Yep. Elvis also was an addict, which to me says he was a deeply sensitive and feeling person, something most people miss about or don’t realize about those who struggle with addiction.

He was a conflicted man. He felt guilty about his fame and punished himself for it.

Of course he was sweet, most of us southerns are sweet, caring people.

I was just watching some very old clips from the original Candid Camera. Ali was in a few and he was so good with the kids. Totally down to earth.

@@kellydoub9462 That’s why there were so many racists in the south., it’s always been a very sweet and caring place

Loved by all.love your heart felt reaction.

Amen. I agree

Was thinking the same thing. Blessings to you..

When he said that, it caught me in the feels.

@@tem3111 Same. Same. Wow.

I bawled like an abandoned toddler

👍🏾

One more thing about that song, it was written by Mac Davis, who is a singer in his own right, just not near as famous as Elvis was/is. They were quite good friends and Davis wrote this song and after Elvis heard the comments about it being "too raw", he decided to do it and insisted on it. Mac Davis was quite a lucrative song writer back in those days.

The king

From the From Elvis in Memphis album.

He recorded it secretly at American Studios in Memphis instead of RCA, as execs there didn't like the song. Elvis knew better.

Totally agree. He's a good man who kept his head on straight

Eye. stupid Benny Spy unforgotten voices , so great.

levyrat AR Elvis was one of the best ever about his TCB band and all the singers on stage with him, he took the time to introduce all of them every show. He was the reason the audience was there, he could have easily not acknowledged the band and no one would have thought about it, but that wasn’t who he was. He’s still and always will be the King.

Whitney Houston's mom was one of them. I saw an interview with Whitney, when she described what it was like meeting Elvis when she was a little girl....something along the lines of you, wow, that's a really good looking man

@@therealfronzilla He was one of the most handsome men I had EVER seen! Absolutely GORGEOUS!!

Eye. stupid Benny Spy Yes and Elvis was their best man, and gifted them a House! Chuck D was wrong (and even he admits it) Elvis was no racist!

Poor . . . black white brown yellow red . . . we all matter . . . ALLLIVESMATTER

@@DeadManPutting True but when will the middle realize that we all matter only if black and brown is included. Seems to have been a huge issue for centuries in this country.

Roy Mathis ...Please don’t fall for the bs we all have the same chances it’s not easy for some but we can be anything we want in this country Although I fear it’s changing there are laws against discrimination don’t believe it can’t happen it’s just not easy but all in you these years. I grew up on a dead end street and in the poorest house on the street. Now I didn’t become a millionaire or anything like that but I been around and drove cars that I could only look at for a long time. Went on vacations only dream of. Lived in places I only saw on tv but I worked and saved we all can do it. God bless and believe in yourself please believe in yourself

@@dontellgucci1117 I agree, at the end if the day it's up to that individual to overcome his or her obstacles and prosper. And we all can do it. Nobody should expect more out of you than yourself.

Mac Davis said his original title for the song was "Vicious Circle."

One of Elvis' quotes: "So help your brother along the way no matter where he starts, for the same God that made you, made him too, these men with broken hearts”

yep, that's white liberals for you.

Drek Picken Preach it!

I'm sure it happened on more than one occasion, but that's a famous story from when they played Houston in the 70s. They acted ugly towards the Sweets and EP said I'm out of here. Then they changed their tune. People who accuse EP of racism just have no idea what they are talking about.

@Drek Picken And now it's Republicans, things have changed in the past 60 to 70 years. Nice whataboutism though, it's all you really have, I know.

@@Drimirin you have no real proof, all these cities where this oppression happens have been ran by democrats for decades.i dont know much but I know people not parties are what matters.

spotlight*

He grew up poor...so it was a spotlight on something he too knew about.

Growing up poor is not the same as being restricted to living in certain areas because of your race

@@subg8858 ever seen working class terrace houses in coal mining towns in England ? If you were born there, you weren't going anywhere except down a pit.

@@subg8858 You are not restricted because of your race. Maybe because of your mindset, but not your race.

