Elvis is Not That Important to Music

Mary Elisabeth Reinagel

Elvis is Not That Important to Music

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”.

Who is Elvis Presley?

Rock N' Roll

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.

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).

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).

Some May Not Agree

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.

Less Artist More 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).