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