Elvis born; 1935

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More than just "The King" of Rock and Roll Elvis has become an important American icon. Elvis has also become a symbol of the appropriation of black music by whites. Elvis was considered to have "the Negro sound" and this undoubtedly helped him to become the star he was. Artists like Big Momma Thorton and Little Richard are frequently unmentioned as the contributors and inventors of Rock and Roll which only continues the cycle of cultural theft seen in the white appropriation of the blues and jazz.