1. Sister Rosetta Tharpe, “The Godmother of Rock ‘N’ Roll”

Relegated to Obscurity Until Very Recently, Sister Rosetta Tharpe Is About as Far Back as One Can Go to Trace the Roots of Rock ‘N’ Roll. a Gospel Singer All Her Life, She Was the First Performer to Generate a Crossover Hit with “Strange Things Happen Every Day, ” Which Peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s “Race Record” Charts in 1945 (Today’s R&B Chart). Wielding an Electric Guitar, Her Fluent Fingers Could Strum and Pick Like Any Modern Day Rock Star.

2. Little Richard, “The Architect of Rock ‘N’ Roll”

Like Presley, Little Richard Also Grew up in the Deep South and Remembered Singing for Change as a Child. the First Song He Recalled Singing, Appropriately Enough, Was Tharpe’s “Strange Things Happen Every Day. ” Like Other Black Artists of His Time, Little Richard Was Perceived as an Affront to Wholesome Values Because of His Wild and Salacious Performances on Stage. There Was a Visceral Energy That Certainly Attracted Young People of All Races. Presley, in Incorporating Similar Moves into His Act, Took That Raw Sensuousness and Made It More Palatable to an America Still Keenly Divided by Race.

3. B. B. King, “The King of the Blues”

B. B. King, the Man Who Put a Three-Piece Suit on the Blues, Made an Effort to Take the Genre out of the Juke Joints, Putting It on Display on Some of the Most Prestigious Stages in Music. It’s an Image That Belies His Simple Beginnings Growing up Poor in the Mississippi Delta, Not Far from Tupelo Where Presley Was Raised Under Similar Conditions. Growing up Amidst the Black Community in Tupelo, Presley Would Hear This Music on the Streets and Pouring out of the Clubs in His Neighborhood. That Cultural Kinship Between the Two Men Would Be Apparent in the Music They Heard and Pursued. Presley and King, Who Were Both Anointed in the Sweat and the Songs of Southern Rural Life, Would Meet Early in Their Careers and Remain Friends.

4. Jimmie Rodgers, “The Father of Country Music”

Jimmie Rodgers Was Cited as an Early Influence on Both Presley and King. Rodgers, Another White Mississippian Who Grew up Among Black Railroad Workers, Was Also a Font of Inspiration for Some Blues Singers in the Mid-20Th Century, Certainly B. B. King Among Them. Rodgers Had a Famous Yodel That Set Him Apart and Earned Him the Moniker “The Father of Country Music, ” and You Can Hear Its Echo in Presley’s Vocal Delivery.

5. Fats Domino, “The Real King of Rock ‘N’ Roll”

In 1949, Fats Domino Released What Many Consider the First Rock ‘N’ Roll Record, “The Fat Man. “ the New Orleans-Based Pianist and Singer/Songwriter Would Go on to Great Success in the Mid-50S and Early 60S as One of the Earliest Practitioners in the Evolution of Rock ‘N’ Roll Music. from 1950 Through to 1963, Domino Would Score 37 Top 40 Hits, Rivaling Even the Hit-Making Prowess of Presley Himself. “The King” Would Go on to Acknowledge Just How Formative a Role Domino Had in Shaping the Art Form in 1957 When He Told Jet Magazine in an Interview:

6. Dean Martin, “The King of Cool”

Of All the Artists Presley Was Exposed to in His Formative Year's, There Is One Performer Rarely Referenced Who Reached Across a Generation to Inspire Presley’s Work—Dean Martin. the Swagger and Casual Delivery of His Singing Style Was a Clear Influence on “The Sexy, Wobbly, Almost Hiccupping Baritone Vocal” That Became Presley’s Signature. in His Early Career, Many of His Arrangements for Songs Relied Heavily on Those of Martin. in 1955, Presley Actually Covered a Dean Martin Song, “I Don’t Care If the Sun Don’t Shine, ” Which Martin Recorded in 1950 and Appeared in the 1953 Film “Scared Stiff. ”

The Elvis Presley Legacy

The Elvis Presley Legacy Is a Complicated One. There Are Those Who Claim That He Simply Lifted an Existing Musical Form from Black Culture and Made It Popular Because the Songs Were More Acceptable Emanating from a White Man’s Throat. but There Are Also Black Artists Who Credit Him with Opening up Many Opportunities for Them by Exposing Their Music to the Widest Possible Audience. Presley Was Always Quick to Credit Those That Made the Music Before Him and Often Publicly Rejected His Moniker as “The King of Rock ‘N’ Roll. ”

“I Talked with Elvis About Music Early On, and I Know One of the Big Things in His Heart Was This: Music Is Owned by the Whole Universe. It Isn’t Exclusive to the Black Man or the White Man or Any Other Color. It’s Shared in and by Our Souls. ”—B. B. King

Works Cited 1 – ‘Before Elvis, There Was Nothing’ | Qrius 6 – Getting Elvis’s Legacy Right – the Atlantic 7 – Blues Legend B. B. King, Inspiration to Generations of Musicians, Dies at 89 – Los Angeles Times (Latimes. Com) 8 – the Definitive Truth About Elvis Presley and Racism According to B. B. King | Elvis Interviews 10 – Fats Domino’s Low-Key Brilliance: a Rock and Roll Pioneer, Criminally Overlooked (Thedailybeast. Com) 12 – Fats Domino Dead: Why the Late Musician Was the Reason Elvis Presley Hated Being Called ‘The King’ | the Independent | the Independent 13 – 15 – Dean Martin (Elvisinfonet. Com) 16 – Elvis Presley Dubbed Dean Martin as the King of Cool (Elvispresleynews. Com) 17 – B. B. King, Others Knew and Defended Elvis Presley Against All Racist Assertions – Clever Journeys Barnard, S. (1981). [Review of Elvis: Images and Fancies; Elvis Presley: a Study in Music; Elvis: the Final Year's, by J. L. Tharpe, R. Matthew-Walker, & J. Hopkins]. Popular Music, 1, 200–203.

Six Musicians Who Influenced Elvis Presley | American Masters

By Chloe Bennett

• Oct 8, 2026 • 7 min read

Six Musicians Who Influenced Elvis Presley | American Masters

Direct Answer • Key Takeaway

Elvis Presley, 1957. Retrieved by the Library of Congress, Lc-Usz6-2067.

Chloe Bennett

Culture, Media & Entertainment Columnist

Chloe Bennett explores the intersection of pop culture, streaming entertainment, digital trends, and contemporary lifestyle. Her weekly commentary reaches thousands of culture enthusiasts.

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