elvis aaron presley was born on january 8 1935 in a two-room house in tupelo mississippi elvis
was influenced by gospel music country and the r b he heard on beale street when his family moved
to memphis in 1953 elvis walked into sun studios and paid four dollars to record a two song demo
sam phillips liked what he heard and decided to cut a record with elvis
that's all right became a hit before long elvis caught the attention of promoter colonel tom
parker who put the young singer on tour everywhere elvis played his great looks and evocative moves
got a near riotous response from crowds especially females the colonel knew he had a superstar on his
hands and signed him to an exclusive deal in 1955 buying out his son studio contract and signing a
deal with rca if you go back you listen to those early records and think about what pop singing
sounded like before that you would think this was from another planet in 1956 elvis's first
rca single heartbreak hotel topped the charts there is a reason why they call elvis the king
you know i mean he was the guy who stepped up on the stage and kind of kicked that door open
ed sullivan made it clear he would never have elvis on his show but changed his tune when he
saw the ratings milton burrow and steve allen got when he appeared on their shows when people
think that elvis was a safe figure back in the 50s that is not true this was a guy who was
you know at the center of controversy and broke down some barriers as a result of it
the most controversial thing about elvis was the sexuality and the abandon that he brought to his
performance you know the way that he danced on stage the way that he moved his hips on stage you
know this was not something that the mass audience had seen before the censors watched closely and by
elvis's third appearance on ed sullivan audiences were only allowed to see him from the waist up
at the peak of his fame uncle sam came calling and elvis headed off to germany
to serve in the army in 1958 while overseas he met a 14 year old priscilla boulier
who he would marry nine years later in 1967. their only child lisa marie was born on february 1st
1968. when he returned he was still popular but by the mid-60s elvis career was in trouble
while he was releasing mediocre singles and making what seemed like the same bad movie over and over
again he was surpassed musically by artists like the beatles who had been inspired by elvis
although it seemed like elvis's best days were behind him he was about to make an
unlikely and triumphant return dressed in black leather looking like he had something to prove
elvis appeared in a cbs tv event known as the 1968 comeback special by 1969 he was back on
top of the charts with suspicious minds and blowing fans away during his record-breaking
performances in las vegas his return to the top culminated with elvis aloha from hawaii
a concert special seen by over 1.5 billion people around the world
though he had made it back to the top his life was coming apart he began to put on weight and rely
more and more on prescription drugs in 1977 this excessive lifestyle caught up to him and he died
of a heart attack in his beloved graceland estate at the age of 42. there is no question that his
impact on the world was he's the one who planted the flag for rock and roll for
this new music for this new generation that is the moment that the world switches over
into rock and roll as the dominant expression of youth in america and then around the world
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