Black Lives Matter Vandalism Hits Memphis Music Landmarks
Tuesday, September 1st was supposed to be a day of celebration in Memphis, Tennessee. It’s called “901 Day,” which is an unofficial holiday that celebrates Memphis culture, of which music plays a major role. But there wasn’t much celebration as the owners and managers of numerous Memphis landmarks woke up to find vulgar graffiti tied to the Black Lives Matter movement tagged on their properties.
Vandals hit Graceland—the home of Elvis Presley and one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions—as well as the city-owned nonprofit Levitt Shell music venue already struggling after being shut down to performances due to COVID-19. They also hit the “I (Heart) Memphis” mural located at Cooper Avenue and York in the Cooper-Young neighborhood.
The vandals painted slogans such as #BLM, “Defund The Police,” “Defund MPD,” “F— Trump,” “F— Strickland” (in reference to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland), “Eat The Rich,” “Abolish ICE,” “End Homelessness,” and other slogans.
This is so depressing to see. Especially on 901 Day…
— Chris Luther (@cluther_wmc5) September 1, 2020
The Levitt Shell amphitheater was hit with graffiti overnight. The graffiti is allegedly in support of BLM and defunding the police.
Officers are investigating to determine who is responsible. pic.twitter.com/i23GVb93cY
Graceland Wall Photos by Billy Stanley pic.twitter.com/SUWLRSwS8m
— Brad B. (@SteelerBrad2019) September 1, 2020
Where the vandals chose to place the graffiti was also especially damaging. Along with the sidewalk along the Graceland property, the graffiti was found on the wall where Elvis fans from all around the world annually sign their name as part of the “Candlelight Vigil,” which happened recently on August 15th.
The Levitt Shell is a historical marker built in 1936 as part of a Depression-era Work Progress initiative, and was the first place Elvis performed publicly in 1954. “Our margins are tight and we long to be back on the lawn with ALL of Memphis, but now we have to use our limited and reduced funds to pay to repair our stage,” said Executive Director of the venue, Natalie Wilson. “Being a historic landmark, it’s not just slapping paint over it. We have to be very careful in the way we remove it. It’s very expensive and not easy to do.”
Cleaning the graffiti from the “I (Heart) Memphis” mural is also problematic. Painted by artist Brandon Marshall, the mural was commissioned by the UrbanArt Commission and Memphis Tourism as part of a series of Memphis-boosting public artworks.
“We want to be part of the conversation that helps heal our city,” Natalie Wilson says. “We want to see change happen. But how do we talk together, how do we ensure that the messages we provide are productive? This isn’t productive. People are trying to speak, and I get that, but we’ve got to come up with a better way.”
Music venues and landmarks have been hit especially hard during the COVID-19 pandemic, being some of the first locations to be closed down, and some of the last to be allowed to open, with many remaining shuttered, some of which have already gone out-of-business, and many others on the brink.
On Tuesday evening, more than 1,500 music venues across North America lit themselves up in red from 9 p.m. to midnight to promote the Restart Act, which is a bipartisan bill hoping to give relief to music venues struggling to stay afloat. Some estimates have it as high as 90% of U.S. music venues failing eventually without financial relief. Multiple music venues have also been damaged or looted in protests and riots that regularly occur in downtown areas where music venues are located.
September 2, 2020 @ 8:22 am
I saw Lake Street Dive at the Levitt Shell a couple years ago. This is so annoying and disappointing to see.
September 2, 2020 @ 8:33 am
Does anybody truly believe that acts like this will bring about justice? It seems to me that it will have the opposite effect.
September 2, 2020 @ 8:40 am
Chris Stapleton does……(sarcasm)
September 2, 2020 @ 5:54 pm
Brilliant comment (sarcasm)
September 2, 2020 @ 8:40 am
Very sad the folks causing the damage must have zero understanding of the cultural significance of what they damaged and that the cultural significance of these places and things is significant to all communities in the city including the African American community. I hope this can be stopped but I fear serious and consistent force may have to be used to finally end this horrible period in our history.
September 2, 2020 @ 7:16 pm
These people–or their cohorts ripped down statues of Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Frederick Douglass, for crying out loud.
The mayor of D.C. wants to talk about ripping down the Washington Monument.
Obviously, they don’t care about anybody’s culture.
September 2, 2020 @ 8:41 am
The police are still investigating the vandalism it could be the alt right making it seem like Antifa or BLM protesters did it or BLM protesters could have did so why so BLM did it if know one really knows who did it.
September 2, 2020 @ 8:45 am
It was the antifa-blm dildos, the same ones out rioting, looting and burning down the country, you know, your leftist brethren.
I’m ashamed we share the same first name.
September 2, 2020 @ 10:37 am
You seem pretty certain but that’s impossible unless you were the one who did it or watched them do it. There have been many verifiable instances where right wing groups have broken store windows burned buildings and started other damaging rampages at BLM protests. I am not naive enough to believe that everything protestors do while protesting at a BLM protest is peaceful, I also am smart enough to wait until the police do a complete investigation before I blame BLM or anyone else. Maybe you should take you right leaning boogaloo Boyz friends and put a muzzle on them
September 2, 2020 @ 11:46 am
Ken and Jimmy Free, you both need an enema, stat! (That’s a polite way to tell you that you are full of crap.)
The “alt-right” are NOT the ones burning, looting, murdering. It is strictly an antifa affair, all the way. There is no “false flag” operation going on here.
And it’s ironic that the BLM/antifa types want to abolish the police, because the police are the only things that are protecting the BLM/antifa rioters from the rest of us!
The BLM/antifa are out to destroy Western Civilization, and the sooner folks realize that, the sooner we can stamp out the pestilence of BLM/antifa. They don’t want to play nice with the rest of us.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:44 pm
You cannot be serious. Nearly all of the domestic terrorist murders committed in the last few years have been by the alt right. Antifa typically does not go beyond property destruction (which is bad, but nearly as bad as murder).
Also, it is worth noting that about 25 million Americans have participated in BLM protests since the George Floyd murder. Only a tiny fraction have even participated in property destruction.
Once again, there is no moral equivalence. The anti-fascists (broadly speaking) are far more “pro-life” than the alt right fascists.
September 2, 2020 @ 6:43 pm
Man, you really drank the Kool Aid.
September 4, 2020 @ 2:54 pm
It would have been very easy for the blm/antifa people to spot these right wing agitators and drive them out or call a social worker on them. The fact that this hasn’t happened proves that your story is complete BS.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:03 am
There is maybe an offhand, slight possibility that people should be on the lookout that this was done by some right wing extremists as the investigation moves forward. But it should not be an assumed outcome since it fits one’s ideology better than the most obvious conclusion of who is responsible given the locations targeted, and the specificity of the slogans they used. And frankly, the fact that I’m seeing this theory floated so often here and on social media really speaks to the way a polarized society is so quick to attempt to deflect any blame from their side as opposed to universally condemning the extremities of all ideology that are being so destructive to society at the moment.
You can be for Black Lives Matter, and condemn acts such as this, no matter who was responsible. Condemning the act should be the baseline. Not immediately deflecting blame to the other side.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:11 am
Perfectly stated Trigger. The polarization of this stuff is astounding in that people can’t see – or refuse to see – what is blatantly in front of their face.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:17 am
Trigger,
Have there been any incidents of “right wing extremists? vandalizing anything with BLM propaganda?
September 2, 2020 @ 9:28 am
Well, this really isn’t my beat, but there have been multiple incidents where right wing extremist agitators have been found to be embedded within BLM protests and riots for the express purpose of agitating and escalating violence, like the “umbrella man” in Minnesota. I don’t know of any specific incidents of graffiti, though they may be out there. And again, I’m not saying it’s not a possibility this was done to paint BLM in a negative light. But I don’t have any evidence of that, and I think it’s strange that would be the first assumption, as opposed to a slight possibility investigators should keep in mind as they move forward.
