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Elvis Presley

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Performers and composers

                        Elvis Presley
   Elvis Presley at the White House in 1970
   Elvis Presley at the White House in 1970
                   Background information
   Birth name    Elvis Aron Presley
   Born          January 8, 1935
   Origin        Tupelo, Mississippi, USA
   Died          August 16, 1977
                 Memphis, Tennessee, USA
   Genre(s)      Rock and roll, country, gospel, blues
   Occupation(s) singer, musician, actor, American soldier,
   Instrument(s) Guitar and piano
   Years active  1954–1977
   Label(s)      Sun, RCA Victor
   Website       www.elvis.com

   Elvis Aron Presley ( January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), often known
   simply as Elvis and also called "The King of Rock 'n' Roll" or simply
   "The King", was an American singer, musician and actor. He is regarded
   by some to be the most important, original entertainer of the last
   fifty years and there is little doubt that Presley is the most talked
   about and written about performer of the 20th Century. (Presley's birth
   certificate uses the spelling Aron, but his estate has designated Aaron
   as the official spelling of his middle name. It is spelled Aron because
   of his twin brother that died at birth, Garon, so Elvis would always
   have a part of his brother with him.)

   Presley started as a singer of rockabilly, singing many songs from
   rhythm and blues, gospel and country. He was first billed as "The
   Hilbilly Cat". His combination of country music with bluesy vocals and
   a strong back beat marked a clear path toward rock & roll. He was the
   most commercially successful singer of rock and roll, but he also had
   success with ballads, country, gospel, blues, pop, folk and even
   semi-operatic and jazz standards. His voice, which developed into many
   voices as his career progressed, had always a unique tonality and an
   extraordinary unusual centre of gravity, leading to his ability to
   tackle a range of songs and melodies which would be nearly impossible
   for most other popular singers to achieve. In a musical career of over
   two decades, Presley set many records, such as concert attendance,
   television ratings, and records sales, and became one of the
   best-selling artists in music history.

   He is an icon of modern American pop culture. In the late 1960s,
   Presley re-emerged as a live performer of old and new hit songs, both
   on tour and in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was known for his on-stage
   highly energetic performances both vocally and physically, his
   sartorial jump-suits and capes adding to the drama. He attracted
   massive attendance figures. His concert performances were staggering in
   quantity, considering they numbered over 1,100 in 8 years. He continued
   to perform before sell-out audiences around the U.S. until his death in
   1977. His death was premature at 42, despite alarming concerns about
   his health. When he died on August 16, 1977, it was a huge shock to his
   fans. However, it soon became clear that a combination of over-work,
   obesity, depression, bad diet and severe abuse of prescription drugs,
   accelerated his premature departure. However, much confusion, conflict,
   contradictions and general controversy still surrounds his death.
   Regardless, his popularity as a singer has survived his death.

Early life

   Presley was born on January 8, 1935 at around 4:35 a.m. in a two-room
   shotgun house in Tupelo, Mississippi, to Vernon Presley, a truck
   driver, and Gladys Love Smith, a sewing machine operator. Vernon
   Presley is described as "taciturn to the point of sullenness," whereas
   his mother, Gladys, was "voluble, lively, full of spunk." Priscilla
   Presley describes her as "a surreptitious drinker and alcoholic." When
   she was angry, "she cussed like a sailor." Presley's twin brother,
   Jesse Garon Presley, was stillborn, thus leaving him to grow up as an
   only child. BNBN^Superscript text The surname Presley was Anglicized
   from the German name "Pressler" during the Civil War. His ancestor
   Johann Valentin Pressler emigrated to America in 1710. Presley was
   mostly of Scottish, Native American, Irish, Jewish, and German roots.

   Presley's parents were very protective of their only surviving child.
   The little boy "grew up a loved and precious child. He was, everyone
   agreed, unusually close to his mother." His mother Gladys "worshipped
   him," said a neighbour, "from the day he was born." Elvis himself said,
   "My mama never let me out of her sight. I couldn't go down to the creek
   with the other kids." In his teens he was still a very shy person, a
   "kid who had spent scarcely a night away from home in his nineteen
   years."

   He was teased by his fellow classmates who threw "things at him -
   rotten fruit and stuff - because he was different, because he was quiet
   and he stuttered and he was a mama's boy." Gladys was so proud of her
   son, that, years later, she "would get up early in the morning to run
   off the fans so Elvis could sleep". She was frightened of Elvis being
   hurt: "She knew her boy, and she knew he could take care of himself,
   but what if some crazy man came after him with a gun? she said... tears
   streaming down her face."

   In 1938, when Presley was three years old, his father was convicted of
   forgery. Vernon, Gladys's brother Travis Smith, and Luther Gable went
   to prison for altering a check from Orville Bean, Vernon's boss, from
   $3 to $8 and then cashing it at a local bank. Vernon was sentenced to
   three years at Mississippi State Penitentiary. Though Vernon was
   released after serving eight months, this event deeply influenced the
   life of the young family. During her husband's absence, Gladys lost the
   house and was forced to move in briefly with her in-laws next door. The
   Presley family lived just above the poverty line during their years in
   East Tupelo.

   In 1941 Presley started school at the East Tupelo Consolidated. There
   he seems to have been an outsider. His few friends relate that he was
   separate from any crowd and did not belong to any "gang", but,
   according to his teachers, he was a sweet and average student, and he
   loved comic books. In 1943 Vernon moved to Memphis, where he found work
   and stayed throughout the war, coming home only on weekends.

   In January 1945 Gladys took Elvis shopping for a birthday present at
   Tupelo hardware. She bought him his first guitar, in lieu of a bike and
   rifle, for $12.75.

   In 1946 Presley started at a new school, Milam, which went from grades
   5 through 9, but in 1948 the family left Tupelo, moving 110 miles
   northwest to Memphis, Tennessee. Here, too, the thirteen-year-old lived
   in the city's poorer section of town and attended a Pentecostal church.
   At this time, he was very much influenced by the Memphis blues music
   and the gospel sung at his church. His only reason for waking up in the
   morning was to give those he deemed "squares" a "haircut on the
   neckline."

   Presley entered Humes High School in Memphis and worked at the school
   library and after school at Loew's State Theatre. In 1951 he enrolled
   in the school's ROTC unit and tried unsuccessfully to qualify for the
   high school football team, (the coach supposedly cut him from the team
   for not trimming his sideburns and ducktail). He spent his spare time
   around the African-American section of Memphis, especially on Beale
   Street. In 1953 he graduated from Humes, majoring in History, English,
   and Shop.

   After graduation Presley worked at the Parker Machinists Shop, and,
   after working at the Precision Tool Company with his father, worked for
   the Crown Electric Company driving a truck. Here he began wearing his
   hair in his signature pompadour style.

Voice characteristics

   Elvis Presley was a baritone whose voice had an extraordinary compass —
   the so-called register — and a very wide range of vocal colour. It
   covered two octaves and a third, from the baritone low-G to the tenor
   high B, with an upward extension in falsetto to at least a D flat.
   Presley's best octave was in the middle, D-flat to D-flat. "He has
   always been able to duplicate the open, hoarse, ecstatic, screaming,
   shouting, wailing, reckless sound of the black rhythm-and-blues and
   gospel singers. But he has not been confined to that one type of vocal
   production." In ballads and country songs he was able to belt out
   "full-voiced high Gs and As that an opera baritone might envy," showing
   a remarkable ability to naturally assimilate styles. His "voice has
   always been weak at the bottom, variable and unpredictable. At the top
   it is often brilliant. His upward passage would seem to lie in the area
   of E flat, E and F."

   Presley's range, though impressive in its own right, did not in itself
   make his voice that remarkable, at least in terms of how it measured
   against musical notation. What made it extraordinary, was where its
   centre of gravity lay. By that measure, and according to Gregory
   Sandows, Music Professor at Columbia University, Presley was at once a
   bass, a baritone, and a tenor, most unusual among singers in either
   classical or popular music.

Sun recordings

   On July 18, 1953 Presley paid $3.25 to record the first of two
   double-sided demo acetates at Sun Studios, "My Happiness" and "That's
   When Your Heartaches Begin", which were popular ballads at the time.
   According to the official Presley website, Presley gave it to his
   mother as a much-belated birthday present. Presley returned to Sun
   Studios (706 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee) on January 4, 1954. He
   again paid $8.25 to record a second demo, "I'll Never Stand in Your
   Way" and "It Wouldn't Be the Same Without You" (master 0812).

   Sun Records founder Sam Phillips, who had already recorded blues
   artists such as Howlin' Wolf, James Cotton, B.B. King, Little Milton,
   and Junior Parker , was looking for "a white man with a Negro sound and
   the Negro feel," with whom he "could make a billion dollars," because
   he thought black blues and boogie-woogie music might become
   tremendously popular among white people if presented in the right way.
   The Sun Records producer felt that a black rhythm and blues act stood
   little chance at the time of gaining the broad exposure needed to
   achieve large-scale commercial success."

   Phillips and assistant Marion Keisker heard the Presley discs and
   called him on June 26, 1954, to fill in for a missing ballad singer.
   Although that session was not productive, Phillips put Presley together
   with local musicians Scotty Moore and Bill Black to see what might
   develop. During a rehearsal break on July 5, 1954, Presley began
   singing a blues song written by Arthur Crudup called " That's All
   Right". Phillips liked the resulting record and on July 19, 1954, he
   released it as a 78-rpm single backed with Presley's hopped-up version
   of Bill Monroe's bluegrass song " Blue Moon of Kentucky". Memphis radio
   station WHBQ began playing it two days later; the record became a local
   hit and Presley began a regular touring schedule hoping to expand his
   fame beyond Tennessee.

   However, Sam Phillips had difficulty persuading Southern white disc
   jockeys to play Presley's first recordings. The only place that played
   his records at first were in the Negro sections of Chicago and Detroit
   and in California. However, his music and style began to draw larger
   and larger audiences as he toured the South in 1955. Soon, demands by
   white teenagers that their local radio stations play his music overcame
   much of that resistance and as Rolling Stone magazine wrote years later
   in Presley's biography: "Overnight, it seemed, 'race music', as the
   music industry had labeled the work of black artists, became a thing of
   the past, as did the pejorative 'hillbilly' music." Still, throughout
   1955 and even well into 1956 when he had become a national phenomenon,
   Presley had to deal with an entrenched racism of die-hard
   segregationists and their continued labeling of his sound and style as
   vulgar "jungle music". Allegations of racism were made against Presley,
   possibly by those segregationist elements who hated what he was doing.
   Jet examined the issue and in its August 1, 1957 edition, the African
   American magazine concluded that: "To Elvis, people are people
   regardless of race, colour or creed."

   Country music star Hank Snow arranged to have Presley perform at
   Nashville's Grand Ole Opry and his performance was well received.
   Nonetheless, one of the show's executives allegedly told Presley, "You
   ain't going nowhere, son. You may as well stick to driving a truck."

   Presley's second single, "Good Rockin' Tonight", with "I Don't Care if
   the Sun Don't Shine" on the B-side, was released on September 25, 1954.
   He then continued to tour the South. On October 16, 1954, he made his
   first appearance on Louisiana Hayride, a radio broadcast of live
   country music in Shreveport, Louisiana, and was a hit with the large
   audience. His releases began to reach the top of the country charts.
   Following this, Presley was signed to a one-year contract for a weekly
   performance, during which time he was introduced to Colonel Tom Parker.

   National exposure began on January 28, 1956, when Presley, Moore,
   Black, and drummer D.J. Fontana made their first National Television
   appearance on the Dorsey brothers' Stage Show. It was the first of six
   appearances on the show and the first of eight performances recorded
   and broadcast from CBS TV Studio 50 at 1697 Broadway, New York. After
   the success of their first appearance, they were signed to five more in
   early 1956 (February 4, 11, 18 and March 17 and 24).

Presley and his manager "Colonel" Tom Parker

   On August 15, 1955, Presley was signed by "Hank Snow Attractions", a
   management company jointly owned by singer Hank Snow and "Colonel" Tom
   Parker. Shortly thereafter, "Colonel" Parker took full control and,
   recognizing the limitations of Sun Studios, negotiated a deal with RCA
   Victor Records to acquire Presley's Sun contract for $35,000 on
   November 21, 1955. Presley's first single for RCA "Heartbreak Hotel"
   quickly sold one million copies and within a year RCA would go on to
   sell ten million Presley singles.

   Parker was a master promoter who wasted no time in furthering Presley's
   image, licensing everything from guitars to cookware. Parker's first
   major coup was to market Presley on television. First, he had Presley
   booked in six of the Dorsey Shows (CBS). Presley appeared on the show
   on January 28, 1956, then on February 4, 11 & 18, 1956, with two more
   appearances on March 17 & 24, 1956. In March, he was able to obtain a
   lucrative deal with Milton Berle (NBC) for two appearances. The first
   appearance was on April 3, 1956. The second appearance was
   controversial due to Presley's performance of " Hound Dog" on June 5,
   1956. It sparked a storm over his "gyrations" while singing. The
   controversy lasted through the rest of the 50's. However, that show
   drew such huge ratings that Steve Allen (ABC) booked him for one
   appearance, which took place early on July 1, 1956. That night, Allen
   had for the first time beaten The Ed Sullivan Show in the Sunday night
   ratings, prompting Sullivan (CBS) to book Presley for three
   appearances: September 9, and October 28, 1956 as well as January 6,
   1957, for an unprecedented fee of $50,000. On September 9, 1956, at his
   first of three appearances on the Sullivan show, Presley drew an
   estimated 82.5% percent of the television audience, calculated at
   between 55-60 million viewers. On his third and final appearance (
   January 6, 1957) on the The Ed Sullivan Show, Sullivan was so impressed
   by Presley that he pointed to him and told the audience "This is a real
   decent, fine boy. We've never had a pleasanter experience on our show
   with a big name than we've had with you ... You're thoroughly all
   right." Presley remains the only one on Sullivan's show to have
   received such a warm and personal accolade. However, it has also been
   said that Presley's manager orchestrated the compliment in exchange for
   permitting Presley to appear, after Sullivan had earlier publicly
   stated his refusal to allow Presley on his program.

   Parker eventually negotiated a multi-picture seven-year contract with
   Hal Wallis that shifted Presley's focus from music to films. Under the
   terms of his contract, Presley earned a fee for performing plus a
   percentage of the profits on the films, most of which were huge
   moneymakers. These were usually musicals based around Presley
   performances, and marked the beginning of his transition from
   rebellious rock and roller to all-round family entertainer. Presley was
   praised by all his directors, including the highly respected Michael
   Curtiz, as unfailingly polite and extremely hardworking.

   Presley began his movie career with Love Me Tender which opened on
   November 15, 1956. The movies Jailhouse Rock (1957) and King Creole
   (1958) are regarded as among his best early films.

   Parker's success led to Presley expanding the "Colonel's" management
   contract to an even 50/50 split. Over the years, much has been written
   about "Colonel" Parker, most of it critical. Marty Lacker, a lifelong
   friend and a member of the Memphis Mafia, says he thought of Parker as
   a "hustler and scam artist" who abused Presley's reliance on him.
   Priscilla Presley admits that "Elvis detested the business side of his
   career. He would sign a contract without even reading it." This would
   explain the strong influence the Colonel had on Presley. Nonetheless,
   Lacker acknowledged that Parker was a master promoter.

Cultural impact

Presley and African American music

   Even in the 1950s era of blatant racism, Presley would publicly cite
   his debt to African American music, pointing to artists such as B. B.
   King, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Jackie Wilson, Robert Johnson, Ivory Joe
   Hunter, and Fats Domino. The reporter who conducted Presley's first
   interview in New York City in 1956 noted that he named blues singers
   who "obviously meant a lot to him. I was very surprised to hear him
   talk about the black performers down there and about how he tried to
   carry on their music." Later that year in Charlotte, North Carolina,
   Presley was quoted as saying: "The colored folks been singing it and
   playing it just like I’m doin' now, man, for more years than I know.
   They played it like that in their shanties and in their juke joints and
   nobody paid it no mind 'til I goosed it up. I got it from them. Down in
   Tupelo, Mississippi, I used to hear old Arthur Crudup bang his box the
   way I do now and I said if I ever got to a place I could feel all old
   Arthur felt, I’d be a music man like nobody ever saw." Little Richard
   said of Presley: "He was an integrator. Elvis was a blessing. They
   wouldn’t let black music through. He opened the door for black music."
   B. B. King said he began to respect Presley after he did Arthur "Big
   Boy" Crudup material and that after he met him, he thought the singer
   really was something else and was someone whose music was growing all
   the time right up to his death.

   Up to the mid 1950s black artists had sold minuscule amounts of their
   recorded music relative to the national market potential. Black
   songwriters had mostly limited horizons and could only eke out a
   living. But after Presley purchased the music of African American Otis
   Blackwell and had his "Gladys Music" company hire talented black
   songwriter Claude Demetrius, the industry underwent a dramatic change.
   In the spring of 1957 Presley invited African American performer Ivory
   Joe Hunter to visit Graceland and the two spent the day together,
   singing "I Almost Lost My Mind" and other songs. Of Presley, Hunter
   commented, "He showed me every courtesy, and I think he's one of the
   greatest."

   However, certain elements in American society began to simply dismiss
   Presley as no more than a racist Southerner who stole black music, but
   in the words of Black R&B artist Jackie Wilson, "A lot of people have
   accused Elvis of stealing the black man's music, when in fact, almost
   every black solo entertainer copied his stage mannerisms from Elvis."

   "Racists attacked rock and roll because of the mingling of black and
   white people it implied and achieved, and because of what they saw as
   black music's power to corrupt through vulgar and animalistic rhythms.
   ... The popularity of Elvis Presley was similarly founded on his
   transgressive position with respect to racial and sexual boundaries.
   ... White cover versions of hits by black musicians ... often outsold
   the originals; it seems that many Americans wanted black music without
   the black people in it," and Elvis had undoubtedly "derived his style
   from the Negro rhythm-and-blues performers of the late 1940's."

