Elvis Presley

Lore & Background

Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and moved to Memphis, Tennessee, at age 13. He began his music career in 1954 at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring African-American music to a wider audience. With guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley pioneered rockabilly, an uptempo fusion of country and rhythm and blues. Drummer D. J. Fontana later completed the classic quartet. In 1955, RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who managed him for the rest of his career. Presley's first RCA Victor single, 'Heartbreak Hotel', released in January 1956, became a number-one hit. Within a year, RCA Victor sold ten million Presley singles. His television appearances and chart-topping records made him the leading figure of rock and roll, though his style and promotion of African-American music led to controversy.

Presley made his film debut in November 1956 in 'Love Me Tender'. Drafted into military service in 1958, he relaunched his recording career two years later with commercially successful work. Guided by Parker, he devoted much of the 1960s to Hollywood films and soundtrack albums, most critically derided. Notable films include 'Jailhouse Rock' (1957), 'Blue Hawaii' (1961), and 'Viva Las Vegas' (1964). In 1968, he returned to the stage in the NBC television comeback special 'Elvis', leading to a Las Vegas concert residency and profitable tours. In 1973, he gave the first concert by a solo artist broadcast worldwide, 'Aloha from Hawaii'. Years of substance abuse and unhealthy eating compromised his health, and he died in August 1977 at Graceland.

Reader's Guide

Elvis Presley's significance lies in his role as a transformative figure in popular music and culture. He brought the sound of African-American music to a wider white audience during a period of racial segregation, blending country, rhythm and blues, and gospel into rockabilly and rock and roll. His energetic, sexually provocative performance style challenged social norms and sparked controversy, yet he became the leading figure of the newly popular rock and roll. Presley's commercial success was immense: he is one of the best-selling music artists in history, with an estimated 500 million records sold worldwide. He achieved success across multiple genres, including pop, country, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, adult contemporary, and gospel. He won three Grammy Awards, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been posthumously inducted into multiple music halls of fame. He holds records for the most RIAA-certified gold and platinum albums, the most albums charted on the Billboard 200, the most number-one albums by a solo artist on the UK Albums Chart, and the most number-one singles by any act on the UK Singles Chart. In 2018, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His legacy endures as a cultural icon whose music and performance style reshaped the entertainment landscape.

Did You Know?

• Presley's twin brother Jesse Garon was stillborn 35 minutes before Elvis was born.
• His first public performance was at age 10, singing 'Old Shep' at the Mississippi–Alabama Fair and Dairy Show, where he placed fifth.
• Presley failed music in eighth grade; his teacher said he had no aptitude for singing.
• He gave the first concert by a solo artist to be broadcast around the world, 'Aloha from Hawaii', in 1973.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"I like Brando's acting ... and James Dean ... and Richard Widmark. Quite a few of 'em I like." — Elvis Presley "Rock and roll is a music, and why should a music contribute to ... juvenile delinquency? If people are going to be juvenile delinquents, they're going to be delinquents if they hear ... Mother Goose rhymes." — Elvis Presley "Pop Chronicles, Show 7 – The All American Boy: Enter Elvis and the rock-a-billies. Part 1, interview recorded 1956." — Elvis Presley "... I just know that, right now, ... the biggest record selling business there is is rock and roll." — Elvis Presley