Sullivan Decreed, Gospel Songs

Elvis crossed many established lines. Just as Microsoft would dominate the computer industry decades later by combining the best practices and innovations of other industry pioneers, Elvis rolled R&B, gospel, and country into a new form of music that would go on to rock the world for the rest of the century. He also pushed the envelope of what society considered sexually appropriate. And finally, Elvis himself broke the race barrier by being white and singing black.

Soul singer James Brown said it well: “Elvis taught white people how to get down.” Not everyone was ready for Elvis and his provocative style; he encountered resistance from many traditional, suburban, middleincome, family oriented people. Appearing on Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town took Elvis from the fringe of society to the mainstream. Sullivan’s show dominated television ratings at that time, reflecting and influencing American culture with each act it presented. Initially rebuffed as unsuitable for a family show, Elvis was later booked by Sullivan for three appearances, despite protests from segregationist leaders and parents concerned that his type of music would corrupt American youth. His hip, leg, and arm movements, many of which he adapted from what he had seen in black churches and in the performances of the Statesmen Quartet, the Blackwood Brothers, and other gospel groups, were so controversial that Sullivan decreed that Elvis was not to be shown below the waist. Elvis was also told not to perform gospel songs on the air, a directive he defied with his rendition of “Peace in the Valley,” reportedly because it was his mother’s favorite.