Elvis Presley reigns as one of the biggest success stories and music innovators in American history. He was a man whose short lived career brought the birth of rock ‘n’ roll and hope to the common man. As a popular artist in the mid 1950’s, “Presley became a symbol of a youthful determination to push at the borders of the conventional and acceptable.” Born January 8, 1935 in a family of poverty, he rose to fame in a matter of months, attracting large audiences at concerts and teenage girls everywhere he went. Presley was young and attractive and possessed a sound and style that was something totally unique. He was “hip” and represented the sex and drug culture that would sweep through the United States only a few years after his breakout. People …show more content…
Unlike the adults, teens saw him as perfectly moral and as a new role model. Girls fell in love with his looks and clothing. However, “the overwhelming nature of the arrival of Elvis Presley as a national figure, and particularly the sociological furor that had been stirred up in his wake, tended to overshadow what should have been the heart of the matter- his music.” For the younger generation, his rock ‘n’ roll music was not what caused all the uproar of this breakout star, it was his fashion and lifestyle. Presley showed that with only a little bit of talent, you could become a phenomenon with as much wealth as you wanted. Because of the path to glory that Elvis encountered, teenagers were being corrupted by his realm of fame, and that is ultimately the reason why they dressed and danced like him. Teenagers wanted to be him. According to Carol Beinhart, who was a massive fan of Elvis, “the way he dressed and the way he performed by singing into the audience's heart caused me to faint and scream” For her and many other young ladies in the 1950’s and 60’s, just the sight of Elvis would make them yell in excitement and wish for a night with him. They got lost in the virtual world of Elvis falling in love with them. An excerpt from a newspaper in Chicago Tribune stated, “When the girls had shouted long enough and loudly enough, …show more content…
Even though the adults did not personally know Elvis away from his performances, many still grew a profound hatred for his immoral stage manner. If only they would have known the way their “darling daughters behaved at his concerts. On the stage of the auditoriums and movie houses where he had been packing audiences on an exhausting series of one-night stands, he was primarily a hip-tossing contortionist whose singing was all but ignored as he indulged in a suggestive male version of the ‘bumps and grinds’ that were part of the burlesque dancers routine.” For the elder generation in the 1950’s there was no way else to explain the way Elvis performed than unethical. He was influencing their own daughters to dress immodestly and to get involved in the sex culture. He was embracing the lifestyle of doing whatever he desired, and teenagers began following him by doing the same. An example of Elvis embracing the life choice of being a “free bird” is from a1956 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article that said, “He had no steady girl, but dated almost every night a girl from the mob of cuties who waited for him after his show.” Elvis enjoyed the idea of spending each night with a different girl, an idea that made fathers squeal, as it was very untraditional and unlike the typical ways of dating in the 1900’s. While girls mobbed him, their parents
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame once said, “In 1954, the performer kicked off a musical revolution by modernizing traditional genres with his charismatic stage presence with then-scandalous hip-swings and body contortions, he set the charts [and hearts] ablaze” about the legend Elvis Presley. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a very prestigious and the way they talk about him accurately introduces him. Every person knows the name Elvis, he is an American name that created such a strong impact on many parts of today's culture. He was born in 1933 right after the baby boom in the “roaring twenties," he grew up extremely poor. Then in 1954, Elvis started to create a name for himself in the music industry.
Elvis was a person who had nothing and worked a job at age 19 to live in a house with his parents who both had jobs too to keep their house, but he would work hard to become the greatest singer of all time. Here’s how he did it. Elvis Presley impacted rock and roll music with his deep voice and his perfectly mixed combination of gospel, blues, and other genres of music which made rock and roll more popular and set rock and roll on track for what it has become today. Early on in life, Elvis moved to Memphis but, he was a misfit in school.
Have you ever heard of a man called “The King of Rock and Roll”. Some of America’s greatest hits were made by “The King” himself. Have you heard the song “Jailhouse Rock”, or “Blue Suede Shoes”? If you have, you may or may not have came across the name Elvis Presley. Elvis (Aaron)
Back then, Elvis became an icon because he combined race music, which was music mostly listened to by the black community, with a mixture of white country music. Due to the development of this genre, known as blues music, the Hip Hop
This is how Elvis Presley gained the respect of the adults of his
To this day thousands of people of all age groups, young and old, visit Graceland annually, especially on the anniversary of Elvis’s death. They hold a special vigil in honor of the King of Rock-N-Roll himself, and they light candles while standing on the outside of Graceland. Elvis grew to become one of the most famous icons in Rock-N-Roll history that grew up in rural Tupelo, Mississippi. Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley visit Graceland regularly and Pricilla once said, “It is truly a sight to behold… This is something that Elvis would never, ever have believed could have taken place here.”
The flapper represented the “modern woman” in American youth culture in the 1920’s, and was epitomized as an icon of rebellion and modernity. Precocious, young, stubborn, beautiful, sexual, and independent, the flapper image and ideology revolutionized girlhood. The term “flapper” originated in England to describe a girl who flapped and had not yet reached maturity.
Rock’n'Roll changed the way of thinking of the young people, and with this came the new concept of “teenagers”, who were considered for the elders as ‘rebels’ and ‘juvenile delinquency’ after they adopted the music and manners of the Rock N Roll culture, inspired by Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, The Comets and Johnny O’Keefe (the first Rock'n'roll Australian star in 1957) among others, who lead the new teenagers for dancing and enjoying as Americans. Rock’n'roll culture influenced not just the teenagers but also the radio announcers who used American accents to captivate the young audience. Unlike their parents, this new generation was interested in fashion, television, cinema, music and hairstyles, which meant that they were the new objective group for marketing. Through the movies, young Australians were influenced by movie stars like James Dean, which they wanted to imitate in his hairstyle, acting and dressing.
Elvis combined different types of music to form a style called rockabilly, which became one of the key sounds in rock ’n’ roll. He spread rock ’n’ roll music across the country, making it popular to a wide audience, especially teenagers. In that regard, he was a true innovator (.http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/elvis-presleys-musical-influence-on-america.html) Elvis also joined the army to serve his country.
On January 8th, 1935 one of the greatest influences to pop and country was born. Elvis Aaron Presley changed the way people heard and saw music through his songs and the way he performed them. Elvis’ music was stunning, he had eighteen American No. 1s and hundreds of gold records from around the world. He brought a way of performing that people had never experienced before, he was electrifying when he performed on stage. Elvis Presley was the first rock'n'roll star, he brought rebellion to the youth of that time and was able to grasp the listener and draw them into his songs which few artist have ever been able to accomplish.
Elvis Presley has had more impact on American society and culture than any other person in history for the three following reasons; his large contribution to the start of the generation gap in the 1950’s, his huge impact on rock ‘n’ roll music, and finally, his music opened a door for some integration between races. First of all, in the 1950’s Elvis Presley and his music started the era of the generation gap between teenagers and their parents, an era which is still going on today. With Elvis being very young, attractive and his new type of music and dancing, teenage girls fell head over heels for the young star. Most parents though, did not feel the same way about Presley. He was often described a vulgar and many accused him of corrupting the youth.
Although Michael Jackson was a controversial figure; he will ultimately be remembered for his fantastic singing ability and incredible dancing style. Michael Jackson was an incredible singer and a generous volunteer. Not only did he change the music world he also had an effect on society. He captivated the world with his dancing and fashion. He inspired many people in the singing industry right now.
Then Rock and Roll appeared with strength and made everything easier for society. As we’ve studied in class, Rock and Roll artists danced and sang with a similar style, creating a collective identity. Performers like Elvis were the reason of parents being alarmed by this genre of
Rock N’ Roll was a new music genre accepted and loved by many teenagers of the time. While their parents felt that Elvis Presley ruined music, the teens disagreed, and with so many teenagers at the time, there were many to keep the genre alive. Teens wanted to release the tensions that bubbled beneath the smooth surface of postwar America. In a biography about Presley, a.k.a. the king of Rock N’ Roll, it writes a historical moment, when Presley was filmed from only the waist-up.
(Rodman 28) Not only did Presley’s first album illustrate the main instrument that would become a popular one, throughout his career, Elvis had 114 songs on the Billboard Top 40 and 18 number one pop hits (Scrivani-Tidd). Presley helped set the standard of sales and records from all his hits and songs. After World War II, drastic changes occurred in America, like integration of the South.