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Elvis' Life
By: Aaron Packnick and Lia Marino
Early Life
Elvis Aaron Presley, the son of Vernon and Gladys Presley, was born 8 January, 1935. He had a twin, Jesse Garon, who was stillborn. Raised by these two poor sharecroppers right in the middle of the Great Depression, Elvis had a tough childhood. Despite being raised with little money, Elvis still found the time to sing. When he was only eight he won five dollars in a local singing contest when he performed Red Foley’s ballad “Old Shep.” He attended the local Pentecostal church and listened to the psalms and gospel music, which later influenced his singing.
Between 1940 and 1950, over 1,290,000 people moved out of the south, although another 1,280,000 moved into the south. Many moved around in the south, mostly migrating to the cities to find work in the industrial factories. Elvis’ family was no exception. In 1948, Elvis moved to Memphis, TN, which had grown by 200,000 people since the great southern migration. Operation Dixie had begun: it was a governmental program that was intended to rebuild the still-poor southern economy, this being one of the reasons they moved there. Soon after he graduated high school in 1952, Elvis became a truck driver, which only added to his rebellious image with his long hair, sideburns, and leather jackets. Despite his image and lifestyle, Elvis remained studiously polite and devout to his mother.
Sun Records Phase
In 1956, as a birthday present to his mother, he recorded the Ink Spots’ “My Happiness” in a recording studio similar to that of a carnival booth: Sun Records. Upon hearing the recording, Sam Philips, the owner and executive producer signed Elvis immediately. Philips found in Elvis what he had been looking for his whole life: a white boy who sang like a Negro. This integration of black and white culture was just beginning in the 50’s with Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Little Rock School Crisis.
In 1955 Elvis toured the south as the “King of Western Bop” and the “Hillbilly Cat” with a backing band of Scotty Moore on guitar, Bill Black on bass, and DJ Fontana on drums. He played famous RADIO shows such as the Grand Ol’ Opry that were instrumental in Elvis’ rise to fame. He gained notoriety and a funny nickname (Elvis the Pelvis) with his semi-erotic performances. He gyrated his hips onstage and plunged to his knees at dramatic points in the songs and the crowds went wild. This etched Elvis’ place as a pioneer of the sexual revolution. Though it had been building up for decades, the 50’s were a time of leaps and bounds in the movement. 1951 saw the introduction of the idea of oral contraception by leading feminist Margaret Sanger. In 1953, the first issue of Playboy was released and Alfred Kingsley’s Sexual Behavior in the Human Female was published. By 1955, Elvis’ sexual performances were too much for conservatives who deemed him immoral and destructive to society.
The Rise of Elvis
In late 1955, RCA records’ “Colonel” Tom Parker had signed Elvis to a contract with a ,000 release fee given to Sun Records. At the time, this was a ridiculously high sum of money. Two days after his 21st birthday, 10 January, 1956, Elvis entered RCA’s studio to record his debut single: “Heartbreak Hotel.” It debuted at number one and remained in the top slot for eight weeks. This still remains as a record for one of the greatest major label debuts ever. The unique desolation of “Heartbreak Hotel” was unlike anything on the charts at that time. From this point on, Elvis would be remembered as something different than all the other musicians at the time. This is most evident in the countless imitators that graced the covers of EP’s throughout the late 50’s and early 60’s.
1956 was the year of Elvis. He made his first television appearance on Johnny Carson and after his notorious performance that shocked ultra-conservatives, Ed Sullivan swore to never have that “immoral corrupter of young minds” on his show. Three months later, Elvis appeared on the show. However, he was only filmed from the waist up to the delight of many conservatives. Elvis also released the most successful double-side ever: the “Hound Dog/Don’t Be Cruel” album. “Hound Dog” remained number one for several weeks and “Don’t Be Cruel” held that spot for 11 weeks.
Amidst rumors that Elvis would be drafted into the military, he worked harder than ever. Love Me Tender was one of 1956’s biggest blockbusters, and its title single held the top spot for five weeks. In 1957, he released the semi-autobiographical Loving You, which follows a trucker’s rise to pop stardom. 1957 also saw Jailhouse Rock, his third major motion picture, was Elvis’ most successful. Its number one title track ensured that rock and roll was here to stay, as it stayed in the top spot for seven weeks. His fourth motion picture, also released in 1957, was the masterpiece King Creole. The deep nature of the movie showed Elvis’ potential as a serious actor, which was unfortunately not tapped to its fullest.
In 1957, Elvis bought his dream home at Graceland in Memphis, TN, for the then-incredible sum of ,500. He was not able to enjoy it for long, however. The rumors came true in 1958, and Elvis was drafted into the army. He got a GI haircut, which was highly publicized for the benefit of the army, although it ended up hurting Elvis in the long run. Hundreds of teenage rebels who looked to Elvis for guidance felt alienated and vulnerable with this event. They felt as though their leader had betrayed them by joining the authority they were rebelling against. On 14 August, 1958, Elvis’ mother died, and later that month, he went to Germany to fight in the 2nd Armored Division, made famous by General George Patton in WWII. It was in this same year that the famous Berlin blockade occurred, which was most likely why Elvis was stationed in Germany. He played many USO shows and also met his future wife, Priscilla Beaulieu in 1959. She was 14 at the time of their first meeting, they later married in 1967.
