Elvis 'changed the world'
2003-01-14 16:45
London - An Elvis Presley cover version of an obscure blues track has been voted the song which did most to change the world.
"That's All Right" was recorded by Elvis as a teenager in 1954 during an experimental jamming session in Memphis. The track launched the King's career and is regarded by many as marking the start of Rock and Roll.
A panel of music journalists, commissioned by Britain's Q Magazine, put "That's All Right" top of a list of "100 ground-breaking, world-altering songs that changed music and the world forever".
It beat dozens of better known tracks including The Beatles' "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys.
"I Wanna Hold Your Hand", the song which launched The Beatles in the United States, came second, while the Sex Pistols' provocative punk anthem "God Save the Queen" was third.
The results of the poll raised a few eyebrows.
"That's All Right is a wonderful track and we all hail it for starting Elvis's recording career but it didn't change anything," veteran music journalist Paul Gambaccini told BBC TV.
"When it was released it wasn't even released in this country and it was never a hit in the United States.
"But we look back to Elvis because he is the credible founder of Rock and Roll..."
Grunge gurus Nirvana were fifth with "Smells like Teen Spirit" while British band New Order came in ninth with their celebrated dance track "Blue Monday" - the biggest-selling 12-inch single of all time.
The earliest release was Billie Holiday's 1939 rendition of "Strange Fruit" while the most recent was rapper Eminem "My Name Is" from 1999.
A special edition of Q Magazine - 100 Songs that Changed the World - is due to be released on Wednesday.
Top ten:
1. That's All Right (Elvis Presley)
2. I Wanna Hold Your Hand (The Beatles)
3. God Save the Queen (The Sex Pistols)
4. Rapper's Delight (Sugarhill Gang)
5. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
6. Strange Fruit (Billie Holiday)
7. Like a Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan)
8. Walk This Way (Run DMC)
9. Blue Monday (New Order)
10. Do They Know it's Christmas (Band Aid)