A Hero to Most?

"The interview’s underlying point was the same as the underlying point of his music: far from asserting any superiority, he was merely doing his best to find a place in a musical continuum that included breathtaking talents like Ray Charles, Roy Hamilton, the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi and Howlin’ Wolf on the one hand, Hank Williams, Bill Monroe and the Statesmen Quartet on the other. 'Let’s face it,' he said of his rhythm and blues influences, 'nobody can sing that kind of music like colored people. I can’t sing it like Fats Domino can. I know that.'"

Upon the thirtieth anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, Peter Guralnick in The New York Times asks why Elvis developed a reputation for being a racist.