Human Culture

Elvis Presley was a musician in America during the 20 th century (Fraser & Brown, 2002).
He impacted the American culture greatly through his music and dance. He emerged during a
time when segregation was legal. However, he was bold enough to owe his talent and musical
career to the great black artists of his time (Bertrand, 2000). He loved and was devoted to rhythm
and the blues. Even in his music, he stood up for equality and is known as an artist who opened
the doors and paved the way for other black artists who later ventured into music.

Elvis Presley produced many popular songs. One of his most popular works is Hound
Dog, a song he released in 1956 (Bertrand, 2000). It was his biggest accomplishment as an artist
as it had the most influence on the rock ‘n’ roll genre. The genre was music, as Presley was a
musician.

Rock ‘n’ roll was a combination of black genre rhythm-and-blues and country which was
associated with whites, and thus had biracial origins. Despite its biracial origins, Elvis Presley
played a major role in the development of this genre (Fraser & Brown, 2002). His critics opposed
him and constantly accused him of cultural appropriation. Popular debates on racial segregation
and efforts of civil rights movements made the advocates of equality resent Elvis (Bertrand,
2000). However, Elvis seems to have been fueled by a need to promote equality, albeit
differently. By promoting this genre, he wanted to prove that black people can co-exist with
white people without discriminating against each other.

Overall, some of the questions that influenced Elvis’s work are, “what can be done
differently?” and “how can all races co-exist peacefully?”. He then realized that by promoting

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music that fused certain cultural aspects of the two races, he could manage to bring people
together.

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References

Bertrand, M. T. (2000). Race, rock, and Elvis. University of Illinois Press.

Fraser, B. P., & Brown, W. J. (2002). Media, celebrities, and social influence: Identification with
Elvis Presley. Mass Communication & Society, 5(2), 183-206.