   "Many White people would be surprised to learn that Elvis Presley's hit
   'Hound Dog' was first popularized by a Black woman, Big Mama Thornton,
   (but it was written by the white songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and
   Mike Stoller). Elvis and his music live on the collective memory of
   Whites, yet Little Richard, some of whose work Elvis borrowed, has been
   forgotten." A southern background combined with a performing style
   largely associated with African Americans had led to "bitter criticism
   by those who feel he stole a good thing," as Tan magazine surmised. No
   wonder that Elvis became "a symbol of all that was oppressive to the
   black experience in the Western Hemisphere". What is more, Presley was
   widely believed to have said, "The only thing black people can do for
   me is shine my shoes and buy my records." It was claimed that the
   alleged comment was made either in Boston or on Edward R. Murrow's
   Person to Person. A black southerner in the late 1980s even captured
   that sentiment: "To talk to Presley about blacks was like talking to
   Adolph Hitler about the Jews."

   In his scholarly work Race, Rock, and Elvis, Tennessee State University
   professor Michael T. Bertrand examined the relationship between popular
   culture and social change in America and these allegations against
   Presley. Professor Bertrand postulated that Presley's rock and roll
   music brought an unprecedented access to African American culture that
   challenged the 1950's segregated generation to reassess ingrained
   segregationist stereotypes. The American Historical Review wrote that
   the author "convincingly argues that the black-and-white character of
   the sound, as well as Presley's own persona, helped to relax the rigid
   colour line and thereby fed the fires of the civil rights movement."
   The U.S. government report stated: "Presley has been accused of
   "stealing" black rhythm and blues, but such accusations indicate little
   knowledge of his many musical influences." "However much Elvis may have
   'borrowed' from black blues performers (e.g., 'Big Boy' Crudup, 'Big
   Mama' Thornton), he borrowed no less from white country stars (e.g.,
   Ernest Tubb, Bill Monroe) and white pop singers (e.g., Mario Lanza,
   Dean Martin)," and most of his borrowings came from the church; its
   gospel music was his primary musical influence and foundation."

"A danger to American culture"

   By the spring of 1956, Presley was fast becoming a national phenomenon
   and teenagers came to his concerts in unprecedented numbers. When he
   performed at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair in 1956, 100 National
   Guardsmen surrounded the stage to control crowds of excited fans. The
   singer was considered to represent a threat to the moral well-being of
   young American women. The Roman Catholic Church denounced him in its
   weekly magazine in an article headlined "Beware Elvis Presley."

   In an interview with PBS television, social historian Eric Lott said,
   "all the citizens' councils in the South called Elvis 'nigger music'
   and were terribly afraid that Elvis, white as he was, being ambiguously
   raced just by being working-class, was going to corrupt the youth of
   America." Robert Kaiser says he was the first who gave the people "a
   music that hit them where they lived, deep in their emotions, yes, even
   below their belts. Other singers had been doing this for generations,
   but they were black." Therefore, his performance style was frequently
   criticized. Social guardians blasted anyone responsible for exposing
   impressionable teenagers to his "gyrating figure and suggestive
   gestures." The Louisville chief of police, for instance, called for a
   no-wiggle rule to halt "any lewd, lascivious contortions that would
   excite the crowd." Even Priscilla Presley confirms that "his
   performances were labeled obscene. My mother stated emphatically that
   he was 'a bad influence for teenage girls. He arouses things in them
   that shouldn't be aroused.'"

   According to rhythm and blues artist Hank Ballard, "In white society,
   the movement of the butt, the shaking of the leg, all that was
   considered obscene. Now here's this white boy that's grinding and
   rolling his belly and shaking that notorious leg. I hadn't even seen
   the black dudes doing that." Presley complained bitterly in a June 27,
   1956, interview about being singled out as “obscene”. Due to his
   controversial style of song and stage performances, municipal
   politicians began denying permits for Presley appearances. This caused
   teens to pile into cars and travel elsewhere to see him perform. Adult
   programmers announced they would not play Presley's music on their
   radio stations due to religious convictions that his music was "devil
   music" and to racist beliefs that it was "nigger music." Many of
   Presley's records were condemned as wicked by Pentecostal preachers,
   warning congregations to keep heathen rock and roll music out of their
   homes and away from their children's ears (especially the music of
   "that backslidden Pentecostal pup.") However, the economic power of
   Presley's fans became evident when they tuned in alternative radio
   stations playing his records. In an era when radio stations were
   shifting to an all-music format, in reaction to competition from
   television, profit-conscious radio station owners learned quickly when
   sponsors bought more advertising time on new all "rock and roll"
   stations, some of which reached enormous markets at night with clear
   channel signals from AM broadcasts.

   In August, 1956 in Jacksonville, Florida a local Juvenile Court judge
   called Presley a " savage" and threatened to arrest him if he shook his
   body while performing at Jacksonville's Florida Theatre, justifying the
   restrictions by saying his music was undermining the youth of America.
   Throughout the performance, Presley stood still as ordered but poked
   fun at the judge by wiggling a finger. Similar attempts to stop his
   "sinful gyrations" continued for more than a year and included his
   often-noted January 6, 1957 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (during
   which he performed the spiritual number "Peace in the Valley"), when he
   was filmed only from the waist up.

American icon

   According to Rolling Stone magazine, "it was Elvis who made rock 'n'
   roll the international language of pop." A PBS documentary described
   Presley as "an American music giant of the 20th century who
   singlehandedly changed the course of music and culture in the
   mid-1950s." His recordings, dance moves, attitude and clothing came to
   be seen as embodiments of rock and roll. His music was heavily
   influenced by African-American blues, Christian gospel, and Southern
   country.

   Presley sang both hard driving rockabilly, rock and roll dance songs
   and ballads, laying a commercial foundation upon which other rock
   musicians would build their careers. African-American performers like
   Little Richard, Fats Domino, and Chuck Berry came to national
   prominence after Presley's acceptance among mass audiences of White
   American teenagers. Singers like Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers,
   Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and others immediately followed
   in his wake. John Lennon later observed, "Before Elvis, there was
   nothing."

   During the post-WWII economic boom of the 1950s, many parents were able
   to give their teenage children much higher weekly allowances, signaling
   a shift in the buying power and purchasing habits of American teens.
   During the 1940s bobby soxers had idolized Frank Sinatra, but the
   buyers of his records were mostly between the ages of eighteen and
   twenty-two. Presley triggered a juggernaut of demand for his records by
   near-teens and early teens aged ten and up. Along with Presley's "
   ducktail" haircut, the demand for black slacks and loose, open-necked
   shirts resulted in new lines of clothing for teenage boys whereas a
   girl might get a pink portable 45 rpm record player for her bedroom.
   Meanwhile American teenagers began buying newly available portable
   transistor radios and listened to rock 'n' roll on them (helping to
   propel that fledgling industry from an estimated 100,000 units sold in
   1955 to 5,000,000 units by the end of 1958). Teens were asserting more
   independence and Presley became a national symbol of their parents'
   consternation.
   Elvis Presley in the 1957 musical drama Jailhouse Rock
   Enlarge
   Elvis Presley in the 1957 musical drama Jailhouse Rock

   Presley's impact on the American youth consumer market was noted on the
   front page of The Wall Street Journal on December 31, 1956 when
   business journalist Louis M. Kohlmeier wrote, "Elvis Presley today is a
   business," and reported on the singer's record and merchandise sales.
   Half a century later, historian Ian Brailsford ( University of
   Auckland, New Zealand) commented, "The phenomenal success of Elvis
   Presley in 1956 convinced many doubters of the financial opportunities
   existing in the youth market." Elvis even became very popular to
   British audiences as well.

Military service

   On December 20, 1957, Presley received his draft board notice for his
   mandatory service in the United States Army. He was worried that his
   absence in the public eye for 2 years, while serving in the Army, might
   end his career. Even more worried were Hal Wallis and Paramount who
   already spent $350,000 on pre-production of Presley's latest film King
   Creole and they feared of suspending the project or worse canceling it.
   Fortunately, the Memphis Draft Board granted Wallis and Colonel Parker
   a deferment until March 20 so Presley could complete his film project.
   On 24 March 1958, Presley joined his unit, 1st Battalion, US 32nd
   Armored Regiment and was posted to Germany.

   While serving in Germany, Presley met his wife-to-be, the 14-year-old
   Priscilla Beaulieu, and also the noted International Herald Tribune
   correspondent and humorist Art Buchwald, future US Secretary of State
   Colin Powell (then a lieutenant with the Third Army Division in
   Germany), and Walter Alden, the father of Presley's fiancee Ginger
   Alden who inducted Presley into the Army.

   His rankings and dates of promotions were as follows: Private (upon
   draft March 24, 1958); Private First Class (November 27, 1958);
   Specialist Fourth Class (June 1, 1959); and Sergeant (January 20,
   1960). While in the Army, he earned sharpshooter badges for both the
   .45 pistol and the M1 rifle, and a marksman badge for the M2 carbine,
   as well as a Good Conduct Medal.

   Presley returned to the United States on March 2, 1960, and was
   honorably discharged with the rank of Sergeant (E-5) on March 5. One of
   his post-discharge photos shows him wearing dress blues with the grade
   of Staff Sergeant (E-6), but this was a tailor's error.

   After serving his duty in the military, he became more mature and lost
   his raw and rebellious edge. However, he gained respect from older and
   more conservative crowds who initially disliked him before he entered
   the Army.

1960s film career

   Presley admired the style of Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Tony Curtis
   and returned from the military eager to make a career as a movie star.
   Although "he was definitely not the most talented actor around", he
   "became a film genre of his own." Pop film staples of the early
   sixties, such as the Presley musicals and the AIP beach movies were
   mainly produced for a teenage audience and called by film critics a
   "pantheon of bad taste". In the sixties, at Colonel Parker's command,
   Presley withdrew from concerts and television appearances, with the
   exception of a charity concert (Pearl Harbour, 1961) and a TV
   appearance with Frank Sinatra on NBC entitled "Welcome Home Elvis"
   where he sang "Witchcraft/Love Me Tender" with Sinatra. From then on it
   was full-time movies. "He blamed his fading popularity on his humdrum
   movies," Priscilla Presley recalled in her 1985 autobiography, Elvis
   and Me. "He loathed their stock plots and short shooting schedules. He
   could have demanded better, more substantial scripts, but he didn't."
   According to most critics, the scripts of the movies "were all the
   same, the songs progressively worse." The latter were "written on order
   by men who never really understood Elvis or rock and roll." For Blue
   Hawaii and its soundtrack LP, "fourteen songs were cut in just three
   days." Julie Parrish, starring in Paradise, Hawaiian Style, says that
   Presley hated such songs and that he "couldn't stop laughing while he
   was recording" one of them.

   Although some film critics chastised these movies for their lack of
   depth, the fans turned out and they were enormously profitable.
   According to Jerry Hopkins's book, Elvis in Hawaii, Presley's
   "pretty-as-a-postcard movies" even "boosted the new state's (Hawaii)
   tourism. Some of his most enduring and popular songs came from those
   movies." Altogether, Presley had made 27 movies during the 1960s,
   "which had grossed about $130 million, and he had sold a hundred
   million records, which had made $150 million." Overall, he was one of
   the highest paid Hollywood actors during the 1960s. However, during the
   later sixties, "the Elvis Presley film was becoming passé. Young people
   were tuning in, dropping out and doing acid. Musical acts like the
   Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, the Doors, Janis Joplin and many
   others were dominating the airwaves. Elvis Presley was not considered
   as cool as he once was."

1968 comeback

   Presley's star had increasingly faded over the 1960s as he made his
   movies and America was struck by changing styles and tastes after the
   "British Invasion" spearheaded by the Beatles.

   Until the late sixties Presley continued to star in many B-movies that,
   although profitable, featured soundtracks that were of increasingly
   lower quality. Chart statistics for the summer of 1968 show that his
   recording career was floundering badly. He had apparently become deeply
   dissatisfied with the direction his career had taken over the ensuing
   seven years, most notably the film contracts with a demanding schedule
   that eliminated creative recording and giving public concerts. This
   lead to a triumphant televised performance later dubbed the '68
   Comeback Special, aired on the NBC television network on December 3,
   1968, and released as an album by RCA. Although the Special featured
   big, lavish production numbers (not dissimilar to those in his movies),
   it also featured intimate and emotionally charged live sessions that
   saw him return to his rock and roll roots (he had not performed live
   since the Pearl Harbour concert of 1961). Rolling Stone magazine called
   it "a performance of emotional grandeur and historical resonance."
   Presley was greatly assisted in the success of the '68 Comeback by the
   fact that the director and co-producer, Steve Binder, worked hard to
   make sure the show was not just a selection of Christmas songs, as
   Presley's manager had originally planned.

   The comeback of 1968 was followed by a 1969 return to live
   performances, first in Las Vegas and then across the United States. The
   return concerts were noted for the constant stream of sold-out shows,
   with many setting attendance records in the venues where he performed.

   Two concert films were also released: Elvis: That's the Way It Is
   (1970) and Elvis on Tour (1972).

The final years

   After seven years off the top of the charts, Presley's song "
   Suspicious Minds" hit number one on the Billboard music charts on
   November 1, 1969. He also reached number one on charts elsewhere: " In
   the Ghetto" did so in West Germany in 1969 and "The Wonder of You" did
   so in the UK in 1970.

   The " Aloha from Hawaii" concert in January 1973 was the first of its
   kind to be broadcast worldwide via satellite and was seen by at least
   one billion viewers worldwide. The RCA soundtrack album to the show
   reached number-one in the charts.

   Presley recorded a number of country hits in his final years. Way Down
   was languishing in the American Country Music chart shortly before his
   death in 1977, and reached number one the week after his death. It also
   topped the UK pop charts at the same time.

   Between 1969 and 1977 Presley gave over 1,000 sold-out performances in
   Las Vegas and on tour. He was the first artist to have four shows in a
   row sold to capacity crowds at New York's Madison Square Garden.

   From 1971 to his death in 1977 Presley employed the Stamps Quartet, a
   gospel group, for his backup vocals. He recorded several gospel albums,
   earning three Grammy Awards for his gospel music. In his later years
   his live stage performances almost always included a rendition of How
   Great Thou Art, the 19th century gospel song made famous by George
   Beverly Shea. Although some critics say that the singer travestied,
   commercialized and soft-soaped gospel "to the point where it became
   nauseating.", twenty-four years after his death, the Gospel Music
   Association inducted him into its Gospel Music Hall of Fame (2001).

   After his divorce in 1973 Presley became increasingly isolated,
   overweight, and was battling an addiction to prescription drugs which
   took a heavy toll on his appearance, health, and performances. He made
   his last live concert appearance in Indianapolis at the Market Square
   Arena on June 26, 1977.

Death and burial

   On August 16, 1977, at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee,
   Presley was found lying on the floor of his bedroom's bathroom by his
   fiancee, Ginger Alden, who had been asleep. A stain on the bathroom
   carpeting was found that indicated "where Elvis had thrown up after
   being stricken, apparently while seated on the toilet. It looked to the
   medical investigator as if he had 'stumbled or crawled several feet
   before he died.' " He was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital, where at
   3:30 P.M. doctors pronounced him dead. Presley was 42 years old.

   At a press conference following his death, one of the medical examiners
   declared that he had died of a cardiac arrhythmia from an intake of a
   large amount of drugs.

   Rolling Stone magazine devoted an entire issue to Presley (RS 248) and
   his funeral was a national media event. Hundreds of thousands of
   Presley fans, the press, and celebrities lined the street to witness
   Presley's funeral and Jackie Cahane gave the eulogy.

   Presley was originally buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis next
   to his mother. After an attempted theft of the body, his remains and
   his mother's remains were moved to Graceland to the "meditation
   gardens."

   Following Presley's death in 1977, US President Jimmy Carter said,
   "Elvis Presley's death deprives our country of a part of itself. He was
   unique and irreplaceable. More than 20 years ago, he burst upon the
   scene with an impact that was unprecedented and will probably never be
   equaled. His music and his personality, fusing the styles of white
   country and black rhythm and blues, permanently changed the face of
   American popular culture. His following was immense, and he was a
   symbol to people the world over of the vitality, rebelliousness, and
   good humor of his country."

Views on race

   In 1956, a Boston reporter said that Elvis had said, "the only thing
   niggers can do for me is buy my records and shine my shoes." The claim
   has since been proved untrue (in part by the fact that Elvis was never
   in Boston until 1971), but it remains a popular urban legend.

   As early as 1956, he sponsored an All-Negro Day at the Memphis Zoo. In
   the '50s, a DJ refused to interview Elvis because he was a
   "nigger-lover". Elvis told guitarist Scotty Moore, "Go tell that son of
   a bitch, I'm damn proud to be a nigger lover!"

   He had close friendships with B.B. King, Sammy Davis Jr., James Brown,
   Fats Domino, Mahalia Jackson, Jim Brown, and Muhammad Ali. After Jackie
   Wilson went into a coma in the '70s, Elvis supported his family
   financially.

   Elvis requested to meet Martin Luther King in the mid-60s, but never
   got the opportunity. His song " If I Can Dream" is partly about King's
   assassination. Elvis later quoted part of King's I Have A Dream speech
   on stage.

   Elvis was accompanied on stage by The Sweet Inspirations from 1969
   until his death. Once, while in Texas, the owner of a venue refused to
   allow them to go on stage because, he didn't "allow niggers in my
   arena". Elvis replied, "No Sweets, no Elvis." He also told a fan once
   to take a Confederate flag down from a balcony at a concert and replace
   it with the American flag.

Political beliefs

   President Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley December, 1970.
   Enlarge
   President Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley December, 1970.

   Not much has been written about Elvis's political views. In the early
   1960s he described himself as an admirer of the Democratic President
   John F. Kennedy. In 1970 however he wrote to J. Edgar Hoover requesting
   to join the FBI at the height of its campaign against political
   activism. Most people were shocked at this, but his fans had mixed
   emotions. They wanted their hero making new movies and songs, but they
   were happy that Elvis had his feet firmly on the ground. In December of
   that year he met with President Richard Nixon. According to the Richard
   Nixon Library & Birthplace Foundation, the photograph of President
   Nixon's meeting with Presley in the Oval Office is the most requested
   image in the history of the U.S. Government.

   It is known that Elvis supported Adlai Stevenson in the 1956 election.
   Elvis also supported John F. Kennedy in 1960 and reportedly cried when
   he learned of his death. There is a picture of Elvis with President
   Johnson, who he met in 1965. Elvis also supported Robert Kennedy in the
   1968 election until his assassination. Between 1968 and 1970, Elvis
   recorded several political songs including If I Can Dream, In The
   Ghetto, Change Of Habit, and Walk A Mile In My Shoes. He also starred
   in the political film Change Of Habit. Elvis also met and became
   friends with John Lennon and Bob Dylan in the '60s.

   In the 1970s he was a strong supporter of Republican President Richard
   Nixon and even met him in the White House. In a letter that Presley
   wrote to Nixon, requesting that they should meet, Presley told the
   President he was a huge admirer of everything he was doing, and asked
   to be made a "Federal Agent at Large" in order to help get the country
   off drugs. Nixon duly made Presley a "Federal Agent at large" in the
   Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, presenting him with the
   appropriate badge. Extraordinarily, Presley was likewise able to
   present Nixon with a gift of a Colt .45 handgun in the Oval Office.
   Although it probably has no relevance to his political beliefs, Elvis
   also met future President George H.W. Bush at an awards banquet.

   Nothing is known of Elvis's views on Gerald Ford, but Elvis became a
   friend of Democratic President Jimmy Carter when he was Governor of
   Georgia. After Carter was elected to the Presidency, Elvis called him
   on the telephone at the White House several times. When Presley died in
   August 1977, "Carter said, 'He was unique and irreplaceable. He burst
   on the scene with an impact that was unprecedented and will probably
   never be equaled.' "

Relationships

Devotion to his mother

   The first woman in Presley's life was his mother Gladys. In a newspaper
   interview with The Memphis Press Scimitar, Elvis himself was open about
   the close relationship to his mother. "She was the number-one girl in
   his life, and he was dedicating his career to her." Throughout her
   life, "the son would call her by pet names", and they communicated by
   baby talk. Presley even shared his mother's bed "up until Elvis was a
   young teen." According to Elaine Dundy, "it was agony for her to leave
   her child even for a moment with anyone else, to let anyone else touch
   Elvis." His father still openly talked about Elvis' close relationship
   to his mother after his son had become famous. When his mother died,
   Elvis was "sobbing and crying hysterically", and eye-witnesses relate
   that he was "grieving almost constantly" for days.

High school and early stardom

   Presley's early experiences being teased by his fellow classmates for
   being a "mama's boy" had a deep influence on his clumsy advances to
   girls. He didn't have any friends as a teen. Beginning in his early
   teens, Presley embarked upon the "indefatigable pursuit of girls", but
   was totally rebuffed. At school, anyone "wishing to provoke a little
   girl to tears of rage had only to chalk "Elvis loves -" and then the
   girl's name on the blackboard when the teacher was out of the room."
   Presley's first sweetheart was the fifteen-year-old Dixie Locke, whom
   the singer dated steadily since graduating from Humes and during his
   Sun Records time. While still a rising star, Presley also had a
   relationship with June Juanico, who is said to have been the only girl
   his mother ever approved of, but according to Juanico's own words, she
   "never had sex with Presley." However, since the singer's death many
   claims to relationships have been made by women who were no more than
   acquaintances or had short affairs which were exaggerated for personal
   gain. Juanico even blames Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker, for
   encouraging Presley to go out with beautiful women only "for the
   publicity". Between 1954 and 1956, when his stardom began to rise,
   Presley became the subject of adulation and adoration of young
   Hollywood starlets such as Natalie Wood, Judy Tyler, Shelley Fabares,
   and Connie Stevens. His mother believed that Wood was a schemer who
   hoped to "snare" the singer only "for publicity purposes." When a
   columnist wanted to know if the romance with Presley was "serious,"
   Natalie's cool answer was, "Not right now." "But who knows what will
   happen?" One of her judgments of Elvis was, "He can sing but he can't
   do much else."

The women in his life

   Several authors have written that "Elvis busied his evenings with
   various girlfriends" or that his "list of one-night stands would fill
   volumes." According to eyewitness Byron Raphael, who worked for
   Presley's manager Parker, the star even had a secret one-night stand
   with Marilyn Monroe in a hotel room. However, it is unclear whether the
   "sex symbol" actually had sex with most of the women he dated. His
   early girlfriends Judy Spreckels and June Juanico say that they had no
   sexual relationships with Presley. Raphael and Alanna Nash have stated
   that the star "would never put himself inside one of these girls..."
   Peggy Lipton claims that he was "virtually impotent" with her. She
   attributed his impotence to his heavy drug abuse. Cassandra Peterson,
   better known as "Elvira', says she knew Presley for only one night and
   all they did was talk. Priscilla Presley and Suzanne Finstad also claim
   that the singer wasn't overtly sexually active. These claims, however,
   are directly contradicted by comments from actresses like Cybill
   Shepherd, who acknowledged her affair with the singer. In her memoir,
   Ann-Margret (Presley's co-star in Viva Las Vegas) refers to Presley as
   her "soulmate", but very little is revealed about their long-rumored
   romance, only that "in a moment of tenderness" he bought her a round
   bed in hot pink colors. On the other hand, Elvis dated many female
   co-stars from his movies primarily for publicity purposes. Lori
   Williams and the singer, for instance, went together for a while
   "between the making of Roustabout and Kissin' Cousins." She says their
   "courtship was not some bizarre story. It was very sweet and Elvis was
   the perfect gentleman." She also claims that Ann-Margret "was the love
   of his life." Significantly, there was a great publicity campaign about
   the romance between Elvis and Ann-Margret during the 1963 filming of
   Viva Las Vegas and the following weeks, which helped to increase the
   popularity of the young Hollywood beauty. Margret remained close to
   Presley for the remainder of his life and also attended his funeral. It
   should be noted, however, that the vast majority of books (including
   both of Guralnick's books) on Presley contain details of his many
   romances and alleged affairs including many while he was married to
   Priscilla. Guralnick writes that for "the more experienced girls it
   wasn't like with other Hollywood stars or even with other more
   sophisticated boys they knew." Although they offered to do things for
   Presley, "he wasn't really interested."

Anita Wood and Priscilla Beaulieu

   Anita Wood, another girl whom the singer's mother hoped Presley would
   eventually marry, was with him as he rose to superstardom, served in
   the US military and returned home in 1960. If he was planning to marry
   a girl he wanted her to remain a virgin. Anita Wood lived at Graceland
   for a time, though the star, according to his own words, didn't make
   love to her. She moved out after confronting him over Priscilla
   Beaulieu. Presley had met Beaulieu in Germany while stationed there
   with the U.S. Army. She was only 14 years old when the singer began
   dating her. At that time, he even had a younger girl living in his
   house. Therefore, some authors such as Albert Goldman went as far as to
   call Presley a "pedophile" who dated girls in their early teens.

   Presley and Beaulieu were married on May 1, 1967 in Las Vegas, Nevada
   and daughter Lisa Marie was born nine months later on February 1, 1968
   in Memphis, Tennessee. After five years of marriage Presley and
   Beaulieu separated on February 23, 1972, agreeing to share custody of
   their daughter.

The Memphis Mafia and other male friends

   Apart from his relationships with women, Presley had many male friends.
   He reportedly spent day and night with friends and employees whom the
   news media affectionately dubbed the Memphis Mafia. Among them were
   Sonny West, Red West, Billy Smith, Marty Lacker and Lamar Fike. Gerald
   Marzorati says that Elvis "couldn't go anywhere else without a phalanx
   of boyhood friends." Even the girls he dated deplored, "Whenever you
   were with Elvis for the most part you were with his entourage. Those
   guys were always around..." According to Peter Guralnick, for Elvis and
   the guys " Hollywood was just an open invitation to party all night
   long. Sometimes they would hang out with Sammy Davis, Jr., or check out
   Bobby Darin at the Cloister. Nick Adams and his gang came by the suite
   all the time, not to mention the eccentric actor Billy Murphy ..."
   Samuel Roy says that "Elvis' bodyguards, Red and Sonny West and Dave
   Hebler, apparently loved Elvis—especially Red ... ; these bodyguards
   showed loyalty to Elvis and demonstrated it in the ultimate test. When
   bullets were apparently fired at Elvis in Las Vegas, the bodyguards
   threw themselves in front of Elvis, forming a shield to protect him."
   According to Presley expert Elaine Dundy, "Of all Elvis' new friends,
   Nick Adams, by background and temperament the most insecure, was also
   his closest." All of the singer's friendships are documented by many
   photographs.

Lasting legacy

   By 1957 Presley was the most famous entertainer in the world. After
   pioneer band leader Bill Haley spawned interest in rock and roll in
   Western Europe, Presley's records triggered a wide shift in tastes with
   effects lasting many decades. Singers in dozens of countries made
   Presley-influenced recordings in many languages and his own records
   were sold around the globe, even behind the former Iron Curtain. By
   1958 Cliff Richard, the so-called "British Elvis", was rising to
   prominence in the UK, and in France Johnny Hallyday, known as the
   "Elvis of France", became a rock and roll idol singing in French, soon
   to be followed by others like Claude François and, in Italy, by Adriano
   Celentano and Bobby Solo, all of whom were heavily influenced by
   Presley's early style. Later, as his first movies were shown throughout
   the world, Presley-mannered stage performers and singers appeared
   everywhere, from Latin America to Asia, the Middle East, and even in
   some parts of Africa. Airplay and sales of Presley recordings across
   Europe were followed by those of other American rockers who began
   touring there. Teenagers around the world copied his " ducktail" hair
   style.

   For the next 21 years, until he died, Presley's singing style,
   mannerisms and look continued to be imitated with surprising
   regularity, wherever his image, songs, or movies happened to be shown,
   regardless of major shifts in popular culture, music, and manner of
   dress, all of which he had helped influence in the first place. But it
   was only after his death that an industry built itself around him. Many
   people of every race, creed and nationality taking up a career as
   professional Elvis impersonators — or Elvis Tribute Artists (ETAs) as
   they now prefer to be called.

   Conversely, a parallel industry, mostly kitsch, continues to grow
   around his memory, chronicling his dietary and chemical predilections
   along with the trappings of his wide celebrity. Many impersonators
   still sing his songs. "While some of the impersonators perform a whole
   range of Presley music, the raw 1950s Elvis and the kitschy 1970s Elvis
   are the favorites."

   Among his many accomplishments, Presley is only one of four artists (
   Roy Orbison, Guns N' Roses and Nelly being the others) to ever have two
   top five albums on the charts simultaneously.

   He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1986), the
   Country Music Hall of Fame (1998), and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame
   (2001).

   In 1993, Presley's image appeared on a United States postage stamp.

   Upon announcing that Presley's home, the Graceland Mansion, was being
   designated as a National Historic Landmark, U.S Interior Secretary Gale
   Norton noted on 27 March 2006, that “It didn’t take Americans and the
   rest of the world long to discover Elvis Presley; and it is clear they
   will never forget him. His popularity continues to thrive nearly 29
   years after his passing, with each new generation connecting with him
   in a significant way.”

The Elvis cult and its critics

The fans

   It has been claimed that there are over 500 US fan clubs and that they
   exist in every state except three: North Dakota, Idaho and Wyoming.
   According to the American Demographics magazine, 84% of the US people
   say that their lives have been touched by Elvis Presley in some way,
   70% have watched a movie starring Presley, 44% have danced to one of
   his songs, 31% have bought an Elvis record, CD or video, 10% have
   visited Graceland, 9% have bought Elvis memorabilia, 9% have read a
   book about Presley, and 5% have seen the singer in concert. Not all of
   these people are Presley fans.

   A collection of essays entitled The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and
   Popular Media critically examines what distinguishes fans from general
   audiences and explores the relationship between fans and their adored
   media products. Part of this volume is the article, "Fandom and Gender"
   which includes an examination of female fantasies of Presley. To many
   of his female fans, the songs Presley sang "were secondary to his
   personality and the way he performed them," evoking the well-known
   emotional responses. In her autobiographical article, "Sexing Elvis"
   (1984), Sue Wise even describes "how she came to terms with her
   lesbianism through a close identification with the feminine side of the
   King."

   "Elvis's 'effect' on young girls threatened those men who assumed that
   young girls needed to be protected both from sex in general and from
   its expression in questionable characters like Elvis in particular."
   However, there were not only female fantasies directed at the star.
   According to Reina Lewis and Peter Horne, "prints of Elvis Presley
   appeared to speak directly to the gay community."

   "Perhaps it is an error of enthusiasm to freight Elvis Presley with too
   heavy a historical load", as, according to a public opinion poll among
   high school students in 1957, Pat Boone was "the nearly two-to-one
   favorite over Elvis Presley among boys and preferred almost
   three-to-one by girls"; yet, Presley "clearly outshines the other
   performers in rocknroll's first pantheon." This poll should, however,
   be taken with a grain of salt as Presley had significantly more record
   sales than Pat Boone.

The ritualization of the "Elvis cult"

   There can be no doubt that it was primarily "the recording industry,
   which made Elvis Presley a mythical media demigod." On August 16,
   thousands of die-hard Elvis fans travel to Graceland every year in
   order to celebrate the anniversary of Presley's death. The
   ritualization of the Elvis cult is also manifested most prominently
   through the many live performances by Elvis impersonators. According to
   Marjorie Garber, "The phenomenon of 'Elvis impersonators,' which began
   long before the singer's death, is one of the most startling effects of
   the Elvis cult.

   What is more, David S. Wall has shown that many authors who are writing
   books and articles on Presley are part of a "worldwide Elvis industry"
   which has a tendency towards supporting primarily a favorable view of
   the star. The content of the majority of these publications can be
   characterized as based on gossip about gossip, only occasionally
   providing some new surprising details. There are not many critical,
   unfavorable publications on Elvis's life. An example is Albert
   Goldman's controversial biography, Elvis (1981), in which the author
   unfavorably discusses the star's weight problems, his performing
   costumes and his sex life. Such books are frequently disparaged and
   harshly attacked by Elvis fan groups. Professor Wall has pointed out
   that one of the strategies of the various fan clubs and appreciation
   societies to which the bulk of Elvis fans belong is " 'community
   policing' to achieve governance at a distance... These organisations
   have, through their membership magazines, activities and sales
   operations, created a powerful moral majority" endeavoring to suppress
   most critical voices. "With a combined membership of millions, the fans
   form a formidable constituency of consumer power."

   According to David Lowenthal, "Everything from Disneyland to the
   Holocaust Museum, ... from Elvis memorabilia to the Elgin Marbles bears
   the marks of the cult of heritage." "When it's an exhibition of Elvis
   memorabilia," even Marilyn Houlberg, professor at the School of the Art
   Institute of Chicago, "puts on the campy art-world hat and becomes a
   priestess of the Elvis cult." Paul A. Cantor goes as far as to call the
   American Presley cult "a postmodern simulacrum of the German Hitler
   cult." Some fan groups even refuse to accept the fact of the star's
   death in 1977 (see the "Elvis lives?" section of this article).

   In his book Elvis after Elvis: The Posthumous Career of a Living Legend
   (1996), Gilbert Rodman traces in detail Presley's manifestations in
   contemporary popular and not-so-popular culture. He draws upon the many
   Elvis "sightings," from Elvis's appearances at the heart of the 1992
   presidential campaign to the debate over his worthiness as a subject
   for a postage stamp, and from Elvis's central role in furious debates
   about racism and the appropriation of African-American music to the
   world of Elvis impersonators and the importance of Graceland as a place
   of pilgrimage for fans and followers. The author further points out
   that Presley has become inseparable from many of the defining myths of
   US culture, enmeshed with the American Dream and the very idea of the
   "United States," caught up in debates about race, gender, and
   sexuality, and in the wars over what constitutes a national culture.

   This Presley cult has been much criticized. "As one reader complained:
   I was really surprised that you used that article about the boring
   Elvis cult! You would use one on McDonald's?"

Critical voices

   Indeed, there are not only positive voices concerning the singer and
   his life. During the early years of his career, Country blues guitarist
   Mississippi Slim constantly criticized Elvis. According to Jennifer
   Harrison, "Elvis faced criticism more often than appreciation" from a
   small town in South Memphis. "Much criticism has been heaped on Elvis,
   often perpetuated by squares, the Colonel, and others who controlled
   his creative (or not so creative) output, especially during the
   Hollywood years."

   According to Robert A. Segal, Elvis was "a consummate mamma's boy, who
   lived his last twenty years as a recluse in a womblike, infantile world
   in which all of his wishes were immediately satisfied yet who deemed
   himself entirely normal, in fact 'all-American.'" When a CBS special on
   Presley was aired on October 3, 1977, shortly after the singer's death,
   it "received such harsh criticism that it is hard to imagine what the
   public response to Elvis's degeneration would have been if he had been
   alive." This special "only seemed to confirm the rumors of drug abuse."

   In a recent study on the analogy of trash and rock 'n' roll, professor
   of English and drummer Steven Hamelman demonstrates that rock 'n' roll
   productions are often trash, that critics often trash rock 'n' roll
   productions, and that rock 'n' roll musicians often trash their lives.
   The author uses the tortured lives and premature deaths of Presley,
   John Lennon and Kurt Cobain in his section on "waste" in order to
   underscore the literal and figurative "waste" that, in his opinion, is
   part of rock 'n' roll.

   However, one of the most frequent points of criticism is the overweight
   and androgyny of the late Las Vegas Presley. Time Out says that, "As
   Elvis got fatter, his shows got glammier." It has been said that the
   star, when he "returned to Las Vegas, heavier, in pancake makeup,
   wearing a white jumpsuit with an elaborate jeweled belt and cape,
   crooning pop songs to a microphone ... had become Liberace. Even his
   fans were now middle-aged matrons and blue-haired grandmothers, who
   praised him as a good son who loved his mother; Mother's Day became a
   special holiday for Elvis's fans." According to several modern gender
   studies, the singer had, like Liberace, presented "variations of the
   drag queen figure" in his final stages in Las Vegas, when he
   excessively used eye shadow, gold lamé suits and jumpsuits. Although
   described as a male sex symbol, Elvis was "insistently and
   paradoxically read by the culture as a boy, a eunuch, or a 'woman' –
   anything but a man," and in his Las Vegas white "Eagle" jumpsuit,
   designed by costumer Bill Belew, he appeared like "a transvestite
   successor to Marlene Dietrich." Indeed, Elvis had been "feminized", as
   Joel Foreman put it.

