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Elvis Presley effect on society
How did Elvis songs effect American culture
Elvis Presley effect on society
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Little Richard once said “The blues had an illegitimate baby and we named it Rock-N-Roll.” After reading that quote, I knew exactly who I wanted to write about. A name everybody knows. The one and only King of Rock, Elvis Presley. A cultural icon of the 1950s, Elvis Presley revolutionized the genre rock-n-roll. By taking black gospel and blues and mixing it with his own idea of rock, he created something the world had not seen or heard before. This type of sub-genre was called ‘Rockabilly.’ Elvis had quite an impact on the youth of that time as well. The combination of his music, style and dance moves set teenagers apart from their parents. In later years, characters from TV shows and movies began to mimic Elvis’ look and style. For instance, in the popular musical, Grease, main character, Danny Zuko, shares a resemblance to the legend. Zuko wears tight blue jeans, a leather jacket, and had a slicked back do. Many people also remember Uncle Jesse from Full House as sporting a similar style. Not only was Elvis Presley an important part of transforming music, but he also served his country. …show more content…
The main character in the movie, Lilo, introduces her new friend, Stitch, to the musical stylings of Elvis Presley. After hearing his music, Lilo tries to “normalize” Stitch by converting him into Elvis. Once I heard the music in that movie, I was hooked. I would walk around my house singing “Stuck on You” from the movie. Eventually I began asking my parents about Elvis. The older I got, the more I understood and appreciated his music. Now that I am older, my favorite song is Can’t Help Falling in Love. His music has helped me get through some pretty tough times. Elvis has been such an inspiration in my life that I learned how to play guitar. One of the first songs I learned was Hound
When a person thinks of rock music in the 50s, they usually think of Elvis Presley, “the King of rock and roll”. However, he seems to exhibit a more stereotypical American approach to music. As Americans, we like everything that entertains us to be bigger and better than before. Presley certainly delivers this idea through his outfit,
...sley performed his music in all types of genres. Presley allowed musicians to step out of the box and be their selves. He had hit songs in gospel, rock, pop, and country. Although he lived a short life, he is still famous in some people’s eyes. I met a woman who had attended one of Elvis’s performances and she said it was the best concert she had ever been to. During the concert she said Elvis was dancing and all the girls were going crazy as always. He removed his scarf and threw it into the crowd she was the lucky one who caught it. She still has his scarf in her house, and will never forget the memories of that night. Elvis passed away on August 16, 1977 in his home from heart failure. The King still lives on in many people’s lives and his music career helped many people. Elvis Presley led the way for many musicians, and has impacted the lives of many people.
...In this segment of the show, Richard gives scarves to the women as he sings to them. A tribute to Elvis is done while Richard sings the songs “American Trilogy”, all Elvis fans are invited to the front were Richard stands. The people form a half moon circle with Richard standing in the middle. The American Flag with Elvis’ picture in the center of it is held up and the people join their hands together. While rocking back and forth on Richard’s command hands are raised high in the air until the end of the song. The seventies show and the night are brought to an end with the song “I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You”, Just as Elvis Closed all of his Concerts. Richard then invites everybody back for the next performance. Autographs are signed while he talks to the fans for a bit. Everybody parts their way with a good felling, a since of love and friendship.
There is no doubt that Elvis Presley’s impact on American society has revolutionized the world of music and movies, which eventually earned him the name. From truck driver to Rock and Roll icon, Presley’s charismatic attitude and dance moves have become forever remembered in American history. His record-breaking career set a higher bar for many more musicians. Talented in both vocals and acting, his image alone speaks for itself. Elvis’ audience consisted of all races, ages, and gender; his style of music combined gospel, country, blues, and Rock and Roll.
Elvis Presley's Impact on Twentieth Century Culture (1) Source A is an article from the “Billboard” U.S music magazine on March 3rd 1956. At the time the ‘Billboard’ magazine was a successful youth magazine paper which had mass readership; its main target audience was teenagers. The magazine says that Elvis is, ‘…the hottest artist on the RCA label’. The very fact that one of the most popular youth papers in America describes Elvis as being, ‘the hottest artist on the RCA label’ clearly shows that Elvis had a huge impact on popular music. In 1956 RCA was an extremely well known label, so for the ‘Billboard’ magazine to say that Elvis was ‘the hottest artist on the RCA label’ demonstrates how popular Elvis was.
Like Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” In the 1950’s the South was heavily racially segregated. Elvis Presley unintentionally put himself in the position to become a valuable instrument in the battle against segregation. “Without casting himself as a fighter for racial equality, Elvis became a subversive standard bearer for cultural desegregation at a time when the codified racism of the South was under increasing pressure.” How did an uneducated white hillbilly from the south influence both black and white teenagers against segregation? It was quite simple, for Elvis Presley had a unique talent of combining traditional black music; such as the blues and jazz, with the traditional white music; like country and white gospel. This unique style of blending different types of music, gave Elvis the edge on the musical racial barriers America was facing; and open the path for both sides to enjoy the music together and therefore desegregated.
