Welcome back to Country Music 4 Ever! Elvis has recorded songs in many genres. He sang everything from rock and roll to gospel. One of the genres he sang was country. When Elvis was only 19 years old, he signed a record deal. He combined his love of rhythm and blues and country music in his first several singles. He put his own rocking spin on the song “Blue Moon of Kentucky” by Bill Monroe. That song earned him an invitation to perform at the “Grand Ole Opry.”

On October 2, 1954, Elvis made his first and only appearance on the Opry. Back in the 1950s, country fans loved twangy honky tonk music, so they weren’t too happy when Elvis appeared on the Opry. Between his dancing and his style of music, he just wasn’t a good fit for the Opry. Two weeks later, he appeared on the Opry’s biggest competitor, “The Louisiana Hayride.” He got a much better response from the audience there, and he signed on for 52 Saturday night appearances on “The Louisiana Hayride.”

Things are so different now. If someone like Elvis would try to make it in country music now, people would just go along with it. Back then, someone like Elvis wouldn’t be accepted in country music because people respected too much about the genre. It seems like people are starting to lose the respect they used to have for country music because now anyone can be considered a country singer. Even Nelly is country now, and we’re just supposed to sit back and be okay with it. But it’s really hard to be okay with rap taking over country music.

If Elvis was around to make his Opry debut now, I’m sure everyone would love him now. I’m not trying to talk bad about Elvis, but I’m just saying I don’t think he was right for country music at the time.

Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think about country music right now. Do you think people are losing respect for the genre? I’ll be back soon!