From Here to the Great Unknown

Born in 1935 and known as the King of Rock n’ Roll, Elvis Aaron Presley changed the face of American music and pop culture. Elvis grew up poor in Tupelo, Mississippi, during a time when the South was still strictly segregated along lines of race and class. As a boy, he was a fan of blues and gospel music, much of which was performed by Black artists. When he started recording his own music, the influence that Elvis took from Black musicians and musical styles was so apparent that many listeners who heard Elvis on the radio assumed he was Black. Throughout his career, Elvis was known to publicly acknowledge the influence of Black artists like BB King and Fats Domino. During a time when race relations were tense, and segregation and discrimination were rampant in the American South, a white singer citing admiration and influence from Black culture was seen as novel and even transgressive. Some argue that Elvis appropriated Black music and culture, while others claim that the access and platform his whiteness afforded him also helped propel Black music into national popularity.

Elvis’s popularity secured his position of influence—by combining elements of country, blues, pop, and rock and roll, his unique sound changed the face of American music and paved the way for the evolution of music throughout the 20th century.