Elvis Presley

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"Numerous singers, guitarists and pianists have achieved popularity since the first decade of rock'n roll, but only one has become immortal: Elvis Presley." (Bangs 1)

Elvis Aaron Presley was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. His twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child. Elvis and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1948. In Memphis, Elvis attends L. C. Humes High School where he graduates in 1953. Later that summer in July, Elvis starts working at Crown Electric as a truck driver. One Saturday afternoon, Elvis goes to the Memphis Recording Studio and records his first single: My Happiness and That's When your heartaches Begin. Elvis paid for the studio time all on his own and for his mother Gladys's birthday, he gave her the recording.

Elvis' musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church and at the all-night gospel sings he frequently attended. In 1954 he began his singing career making his first official single with the Sun Records label in Memphis. The single was called That's All Right (Mama)/ Blue Moon of Kentucky. On July 30 1954 Elvis had his first concert at the Overton Park Shell in Memphis. In late 1955 his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor, and by 1956 he was an international sensation with his first hit Heartbreak Hotel. Elvis's first national television debut was on January 28, 1956 on the Dorsey Brothers' "Stage Show." Later that year Elvis appeared on the Steve Allen, Milton Berle, and The Ed Sullivan Shows. During "The Ed Sullivan Show," Presley was only shown from the waste up due to his trademark hip gyrations, which were considered t...

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...g live the King.

Works Cited

Brown, Peter Harry, and Broeske, Pat H. Down at the End of Lonely Street: The Life and Death of Elbis Presley. New York: Penguin Group, 1997.

Bangs, Lester. Elvis Presley: The Rebel Years. New York: Schirmer/Mosel GmbH, 1987.

Daily, Robert. Elvis Presley The King of Rock `n' Roll. Canada: UPI/ Corbis-Bettman, 1996.

Esposito, Joe, and Oumano, Elena. Good Rockin' Tonight. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.

Thompson II, Charles C., and Cole, James P. The Death of Elvis. New York: Delacorte Press, 1991.

"Elvis Presley." The Rolling Stone Magazine. 03 May 2003. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bio

"All About Elvis." Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. 01 May 2003. http://www.elvis.com/elvisology/default.asp

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