Remember the Mac Davis show? He was quite a talent!

@@clab5864 He starred in a movie about football, too. That's about all I can remember about it. It was called "North Dallas Forty"

Here Here. Great songwriter/singer. RIP Mac Davis.

yes but he wrote it for Elvis

@@bobbyramsay1 yes, i know.

Yes and unlike some celebs most of his donations were made anonymously, millions per year at Christmas time (Graceland maintained the financial records.) I think that says a lot. He also got a thrill to see poor people of all races at a car lot, and surprise these strangers by buying them a car outright. There are many such stories reported in short Memphis newspaper articles, and became a telling part of his legend.

I think of the joke Johnny Cash said - he saw a guy walking down the street wearing only one shoe. So he called out "Hey buddy, you lost a shoe!" and the guy says "nah, I FOUND one!"

Yes, but it was more like pointing it out. Kind of like telling someone their shoe is untied.

Is Tupelo right above Onebelo in Mississippi ???

Actually he lived IN two different predominantly black neighborhoods in Tupelo.

To elaborate, Commerce Street and Mulberry Alley (which no longer exists) were two dingy commercial areas on the south fringe of Shake Rag. Elvis was about 11-12 at that time. They lived behind the businesses in what were little more than sheds. By the time they lived in Mulberry Alley, they were close to homeless as it was a hovel. An African American landowner who lived in the almost all-black Park Hill neighborhood on the better side of the tracks, literally, asked Vernon if he was looking to move. He could rent them half a house that was designated "white" on land that backed up to his own land. Vernon told Gladys and Elvis that they were leaving Shake Rag. The new place was like a paradise to the Presleys. Elvis played with a group of young boys his age, who were black and Vernon struggled to make the rent. Elvis had access to all the food Grandpa Bell was growing, Vernon built the children a tree house, and the house itself had indoor plumbing including a bathtub. School was not pleasant for Elvis; only one boy was allowed or even wanted to visit Elvis at his home, and Elvis was treated as an outcast in school. But when he got home, he was welcomed by the Bells and other black families living on The Hill. The folks who lived there were more likely to be teachers, ministers, nurses. The white people who lived there, though, were later described by a white Tupeloean as "poor, poor people." They spent about a year there, which was long for them. But they had to leave. Vernon was running white lightning to try to make the rent, and they had to get out of Mississippi. They put their belongings on top of a 1939 Plymouth that somehow got them to Memphis, where they all lived for the rest of their lives. In 1948 Memphis, no one expected Elvis Presley to amount to anything. He beat the odds.

@Jaime Alonzo OMG, i seen that movie when i was a child & that is still to this day one of the funniest things I've seen.

@Jaime Alonzo as a white kid in white town introduced me to black America & i think that's what Steve Martin was trying to do. By being overtly racist, it made us rethink our biases. Like looking in the mirror & not liking what we saw, even while we laughed... lol

@Jaime Alonzo No comment. Well . . . oddly, uh, truth is stranger than fiction. This was no joke. Tupelo's black community gave sanctuary to the poorest white families. They were in limbo: they had nowhere to go.

Yes he did the song was called The vishes cycle I believe. But he changed it to In the ghetto.song was released in 1969.

Yep 😢❤️

I just finished watching an interview he did about writing the song. It has an amazing "back story". kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ja2DobeXt7DQc40.html

I had the same reaction I ALWAYS have to this song. It's so beautiful, I just cry!!!!!

He also wrote Memories, you should check out his version in the Elvis tribute video. The lyrics are more sorrowful in the original lyrics than when Elvis sang it

I had no idea. So glad to know that.

Whitney Houston came from a very talented musical family. Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, Dee Dee Warwick, and Leontyne Price are/were all extraordinary singers in their own rights. And all related to Whitney.

True, but only for a very short time (his first Las Vegas season in 69) she left to look after her kids

Yep. They lived in a shack basically and I think got kicked out of the shack.

