Could Elvis really play the guitar or was he just pretending? (Musicians opinion)

Hey there! A lot of you guys frequently ask me if Elvis was a good guitar player. Check out this video to hear my opinion about this interesting question.

Check out NOVADAY's first single "Turn The World Around":

Check out my other videos and subscribe to my channel for more reaction & music-related videos.

Thank you so much and stay healthy!
- John

[lindahaas]

Guitar AND Piano!!!
He truly had music in his soul.

[ChrisEllisMedia]

Johnny Cash said that Elvis was one of the best Rhythm guitar players he ever heard. He hated that the record companies didn't let him play more on his records. Pretty amazing.

[sandralybrand]

The musicians that played for him said he always joked about only knowing 3 chords but they said he was a very good rythem guitar player as well as played piano very well.

[laurenerenn]

Elvis probably would have used spoons if he had them in his hand at the time he was singing! He used everything he had, his body, a twitch, a wink, a flick and a dance, because he felt his music! He had it all and used it all. Beautiful to watch and hear!

[johnbattles]

Thank you for this information video! I was born in 1955, the year that was considered Elvis' "breakthrough" year. So, I grew up listening to him a good bit and watching several of his movies (mainly because my sister was a fanatic about him - lol!). I've never understood why so many people have the ridiculous idea that he couldn't play the guitar. He could play both the guitar AND the piano! Not to mention his vocal chords being a whole orchestra all by themselves!

[MemphisFlash]

Elvis played guitar (rhythm originally at Sun), lead guitar (‘68 Comeback Special), bass player (Bill Black couldn’t get the bass part on Baby I Don’t Care so stormed out, Elvis picked it up and did it himself), he also played piano throughout his life (In Concert Special from ‘77) and he also had a go at the drums on occasion too.

[randykirby]

Of coarse Elvis could play guitar. He was Elvis! Good job on the video. He deserves more credit for his guitar playing. If you listen to the Sun sessions you realize he was good rhythm guitar player in a pretty rocking band. Simple, yes. It was the 50's. He was no Hendrix or Clapton but these guys would have not existed if it was not for him.

[joepalooka]

There's another important issue to discuss regarding Elvis's guitar playing: that's singing and playing at the same time. Elvis had a fantastic sense of rhythm and timing and musical dynamics, which he combined with his voice and his guitar playing to produce something that had never been heard before. That's the source of his greatness, and something extremely few people have ever come close to matching. The Beatles for example.

[aprilradovic]

don, t forget 68 come back special, he was playing better than ever

[anthonymorales]

He was a real musician great arranger. Understood everything about his craft

[brendabooher]

Elvis is still the best. I still listen to him everyday. An awesome entertainer and guitar player.

[johntynio]

Are you kidding me, the whole music world came alive and absolutely exploded when Elvis came on the scene! Guitar sales and lessons, ( piano and drums etc. ) but even bigger is that so much money poured in that all companies in music, and sound systems, record players, record companies, could now afford to hire on more engineers and develop the future! Colleges and Universities offered more engineering programs as people flooded in that area too! Just incalculable the jump start he gave to industries and the world that we are still enjoying today! The Beatles and the British invasion was all a result of Elvis! Thanks for knowing and saying that John!

[SallyBedow]

When Elvis was really young he would travel around with others like him. They had an old farm truck and had a hay rack trailer and they would stop at grocery store parking lots and play for gas and food money. I can remember him playing in the Piggly Wiggly lot in my hometown when I was pre-teen. He was the class of the group. We called it Rockabilly music back then.

[DellaStreet]

Scotty Moore, who was Elvis' lead guitarist in his early career, confirmed that Elvis could play. He assessed Elvis' playing abilities as "well enough". I think the rumors that Elvis was pretending started with the movies, in which the guitars were often used as a prop, and continued because Elvis rarely played during his shows in Vegas.

[ROCKINGMAN]

I would say he was a natural rhythm guitar player and used the guitar as a prop many times while performing. He had a good natural understanding of timing and strumming patterns which can be heard on many of his Sun recordings contributing to the overall sound which is surprisingly full. Not forgetting a reasonable piano player too. He owned too some real classic guitars.

[matrix]

Elvis not only played the guitar well, he also played the piano and other musical instruments very well.

[NateRuvin]

Elvis was a tremendously underrated guitarisr

[zyxmyk]

Elvis didn't have to play much guitar, he was a great singer. No one asks how much piano Sinatra or Andy Williams could play. Elvis had a much more awesome voice than anybody in the Beatles or any of those bands. Having a great voice is much more rare than being able to play the guitar. He ended up with one of the best guitar players in the world in his band.

[JIMMYDIANO]

That was great John. You made me appreciate Elvis even more. I never thought of it that way before. He didn't do a bad job on a piano either. He used to put himself down and make fun of his own ability. But I just think that was his humble nature.

[jamesgeiger]

One characteristic of his playing is that he would do a walk up riff between certain chords in the progression