Elvis Presley vs James Brown
Two music prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Elvis Presley | James Brown | |
| Field | Music | Music |
| Sub-field | Composer | Composer |
| Born | 1935 | 1933 |
| Died | 1977 | 2006 |
| Country of birth | United States | United States |
| Star sign | Capricorn | Taurus |
Who they are
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley entered the world on January 8, 1935, in a two-room shotgun house in Tupelo, Mississippi, born minutes after his identical twin brother, Jesse Garon, who was stillborn. That early brush with loss seemed to imbue the surviving twin with an extra measure of life — a presence so magnetic, so physical, so inexplicably charged that it would eventually stop a nation in its tracks. Elvis Presley did not simply become a pop star. He became the moment when American music changed forever.
Full biography of Elvis Presley →
James Brown
James Joseph Brown Jr. was born on May 3, 1933, in Barnwell, South Carolina, and raised in Augusta, Georgia, in conditions of severe poverty during the Great Depression. He shined shoes, picked cotton, and by his own account wore clothes made from flour sacks. He was arrested for petty theft at sixteen and sentenced to hard labor. What emerged from that crucible was not bitterness, though there was plenty of reason for it — what emerged was the most kinetic, most commanding live performer in the history of American popular music, a man who turned…
Full biography of James Brown →
What they share
- Both are held here under Music.
- Same sub-field: Composer.
- Both born in United States.
- Near contemporaries - 2 years apart.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Elvis Presley or James Brown?
- James Brown. Elvis Presley was born in 1935, James Brown in 1933.
- What field is each of them in?
- Elvis Presley is filed under Music (Composer). James Brown is filed under Music (Composer).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.