While Elvis was primarily perceived as a baritone and most of the tessitura of his songs was on that key, he was, in my opinion, a tenor. Technically, he never properly worked to smooth his passagio and bring more weight up to the top of his voice. However, one has only to look and listen to much of what Elvis sang, and recorded – especially from about 1974 onward – to realize that, had he gone in an entirely different direction musically, he could very well have sung opera. Although in bad physical condition toward the end of his life, the in concert recordings from his last tour reveal, rather hauntingly, what might have been. Listen especially to the way he sang the Timi Yuro classic "Hurt." Vocally, he was incredibly exciting.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "While Elvis was primarily perceived as a baritone and most of the tessitura of his songs was on that key, he was, in my opinion, a tenor. Technically, he never properly worked to smooth his passagio and bring more weight up to the top of his voice. However, one has only to look and listen to much of what Elvis sang, and recorded – especially from about 1974 onward – to realize that, had he gone in an entirely different direction musically, he could very well have sung opera. Although in bad physical condition toward the end of his life, the in concert recordings from his last tour reveal, rather hauntingly, what might have been. Listen especially to the way he sang the Timi Yuro classic "Hurt." Vocally, he was incredibly exciting." in the context of "The Top Ten lists, in an article entitled the Top male tenors." to mean that wisdom is timeless.