By Husam Dughman
The recent release of the movie Elvis has generated yet again numerous discussions about that singer, his songs, and the contributions he made to the world of popular music. Given that the film focuses not only on Elvis’s career but also on his interaction with black Americans and their music, people seem once again to split up into two broad groups, with diametrically opposite views: The first consists of people who praise Elvis and acknowledge his contribution to helping black music and, by extension, black people become gradually accepted by members of a white society that up until that point had been hostile to- or at best uninterested in- their black fellow Americans. The other group is made up of people who criticize Elvis for “stealing” black music and presenting it as his own. Those critics claim that due to racism and the resulting state of segregation and oppression imposed on black Americans by white Americans at that time, black singers were not given the chance to succeed, and that- so the argument goes- provided a great opportunity for Elvis to “appropriate” black music. Some of those have gone so far as to accuse Elvis of racism. More recently, in the song Fight The Power, Public Enemy says of Elvis, “Straight up racist that sucker was, simple and plain”. So, was Elvis really a racist? And did he steal black music?
- Husam Dughman
- Viewpoints
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