I know what they meant
But i think music has no colour

It's like saying blacks shouldn't be making hardrock or death metal
or whites shouldn't make hip-hop , funk , reaggae or blues

Bullshit !
[Edited 12/17/04 7:44am]

kisscamille said:[quote]

Dewrede said:

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What would make you say Public Eneymy are fools.(LOL) The best rap group ever with the best lyrics. They were only following up on Elvis racist statements and wholesale rip off of RnB artist. Such as Otis Blackwell the guy who wrote most of Elvis's music. Anyway I don't think P hates Elvis.

mozfonky said:

Actually, the story of Elvis saying this are impossible to confirm or deny, I read in "Last Train to Memphis" that this statement was reputedly overheard by a black bellhop in Boston, forgetting the fact that Elvis never actually went to Boston. I put it in with the urban myth category. Black folks want to think that shit and it has kept the thing alive. Chuck D admitted in his bio that Elvis was one of the greatest entertainers ever and was only taking a shot at the cult of Elvis. Truth is, if you want to dislike Elvis he had plenty of shortcomings as we all do, I doubt racism was one of them. In fact, his achievement was (along with all the early rockers) a forunner of the races coming closer together. Stories abound about him wandering the streats of memphis, playing black clubs and even driving the black girls crazy, they say he had a lot of fun on that side of town. As BB King says, "when they called him the king they didn't make a mistake."[/quote]
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Once again Redd Foxx said that Elvis admitted saying this. Plus Elvis grew up in the south during segregation. I can't believe that he grew up free of prejudice in the south during the Jim Crow era. I think we all need to open up our history books and stop trying to pretend that Black and White always got along in the good old USA.

maybe Prince has a sense of humor and some orgers should too

Peace[/quote]

Once again Redd Foxx said that Elvis admitted saying this. Plus Elvis grew up in the south during segregation. I can't believe that he grew up free of prejudice in the south during the Jim Crow era. I think we all need to open up our history books and stop trying to pretend that Black and White always got along in the good old USA.[/quote]

Where did you read or hear of the redd foxx story? Either way it is likewise impossible to confirm. Elvis sat his black cook,who he truly loved, and explained that he never said such a thing and told her not to worry about it. It was good enough for her. Hey, I'm Indian, and I'm with ya, america is fucked, but by turning elvis into a bigot with these kinds of stories is just stirring the pot. Elvis was singular, epic, a giant, his impact will never be repeated. Like I said, if you want to hate him, there are plenty other reasons. As far as the Elvis myths, I got no use for them. Black folks want to believe he was racist, so that's what they do.

elvis was a great performer and all, but from my research, he only wrote ONE song his whole career. All he ever did was sing other people's songs. I don't hold a lot of respect for that. Whats sadder than that is that most Elvis fans aren't aware of that. They think HE came up with all this wonderful material. If Prince has any lack of respect for Elvis, it's probably for that. But Prince puts a lot into showmanship, and Elvis had A LOT of that, so any respect lost previously is probably regained in this department.

laurarichardson said:

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Once again Redd Foxx said that Elvis admitted saying this. Plus Elvis grew up in the south during segregation. I can't believe that he grew up free of prejudice in the south during the Jim Crow era. I think we all need to open up our history books and stop trying to pretend that Black and White always got along in the good old USA.[/quote]


Well, shit then. If Redd Foxx even confirmed it than that's all we need to know.

jamaulredmond said:

So he objected to using black musicians but ONLY used black female back up singers?
WTF ?

mozfonky said:

Please tell me my eyes are deceiving me, and you did not just pull out that tired racist bullshit about how much somebody "loved" their black servants.

mozfonky said:

Once again Redd Foxx said that Elvis admitted saying this. Plus Elvis grew up in the south during segregation. I can't believe that he grew up free of prejudice in the south during the Jim Crow era. I think we all need to open up our history books and stop trying to pretend that Black and White always got along in the good old USA.[/quote]

Where did you read or hear of the redd foxx story? Either way it is likewise impossible to confirm. Elvis sat his black cook,who he truly loved, and explained that he never said such a thing and told her not to worry about it. It was good enough for her. Hey, I'm Indian, and I'm with ya, america is fucked, but by turning elvis into a bigot with these kinds of stories is just stirring the pot. Elvis was singular, epic, a giant, his impact will never be repeated. Like I said, if you want to hate him, there are plenty other reasons. As far as the Elvis myths, I got no use for them. Black folks want to believe he was racist, so that's what they do.[/quote]
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Well my Indian friend. I read the Reed Foxx story in Ebony in the late 80's. As it turned out Redd and Elvis were really good friends. Elvis gave Redd Foxx a watch that weighted 1lb.

