Elvis Presley was an important figure in popular music and culture at this time in the 1950?s; Willie Mae Thornton represents personal, artistic, and ethical values admired by Walker. The author bases her characters, Traynor and Gracie Mae ?Little Mama? Still, on these real people but abandons biographical accuracy to amplify the symbolic meaning of each character. In this process, Elvis becomes an interloper destroyed by stealing what he does not understand. The Thornton character is poor but authentic, and she succeeds as a person even though her career flops. Thus each character stands for an idea that helps develop the theme of being true to one's self. Examining how Walker turns Elvis and Thornton into fictional characters provides insight into her creative method.The most casual reader will note similarities between Traynor and Elvis. Like Elvis, Traynor gives away Cadillacs and houses. The character serves in the army in Germany. He is a singer who performs to screaming teenagers and punctuates his songs with a "nasty little jerk ... from the waist down." Also, "his hair is black and curly and he looks like a Loosianna creole." Traynor even has a manager who resembles Elvis's Colonel Parker, and the character lives in a grand mansion much like Graceland.Walker's Gracie Mae Still is based on the blues and rock singer, Willie Mae Thornton. In the story, Gracie sells Traynor a song for $500; his version of it, which was very closely patterned on hers, becomes a hit and triggers his rise to fame. In 1956, Elvis recorded "Hound Dog" on the RCA Victor label. "Big Mama" Thornton had released the same song in 1953 for Peacock. The similarities are so STRIKING.The character Gracie Mae both wrote and recorded the song that Traynor bought and remade. Although Willie Mae Thornton recorded "Hound Dog," Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, a team that created many more hits for Elvis and other rock performers, wrote it. Thus, Gracie Mae, h...
