Barry, this is an excellent article because you give us so much food for thought. Who is the real King of Rock? I would have been torn between Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, but unfortunately Buddy’s career was cut very short. You are right though, that when asked, most people would nominate a ballad as one of their favourites.
With Elvis, I would say “American Trilogy” or “In the Ghetto.”
Interesting that Elvis pointed to Fats Domino, and it can’t be denied that “Blueberry Hill” is a true classic, but do we remember any of his other songs?
In Australia, we had a singer called “Johnny O’Keefe” who was considered our country’s King of Rock. So, just to throw a cat among the pigeons, I will choose him.