Let's not go into some white guy being in love with his black servent. Slave owners loved their cooks and mamies. They just did not love them enough to free them from slavery.

I see they still are not teching anything about the Jim Crow south in the schools these days.

Black and White people in South of the 1950's simply did not walk hand and hand down the street. You can try and revise history as much as you want to it will not change what happen.

Fleshofmyflesh said:

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Reed Foxx and Elvis were good friends why would he make it up. Stop being a smart ass and try looking this up.

laurarichardson said:

My point exactly.

BobGeorge909 said:

Elvis was from a generation that didn't necessarily write their own material. How many songs did Ella Fitzgerald write? Billie Holiday? Frank Sinatra? Sammy Davis Jr? They all probably wrote a couple of songs (I know Billie did), but they were famous for their performing.

laurarichardson said:

My mother had a "friend" on her job that she would have lunch with everyday that always confused to be a racist and yet loved to talk with my mom. Was that person still a racist, yep....


I don't know why ppl are acting brand new with this Elvis and racism stuff. Both him and John Wayne made some comments against black folks....its not new info.

Rhondab said:

It may not be new info, but I just don't understand it and I've never seen confirmed information about it. I'm not saying it can't be true, I'm just saying from what I've read and heard, I can't definitively say that I believe it. Did Elvis have bigoted notions? I'm sure he did, and there's not a single United States citizen that can say they don't; it's engrained in our society from the time we're born (anyone who's read and fully understands Jane Elliott's work will get this point).

But from what I've heard, Elvis was fully aware that he was performing black American music, and he never tried to hide it. NPR had a whole series of programs in August 2002 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his death. During one of these programs, they played a radio interview where he talked at length about the roots of the music he performed and loved. Not once did he claim that it was his music. He said he performed music that was otherwise lesser known to the general American public, i.e., white folks, and that he was popularizing work that others were already doing.

Also, I'm fully aware that how he talked in public when it came to his music could very likely be quite different than what he talked about in private about his personal feelings. What I'm saying is, things I've heard about those issues are widely conflicting. I hadn't heard the comment he apparently made to Redd Foxx about black folks shining his shoes. But even in that context - if the quote is true - Redd admitted that he changed a lot and that he was very young at the time. You've got to be accountable for the comments you make, but that doesn't mean he didn't change and learn from his mistakes.

FunkMistress said:

How can I be racist, come on now, chill brother. I'm not going to even dignify that. A worker is not a slave, she was bothered by the stories so he talked to her. She was like family, he bought her a house. He was not 'massa presley' as you are trying to get me to come across saying. As much as I sympathize with black folks as an indian, and agree that racism is denied in this country, there are times when black folks just flat out imagine shit. But, I'm sure i've been guilty of it too, racism will make you paranoid. Now, someone stated redd foxx said this, I rebutted by saying another black person said something else, that he was his cook is really incidental. Elvis was a mixed bag of generosity and ego, but he did not say that mess (I don't believe). Go ahead and believe it if you want. I'd love to read the Redd Foxx interview and check it myself. Foxx wasn't perfect himself, he was a former street hustler who I'm sure was not above making up shit. Now, I'll give you a reason to be pissed, Elvis once said onstage that his black singers had breath that smelled like catfish, they walked off on him. That is factual, and it was said in humor. Come on black folks, laugh.

Regardless of how much he acknowledged it, the fact that Elvis took music that black folks had been doing for years for little or no money, put a white face on it and subsequently raked in the millions, is a huge symbol of racism in our society. So Elvis, in a way, personifies a lot of the rampant racism of that era in the United States. I think that's part of where we're coming from when we equate Elvis with racism, apart from any comments he has made.

