COLUMN: The Olde Original Vanilla Ice

From O.J. Lima's "Blues for Mr. Charlie," Fall '93 From O.J. Lima's "Blues for Mr. Charlie," Fall '93Sitting at the listening bar at Discovery Discs listening to vibes, sends me into a zone. As I listen to a new disc, I put my hands under my chin and my gaze begins to float off towards the ceiling. I noticed B.B. King's face on a box set appropriately titled "The King of the Blues." To the right of B.B. was a compilation of Motown's greatest hits, and next to that was the perennial funk favorite Patsy Kline's, "The Golden Years." But it was the next artist who really caught my attention: Elvis Presley. Not only did he have two box sets, but they were the most expensive ones in the joint. I shook my head in disgust. Why do white folks worship this guy? They even call him "The King." White folks make pilgrimages to Graceland like Muslims going to Mecca. But next to Robin Hood, he just might be the most widely loved thief of all time. To call Presley the "King of Rock n' Roll" is a lie, and to not give his predecessors the credit they deserve is spiteful. In the late 40's and early 50's most black musicians couldn't get record deals, nor would white disk jockeys play their music on the radio. Then Elvis came along, copied their style and music, and rose to instant popularity. So where did Rock n' Roll start? Well, in 1934, ethnographer John Lomax witnessed its earliest identifiable form. He was in a black church in the rural south recording a ring shout. That was one year before Elvis' birth. Twenty years later, Sun Records, located in Memphis Tennessee, began producing 45's. Looking for a money making gimmick, the owner told his secretary, "If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make millions." That man was Sam Phillips, Elvis' original producer. Do you see the scam yet? But as they say in the Ginsu knife ad: "There's more!" Elvis, an alleged bigot, didn't even write most of his songs. Otis Blackwell, a black songwriter, composed many of the "King's" early blockbuster hits such as "Don't Be Cruel." Elvis was nothing more than Sam Phillips' puppet performer. Now, if I were to use someone's ideas in my senior thesis without giving credit, I'd be thrown out of this University faster than you could say "footnote." But this guy plagiarizes and ends up with his face on a stamp. What's wrong with this image? About three years ago a guy from Houston released a rap. The song was terrible, but unprecedented for a rap jam, this mocking imitation of hip-hop received nation-wide air play. It was the image of a white boy with a little soul which caught a lot of eyes and fooled a lot of ears. White folks loved it, and Vanilla Ice faked the funk all the way into the young millionaires' club. Do you see the connection? Elvis wasn't the "King of Rock n' Roll," he was just the original Vanilla Ice. Then again, since you white folks cherished "Ice, Ice Baby," I guess it's not too hard to understand why your grandparents might have fallen for Elvis' pink suits and pelvic thrusts. Now in 1993, the talentless group 2 Live Crew have found themselves in the Supreme Court, fighting an uphill battle for using excerpts from Roy Orbison's song, "Oh, Pretty Woman." They did not acquire permission from Acuff-Rose Music, the company which owns the rights to the song, before sampling its refrain. "Rap music has gained popularity in large part because it borrows from mainstream music. They have exploited our work for a profit. They are free-riding on our music," Acuff-Rose argued in its case. This statement is horrendously incorrect. This "mainstream music" which Acuff-Rose speaks of would not exist if white folks had not mimicked black musicians. There would never have been a Roy Orbison (who consequently didn't even write that particular song) 30 years ago, if there hadn't been musicians like Little Richard and Bo Didley a decade before him. And if this is an issue of plagiarism, exploitation, and free-loading for a profit, than someone needs to sue Elvis, Buddy Holly, and all those other thieves who committed this same crime and got away with it. If anyone should be upset and feel cheated, it should be black folks because there is a precedent being set here about cultural importance. It would appear that defiling African-American culture is acceptable; if it furthers the white mainstream. But conversely, black folks who borrow from the white mainstream are thieves. I doubt Acuff-Rose Music, would have cared had Michael Bolton remade this song like he did to Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves A Woman." Yet a precedent was set in the early 50's and it can't be corrected. White artists plagiarized and exploited black ones, and it was allowed. So if 2 Live Crew, as sorry as they may be – or should I say as sorry as they wanna be – wants to use excerpts from "Oh, Pretty Woman," let them. It should be made law however, that credit be given where credit is due. If the original artist wants his name and where the sample comes from on the inside of a CD cover, then it should be done. But let's not say it's fair for only a specific group of people to use others' work. It's already deceitful enough that there will never be a national debate on whether to put the fat or thin Chuck Berry, the real King of Rock n' Roll, on a stamp. O.J. Lima is a senior English major from Providence, Rhode Island. Blues for Mr. Charlie appears alternate Mondays.