Elvis's Influence On African American Culture

s major influences were Gospel and the Blues: predominantly African American genres [2]. So here we have this young white performer, often called the "King of Rock and Roll", who is loved by many white Americans, using genres that have their roots in the black community. So basically Elvis, "whose musical and visual performance idiom owed much to African American sources achieved the cultural acknowledgment and commercial success largely denied his black peers." [2] So while Elvis himself was said to be very supportive of the black community, many white Americans still shunned the black community. Hence, the indirect message was 'your contribution only matters if it benefits white Americans.' Not far from a slave owner's mentality: we'll