Oh Fuck,

I don't care how you squeeze it, if you like rock 'n roll, you must thank the lefties.  It is our tenacious defense of the freedom of expression which has allowed all kinds of "SINFUL" music to join the mainstream.

Allow me to have Elvis explain.

(enter the Ghost of Elvis)

Ok...thankyaverehmush....Now...when I was growin' up in Tupelo Mississipi, I listened to all sorts of negro spiritual music..y'know, gospel and blues...that kinda thing on Okeh records an' Chess records..and well, you could only get this music in "certain" parts of town.  But when the progressives started pushin' the notion of integration, that's how black music ended up in the hands of young white folks.  Now don't go off on the Racist Dixie-crat arguement because we all know that liberal and Democrat are only temporarily linked.  Liberal is an ideology, not a political party.  So...anyway...if it weren't for the sea change toward race relations and freedom of expression, I would have just been a mechanic with a cool hair-doo.  Again...thankyaverahmush!

(the ghost of Elvis has left the building)

Thank you Elvis.  Now...consult the Alan Lomax text "Land where the blues begain"  as he follows blues and it's relatives from the delta and into the ears of the mainstream.  Blues and other non white music was kept out of white communities by folks who were resistant to change.  No, we cannot pin this on the religious right because many conservative religious person's took up the yolk of the anti-segregation movement right along side their african american neighbors.  So again, we cannot lump ideology together with political leaning because they are fickle lovers.  But generally, resistance to cultural upheaval has been a characteristic of the right...and introduction of black music into white society was as scary as desegregation of schools and many other changes.

So...the next time the socially conservative radio host who made millions with loud 12 bar blues based rock and roll while wearing a loin cloth picks on me for bein' liberal...remember who got him there.

Because if it weren't for pinko's like myself, we'd all be Moshing to Perry Como!

PRH