Why was Elvis Presley censored?

Answer 1

Elvis Presley caused quite a stir in his day. There were two reasons for radio stations banning his music and the notorious Ed Sullivan show that only showed his top half.

Parents saw him as a corrupting influence on young people. His nickname Elvis the Pelvis came from his well known hip swiveling that drove his female fans wild. Some saw it as provocative and too sexy. Nothing changes in music. The same complaints young people hear about their music were the same ones said about Elvis.

A second reason has more to do with the era Elvis rose to fame in. Elvis sang what was called "Negro music" - which now would be called Black music. Negro was the more commonly used word, but is unacceptable now because of the negative associations with the word. In the 1950's certain types of music were not listened to or considered appropriate for middle class white kids to listen to. Elvis was heavily influenced by black music. To some he ripped off the style, others say he helped bring it into the main stream. This argument will rage for years to come.

Rock and roll was dismissed by some as black music and not acceptable. But it was becoming increasingly popular among the young. Elvis pushed it even further into the main stream where he became a threat, he was sexy and he sang rock. Every parent's nightmare.

Answer 2

At the time, he was really the first to do many of the dance moves he is now famous for. NO ONE was even allowed to thrust their hips or do "racy" dance moves, as they called them back then. They never showed below the waist on black and white TV, but his moves required it. So many people were appalled by this, but society would most likely be different if it weren't for him to change it.

Answer 3

Swiveling hips was not considered proper for prime time television in 1956

Answer 4

Fear. Hip shaking like that can only lead to moral delimias.

Answer 5

he was such a controversial figure because of the way that he sang, danced, and dressed.