70 | SEPTEMBER 8 • 2022
Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
O
n Aug. 18, thousands of
fans from around the world
gathered outside Graceland
in Memphis, Tennessee, for the 45th
memorial of the passing of the king of
rock ’n’ roll music, Elvis Presley. Elvis is
one of those rare individuals who had a
massive impact upon modern culture. He
recorded more than 700 songs, appeared
in 31 feature films and, if
one includes his shows in
Las Vegas, he performed in
more than 1,600 shows.
Along with the report
about the memorial, I
recalled an article about
Elvis and his Jewish roots
in the July 15, 2021, JN, “
All
Shook Up,
” by Dan Fellner. There is also a
good book on the subject, The Jewish World
of Elvis Presley, by Roselle Kline Chartock.
Both of these works confirm the Jewish her-
itage of Elvis — his great-great-grandmother
was a Jewish immigrant from Lithuania.
Moreover, Elvis was raised with stories
of his Jewish ancestry, which he heard
from his mother, Gladys. Her grave in
Graceland’s Meditation Garden is next to
the resting place of Elvis himself. Its head-
stone, commissioned by her son, features a
Star of David.
All of this inspired me to research Elvis
in the William Davidson Digital Archive
of Jewish Detroit History. I found 224
pages that provided plenty of evidence
that Elvis was indeed an influence.
Elvis entries in the Archive cover a
wide-range of topics. There are adver-
tisements for Elvis movies as well as
for sales of Elvis memorabilia in local
stores. The first mention of Elvis was
in Danny Raskin’s “Best of Everything” column in the
Jan. 25, 1957, JN. Danny was disgusted with a parody of Elvis’ song
“You Ain’t Nothing but a Hound Dog” that was aired on Detroit
radio: “Without a doubt, one of the worse insults to Yiddish humor
we’ve ever heard.
” Dozens of his subsequent columns mention Elvis
or Elvis impersonators (the latter thrived after the King’s death).
The variety of Elvis stories are really fun reading. The second
mention of Elvis is in
a “Dayenu” Cartoon (Aug. 2, 1957). In
1960, Chasidic singer, Shlomo Carlebach.
the “Jewish Elvis Presley,
” performed at
the Young Israel Center of Oak-Woods.
(Mar 4, 1960). A small item in the Oct.
4, 1972, JN promotes contributions
to the Jewish National Fund for the
Elvis Presley Memorial Grove near
Jerusalem.
An infamous Jewish Detroit group
was also referenced in a 1958 Elvis
hit song, “Jailhouse Rock.
” In the song
and the movie of the same name, Elvis
sings, “the whole rhythm section was the
Purple Gang. Let’s rock…
”
Many of the stories in the Davidson
Archive are about the connections
between Elvis and local Jews. Carly
Mitchell “harbors a lifelong love for all
things Elvis Presley” (Feb. 13, 2020).
Seymour Chafetz, who passed in 2007,
enlisted in the Army and was stationed
with Elvis in Germany (Aug. 30, 2007).
In his bar mitzvah announcement,
Clifford Ross Haimann declared his
interest in sports and Elvis (May
25, 2001). Carol Kay dressed up as
Elvis for the B’nai B’rith and Adat
Shalom Men’s Club New Year’s
Party (Jan. 19, 2001). Phyllis and
Jerry Brickner celebrated their 50th
in Las Vegas, by having “Elvis” pre-
side over their renewal of wedding
vows (Nov. 17, 2000).
Maybe Elvis does indeed
still live.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll