How Did Elvis Presley Impact Society

Thirty six years after his death, Elvis Aaron Presley, known as the King of Rock and Roll, is thought of as much as if he was yet alive and still successful and making progress. Millions of people pay tribute to Elvis, The King of Rock and Roll, every year during the anniversary of his death, August 16, 1977. Throughout the world, Elvis Presley’s talent, good looks, and compassion have earned the admiration of millions of fans. According to Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., because of his huge success during his career, his image and work are constantly repeated in people’s lives through his impersonators and music by various music artists. John Lennon said, “Before Elvis, there was nothing.” (Logan). Therefore, he had a huge impact for people’s way of life through his determination to succeed through rock and roll music, television experiences, and legacy that he left behind that has inspired others to follow his footsteps that still make him successful today.
First, Elvis Presley was a legend and his passion for music became very influential to young musicians around the world.
From a variety of music genre such as: gospel to romantic, from rock to blues, Elvis was a man who had many talents and enjoyed sharing them with people (Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.) According to Wikipedia Encyclopedia, no one ever has sold as many records, sang, or had as many fans as he did. Still today he is at the top and so far, no one has taken it from him. On Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop Charts in America, Elvis Presley has had over 149 songs to appear: 114 in the top forty, forty in the top ten, and eighteen managed to capture the number one spot. Elvis had over ninety charted albums, nine of them also reaching number one (Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.). Many singers have tried to fill his shoes, but have found it almost impossible to be as respected as Elvis
was.

Second, in the late1950’s, Elvis appeared on variety of network television shows such as “The Stage Show”, “The Steve Allen Show” and “The Milton Berle Show”. Due to appearing on “The Steve Allen Show” Elvis helped make the show have such high ratings on television that others wanted to try to get Elvis on their shows offering thousands of dollars. For example, due to such high ratings, Ed Sullivan offered Elvis $50,000 to appear on his show three times, which was at the time, more money than any performer had ever been paid to appear on a network program (Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.). Then in 1960 after returning from the Army, Elvis was offered $125,000 to appear on another program which led Elvis to the big screen of making movies. He starred in 31 featured films and two documentary films which gained success. According to Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., for a number of years he was one of Hollywood’s top box office draws and one of its highest paid-actors. Still today, you can flip through the channels on television and find some of his movies playing from time to time.

Third, because of his successful life and legacy that he left behind, Elvis Presley’s home, Graceland, is one of the top most visited homes in America that attracts over 600,000 visitors annually (Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.). It is chosen as a National Historical Landmark. Graceland was left to his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. Lisa wanted to keep Graceland just as it was like when her father was living and felt led to share the home with his fans. She decided, along with her mother, Pricilla, to make it an attraction. Lisa, like her father, contributes to charities. Therefore, some of the proceeds that are made from visitors at Graceland go to various charities in her father’s name. It is such a historical attraction because everything has been kept original. Lisa and Pricilla allow the fans to view the downstairs only. The second floor is not open to public because it was considered a private place for Elvis while he was living and they wanted to keep it that way. Everything is kept as it was and I believe it to be one of the reasons why it attracts so many visitors because it is a legacy that Elvis left behind.

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Furthermore, as one can see, Elvis Presley is still successful and continues to make progress through some of the many achievements that he made such as being at the top with his music, being an actor and his home legacy, Graceland, a National Historical Landmark. Elvis has been dead for thirty six years and continues to be idolized, impersonated and inspired by other musicians to be like him. No one has been able to take his place. Elvis Presley is still making progress and making progress even after death.

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Bibliography

Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. Elvis Presley: The Official Site of the King of Rock N’ Roll. Web.
27 Aug. 2013. <http://Elvis.com>

Logan, Horace and Bill Sloan. Elvis, Hank, and Me Making Musical History in Country’s
Golden Age. Web. 27 Aug. 2013. < http://goodreads.com>

Wikipedia Encyclopedia. Elvis Presley. 21 March. 2003. Web. 27 Aug. 2013 < http://Wikipedia.org>