Cultural Impact of Elvis Presley
Cultural Impact of Elvis Presley
Cultural Impact of Elvis Presley
1
2 1 AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC INFLUENCE
youth market.[5] ity of Elvis Presley was similarly founded on his trans-
gressive position with respect to racial and sexual bound-
aries. ... White cover versions of hits by black musi-
1 African American music inu- cians ... often outsold the originals; it seems that many
Americans wanted black music without the black peo-
ence ple in it,[12] and Elvis had undoubtedly derived his style
from the Negro rhythm-and-blues performers of the late
[13]
In spite of the facts that Nat King Cole had the #7 song 1940s.
in 1959, and the #1 song in 1921, and Chuck Berry had a The Elvis stole black music theme is an enduring one
major hit with "Maybellene" in 1955, in the United States with arguments for and against published in books [14][15]
in the 1950s legal segregation and discrimination against
A southern background combined with a performing style
African Americans was common, especially in the Deep
largely associated with African Americans had led to bit-
South. Presley would nevertheless publicly cite his debt
ter criticism by those who feel he stole a good thing, as
to African American music, pointing to artists such as B.
Tan magazine surmised.[16] No wonder that Elvis became
B. King, Arthur Big Boy Crudup, Ivory Joe Hunter, and
a symbol of all that was oppressive to the black experi-
Fats Domino. The reporter who conducted Presleys rst
ence in the Western Hemisphere.[17] A black southerner
interview in New York City in 1956 noted that he named
in the late 1980s even captured that sentiment: To talk
blues singers who obviously meant a lot to him. [He] was
to Presley about blacks was like talking to Adolf Hitler
very surprised to hear him talk about the black perform-
about the Jews.[18]
ers down there and about how he tried to carry on their
music.[6] Later that year in Charlotte, North Carolina, In his scholarly work Race, Rock, and Elvis,[19] Tennessee
Presley was quoted as saying: The colored folks been State University professor Michael T. Bertrand exam-
singing it and playing it just like Im doin' now, man, for ined the relationship between popular culture and social
more years than I know. They played it like that in their change in America and these allegations against Presley.
shanties and in their juke joints and nobody paid it no Professor Bertrand postulated that Presleys rock and roll
mind 'til I goosed it up. I got it from them. Down in Tu- music brought an unprecedented access to African Amer-
pelo, Mississippi, I used to hear old Arthur Crudup bang ican culture that challenged the 1950s segregated genera-
his box the way I do now and I said if I ever got to a place tion to reassess ingrained segregationist stereotypes. The
I could feel all old Arthur felt, I'd be a music man like American Historical Review wrote that the author con-
nobody ever saw.[7] Little Richard said of Presley: He vincingly argues that the black-and-white character of the
was an integrator. Elvis was a blessing. They wouldn't sound, as well as Presleys own persona, helped to relax
let black music through. He opened the door for black the rigid color line and thereby fed the res of the civil
music.[8] B. B. King said he began to respect Presley af- rights movement". The U.S. government report stated:
ter he did Arthur Big Boy Crudup material and that af- Presley has been accused of stealing black rhythm and
ter he met him, he thought the singer really was something blues, but such accusations indicate little knowledge of
else and was someone whose music was growing all the his many musical inuences. However much Elvis may
time right up to his death.[9] have 'borrowed' from black blues performers (e.g., 'Big
Boy' Crudup, 'Big Mama' Thornton), he borrowed no less
Up to the mid-1950s black artists had sold minuscule
from white country stars (e.g., Ernest Tubb, Bill Monroe)
amounts of their recorded music relative to the national
and white pop singers, and most of his borrowings came
market potential. Black songwriters had mostly limited
from the church; its gospel music was his primary musical
horizons and could only eke out a living. But after Presley
inuence and foundation.
