Nice article on The Sweet Inspirations

[vivaelvis]

Here's something you don't see every day. A promo for The Sweet Inspirations. Calling them one of the most underrated female groups of the 20th century. Also has some nice photos of them and a few with Elvis. Speaking of The Sweet Inspirations, Myrna Smith admitted in her last recorded interview that Elvis wanted to have a relationship with her but she told him no because she knew he couldn't be with just her, but that they were close. So I guess that puts the rumor to sleep that he wasn't attracted to other races. Darlene Love has also said that Elvis approached her about wanting to be with her. Anyway, here's the article about The Sweet Inspirations including a video clip of Myrna talking about Elvis and the race issue. http://www.examiner.com/article/este...tions-playlist

By the way, if you like soul music, you will love these ladies. They were very talented and set the stage for some of the female groups to follow, including first female rappers Salt N' Pepa who sampled their song I'm Blue.

[KPM]

I am not sure why his being attracted to females of other races is truely relevant to Elvis the man.
Just because someone does not find certain woman or men appealing does not have a deeper meaning necessarily.
Many men hate brunettes, but love blonds, or love full figured women but are not drawn to skinny women.....same with all other types of men or women including color, nationality, religion, etc.....people have likes and dislikes that does not make them racist or anti semetic.... to put it in simple terms..............its what floats your individual boat.....so its a little unfair to draw a conclusion one way or another from someones preferences in the opposite sex.

[Brian]

I've never heard that from Myrna Smith.

I guess because i'm still waiting for the 24/7 Elvis cable network and Jack Soden to resign.

[vivaelvis]

I've never heard that from Myrna Smith.

I guess because i'm still waiting for the 24/7 Elvis cable network and Jack Soden to resign.

Don't be such a smart as$. Even though you can't seem to help it. But here you go.

[Brian]

Do i have to listen to the full 29 minutes.

Just tell me at what minute mark does Myrna say that.

[Brian]

You can actually be a racist and have a relationship with someone of a different race.

Some slay owners would have relations with their women slaves back during slavery.

Strom Thurmond is also another example.

In Elvis' case not dating women that were black doesn't mean he was or he wasn't attracted to them.

You didn't see white men and black women openly date during most of Elvis' lifetime.

[vivaelvis]

Do i have to listen to the full 29 minutes.

Just tell me at what minute mark does Myrna say that.

She talks about it throughout the interview. It's a really nice chat with Myrna. She was very loyal to him to her death. But I guess it's of no interest since she's not one of the "good ole boys" that love to force their story down the fans throats.

[vivaelvis]

You can actually be a racist and have a relationship with someone of a different race.

Some slay owners would have relations with their women slaves back during slavery.

Strom Thurmond is also another example.

In Elvis' case not dating women that were black doesn't mean he was or he wasn't attracted to them.

You didn't see white men and black women openly date during most of Elvis' lifetime.

That's the most close minded comment I think I've ever seen on here. So are you implying that Elvis was racist? And I got news for you. It's been documented on several different occasions where he DID date a woman of color. Once even when he was a teenager. Another time was when he went to the WDIA fundraiser in Memphis in 1957. Darlene Love has written and talked about how he seduced her. One of his cooks wrote a book and in it admitted that he dated a young black girl who worked at Graceland. So Elvis was obviously attracted to the black females as well as the white, Asians, Hispanics among other ethnic backgrounds of females.

Basically what you compared Elvis to was as him wanting a black mistress or side piece (as that's what those slave owners did back then) and not a woman for love and a relationship. Myrna didn't see it that way.

[Brian]

That's the most close minded comment I think I've ever seen on here. So are you implying that Elvis was racist? And I got news for you. It's been documented on several different occasions where he DID date a woman of color. Once even when he was a teenager. Another time was when he went to the WDIA fundraiser in Memphis in 1957. Darlene Love has written and talked about how he seduced her. One of his cooks wrote a book and in it admitted that he dated a young black girl who worked at Graceland. So Elvis was obviously attracted to the black females as well as the white, Asians, Hispanics among other ethnic backgrounds of females.

