Elvis: Americas King :: essays research papers

the Statess KingElvis Presley whitethorn be the single virtually important figure in American 20th century common music. Not necessarily the best and certainly not the most consistent. still no one could argue with the fact that he was the musician most responsible for popularizing rock & roll on an international level. Viewed in frigid sales figures, his impact was phenomenal. Dozens upon dozens of international smashes from the mid-50s to the mid-70s, as tumefy as the steady sales of his catalog and reissues since his death in 1977, may make him the single highest-selling performer in history.More important from a music lovers perspective, however, are his remarkable artistic achievements. Presley was not the very number 1 white man to sing rhythm & blues Bill Haley predated him in that regard, and thither may have been others as well. Elvis was certainly the first, however, to assertively fuse country and blues music into the style known as rockabilly. While rockabilly arran gements were the foundations of his first (and possibly best) recordings, Presley could not have become a mainstream superstar without a much more than varied palette that excessively incorporated pop, gospel, and even some bits of bluegrass and operatic schmaltz here and there. His 1950s recordings established the basic language of rock & roll his explosive and sexual stage presence set standards for the musics visual image his vocals were incredibly powerful and versatile. Unfortunately, to much of the public, Elvis is more icon than artist. Innumerable corked Hollywood movies, increasingly caricatured records and mannerisms, and a personal life that became steadily more sheltered from real-world concerns (and steadily more bizarre) gave his story a somewhat fab status. By the time of his death, hed become more a symbol of rough Americana than of cultural innovation. The continued speculation about his incredible career has keep up interest in his life, and supported a lar ge tourist/ merriment industry, that may last indefinitely, even if the fascination is fueled more by his celebrity than his music. Born to a poor Mississippi family in the breast of Depression, Elvis had moved to Memphis by his teens, where he absorbed the vibrant break up pot of Southern popular music in the form of blues, country, bluegrass, and gospel. afterwards graduating from high school, he became a truck driver, rarely if ever telling in public. Some 1953 and 1954 demos, recorded at the emerging Sun denounce in Memphis primarily for Elvis own pleasure, helped stir interest on the department of Sun owner Sam Phillips.