purchased the music of African American Otis Blackwell
and had his Gladys Music company hire talented black Whether or not it was justied, the fact remains that
songwriter Claude Demetrius, the industry underwent a distrust of Presley was common amongst the general
dramatic change. In the spring of 1957 Presley invited African-American population after the accusations of
African American performer Ivory Joe Hunter to visit racism were made public.[18] According to George Plas-
Graceland and the two spent the day together, singing ketes, several songs by other performers came out after
I Almost Lost My Mind and other songs. Of Presley, the singers death which are a part of a demystication
Hunter commented, He showed me every courtesy, and process as they portray Elvis as a racist.[20] In his book,
I think hes one of the greatest.[10] Colored White: Transcending the Racial Past, David
Roediger considers contemporary wiggers (white kids
Certain elements in American society have dismissed
acting Black) in light of the tensions in racial imperson-
Presley as no more than a racist Southerner who stole
ation embodied by Elvis Presley.[21] Chuck D and others
black music.[11]
have at one point or another publicly condemned Presley
Racists attacked rock and roll because of the mingling of for stealing black music. However, in 2002, Chuck D,
black and white people it implied and achieved, and be- in an interview with the Associated Press in connection
cause of what they saw as black musics power to corrupt with the 25th Anniversary of Presleys death, explained
through vulgar and animalistic rhythms. ... The popular-
3
how his feelings for Elvis legacy were no longer those as early concerts. Scotty Moore recalled: Hed start out,
originally suggested by the lyrics in Fight The Power, a 'You aint nothin but a Hound Dog,' and theyd just go
song which he had written 12 years earlier. When broad- to pieces. Theyd always react the same way. Thered
cast as a part of the NBC-produced documentary Elvis be a riot every time.[28] Bob Neal wrote: It was almost
Lives, Chuck D had the following to say about Presley. frightening, the reaction... from teenage boys. So many
Elvis was a brilliant artist. As a musicologistand I con- of them, through some sort of jealousy, would practi-
sider myself onethere was always a great deal of respect cally hate him. In Lubbock, Texas, a teenage gang re-
for Elvis, especially during his Sun sessions. As a black bombed Presleys car.[29] Some performers became re-
person, we all knew that. (In fact), Eminem is the new sentful (or resigned to the fact) that Presley going on
Elvis because, number one, he had the respect for black stage before them would kill their own act; he thus
music that Elvis had. rose quickly to top billing.[29] At the two concerts he per-
As one writer stated on the controversy, Music is a uni- formed at the 1956 Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy
Show, one hundred National Guardsmen were on hand to
versal language, like mathematics and money. It knows [30]
few borders. Jazz began in the return of black bands prevent crowd trouble.
from graveyard interments in New Orleans. But the bands Presley was considered by some to be a threat to the moral
played white hymns out to the above-ground graves.[22] well-being of young women, because Elvis Presley didnt
just represent a new type of music; he represented sex-
ual liberation.[31] Unlike Bill Haley, who was somewhat
2 Danger to American culture overweight and looked like everyones 'older brother,'"
Presley generated an anti-parent outlook and was the
personication of evil. To many adults, the singer was
Sam Phillips had anticipated problems promoting Pres-
the rst rock symbol of teenage rebellion. ... they did not
leys Sun singles. He recalled;
like him, and condemned him as depraved. Anti-Negro
prejudice doubtless gured in adult antagonism. Regard-
The white disc-jockeys wouldn't touch... less of whether parents were aware of the Negro sex-
Negroes music and the Negro disc-jockeys ual origins of the phrase 'rock 'n' roll', Presley impressed
didn't want anything to do with a record made them as the visual and aural embodiment of sex.[32] In
[23]
by a white man. 1956, a critic for the New York Daily News wrote that
popular music has reached its lowest depths in the 'grunt
Ironically, hillbilly singer Mississippi Slim, one of Pres- and groin' antics of one Elvis Presley and the Jesuits de-
[33]
leys heroes, was one of the singers ercest critics.[24] nounced him in its weekly magazine, America. Time
Phillips felt Dewey Phillipsa white DJ who did play magazine of June 11, 1956, mockingly referred to the
'black' musicwould promote the new material, but singer as dreamboat Groaner Elvis ('Hi luh-huh-huh-
many of the hundreds of listeners who contacted the sta- huv-huv yew-hew') Presley. Even Frank Sinatra opined:
tion when Thats All Right was played were sure Presley His kind of music is deplorable, a rancid smelling aphro-
must be black. The singer was interviewed several times disiac. It fosters almost totally negative and destructive
[34]
on air by the DJ and was pointedly asked which school he reactions in young people.
