While around here we don’t like to make it a habit to speak ill of the dead, what we are indeed obligated to do is to tell the truth, and the truth is that Elvis Pressley was a racist thief of a musician. However, according to his ex wife Priscilla, we should all reconsider our stance on the matter due to the fact that the man had Black friends.
The new Elvis biopic, released this past June has resurfaced decades long conversations around how the artist’s sound and style was “influenced” by Black rock and roll musicians. Right before the film came out, California’s Reparations Task Force actually published a report on the specific account of musician Arthur Crudup, and how his legacy has been erased, (or at the very least overshadowed) by that of Elvis who began performing his written work in the 50’s.
In an interview with TalkTV with Piers Morgan, Priscilla Pressley addressed the controversy surrounding her late husband.
“He was not a racist – he’s never been a racist,” she began. “Elvis had friends, black friends, friends from all over. He loved their music. He loved their style. He loved being around, you know, Black musicians.”
How unoriginal, kind of like her husband’s tunes.
When asked how Elvis would have responded to the current state of America she said, “He wouldn’t believe it. He was a die-hard American; he was America.”
She also spoke on Elvis’ relationships with Sammy Davis Jr. and Fats Domino, the legendary pianist, and one of the pioneers of American rock and roll.
“We would always go and hang out with [Domino]. He loved being around Blacks. He was not prejudiced in any way. He was not racist in any way. It’s almost like we’re looking for something from everyone that we can somehow dispose [of] them. That’s why it’s very frightening right now.”
You can hear Morgan respond “Yeah,” enthusiastically as the zoom interview continues.
The two also briefly touch on whether or not Elvis would have “survived the Me-Too movement.”
Priscilla has previously written about how she began a relationship with the star when she was just 14 years of age.