thanks for the folks who adding some points - the finished article is much longer and detailed than the partial concept that I had posted before:

an article by me

Elvis’ impact was far greater than merely music. I’d go so far to say that it was his third or fourth most important impact.


1. Racial barriers

Elvis broke racial barriers by merging the rigidly defined musical genres of the time – his Sun records were r&b songs recorded as country and country songs recorded as r&b. The first “title” he was given was Hillbilly Cat and King of Western Bop.

Interestingly, when Elvis was first touring in 1954 and 55 – before the Colonel came along – Elvis played the country music circuit on the showbill with country performers. There wasn’t controversy about his wild act or different music – so funnily enough, it wasn’t Southern prejudice against sexuality and R&B music that became the problem – it was Northern prejudice against not only open sexuality, R&B music but also Southerners.

Elvis came from a social class that didn’t make seeing skin colour as anything significant. After all, you can’t really look down on people when you’re at the same level both looking up and there isn’t anyone below either of you.

There’s so many tales of pre-fame Elvis being at black churches, hanging out around BB King in his pre-fame DJ days, and black clubs, listening to R&B records that his school friends didn’t.

Elvis was painfully aware of his poor Southern social class and he most likely felt closer socially with black people around him – than middle class Southerners and Northerners of any level. Even after he was famous, perhaps especially after. It’s not that hard to realize that these same “upper class” and Northerners were the same ones looking down on you before fame and as you attained it. Elvis the Pelvis indeed.

You only have to watch the Elvis appearance on the Steve Allen show – the discomfort at being put in a tuxedo, singing to a dog, not allowed to move – although that made the performance almost sexier – and the terrible hillbilly skit. It wasn’t that Elvis was a bad actor there, it was that he was so humiliated that he could barely say the lines.

read the full article:
http://wp.me/pCMkk-ef