Elvis is Not That Important to Music
Mary Elisabeth Reinagel
Who is Elvis Presley?
Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi (Journal 1). He is known as an American singer from Memphis, Tennessee. He is also widely known as “The King of Rock and Roll”.
Rock N' Roll
The genre of his music was Rock n’ Roll. It was known to be music with African-American roots (1). It was considered to be him appropriating African-American music. He was seen to be taking from them and using it for his own ends, like money or fame (2).
People thought that this diminished his status in the music industry (Wolfson 7). This was not just a problem with just Elvis; there were many issues of race, representation, and power dynamics within the music industry.
Some May Not Agree
While it is true that Rock n’ Roll originated from African-American sounds, it is said that Elvis respected the roots of his own music. He has stated his appreciation and respect for the artist whose culture was the music genre's origin (Wolfson 9). A big reason many defend Elvis is because he brought a genre many white people did not listen to to a wider audience (2).
Less Artist More Performer
Elvis was not a songwriter. He co wrote some songs but very few. Most of his songs were covers or bought from other writers. While this is in no way strage for an artist to do, (1) it does diminish the impact of that musician. He contributed almost nothing in the form of music to the genre of Rock n' Roll. He was just a performer.
THANK YOU!
Work Cited
Bertrand, Michael T., and Randall J. Stephens. "Elvis Presley and the Politics of Popular Memory." Southern Cultures, vol. 13, no. 3, 2007, pp. 62-86, https://doi.org/26391065. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024. Bryant, Boudleaux, and Felice Bryant. “Pop/Rock/Country Composer.” Music Educators Journal, vol. 63, no. 7, 1977, pp. 95–105. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3395224. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024. “Elvis Presley (1935-1977).” Music Educators Journal, vol. 64, no. 7, 1978, pp. 60–61. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3395450. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024. Hartman, Kayla, et al. The Power of Presley: Deconstructing the Image of The King [CUE]. Muhlenberg College, 2024. Muhlenberg College Digital Repository. Muhlenberg College Special Collections & Archives, JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/community.37964580. Accessed 28 Oct. 2024. Martinez, Theresa A. "Rock and Roll, CRT, and America in the 1950s Musical Counternarratives in the Jim Crow South." Race, Gender & Class, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 195-215, https://doi.org/26505356. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024. Wolfson, Eric. Elvis Presley’s from Elvis in Memphis. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021.
“Rock and roll in general, is rooted in blues, gospel, country, and especially rhythm and blues (R&B) music out of the 1940s era. In the dominant narrative of that time, black music was called “race music” and when early rockers like Chuck Berry and Little Richard were coming up in the 1950s, this was still the going term” (Martinez 6).
“For many African Americans, however, Elvis was less about innovation and more about continuation, namely the perpetual exploitation and misappropriation of black labor and artistry” (Bertrand 2).
“Although singers such as Frankie Laine and Johnny Ray had enjoyed popularity by bringing black vocal stylings to the white public, Presley took the earthy medium of rhythm and blues and presented it in a manner much closer to the original concept than had his white predecessors” (Journal 1).
“All that began to change in the early 1950s when young whites began to buy “race music”, a trend that may have started with Southern white teens but would eventually be the tide across the country among white teenagers” (Martinez 6).
"The authors are songwriters. Among their songs are "Bye,
Bye, Love," "Come Live With Me," and "Wake Up, Little
Susie." Their songs have been recorded by the Everly
Brothers, EddyArnold, Elvis Presley..." (Bryant, Boudleaux, et. all 1).
Elvis is Not That Important to Music
Mayo (Mayo)
Created on November 18, 2024
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Snow Presentation
View
Corporate Christmas Presentation
View
Historical Presentation
View
Scary Eighties Presentation
View
Memories Presentation
View
Winter Presentation
View
Hanukkah Presentation
Explore all templates
Transcript
Elvis is Not That Important to Music
Mary Elisabeth Reinagel
Who is Elvis Presley?
Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi (Journal 1). He is known as an American singer from Memphis, Tennessee. He is also widely known as “The King of Rock and Roll”.
Rock N' Roll
The genre of his music was Rock n’ Roll. It was known to be music with African-American roots (1). It was considered to be him appropriating African-American music. He was seen to be taking from them and using it for his own ends, like money or fame (2).
People thought that this diminished his status in the music industry (Wolfson 7). This was not just a problem with just Elvis; there were many issues of race, representation, and power dynamics within the music industry.
Some May Not Agree
While it is true that Rock n’ Roll originated from African-American sounds, it is said that Elvis respected the roots of his own music. He has stated his appreciation and respect for the artist whose culture was the music genre's origin (Wolfson 9). A big reason many defend Elvis is because he brought a genre many white people did not listen to to a wider audience (2).
Less Artist More Performer
Elvis was not a songwriter. He co wrote some songs but very few. Most of his songs were covers or bought from other writers. While this is in no way strage for an artist to do, (1) it does diminish the impact of that musician. He contributed almost nothing in the form of music to the genre of Rock n' Roll. He was just a performer.
THANK YOU!
Work Cited
Bertrand, Michael T., and Randall J. Stephens. "Elvis Presley and the Politics of Popular Memory." Southern Cultures, vol. 13, no. 3, 2007, pp. 62-86, https://doi.org/26391065. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024. Bryant, Boudleaux, and Felice Bryant. “Pop/Rock/Country Composer.” Music Educators Journal, vol. 63, no. 7, 1977, pp. 95–105. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3395224. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024. “Elvis Presley (1935-1977).” Music Educators Journal, vol. 64, no. 7, 1978, pp. 60–61. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3395450. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024. Hartman, Kayla, et al. The Power of Presley: Deconstructing the Image of The King [CUE]. Muhlenberg College, 2024. Muhlenberg College Digital Repository. Muhlenberg College Special Collections & Archives, JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/community.37964580. Accessed 28 Oct. 2024. Martinez, Theresa A. "Rock and Roll, CRT, and America in the 1950s Musical Counternarratives in the Jim Crow South." Race, Gender & Class, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 195-215, https://doi.org/26505356. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024. Wolfson, Eric. Elvis Presley’s from Elvis in Memphis. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021.
“Rock and roll in general, is rooted in blues, gospel, country, and especially rhythm and blues (R&B) music out of the 1940s era. In the dominant narrative of that time, black music was called “race music” and when early rockers like Chuck Berry and Little Richard were coming up in the 1950s, this was still the going term” (Martinez 6).
“For many African Americans, however, Elvis was less about innovation and more about continuation, namely the perpetual exploitation and misappropriation of black labor and artistry” (Bertrand 2).
“Although singers such as Frankie Laine and Johnny Ray had enjoyed popularity by bringing black vocal stylings to the white public, Presley took the earthy medium of rhythm and blues and presented it in a manner much closer to the original concept than had his white predecessors” (Journal 1).
“All that began to change in the early 1950s when young whites began to buy “race music”, a trend that may have started with Southern white teens but would eventually be the tide across the country among white teenagers” (Martinez 6).
"The authors are songwriters. Among their songs are "Bye, Bye, Love," "Come Live With Me," and "Wake Up, Little Susie." Their songs have been recorded by the Everly Brothers, EddyArnold, Elvis Presley..." (Bryant, Boudleaux, et. all 1).