Elvis Presley is quite possibly the most influential musician of his generation. Sure,
his career had a few low points, such as his utterly forgettable film work,
and his final years were marked by drug addiction and poor health. The so-called
King of Rock and Roll's music, however, speaks for itself, and largely stands the test of time.
Presley was far from perfect, and his character flaws are as much a part of the man's narrative
as his music. He had a famously short temper, and once went to the White House to volunteer to help
President Richard Nixon with the nascent "War on Drugs" in some unspecified way,
despite being a user himself, claiming in a bizarre letter to Nixon that he had undertaken a,
quote, "in-depth study of drug abuse and Communist brainwashing techniques."
Fast-forward to May 2021, when legendary musician and producer Quincy Jones accused
The King of another character flaw, and a familiar one: racism. Specifically,
Jones claimed that he and another musician refused to work with Elvis because of that racism.
When the Hollywood Reporter asked the 88-year-old Jones if he had ever worked with Elvis,
Jones said, quote, "No. I wouldn’t work with him." When asked why, Jones explained,
"I was writing for Tommy Dorsey, oh God, back then in the ’50s. And Elvis came in, and Tommy said,
“I don’t want to play with him.” He was a racist mother — I’m going to shut up now. But
every time I saw Elvis, he was being coached by Otis Blackwell, telling him how to sing."
So is there any truth to Jones' claim? That's impossible to answer,
as the alleged event happened 70 years ago, and two of the three people who were in the
room that day have been gone for decades. As for Jones' claim about Otis Blackwell coaching Elvis,
Blackwell, who wrote Presley's hit song "Don't Be Cruel," told David Letterman
during an interview in 1984 that he never even met Elvis, so Jones may be somewhat mistaken.
"Did you ever meet Elvis Presley?"
"No, I never met Elvis."
Blackwell did, however, confirm to Letterman that Elvis openly
"imitated" his singing style on "Don't Be Cruel," so Jones was right about that part.
According to David Pilgrim, curator of Ferris University's Jim Crow Museum,
there's just no hard evidence out there that Presley was racist, despite persistent,
decades-long rumors to the contrary. Pilgrim notes that Presley donated money to Black causes,
attended predominantly Black churches during his youth in Tupelo, Mississippi,
and consistently treated the Black people he encountered with respect.
On the other hand, Quincy Jones is far from the first person to accuse Elvis Presley of racism.
Rap legends Public Enemy called Presley "straight up racist" in their 1989 song "Fight The Power."
In 2002, Mary J. Blige performed Presley's "Blue Suede Shoes" on VH1's "Divas Live" special.
Some criticized her for singing an Elvis song during her set,
and she told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
"I prayed about it because I know Elvis was a racist. But that was just a song VH1 asked me
to sing. It meant nothing to me. I didn't wear an Elvis flag. I didn't represent Elvis that day."
While Elvis is no longer around to face these accusations, we can turn to sources
that date back to his era. For example, a reporter questioned Presley in 1957 about
whether or not he'd said a particular racist slur, and he denied it, telling a reporter,
"I never said anything like that, and people who know me know I wouldn't have said it."
Regardless of whether or not Elvis Presley actually used racist slurs or made racist
comments, he certainly got rich working as a white performer co-opting African-American music.
After all, his hit song "Hound Dog," for example, released in 1956,
is so closely associated with Presley that many probably assume it's an Elvis original.
However, Big Mama Thornton first recorded the song in 1952.
It was a smash on the R & B charts, staying in the No. 1 position for seven weeks.
But Presley's version topped the Billboard pop charts four times in 1956,
sold more than 10 million copies, and is one of the best-selling singles of all time.
David Pilgrim thinks backlash from this cultural appropriation likely
has something to do with the persistent rumors about Presley being a racist. He wrote in 2006,
"While talented Black entertainers labored in smaller venues — sometimes in relative
obscurity — Presley became a wealthy and famous international star. So, some Blacks [resent]
his success (and him), and this made a story about him using a racist remark believable."
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