I see both sides of the argument when it comes to Elvis. My take is that he was ultimately a great intepreter of songs in a vein similar to Sinatra. The difference being that Elvis could shake his hips and do rock and roll. Elvis was never an innovator and did not invent rock and roll, but he was extremely important in making it palatable for the radio and making it popular. There might have been some racism involved in it needing a white guy to break through, but it was what it was I guess.