Dispelling the Myths - Hardcover

Todd Rheingold

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0966219708 ISBN 13: 9780966219708

Publisher: Todd Rheingold, 1993

Synopsis

Dust-jacket reads: Like most icons, cultural or otherwise, Elvis Presley has been both admired and maligned, eulogised and castigated. At issue here is Presley's purportedly tenuous and selfserving relationship to black rhythm and blues musicians. Was Presley a mere imitator or a more palatable provender of a substantively black music than the black musicians themselves -- the latter unappreciated, unacknowledged and financially uncompensated? In Dispelling The Myths: An Analysis of American Attitudes and Prejudices, Todd Rheingold argues cogently and persuasively for a reexamination of this controversial issue. He convincingly discloses the daunting monolith of political correctness, which co-opts and blunts the genuine yet disturbing dialogue that must take place between the black and white communities if any rapprochement is to be possible. Presley, as a legacy of American culture both white and black, is seen as a touchstone of racial conflict and - it is suggested - of reconcilation. In a spirited and gripping account, Rheingold traces Presley's poor beginnings in Tupelo, Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee, paying close attention to his exposure to black gospel and rhythm and blues. Certainly Presley had his antecedents, but his influence on American music and culture remains singular and unprecedented. Rheingold gives voice to a reality which has heretofore been ignored and unheeded, the legacy of which has engendered a climate of suspicion and even hatred between Presley and Black America. He sets forth the idea that Elvis Presley is America in miniature, and that his life constitutes a lesson in the power of pluralism and shared understanding between the races. Todd Rheingold is a Connecticut College graduate and a former videotape editor at CNN Headline News in Atlanta, Georgia. This book is a culmination of a lifelong fascination with popular music and a passionate interest in African American culture. He resides in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Edition details

• Publisher: Todd Rheingold
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0966219708
• ISBN 13: 9780966219708
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 178