No Black Artists on Rock 'n' Roll Beer Cans

Miller Brewing is celebrating the "50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll" with eight  beer cans that feature Rolling Stone cover shots of Elvis Presley, Blondie and others. What is missing, some say, is a black artist. Robert Thompson, a professor of popular culture at Syracuse University, called the absence "beyond conspicuous," because black artists are often credited with inventing rock music. "It would be like doing a set of cans of six great Impressionist painters and not including any French people on it," he said. The promotion, which ties rock's anniversary to Presley's debut at Sun Studios in Memphis, also depicts Alice Cooper, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and Willie Nelson, as well as the guitars of Eric Clapton and Joe Walsh, on cans being issued this summer. [more ]