Elvis Presley burst onto the music scene in the mid-1950s and served as the catalyst for rock and roll. Elvis had more number-one records and starring movie roles than any other rock and roll performer. He had 126 gold and platinum records and 114 songs on the Top 40 charts. He starred in thirty-three movies. His songs were on the charts every year from 1956 until 1977, the year he died. John Len…
Elvis was born and raised in East Tupelo, Mississippi. It was a poor neighborhood in a poor farming community. Elvis's mother, born Gladys Love Smith, had met Vernon Elvis Presley at the First Assembly of God Church in East Tupelo. Vernon Elvis Presley was not even seventeen years old when he met Gladys, but Vernon and Gladys eloped and were married less than eight weeks after they met. Ve…
After World War II, the music industry enjoyed a unique period in its history. Mass-produced record players were more affordable, and more people owned them than ever before. That meant that retail sales of records were doing big business. During the war, armed forces radio had played a wide variety of music, so many Americans were musically open in ways that they had not been before. This also w…
By 1956, rock and roll had been established as a musical form. Rock and roll was a fusion of blues and country music, with an emphasis on a big beat (for a while the music was called the Big Beat). In addition, the imagery of such loud music was reinforced by the lyrical content, which often included fast cars, young love, and rebellion. Both the sound and the soul of rock and roll gelled from a …
Elvis worked every weekened on the Louisiana Hayride, toured, and sought publicity. Colonel Parker tried to get the major record label RCA interested in signing Elvis to a record deal. The Colonel intended to be the boy's manager when Elvis's contract was up with Bob Neal. The Colonel booked Elvis for the Hank Snow and Bill Haley tour. This would bring important publicity for Elvis…
Elvis arrived in Hollywood in August 1956. He would get $100,000 for his first movie, $150,000 for the second, and $200,000 for the third. Although these were high figures for an untried actor, the profits from Elvis's movies would average ten times these amounts The first movie was a western called Love Me Tender, after the ballad that Elvis recorded for the movie&#x…
In 1960, Elvis had served in the army for two years, but he jumped right back into his career. There was an RCA recording session, a guest appearance on Frank Sinatra's Welcome Home Party for Elvis Presley television special, and the filming of G.I. Blues. Elvis resumed his relationship with Anita, as well as with Elisabeth, his personal secretary in Germany who followed him to Graceland. …
Instead of making a sappy Christmas special. Elvis decided to do a strong comeback special. He wanted to prove to the public that he could still rock and roll. One of the events that influenced Elvis's decision took place on the Sunset Strip, in Los Angeles. Elvis and the Memphis Mafia went for a walk along the Strip. It had been ten years since Elvis had felt comfortable going out in broa…
1960 G.I.
Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.P.O.