But even if it was right wing extremists, how about we just condemn what happened? I would have written this story if it was a bunch of Nazis that did this too. These venues, these historical landmarks that depend on tourism are suffering greatly at the moment. We all need to make sure they don’t become collateral damage in this culture war. As the Executive Director of the Levitt Shell said, these are cultural institutions for ALL people.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:51 am
Or how about we condemn what lead to this in the first place? Instead of saying “why do they have to vandalize and destroy property,” how about instead we say “it’s a shame it had to reach this point, but when you oppress a group of people for 200+ years, refuse to listen when they peacefully protest (e.g. taking a knee) and even worse, refuse to acknowledge a problem even exists, sooner or later shit is going to boil over.”
Because that’s what is going on right now: the results of 200+ years of oppression that is still prevalent in society today. And instead of recognizing that maybe, just maybe, there’s a reason it’s reached this point, people still just want to blame those who are rightfully angry.
Let’s face it: if we all just continuously remained non-violent and never said “enough is enough,” we would still be British colonies.
Is it a shame what happened to these landmarks? Yes. But you’re focusing on the wrong thing. Because this isn’t going to stop until actual meaningful change is enacted.
September 2, 2020 @ 10:41 am
No doubt what all of these incidents are stemming from should be understood by all parties, and I don’t want to diminish that. However, I think that goes without saying. The reason I reported on a story like this is because Elvis is a Country Music Hall of Famer, Graceland is a cultural institution, the Levitt Shell is a historical landmark, and these places are under siege already due to COVID-19. We have to be really careful excusing or even justifying destructive behavior due to underlying issues that like you said, have been around for 200 years. We can address these issues while trying to minimize collateral damage to cultural institutions.
September 2, 2020 @ 10:45 am
Well said John Q but I will add one more thing. Ever since this country was founded protests have been violent. Nonviolent resistance is a relatively new path to social justice. Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., were some of the first to convince large groups of people to protest without physical fighting. Gandhi accomplished something that the early Americans did not; he got rid of British colonial rule through peace, not war.
Riots are not great solutions, but riots are usually caused by real injustices. Thousands of people do not take to the streets for no good reason. That was true during the American Revolution, and it is true today. Riots are often the desperate response of people who feel they have no other recourse. We can reduce rioting by providing better access to justice for everyone.
Even when unions protested they became violent people were killed because when people are oppressed they reach a boiling point. I am not for a second advocating violence what I am saying is you need to understand out history of protesting in this nation.
September 2, 2020 @ 10:59 am
The problem though is that the issues aren’t being addressed. Which is the very point I was trying to get across. Peaceful demonstration and protest was made: what happened? Athletes were told to shut up and dribble. They were called “disrespectful.” Entertainers were told to shut up and sing or shut up and act.
Go back even to MLK: he preached non-violence and demonstrated non-violently and was shot and killed anyway.
I was very clear that the vandalism to these historic landmarks is a shame, but that to continue to be surprised that it is happening and to ignore the catalyst that has led to it is pure folly. To think that simply criticizing the behavior and continue to deny that an issue exists (and believe me, there are plenty of people who deny that an issue exists) is only going to continue to lead to more of this.
The colonists/founders broke free from England because they felt oppressed and they continued to be ignored by the British monarchy. There came a point where they had to revolt. And now, still after 200+ years, a group of citizens remains oppressed. Do we honestly believe that simply telling them “act peaceful and you will be heard” is going to work? It hasn’t worked, nor will it work. So, more aggressive methods are being used.
You may say I’m justifying or excusing the behavior. And maybe in a way I am. I’m perfectly willing to own that. But, if somehow, someway, this ultimately is a part of the movement that lead to meaningful change, than to me, a few landmarks are a small price to pay for the equal rights for all.
September 2, 2020 @ 2:11 pm
John Q,
I’m not surprised this is happening. I am disappointed this is happening. I totally understand people have grievances, and I don’t want to diminish that. I started this website because I had a list of grievances about what was happening in country music, and wanted to do something about it. And sometimes when you’re not being heard, or you feel you’re making no headway, you lash out in anger. Usually, this isn’t self-serving, it’s detrimental to your cause. Look, as multiple people have floated here, perhaps it’s right wing extremists that did this. If that’s the case why would they do it? Because it presents Black Lives Matter negatively, just like a lot of the looting and rioting is overriding the messages of the peaceful protests. There have been some recent polls out showing that Black Lives Matter is dramatically falling in popularity, after dramatically rising after the death of George Floyd. People are tired of seeing independent business, cultural landmarks, non-partisan institutions, etc. swept up in chaos. It is not helping the movement, it’s hurting it. You or anyone may justify the anger or even the actions. But just understand, it’s not just ineffective, it’s counter-productive.
Me broaching this subject is a perfect example. I’m not against Black Lives Matter. But you start marking up cultural institutions, it becomes my business. You’ve interjected yourself into my world in a negative way. Sure, what is some paint on a wall compared to black people being killed by police? But you’re swaying popular sentiment the wrong way, and damaging your cause by venting anger as opposed to organizing in a smart manner.
September 2, 2020 @ 12:52 pm
Bullshit!
You know that you, Trigger, and all your left-wing handlers in Austin CELEBRATE the BLM movement, and all its vandalism, looting and rioting.
You fool no one attempting to persuade us otherwise.
You must really think everyone is as stupid as you liberals are.
September 2, 2020 @ 1:53 pm
Thank you for being an illustration of my point, Big Tex.
September 2, 2020 @ 6:21 pm
Who the hell killed the moderates? This is a good illustration of what this country has become, left / right and effectively nothing in the middle. How about a little civil discourse? We’re one step away from shitting in our hands and throwing it at each other. From this vantage I see a massive percentage of the citizenry who are clueless as to what type of shit stew this pressure cooker is brewing. Close to saying “fuck it.” I suspect I’m not the only one. Maybe this time ol’ Nero will play some Bob Wills.
September 3, 2020 @ 5:12 am
NCalTrees
As I already said, civil discourse was attempted. What was the response? “You’re disrespecting the flag and our country!” “SHUT UP AND SING!” “SHUT UP AND DRIBBLE!” “Don’t mix your politics with my entertainment.”
It’s time to stop expecting people to just roll over and take it. Graffiti can be removed (even if it was in fact done by protesters and not counter-protesters trying to make them look bad). The lives lost by POCs to the injustice they face on a daily basis can’t be brought back. Even now, Trigger keeps saying “I understand the cause of it,” but he keeps coming back to the vandalized cause.
What’s funny (read: sad) is Trigger says in his comments “I’m not against Black Lives Matter, but” (again, he has to add that but), but go back and watch how he tried to spin Dolly Parton’s comments, yet, as of now, he has completely ignored Chris Stapleton’s comments. And who knows, maybe he has a post coming on Stapleton’s comments, but I’m interested to see how he tries to spin those to tell us how Stapleton “didn’t REALLY say he supported the movement.”
September 3, 2020 @ 10:51 am
Yeah, that’s exactly what I need to chill out these comments sections, post another story involving Black Lives Matter.
What Chris Stapleton said was cool, and not out of the ordinary to what most all popular country artists have said now at one point in time. Not sure it’s more newsworthy than when every other artist addressed it. What made the Dolly Parton situation exceptional is the way the media purposely assigned intent to her words that was not included, and then unethically edited her statement to fit their narrative, which can be verified with video evidence. I’m not seeing that with Chris Stapleton. With some exceptions, the media is actually reporting it correctly, that he said he believed Black lives matter, not that he pledged his support to a political organization. Perhaps my reporting on Dolly Parton made some outlets more cognizant of the difference, and if so, mission accomplished.
September 3, 2020 @ 7:50 pm
Oh, please, Trigger. You edited Dolly Parton’s comments worse than any other outlet did. You completely left out her saying “I support people doing what they need to do to be seen and heard” (or roughly that….that was clearly the content if not the exact words).
September 3, 2020 @ 7:57 pm
I didn’t leave out anything. I included the full video of her comments so everyone to hear what Dolly Parton said and judge for themselves.
September 7, 2020 @ 4:47 pm
Trig,
Find one source that proves right wing agitators have done so.
Love ya man but you’re trying to placate the audience.
You don’t wanna go full Stapleton because you’ll lose em and you don’t wanna go against BLM and get in the crosshairs either.
I get it. It’s a bad spot to be in and we all should get along better.
But you’re trying to pander while debating and it’s half in on both sides.
It’s one of those, “I’m not against BLM. Please don’t shut me down. I’m just against crime.”
Might be true to an extent but it’s fence sitting because you know the page views are largely Trump voters.
But everything else you need isn’t and it’s why everything is either full left, fence sitting or deplatforming over with Alex Jones and the missing Rogan episodes.
It’s a mess all over but you can’t fully express rage against these acts here without causing people to deem you against anyone on that side politically and it’s a shame.
Because if we respected opinions more, we’d freely share them and understand each other more instead of seeking to placate or battle.
September 7, 2020 @ 6:42 pm
Well screw me, but I come from the old school when journalists are supposed to be fence sitters, aren’t supposed to take a side, and simply display the facts and call them as they see them. I know in this day and age that’s a radical idea, but the idea I’m doing this for clicks or keeping my constituents happy is patently false. Just look at the comments here, I’m getting railed on for being both a racist right wing extremist, and for being a commie Black Lives Matter supporter, all for simply dryly reporting the facts of a simple news story relevant to music.
Sometimes I do have opinions, and share them openly, be damned if they’re popular. But that’s not what’s going on here. The fact that this article’s comments section blew up with such vitriol isn’t an indictment on me, it’s indictment on how the public has lost its mind over politics. That’s why I try to avoid them as much as possible. Vandalizing historical landmarks should be universally criticized. My mistake here was believing that was the case.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:42 am
“There is maybe an offhand, slight possibility that people should be on the lookout that this was done by some right wing extremists as the investigation moves forward.”
Well this is entertaining
September 4, 2020 @ 4:17 am
Some people will say anything to deny what’s right in front of them.
September 2, 2020 @ 11:03 am
I know you mentioned this isn’t your beat, but can you update that the graffiti also blatantly includes alt-right conspiracy theorist/Q-Anon slogans such as “#Saveourchildren” and “Staytuned”? The fact that those were spray painted REEKS of something fishy.
September 2, 2020 @ 12:27 pm
I’m looking into this.
September 3, 2020 @ 9:53 am
Just as an update. I’ve looked at numerous photographs of the vandalism and read every local report. “#SaveTheChildren” is the QAnon slogan commonly used. That is not present in any of the graffiti, only “Save Our Children” as a phrase, which would fit in line with some of the other phrases used, such as “End Homelessness.”
The vandalism is currently under investigation. My guess is they’ll find who did it, and we’ll have our answers then. But right now I do not have enough evidence to say that common QAnon slogans were included in the markings, and no other outlet is reporting this.
September 4, 2020 @ 11:22 am
Trigger I love your reviews. I know this is your site to do as you please, but the recent political commentary is really turning me off.
September 4, 2020 @ 12:22 pm
Travis,
I appreciate your feedback. And trust me when I say I an extremely aware of people believing this site has taken a political leaning lately. However, it’s just not true. It’s that everything is now politicized. I have no control over this. If I report that a country legend has died of COVID-19, I’m being political. It’s unavoidable.
This story is not a political commentary. It is a news item about a blatant act to strike out against multiple cultural institutions and historical landmarks at the heart of Memphis music culture on a day that is set aside to celebrate them. Many country music and music websites reported on this story. There’s nothing left or right about choosing to report on this story. The Washington Post reported on it. It is very much within the charge of Saving Country Music to report on stories like this. The only reason I engaged what you may consider “political commentary” in the comments section here is because my ethics and motivations for reporting on this story were questioned, and I felt compelled to answer. I definitely understand there is a political quotient to this story due to the nature of the vandalism, but that’s not why it was reported here. Whether it was Nazi graffiti, or just non-political vandalism, this story still would have been written, and ignoring it would have been criticized as well. It’s my job to report on stories like this.
I appreciate that folks love my album reviews, though it seems like that’s what’s always cited when someone questions or criticized why I’ve covered a certain topic, but album reviews continue to be the least-read content on the site. Nonetheless, I continue to post them despite their rabid unpopularity, and even though that was never the original focus of the site. It was to help preserve the legacy of country and roots music, and this act of vandalism struck at the very heart of that mission, and needed to be addressed.
September 7, 2020 @ 4:51 pm
You’re in an untenable position.
You have a divided audience of which you need to retain 100% of us while GROWING it.
You can’t afford to lose your audience because it’s customers and this is business so it’s messy all over and unenviable.
So far the paths are go left and mainstream or go right and become the basement of the web since everyone is so divided.
I’ve no clue of your leanings and that’s cool cause I’m here for saving country music and wish it was all music but that ain’t the world now.
But you absolutely have to rock back and forth in the middle watching artists and audience fight and become divided while still trying to keep this going.
Here is hoping it does. We do and this all becomes history that won’t be as painful as where we will all be.
September 2, 2020 @ 4:11 pm
so you’re saying there’s a chance…. ok
September 3, 2020 @ 9:01 am
Dude, will you people get off the alt right and everyone else is doing this shit? Just admit that these leftist protesters are doing it. They may have started out with good intentions etc, but they have went out of control.
September 4, 2020 @ 9:04 am
I was trying to get inside the head of someone whose first response to this was, “Probably they vandalized Elvis to own the Libs,” but then I caught myself doing that and smacked my own head with a 2×4 instead.
September 6, 2020 @ 7:15 pm
It’s not really a mystery who is doing it. The cops have most of their names. They keep getting arrested and released.
September 2, 2020 @ 8:43 am
The police are still investigating the vandalism it could be the alt right making it seem like Antifa or BLM protesters did it or BLM protesters could have did so why so BLM did it if know one really knows who did it.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:00 am
Why is this comment literally word for word the same as the one above it (including the misspelling)? The authors’ names are different…
September 2, 2020 @ 10:31 am
Given the run-on nature of the sentence, it smells like Russia/China operatives.
September 2, 2020 @ 1:41 pm
almost certainly, Jake. I frequent a work-related discussion board (I’m an academic) and there’s a *lot* of that stuff.
September 2, 2020 @ 8:47 am
BLM is as racist as the KKK. They both destroyed people’s lives and property and both should hold no place in our society.
September 2, 2020 @ 8:54 am
Not sure that’s true, if for no other reason than the KKK had a 150 year head start.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:06 am
Racism takes many forms, and I firmly believe it can happen both ways. Every race has had prejedice against another group and every race has prejedice against them. I think that all lives matter including black lives. But I think the movement is the equivalent to domestic terrorism with no clear objective in place. I don’t think George Floyd was a racially motivated killing, just one scum bag killing another scum bag.
September 2, 2020 @ 11:30 am
I don’t really know what BLM has done to be “as racist as the KKK” since they don’t have a charter or governing entities that explicitly promote the supremacy of one race.
Seems like the destruction of property is more so pissed off teenagers than nationally coordinated attacks like the KKK did in this country. Destruction of property is bad, but to me there is a really big difference when you talk about how these entities are organized when making a comparison like that.
September 2, 2020 @ 11:49 am
The way the organizations are organized is irrelevant to the fact that people’s property and livelihoods are destroyed by the reckless actions of both groups
September 2, 2020 @ 12:29 pm
Sure but that still doesn’t explain how “BLM is as racist as the KKK” – these issues are more complex than “breaking things is bad” and you made a extremely loaded statement given the magnitude of destruction the KKK reaped on this country.
September 3, 2020 @ 3:45 pm
They’re both run and started by Democrats so they have that in common
September 3, 2020 @ 6:13 pm
Democrats at that time of kkk = conservatives. Are you gonna pretend like you didn’t know that?
September 3, 2020 @ 7:55 pm
If you want to claim there was a big switch, the burden of proof is on you. The Democrat Party has never been conservative. They weren’t conservative when they fought against America to keep slavery, and they’re not conservative now.
What they always have been, is manipulative, oppressive, tyrannical, power-hungry, and elitist.
September 4, 2020 @ 6:28 am
history requires a burden of proof. lol.
the same people who dispute historical facts are the same people who get their news from facebook memes.
September 5, 2020 @ 6:31 am
I don’t have to pretend because it’s not true.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:01 am
only the KKK has lynched people.
September 2, 2020 @ 12:26 pm
Sure but that still doesn’t explain how “BLM is as racist as the KKK” – these issues are more complex than “breaking things is bad” and you made a extremely loaded statement given the magnitude of destruction the KKK reaped on this country.
September 2, 2020 @ 1:46 pm
Personally I believe that racism is due to either feeling “superior” (Like Hitler) or perhaps feeling “inferior” and trying to gain power in society. (Malcolm X) Racist attitudes is what further tribalizes and separates our country. BLM may not have the targeted lynchings but the same attitudes are present which is just as problematic. Violence usually escalated till their is some type of resolution by the federal government (using federal agents to disrupt KKK) the only way for the lootings and violence to stop is that most of the BLM would have be stopped just like how the KKK was stopped. I fully support black lives and to some extent understand the frustration. I just can’t support an organization that uses violence to achieve its objectives and ignore the laws of the United States.
September 4, 2020 @ 3:15 pm
I think the potential for people coming together over injustices is much bigger if you don’t advocate for looting as reparations, keep blocking roads or burn people’s livelihoods down.
September 2, 2020 @ 12:30 pm
Sorry mean’t to reply to Keeing It Country
September 7, 2020 @ 3:41 am
Educate yourself on southern democrats up to the 1960s, Strom Thurmond, Dixiecrats and what party they defected to because of desegregation. Denying the conservative faction of the Democratic Party in 1800 and 1900’s is hilarious.
September 7, 2020 @ 5:56 am
it’s 2020 and and you responded to my comment talking about the kkk. at least try to comprehend what you’re reading.
September 7, 2020 @ 2:09 pm
Well, the comment was meant for Rusty in another response thread. Doing it on my phone in a hurry.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:14 am
Keepin it Country,
I would argue that the Democrat Party has replaced the KKK with BLM, as the militia arm of their party. Nobody is going to get on board with hating black folks in 2020(nor should they), with the exception of a few thousand old holdovers. But getting black folks to believe they’re oppressed, and getting millions of pasty-whites to hate themselves, piece of cake.
September 2, 2020 @ 11:56 am
You hit on the most interesting thing here. America is in fact, I’m 2020, one of the least racist countries in the world. Despite having a relatively recent history of slavery and overt racism. That’s actually pretty remarkable, and something to be celebrated. Polls show almost all Americans support police reform, and the murder of George Floyd was universally condemned by almost everyone.
This is why the division we are seeing play out is becoming more and more bizarre. As the right becomes more socially acceptant of things like gay marriage and defies other stereotypes attributed to them by the left, the left is having to to try harder and harder to find things that they have to save us from. The media is going to great lengths to quote people out of context to turn them into monsters – with half the country eating it up like sheep, and the other half laughing and rolling their eyes. In the process they’ve created tremendous animosity and are now having to placate and justify riots and vandalism. Only now are they starting to realize that a lot of this is free advertising for the GOP – especially in swing states…yet even in these comments you see people downplaying and justifying violence. Finally, on top of all this, the mayors of Oakland and Portland are now realizing that it doesn’t matter how far left they are, no matter how much they pledge to defund or reform the police, the angry mob is still coming for them in their homes.
September 2, 2020 @ 12:31 pm
Jake,
Good points. We slightly disagree on a few things that I guess I won’t bother mentioning. I’ve already had some comments deleted on this article, that were no more offensive than anything anybody else has said. I’m perpetually held to a different standard on here.
#FreeHonky
September 2, 2020 @ 10:07 pm
Believe it or not, I agree with you that we are one of the least racist countries in the world (notwithstanding our president…). However, we are lying to ourselves if we do not acknowledge that there is a serious racism problem among the police. Too often, police officers treat people as members of a particular tribe rather than as individuals. That is what is fueling the anger behind BLM, which has been ongoing since well before Trump was elected but has now reached a boiling point.
September 3, 2020 @ 6:17 am
President Trump isn’t racist.
September 4, 2020 @ 6:29 am
president trump is definitely a racist.
September 5, 2020 @ 7:15 pm
Well, that is like your opinion, man.
And a false one.
September 6, 2020 @ 11:02 pm
Goodness, CountryKnight, where do I begin?
Telling 4 non-white congresswomen (3 of whom were born in America, with the fourth having lived in America from the age of 12) to “go back” to their “countries” is probably the most racist statement publicly made by a president in at least half a century, if not a century or more.
Calling an American-born judge a “Mexican” and alleging that he is biased because of his heritage is racist.
Singling out a Chinese-American White House reporter who asked him a tough question and telling her to “ask the Chinese government” is racist.
Conflating Chinatown with China, as Trump did when he attacked Nancy Pelosi for urging people to “pack into Chinatown long after I closed the border to China”, is racist.
Questioning the legitimacy of a president and concocting a birthplace conspiracy theory based on that president’s ancestry is racist.
Tarring an entire national category of immigrants as drug dealers, criminals, and rapists is racist.
Arguing that we need to reduce immigration from “shithole” countries in Africa and Latin America while increasing immigration from countries like “Norway” is racist, since such a policy would discriminate between immigrants based on national origin (and essentially ethnicity) instead of treating them as individuals.
And those are just the publicly and directly racist remarks (I probably missed several). On top of that, there is the fact that Donald Trump consistently refuses to condemn white supremacist ideology while repeatedly attacking “Antifa”. When the Charlottesville incident happened, he even praised the neo-Nazi demonstrators, saying that there were “good people” in their ranks who wanted to protect “heritage”, even though a member of their group killed a counterprotester. Similarly, when a police officer kills an African-American, Trump consistently refuses to condemn the officer. By contrast, even when BLM protesters march peacefully, Trump condemns them in the harshest terms.
There is also the constant stoking of fires around racially charged issues by Trump. Then there is the disproportionate insults hurled at non-white reporters. And on and on.
The pattern is crystal clear.
September 3, 2020 @ 2:14 am
You said the “murder ” of George Floyd. I think you may be talking about the “suicide” of George Floyd.
September 2, 2020 @ 8:57 am
BLM is NOT a Marxist organization! Even POLITIFACT agrees with me, and they have the word ‘FACT’ right there IN THEIR NAME!!! WhoEVER did this, it wAS NOT BLM!
September 2, 2020 @ 12:44 pm
It seems to me like you’re joking but it’s not always do easy to tell nowadays.
September 2, 2020 @ 8:58 am
So these people thought they would get support for their cause by vandalizing the house of a guy who vocally supported Martin Luther King jr, vocally supported Muhammad Ali (including giving him an expensive coat that said People’s Champion of the US) would always tell people that Fats Domino was the real King of Rock N Roll and was himself 1/8 black. I guess colleges are still touting the Public Enemy promoted myth that Elvis was racist (which is a stupid myth that needs to die. For all his faults Elvis was NOT racist and was outraged that a magazine would think he was. If you want to stick it to racists go trash Colonel Parker’s house because that guy was a certified racist (Pat Burtram (Mr. Hainey from Green Acres) hated dealing with him when they were Carnival Barkers)
September 2, 2020 @ 9:46 am
Or just don’t trash anyone’s house.
September 3, 2020 @ 10:19 pm
Elvis was 1/8 black? That’s something I’ve never heard before. That would mean one of his grandparents was half-black. Seems dubious to me.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:02 am
BLM protesters may have done it. But you don’t know that yet. Your headline is bullshit clickbait.
September 2, 2020 @ 1:06 pm
Calling this “Black Lives Matter vandalism” is not only placing immediate unfounded blame, but also seems to overly associate the two. The rest of the story doesn’t read that way, but you’re right, the headline is a little suspect.
September 2, 2020 @ 2:16 pm
It was vandalism that is indicative of Black Lives Matter and was tagged with #BLM. Nowhere did I say who was responsible. You have to write something as a title, and you only have a limited number of characters to do so. If people don’t want to read past the title, that’s on them. There’s nothing “click bait” about it.
P.S. I also changed the title shortly after posting to hopefully diminish some confusion and concern.
September 2, 2020 @ 2:24 pm
“Elvis Presley’s Graceland vandalized with graffiti messages including ‘Defund MPD’, ‘Abolish ICE’ and ‘BLM’”
That’s from Fox News, and way more objective. This could have been BLM, Antifa, random punk kids, or even right wing agitators but your headlines implies it was done by BLM. I believe that you didn’t mean that, but that’s how it reads.
September 2, 2020 @ 2:48 pm
Look, not to pull the curtain back too far, but I have a hard character limit for the titles of articles for a very technical reason. I go over that character limit, those articles get buried on social media and the title gets cut off, making it even more misleading. Fox News can post whatever they want because they’re Fox News, and they will be featured in search results regardless. I don’t have that luxury. I can’t budget for people who are too lazy to read past the title. Every title is there to entice people to read.
September 25, 2020 @ 10:01 pm
Memphis Music Landmarks Vandalized with BLM Graffiti
September 2, 2020 @ 9:03 am
property destruction bad. murder good.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:09 am
Why can’t they both be bad things? The whole “murder good” thing is basically a strawman that gets thrown out there when people get rightfully pissed that property is being vandalized or destroyed. Both things can be wrong at the same time.
I fail to see how vandalizing Graceland wins anybody over.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:19 am
ChrisP,
They’re not trying to win anybody over.
September 5, 2020 @ 6:32 am
Give one example of trump being racist.
September 5, 2020 @ 7:47 am
Not getting into a Trump discussion here. Please stay on topic.
September 5, 2020 @ 8:29 am
weird how i can never get a rebuttal across… one that gave him many examples. keep towing that line trig.
September 5, 2020 @ 9:02 am
I’m not allowing you to cut and paste a 29-paragraph comment about Donald Trump into a country music website on an article about graffiti at Graceland. See all the comments complaining how political this site has become? It’s not always because of what I’m reporting on, it’s hyper-political commenters like you who are pushing this website in a political direction. Respect my wishes, and stay on topic. Or your shit gets deleted. That goes for you and Rusty, who has also had comments deleted here.
September 5, 2020 @ 9:11 am
got it. do not provide actual facts from verified sources. i’ll speculate wildly based on something i heard and repeat it as fact like like everyone else.
you’re the one writing articles that are political. don’t pretend like this was an article about something completely benign and i mucked it up. get real.
September 5, 2020 @ 9:43 am
thegentile,
Do you have any idea how many of my rebuttals to you that Trigger has deleted? Over time, I’ve just stopped trying to have discussions with people. I’ve developed a pretty good feel for Trigger’s subjective and selectively applied rules.
So, I feel your pain, but I’m also strangely relieved that I’m not alone. But at least you’re not stuck in permanent moderation. Every single one of my comments has to be individually approved by Trigger before anyone can see it. It makes it impossible for me to have a real-time conversation with somebody.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:09 am
I see tantrums. Find the people responsible, and make them clean it up.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:48 am
Most of BLM is bored white kids raised in single-parent families acting out because they didn’t grow up with involved father figures, are completely lost and angry about their lives and this is their way of doing something. No real guidance growing up. They feel helpless, wronged, raised in a trash society where porn, drugs, booze, greed and every other vice has bombarded them daily all of their lives. Looking for somewhere to belong or something to belong to. Educated by people who mostly shouldn’t be educators but the pay is so horrible that’s all you can get. We are reaping what we’ve sown. Garbage in is garbage out. I don’t care what party you come from or your race. Our culture is toxic and getting more so everyday and it produces toxic people. I don’t know how you save them or yourself from them.
September 4, 2020 @ 3:35 pm
These are really valid points.
September 2, 2020 @ 10:01 am
Nobody fucks with Elvis
September 2, 2020 @ 10:12 am
“There’s two things you need to know—number one is that I’m the King and number two is LOOKOUT MAN.”
September 4, 2020 @ 8:19 am
Love your Dewey Cox reference,Nicolet!I think everyone should chill out and watch that movie right now
September 2, 2020 @ 10:10 am
This destruction of property needs to be stopped.
I lean left. I want police officers to be held accountable for their bad actions. I want them to stop shooting and choking unarmed men and women. I want to no knock warrants outlawed. I want to demilitarize our police.
But the thing that I don’t get is how any of these people committing acts of vandalism and property destruction think they are helping to achieve those goals. If anything, they are making an argument for the other side – that the police need MORE power.
In any event, this is very sad and upsetting. These are important cultural landmarks. It’s hurtful to see them vandalized and destroyed.
September 2, 2020 @ 10:20 am
I don’t come here for politics, this comment section is toxic, on both sides.
September 2, 2020 @ 11:16 am
I agree. It’s a stretch to include this story on a music blog. It’s only music related because the biggest monuments in Memphis are music related. Otherwise this isn’t anything other than a news story on vandalism.
I think like Trig feels an obligation to appear “non-partisan” since he defended Dolly’s BLM statements and a lot of readers got pissed. I’m not saying he doesn’t have a right to express his opinions on the state of the world, but this more so feels like an appeal to the people he pissed off than actual news.
September 2, 2020 @ 11:39 am
It’s not a stretch to include it on a music blog at all. Numerous country music websites reported on this story before I did. Part of the “Saving Country Music” mission is to preserve the institutions and historical landmarks tied to the music, which I’ve done often over the years. Underscoring that these such institutions should be off limits to these types of acts is imperative to that mission.
Believe it or not, I have been attacked WAY more for pointing out that Dolly Parton did not support the movement itself, but simply said “Black lives matter” than people angry at me for defending Dolly.
If I made any mistake here, it’s that people wouldn’t nearly universally condemn these acts. It’s like reporting on an artist contracting or dying of the Coronavirus. You can be completely non-partisan and apolitical, and it will be taken completely differently due to the polarizing subject matter. But it is very relevant to a country music website.
September 2, 2020 @ 12:12 pm
That makes sense and I appreciate the reply. My perspective was that these aren’t explicit attacks on the monuments and what they represent. They are just more of the same vandalism we’ve been seeing in other parts of the country. I could be wrong but I don’t personally believe the vandals were trying to attack the culture of country music.
I also personally am a little fatigued by the coverage around all of this. I come to this blog for a break from the political discourse but have increasingly been seeing more than ever in SCM’s history. Obviously it’s more prevalent because of the situation our country is in.
Maybe the comment section is more to blame for that than your actual articles, but you do tend to stray from the “country music” aspect and toward the political side with your follow-ups sometimes. I mostly agree with your follow-ups too. But I also don’t believe that anyone can be truly apolitical when you talk about these kinds of things.
Property destruction technically did kick off the revolutionary war. It’s not inherently good or bad – it’s situational and when you cover it you open up that conversation whether you mean to or not. I’m not happy that this happened in Memphis. I think in this situation it’s bad. But I personally wouldn’t cover this story given what the past articles around BLM have devolved to and the tendency for them to steer away from the topic of country music.
Anyway, Elvis took a lot more from the black community than he gave back.
September 2, 2020 @ 2:21 pm
I appreciate the concern. Pretty much every major and minor music-based site has now posted an article about this. Saving Country Music is not special in that regard. I broached it because I think it is important to underscore that we must protect these vulnerable music institutions at this critical time. I’m not for destroying any property. But if you’re going to do it, don’t attack cultural institutions and historical landmarks. A hard line needs to be drawn on this, and whether it’s popular or unpopular with readers is frankly irrelevant to me. I do the best I can to keep things non political around here. But EVERYTHING is political today, including (apparently) whether you think tagging historical landmarks is bad.
September 3, 2020 @ 10:38 pm
And what exactly did Elvis “take from the black community”? He sang music he liked, music that he grew up listening to in his poor, mixed race neighborhoods. He grew up listening to and singing rhythm and blues, country, and gospel music. They were all prevalent where he grew up. So he was just supposed to ignore one type of music because his skin was the wrong color? He grew up with poor blacks. Would you say that the Rolling Stones or Eric Clapton – two musical acts who grew up thousands of miles away from the black American culture they later tried to emulate and transform into their own music – stole from the black community? Elvis grew up with it all around him. It was second nature to sing those songs. If you listen to Elvis’s music – even his early Sun recordings – he doesn’t sound like a black singer. He sounds like a twangy kid singing up tempo songs and ballads. And you must also know nothing about Elvis’s great philanthropy. All of that stuff named after him in Memphis isn’t just because he lived there. He put a lot into the poor communities of Memphis. He personally did favors and gave away things and bought for individuals who were down on their luck or who had little. By saying that Elvis “took a lot more from the black community than he gave back” you’re just repeating nonsense somebody told you.
September 2, 2020 @ 12:04 pm
“It’s a stretch to include this story on a music blog. It’s only music related because the biggest monuments in Memphis are music related.”
This is one of the funniest things I’ve read here.
September 2, 2020 @ 12:32 pm
Just arguing that the vandals targeted the biggest monuments in their city to make a point and those are country/blues monuments. Don’t think the vandalism is country music related. Correct me if I’m wrong.
September 2, 2020 @ 2:32 pm
For the last three years I’ve attended the Ameripolitan Awards put on by Dale Watson in Memphis that happen right next door to Graceland at the Guesthouse at Graceland Hotel. I’ve walked by the wall that was vandalized half a dozen times. Dale Watson bought a house in the same neighborhood (Whitehaven), as well as purchased a historic club (Hernando’s Hide-A-Way) right down the street. Dale Watson and others are actively trying to revitalize what used to be a musical epicenter in America that has now turned into a blighted portion of Memphis. I’ve even thought of moving to the area myself to be part of that revitalization. This vandalism was specifically targeted to strike at the heart of cultural Memphis—Graceland, a historic music venue, a public mural. I personally took offense to this, and felt compelled to use my platform to highlight what happened.
Was it necessary? Possibly not. But every morning, the first question I ask myself is, “What are you passionate about?” and that’s what I write about. And I was passionate about this. It’s just a shame so many take it as polarizing.
September 2, 2020 @ 10:56 am
I would not be surprised if the scum that did this is BLM, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it was done by anti-BLM nut jobs. Either way, I’m in favor of public flogging for those found guilty.
September 2, 2020 @ 11:01 am
Might I direct your attention to this link:
https://www.foxnews.com/us/chicago-police-looting-suspects-surveillance-video-store. Can’t make this stuff up.
With Christ Stapleton’s continued alliances with those in the entertainment industry that are left-of-center, which is most all of them, his comment below was bound to come:
““You know, I thought we were living in a different country. And that’s 100% real,” the “Tennessee Whiskey” singer explained. “I feel like the country that I thought that we were living in was a myth.”
September 2, 2020 @ 2:48 pm
“I feel like the country that I thought that we were living in was a myth.”
A line from Me and Mine by American Aquarium-
“It’s like we don’t matter”, momma said
“At least that’s how it seems”
And that’s the day I woke up
From the American dream
Music can be reflective and prophetic-
September 2, 2020 @ 11:42 am
NattyBumpo I agree with you on this issue. When children, of any creed or race, are not taught to respect things, especially the property of another- it can only lead to chaos and harm. Whether it was Elvis or Ella- disrespect for property is disgusting. Now I don’t know who did it. BLM – though I agree a bit unfocussed- is not by philosophy or leadership about violence (except for that idiot in Chicago) being expressed through violence. But the plain fact of the matter is we live in uncharted waters- all of us. And children, without moral judgement or mature leadership will do horrible immature things. That’s why any group without firm and wise leadership should be suspect.
September 2, 2020 @ 11:57 am
If anyone is “oppressed” in the United States in these modern times, they have only themselves to blame. If “Black Lives Matters” REALLY cared about black lives, they would address the elephant in the room, namely, the fact of so many kids being raised by single mothers, with no father (or even a father figure) as a part of the kids’ lives. But they don’t say boo about that, which is why nobody can take them seriously.
Way back during the President Reagan administration, what sounded like an elderly black woman called into Rush Limbaugh’s show one day. She went on a rant about how the drugs in the inner city were destroying the lives of the young black men there, and how all of the drugs in the inner city were sent there by agents of Reagan. But Rush wasn’t having any of her argument. He responded with, “Madam, I don’t agree that Reagan is the one pushing drugs in the inner city, but even if he was, why don’t the folks in the inner city foil his plan by NOT DOING DRUGS!?” The woman was dumbfounded at such a response.
What we have now in BLM, antifa, etc, are a bunch of lazy folks who have been taught that their own failures in life are not their own fault, but are caused by someone else “oppressing” them. No, you are NOT oppressed! Nobody is stopping you from getting cleaned up, acting respectful, and applying for a job! NOBODY will stop you from doing that! But if you expect me to work my rear end off, just to give you free stuff without your having to work for it, then screw you. Keep on oppressing yourself.
September 2, 2020 @ 9:35 pm
So many words wasted on a generic rant, yet no response to the actual issue that BLM exists to stop: the disproportionately harsh treatment experienced by blacks at the hands of police.
September 4, 2020 @ 1:37 pm
You might have an actual point there if any proof of the issue you’re describing, beyond a handful of videos that people overreact to and jump to conclusions about, actually existed.
Proof like crime stats, studies, etc.
September 3, 2020 @ 5:53 am
I don’t say OK Boomer often…
September 3, 2020 @ 6:45 am
Did you really use Rush Limbaughs comment about not using drugs? Lol. The man had a drug addiction of his own for christs sake.
September 2, 2020 @ 1:30 pm
Elvis basically ripped his entire career off of Black people. He heard the music they were making, and then repacked it in a white body & became famous. But when you talk about “the cost” the Elvis estate has never had to pay for what they took.
Don’t vandalize things obviously, but it’s always instructive what we paint as a crime, and what we ignores. If it was people on the left who support Black lives matter, I would not be shocked to find both the date and locations were thoughtfully selected.
September 2, 2020 @ 1:45 pm
“But when you talk about “the cost” the Elvis estate has never had to pay for what they took.”
How much should they pay, and to who?
September 2, 2020 @ 1:48 pm
Gosh,
You mean because Elvis enjoyed the music of our black brothers and sisters, he deviously, wanted to make more of the same?
Hunh, i consider that quite the compliment, to the music he enjoyed.
September 2, 2020 @ 2:05 pm
I see someone is listening to idiots. First of all, Elvis was very adamant about him considering Fats Domino being the real king of Rock N Roll (there are numerous interviews that confirm this as well Elvis being annoyed that people would rather listen to him sing instead of Fats as well as his hatred that people considered him (Elvis) to be the king of rock n roll. secondly that magazine story that made Elvis out to be a racist is an obvious work of fiction. In fact when a black reporter visited Elvis after that nasty article was published he was shocked and delighted that Elvis was not only very welcoming but he treated him like an old friend despite the fact they never met before. Finally Elvis was a big supporter of Martin Luther King jr writing him letters of encouragement and was also a supporter of Muhammad Ali.
As I said above if you want to get mad at a racist get mad at Colonel Parker be a he was a racist POS. While Elvis did have his faults being racist is not one of them and I really wish the colleges and groups like Public Enemy had done their research because there’s sadly far too many people today who consider Elvis to be akin to that idiot Pat Boone
September 2, 2020 @ 2:35 pm
Okay, but why vandalize the The Levitt Shell? Why go after a public mural commissioned by the UrbanArt Commission?
September 2, 2020 @ 3:12 pm
Maybe because of its history with Elvis? (also the fact that it basically ignores its history surrounding Black people and musicians, both the negative AND the positive).
Also never said Elvis was “racist” I said he used Black music to make himself rich, because he had doors open to him due to his skin color.
September 2, 2020 @ 3:30 pm
“Elvis basically ripped his entire career off of Black people.”
a) Stupid, uneducated comment.
b) Guess Elvis had a pretty big pair, huh
September 2, 2020 @ 3:31 pm
I’m just saying, not sure why your automatic assumption is that it was just random
September 2, 2020 @ 3:46 pm
My assumption isn’t that it was random at all. I think whomever did this specifically targeted cultural institutions throughout Memphis. I can definitely see them target Graceland due to cultural appropriation concerns. However that makes no sense for the other two sites. I also don’t believe we should attempt to justify the vandalism for any reason. You think celebrating Elvis’s music is wrong? Go protest it. Don’t vandalize it. It besmirches Black Lives Matter, and the case of Elvis as a cultural appropriator.
September 2, 2020 @ 5:41 pm
Seak,
Am truly trying to understand where you are coming from, this evening.
The quote below is from B.B. King.
“Let me tell you the definitive truth about Elvis Presley and racism’, The King of the Blues, B.B. King said in 2010. ‘With Elvis, there was not a single drop of racism in that man. And when I say that, believe me I should know’.”
We were fortunate enough to be riding in an elevator with Mr. King, when our son was 8 years old.
Our son looked up, smiled, walked over, stuck his hand out and said, “You’re Mr. B.B. King.”
Mr. King looked down at him with a huge smile and said, “Yes son, i am.”
They stood there a few beats hands still clasped.
Our son asked B.B. if he had “Lucille” with him.
An hour later, my son and husband reappeared, after visiting with B.B. on his bus.
I was left wondering where everyone was.
Great times
September 2, 2020 @ 5:59 pm
But I never said he was racist. I said he took the Black music he learned in Black Memphis clubs, and had many doors open to him because he was white. Labels wanted the white person doing the music, not the Black people he learned it from. TV shows wanted the white person. Music venues wanted the white person. White teens wanted the white person. And so he became wealthy and is credited as the King of rock and roll. Elvis would tell you he didn’t invent the music.
What you are really saying is because Elvis personally wasn’t racist and was nice to Black people. It’s ok that he took Black music and was able to profit off of it, in a way they weren’t, because he was white.
Just because you aren’t personally racist to the Black person in your office, doesn’t mean you don’t benefit from being white…and it doesn’t mean that’s ok.
September 2, 2020 @ 6:42 pm
“Labels wanted the white person doing the music, not the Black people he learned it from.”
Discrimination, due to ignorance, was dead wrong. No question there. Ever.
Elvis made his own music. He was his own musician. Immensely talented.
Just like B.B., Louis Armstrong, Corb Lund, etc.
MUSIC is good.
I identify heavily with drums & a drum beat because of family heritage.
I understand your frustration with black brothers & sisters not being given the same opportunities.
Believe me.
I would like to say that just because i am American Indian & WASP, doesn’t mean i have not personally come up against heavy prejudices.
Major prejudices, with you know, asinine sexual harassment thrown in for fun.
While in clinicals at Broward General at Ft. Lauderdale for Nuc. Med., one of the 2 times, i actually ate lunch, the male Ultrasound Lead, pointed his phone and took a couple pictures. A tech that worked with him asked, what are you going to do when your wife sees those?
Looked dead at him & said, Erase those pictures right now. If you do not, i am going to come over there and knock your ass off that chair.
He erased them.
Went into a field that is mostly populated by men.
My “whiteness” did not earn me a soft place to land.
Was balls to the wall EVERY DAY, getting that degree.
So no, being white does not mean a free ride
September 2, 2020 @ 7:56 pm
You’re a badass Di.
Something tells me you were never asking for a safe space.
September 3, 2020 @ 7:20 am
Its lazy to say Elvis ripped off black music. The actual story like many things, is nuanced. You are likely referring to the Sun label material where he recorded Mystery Train, Thats all Right and Good Rockin Tonight which were in fact songs first recorded by black artists. Sam Phillips had the vision of finding a white artist who could take that material to the masses.
However Phillips spent years prior to that discovering and recording people like BB King, Howlin Wolf, James Cotton, Billy The Kid Emerson, Ike Turner, Rufus Thomas, and many more folks of color. For his effort and trouble he was harassed and threatened by prejudicial whites who resented him recording colored music…he also made very little money on those artists as many of the recordings such as the Howlin Wolf sides were pressed by Chess in Chicago. To survive, Phillips had to record white artists as thats where the money would be. Elvis literally came to him wanting to sing country and gospel, and it took awhile and a lot of tape to get Thats All Right down. It was quite accidental when it happened. Reality is, Elvis had so much talent he was gonna be a star, somehow, someway.
As for ripping blacks off, that’s quite a militant take. Music styles are shared freely by people. Music is communal and musicians learn and copy from each other. Look at Stax records in Memphis. Black and White musicians freely recorded together despite the culture war outside the doors. Musicians are often the least prejudicial people anywhere. Elvis and Sam Phillips were if anything, heroic in breaking down racial barriers. Their impact on music both white and black resonates still today.
As for covering others songs, royalties are paid to publishing companies and ultimately the songwriters, it ain’t a perfect system and there was corruption but at least there was an arrangement. Ripped off? I think not. Fats Domino , Bo Diddley , Chuck Berry and Little Richard built real legacys for themselves on rock and roll.. And future generations of black musicians would also benefit. Look at the thriving world music has evolved into, with blacks reaping huge financial and social benefits.
I could go on…and on….
Elvis is no villain, not a con man and certainly no racist. Quite to the contrary, he was a guy who if anything , raised pu lic consciousness to the power and beauty of black music and for that you ought to thank him.
September 3, 2020 @ 8:31 am
This is really, really well said. Unfortunately though, I think lack of nuance is more than just lazy thinking. Many people seem incapable of critical thinking and instead just regurgitate talking points. I saw this exact “argument” downplaying the vandalism on twitter. Now, just because multiple people are saying the same thing in almost the exact same way doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s wrong….but when you start to see the same talking points repeated over and over again, and the people using them unable to articulate any nuanced point of their own, a pretty distinct pattern emerges.
September 2, 2020 @ 1:48 pm
It’s hard for someone to raise their kids when they’ve been killed by the police despite being innocent, or locked up for decades for the same “crime” – drug use – that all your favourite white country singers barely get a slap on the wrist for.
September 2, 2020 @ 2:16 pm
Very sad. Black lives matter are not helping black people or anyone at all. They are creating hatred. Nothing is achieved by destruction of property. They should listen to the speeches of Martin Luther King jr who through peaceful means changed the world. The should listen to the words of Tennessee Representative Deberry Jr in a great recent speech. Well worth a listen/ His fear should be the fear of everyone.
September 2, 2020 @ 2:36 pm
I had more fun when we talked about music .
” Sorry.” …guess that’s my Canadian showing
September 2, 2020 @ 4:17 pm
Fu** You!
Slowly but surely letting your liberal views come to light .
What’s next an article demanding justice for Rapist blake or changing the site name to Saving Black Lives?
September 2, 2020 @ 4:26 pm
I have no idea how this article could solicit this response. Or how it could solicit the same response as this comment just posted on Facebook:
“Trigger’s weekly reminder to say: “I’m here for you my trusty far right followers. And if Fox News has an opening, I’m available too”.
(Just don’t question Trigger! He’s only willing to hear praises and people telling him how right he is. The easiest way to achieve this is to throw around some far right crap because the Trum clan won’t hesitate to go all Texan rich guy from the Simpsons, shoot their guns in to the air, yell “Yeehaw” and Trigger can give himself a pat on the back and say “good job, Trigger. They like you…”)”
September 4, 2020 @ 1:42 pm
Trigger,
Great response.
If you’re being attacked from both sides, that means you’re probably correct and pretty close to being right in the middle.
September 2, 2020 @ 4:34 pm
LOL. Which article did you read?
September 2, 2020 @ 9:55 pm
Are you the same Strait Country 81 who has posted for years on SCM, or did you steal that handle?
If it is the former, then I guess you are just another one of the people who have revealed their true character…
September 6, 2020 @ 1:39 am
The same one that’s been here since 2011 or 2012
September 2, 2020 @ 4:48 pm
What makes me even sicker if they studied Elvis he spent a lot of time in the black community as a teen especially black music
September 2, 2020 @ 4:52 pm
Trigger I agree that the vandalism is wrong, but cannot really see what it has to do with “Saving Country Music”. In my honest opinion the article did seem a little political in nature since it mentioned BLM. Whatever you post online your sure to get some crazy response, lol don’t u love the internet?
September 2, 2020 @ 6:41 pm
Of course there’s a political element to this story. Not sure why that recuses myself or anyone else from reporting on it. Again, don’t see why showing concern for vandalizing historical landmarks is polarizing.
I report on important properties to country music being damaged, threatened, or vandalized all the time. Some examples:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/beloved-bbq-eatery-renown-music-venue-vandalized/
https://savingcountrymusic.com/lower-broadway-district-in-nashville-looted-vandalized/
https://savingcountrymusic.com/willie-nelsons-luck-tx-town-badly-damaged-in-storm/
https://savingcountrymusic.com/judge-halts-demolition-of-country-landmark-for-margarittaville-location/
https://savingcountrymusic.com/nashville-to-bulldoze-musicians-hall-of-fame/
September 2, 2020 @ 6:04 pm
It’s amazing how even this needs to become political. What law abiding, country music loving person would support this kind of behavior. Left, right, middle, BLM, KKK, Trump, Biden, whomever you support. This is music, man, it should transcend all this political nonsense. The fact that these comments distill it down to politics, and somehow think that makes their viewpoint ok, is pathetic. You all should be ashamed of yourselves. The only acceptable comment here is what kind of moron defaces property. (No sarcasm).
September 2, 2020 @ 10:53 pm
“The only acceptable comment here is what kind of moron defaces property.” Apparently BLM (no sarcasm).
September 2, 2020 @ 7:38 pm
We, of course, shouldn’t comment on all the thievery and looting as it is just concerned citizens exercising free speech.
Years ago same thing when Katrina slammed New Orleans. Free speech there as well???
September 2, 2020 @ 7:53 pm
Oh sure.
Free speech, as well as, some of the locals shooting live rounds at helicopters that were bringing in provisions
September 2, 2020 @ 11:57 pm
I admire you Trig, trying to write objectively about about hot topics rolled up in politics in this day and age. It’s like navigating a mine field. God bless you man, and thread carefully.
September 3, 2020 @ 6:22 am
Racism defeated thanks to vandalism of historical sites!
Well, actually, it isn’t but that doesn’t stop cultural murderers from destroying American landmarks.
Don’t drink the Kool-Aid, kids.
September 4, 2020 @ 6:46 am
Well,when you’re fighting for your freedom after 401 years of slavery,Jim Crow,rape,economic and political segregation and other human rights violations,can you be surprised that African Americans are saying “Enough?” (I’ve got kin in this game,with a 15-year-old great-niece and 16-year-old great-nephew in Cherry Hill,N.J.,and I pray daily that they don’t become the next Breonna Taylor or George Floyd/ Jacob Blake.Just giving you folk some much-needed black perspective on our continued oppression .)
September 5, 2020 @ 5:45 pm
I’m so tired of these destructive and violent protesters. With all of their BS, they’ve taken principles I support — equality and justice — and have somehow managed to lose my support.
September 7, 2020 @ 11:07 am
What does this have to do with “saving country music.”
Your crazy racism is loud again.
anyway, looking forward to seeing how you spin bullshit about Stapleton, too, now that he has come out on the correct side of history – aka, the side you couldn’t find if it was hidden in your racist ass.
September 7, 2020 @ 11:35 am
If an article about vandalism to country music institutions on a country music dedicated website is 2020’s definition of “loud” racism, I guess we’ve come a lot further than you’d like to admit. Good news!
September 7, 2020 @ 11:49 am
What does it have to do with Taste of Country? What does it have to do with The Boot? What does it have to do with Billboard? What does it have to do with Sounds Like Nashville? Country Music Family? Classic Country Music? Big Country Home Page? These are all country music websites that reported on this story, and there’s more beyond that. Taste of Country has reported it on it twice. There’s a lot of folks proving that the real bias here has to do with some weird anger towards me. Seeing how pretty much every major country music publication reported on this, it would have been conspicuous if I hadn’t reported on it.
What “bullshit” is there to spin about Chris Stapleton? He said that Black lives matter. Good for him, and anyone angry at him needs to calm down.
September 9, 2020 @ 11:22 am
Man, ruthless people out there Trig, I appreciate everything you’ve done with this website, thank you!
I think it’s important to remember “country” is every where, whether we preserve it or write new, it’s there, it’s beautiful. Country comes from the world we live, let’s keep listening and living it! Show all these crazy city folk what’s up.
Charlie Marie knows, every where has a countryside https://youtu.be/_HdnQuv7yk8
Marty Stuart knows, now that’s country! https://youtu.be/erv0-xQdsKE
Charley Pride knows, now that’s country https://youtu.be/wgQ1LJjKugA
It’s not the institution, it’s not the politics, it’s not the buildings, it’s every where! We’re lucky enough to even be here to enjoy it.
PS Love your album reviews, it’s the best way for me to find new upcoming roots country music, thank you!
September 12, 2020 @ 7:02 pm
Get rid of the idiot in the White House, stupid trumpy, and everything will get back to the way it was before he got there. MUCH BETTER without the orange guy. We never were this bad off before he became president. This stupid self centered idiot has YOU ALL UP IN HIS SHIT!
August 12, 2022 @ 5:50 pm
This comment aged poorly.