Was he the King of Rock n Roll? Hell no. But guess what? He never called himself the King, nor did he consider himself superior to his black peers (Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, and the rest) or even to those nameless church singers and blues men he borrowed from so liberally. That "King" title was the handiwork of the Colonel, a true sheister if the music business ever saw one.

As for his theft of black music, there is some validity to that. But again, songs like Hound Dog weren't personally lifted from their original black artists like Big Mama Thornton by Elvis, as some grievous insult or deliberate slap in the face to the black community. Truth be told, most of his "classic" songs, especially in the early period of his career, were chosen for him. With Hound Dog, he had no idea the song had belonged to anyone else before it was given to him until after the fact of it being released as a single.

Was he more succesful than black artists who were just as talented and just as deserving -if not more -of the fame and adulation that he received? Certainly. But was he expected to control the public's reception and acceptance to these musicians and performers? Perhaps the question needs to be pointed away from Elvis, and toward the racist audience that was more willing to accept black music if it came out of a handsome white man.

As for those who hate on him for being racist? There's never been any indication he was so inclined. Even the infamous catfish comment doesn't count. The part of the story missed in re-tellings of the evening that are meant to support the claims of his base racism, is that the whole damn crew including Presley himself had been dining on catfish that evening. Also, that he'd been talking the entire show about everyone's catfish breath. Conveniently, it's also never mentioned that the Sweet Inspirations themselves said their walkout was in reaction to his erratic onstage behaviour, and not to the catfish remark.



Dislike Elvis Presley all you want. It's true that he does bear unrightfully the title of "King". It's true that he was, and still is, more succesful than scads of deserving black artists. But don't blow things out of proportion, or leave out details to support your dislike.

What I can't understand is the hatred...50 years later!!!

Who cares who was the king? The king of pop, the queen and godfather of soul...were/are black? Does everything have to be race related?

PANDURITO said:

it's not a question of superiority, it's a question of being caught up in superiority. ...if that makes sense.

meow85 said:

Wasn't that song written by two white guys anyway?

Arnotts said:

Yep!

I don't give a shit about Elvis. He was a fraud, a phony, and a troubled man with a weakness for underage girls.....

They have built him up to be what he is today, even Priscilla divorced him before he died...

Fuck Elvis.

I never understood the hate for Elvis. Even Little Richard & James Brown vouched for the guy. I'm not sure what better endorsement is needed. He without a doubt was an incredible talent, who above everything was a true performer. Plus his Gospel albums prove his voice was very impressive.

ulp....
your second's up.

sunsetdriver1999 said:

Co-sign. Even Bo Diddley said(on the Stern show) while Elvis was a great entertainer, he didn't really do that much.

Was Elvis a racist? He did grow up in the Jim Crow south, so who knows how he really felt deep down?
[Edited 8/27/08 6:38am]

PANDURITO said:

If people did the right thing, then we wouldn't have these issues, now would we?

meow85 said:

Nice try. I really do appreciate your efforts, but unfortunately there are just too many racist haters around who will always hate Elvis simply because he was white and got opportunites that his peers of colour never got. It's unfortunate that so many people of colour did not get these opportunities, but why hate Elvis because he did. Sign O the Times!!

meow85 said:[quote]Was he the King of Rock n Roll? Hell no. But guess what? He never called himself the King, nor did he consider himself superior to his black peers (Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, and the rest) or even to those nameless church singers and blues men he borrowed from so liberally. That "King" title was the handiwork of the Colonel, a true sheister if the music business ever saw one.

As for his theft of black music, there is some validity to that. But again, songs like Hound Dog weren't personally lifted from their original black artists like Big Mama Thornton by Elvis, as some grievous insult or deliberate slap in the face to the black community. Truth be told, most of his "classic" songs, especially in the early period of his career, were chosen for him. With Hound Dog, he had no idea the song had belonged to anyone else before it was given to him until after the fact of it being released as a single.

Shapeshifter said:[quote]

meow85 said:

LOL, I wonder why now. It's past Elvis' 31st anniversary of his death.

justin is elvis's reincarnate

I like him though it's just casually.

alphastreet said:

NOT!!

Empress said:

what I meant is he does music by blacks and becomes more popular.

Same with Britney, who didn't do the type of music she did when she put out that first album? And SHE got the hype?

Is it possible to hate Elvis just because he sucked?

Stymie said:

Yes, lol.

Timmy84 said:

Thank you.

Stymie said:

There, that's more like it.

uPtoWnNY said:

Hey, that works, too.

PANDURITO said:

in America, unfortunately,

i've noticed you're always bothered by this, but it truly is a cultural thing, you wouldn't (and it seems like you don't) understand.

magnificentsynthesizer said:

God damn, thank you.

Stymie said:

Oh larwd.....

magnificentsynthesizer said:

Yep, some folks here really need to get informed about the sh!t that goes on in the U.S.

uPtoWnNY said:

and y'all in the US really need to be informed about the shit that goes on outside the US.....

abierman said:

Well said! However, I don't see that happening. It seems to me that some Americans believe they are the center of the universe and don't need to understand how the rest of the world works. And, some even thrive on racism regardless of what colour they are.
[Edited 8/27/08 10:10am]

Stymie said:

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