Elvis Presley Influence

Elvis Aaron Presley, born on January 8th, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, remains one of the most influential musicians in history. He is often regarded as the “King of Rock and Roll” because of his significant impact on music in the 20th century. What people appreciate about Elvis is his ability to bring together varying age groups and ethnicities together through the art of music. By the mid 1950s he appeared on the radio, television, and the silver screen, making “race music” popular. Parents felt reluctant to have their kids listen to his songs or watch his performances; they feared it would morally corrupt them. Presley’s gyrating dance moves were deemed sexually dangerous and an influence on adolescent minds. From the beginning of his life, Elvis Presley lived an action-packed life with many twists and turns. To start with, Presley was supposed to have a twin brother named Jesse, but he, unfortunately, was stillborn for unknown reasons. As Elvis grew older into his childhood, he was what one would consider a “Momma’s Boy”-- he loved her and his father and cherished their presence every day, although they struggled to make ends meet. Music became an influential part
of his life when he attended The Assembly of God Church with his parents-- the church music was very important to Presley and he then became fond of the idea of making his own music. Momma’s Boy received his first guitar on his 11th birthday from his mother, and won a talent show at Humes High School a few years later. After he graduated from high school in 1953, he took it upon himself to work at a handful of jobs while at the same time pursuing his musical career. In 1954, he and his record label owner Sam Phillips, released his first hit single, “That’s All Right”. At that time most say what drew them to Elvis Presley was his unique sense of style that most people had not [yet] acquired in the 50s, his aesthetics, and of course his musical talent. But his talent did not stop there-- he also appeared in the movie “Love Me Tender” in 1956. Only a few months later he got drafted into the U.S. Army. While he was serving, he was notified that his mother, Gladys, had passed away. Devastated, Elvis Presley returned home to attend her funeral, and then returned back to the force. When Elvis was 24, he felt uplifted when he met a young teenager in Germany by the name of Priscilla Beaulieu; she was 14 at the time. In 1960, Elvis was home and started working on his film “GI Blues”. A lot of his films were an extreme hit or miss, but the movie soundtracks always sold out. Again in 1968, he amazed the film industry and audience with what many refer to as the “68 Comeback” where he shows off his snazzy, edgy dance moves, his guitarist talents, and his incredible singing. The 60s are surely Elvis Presley’s glory days, although he was always very well-liked and admired. In 1967, he and Priscilla got married, and just a couple years later had a child, Lisa Marie Presley. Things in Presley’s life, whether it be with family or his career, were really looking up for him. Little did he know, this would not last. By the early 1970s, Presley’s marriage went in a downward direction, and by 1973 the couple was officially divorced.
To exacerbate the situation even more, making it more destructive and humiliating for Presley-- Priscilla was awarded custody of Lisa Marie. This led to Presley developing a continuously worsening drug addiction to prescription drugs. His addiction made other health conditions worse for him. He had developed heart problems and he started gaining large amounts of weight. In the fall of 1973, he was hospitalized for illnesses relating to his drug use. Obviously while he was in treatment he could not make more music. This led to him having his final concert in June of 1977 in Indianapolis, Indiana. After his concert, he headed back peacefully to his mansion in Graceland in
Memphis. As a result of his drug problems, early morning on August 16th, 1977, Elvis Presley was pronounced dead. He was found unresponsive in his mansion, sitting on the toilet. Ironically, the King died on his not-so-ideal throne. Despite his death, his legacy was nowhere near dead. He is still loved and cherished by the fans he left behind in the physical world, and still is to this day.