I was sitting here trying my best to remember who the heck wrote it lol thanks Cooper, Mac was also a pretty good entertainer himself

The term dirt floor poor was made for the way people like The King grew up

MontcomHorror Actually they were kicked out of public housing in Memphis when Elvis was a teen. They said the income from both parents working exceeded public assistance, but their money was paying for Elvis’ fathers’ injured back. Vernon was a laborer and originally a sharecropper, and he built the shotgun shack Elvis was born in with his brother Vester. The Presley family moved from that shack to Memphis to find better work in the city. Elvis attended many black church gospel music services in Mississippi and in Memphis, starting at very early age.

BRIANSTORM Well, aren’t you Jolly-Know-All?!?! JK. Yeah, I’m not completely up on my Elvis history. I’m much more of a Beatles fan than Elvis though I do like/love some of Elvis’ music. Some 50’s Rock’ n roll can grate on my nerves. Also as you mentioned with Elvis and churches, I’m not into gospel and he recorded a decent amount of that too. I’d say I like his later stuff better than the earlier music. This song is a fantastic example of great Elvis, later music.

He gave away many Cadillacs and homes to friends that he met.

Me too

Me three

Me 4! Powerful song to this day! 58 now and brings back so many memories of my childhood or lack of a childhood in the ghetto. Single mom 6 kids, evictions, drugs, alcohol, violence, death, you name it.

Me too.😥

" if I can dream" makes me cry 😢😭 like a baby 🐥🍼, too!!!

If I recall, he grew up in ghetto himself and had a jailbird father. I could be wrong, though.

"mac" davis wrote several songs that elvis (along with many other singers) recorded 🧡

Yes he wrote it in remembrance of a black friend he had at 6 years old...❤️❤️❤️

Yeah. Mac is another amazing artist.

Mac Davis always knows... If you don't know what that means, watch his film, THE BEST FOOTBALL MOVIE EVER RECORDED, NORTH DALLAS FORTY! I bought his jersey and he played AWESOME as the Dallas quarterback.

Harry Houdini ...wow I didn’t know that, thanks for sharing

Elvis grew up dirt poor in tupelo and used to sneak away with his black friend,to listen to all the great sounds,obscure musicians may have been playing on their porches. He was there so that's where the understanding came from.then his parents moved I believe to Tennessee ,dad Vernon bought him a guitar, instead of a bicycle .and the rest is history 😊😊❤.god bless you too, you could of gone either way.but chose the hard way to be a good model for your brothers,and we are luckier for it.

One of the backup singers was Whitney Houston’s mom Sissy Houston..

Yes they did. It is so beautiful yet sooo haunting.

That was well put my friend!🥃🍺

@Yo Ma Colin Flaherty's videos on KZfaq, Minds and Bitchute.

Yo Ma that’s the problem. We can’t look to the government to save us. We need to do it for ourselves.

Like John Lennon said "before Elvis there was nothing"

Elvis was pure evil. The whole point of this song of his was that black people in the ghetto shouldn't procreate....he was racist as f*ck.

@@young321bookie You obviously didn't know Elvis...

@@bobmorris9687 - I think I know him only too well my friend, he was a devil.

@@young321bookie Maybe the point of the song was to draw attention to the plight of those growing up in poverty. Perhaps you should give the song's writer Mac Davis, who grew up poor himself the benefit of doubt. As for as Elvis goes, he could afford to have lived anywhere he wish but he chose predominantly black Memphis.

People confuse the man with the system. In the end the criminals who ran the system killed Elvis too. They reckoned he was worth more to them dead than alive.

Thanks David🙏🏾

Jamel_AKA_Jamal I’m amazed at your humble spirit and positivity. Even though everyone in the world might not know you, you are absolutely an inspiration I’m sure in your community. That’s where it starts anyways. Your mama must be an absolute angel to raise someone like you with many many other siblings too. Wow I’m extremely impressed by your background and who you seem to be today ☺️

@Ilovepotatos why do you have to make it into something?

I am a 40 year old Mexican and I love Elvis Presley’s music. Indeed music transcends cultures.

Finland.....

@Ilovepotatos do not know, quite normal me with my fellow whiteis........

