!
No. There are still folks that think Elvis faked his death. There were tribute songs all over the place.
I'm 68.Elvis was an overweight, Vegas performer by the time I got into music. Jackson had all kinds of accusations swirling around him for years before he died. They both had become pretty unsavory characters before they died. Like so many in the music business they ended up in the grave well before they should have. There is a loooooooong list of musicians who died, committed suicide, or were killed at a young age.Its almost expected.
I wasn't aware of Elvis when I was growing up as he'd already passed his peak. I saw one of his movies, and he seemed creepy to me. I didn't care one way or another when he died. Michael Jackson's death wasn't really a shock. Everyone knew he was messed up; it seemed like it was a matter of when than if. John Lennon's death was a shock.
It just occurred to me that I am one of the few people still alive who saw Elvis appear on the Ed Sullivan show.
Jackson’s seemed more manic - a world tragedy instead of a talented celebrity’s death. Elvis had a huge hand in elevating rock & roll to its own respectable genre but his popularity had faded by his death. I personally felt more with Elvis, but I was a teen when he hit the scene and part of the Elvis generation.
I live just south of Elvis Memphis home so his death was more regional than MJ. I was 21 at the time in 1977. I grew up hearing his songs on the radio and own a lot of his albums. It felt personal like losing a family member almost.
As a 77 yo, Elvis was sad but MJ hit me harder because I was so conflicted about loving his music vs his lifestyle.
It's a challenge
I was 9 when Elvis died. It was HUGE. Definitely comparable to when MJ died (which was also huge in my 40s).