// BEGIN editorial data var i = 0; var elvis_roots_shoots = new Array(); elvis_roots_shoots.ID = "elvis_roots_shoots"; elvis_roots_shoots.ID_WB = 20061016; elvis_roots_shoots.sPubDate = "8/1/2007 2:55:10 AM GMT"; elvis_roots_shoots.navsectionID = "3032433" elvis_roots_shoots.appFmt = 2; elvis_roots_shoots.itemsPerPage = 1; elvis_roots_shoots.appWidth = 624; elvis_roots_shoots.appHeader = ""; elvis_roots_shoots.appFooter = "By Doug Miller"; elvis_roots_shoots.appNavStyle = 3; elvis_roots_shoots.appLayout = 3; elvis_roots_shoots.copyWidth = 500; elvis_roots_shoots.copyMargin = 9; elvis_roots_shoots[i++] = new Array("","Roots","","","","", "sub", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); elvis_roots_shoots[i++] = new Array("","Sister Rosetta Tharpe","","http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/z_Projects_in_progress/_Ent/Elvis_2007/elvisapp_sisterrosetta.standard.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Michael Ochs Archives", "298", "269", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); elvis_roots_shoots[i-1].body = "
When young Elvis Aaron Presley got home from school in Tupelo, Miss., he’d turn on the radio and listen to the radical-for-her-time Tharpe, who mixed black spiritual music with big band jazz. Elvis became glued to these programs, and musical historians have written that Tharpe played a major role in inspiring Elvis to take chances by blending musical genres — which he would do so successfully with his flamboyant, rocked-out hybrid of country, gospel and black R&B.
"; elvis_roots_shoots[i++] = new Array("","Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup","","http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/z_Projects_in_progress/_Ent/Elvis_2007/elvisapp_arthurcrudup.standard.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Michael Ochs Archives", "298", "269", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); elvis_roots_shoots[i-1].body = "
Crudup, who played dirty Delta blues but also threw in some R&B, was a natural icon for a burgeoning Elvis. Crudup penned blues staples that were covered by everyone from B.B. King to Big Mama Thronton, but Elvis’ take on Crudup’s “That’s All Right, Mama,” the first single he released in 1954, helped vault the young King into the rock stratosphere. Elvis would go on to record three Crudup songs and frequently named him as a huge influence.
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Elvis Presley wasn’t just known for music. He also was a trailblazer when it came to style, and no one helped shape that style more than Dean, the enigmatic, tortured soul and movie star. Dean’s performance in “Rebel Without a Cause” in 1955 was watched obsessively and imitated by many, including Elvis. In fact, Elvis later told “Rebel” director Nicholas Ray that he wanted to play Dean in “The James Dean Story.”
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Elvis couldn’t stop listening to music on the radio or talking about it with his friends when he was growing up. One of his first heroes was this country bumpkin, who had a Saturday morning show on Tupelo’s WELO that Elvis was a huge fan of and, eventually, a regular performer on. In fact, Elvis’ first radio performance was on Slim’s show, broadcast live from the Lee County Courthouse.
