--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Had I been pushed like Colonel Parker…" description: "\"Had I been pushed like Colonel Parker pushed Elvis, had I been a white boy like Elvis, sure, it would have been different.\" — Chuck Berry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/chuck-berry-4519_colonel_had-i-been-pushed-like-colonel-parker-pu_822802.jpg" --- # Had I been pushed like Colonel Parker pushed Elvis, had I… ![“Had I been pushed like Colonel Parker pushed Elvis, had I been a white boy like Elvis, sure, it would have been different.” quote by Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/chuck-berry-4519_colonel_had-i-been-pushed-like-colonel-parker-pu_822802.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/chuck-berry-4519_colonel_had-i-been-pushed-like-colonel-parker-pu_822802.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/chuck-berry-4519_colonel_had-i-been-pushed-like-colonel-parker-pu_822802.jpg) > “Had I been pushed like Colonel Parker pushed Elvis, had I been a white boy like Elvis, sure, it would have been different.” [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on how race and industry influence artistic paths, suggesting different outcomes under different circumstances. **In simple terms:** Race and mentorship shape a musician's career trajectory. Key Takeaway Recognize how social factors affect opportunities. Themes race industry mentorship career music Mood thoughtful critical Type reflective social When to use this quote - music industry - career planning - social activism Key Concepts social dynamics cultural impact inequality Questions to Reflect On - How have your background and mentors shaped your path? - What can be done to level the playing field? A Different Perspective It may simplify complex personal agency into external factors alone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Colonel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colonel/) [Colonel Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colonel-parker-488225/) [Elvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elvis/) [Elvis White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elvis-white-488224/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Like Elvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-elvis/) [Parker Pushed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parker-pushed-488223/) [Pushed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pushed/) [Pushed Elvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pushed-elvis-488222/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) ## Related quotes > [I met the Colonel when Elvis was recording some song I'd written for one of his movies. Elvis was just having fun with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-davis/i-met-the-colonel-when-elvis-was-recording-some-song-i-d-written-for/) [Mac Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-davis/) > [I'm better than P. T. Barnum and Colonel Parker put together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evel-knievel/i-m-better-than-p-t-barnum-and-colonel-parker-put-together/) [Evel Knievel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evel-knievel/) > [Colonel Parker asked Henry and me to come to Elvis' suite and have breakfast. There were at least five policemen stationed up there. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minnie-pearl/colonel-parker-asked-henry-and-me-to-come-to-elvis-suite-and-have/) [Minnie Pearl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minnie-pearl/) > [ “When making his music, he \[Elvis Presley\] had been the essence of cool, but in his movies he was often a self-parody embarrassing to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/when-making-his-music-he-elvis-presley-had-been-the-essence-of-cool/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [I'm trying to have my own thing, and I don't know if it's even possible. I didn't realize so many people actually think I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-marie-presley/i-m-trying-to-have-my-own-thing-and-i-don-t-know-if-it-s-even/) [Lisa Marie Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-marie-presley/) > [“MUSIC. Tunneling right down into your CORE and SOULTIME. Hep, sloppy, SEXY and cerebral. Chancy and hip-swinging like ELVIS and your first teenage KISS.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carew-papritz/music-tunneling-right-down-into-your-core-and-soultime-hep-sloppy/) [Carew Papritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carew-papritz/) > [It was like Elvis came along and whispered some dream in everybody's ear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/it-was-like-elvis-came-along-and-whispered-some-dream-in-everybody-s/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't have an Elvis shrine in my home like some Elvis fans, but I can watch his DVDs till 4 in the morning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harwell/i-don-t-have-an-elvis-shrine-in-my-home-like-some-elvis-fans-but-i/) [Steve Harwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harwell/) > [Almost no one sings like Elvis Presley any more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonny-bono/almost-no-one-sings-like-elvis-presley-any-more/) [Sonny Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonny-bono/) > [I would love to do musicals, sitcoms and even television talk shows. I think I have the potential. But most importantly, my ultimate goal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-park/i-would-love-to-do-musicals-sitcoms-and-even-television-talk-shows-i/) [Jamie Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-park/) > [Never trust a man who doesn't