@Ilovepotatos noh, this is boring. Everyone looks like clones......

The media will never let that happen

@@williamwalters9403 bruh its not the media, its the people

Elvis never said the kid was black. Ask yourself what that says about you.

For the most part, that is where we are! There are evil forces trying to divide us all again, to make us fall, and then to conquer us. We need to stay vigilant and push back against haters and trouble makers in all levels of life.

Amen.

So Good🙏🏾

As a child, I cryed every time I heard this song

For REAL though!

@@nan-sea3814 ~ me too ... 😥😥😥

Not the king, but he was very talented man with an impeccable range.

👍🏾

I agree. "If I Can Dream" should be on repeat on every radio and steaming service until some of this madness of hatred settles down. Elvis, had he lived to be a senior citizen, would have been very disappointed with 2019.

@@RobinMarkowitzcoolmedia I agree and In the Ghetto, how timely is that? .Keep waiting for some songs from this generation that speeks of unity and love. Looks like I'm in for a long wait. The hatred is feed everyday 24/7 so it doesn't die. But one day it will change. Elvis would have been 84. Maybe you are of this generation, work on that Peter, Paul, Mary genre. lol

me It has always been known that Elvis grew up in poverty, but there are some newer, investigative videos on KZfaq that really reveal the depth, severity and extent of the Presley family poverty, and the incredible number of times that they had to pack up and move; practically on a yearly basis because of it.

@@russellgay9442 In all of the hoopla and fame and fortune , what gets forgotten about Elvis is that he is just like his father and any other man in this country that came from nothing. Elvis found a way out of the poverty and hopelessness. He worked his way to it. Along the way he paid a terrible price. The very thing that got him out of poverty, was what got him in the end. he paid a hefty personal price to see that people were cared for. He took care of is family, and the price for their life of ease, was an early grave for him. We all as men do the same thing. We work so our family can have it a little better than we did. No matter the cost. Some pay for it like Elvis, some it is a lifetime of bad backs, failing eyes, and a whole other host of ailments. In the end we pay for it one way or another.Elvis did too. I see Elvis as a good man who worked to make life better for those around him, and it took about 30 or so years off the end of his life. That is what good men do.

Theresa Jackson and that’s what makes it even sadder we still haven’t changed for the better

I understand the majority are the police forces r r f but I also want to comment that there are a lot of misunderstandings going on and honorable policeman 2 and there is the underlying racist attitude also but I want to comment on a group of policemen that I heard about and I think it took place in Canada they had a pilot program for helping the underdog a survey analysis where they were going to try instead of arrest drug addict they were going to try to really really help them I believe it was a three-month pilot program that was implemented to try to salvage lives instead of just arrest lifelong friends chefs emerged with the police it was a beautiful program more especially in the United States so I really commend and appreciate the Canadian Police Academy because there were testimonials on the police side and on the drug addict side when there were win-win situations after about six months and trial and neither side gave up on each other they work with each other the human Spirit can transcend things if they really want to I wish we had more programs like this and I wished I would have been able to catch on to the exact program

This happened I believe somewhere in the late 80s early 90s I believe it was the flash news on television I believe it was on 20/20 or 60 minutes but it was a beautiful program a battle with the police get it was somewhere in the late 80s early 90s but anybody can probably follow up in check by contacting the Canadian police he was a beautiful program sorry I didn't get the actual Source folks but I just wanted to speak on behalf of the police in this instant especially after hearing Elvis sing in the ghetto it inspired me to try to unite people this kind of activity doesn't continue if you're anyone reading my comment listen to Elvis Presley singing in the ghetto and people react to it for the first time the messages migrating across through the years an art form

Theresa Jackson I still cry, too🙏🏻

Don't cry daddy brought tears to my eyes.