[25]
had attended, to convince listeners that he was white. Presley was even seen as a denite danger to the security
Regarding Presleys hybrid style of music, others have ob- of the United States. His actions and motions were called
served: a strip-tease with clothes on or sexual self-gratication
on stage. They were compared with "masturbation or
riding a microphone. Some saw the singer as a sexual
Racists attacked rock and roll because of
pervert, and psychologists feared that teenage girls and
the mingling of black and white people it im-
boys could easily be aroused to sexual indulgence and
plied and achieved, and because of what they
perversion by certain types of motions and hysteria,the
saw as black musics power to corrupt through
type that was exhibited at the Presley show.[35] In August
vulgar and animalistic rhythms... The popular-
1956 in Jacksonville, Florida a local Juvenile Court judge
ity of Elvis Presley was similarly founded on
called Presley a "savage" and threatened to arrest him
his transgressive position with respect to racial
if he shook his body while performing at Jacksonvilles
and sexual boundaries... White cover versions
Florida Theatre, justifying the restrictions by saying his
of hits by black musicians ... often outsold
music was undermining the youth of America. Through-
the originals; it seems that many Americans
out the performance, Presley stood still as ordered but
wanted black music without the black people
[26] poked fun at the judge by wiggling a nger. Similar at-
in it.
tempts to stop his sinful gyrations continued for more
than a year and included his often-noted January 6, 1957
By the spring of 1956, Presley was fast becoming a na- appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (during which he
tional phenomenon[27] and teenagers came to his concerts performed the spiritual number Peace in the Valley),
in unprecedented numbers. There were many riots at his
4 2 DANGER TO AMERICAN CULTURE
when he was lmed only from the waist up. ically increased his economic capital, his cultural capital
Presley seemed bemused by all the criticism. On another never expanded enough for him to transcend the stigma
of the many occasions he was challenged to justify the of his background as a truck driver from the rural South...
furor surrounding him, he said: I don't see how they 'No matter how successful Elvis became... he remained
think [my act] can contribute to juvenile delinquency. If fundamentally disreputable in the minds of many Amer-
icans... He was the sharecroppers son in the big house,
theres anything I've tried to do, I've tried to live a straight,
clean life and not set any kind of a bad example. You can- and it always showed.'"[39][40]
not please everyone. In an interview with PBS television, social historian Eric
In 1957, Presley had to defend himself from claims of Lott said, all the citizens councils in the South called
being a racist: he was alleged to have said: The only Elvis 'nigger music' and were terribly afraid that Elvis,
thing Negro people can do for me is to buy my records and white as he was, being ambiguously raced just by be-
shine my shoes. The singer always denied saying, or ever ing working-class, [41]
was going to corrupt the youth of
wanting to say, such a racist remark. Jet magazine, run by America. Robert Kaiser says he was the rst who
and for African-Americans, subsequently investigated the gave the people a music that hit them where they lived,
story and found no basis to the claim. However, the Jet deep in their emotions, yes, even below their belts. Other
journalist did nd plenty of testimony that Presley judged singers had been doing this for generations, but they
[42]
people regardless of race, color or creed. [36] were black. Therefore, his performance style was fre-
quently criticized. Social guardians blasted anyone re-
His parents moved home in Memphis, but the singer lived sponsible for exposing impressionable teenagers to his
there briey. With increased concerns over privacy and gyrating gure and suggestive gestures. The Louisville
security, Graceland was bought in 1957, a mansion with chief of police, for instance, called for a no-wiggle
several acres of land. This was Presleys primary resi- rule, so as to halt any lewd, lascivious contortions that
dence until his death. would excite the crowd.[42] Even Priscilla Presley con-
rms that his performances were labeled obscene. My
mother stated emphatically that he was 'a bad inuence
for teenage girls. He arouses things in them that shouldn't
be aroused.'"[43]
According to rhythm and blues artist Hank Ballard, In
white society, the movement of the butt, the shaking of
the leg, all that was considered obscene. Now heres this
white boy thats grinding and rolling his belly and shak-
ing that notorious leg. I hadn't even seen the black dudes
doing that.[42] Presley complained bitterly in a June 27,
1956, interview about being singled out as obscene.[44]
Because of his controversial style of song and stage per-
formances, municipal politicians began denying permits
for Presley appearances. This caused teens to pile into
cars and travel elsewhere to see him perform. Adult pro-
grammers announced they would not play Presleys mu-
sic on their radio stations due to religious convictions
that his music was devil music and to racist beliefs that
it was nigger music. Many of Presleys records were
condemned as wicked by Pentecostal preachers, warning
congregations to keep heathen rock and roll music out of
their homes and away from their childrens ears (espe-
cially the music of that backslidden Pentecostal pup.)