I know there will be the folks who'll jump to say, all that racism wasn't Elvis's fault, he's not responsible for the system, etc. But like it or not, it's the truth. You take the money and the fame, you've got to own the rest.

So what if he made so called "black music"
What's wrong with that ?!

If you weren't so closed minded you would look at Elvis and see that his style of music was actually a mix of blues,country,pop,tin pan alley. He spanned a greater variety of music than anyone ever. To say he only imitated black folks is untrue, right from the start, he put his own unique signature on everything he did. Like it or not, he was a great artist, who's mark is monumental. If that's not enough for you then too bad.

Dewrede said:

The "Elvis songs" were old Blues songs from black people.

FunkMistress said:

Elvis also took the criticism for being bold enough to do the music right, unlike, say, Pat Boone who bleached the shit out of it. Like Eminem it wasn't immediate praise, money, women & acceptance.

mozfonky said:

I doubt many folks (black or white) would want to take responsibility for his doing karate onstage in a jumpsuit & rhinestone cape.

andyman91 said:

FunkMistress said:

Just the quote "....Elvis took music...." doesn't sound right.
How can you take music ?
I could see you saying this if the 20 year old Elvis was savvy enough to set out to intentionally copy and impersonate music he heard all his life, but that is so far from reality as to be ridiculous. We all know that throughout history, Black people have suffered and often been sold out so that the White man could profit. It began with slavery, and in my opinion, continues today with boxing and entertainment. The difference is in the intent. Was Elvis driven to perform because his intent was to steal something that didn't belong to him so that he could make money? If you know anything about Elvis, you know the answer to this.
Let us not forget the troubled road he paved for himself by refusing to conform to a racist society. He was called nigger lover. He received death threats. People feared him, some hated him. But he refused to go away. Why ? Because he had to be who he was. And who was he ? A poor boy from Mississippi who had music coming out of his pores. If anything, he symbolizes ANTI racism and the struggles so many endured to change people's minds.

Fleshofmyflesh said:

This much is true. And it wasn't just the white folks buying his music. Elvis is one of the biggest hit makers on the R&B chart, raking in 35 hits and six #1's. In fact, he is the only performer to chart #1 on the R&B, pop and country chart with the same song - Don't Be Cruel, Hound Dog and All Shook Up all acheived that status. I ain't sayin' the man's perfect. It sounds like he had plenty of faults, but that he recognized them and presumably changed for the better.

And lest I forget, back to the topic, Prince's Purple Rain and Under the Cherry Moon were very similar to Elvis' early movies. If you watch, you can see scenes lifted out of King Creole and Love Me Tender. The plot of Purple Rain was very similar to King Creole and the death scene in Under the Cherry Moon was as corny as Elvis' in Love Me Tender.

The irony in all of this is that the first people with real "Showmanship" were the black performers in the traveling minstrel shows that predated ALL of these acts. The traveling Minstrel Performers influenced damn near EVERY stage act that followed in all genres of music. I also find it interesting that the legendary European acts that are revered in the States were mainly influenced by the same people Elvis took his cues from. I think Elvis was a great entertainer, but there were numerous people that are always overlooked who taught all of these acts how to be entertainers and to have stage presence. Remember folks EVERYTHING we get in this country has been rewritten, has a lens on it and often omitts the individuals who came up with this stuff. If you do some digging around you may be surprised at who came up with what.
[Edited 12/18/04 10:48am]

DorothyParkerWasCool said:

They performed while on their period?

squirrelgrease said:

Inappropriate and the joke is ingnorant too considering that minstrel and menstrual are spelled differently.
[Edited 12/18/04 14:14pm]

Rhondab said:

All Artists are influenced by other artists. Prince has often been reported as saying that he would sit and listen to music he heard and try to replay it. He may call it "study" but it is also a form of taking from other artists. That is Musicology - the study of musical history. His Musicology video clip shows a young boy playing and replaying a tune until he gets it. Prince is famous for being a great artist but I think it would be very arrogant to say that he has never taken from other Artists.