commentary

Defending the most famous pop culture bandit against AI thievery isn't hypocrisy. It's righteous

Published October 30, 2026 6:30AM (EDT)

(Bettmann / Getty Images)

Depending on who you talk to, Elvis Presley was either the king of rock ‘n’ roll or a no-good thief.

The legendary singer’s legacy has gone through about as many re-evaluations as Presley himself had jumpsuits. His long-held status as an originator of rock music was obviously not quite the whole story. A minute of research, or just an honest accounting that nearly all his early rockabilly hits were cover songs, puts the lie to the idea that Elvis was a drawling bolt from the blue.

He took the genre to new heights of popularity, with a hip-swinging style and a (white) babyface, but the music that Elvis sold so well predated him by decades. The prehistory of rock ‘n’ roll is full of names who might have become stars if they were gifted with his baby blues or discovered by a relentless schemer on the level Col.…