[ENGLISH] INTERVIEW with Elvis Presley - Challenges of being a white Rock and Roll artist

As I drove down the streets of Memphis, Tennessee, there was this strange aura that had filled the city. The Rock and Roll culture has greatly impacted the way its citizens move. A musical genre originating from the black community has turned into a fashion statement for everyone of every race or gender.

In this past week I was happy to meet one of the greatest artist who had influenced (and challenged) communities across the United States with the use of their Rock and Roll genre in their music. Elvis Presley spared his time to talk to us about his musicality and adversities of becoming the greatest "King of Rock and Roll". He told us he only had 30 minutes before returning to the recording studio.

Racial Segregation was a hot issue during the peak of your career. How did the community react when they realized that you were a White male? How did you react to being accused of culturally appropriating their culture?

I have always loved the style of Rock and Roll. I know that it is the music that is authentic to the community but somehow they thought that I have wrongfully used their culture and popularized it in order to become famous or neglecting the origins of this genre and claiming it as ours [White Americans]. I have a deep interest in my musical taste and I would also want to convey my artwork to the citizen in the form of Rock and Roll. I don’t think that the hate was necessary. As I grew up in the South, I have experienced a lot in terms of experimenting with music. I have come across a lot of different genres. Some of them did not originate from my culture. It became normal for me to continue with this and that is why I have an interest with Rock and Roll.

How did your musical style affect the way you are viewed as an individual? Has your community affect your music composition and production as a whole?

At first, some people thought that I was a Black singer. I think this reason is reasonable as there are not many mainstream Rock and Roll musicians out there. My style used in my compositions has been pretty standard. I was able to follow the conventional rules of composing a Rock and Roll song. The language used in my compositions was Standard English. I disobeyed the rules of Standard English but in lyric composition, everyone does it. My music usually talks about love which was pretty normal in terms of popular music in my era so my lyrical composition have appealed a lot of people in and out of the community.

How have you become an icon to the Black community in the end?

They have finally accepted my presence in the music scene as I have popularized Rock and Roll. This type of genre has become so popular to the point that other people of different race and genre start to use me as an influence to their music and composition. Some music reviewers say that I have made Rock and Roll an international language of music. It did not just give power to the Black community. It created a whole new wave of artist in this particular genre. Music unifies people from different places. My music has finally fulfilled that thought an I want to influence other people to do so.

That was my 30 minutes well spent with Mr. Elvis Presley and make sure to watch out for other interviews that will be posted here!