I read not long ago that Elvis had more hits on the Billboard R&B chart than any other white artist. On the other hand, I've heard many commentators accuse him of just ripping off black artists, and of course Public Enemy famously slammed him as a "racist, simple and plain" in "Fight the Power."

When Elvis' popularity exploded, did black Americans think he was just another white poseur like Pat Boone, or was he seen as a more "authentic" rocker?