   Thus, "Elvis' death did occur at a time when it could only help his
   reputation. Just before his death, Elvis had been forgotten by
   society." Except for the fans who held his memory in honour, he was
   chiefly "referred to as 'overweight and over-the-hill.'" After the
   singer's death, things changed. In their book When Elvis Died: A
   Chronicle of National and International Reaction to the Passing of an
   American King (1980), Neal and Janice Gregory documented through
   newspaper and television archives the reaction of the media to the
   spontaneous and unprecedented outpouring of public grief at Elvis'
   death. One reporter after another described scenes not witnessed since
   the death of Valentino. When President Jimmy Carter issued a public
   statement acknowledging Elvis' contribution to American life, he
   effected a turning point in our culture and the way the media reports
   on figures in show business. It could be argued that Elvis' death was
   the event that precipitated the media's dubious current obsession with
   celebrity. According to Curtis W. Ellision, "The most vivid anecdotes
   in When Elvis Died focus on the origins of the perpetual death memorial
   that Presley's home, Graceland, has become." The author adds that "Some
   anecdotes in the Gregory account reinforce the impression that
   Presley's death touched nostalgia for teenage years." In a later essay,
   Neal and Janice Gregory critically discuss the media attention on the
   subsequent Elvis religion as a means to discredit his fans. Indeed,
   after his death, Presley had been seen by fans as "Other Jesus" or
   "Saint Elvis".

Presley in the 21st century

   Interest in Presley's recordings returned during the buildup to the
   2002 World Cup, when Nike used a Junkie XL remixed version of his " A
   Little Less Conversation" (credited as "Elvis Vs JXL") as the
   background music to a series of TV commercials featuring international
   soccer stars. The remix hit number one in over 20 countries, including
   the United Kingdom and Australia. At about the same time, a compilation
   of Presley's US and UK Number 1 hits, Elv1s: 30, was being prepared for
   release. "A Little Less Conversation" (remix version) was quickly added
   as the album's 31st track just before release in October 2002. Further
   stimulating popularity for the remixed "new" Elvis song, was the
   inclusion of Conversation into the opening credits of the NBC series
   Las Vegas; due to the large expense of such a song, however, home DVD
   sets of the TV show feature Conversation in the Pilot episode only.
   Nearly 50 years after Presley made his first hit record and 25 years
   after his death, the compilation reached number one on the charts in
   the US, the UK, Australia and many other countries. A re-release from
   it, " Burning Love" (not a remix), also made the Australian top 40
   later in the year.

   Presley's renewed fame continued with another remix in 2003 (this time
   by Paul Oakenfold) of "Rubberneckin'", which made the top three in
   Australia and top five in the UK. This was followed by another album
   called 2nd to None, a collection of his hits, including the
   "Rubberneckin'" remix, that just failed to reach number one.

   To commemorate the 50th anniversary in mid-2004 of Presley's first
   professional recording, "That's All Right", it was re-released, and
   made the charts around the world, including top three in the UK and top
   40 in Australia.

   In early 2005 in the United Kingdom, RCA began to re-issue Presley's 18
   UK number-one singles as CD-singles in the order they were originally
   released, one of them a week. The first of these re-issues, " All Shook
   Up", was ineligible to chart due to its being sold together with a
   collector's box which holds all 18 singles in it (it actually sold
   enough to be number two). The second, " Jailhouse Rock", was the number
   one in the first chart of 2005, and "One Night"/"I Got Stung", the
   third in the series, replaced it on the January 16 chart (and thus
   becoming the 1000th UK number one entry).

   All of these have reached top five in the official charts. These
   re-releases have made Presley the only artist so far to spend at least
   1000 weeks in the British top 40.

   On the UK singles charts, Presley went to #1 the most times (21, three
   of them hitting #1 twice), spent the most weeks there (80), as well as
   had the most top tens and top forty hits. In the UK album charts, he is
   third (1,280 Weeks) to Queen (1,422 Weeks) and the Beatles (1,293
   Weeks),as well as earning the most top ten, and top forty albums. Still
   in the album category, his longevity record boasts an almost fifty year
   gap between his first, and last hit album.

   In total, he has spent 2,574 weeks in both the UK singles and album
   charts, way ahead of his closest competitors, namely Cliff Richard
   (1,982), Queen (1,755), the Beatles (1,749), and Madonna (1,660).

   CBS recently aired a TV miniseries, Elvis starring Irish actor Jonathan
   Rhys-Meyers as Presley.

   Shortly after taking over the management of all things Elvis from the
   Elvis Presley Estate (which retained a 15% stake in the new company,
   while keeping Graceland and the bulk of the possessions found therein),
   Robert Sillerman's CKX company produced a DVD and CD featuring Presley
   (titled "Elvis by the Presleys"), as well as an accompanying two-hour
   documentary broadcast on Viacom's CBS Network, which alone generated
   $5.5 million.

   A channel on the Sirius Satellite Radio subscriber service is devoted
   to the life and music of Presley, with all broadcasts originating from
   Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.

   In a list of the greatest English language singers of the 20th century,
   as compiled by BBC Radio, Presley was ranked second. The poll was
   topped by Frank Sinatra, with Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald also in
   the top ten.

   In July of 2005, Presley edged out Oprah Winfrey to be named the
   Greatest Entertainer in American history in the Greatest American
   election conducted by the Discovery Channel and America Online.

   In mid October of 2005, Variety named the top 100 entertainment icons
   of the 20th century, with Presley landing on the top ten, along with
   the Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, Lucille Ball, Marlon Brando, Humphrey
   Bogart, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Chaplin, James Dean and Mickey Mouse.

   A week later, Forbes magazine named Presley, for the fifth straight
   year, the top-earning dead celebrity, grossing US$45 million for the
   Presley estate during the period from October of 2004, to October 2005.
   Forbes pointed out that CKX spent $100 million in cash, and stock, for
   an 85% interest in Presley's income stream in February 2005.

   In mid 2006, Forbes up-dated its list, with Presley ranking second, the
   top place being taken by Nirvana's frontman, Kurt Cobain, after the
   sale of 25% of his music publishing, which raked US$50 million for the
   singer's widow.

   In November of 2006, Atlantic Magazine asked 10 prominent historians to
   name the 100 most influential Americans, with Presley (who ranked #
   66), along with Louis Armstrong (79), being the only two musicians on
   the list.

Elvis lives?

   There is a belief in some quarters that Presley did not die in 1977.
   Many fans persist in claiming he is still alive, that he went into
   hiding for various reasons. This claim is allegedly backed up by
   thousands of so-called Elvis sightings that have occurred in the years
   since his death. Critics of the notion state that a number of Presley
   impersonators can easily be mistaken for Presley and that the urban
   legend is merely the result of fans not wanting to accept his death.

   Two main reasons are given in support of the belief that Presley faked
   his death:
     * On his grave, his middle name Aron is misspelled as Aaron.
       Presley's parents went to great lengths to remove the double 'A' on
       his official birth certificate after his twin brother Jesse Garon
       was stillborn,

     * "Hours after Presley's death was announced, a man by the name of
       Jon Burrows (Presley's traveling alias) purchased a one way ticket
       with cash to Buenos Aires."

   Two tabloid newspapers, the Weekly World News and The Sun (both which
   are faux news, comedy papers), ran articles covering the continuing
   "life" of Presley after his death, in great detail, including a broken
   leg from a motorcycle accident, all the way up to his purported "real
   death" in the mid 1990s. However, since his "real death", the Weekly
   World News has continued to claim he is still alive, thus contradicting
   its initial story.

   Both ETAs and the belief that Presley still lives figure into the story
   of Bubba Ho-tep, which features him living in a Texas nursing home
   after switching lives with an Elvis impersonator (Presley goes so far
   as to make a living "impersonating" himself). According to the movie,
   it was the impersonator who died in 1977, but the documentation of the
   switch was accidentally destroyed, preventing Presley from ever
   reclaiming his "real" life.

   There was even a "television show about the life and death of Elvis
   Presley, called 'The Elvis File' " endeavoring to present " 'evidence'
   for the possibility that Elvis is still alive. Some people believe that
   they had seen 'the King', and handwriting experts declare that they
   have seen notes written by Presley after his demise. A background of
   spooky music accompanied all of the testimonies." Although "the
   evidence presented on that program was extremely weak," it convinced 79
   percent of the viewers who casted their votes to believe Elvis is still
   alive. "The results ... offer only one of many examples of the
   credulity of Western people. ... That television program illustrates
   that we are weak in our ability to reason. It also offers a paradigm of
   the way in which many people in the general populace make up their
   minds. They hear a televised news report or talk show interview with an
   'expert'. The expert supplies a few supporting 'facts,' so be
   proposition must be true."

FBI files on Presley

   As Presley was a very popular star, the FBI had files on him of more
   than 600 pages. According to Thomas Fensch, the texts from the FBI
   reports dating from 1959 to 1981 represent a "microcosm [of Presley's]
   behind-the-scenes life." For instance, the FBI was interested in death
   threats made against the singer, the likelihood of Elvis being the
   victim of blackmail and particularly a "major extortion attempt" while
   he was in the Army in Germany, complaints about his public
   performances, a paternity suit, the theft by larceny of an executive
   jet which he owned and the alleged fraud surrounding a 1955 Corvette
   which he owned, and similar things.