"; elvis_roots_shoots[i++] = new Array("","Hank Snow","","http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/z_Projects_in_progress/_Ent/Elvis_2007/elvisapp_hanksnow.standard.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Michael Ochs Archives", "298", "269", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); elvis_roots_shoots[i-1].body = "
The Canada-born Snow was a country legend in the making from the moment he set foot in Nashville in the 1950s. He landed a recurring gig at the Grand Ole Opry and wrote hit after hit, including the oft-covered “I’m Movin’ On” and “I’ve Been Everywhere.” Snow also became an indelible influence on Elvis when he got the Opry to give the kid a chance to perform, and Snow later introduced Elvis to the man who would be his longtime manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
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"; elvis_roots_shoots[i++] = new Array("","The Beatles","","http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/z_Projects_in_progress/_Ent/Elvis_2007/elvisapp_beatles.standard.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "AP", "298", "269", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); elvis_roots_shoots[i-1].body = "
The four young lads from Liverpool were obsessed with American rock, particularly Elvis, whom Paul McCartney called “our greatest idol.” During their second U.S. tour in 1965, the Fab Four finally got to meet the King for a four-hour hang-out session and jam, and it was a memorable — if not nerve-wracking — experience. “He was pretty shy, and we were a little shy,” Ringo Starr recalled in \"The Beatles Anthology.\" “But between the five of us, we kept it rolling.”"; elvis_roots_shoots[i++] = new Array("","Bob Dylan","","http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/z_Projects_in_progress/_Ent/Elvis_2007/elvisapp_dylan.standard.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Getty Images", "298", "269", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); elvis_roots_shoots[i-1].body = "
He’s changed looks, sounds and religious beliefs too many times to count, but there’s a constant with Robert Zimmerman: He has always considered Elvis a personal hero, often referencing the King in quotes and lyrics. After recovering from an illness in 1997, Dylan said, “I really thought I'd be seeing Elvis soon.” And in an interview for “60 Minutes” in 2004, he said, “I never wanted to be a prophet or a savior. Elvis, maybe. I could see myself becoming him.\""; elvis_roots_shoots[i++] = new Array("","Tom Petty","","http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/z_Projects_in_progress/_Ent/Elvis_2007/elvisapp_petty.standard.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "AP", "298", "269", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); elvis_roots_shoots[i-1].body = "
When teenaged Tommy Petty and his family drove down from Gainesville, Fla., to nearby Ocala to watch as Elvis filmed his movie “Follow That Dream,” it served as a fitting title for Petty, who would soon start dedicating his life to rock n’ roll, girls, and the undeniable link between the two that the King brought to all American kids’ attention. Turns out the “good girl” in Petty’s ubiquitous “Free Fallin’” wasn’t the only one who was “crazy about Elvis.”"; elvis_roots_shoots[i++] = new Array("","U2","","http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/z_Projects_in_progress/_Ent/Elvis_2007/elvisapp_u2.standard.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "AP", "298", "269", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); elvis_roots_shoots[i-1].body = "
A political Irish band influence by the King? Believe it. “Elvis Presley and America” was Bono’s smack-down of notoriously negative Elvis biographer Albert Goldman, and when Rolling Stone put out its “50 Greatest Artists of All Time” issue in 2004 (Elvis was ranked No. 3 behind the Beatles and Dylan) Bono wrote the appreciation, saying of Elvis, “This was punk rock. This was revolt. Elvis changed everything — musically, sexually, politically.”"; elvis_roots_shoots[i++] = new Array("","Elton John","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/z_Projects_in_progress/_Ent/Elvis_2007/evlisapp_eltonjohn.standard.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "AFP - Getty Images", "298", "269", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); elvis_roots_shoots[i-1].body = "
He’s toned down his act a bit over the years, but in concert at the height of his “Captain Fantastic” days, Sir Elton was a British, kitsched-out version of Elvis, with outrageous costumes and a slew of No. 1 hits. Elton also happily traces his love for the spirit of rock n’ roll to when his mum came home with a life-altering piece of history in her hands: a copy of Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” single.
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The underrated all-black hard-rock quartet took on Elvis’ legacy from another side: the fact that the King has long been viewed by many as a thief of American black music. This came to fruition in their unforgettably blunt 1990 song “Elvis is Dead,” with a solo by James Brown sax man Maceo Parker and a bizarre rap by Little Richard, who chanted, “He went through the test, he's out of this mess / So be my guest and let him rest.”"; elvis_roots_shoots[i++] = new Array("","Eminem","","http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/z_Projects_in_progress/_Ent/Elvis_2007/elvis_app_eminem.standard.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "AP", "298", "269", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); elvis_roots_shoots[i-1].body = "
Public Enemy frontman Chuck D. once said of the hugely successful white rapper born Marshall Mathers, \"Eminem is the new Elvis, because, number one, he had the respect for black music that Elvis had.” This point was echoed by Slim Shady himself in the 2002 song “Without Me,” when he acknowledged his debt to Presley by rapping, \"I'm not the first king of controversy, I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley / To do black music so selfishly, and use it to get myself wealthy.” "; // END editorial data