Elvis Presley's Impact On American Pop Culture

When Elvis came back from the army his career had a downfall (“Elvis”). On May 8, 1960 Elvis was paid $125,000 for a television special (Peterson). In 1961 he won the “It’s now or never” year award for vocal singer and “in 1969 he was named Las Vegas entertainer of the year” (“Elvis”). On May 1st, 1967 Priscilla Beaulieu and Elvis Presley got married at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada and on February 1st, 1968 Lisa Marie Presley was born (Peterson). The problem was that Elvis didn’t spend much time with his family because of his busy schedule (Peterson). Presley broke all the attendance records in Las Vegas with four weeks (Peterson). In 1970 he was honored by RCA for selling the most records in the company’s history and in 1971 he received the Bing Crosby Award (“Elvis”). In Memphis, Tennessee he got a street named after him, Elvis Presley Boulevard (“Elvis”). In 1971 Elvis and Priscilla broke up and got divorced in October, 1973 due to Elvis’ busy schedule (Peterson). Presley had long, late nights and sleep-filled days, and he took a lot of prescription medicine (Peterson). Later, two of Presley’s friends wrote a book that talked about Elvis’ extensive use of drugs (Peterson). Elvis began to have nightmares about waking up and all of his fans, friends, and wealth gone (Peterson). When Elvis was leaving for Maine, Portland he did not pack because of his depression (Peterson). On August 16, 1977 Elvis was found dead in his mansion in Memphis, Tennessee and at 3:30 he was announced dead at the age of 43 (Peterson, “Elvis”). Elvis had died from cardiac arrhythmia and later, the doctors found out that Elvis had taken ten drugs and four of them were toxic (Peterson). Elvis’ heart and liver were damaged from the years of the substances (Peterson). At Elvis Presley’s funeral there were 15,000 to 20,000 fans that were lined up from Graceland to the cemetery and later, there were about 50,000

Now, people didn’t have to wait for the daily paper to look at ads, they wouldn’t have to go any farther than switching the television on and sitting in their living room. There was new music hitting the streets and, although, not everyone appreciated the music it sure made a bang in the 1950’s. A new music era was becoming more and more popular, it was called Rock and Roll. By 1955, Little Richard, was an up and coming Rock and Roller from the south. The progress of music from earlier years to the mid 1950’s was great. Not long after, Little Richard, in 1956, Elvis Presley, made his debut and in 1957, Jerry Lee Lewis. Music attached to those particular names gave people a way to express themselves, the music gave people an idol that “understood” them. Rock and Roll also gave people back in the 1950’s freedom to be who they wanted to

The Ed Sullivan Show, in particular, hosted popular bands who played their protest songs for millions of viewers. For example, the first appearance of The Beatles garnered over 70 million viewers. There were opportunities for African-American

He sold more than 1 billion records worldwide and about 40 percent of his music sales were outside of the United States. He starred in 31 feature films as an actor and had two theatrically released documentary films (Elvis Presley Biography, Graceland). He was one of Hollywood’s top box office draws and one of its highest paid actors. His three network television specials “Elvis (1968)”, “Elvis-Aloha from Hawaii, via Satellite (1973)”, and “Elvis in Concert (1977)”, were some of the most highly rated specials of their time. Elvis has also won three Grammy Awards which were all for gospel music, 18 number one singles such as, “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Suspicious Minds”, and countless platinum and gold albums. Elvis was one of the first performers inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and he later became part of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Gospel Music Association’s Gospel Hall of Fame, Rockabilly and the R&B Hall of

All of you probably already know who the king of rock and roll is right? The man who impacted music forever, one of the most musicians ever to have lived… Elvis Presley. Elvis was born on January 08, 1935 in Tupelo Mississippi. Elvis had a twin brother who died shortly after birth. Elvis went to school in Tupelo, Mississippi. During his schooldays, he was in a couple of talent shows. His voice was discovered in one of the talent shows he participated in.

