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Rock and roll’s sheer existence has seemly coexisted with multitudes of generations’ hormone infested teenagers for decades. Since its appearance and establishment within the mid 1950’s, rock and roll has undoubtedly managed to capture the hearts of millions and presently still continues to. Ideally, when addressing the genre of rock and roll, artists such as Chuck Berry and Little Richard may occasionally come to mind. However, it seems so that it’s impossible to envision rock and roll without its king, Elvis Presley. Many individuals may be familiar with Elvis Presley as one of America’s most musically influential figures of all times. Infamously recognized as the “King of Rock n’ Roll”, Elvis Presley has forever been engraved within the …show more content…
However, due to hardships and poverty Elvis and his family had to move to Memphis, Tennessee. In Memphis, Presley’s childhood revolved around a profoundly religious environment. He grew up surrounded by gospel music. As a boy, he sang with his local Assembly of God church choir, which introduced the young star to the African-American psalm singing that would later contribute to the young star’s career as his talents’ origins. Following, young Presley would be known for winning singing contests during his adolescences. Ultimately, the mixture of the musical styles of southern country and religious gospel that Presley was exposed to within his childhood and community would essentially contribute to the formation of his personal style. All of the above would later serve and be recognized as the fundamental building blocks of one of America’s culturally significant icons of the …show more content…
Presley and his music played a vital role in downgrading the segregation between the two races by allowing “African American music to be accessible to white American youth who had never really been exposed to it” (Wallace 100). Simultaneously, Presley’s audiences also consisted of a wide diversity of all races, ages, and gender, but may have appealed mostly to his female fans. His mixture of influences consisted of a musical fusion of gospel, country, and blues. He also had the distinctive ability and opportunity to merge the wide range of influences to produce a unique and culturally-infused sound that attracted and united millions. In other words, he managed to successfully combine black and white music into a single genre that promoted integration, rock and
Elvis started his singing career early. In 1945 his voice was first recognized when he got second place in a talent contest. In 1948 Elvis, Vernon, and Gladys moved to Memphis Tennessee. Five years after they moved to Memphis, Elvis graduated from Humes High School. Elvis had many plans made for his life.
At the age of nineteen years old Presley began his music performing at the “Hillbilly Cat.” After being discovered Presley signed with Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee in 1954. Then his contract was sold in 1955 to RCA Victor. His musical influences were a mix of multiple genres. He was influenced by gospel threw church; black R&B threw Beale Street in Memphis. He combined all the genres to create the early rock n roll that would arouse many people around the world.
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.
In the 1950s rock-n-roll established its own marks in history. It spread throughout the decade in a thrilling, substantial, and even livid to those Americans trying to get rid of all sorts of conflicts and challenges that occurred during this time period. As exciting as this music was, the novel “All Shook Up” portrays how rock-n-roll brought many changes to the American culture and later to the sixties. It expresses many concerns such as race relations, moral decays, and communism, but in ways that are partially true.
Elvis Aron Presley was born into a poor farming family in Mississippi on January 8, 1935. Originally a twin, Elvis’ brother Jesse died right after birth (Austin, 1994). Growing up, Elvis had a close relationship with his family; they regularly attended church where his love of music started to blossom (EPE, 2014). Despite his family’s financial struggles, at age eleven, Elvis received his first instrument, a guitar. Shortly after, Vernon Presley, Elvis’ father, struggled to hold down a job in Mississippi. He made the decisive decision to uproot the family to Memphis, Tennessee (Hirshberg, 1995).
Mention the name Elvis Presley and many things come to mind. Most people automatically think of music and the impact he had on the industry. Others think of his upbringing in the South and the years he spent singing Gospel tunes. Wild images of Graceland and Cadillacs are iconic when it comes to discussing Elvis. Through the years, his physical appearance changed drastically. From young and in excellent shape to older, larger, and showing the signs of poor lifestyle choices. Elvis singlehandedly changed the face of American music. He influenced an entire generation to break from long-held traditions. However, for all the incredible talent and charisma the man possessed, he could not break free from the addictions that plagued him in his later years. Moreover, sadly, many remember that as his last legacy.
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.
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... ...
Elvis Aaron Presley was raised by his mother Gladys, to have a strong faith in God. And while he was still very young, Presley, attended the Assembly of God Church with his parents, where gospel music became an enormous influence on him. His musical talents and instrumental prowess soon began to impress his parents, peers and even his teachers at Humes High School in Memphis, that he earned his first guitar at the early age of ten. After graduating in 1953, Presley decided to get his hands on some paying jobs. He worked a number of jobs while pursuing his musical dream. He recorded his first demo record at what later became known as Sun Studio that same year, his persistence paid off when, Sam Phillips, the record label owner, decided to take him under his wing. Presley soon began touring and recording, trying to catch his first big break. Then, his First Single called "That's All Right" was recorded in 1954.
Elvis was born in 1935 in Mississippi, he was supposed to be a twin but his brother was stillborn. He grew up an only child. In 1948 the Presleys moved to Memphis, where in his high school days would hang around Beale Street where B.B. King was known to perform at, drawn into the music style of the blues. After graduating in 1953, he planned out his normal life of becoming a truck driver, and in his spare time recorded a couple songs at a recording service Sam Phillips started up that anyone could record a song for four dollars. Upon going back to the studio he met Sam Phillips who
Music can be traced back into human history to prehistoric eras. To this day archeologists uncover fragments of ancient instruments as well as tablets with carved lyrics buried alongside prominent leaders and highly influential people. This serves as a testament to the importance and power of music, as well as its influence in society. Over its many years of existence, music’s powerful invocation of feelings has allowed it to evolve and serve many purposes, one being inspiring change. American journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson once said, “Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel.” This fuel is the very things that powers the influence of Rock ‘n’ Roll on American society, that author Glenn C. Altschuler writes about in his book, “All Shook Up – How Rock ‘n’ Roll Changed America.” Between 1945 and 1965 Rock ‘n’ Roll transformed American society and culture by helping to ease racial integration and launch a sexual revolution while most importantly developing an intergenerational identity.
McPherson, Ian. “The Salt of the Earth: 1955-1960 R&B-Derived Rock & Roll.” Time Is On Our
Elvis on the other hand was born into a poor family. His father was a tobacco picker, who was once imprisoned for cashing a fake check. His mother made sure that he was well exposed to gospel music and religion. He performed the ballad “Old Shep” in which he won the singing contest when he was only 10 years old, and on his 11th birthday, they bought him a guitar as his present. With the guitar, he was able to play two songs as a gift to his mother. With his hard work, he was able to come up with “Love Me Tender”, which was his first movie and from there, his fame begun (Clayton 23). Elvis rose from nothing, from a poor family to being a successful star and the king of rock and roll, which lead to his downfall.
... gospel singer, had he lived for six more months. Presley also revealed his spirituality through racial reconciliation. His appreciation for black and white southern gospel music was evident, and he even showcased black performers as his backup singers. In a concert song entitled “An American Trilogy,” Presley challenged southerners to transcend sentiments rooted in racism that dated back to the Civil war. Presley’s spirituality can be seen as a white working-class southern spirituality. Overall, Presley’s southern spirituality drastically influenced his music and his career embodied the southern movement toward using modern entertainment to reach all with the age-old message of the gospel.
Do you know how Elvis had impacted the music business? Elvis Presley opened up making music to people everywhere. To begin, Elvis’s career allowed many different people to be able to listen to the type of music he was making that wasn’t very common. Moreover, Elvis was one of the very few people that played his music and wasn't afraid to. Even though Elvis wasn’t the first music artists to make this genre of music he was able to open up a “door” to encourage different kinds of people to enter through the door and make music no matter what their race or what they looked like. Finally, lots of Elvis’s music is still played, loved, and enjoyed today. There are also many different artists that have created music that is like his because of what