In Ep, 29 we talk about the Baz Luhrmann film ELVIS with GAYLE WALD, George Washington University professor of American Studies and author of Shout, Sister, Shout! The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Our conversation extends to Black musicians and music traditions that shaped Elvis Presley’s music and how that aspect of Elvis’s story is dramatized in this 2022 biopic.

Wald's Rosetta Tharpe biography has been adapted into a musical, "Shout Sister Shout!," with book by Cheryl L. West, premiering at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC in March 2023. You can purchase Wald's "Shout, Sister, Shout!..." book from the podcast's affiliate bookstore on bookshop.org. This conversation was recorded 2/13/23.

Episode 29 Transcript (link)

TIME STAMPS

0:08 Historical Drama...generic open

1:17 Introduction to ELVIS podcast

1:54: ELVIS, the movie, synopsis

3:11 Austin Butler's performance

3:46 Gayle Wald introduction

7:30 Family, Race, and Music in ELVIS

9:30 Memphis and Nashville Music Hubs (Gospel, Blues, Rock-and-Roll, Country)

12:07 Black Music Traditions in ELVIS

16:23 BB King and Elvis Presley's relationship

20:45 Sister Rosetta Tharpe

26:09 Gospel Music and Social Commentary

31:01 BREAK

31:38 Little Richard -- Pushing Gender Boundaries

34:19 Elvis Presley Smashing Conventions (Austin Butler)

37:31 Elvis and Colonel Tom Parker: Popular Music and Commerce

40:52 Elvis and the Black Community

46:14 Black Music Today: Impacts of Gospel, Blues, Rock-and-Roll

47:58 Lightning Round Questions 

53:20 Ep. 29 Outro

54:34 Historical Drama generic Outro

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