Elvis, the 1950's icon

Over the past week, I have learned a lot about the history of music, especially with Elvis. I always knew he was a huge hit and that everyone fawned over him (like my grandma...weird) but I did not really know the background of him and what he did. He was just like any other teenager wanting to rebel against everyone, especially his parents. He was especially rebellious when he started to play black music and when he was covering a black song. In the movie we watched, they claim it was "a black song in a white voice". In essence, he brought together african americans and whites in the way that everyone could love him and listen to him, no matter what you looked like. This was very important because it was still during major segregation and the Jim Crow laws which stated that blacks and whites would be "seperate but equal". They had seperate water fountains, bathrooms, waiting rooms, everything so Elvis really helped bring them together and finally, they were able to agree and share the same interest in something. At one point, parents began thinking that he had gone too far with his dance moves especially with his hips. Due to this, the city of San Diego banned Elvis from dancing so the new Elvis started by singing his hit, "Hound Dog" to an actual hound dog. All in all, Elvis was a icon of the 1950's and brought african american and whites together by listening to his hits.