How Did Elvis Presley's Impact On American Culture
Andrew Coppa
In Art 200
2/23/11
A Huge Impact
Elvis Presley, the “King of Rock and Roll” evoked change. He played a huge role in the movement ignited through the sound of rock and roll. Being credited as the founder of rock and roll, Elvis Presley with his new style of music and his abnormal demeanor will take the world by surprise. From his on stage provocative moves to his off stage “habits”, Elvis will bring something new to our society that we have never seen before. Elvis Presley never choreographed a dance, never wrote lyrics for a song, never created one piece of clothing, yet he is known as the “King of Rock and Roll.” Elvis’s music, soul and personality took the world by shock and changed American culture and society forever. He was the complete package; his charming smile, stunning face, angelic voice and unique dancing accumulated to one of the most discernible personalities in history. His impact has become inevitably known as the greatest of any pop culture icon and possibly the greatest cultural catalyst in history. …show more content…
The largest impact Elvis had on American culture was the integration of black and white.
His music had a southern blues feel which was regarded to as the music for blacks. If a random person heard Elvis’s music one for sure would think it was a black male. This was a big deal at the time because racial segregation was at its peak. Elvis used his icon status and position as a role model to encourage others to abandon racism. Since the majority of Elvis’s audience was the younger generation, it will create a rock in a pond effect, thus eventually overcoming racial segregation. Through Elvis’s encouragement of the “soul” genre of music, he essentially started a trend in integrating black and white
cultures. Presley’s provocative dance moves and personality would bring forth “sexual behavior”, specifically the youth. He was the first to bring sexuality into music and creating a whirlwind in American society. Many adults blamed Elvis for their children’s deviant behavior, but that didn’t stop him. American teens started to dress different; girls would wear shorts skirts and skinny tank tops and guys started to act out on their “guilty minds”. Elvis Presley impacted society in a bad way also. Many knew that he used drugs and alcohol at frequent times. It certainly proved true, when the news of his death was an overdose. Many teens thought if their favorite idol was doing it, their “role model”, it would be okay for me to do it too. Unfortunately, this scenario would be a direct cause to America’s drug frenzy in the 60’s and 70’s. Elvis Presley’s impact cannot be compared to other artist’s impact. It can be shown by the thousands impersonations and impersonators of Elvis. His impact would change society and American culture, but he was just doing what he loved. It’s hard to believe that one icon can create so much change, but it proved possible when Elvis took the stage.
In Art 200
2/23/11
A Huge Impact
Elvis Presley, the “King of Rock and Roll” evoked change. He played a huge role in the movement ignited through the sound of rock and roll. Being credited as the founder of rock and roll, Elvis Presley with his new style of music and his abnormal demeanor will take the world by surprise. From his on stage provocative moves to his off stage “habits”, Elvis will bring something new to our society that we have never seen before. Elvis Presley never choreographed a dance, never wrote lyrics for a song, never created one piece of clothing, yet he is known as the “King of Rock and Roll.” Elvis’s music, soul and personality took the world by shock and changed American culture and society forever. He was the complete package; his charming smile, stunning face, angelic voice and unique dancing accumulated to one of the most discernible personalities in history. His impact has become inevitably known as the greatest of any pop culture icon and possibly the greatest cultural catalyst in history. …show more content…
The largest impact Elvis had on American culture was the integration of black and white.
His music had a southern blues feel which was regarded to as the music for blacks. If a random person heard Elvis’s music one for sure would think it was a black male. This was a big deal at the time because racial segregation was at its peak. Elvis used his icon status and position as a role model to encourage others to abandon racism. Since the majority of Elvis’s audience was the younger generation, it will create a rock in a pond effect, thus eventually overcoming racial segregation. Through Elvis’s encouragement of the “soul” genre of music, he essentially started a trend in integrating black and white
cultures. Presley’s provocative dance moves and personality would bring forth “sexual behavior”, specifically the youth. He was the first to bring sexuality into music and creating a whirlwind in American society. Many adults blamed Elvis for their children’s deviant behavior, but that didn’t stop him. American teens started to dress different; girls would wear shorts skirts and skinny tank tops and guys started to act out on their “guilty minds”. Elvis Presley impacted society in a bad way also. Many knew that he used drugs and alcohol at frequent times. It certainly proved true, when the news of his death was an overdose. Many teens thought if their favorite idol was doing it, their “role model”, it would be okay for me to do it too. Unfortunately, this scenario would be a direct cause to America’s drug frenzy in the 60’s and 70’s. Elvis Presley’s impact cannot be compared to other artist’s impact. It can be shown by the thousands impersonations and impersonators of Elvis. His impact would change society and American culture, but he was just doing what he loved. It’s hard to believe that one icon can create so much change, but it proved possible when Elvis took the stage.