like Elvis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-marie-duff/never-trust-a-man-who-doesn-t-like-elvis/) [Anne-Marie Duff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-marie-duff/) > [I feel like Elvis. Only alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hasselhoff/i-feel-like-elvis-only-alive/) [David Hasselhoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hasselhoff/) > [However, neither he nor anyone else could have become the star Elvis was. Ain't nobody like Elvis. Never was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-cash/however-neither-he-nor-anyone-else-could-have-become-the-star-elvis/) [Johnny Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-cash/) > [I was very keen on people like Elvis, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Gene Vincent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-trower/i-was-very-keen-on-people-like-elvis-carl-perkins-jerry-lee-lewis-and/) [Robin Trower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-trower/) > [Music journalists love Elvis Costello and hate me because they look like Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/music-journalists-love-elvis-costello-and-hate-me-because-they-look/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) ## More by Chuck Berry > [A contract is an ask game, and if it asks for an hour, and I submit to an hour, then it's an hour. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/a-contract-is-an-ask-game-and-if-it-asks-for-an-hour-and-i-submit-to/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [It amazes me when I hear people say, 'I want to go out and find out who I am.' I always knew who I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/it-amazes-me-when-i-hear-people-say-i-want-to-go-out-and-find-out-who/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [If I wasn't a musician, I'd take up the law. They are the rottenest, wealthiest people in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/if-i-wasn-t-a-musician-i-d-take-up-the-law-they-are-the-rottenest/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [Rock's so good to me. Rock is my child and my grandfather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/rock-s-so-good-to-me-rock-is-my-child-and-my-grandfather/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [I used to work at Kroger's. When the store opened, you were there. When I worked in an automobile plant, you punched in. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/i-used-to-work-at-kroger-s-when-the-store-opened-you-were-there-when/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [People said I was king, but I was never king, and I say I'm the prime minister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/people-said-i-was-king-but-i-was-never-king-and-i-say-i-m-the-prime/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [All I want for Christmas is a rock n roll electric guitar...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-a-rock-n-roll-electric-guitar/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [All in all it was my intention to hold both the black and the white clientele by voicing the different kinds of songs in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/all-in-all-it-was-my-intention-to-hold-both-the-black-and-the-white/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [The music played most around St. Louis was country-western and swing. Curiosity provoked me to lay a lot of the country stuff on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/the-music-played-most-around-st-louis-was-country-western-and-swing/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [In the Fifties, there were certain places we couldn't ride on the bus, and now there is a possibility of a black man being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/in-the-fifties-there-were-certain-places-we-couldn-t-ride-on-the-bus/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [If you're going to be mad, at least let the people know what you're mad about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/if-you-re-going-to-be-mad-at-least-let-the-people-know-what-you-re/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [All were artists, playing foolish, having fights and making love as if the rest of the world had no racial problems whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/all-were-artists-playing-foolish-having-fights-and-making-love-as-if/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [Maybellene, why can't you be true?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/maybellene-why-can-t-you-be-true/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [There had to be a market in order for you to be successful in a business. The market had to need your business, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/there-had-to-be-a-market-in-order-for-you-to-be-successful-in-a/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [They're drinkin' home brew from a wooden cup. The folks were dancin' there got all shook up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/they-re-drinkin-home-brew-from-a-wooden-cup-the-folks-were-dancin/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) [Explore all 110 Chuck Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) ## More Colonel quotes > [Does it say 'Colonel' anywhere on my uniform?