Clean Cut Elvis
Elvis was discharged from the military in 1960, and held a Graceland press conference, to the joy of thousands of screaming fans, soon after he returned. He also appeared on numerous television shows, such as Welcome Back Elvis, which was hosted by Frank Sinatra. Elvis then capitalized on his military experience and made the melancholy G.I. Blues that showed the new, conservative, clean-cut Elvis.
By 1963, however, Elvis fell into a slew of bad movies and even worse music. His most successful single of the mid 60’s was “Crying in the Chapel,” a song reminiscent of earlier times, as it was recorded five years earlier. Times had changed and Elvis was not changing quickly enough to keep up. Music had evolved from the solo artist who released single after single to bands that released albums full of great work. Beatle-mania had hit the United States by 1964, when they made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, not to mention completely devoid of sexual hip gyrations. Elvis seemed a thing of the past.
Vegas Elvis
Additionally, by the late 1960’s, the people and the music was becoming increasingly anti-war. Elvis’ tacky, happy-go-lucky music were becoming old and worn out. Just as it seemed that Elvis was about to fade off into oblivion, Elvis was back with 1968’s “Guitar Man” and “US Male.” These two singles, written by the legendary rock and roll songwriting team of Leiber-Stoller and Jerry Hubbard, fit Elvis perfectly. Soon enough, he was dancing his way back into the hearts, and homes, of the American public. On 3 December, 1968, one of pop music’s greatest TV moments was born in the Elvis TV Special. It was as if Elvis had been frozen in time for ten years. He came out with the same energy as his earliest shows when he toured as the “King of Western Bop.” To add to the nostalgia trip, Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana accompanied him just as they did in 1955. Throughout the show, Elvis cracked jokes about his countless bad movies and even made fun of his signature lip snarl.
Fresh off this momentum, Elvis spent January 1969 in the studio with Chips Morgan. He laid down enough tracks for two albums: “From Elvis to Memphis” and “From Vegas to Memphis/From Memphis to Vegas.” He was back to stay when he hit #1 in 1969 with “Suspicious Minds,” his first #1 single since 1962. He also started to perform regularly in Las Vegas.
His success was short-lived. Soon, he fell into the same slump of horrible movies and awful music that haunted him in the previous decade. In 1969, he made the western movie “Charro,” the first time he ever grew a beard. The subject matter in “A Change of Heart,” was deeper than normal, similar to the early “King Creole,” but much worse. Elvis released several patchy live albums that saturated the marketplace. He started to abuse prescription drugs in his pampered retreat at Graceland. Although he spoke out against the use of narcotics, he never fully realized how harmful his habit was.
In 1973, Elvis’ perfect life came crashing down. His wife of four years left him and moved out to Los Angeles with his baby girl, Lisa Marie, who was only four at the time. Although he had retained joint custody, he never fully recovered from the divorce. Keeping with the theme of 70’s excess, he tried to mask his depression by taking the simple pleasures in life to an extreme. He ate a lot more and put on massive amounts of weight. He began to spoil Lisa Marie when she stayed with him at Graceland. His drug usage increased, and he collapsed many times onstage. His stage costumes became elaborate jumpsuits with a cape and a massive jeweled belt. This helped popularize the glam rock look of David Bowie and other similar artists. Before long, attendance at his shows began to dwindle, largely because of his grotesque appearance. This decline in the appeal of Elvis was a reflection of the dwindling economy.
16 August 1977 his tired large body could take no more and the King collapsed in his Graceland palace, dying hours later. The official cause was a heart attack, undoubtedly brought on by abuse of barbiturates. Appropriately, record sales rose again in a country of mourning.
Epilogue
Elvis will forever be remembered as the undisputed King of Rock and Roll. He was a multi-faceted performer, spanning many decades and eras. His career encompassed several phases: the Sun Records phase, the Colonel Tom Parker phase, the clean-cut Elvis phase, and Vegas Elvis. He will be remembered for bridging the gap between black and white music, for being vibrant and vulgar in his last days, and for being one of the greatest musicians ever.
August 1997 was the twenty year anniversary of Elvis’ death. It was marked by an increase in record sales; heightened media exposure; and a tribute show at which his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, performed a duet live with a recording of her father’s voice. At this point it was evident that Lisa Marie would eventually follow in her father’s footsteps; not on his coattails but in her own right.
Elvis had one hundred and seven top 40 singles, eighteen of which hit number one both in the United States and the United Kingdom, a record in the U.K. He had eighty four country hits and eleven number one country songs. In 1971 he received the lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. In 1986 he was one of the charter inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1990 over ninety of Elvis’ records had received gold, platinum, or multi-platinum status. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1998 and will forever be the King of Rock and Roll.
Bibliography: The American Pageant: AP US History (textbook); www.Vh1.com; www.elvis.com
The End!!!!
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