Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay ↑

Those Liberating Radio Waves

Elvis Presley isn’t thought of as a “political” artist, but his first single was a Statement because it combined the music of black America with the music of white America. Radio was segregated in 1954, but when Sun Records released that single, Elvis’s reinterpretation of rhythm and blues led listeners to the original sources. Those liberating radio waves didn’t recognize whether listeners were black or white. The air did not honor Jim Crow laws.

William McKeen, 2000, from the book Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay