Were Elvis and BB King really friends? The true story is complicated

Summary

• Luhrmann’s biopic portrays Elvis and B.B. King as friends and musical confidants, a relationship that King himself validated throughout his life.
• Some claim that the film misrepresents Elvis’s role as a civil rights advocate and exaggerates his ties within the black community, but King criticized Elvis’ theft of black music. Has been denied.
• The exactness of the friendship between Elvis and B.B. King is still debated, with differing opinions on the extent of their relationship, but King’s words suggest that he maintained a friendship throughout Elvis’s career.

falcon luhrmann elvis “Youth Shows”“King of Rock and Roll” Hanging out with blues legend B.B. King, and the film have sparked debate over the true story of the relationship between Elvis and B.B. King. In Luhrmann’s trademark style, elvis It’s a baffling and dazzling two and a half hours that blends together the old and the new. However, many have claimed that the film misrepresents Elvis’ role as a civil rights advocate and exaggerates his relationships with the black community, namely B.B. King. In fact, some lesser-known details show just how close they were, including the words of B.B. King herself.

As depicted in Luhrmann’s biopic, Elvis grew up in a poor, predominantly black community in Tupelo, Mississippi, where he discovered his musical inspiration in the local gospel church. Elvis and his family then moved to Memphis in 1948, to an apartment complex near Beale Street, where Elvis and B.B. King met Luhrmann. elvis. The pair chat, joke and marvel at the incredible music before King gives Elvis advice about the music industry. elvis Apparently depicts Elvis and King as friends, a relationship that King himself attested to several times throughout his life, but the actual history is disputed.

watch on netflix

What BB King previously said about Elvis

King reveals that Elvis booked him on his show

Born in a river cabin in Berclair, Mississippi, B.B. King (starred in). elvis Kelvin Harrison Jr. told a reporter in 2010 (via). san antonio examiner), that he felt a kinship to Elvis because they both “Born poor in Mississippi, lived a childhood of poverty, and learned and earned through music. That kinship and mutual conflict led to the relationship between Elvis and B.B. promoted friendship between kings, with The pair often talk about music together, In the interview, King discussed how he and Elvis agreed to “Music owns the entire universe. It’s not just for the black man or the white man or any other color. It is shared in and through our souls…”

In King’s autobiography, sadness all around meKing also recalls how Elvis organized a show for him at the Hilton Hotel in 1972, Despite Elvis being under his tyrannical manager Colonel Tom Parker, King claims (via san antonio examiner)that elvis”“Place the call” and booked a show in the lounge for King while Elvis played in the hotel’s main theater. This was something that Elvis did many times throughout his career. King speaks fondly of his shows, saying that they would often stay in Elvis’s suite after shows, talking and playing music:

“I would play Lucille (her guitar) and sing with Elvis, or we would take turns singing. It was his way of relaxing’…’We were the real Blues Brothers because the guy knew more blues songs than anyone else in the business – and after a few nights it felt like we’d sung every single one of them. ‘

Why is the friendship between Elvis and BB King up for debate?

King also refuted criticism that Elvis stole black music.

Despite King’s continued claims, elvis The film’s accuracy regarding the friendship between Elvis and B.B. King is still a matter of hot controversy. Author Alana Nash, who has written several books about Elvis, claims (via). USA Today) He King and Elvis only”Familiar,” and that their association was nothing more than a brief conversation, a view which King’s writings and numerous interviews appear to strongly refute. Meanwhile, others, like former music editor pride magazine, Helen Kolawole claims that Elvis appropriated the songs of black artists becoming rich and famous from the work of others. King also addressed that idea, writing in his autobiography Vanity Fair):

,Elvis didn’t steal any music from anyone. He just had his own interpretation of the music he grew up listening to, the same is true for everyone. I think Elvis had integrity.,

So, while Baz Luhrmann may face criticism elvis, The film seems to portray a version of Elvis and B.B. King’s friendship that is at least accurate for its portrayal of the latter’s nuanced situation. Although it is unclear whether the pair ever walked down Beale Street together as they do in the film, King’s words and writings suggest that the two legendary artists maintained a friendship throughout Elvis’s career. Furthermore, King’s description of the mutual respect between himself and Elvis, and Elvis’ undying love of black music, seem to confirm many aspects of Luhrmann’s larger-than-life but tragic character. elvis,

The relationship between Elvis and the black artist would always be challenging for Luhrmann to portray

Despite the controversies surrounding it, the biopic is a version of history

falcon luhrmann elvis It chose to highlight Elvis’s connection with black music and sympathy for the civil rights movement in a way that was bound to be controversial. While such an approach, which includes the use of modern black music elvis, directly addresses the criticism of cultural appropriation, it can also be interpreted as overly flattering to Elvis and his fans, portraying the artist as more progressive than he is. As a white Australian director, Luhrmann also has no insider’s perspective on the issue.

elvis and bb The relationship between the Kings is a microcosm of this difficulty. The extent of the King and Elvis relationship is historically disputed, even by those who were there at the time, meaning that no matter how Luhrmann portrayed it, This will conflict with at least one version of events, Had he decided to leave B.B. King out of the film, Luhrmann could have been accused of ignoring the inspiration that Elvis took from black musicians. Anyway, the Beale Street meeting between BB King and Austin Butler elvis It may not be the most historic scene in the film, but it serves as a way of acknowledging Elvis’ connection to the black music culture he grew up around.