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. Teenagers all of a sudden felt good being rebellious and decided they would like different things than their parents. And so begin the generation gap of teenagers and their parents. Without the generation gap, the

Elvis had a great influence on American culture through his influence on music, affect on American culture, and his legacy. Elvis also known as “the King” or “the King of Rock and Roll”was very popular in the 1960’s. Presley created new styles by gyrating his hips and dressing differently. When presley first appeared on television it sparked a controversy within his career. This happened when Elvis sang “Hound Dog” while he was singing he shook his pelvis. “Television critics across the country slam the performance for its "appalling lack of musicality," for its "vulgarity" and "animalism." (“Elvis”). Television shows thought that it would be better to show Elvis waist up, so that the viewers would not be offended. Elvis also starred in some movies; where he would sing and dance. These roles that elvis starred in set new limits

Elvis Presley was not a remarkable singer when he started out. For many years, he worked diligently with his work to try to get his music heard by other people. His success finally came when people gave him a chance. Elvis later received a slew of awards for his musical works. Although most people see Elvis Presley as only a great singer, Elvis created a style of music that led to the music we have today.

One way Elvis Presley propelled himself into superstardom was his mix of blues, R&B, country, and rockabilly. Although some adults of the generation found this music to be too dangerous for the mainstream, many teenages of the day found this new music to be very exciting and electrifying. In a way this made Elvis even more popular in the eyes of his now large and constantly growing

“When I was a boy, I always saw myself as a hero in comic books and in movies. I grew up believing this dream.”- Elvis Presley. Elvis Presley had always been into music and got his first guitar at age eleven. Elvis had always wanted to be a performer and recorded his first album at the age of eighteen. Although the album was only for his mother, he felt as if he had accomplished something. The songs Elvis wrote were all rock and roll songs in the beginning. Elvis was known for all of his rock and roll songs and was named “The King of Rock”. Elvis had a song that was different than the rock and roll songs he wrote before. This song was inspired by a suicide, Elvis and a few others heard about a suicide that was in the newspaper and read

Jimi Hendrix was the most famous American rock guitarist in my heart. He has multi talent, he can sing and play the guitar skillfully at the same time, also he is a songwriter. He was born in Seattle, Washington on November 27, 1942. Started playing guitar at age 15, when he first got his guitar from his father as a gift. He loves rock music and he also plays blues and R&B music. In 1960s, Jimi Hendrix become very well known by his techniques of his guitar play and his passionate of performance on the stage. When he is on the stage, he really put himself into the music that he plays, his excitement of music just can turn people to hype. People don’t care about his skin color, they think he is a great guitarist and singer, they just want to see him play when he is on the stage, but they never care about who is he playing with or where does he come from.

Elvis Presley didn’t have many early influences. But one huge influence for Elvis was listening and singing gospel music at his church. Also during Elvis’s early years he had played guitar and he had walked around beatle street to listen to the

The rock and roll legend Elvis Presley came from very humble beginnings, but would grow into The King, one of the largest names in the history of rock and roll. On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley died at the age of 42 of heart failure, which was caused by his troubling past of prescription medication addiction. Although the world lost Elvis in 1977, his legacy lives on as his music continues to inspire other artists. Elvis Presley will forever be one of the most iconic artists of rock and is remembered as the “hip-shaking symbol of liberation” of the 1950’s (Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley revolutionized rock music and American culture with his unique style and creative music. Through his music, Elvis was able to help break the racial barriers that were happening during his time period. He was also able to introduce his white listeners to African American music and his black listeners to Jazz music. Elvis was also able to have a strong influence on the youth of America, especially the teenagers. Teenagers were able to go against their parents and changer their appearances to try and be like Elvis. Elvis had a huge impact on the fashion of America. Many Americans took Elvis’ leather look and made it their own. Elvis was one of the most influential rock stars and had a huge impact

“That this integration of musical styles took place just prior to the civil rights movement, prefiguring social integration, makes this moment in pop culture history seem momentous.” (www.dummies.com). Elvis was very popular with teenagers because of the way his music sounded, teens thought they were different from their parent’s generation, this music helped set them apart (www.dummies.com) Presley contributed by changing the 1960’s, he didn’t just focus on teens, but also older audiences by his clothing. He really looked up to country artists such as B.B King and Rufus Thomas, but he went farther when he put his own twist on the style of music. He was a hit from the moment he released his first single, his fans thought he was new and refreshing to listen to. He combined all fusions, making it enjoyable for any audience to listen to. Elvis Presley is a cultural icon, even today, he targeted many different problems in our country and changed the history of music