Tribute: Elvis Presley (1935-1977)

Elvis Aaron Presley, was born on January 8, 1935 and passed away on August 16, 1977. Elvis was an American singer, musician and actor. He was one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century; he is often referred to as "The King of Rock & Roll", or simply, "The King".

 

Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and at the age of 13, he moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee. His music career began there in 1954, when he started to work with Sam Phillips, the owner of Sun Records. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black. Elvis was an early popularize of rockabilly, an up-tempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. Elvis' first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel", released in January 1956, was a #1 hit in the US. He became the leading figure of rock and roll after a series of network television appearances and chart-topping records. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines that coincided with the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, made him enormously popular—and controversial.

 

In November 1956, he made his film debut in Love Me Tender. In 1958 he was drafted into military service: He resumed his recording career two years later, producing some of his most commercially successful work before devoting much of the 1960s to making Hollywood movies and their accompanying soundtrack albums, most of which were critically derided. In 1968, following a seven-year break from live performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed televised comeback special, Elvis, which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley was featured in the first globally broadcast concert via satellite, Aloha from Hawaii. Several years of prescription drug abuse severely deteriorated his health, and he died in 1977 at the age of 42.

 

Presley is one of the most celebrated musicians of 20th-century. Commercially successful in many genres, including pop, blues and gospel, he is the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music. Elvis was nominated for 14 Grammys and won three, receiving the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36. He has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame.