Elvis, Music, and Cultural Change

Elvis Presley was born 75 years ago today. Now I must admit that I have never been a big fan of Elvis' music. Nevertheless, my brother lived in Memphis for a time and we visited Graceland while on vacation. (For sake of full disclosure, I've actually been there twice.) Visiting his home, in some strange sort of way, caused me to have a certain appreciation for Elvis. No doubt, he was a greatly flawed individual. He had demons that he never conquered. But, at the same time, he appears to have held on to a faith in Christ, that goes back to his childhood. He had grown up in the Assemblies of God, and it was there that he first sang in the choir. He had a passion for gospel music all his life. After his concerts, he would often go back to his hotel and sing gospel music with his friends until daybreak.

But I think that Elvis' greatest contribution to bringing about cultural change has often been missed. Elvis played a major role in breaking down the racial barriers between blacks and whites in America. Elvis took the music of the black culture and brought it to white America. This was no small thing. Though Elvis certainly never intended to bring about a societal shift. He simply liked the music. His impact upon the youth of America was a catalyst in bringing down the wall of separation. He created a bridge across a cultural divide.

Now I do not mean to imply that Elvis was alone in this. There were many others that came along around the same time that were doing a similar thing. Nevertheless it was Elvis who was the most popular and carried the greatest influence. Elvis was not a prophetic voice for his generation, in the way that Bob Dylan was, nor did he launch the revolution that the Beatles did. But Elvis played a part in the civil rights movement of the 50's and 60's, without ever marching or writing protest songs. He did it by singing the songs of black America. I find it ironic that both Martin Luther King and Elvis died in Memphis. They were joined together in changing the racist fabric of our nation.

This brings me to an important point. One cannot separate cultural change from the music of the culture. For example, you cannot separate the cultural shift of the 60's from the music of that generation. It was the musicians who became the voice of change. The songs of that era were the anthems of cultural change. Woodstock was not merely a musicial event, it was a cultural "earthquake." At that point in time, at least with a generation, Jimi Hendrix was more influential in the shaping of our culture than Lyndon Johnson was. As I see it, the music not only reflected culutural change, it propelled it.

Such are my thoughts on this cold January morning. I think I'll go put on my blue suede shoes and get a second cup of coffee.