Many of us have a dream in life to be remembered by all for something great. It’s a lofty goal that only few have, or ever will achieve. Elvis Presley was one of the few people in our American history that achieved this status. Known as “The King of Rock and Roll”, his achievements have influenced our country like none of its precedents. This paper will explain Elvis Presley’s life, his death, and his profound influence after life.
After many of World War II’s harmful effects, the 1950s served as a period of time of musical change that reflected the dynamic of society as well as the traditional norms and values. Many factors contributed to this transformation. For example, the civil rights movement heightened many racial tensions, and the music produced consequently manifested this tension in itself. Rock-n-roll and R&B music universalized music typically associated with African-Americans, and many African-American musicians gained fame; however, as with any relatively-widespread success, there were many musicians as well who missed their opportunities due to the same racial segregation. While “radical” genres such as R&B and rock-n-roll laid the foundation for music future forms of music, the standard pop, jazz, and country music adhered to traditional values, and thus continued to maintain popularity amidst phenomena such as the Elvis craze.
As the era of War and Depression was coming to a close, a new America was on the rise. Women began taking their place within the role of housewife while teenagers were careless with their actions. Since the Great Depression was over, the economy was booming and all the worries about money were gone. Race and segregation was still a problem and becoming more and more controversial. African Americans were fighting for desegregation, especially in schools such as in the Board v Brown case. While the new era brought on some social changes, many known changes came from one man known as “The King of Rock and Roll”: Elvis Presley. With Market potential on his mind, Sam Phillips of Sun Records was looking for an artist who appealed to both whites and blacks, found just what he was looking for in Elvis, a man with a white face and a black sound. Phillips managed to find an artist who appealed to the largest consumer base; white society. Presley’s music would go on to revolutionize future genres along with the people themselves. Elvis Presley did not only impact fashion, attitude, music and views on race during the 1950s, but also had a profound influence regarding these aspects that can still be seen in today’s society.
Music has continued to change throughout each decade, but the 1960s was the most influential decade in the history of music. Starting in the early 1950s, rock music was first introduced. Major record labels were releasing new “cover songs” which were originally made by black artist, but now by white artist (Rock and Roll). These cover songs changed a few lyrics from the original songs to avoid copyright issues and to also make the song more appropriate for the white listeners. The biggest star of the 1950s was Elvis Presley, who was known as the “King of rock n’ roll”.
The history of the twentieth century would not be complete without mentioning the impeccable influence of one of the best and biggest singers of all time. But before he started making his indelible mark in the sands of time, he started out from very humble beginnings, under the care of his loving, working class parents. Elvis Aaron Presley was born January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi to Gladys and Vernon Presley. Although, Presley was supposed to be a twin, his supposed twin brother, Jesse Garon, sometimes spelled Jessie was stillborn. Elvis Aaron Presley was an incredible American Singer, Musician and Actor with inspirational quotes such as this “Fingerprints are like values; you leave them all over everything you do.”
Through Elvis Presley, rock ‘n’ roll changed the face of American music, and influenced a whole generation’s political philosophy. Composer Leonard Berstein once said, “He introduced the beat to everything and changed everything-music, language, clothes; it’s a whole new social revolution-the 60s come from it” (Wattenberg 6B). To his credit, Elvis embraced rhythm and blues not as a from to be imitated, but as a form to honored and interprete... ...
Jerry Lee Lewis’ mother once said, “Well, you and Elvis are pretty good, but you're no Chuck Berry.” Chuck Berry is considered to be the true king of Rock and Roll. By using Boogie-Woogie piano patterns to change them into electric guitar, Berry invented a particular style with his electrifying guitar that has become the guide for rock and roll guitar and music as well. He was not only a good guitarist, but a memorable singer, that blended melodic hooks, distinctive patterns in his rhythm and used meaningful lyrics that have made many people call first great poet of rock. Berry’s influence on Rock and Roll not only impacted the way how it would sound, but also how it was perceived by all races.
Rock 'n' roll came from a type of music called rhythm and blues (R&B), which consisted of doo-wop and gospel music. It was popular mostly in the south during the 40’s but it soon grew to urban cities. It was Les Paul’s invention of the electric guitar in 1952 that added a new sound and made rhythm and blues into the rock 'n' roll we all know and love today. Most of the artists from R&B were African American, and in their song they would reference sexual matters. So together it gave a bad connotation towards the music and their race, therefore both were never fully accepted in the north. The term “rock” was slang mostly used by African Americans meaning a form of music that was easily danced to. Meanwhile “roll” was usually a euphemism for sex, such as “a roll in the hay”. It was Alan Freed who first popularized the term “rock and roll” for this gen...
Michael Jackson is known for King of Pop. Jackson full name is Michael Joseph Jackson, he was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indian. Michael Jackson died June 25, 2009, in Los Angeles, California. Michael has a mother name Katherine Jackson and a father name Joseph Jackson. Michael was a singer, music producer, song writer, and a dancer, he also was married twice. Michael was married to Debbie Rowe, November 15, 1996, and had a divorce with her on October 8, 1999. He also was married to Lisa Marie Presley, May 18, 1994 and divorced her on January 18, 1996. (biography.com) & (cnn.com)