Yes, but it wasn't as utterly scandalous as, say, the Rolling Stones, who went pretty much in the opposite direction. And a lot of their early music was considered much "nicer" than, sorry to say but it has to do with the time period, black artists were putting out. There were not many if at all, from what I remember, allusions to sex. No, they weren't as nice as the Beach Boys, Pat Boone, or even Chuck Berry, but they were pretty clean cut when they first started out which definitely helped them. Yes, their hair was a bit risqué, but not nearly as much as Elvis's dance moves or songs like Shake, Rattle, n' Roll.
Elvis, however, as he did come before them, made it easier for them to come to the US. Crossing the boundaries of what music is acceptable for what races and what is appropriate stage behavior did make it easier for the artists after him. What is probably the most important thing he ever did was covering "race" songs and doing hip moves on stage.