Sunday (January 8th) marks what would have been the “King of Rock n' Roll”elvis presley86th anniversary of. From his meteoric rise to fame in the 1950s, to his death at the age of 42 in 1977, to the present day; the world remains fascinated by all things Elvis. After working as a movie usher and truck driver for the Memphis Electrical Company, Elvis began singing locally as "The Hillbilly Cat" and was signed to the latesam phillipsSun Records, who later sold his contract for $35,000 to RCA Victor in 1955. Elvis became the world's first true rock superstar.
After years of declining health and abuse of prescription drugs, Elvis died of a heart attack on August 16, 1977 at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. He remains among the highest earning dead celebrities. Internationally, Elvis has sold over a billion records, more than any other artist. His US sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards for 140 different albums and singles. Elvis starred in 31 films and made history with his television appearances and specials.
DirectorBaz LuhrmannThe critically acclaimed biopic,elvis, opened on June 24 and grossed $286 million at the box office. The film won sevenCritics' Choiceindications along with threeGolden Globenoms, as well as many other awards around the world.
On February 27, 1970, during a rare press conference in Houston, Texas, Elvis shed some light on his early musical influences:“I was into all kinds of music as a kid; of course the Grand Ole Opry was the first thing I heard about, probably. But I liked blues and I like gospel music, gospel quartets and everything else."
He looked back on his early days on stage and admitted he couldn't see what all the fuss was about:“Man, it was tame compared to what they do now: 'Are you kidding me? (risa) I didn't do anything but shake, you know?
Elvis was proud that, after 15 years in the business, his audience represented the broadest spectrum of fans:“Well, I found out that the audience we have is mixed. They're old, young and very young, all kinds of people, you know, which is fine."
Two years later, on June 9, 1972, just hours before kicking off his four sold-out Madison Square Garden concerts, marking "The King's" first shows in the Big Apple, Elvis spoke to the press and shed light. on why he returned to live performance:"I lost. I missed the closeness of an audience, a live audience. . . As soon as I finished film contracts, I started doing live shows again. There are so many places I haven't been. Like, I've never played in New York. York here. I've never been to Britain either. I'd like to go to Europe. I'd like to go to Japan and all those places. I've never left this country except on duty, you know?
ELVIS STORY
MUSIC
elvis presley He signed with Sun Records in 1954 and recorded seminal singles for the label, including "That's All Right", "Good Rockin' Tonight", and "Mystery Train". Signing to RCA/Victor in 1955, he scored 18 number one hits, including "Heartbreak Hotel", "Don't Be Cruel", "Love Me Tender", "It's Now Or Never", "Are You Lonesome Tonight" and their last number one, "Suspicious Minds", in 1969. For all their rock n' roll success, all three Grammy Awards have been awarded for their gospel recordings.
In 2008, Elvis fans were outraged by a recent change in thebillboardpolicy that downgraded the ranking of "El Rey" in thebillboardthe charts go from number three on the list of greatest artists of the rock era, with 17 number one hits, to number 14, with just seven chart-toppers. In the new series of commercial graphics commemorating the last 50 years ofbillboardit's weeklyCaliente 100singles chart, the rock era was pushed to begin with theCaliente 100Presley's first appearance on August 4, 1958, which excludes Presley's 10 number one hits prior toCaliente 100playing from.
FAMILY
Elvis met his future wifePriscilla Beaulieuin 1960 while serving in the army in Germany. His father was an Air Force officer also stationed there. In 1963, Priscilla moved to Memphis to be with Elvis, first living with her father and stepmother while she finished high school, before moving to Graceland with Elvis.
Elvis and Priscilla were married on May 1, 1967 at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. The brief eight-minute ceremony, which took place at 9 am. m., was officiated by the judge of the Supreme Court of Justice of the StateDavid Zenoff. After the vows, a special feast was held below the hotel's casino for about 100 guests that dined on "ham, eggs, southern fried chicken, Rockefeller oysters, roast suckling pig, poached salmon and confit, lobster, Minnette eggs and champagne". ". After the banquet, the Presleys held a press conference before flying out of Las Vegas.
The couple had a child together,Lisa Maria Presley, who was born almost nine months after the wedding. Priscilla said that although they had lived together for several years, they did not consummate their relationship until marriage. Elvis and Priscilla separated in 1972 and divorced in 1973.
Tragically, on July 13, 2020, Elvis and Priscilla's only grandchild,son of Lisa Maria,Benjamin Keough. Keough shot himself with a shotgun at his home in Calabasas, California. I was 27 years old.