It doesnt gets better when the violent streets becomes their father figure.. and what's even more screwed up is.. when the supposed "leader activists" becomes their politician for decades with billions of dollars going thru their hands and yet their communities that they suppose to serve gets worser and worser. ..and still they vote for these corrupt politicians . smh.

toetz I hear you! Look at Elijah Cummings and the crime and rodent infested squalor people are living in. People need to vote for someone that doesn't look like them, necessarily. I lived between DC and Baltimore during the hight of the crack epidemic and have been back there recently and the atmosphere is REAL BAD! Kansas City, Missouri much like many other cities continue to elect thieves that siphon off millions from education programs, after school programs, learning centers etc. It's sad to see my fellow brothers and sisters keep blindly voting Democrat and black. Time to wake up and despite how one feels about the current administration historically, regardless of what BS the MSM and acadamia feeds you, The Republican party has always been the party of civil rights. I remember the 1968 riots, Vietnam and every other atrocities to this day. We are so divided in this country it breaks my heart. MLK is crying in his grave. SMH. We have to come together as PEOPLE and AMERICANS. The media is pitting one against the other. Don't let them succeed! I'm of mixed heritage including central African, Sicilian, Native American and French. What does that make me? American! I'm proud of it. I didn't support Trump but check out some independent news, center right or even conservative viewpoints. People are sick of the BS. Nothing will get done as long as there is the constant onslaught against Trump and America. If the left continues this insanity they're going to ensure his reelection. At least he's not a career politician, he has his own money and doesn't need to pander to lobbyists to line his pockets like EVERY president b4 him except Truman and a few others. People of ALL races, religions,and socioeconomic levels are jumping the Democratic ship. This is where if disagree with a single thing I say then I'm just another facist, homophobic, mysogenistic, white supremacist, nazi etc. Based solely on my skin color, my gender, age and being a free thinker. I've been around for awhile and I'm tired of seeing the Democratic plantation owners are still at it with empty promises for votes. Until the left denounces groups like antifa who not only block people from expressing their views but come to peaceful marches with helmets, body armor, clubs, hammers, pepper spray,bottles of urine and have beat the crap out of people who just want hear a different narrative other than what their Facebook news feed and MSM is dishing out. You know what offends me? Victim mentality, entitled and "oppressed" individuals that need to take a good look in the mirror. I HAD TO and I changed my life. It's a miracle I'm not dead or in jail. I thank the powers that be that I made it this far. I'm struggling but life is a struggle. It's one day a time. If God forbid this country continues on this path of devisivness it's going to get real bad and the body count high. As far as the alphabet soup group? 57 genders?? I don't care what you are or how you identify as long as you don't bother me. Peace, love and hope.

I mean, for an adult man that partied with 14 year old females, I guess. He was talented but not so sure he was the best person.

JennaB willing to bet those females probably lied about their age.

@@that.ll_do_pig the real question is,where were the parents of those 14 year olds?

About the 14 yr old girls, it was a different time then and men made honest women of 14 yr old girls. Just watch the movie about Loretta Lynn, "Coal Miner's Daughter. Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones knock it out of the park, and Lynn married at 14. Her parents weren't thrilled about it, but it was done back then.

THANKS DAVID🙏🏾

It is a great thing when we a look back and see what should or what could have happened to us but didn't! I am 50 too and I thank God for his grace and mercy for getting me thru when I was young and dumb!

Oh. This made me cry. It's wonderful that you saw how very much she loved you.

And I believe you will always be the proudest part of her life! I'll bet she raised a heck of a good man. Respect and Blessings to your Mom! Respect and abundant Blessings to you for understanding what she did and why. You're a good MAN and a good Son Steve Z

Your mama sounds like a loving caring mother ......

God bless your mom! And God bless you for making good on the chance you were given!

Mac Davis was the bomb. Booze got him like it gets a lot of us ( myself Included). Mac turned it around and was a fine role model. I remember going to see Mac Davis star in the Will Rogers Follies years ago ; He was Excellent.

Thank You🙏🏾

I lived 1 mile from Elvis's Birthplace and knew the family..but never met "E"!

I knew he grew up poor in the south, so he probably could relate to poverty. There can be ruffians in the country as well as the city. You never hear him speak well of his father, just his mother. Maybe that's why the song is sung that way.

