Elvis Presley And Cultural Appropriation Of African-American Culture

The topic I chose to research is about the worldwide famous Rock and Roll star, Elvis Presley and cultural appropriation. During the 1950s, the racially segregated, American South b experienced a cultural transformation by white people beginning to embrace African-American music and African-American people. Elvis Presley pioneered this cultural immersion by producing music that resembled the styles of African-American musicians. However, there are some people who believe Elvis appropriated music from African-American artists for his own profit and that he was a racist. This paper’s ultimate goal is to discover if Elvis appropriated music from the African-American community, or if he was merely inspired by African-American artists. What

White people are known for Country music and African-Americans are known for Gospel, Blues, and Rhythm and Blues music (Ford 456-547). Was the rise in popularity of Rock and Roll music that was spearheaded by Elvis Presley, an example of cultural appropriation? “In Memphis, Sun Records attracted people like Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley and had them listen to Rhythm and Blues and Blues in order to combine those sounds with their own White Country backgrounds… and because Elvis was White, many doors were open to him in television and magazine coverage that were locked for Black performers” (Ford 459). To answer the question, I do not think the fact that Elvis popularized Rock and Roll is an example of cultural appropriation because Rock and Roll was a fusion of genres created by whites and African-Americans. In addition, Elvis was able to make more of a profitable impact in Rock and Roll rather than African-American artists because he was white. In fact, before Sam Phillips ever signed Elvis at Sun Studios, he famously stated that “If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars” (Farley par.

See straight up racist that sucker was, simple and plain…” This line was rapped by Chuck D of Public Enemy with the intent to dismantle Elvis as an American icon (Williams par. 2). To some, Elvis’s racism has been a part of his character and reputation for a long time. What strengthened the dislike of him amongst the African-American community was this quote: “The only thing Negroes can do for me is buy my records and shine my shoes.” They believe that Elvis carries a “legacy of cultural appropriation and white privilege – made doubly offensive by the fact that he was so dismissive and contemptuous of the black people from he’d stolen rock ‘n’ roll” (Williams par.