Elvis as a victim of blackmail

   According to one of the FBI accounts, Presley was the victim of
   blackmailer Laurens Johannes Griessel-Landau of Johannesburg, South
   Africa, who was hired by the singer in Bad Nauheim, Germany, as an
   alleged specialist in the field of dermatology, but, according to
   Presley, had made homosexual passes at the singer's friends. When on 24
   December 1959 Presley decided to discontinue the skin treatments,
   Griessel-Landau "threatened to expose Presley by photographs and tape
   recordings which are alleged to present Presley in compromising
   situations." Information concerning the subject was furnished to the
   FBI "by the Provost Marshal Division, Hqs., U.S. Army, Europe, with the
   indication that they wished to avoid any publicity in this matter." An
   investigation determined that Griessel-Landau was not a medical doctor.
   Finally, "By negotiation, Presley agreed to pay Griessel-Landau $200.00
   for treatments received and also to furnish him with a $315.00 plane
   fare to London, England." After having "demanded an additional $250.00,
   which Presley paid" and a further "telephonic demand for 2,000 £ for
   the loss of his practice which he closed in Johannesburg", the
   blackmailer departed to England.

Discography

     * For a detailed discography, see: Elvis Presley discography.
     * For a list of Presley's singles, see: Elvis Presley hit singles.
     * For a list of all of his songs, see: Alphabetical list of all of
       Elvis Presley's songs.

Trivia

Music

     * Has won three Grammy awards, all for his gospel recordings. These
       were for the 1967 "How Great Thou Art" LP, for the 1972 LP, "He
       Touched Me" and, in 1974, for the song "How Great Thou Art" (live).
     * Billboard historian Joel Whitburn declared Presley the "#1 act of
       the Rock era", beating out The Beatles, based upon his dominance of
       Billboard's list of top 100 singles artists since 1955.

Acting

     * He was offered the lead role of Tony in the film adaptation of the
       Broadway musical West Side Story. Despite Presley's arguments that
       it would legitimize his acting career, "Colonel" Parker forced
       Presley to turn it down thinking that it was non-commercial. The
       film won ten Academy Awards including Best Picture.

Finances

     * When Presley was drafted into the US Army in March 1958, his
       monthly pay went from $100,000 to $78.
     * Presley's estate earns over 40 million dollars every year which is
       a record for a deceased entertainer.
     * In 2005, for the fifth year straight, Presley was named the richest
       deceased celebrity in www.Forbes.com. In 2006, he's in the number
       two spot after Kurt Cobain of Nirvana fame. (see also preceding
       section entitled, "Presley in the 21st Century")

Personal life

     * Presley was an avid practitioner of Kenpo karate, studying under
       both legendary instructor Ed Parker and Parker's protégé Mike
       Stone. The latter would take a romantic interest in Priscilla
       Presley, eventually being among the causes of the couple's divorce.
       Presley was known to have attained at least a seventh-degree black
       belt in the martial art.
     * Presley was an honorary member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

Hair

     * His hair was a natural sandy brown but he dyed it jet black after
       filming "Love Me Tender."
     * Cryolophosaurus was at one point nicknamed 'Elvisaurus' because of
       its head crest being similar to Presley's hairstyle.

Name

     * His given middle name at birth was Aron; however, Aaron was placed
       on his gravestone by his father because Presley preferred that
       biblical spelling and had legally changed it. Aaron is the official
       spelling used by his estate.
     * A number of people the world over are named after Presley, many of
       them becoming quite well known themselves: Elvis Stojko, a Canadian
       who was the three-time World Figure Skating Champion; Elvis Crespo,
       a salsa and meringue musician; Elvis Dumervil, a former University
       of Louisville All American football player, now with the Denver
       Broncos; Elvis Perkins, a musician who is the son of actor Anthony
       Perkins; and Elvis Polansky, son of movie director Roman Polanski.
     * Musician Elvis Costello adopted Presley's first name a few months
       before Presley's death in 1977.

Legacy

     * The 1960 Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie is a satire about the
       effects of the compulsory U.S. military draft on a famous singer
       similar to Presley.
     * Kirsty MacColl's 1981 song "There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop
       Swears He's Elvis" is a reference to all the unusual sightings in
       the United Kingdom of the singer.
     * Presley had a short mention in the S.E. Hinton classic, The
       Outsiders.
     * In the novel A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, one of the
       narrator Alex's "droogs" (friends) wears an Elvis Presley mask,
       when they go out on crime sprees.
     * The Broadway musical All Shook Up features the songs of Presley,
       and is based on the plot of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
     * Freddie Mercury wrote the song " Crazy Little Thing Called Love" as
       a tribute to Presley. The song remained in the #1 position on the
       U.S. charts for four weeks in 1980.
     * Wink Martindale, who was a close friend of Presley, aired a
       nationwide tribute in his memory following the news of his death.
       Martindale was an up-and-coming radio DJ in Memphis at the time
       Presley's career began to take off in high gear.
     * Richard Dawson also paid tribute to Presley on an episode of Family
       Feud.
     * The 2002 Disney animated feature Lilo and Stitch contains more
       Presley songs than there are in several movies in which Presley
       himself starred. The film's closing sequence also features a
       montage of photographs, one of which portrays the film's main
       characters posing before the gates of Graceland. The film also
       broke several rules related to Presley in films which included
       using his photo, shortening his songs for time and dressing up like
       him. However, the Graceland estate allowed the producers this
       degree of freedom.
     * In December 2004 Wade Jones from Belmont, NC sold 3 tablespoons of
       water from a cup from which Presley drank on eBay. The water
       fetched $455. One week later (January 2005), he sold an appearance
       of the Elvis Cup on eBay for $3,000 and currently tours with the
       Elvis Cup, which even has its own song "The Elvis Cup" written and
       recorded by a Filipino Elvis impersonator, "Renelvis". Jones says
       he scored the Styrofoam cup at a 1977 concert the King played.
       Hoping for a better souvenir, he ended up getting a cup out of
       which he saw Presley drink.
     * The UK-based "Doctor Who Adventures" magazine published a list of
       the top ten historical figures people would most like to travel
       back in time to meet; Presley ranked 2nd, behind Sir Winston
       Churchill. Others in the top ten included, in ranking order, Albert
       Einstein, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Diana, Princess of
       Wales, Nelson Mandela, Isaac Newton and Queen Elizabeth I .
     * The Chinese tend to nickname him The King of Cats ( Traditional:
       貓王, Simplified: 猫王, Pinyin:Māo Wáng) after the "hillbilly cat"
       remark in The Memphis Press Scimitar interview. (See: Devotion to
       his Mother)
     * In Soul Calibur, the character Maxi bears a distinct resemblance to
       Presley and is a martial artist like him.
     * The Thai film Killer Tattoo features a Thai assassin who insists
       that he is Elvis, and demands to be addressed in English, a
       language he does not speak.
     * In Shaman King, Ryunosuke Umemiya dresses up like Elvis Presley and
       is a big fan of him.
     * The cartoon character Johnny Bravo has a voice like that of Presley
       in addition to his resemblance to Presley's idol James Dean.
     * Dread Zeppelin is an American band best known for covering the
       songs of Led Zeppelin in a reggae style, sung by an Elvis Presley
       impersonator.
     * The Norwegian rock band Kaizers Orchestra has a stagehand who is
       dressed like Elvis, and he can be seen in the Viva La Vega DVD,
       coming out on stage several times to help with the instruments.
       Jackal Kaizer even encourages him to come out on stage for
       applause, insisting that "He's still working in the industry. He
       never left the building!" He goes on to insist that Elvis is
       assisting the band in their rise to stardom, and that they "wanted
       Roy Robertson" but were told that he was dead.
     * In 1985 Bruce Springsteen, a longtime admirer of Elvis, released
       "Johnny Bye Bye" as the b-side to his single "I'm on Fire." The
       song pays tribute to Elvis and contains modified lyrics from a
       Chuck Berry song of a similar name.
     * Former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is a longtime
       Presley fan who has released a CD of his favorite Presley songs
       with his own commentary, He also helped finance a statue of the
       music pioneer and made a historical visit to Graceland in June 2006
       with United States President George W. Bush.

Likes and dislikes

     * Presley was a big fan of Captain Marvel Jr, and may have styled his
       trademark haircut after that of the comic book character. In
       addition, Presley's stage outfits (with a half-cape similar to
       those worn by the Marvels) and his TCB logo (with a Marvel-esque
       lightning bolt insignia) may also show inspiration from Captain
       Marvel, Jr.
     * He was proud of his role in King Creole because the part was
       originally offered to his idol James Dean.
     * His favorite roller coaster was the Zippin Pippin at Libertyland.
       He would rent out the park to himself just so he could ride it
       non-stop.
     * Before signing to a major record label, Elvis was a young upstart
       who enjoyed engaging in " outsider" actions such as beating up
       those who he deemed to be " squares" and eating honey-roasted
       peanuts.
     * One of Presley's favorite female singers was Anne Murray and he
       recorded a version of "Snowbird".
     * One of his favorite songs was "Something" by George Harrison.
     * His favorite film was Dr. Strangelove--he was a great fan of Peter
       Sellers.
     * It is commonly known that Presley loved gospel music. The last
       record he listened to was a new album by JD Sumner and the Stamps
       Quartet, the group that accompanied him on stage. Their record was
       on Presley's record player in his bedroom on the day he died.
     * Presley disliked being called "The King", saying that "there's only
       one King, and that's Jesus."
     * Elvis loved his Cadillac cars, Sir Guy and Don Loper Shirts.

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