PARKER, who gave up smoking his trademark big Cuban cigars in 1990, had a meteoric rise from being a hobo in the late 1920s to a top show business manager.
Tom Parker was born on June 26, 1909 in Breda, The Netherlands to Adam and Maria VanKuijk who named their fifth child Andreas Cornelius VanKuijk. As a young man Parker immigrated to the United States where he worked on carnivals and served four years in the United States Army.
After his discharge from the army he went back to carnival life. In late 1939 and early 1940 he became the manager of Gene Austin and traveled with Gene's "Models & Melodies" show.
In late 1940 he became Field Director of the Tampa Humane Society, a position he held for three years. Tom Parker left the Humane Society to go back into the entertainment field, booking country acts. In 1944 he became the manager of Eddy Arnold and by November 1947 Eddy had been #1 on the country charts for 53 weeks.
When Tom Parker and Eddy Arnold went their separate ways, Tom began booking Hank Snow and in January 1955 became his personal manager. Colonel (as he was now called, having been given an honorary title of "colonel" by several southern governors) began booking Elvis Presley as an opening act on the Hank Snow appearances.
In October 1955 as Elvis' special advisor (Bob Neal was still managing Elvis), Colonel negotiated a recording contract with RCA Victor for Elvis. It should be noted that it was, at that time, the custom for the A&R people to choose the songs for an artist to record. However Colonel insisted that Elvis choose his own songs. Today it is common practice for the artist to choose their own material. . . .but Elvis was the first.
In 1956 Colonel became Elvis' personal manager. By the end of their first year together the WALL STREET JOURNAL reported that since Colonel began marketing Elvis merchandise, they had grossed some $22 million in sales. Elvis records and albums were selling in the millions. Together they made history.
After reading a newspaper story pleading for support for the Arizona Memorial fund, Colonel talked with Elvis and they decided to offer a benefit concert to raise funds to finish the memorial which honored those who lost their lives during the devastating surprise attack on the military installations at Pearl Harbor. In March 1961 the concert took place and nearly $100,000 was raised.
In 1948, he was released and then he joined the Air Force. Even in the military he managed to cause trouble. He was sent to the military prison for assault many times. He also got arrested in 1950 for being absent without leave. Believe it or not, he still got an honorable discharge four years after he had joined the service. After he was released from the Air Force, he went back home to Massachusetts.
He was then drafted into the U.S. Army where he was refused admission to the Officer Candidate School. He fought this until he was finally accepted and graduated as a first lieutenant. He was in the Army from 1941 until 1944 and was stationed in Kansas and Fort Hood, Texas. While stationed in Kansas he worked with a boxer named Joe Louis in order to fight unfair treatment towards African-Americans in the military and when training in Fort Hood, Texas he refused to go to the back of the public bus and was court-martialed for insubordination. Because of this he never made it to Europe with his unit and in 1944 he received an honorable discharge.
...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.
Elvis Presley may be the single most important figure in American 20th century popular music. Not necessarily the best and certainly not the most consistent. But no one could argue with the fact that he was the musician most responsible for popularizing rock & roll on an international level. Viewed in cold sales figures, his impact was phenomenal. Dozens upon dozens of international smashes from the mid-'50s to the mid-'70s, as well as the steady sales of his catalog and reissues since his death in 1977, may make him the single highest-selling performer in history.
Elvis Presley, born January 8, 1935 was one very talented boy. As in his young years Presley did not know of what talents he had been blessed with but yet he was soon to know what he had been born to do. As you all know Elvis Presley became an amazing singer that changed the music culture as a whole forever.
In 1936, Nat made his first recording for Decca, as part of his brother Eddie’s band, the Solid Swingers; however, his time with the band would not last. Later in 1936, Nat left Chicago for Los Angeles, where he would eventually land his big break.
Bill Black. On October 16, 1954, Elvis, Scotty, and Bill appeared on the “Louisiana Hayride,” which was a live country radio show that aired on Saturday nights. Elvis signed a one year contract with the radio show for 52 Saturday night appearanc...
September 1948 the Presley family had moved to Memphis, Tennessee and they found an apartment there in a public housing project. Pre...
...riedberg, Germany where he lives off base with his father, grandmother, and friends. While Elvis turns 24, Colonel Parker keeps Elvis’s career alive with hit records releases. While in Germany Elvis meets Priscilla Ann Wagner through a friend at his own party. Oddly, during January 1960 Elvis goes on another leave to Paris with his karate instructor, Jürgen Seydel, to study with Japanese karate teacher, Tetsuji Murakami. (1) On February 11, 1960 becomes a Sargent before being officially discharged on March 5. After a train ride home to Memphis, fans and press welcome him home. Though he has served his country proudly, Elvis is worried that his time away may have damaged his career progress. (1) Indeed it may have. Regardless, Elvis is back in the both quickly recording the album “Elvis is Back!” and get paid $125,000 for an appearance on Frank Sinatra’s ABC show.
“[He h]ad a major impact not just on the future Beatles but virtually all popular music performers with his frank sexuality and his clear debt to the influence of ‘black’ music.” (Burrows, 7) This began with his upbringing in Memphis Tennessee where he was mostly spent his time in the African american part of the town. His is believed to be what inspired him to become “a white man with the Negro sound and the Negro feel.” (“Elvis Presley Biography”) Early on in his career, it was discovered that he could perform blues songs while also keeping his southern roots. This unique blend of styles along with Elvis’ popularity became a catalyst for a musical revolution. Black music needed to be introduced by a white artist to a large audience, and Elvis was the one who could do it (McKeen). He had the charisma, the charm, the look, the
In 1955, Presley began to develop a huge following with fans being drawn to his unusual musical...
When I began my research on this paper, I had no clue as to why anyone would waste a week of their life to attend "Elvis Week" and to pay homage to the great "King of Rock 'n' Roll." Or why anyone would dedicate all of his or her spare time to create and maintain a website dedicated to a man who has been dead for 20+ years. After all of my research at the library and on the internet, learning about his roots and his family, his rise to stardom, his military career, his film career, his Vegas career, and his personal life with all of its women and drugs, I still have no clue. Neither do the people who create the websites or write the books in honor of him.
Elvis Presley was a well-known man and loved by many people. Based on http://www.brainpickings.org/2013/04/11/elvis-presley-teens-consumer-culture/Elvis Just like Muddy Waters, Presley timing was perfect as well. He came into and era (1950s) where the devastations of the great depression and world wars were over. People were now starting to have some freedom and enjoy the thing they loved which was listening to music and living life to the fullest. The social change that the 50s brought reflected music significantly, and Elvis Presley arose.. Kids were now starting to rebel against their parents and they had a lot of extra money to spend on records because of prosperity. During the Wars, money was limited and kids and adults had to work extra hard and save for survival purposes, but once the war-ended money could be used for pleasure reasons rather than just for survival. In addition, in the 50s our country had it’s own war, and I’m not talking about the World Wars, but yet human inequality. The civil rights movement was one of the biggest social changes in history and was a time where a lot of great artist prevailed and made songs on the issue. Elvis Presley showed just how social changes could influence or reflect the history of rock “n” roll. Presley started a culture, his hairstyle, the way he dressed all became part of the youth around the country. As I said our country was fighting its own war with segregation, Elvis music help bring people together. His music not on appealed white crowds, but black crowds listened to him as well. He brought people together through music, and proved to the world that he could be successful. He was one of the artist that mastered crossover, bringing every color to liking his music. Based on Larson fourth edition pg 38, it says that his record sales boomed, and then rock “n”
His impact on music is one of the greatest of all time; influencing artists like Buddy Holly and The Beatles, he paved the way for current Rock and Roll. Spotify has created an entire web page, called Elvisualization, tracing current music artists to Elvis Presley, it is found at: http://static.echonest.com/insights/elvis/elvisualization.html. I was able to find many different singers including Blake Shelton, who was inspired by Vince Gill, and he was inspired by Merle Haggard who was inspired by Elvis. Many different artists attribute different characteristics which can be traced back to Elvis. That is what a true king does, encourage long after he is
Elvis Presley was a legend in rock and roll in life. He still is the king of rock and roll even in death. He was born on January 8 1935 in Mississippi in 1948 his family moved to Memphis Tennessee, where he graduated high school from Humes High School. He was attracted to music at a young age and began his music career in 1954 with Sun Records label in Memphis. In late 1955 his recording contract was bought by RCA Victor. By 1956 he was an international sensation. He starred in 33 films and did hundreds of shows and specials. This success would eventually lead him to an early death.