Yep. It's just a little shack

His father was a sharecropper in Mississippi. He knew poverty and desperation. My mother was a huge Elvis fan.

Clyde Barrow Michael was better

Michael Jackson was better

@@JoeBrown Michael did not have that rich amazing voice, sorry. He copied James Brown who was a great live performer. Michael also pretty much sang one genre. Elvis covered rock,pop,country,gospel, blues,rockabilly. Over one billion records sold.

@@clydeb7713 Thriller sold 33 million copies alone. Forget record sells Michael held down countries! Elvis could never hit a high note or even come close to dancing like Mike.

@@JoeBrown Dude, did you go to school? Elvis sold 1 BILLION Records! That is 1000 million! Nobody would say Michael Jackson had a better voice than Elvis, PLEAZZZZZ! Micheal couldn't hit a low note so? Michael had way more media internet promotion to help him be popular. I'll grant he could dance better .

Grew up in Omaha in the 60's myself as a "Young Gifted and Black" Child. My Mom Loved Her Some ELVIS!

My condolences. I lost my wife to cancer in 2014. Stay well and healthy during the pandemic (etc.) (I hope everyone who may read this does as well.) 🤟🤗

🙏🏻❤

Beautiful story. Blessings to you and yours.

Bless your heart Denise. I grew up in Omaha. It sounds like your husband was a treasure. It sounds like you are too.❤

So true man, any person with a true heart can't hear this song and not tear up. This song is raw and hits where it hurts.

One of my absolute favorites also.

Best song ever

This!

Yes she was but only during the 1969 July to September shows. Cissy didnt return for the 1970s . Elvis really enjoyed the Sweet Inspirations. Beautiful voices and they were perfect for Elvis.

Yes brotha it was tough but I made it out🙏🏾

Jamel_AKA_Jamal ..... HALLELUJAH BROTHER ✋️😄🤚 🙏🙏🙏

Thanks Gary🙏🏾

Sounds like Trump. He has many black friends too.

When Jackie Wilson had a heart attack on stage and slipped into a coma, Elvis paid his medical bills till he's passed in '77...Jackie died in '84

I heard James Brown was the first person out of family to be told Elvis passed away.

He grew up eating chitlins with black people. Took me 5 minutes to find out, he grew up poor in predominantly black areas. Why do you bring these things up, without researching first.

Tim Denison I know bruh! Everything is Trumps fault. Take a good look in the mirror! Quit being the tired ass oppressed victim. Try thinking for yourself once in your life not thinking of yourself! I believe there's hope for you yet. I bought into the Democratic plantation owners that have made empty promises for votes. I'm sick and tired of seeing my fellow brothers and sisters buying into the same old BS and watching the suffering as the "activists" turned politician rob the people blind i.e. Elijah Cummings and many others. I didn't support Trump but I'll tell this much. ...he's not a career politician, he has his own money and doesn't have to pander to lobbyists to line his pockets like EVERY president b4 him except Truman and a few others. Quit drinking out of the toxic Kool Ade and think FOR YOURSELF bruh. Peace, love and hope.

👍🏾Thank you🙏🏾

But it doesn't have to. No one is forced to have children that they can't afford. There is also such a thing as birth control.

@@su-rv2uq you're an idiot he didn't mean having more children. He probably meant that this happens far too often.

Mac Davis painted this song.. Elvis emoted it.. Its just heart wrenching because we all know its true.. God love you and protect you..

a Oh man, you must be real high up on some horse. Your comment is beyond stupid. I guarantee you’ve never been through any kind of real struggle in your life. Wow. I’m honestly speechless

@@KittyKittyBangBang249 I hope you're not talking to me. If you are yes I have been through a lot of heartache and Pain by the way. But thanks for telling me you know who I am. Typical woman thinking their opinion is important BS. No I don't you go screw off

🙏🏾

He didn't grow up in a ghetto. A ghetto is an area in which blacks were forced to live, or in the case of Germany, jews

subg88 ... OK wordsmith, ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other areas of a city or town.

Yeah, but that is literally what this song is referring to

There were actual ghettos when Elvis grew up