However, the economic power of Presleys fans became
Presley in a promotional photo for Jailhouse Rock released by evident when they tuned in alternative radio stations play-
MGM on November 8, 1957. ing his records. In an era when radio stations were shifting
to an all-music format, in reaction to competition from
Presleys record sales grew quickly throughout the late television, prot-conscious radio station owners learned
1950s, with hits like "All Shook Up" and "(Let me Be quickly when sponsors bought more advertising time on
Your) Teddy Bear. Jailhouse Rock, Loving You (both new all rock and roll stations, some of which reached
1957) and King Creole (1958) were released and are re- enormous markets at night with clear channel signals from
garded as the best of his early lms.[37] However, critics AM broadcasts.
were not impressedvery few authoritative voices were
complimentary.[38] In response, it has been claimed that
while Elviss success as a singer and movie star dramat-
5
List of best-selling music artists [18] Bertrand, p. 200. The author adds, One journalist wrote
upon the singers death that African Americans refused to
List of songs about or referencing Elvis Presley participate in the numerous eulogies dedicated to him.
24 Hour Church of Elvis [19] Race, Rock, and Elvis. University of Illinois.
Elvis Herselvis [20] George Plasketes (1997) Images of Elvis Presley in Amer-
ican Culture, 19771997: The Mystery Terrain, Haworth
Elvis sightings Press, p. 53, ISBN 1560249102.
[1] "Elvis Presley": a page at pbs.org with a single paragraph, [22] Gary North. No Rhythm, No Blues: Must White Guys
attributed to palmpictures.com. Always Finish Last? lewrockwell.com
[6] Peter Guralnick (2008) Last Train to Memphis: The Rise [29] Carr and Farren, p. 12
of Elvis Presley, Paw Prints, p. 248, ISBN 1439508623. [30] "Elvis Rock 'n' Roll History". showbuzz.CBSnews.com
[7] Christopher John Farley (July 6, 2004). Elvis Rocks. But (August 10, 2007). Retrieved October 14, 2007.
Hes Not the First, TIME, retrieved October 22, 2006 [31] Peter Harry Brown; Pat H. Broeske (1997). Down at the
[8] Jody Cook (2004). Graceland National Historic Land- End of Lonely Street: The Life and Death of Elvis Presley.
mark Nomination, United States Department of the In- Signet. p. 55. ISBN 0-451-19094-7.
terior, p. 35. [32] Billboard writer Arnold Shaw, cited in R. Serge Deniso
(1975). Solid Gold: The Popular Record Industry. Trans-
[9] Oral Histories. PBS television interview.
action Books. p. 22. ISBN 0-87855-586-2.
[10] Peter Guralnick (2008) Last Train to Memphis: The Rise
[33] "Elvis Presley 1956". PBS. Retrieved on October 14,
of Elvis Presley, Paw Prints, p. 426, ISBN 1439508623.
2007.
[11] Bertrand
[34] Simran Khurana. "Quotes About Elvis Presley".
[12] Robert Walser (1998) The rock and roll era, in The about.com. Retrieved on October 14, 2007.
Cambridge History of American Music, Cambridge Uni-
[35] Thomas Fensch (2001). The FBI Files on Elvis Presley.
versity Press, p. 358, ISBN 0521454298.
New Century Books. pp. 1517. ISBN 0-930751-03-5.
[13] Martha Bayles (ed.) (1996) Hole in Our Soul: The Loss of [36] Natalie Davis (August 17, 2003). "The 'King' Has Left
Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music, Univer- the Building". GratefulDread.net. Retrieved on October
sity of Chicago Press, p. 22, ISBN 0226039595. 14, 2007.
[14] (see: Dispelling The Myths An analysis of American [37] "Actor Review: Elvis Presley". movies.toptenreviews.com.
Attitudes and Prejudices, Todd Rheingold, Believe In Retrieved on October 14, 2007.
The Dream Publications, USA, 1992, LOCC:93-090296,
and on Elvis websites and popular music messageboards. [38] Jody Cook (2004). Graceland National Historic Land-
Several arguments are presented on the Elvis Information mark Nomination, United States Department of the In-
Network website in its Spotlight On The King section. terior, p. 24.
6 6 EXTERNAL LINKS
5 Bibliography
Bertrand, M. T. (2009). Race, Rock, and Elvis. Uni-
versity of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252025865.
6 External links
Ocial site (Elvis Presley Enterprises)
Elvis Presley at the Internet Movie Database
7.2 Images
File:Amy_Ray_2.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Amy_Ray_2.JPG License: CC BY-SA 2.0 Con-
tributors: let it ring Original artist: Anna Creech from Ellensburg, WA
File:Elvis_Presley_promoting_Jailhouse_Rock.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Elvis_Presley_
promoting_Jailhouse_Rock.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: The Library of Congress retrieved 3d02067r.jpg from Jailhouse
Rock. Original artist: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.