f**k Elvis

[SouthernIslander]

There. I made the statement a little less racist for ya.

He also stole music from black musicians and passed it as his own.

It’s well known that Elvis was inspired by Black blues artists.

[Frau Holle]

A lot of things used to be ok that aren’t ok now because of how society has changed.

It was never ok to sleep around with younger teenagers. But it was ok to marry one.

It’s the way that life was thought of that makes the difference. No one was ever ok with young girls being used, but if they were going to get married, start their lives and settle down that was accepted.

Today we might think that is insane and that a 15 year old girl’s life is just starting, that she’ll have so many opportunities she would be giving up to do that and it would be true.

But back then, there were no opportunities to be missed. A good husband with a good financial backing was the ultimate opportunity.

[SouthernIslander]

There. I made the statement a little less racist for ya.

He also stole music from black musicians and passed it as his own.

I'm not sure if it's racist. Some say Elvis stole music and others say by playing African American music he gave them an audience and showed it was worth something. He was also humbled saying he couldn't sing like Fats Domino. For the time he was probably open to all kinds of music. https://www.newsweek.com/elvis-presley- ... 1911?amp=1.

From what I know, Elvis paid homage to the Black artists that inspired him and was respected by some pretty iconic Blues singers like BB King and Bobby Blue Bland.

If that was the case, I think inspired may have been a better word than stolen.

[Quorra2.0]

There. I made the statement a little less racist for ya.

I'm not sure if it's racist. Some say Elvis stole music and others say by playing African American music he gave them an audience and showed it was worth something. He was also humbled saying he couldn't sing like Fats Domino. For the time he was probably open to all kinds of music. https://www.newsweek.com/elvis-presley- ... 1911?amp=1.

From what I know, Elvis paid homage to the Black artists that inspired him and was respected by some pretty iconic Blues singers like BB King and Bobby Blue Bland.

If that was the case, I think inspired may have been a better word than stolen.

I agree. I’m not an Elvis fan, but my mom was and i do have OCD so when I had read Priscilla’s book I did a lot of reading beyond just that book. In his first interview he had stated that he was heavily influenced by the Blues, Jazz, and gospel of the south, in addition to naming specific artists that he admired. He even once, paraphrasing of course, had said he aspired to play as well as Arthur Crudup. And that as a kid he’d attended Rev Brewster’s church regularly. He promoted and spoke highly of many black artists of his time.

Before Presley, the music industry was heavily segregated. Black artists had lower sales, lower exposure, but that first interview Presley did inspired changes that were positive for black musicians. Unfortunately and sadly, in those times doors wouldn’t have been open to many black musicians that were open because of Presley. Rock and Roll wasn’t easily accepted because some did see it as a form of desegregation and that is because of Presley.

[Anonymous 5]

Please provide the source that states that Elvis Presley stole music from black musicians. And the color of skin was irrelevant information. If another member had made a similar statement, she would have been the first to say, "What does the color of his skin have to do with it?"

There. I made the statement a little less racist for ya.

He also stole music from black musicians and passed it as his own.

Stating a truth is not racist. Music being stolen from white musicians back then was not as common as stealing it from black artists.

[Anonymous 9]

My grandmother married my grandfather when she was 16. My grandfather was 24. Back then I think that was just how life was. People got married young, and nobody batted an eye.

There is a huge difference between dating, and raping. R.Kelly is disgusting.

Exactly this.

My grandmother met my grandfather when she was 14 and he was 21. They went on chaperoned dates with her 4 brothers until she was 17. They got married when she was 18 and did not have S*x until they were married.
Back then, people got married very young. Teenagers were seen more like mini adults: they often didn’t complete school and jumped straight into the workforce as teens.
In today’s time we see that as completely crazy. It was different back then. Was it right? No. But it was common.

I don’t think I would compare that with what the scum R. Kelly has done.

[Anonymous 5]

I agree. And I believe he truly was very inspired by them.

There. I made the statement a little less racist for ya.

He also stole music from black musicians and passed it as his own.

It’s well known that Elvis was inspired by Black blues artists.

[Pjmm]

A lot of things used to be ok that aren’t ok now because of how society has changed.

It was never ok to sleep around with younger teenagers. But it was ok to marry one.

It’s the way that life was thought of that makes the difference. No one was ever ok with young girls being used, but if they were going to get married, start their lives and settle down that was accepted.

Today we might think that is insane and that a 15 year old girl’s life is just starting, that she’ll have so many opportunities she would be giving up to do that and it would be true.

But back then, there were no opportunities to be missed. A good husband with a good financial backing was the ultimate opportunity.

Plus when your average life span like in Poe's time is forty years or less you tend to marry young. Only now when we're living to the age of seventy or eighty can we entertain the idea of adolescence, waiting for maturity, and marrying later in life.

[Anonymous 10]

He also stole music from black musicians and passed it as his own.

Care to cite a source on that? He admitted to being inspired by black musicians and said he could never sing as well as some of them. That aside, this allegation is not even on the same level as what R. Kelly was allowed to get away with for decades, drugging and raping minors and having child pornography. He is a waste of a human life, like all S*x offenders but let's concentrate on whether or not Elvis passed off other's music as his own. That's the important thing here, more racial division and constantly playing the victim. So dignified.

[SallyMae]

Elvis was not responsible for his own music. He was the tool of record company executive Sam Phillips, who chose what he would cover. Phillips was explicitly looking for a white man who could sing with the soul of black musicians, to cross the sound of rockabilly blues over to white audiences.

"I always said," Phillips told everybody, "that if I could find a white boy who could sing like a black man I'd make a million dollars." He did.