"Then Sings My Soul"

Elvis and the Sacred South

August 4-9, 1996

The 1996 International Conference on Elvis Presley, "'Then Sings My Soul': Elvis and the Sacred South," will examine a wide array of topics in American popular music, religion, and culture. The conference welcomes the general public to join noted scholars, writers, musicians, and fans in discussions of the gospel music and evangelical cultures of the American South, the spiritual roots and secular conflicts of the emergence of rock `n' roll in Southern culture, and the enduring posthumous presence of "Elvis" in media culture worldwide. As both historical figure and topic of discussion, "Elvis" names an interracial, intercultural, interdisciplinary intersection on the world map.

The conference begins on Sunday, August 4, with a gala concert and awards ceremony hosted by Jerry Clower and featuring Elvis's own gospel quartet J. D. Sumner and the Stamps; "World's Greatest Gospel Singer" Reverend Cleo Robinson; and long-time friend of the Presley family Queen Elizabeth Weeden of Memphis. Other performers throughout the week include French rockabilly band The Frantic Rollers; Louisiana Hayride star Margaret Lewis; San Francisco-based impersonator Elvis Herselvis and the Straight White Males; and special guest Elvis Presley Jr.

Speakers for the 1996 International
Conference on Elvis Presley:

Jukka Ammondt Van Cagle Robert Campbell Vernon Chadwick Jerry Clower Michael Doyle William Dunlap Gerald Early Tillman Franks Aron Kantor

Douglas Kellner Margaret Lewis Ayako Maeda William Montel David Rosen Gary Vikan Peter Whitmer Joel Williamson Charles Wolfe

For more information or to register for the conference, contact Continuing Studies by telephone at 601-232-7282 or by fax 601-232-5138.