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-o-neill/does-it-say-colonel-anywhere-on-my-uniform/) [Jack O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-o-neill/) > [Great God of the Ants, thou hast granted victory to thy servants. I appoint thee honorary Colonel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-capek/great-god-of-the-ants-thou-hast-granted-victory-to-thy-servants-i/) [Karel Capek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-capek/) > [“She could not be said to dislike Colonel Trumpet so much as not to notice he was there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/she-could-not-be-said-to-dislike-colonel-trumpet-so-much-as-not-to/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [“Martha Raye slipped up to the colonel and she said, 'Sir, where do we eat?' He said, 'You mess with the men.' 'I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/martha-raye-slipped-up-to-the-colonel-and-she-said-sir-where-do-we/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [The greatest story of all is Colonel Sanders. He didn't start until he was sixty-six on a freeway bypass for his chicken shop. Anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/the-greatest-story-of-all-is-colonel-sanders-he-didn-t-start-until-he/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Colonel, I do not care to die, but I pray to God I may never leave this field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winfield-scott-hancock/colonel-i-do-not-care-to-die-but-i-pray-to-god-i-may-never-leave-this/) [Winfield Scott Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winfield-scott-hancock/) > [You had to hate the Colonel a whole lot to keep from loving him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-s-cobb/you-had-to-hate-the-colonel-a-whole-lot-to-keep-from-loving-him/) [Irvin S. Cobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-s-cobb/) > [Business is not a spiritual matter, and my business decisions are not based on spiritual considerations. When I founded the Essence of Life, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shari-arison/business-is-not-a-spiritual-matter-and-my-business-decisions-are-not/) [Shari Arison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shari-arison/) > [“The colonel breakfasted with the leisure of a fighter who has been clipped badly, hears four, and knows how to relax truly for five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-colonel-breakfasted-with-the-leisure-of-a-fighter-who-has-been/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Lightened body armor, which the military has made progress on, would mean increased safety and reduced risk for soldiers like the sergeant and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niki-tsongas/lightened-body-armor-which-the-military-has-made-progress-on-would/) [Niki Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niki-tsongas/) > [“Some lasting terms of military organization owe their origin to Spain: colonel comes from cabo de colunela, or head of a column; infantry most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-boot/some-lasting-terms-of-military-organization-owe-their-origin-to-spain/) [Max Boot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-boot/) > [I just did some calculations and I've been able to determine that you're full of shit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-did-some-calculations-and-i-ve-been-able-to-determine-that-you/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [My father is a retired army colonel, and my family is into hunting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemp-muhl/my-father-is-a-retired-army-colonel-and-my-family-is-into-hunting/) [Kemp Muhl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemp-muhl/) > [“You are the colonel of your life. Full stop. But your feeling of inadequacy isn’t a high enough frequency to make the thought pop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-tyrone-jones/you-are-the-colonel-of-your-life-full-stop-but-your-feeling-of/) [Curtis Tyrone Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-tyrone-jones/) > [“Naturally they all believe the Colonel is responsible for their salvation—who else could it be but Don Eli? This rankles greatly but I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/naturally-they-all-believe-the-colonel-is-responsible-for-their/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) [Browse all 71 Colonel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colonel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Had I been pushed like Colonel Parker pushed Elvis, had I been a white boy like Elvis, sure, it would have been different.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chuck Berry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/had-i-been-pushed-like-colonel-parker-pushed-elvis-had-i-been-a-white/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Colonel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/had-i-been-pushed-like-colonel-parker-pushed-elvis-had-i-been-a-white/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/chuck-berry-4519_colonel_had-i-been-pushed-like-colonel-parker-pu_822802.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/chuck-berry-4519_colonel_had-i-been-pushed-like-colonel-parker-pu_822802.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/chuck-berry-4519_colonel_had-i-been-pushed-like-colonel-parker-pu_822802.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Had I been pushed like Colonel Parker pushed Elvis, had I been a white boy like Elvis, sure, it would have…” — Chuck Berry", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Chuck Berry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Had I been pushed like Colonel...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/had-i-been-pushed-like-colonel-parker-pushed-elvis-had-i-been-a-white/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/had-i-been-pushed-like-colonel-parker-pushed-elvis-had-i-been-a-white/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```