If you have a good record collection, Black History Month is every month. But when it comes to the annual calendarized commemoration, I like to hold space for exploring the more classic winding roots of Black music that have helped influence subsequent popular culture. This year, I’m revisiting recordings by those who shaped the origins of Elvis Presley.
A lot of people credit Presley for inventing rock ‘n’ roll, but that’s simply not true. There’s no doubt that the man personified rock ‘n’ roll, but he did not invent it. Neither did Chuck Berry. Sure, Berry helped pioneer rock ‘n’ roll guitar playing. But there was someone before him. Tracing an easy-to-follow timeline of recordings will reveal that rock ‘n’ roll was invented by a queer Black woman. Two decades before “Johnny B. Goode” dropped, Sister Rosetta Tharpe was amplifying a hybrid of gospel music and boogie-woogie to packed houses. She is credited by many ardent music historians and musicologists to be the bonafide godmother of rock ‘n’ roll.
With a soulful wail and ferocious electric guitar style, Tharpe built the bridge that helped her gospel-boogie music influence Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, and of course Presley, who famously covered her 1947 version of the gospel traditional “Up Above My Head” on his ’68 Comeback Special.
So why is he still regarded as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll? Perhaps because back in the 1950s, it was easier to sell rock ‘n’ roll to suburban teenagers if it was made by a blue-eyed heartthrob.
There’s an old saying – history was written by the winners. Of course, the same goes with music history. Some music writers would have you believe that the Elvis Presley phenomenon happened in a vacuum. And sure, he ended up selling more albums than Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Big Mama Thornton, Otis Blackwell, Arthur Crudup, Joe Turner, Little Willie John, Junior Parker, Wynonie Harris, and and Lloyd Price.
But without these Black musicians and many others, Presley would not have had his early hits and fan favorite songs with such source material as “Hound Dog,” “That’s All Right,” “Tutti Frutti,” “Shake, Rattle & Roll,” “Fever,” “Mystery Train,” and many more.
And aside from the obvious cover material, Elvis’ herky-jerky singing style and his breathy crooning can be heard in prior recordings by Chuck Willis and Clyde McPhatter from The Drifters as well as Ketty Lester and The Orioles.
With this playlist, I’d like to acknowledge, spotlight, and celebrate some of the Black musicians who inadvertently invented Elvis Presley. And please understand that none of this is a slight on the King – after all, he shared this incredible music with us. Without Elvis’ deep love for these songs and the Black artists who inspired him, it would have been much more difficult to discover all these amazing and impactful recordings. As I lifelong fan, I can only love him more for turning me on to this treasure trove of Black music. Thanks, Elvis!
