The King and the Wizard

Elissa Gargiulo
Mr. Dudley
Honors English 10
27 April 2011
The King and The Wizard In Billy Joel’s memorable song “We Didn’t Start the Fire”, he sings about an omnipresent fire and claims that his generation did not start it. The fire he speaks of is the social phenomenon that consumes the world. It infects society, everyone knows about it, and it has an impact on history that will be remembered in the future. No one started the fire specifically because different pop culture items have been popular and successful all throughout history. The fire begins spontaneously and cannot be easily stopped. It cannot, and should not, be put out. The empires of Elvis Presley and Harry Potter are two of the greatest social phenomena the world has ever seen due to their sudden and overwhelming popularity and success. Elvis Aaron Presley was born to a lower middle class family on January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. Elvis grew up listening to gospel music and heard blues and jazz for the first time when his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1948 (Hall of Fame, “E.P. Bio”). Presley recorded his first two songs, “Casual Love Affair” and “I’ll Never Stand in Your Way”, in 1954 at Sun Records. Later that year his first two singles, “That’s All Right” and “Blue Moon of Kentucky” were released to the public (Hall of Fame, “Elvis Presley”). Only one year later, in 1995, Elvis signed his contract with Sun Records. His fresh, new sound “broke down cultural boundaries” between young people of all different races (Patenaude 12). At the time of Elvis’s first releases, America was in a post-war stage. The youth of the country needed something that they could relate to and to lift their spirits; Presley’s music was just the thing. After his first few singles got noticed and became popular, Elvis’s career took off and quickly brought him into the music spotlight. Within two years, Presley had sold millions of records and had become an international star (Patenaude 12). His popular single “Heartbreak Hotel” was his first across-the-board hit; it held the number one spot for eight weeks straight (Hall of Fame, “E.P. Bio”). Elvis produced hit after hit and became the most popular artist of the day. His national influence was so monumental that the FBI called him “a danger to the security of the United States” because he was a “dangerous symbol of rebellion” (Patenaude 12). Research and statistics have proven his incomprehensible success:
Elvis has had no less than 149 songs to appear on Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop Chart in America. Of these, 114 were in the top forty, 40 were in the top ten, and 18 went to number one. His number one singles spent a total of 80 weeks at number one. He has also had over 90 charted albums with ten of them reaching number one. These figures are only for the pop charts in America. (EPE, Inc., “Achievements”)
Elvis was also an extremely talented actor. He appeared in approximately thirty-one films and was one of Hollywood’s highest paid actors. Of all his movie soundtracks, eleven went to the top ten and four of them soared to number one (EPE, Inc., “Achievements”). Elvis Presley has had a major influence over many modern artists; iconic performers such as Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and the Beatles have all proclaimed that Elvis was an influential inspiration for them. Dick Clark, famous television host and producer, agrees with these artists. He says, ”It’s rare when an artist’s talent can touch an entire generation of people. It’s even rarer when that same influences [sic] affects several generations. Elvis made an imprint on the world of pop music unequaled by any other single performer” (EPE, Inc., “Quotes”). Elvis received fourteen Grammy award nominations and three wins throughout his lifetime (EPE, Inc., “Achievements”). He is also the only artist in history to be honored with induction into the Rock and Roll, Gospel, and Country Halls of Fame (Patenaude 12). Elvis’s influence was not just in the music world. Leonard Bernstein, America conductor and composer, explains his cultural leadership saying, “Elvis is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century. He introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes, it’s a whole new social revolution” (EPE, Inc., “Quotes”). Elvis Presley represents Joel’s “fire” because of his influence and impact on society and his astounding musical achievements. Presley’s record of success proves that he is the most unparalleled performer in history. Just as Elvis Presley was to music, an empire unto himself, so has the world of Harry Potter grown from a simple idea to a multimillion-dollar enterprise in the world of literature. J.K. Rowling, author of the beloved series, went from a single mother living on welfare to one of the world’s most famous authors and Britain’s thirteenth wealthiest woman (“J.K. Rowling Biography”). Rowling, who earned a French degree from The University of Exeter, had no formal English or literature education or degree. She had been writing ever since she was little, but had never had a serious interest in becoming an author until the idea of Harry Potter came to her on a delayed train ride back to London. Rowling did not get her story published easily; it took her agent over a year to find a company that would accept the manuscript. In 1996, Bloomsburg “made an offer” on J.K.’s book and the Harry Potter craze took off from there (“Biography”). When Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the British version of Sorcerer’s Stone, was first published in 1999, it went straight to the top of the New York Times bestseller list and stayed there for almost an entire year (“Harry Mania”). Collectively, the first three installments of the Harry Potter series earned a total gross of $480 million within just three years. When the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was released in 2000, it sold 5.3 million; the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, sold around 6.9 million in the first twenty-four hours making it the biggest opening in publishing history. Then, in 2007, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book of the series, became the “largest ever pre-ordered book at chain stores Barnes & Noble and Border’s and at Amazon.com” (“J.K. Rowling Biography”). The Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone movie was released by Warner Bros. in 2001 and netted a profit of around $1 billion worldwide, taking home three Academy Awards and seven British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards nomination (“Harry Mania”). The Harry Potter series is not just for kids; children and adults alike are flocking to the books. The success of the hardback copies has not only increased bookstore sales all over the nation, but it has even made public libraries more popular. Rowling’s story has also increased the number of avid readers. She has turned would-be readers into eager fans (Maughan). The seven Harry Potter books have been printed in over fifty-five languages around the world, making them some of the most widely read books in the world. The Harry Potter world is not just books and movies; companies like Mattel and Johnson & Johnson have sold all sorts of Harry Potter paraphernalia including toys, clothes, Band-Aids, notebooks, and even some food products. The estimated income from the assorted Harry Potter supplies is around $150 million (Watson and Kellner). Arthur Levine of Scholastic believes that the Harry Potter franchise is a unique one; he says, “You can’t reproduce a phenomenon like Harry Potter. You can try any clever gimmick or throw any amount of money at a book, but if it’s not a great book, it won’t happen” (Maughan). The Harry Potter empire embodies the fire characteristics as it took over the world, changed society, and made a lasting impact. The world of Harry Potter has taken over the modern day literature scene and will not be forgotten any time soon. Elvis Presley and Harry Potter are extremely popular social phenomena because they are highly renowned and effectual. They are the fire because of their overwhelming success and widespread popularity. They could not be stopped or put out. The fire should not be stopped because the fire adds to and becomes history. In the future there might be bigger and better social phenomena, but thus far, Elvis Presley and Harry Potter are the two most popular and influential pop culture items that there have ever been.