Basically what you compared Elvis to was as him wanting a black mistress or side piece (as that's what those slave owners did back then) and not a woman for love and a relationship. Myrna didn't see it that way.

No.

I didn't say or imply or mean that.

That's not what i meant or said.

If i wanted to say Elvis wanted black mistresses on the side i would have said it.

If i wanted to say Elvis was racist or if i thought he was racist i would have said that.

Darlene Love to my knowledge has just said that Elvis showed interest in her but she turned him down.

Do you have to bring up these controversial topics and then put words in my mouth.

[Snake Eyes]

I am not sure why his being attracted to females of other races is truely relevant to Elvis the man.
Just because someone does not find certain woman or men appealing does not have a deeper meaning necessarily.
Many men hate brunettes, but love blonds, or love full figured women but are not drawn to skinny women.....same with all other types of men or women including color, nationality, religion, etc.....people have likes and dislikes that does not make them racist or anti semetic.... to put it in simple terms..............its what floats your individual boat.....so its a little unfair to draw a conclusion one way or another from someones preferences in the opposite sex.

Great post Ken, except the brunette part .

[Diane]

Great post Ken, except the brunette part .

Yeah..........................................

[KPM]

That's the most close minded comment I think I've ever seen on here. So are you implying that Elvis was racist? And I got news for you. It's been documented on several different occasions where he DID date a woman of color. Once even when he was a teenager. Another time was when he went to the WDIA fundraiser in Memphis in 1957. Darlene Love has written and talked about how he seduced her. One of his cooks wrote a book and in it admitted that he dated a young black girl who worked at Graceland. So Elvis was obviously attracted to the black females as well as the white, Asians, Hispanics among other ethnic backgrounds of females.

Basically what you compared Elvis to was as him wanting a black mistress or side piece (as that's what those slave owners did back then) and not a woman for love and a relationship. Myrna didn't see it that way.

Actually this is all news to me-
Several documented occasions where he dated woman of color?
I recall one of mexican heritage that is documented....June Juanico
dated a black woman in high school?
He seduced Darlene Love? I do recall she mentions he showed interest in her-but SEDUCED I do not recall.

But my point has nothing to do with racism-it has to do with what attracts people to others in a physical, mental way. To try and judge someones racial attitudes by who they dated or did not date as the only barometer is just off the mark. Elvis could have openly dated 100s of woman of color-and for those who want to believe he was a racist it would not mean a thing-they would still believe he was racist.

[Brian]

Elvis could have openly dated 100s of woman of color-and for those who want to believe he was a racist it would not mean a thing-they would still believe he was racist.

Now that was point.

To the people that continue to say Elvis was a racist they would just go on saying it.

If he had dated a black woman they would say Elvis was like Strom Thurmond.

I use to think that dating a black woman in the 1970s would help to squash those racist rumors for Elvis but now i don't think it would have helped at all.

[rocknroll]

Myrna pretty much confirms they never had a relationship, which is an agenda that has been pushed hard over the years by many.....including Jaykeisha.

The Darlene Love story from Darlene herself is more implied that he wanted to be with her. To call it seducing is beyond ridiculous.

[vivaelvis]

Actually this is all news to me-
Several documented occasions where he dated woman of color?
I recall one of mexican heritage that is documented....June Juanico
dated a black woman in high school?
He seduced Darlene Love? I do recall she mentions he showed interest in her-but SEDUCED I do not recall.

But my point has nothing to do with racism-it has to do with what attracts people to others in a physical, mental way. To try and judge someones racial attitudes by who they dated or did not date as the only barometer is just off the mark. Elvis could have openly dated 100s of woman of color-and for those who want to believe he was a racist it would not mean a thing-they would still believe he was racist.

Come on Ken. You are the one who claims to have read everything ever written on Elvis. So you of all should know. But for starters, there's the story of Elvis and Gene Smith going on a double date with a couple of black girls from their neighborhood to a gospel jubilee in Memphis in the early 50's. So this was when he was still in school. And dating interracially of any kind at that time, especially in the south was a no-no and deadly if caught by the wrong ones. It's in Gene's autobiography. George Klein once reiterated the story on his radio show on WHBQ. There's also the story of him taking a black female as a date to the WDIA Fundraiser in 1957 where he was photographed with a bunch of black girls dressed in Indian outfits backstage. There's also the young jazz singer he met while in Paris while on leave form the Army in 1959.

Darlene Love has written and publicly commented on what happened. He had just finished a scene of Change Of Habit and took Darlene to his on site trailer to have some private time. He was kissing her and while holding or rubbing her hand he told her "my granddaddy would turn over in his grave if he knew what I was thinking, but I don't care". He then told her he had never been with a black woman before but wanted to be with her". She got scared and told him she couldn't do that. Elvis was married and to her that would be wrong and she came up from a strict family values and didn't want to be seen as a home wrecker. She's also has said that "they didn't want him with a black girl". I don't know who "they" are. But assume she meant the Memphis Mafia or his family. Or, maybe the non-black female fans.

For those who didn't care to hear the full interview with Myrna Smith, she states that Elvis wanted her to be in a relationship with him, that he had plans for them to be together, but that she wasn't having it. She said she was definitely attracted to him but she knew that Elvis wasn't a one-woman man and she was a one-man woman. She goes on to talk about them messing around, but then catches herself to say "but innocently". She says that Elvis didn't want Jerry dating her because he was courting her. But later on accepted it and started to back off of trying to be with her. She added that Elvis gave her many, many gifts, from jewelry to a car to even letting her live at his California home. She point blank says "I lived with him".

She also said that Cissy left the Sweet Inspirations following the 1969 gig because they ( The Sweet Inspirations) fired their manager John Houston, Cissy's husband. Now we know why she left so early. She spoke so proudly of Elvis and the love she had for him. Obviously they had something special beyond just attraction.

Anyhow, since this has turned into a interracial mixing debate, I just want to remind people that Memphis was a largely black populated town when Elvis lived there as it is today. Not to mention that he grew up near Shake Rag, a rough all-black community in Tupelo and spent a lot of time in as a child. So a young Elvis was around blacks and especially black women as a child. This is probably why he was so kind to them throughout the years and treated them like mothers and sisters. That's the opposite of how most white southerners treated black women in those days.

[vivaelvis]

Myrna pretty much confirms they never had a relationship, which is an agenda that has been pushed hard over the years by many.....including Jaykeisha.

The Darlene Love story from Darlene herself is more implied that he wanted to be with her. To call it seducing is beyond ridiculous.

That's not what she said. I have pointed out all that she talked about in my above post replied to Ken (KPM). And who's Jakeisha?

[rocknroll]

And who's Jakeisha?

Just a couple of people who was found out to be the exact same person that also has the exact same ideas, theories, hopes, aspirationas, acusations, rumors posted as facts and writing style as you.

[vivaelvis]

Just a couple of people who was found out to be the exact same person that also has the exact same ideas, theories, hopes, aspirationas, acusations, rumors posted as facts and writing style as you.

So in other words, they had the same likes and dislikes of everyone else on here. Interesting. I post facts with facts. Don't know what you mean though by accusations and aspirations. And I didn't know people actually can write online. But hate to bust your theory bubble but they are NOT me. So try again. I don't know what it is with the Elvis fan world online these days but this place and other forums have truly got some rude, trolling and arrogant posters.

If you want accuse somebody of having same similarities, then I could swear that you and Brian are the same. You both like to throw darts at people with snide rude remarks.

[Brian]

If you want accuse somebody of having same similarities, then I could swear that you and Brian are the same. You both like to throw darts at people with snide rude remarks.

What the hell are you talking about.

We are two different people and why are you picking on me.

[vivaelvis]

What the hell are you talking about.

We are two different people and why are you picking on me.

And so am I. That was my point to rocknroll. Don't go accusing others of something without substantial evidence.