Elvis Presley

Elvis would have been 75 this month. He is yet another person who, through his music, challenged the way things were. Elvis contradicted the ideas of racism and sexual conservatism previously popular in the South. When Elvis' "Thats All Right" aired on a Memphis radio station many listener called in asking for it again and assuming the singer was black. From Elvis' beginning to his national fame he always showed a great amount of respect for African American singers in disregard of the norms of segregation and racial prejudice. Elvis even attended an amusement park on what was a designated "colored night." For actions like this many white adults came to dislike and condemn his music. Elvis' handsome and photogenic looks were widely acknowledged. This performance style had much to do with his sex symbol image. Lester Bangs credited him as "the man who brought overt blatant vulgar sexual frenzy to the popular arts in America." He dated many of the Hollywood stars of the time. Elvis' on-stage gyrations will always be remembered as a first because of the ways it challenged society's norms. Read more.