FILMS AND TV
Elvis starred in 31 movies between 1956 and 1973. Most of them were musical comedies likeblue hawaii(1961),long live las vegas(1964) comAnd Margaritayclam biscuit(1967), but several of his films, such ascreole king(1958) comWalter Matthau,flaming star(1960),charro(1969), eChange of habit(1969) commaria tyler Moorish, were dramatic pieces that showed he was a serious actor with real talent. Elvis also released two concert films.Elvis:That ishow is itrehearsed and the opening week of its season in Las Vegas in July 1970, while the 1972 seasonelvis on tourFeatured footage from that year's US tour.
According to friends and associates, Elvis was approached to co-star withBarbara Streisandin his 1976 new version ofa star was born, but turned down the role when he was denied top billing over Streisand.
He also starred in several incredibly successful TV specials, including the 1968 one.Singer introduces Elvis- more commonly known as "The '68 Comeback Special" - which started a triumphant resurgence in his career, andElvis: Hello from Hawaiiwhich performed it live in concert and was broadcast worldwide in 1973.
ELVIS REMEMBERED BY FRIENDS AND FANS
During his 2012 keynote address at Austin's South By Southwest music festival,Bruce Springsteentalked about the social change Elvis triggered when he burst onto the national scene in 1956:“Elvis gave us full access to anew language, a new form of communication, a new way ofto be, a new way ofseeking out, a new way ofthinkingabout sex, aboutthe race, aboutidentity, aboutto life. A new way of being an American, a human being, and a new way ofhearingmusic. Once Elvis appeared on the airwaves, once he was heard andto viewin action, you couldn't put the genie back in the bottle. After that moment, there was yesterday, and today, and red-hot rockabilly forging a new tomorrow before your eyes."
Springsteen went on to discuss the cultural significance of Elvis Presley's early career:“Elvis was the first modern man of the 20th century. He was a forerunner of the sexual revolution, the civil rights revolution, coming from the same Memphis as Martin Luther King, creatingfundamentalfringe art that would be embraced by a mainstream popular culture”.
em 1975John Lennonspoke openly about “The King” on French television:“I'm an Elvis fan, you know, because it was Elvis who really got me out of Liverpool, you know? But after he joined the army, I think his oxen were slaughtered (ri) in the army, you know? Not only did they shave her hair, but they also shaved between her legs. He did some good things after the army but never the same, it was like something happened to him psychologically.”
More than 65 years after I first heard it,Pablo McCartneyhe still considers himself an early Elvis fan and has consistently named "All Shook Up" as one of his all-time favorites:“I love many Elvis songs: 'All Shook Up' is one of my great favourites. I love 'Love Me Tender'. You could pick anything from their early albums and I would love that. Anything until he went into the army, and I left him after that. It just never felt the same to me. It looked like it had been tamed."
Keith Richardscredits Elvis with making rock music a truly colorless art form:“Elvis' handsome was, wow, he just turned everybody into everybody, it doesn't matter now: 'Is he the white guy or the black guy?' . . you know, and maybe evenyou guysYou can!"
Robert planthe remembered the night he andled zepelínmet Elvis in 1974:“We talked with Presley for about three hours, and it just went on and on. And we were talking about the root, where it came from, and it came from him. And I still got it. He still liked that Delta thing (music), you know, 'Good Rockin' Tonight, you know, all those things that got him started. But he also knew that, he had a great sense of humor and he knew he was stuck in this self-parody."
Like many original fans, Plant admits that Elvis' post-army period was next to his most important and exciting work.“When the songs dried up, when (songwriters Jerry) Leiber and (Mike) Stoller and (Doc) Pomus and (Mort) Shuman, when that whole era of creative writing started to wane and things changed; I didn't want to hear Elvis singing a Neil Diamond song. And it was bad enough that I got out of the army and made 'Are You Lonesome Tonight', you know, I wanted it to stay wild, to give me all these advantages, to give me that kind ofhowlthat he had. But, you know, he was just amazing and spectacular. and that was ithimIt really opened doors for me, all my love for music."
Pete Townshendtold us he was in awe of Elvis Presley's guitar playing that appears on Presley's expanded versions'68return specialDVD:“You know, the 'unplugged' thing he's done offstage, well, it's pretty clear that this guy is also a great acoustic guitar player. You know, this happened long before anyone disconnected. He could touch them, he delivered them, and it was just him, just spectacular stuff. And it was never meant to be released."