Vendetta1 said:

It's bull. If Elvis went on a TV show and made racist remarks, it would be part of his history. And it would be well documented. Maybe the world slept through it and a three year old picked it up, but how likely is that.

MrSoulpower said:

But you wrote he died in 75-facts huh

nurseV said:

So you watched it after Elvis had died? It must have been a re-run then. I'm sure you'll be able to find it on YouTube.

And yeah, the memories of a five-year-old are always accurate. Especially 36 years later.

Fuck that slob! All he did was take black music and black dancing!

nurseV said:

Golly, it was a mistake and I duly noted it.
I can admit when I make mistakes.
Can you?
Still waiting for some facts and proof that Elvis was racist. The memory of a five-year old about some TV show is not enough, especially when no one else in the world remembers that TV show.

midiscover said:

So because he was white, he should not have performed the music that he loved, just because it was black music?

But that's not even the topic of this thread.

MrSoulpower said:

Actually in 77 I watched the coverage of his death and children can remember things even up to very early ages. My earliest memory is from when I was 3. And yes I was 5 when Elvis died. Why is it that my statement of Elvis being racist is not the only one on this thread?

MrSoulpower said:

How do you know? Did you take a poll?

MrSoulpower said:

Um that's not what I'm saying
All he did was take music that was sung and dances that were being done in black clubs and popularized it and yet he's dubbed the King of Rock n' Roll? Yea, whatever... His singing was nothing extraordinary (Jackie Wilson and Roy Hamilton were already doing it) the dancing nothing special black folks were doing them in clubs and etc. So really he's nothing special just a fat bigot

nurseV said:

Once again ... there is no footage of Elvis making racist statements. If there was, it would still exist. It would have been analyzed, and it would be presented every time this discussion arises. But it doesn't, because it doesn't exist.

Why did other people on this thread make the same claim as you?
Because more than one people can be wrong. Did you see how quickly those few people exicted the debate once they were asked to present some proof for their facts?

A congressman from NY just publicly said that Michael Jackson molested children. And Jonathan Chandler said that Jackson molested him. By your logic, that must be enough proof for a guilty verdict. Right?

midiscover said:

nurseV said:

Because there are no records of it.
No footage, no news coverage, nothing.

MrSoulpower said:

Have you seen every Elvis footage? You are the only one talking about MJ-I thought we were discussing Elvis

midiscover said:

That's a whole different discussion. And for the most part, I'd agree. But you are missing one very important point: Elvis was white, and he made black music in the midst of Jim Crow. From today's perespective, that may not be a big deal. But in the 1950s it was. And because he did it, he opened doors for black musicians to the white mainstream that he been shut until that point. He made black music acceptable in white America.

And why is he a bigot? Because he performed the music that he loved?

Timmy84 said:

Do you like big women, Timmy?

nurseV said:

I think you're not getting it. Of course I haven't seen all Elvis footage. But I don't have to. The "Elvis-was-racist" discussion isn't new. People have been trying to put that label on him since the early 1960s. Don't you think they would have jumped on it if he had went out on TV and made racist remarks?

I don't have anything to prove here. You do. You made the claim that Elvis was racist, and I asked you for proof. You didn't deliver, therefore it's nothing but hot air. Just like the congressman from NY, who publicly gave MJ a guilty verdict without having proof. That's why I bring up MJ - to show you how ridiculous and hypocritical your accusations are.

Truthfully growing up in the 70's, i heard rumors from my peers
that he was racist. I was 10 when he died. After reading a jet
magazine article with Cissy Houston who sang background vocals for
him,she stated he wasn't racist. And he once told her you know they
put the wrong report out on me. I would think Cissy Houston is creditible
in her accounts. Had she been on crack like her daughter, i would
question her credibility.

"Racist" is one helluva tag to place on someone without proof.

I don't think he was racist at all. He loved black music too much to be racist. This is the reason I don't like Elvis. He rode the backs of black people to fame, having never even written a song himself.

phunkdaddy said:

There were rumors that Prince had a hip removed to he could suck his own dick.
Rumors don't mean anything if there isn't some proof to validate them.
And that's the whole point - TheAudience and Ripher2shreds posted well researched information showing that Elvis wasn't racist. After reading the story in Jet Magazine, who would still have doubts?
Thos who claim that he was racist, better come up with some proof or just quit it. I have an open mind, and if someone presented some proof, then fine.

missfee said:

I agree with you that whether or not Elvis is a racist has come through this board a little too often, but I think the original poster really wanted a response to their question, and people sought to answer the question.

As far as your post being random, you added nothing to the conversation and connected to an entirely different conversation. Seems random to me...

Peace
[Edited 7/8/09 20:38pm]

MrSoulpower said:

Apparently, you can't prove that my statements are wrong? Were you there? Just because you didn't see it, believe it doesn't mean it didn't happen. As the other poster said he got famous off of doing things that black artists had long been doing

midiscover said:

That is so ignorant and offensive. Probably no one bothered to read the article I posted on the first page but it addresses all of this. What's most interesting is Chuck D's 360 on the Elvis is racist thing: from the lyrics to eventually going out to memphis and discovering for himself that Elvis was the real deal.

Jackie Wilson, himself said, that black entertainers imitated Elvis' stage mannerisms and not so much the other way around.Another interesting piece of trivia is that when Jackie was hospitalised in the 70s, Elvis paid for all his medical expenses until he died.

Also if we're talking about strictly MUSIC, Elvis was also very original. His first album is considered by most as the first rockabilliy record. Elvis was the great intergrator - he borrowed from country music etc, as much he borrowd from r&b etc.He took music places he had not been before.

nurseV said:

It doesn't matter what Elvis became famous for. That's not the topic of this thread!! Don't try to distract from the discussion. Or do you think that a white man singing black music makes him racist?

Look, I don't need to prove that your statements were wrong. It's up to you to prove that they are right. You made a very strong claim - that Elvis was racist. You can't deny that this is pretty heavy. When someone makes such claim about anybody, he/she should have some proof to back it up. You don't. Now the fact that Elvis was at the time the most famous singer in the world would make it easy to proof your claim - if it was true - because everything is documented. And since we've already established that you watched a re-run, the footage must still exist!!
Where is it?
Why has no one ever talked about it?
Since Elvis has been accused of racism since he became famous, why did nobody pick this up as proof?
We are we still even arguing about this when there's footage to proof that Elvis is racist?
Why did even Jet Magazine, one of the two major black publications in the country, did debunk the "Elvis was racist" myth? Do you think they would have done that if he went on TV and had made racist remarks?
There are so many questions, and you have not answered a single one of them. Why? Because you can't. You have no proof for you claim. And calling someone a racist - especially someone who is dead - without zero proof, that's pretty shameful.

Check this out and learn. Maybe this will help you understand why you for some reason believe that Elvis was racist:

Funkmeimfamous said:

It's hopeless. Some people just want to believe that Elvis was racist and a rip-off. They use him as a scapegoat for everything bad that happened to black musicians.

Yet at the same time these people cry about the unfair treatment of Michael Jackson.

MrSoulpower said:

WTF! Just the title alone makes me not want to read it/view it
[Edited 7/8/09 20:12pm]

nurseV said:

Translation: I don't want to hear about anything that contradicts my belief.

MrSoulpower said:

MrSoulpower said:

Oh Gawd-you are a real work of art He was racist-he utilized the work of black artist and became famous doing it-that's my stance.

PvMarchingStorm05 said:

No he can't. Not as a blues song anyway. Since the song was written by two white boys, does it make Big Mama a Thief? JK

But Elvis' version isn't a blues song, it is something else. And not only was it a number one song, it was a number one song on the R & B chart as well...