ELVIS AARON PRESLEY: THE KING OF THE ROCK'N'ROLL

Elvis Aaron Presley aka The King

Forty years without the King of the Rock'n'Roll is too much time. The Grandma remembers, clearly, the importance of Elvis Presley in the recent history of the United States and his influence in the world music. To homage The King and to remember the excellent moments together, The Grandma wants to talk about him, one of the most important legends of the last century:

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935–August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as the King of Rock and Roll or simply the King.

More information: Elvis

Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee with his family when he was 13 years old. His music career began there in 1954, when he recorded a song with producer Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley was an early popularizer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. 

Elvis Presley's Jailrock House

RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who managed the singer for more than two decades. Presley's first RCA single, Heartbreak Hotel, was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. 

He was regarded as the leading figure of rock and roll after a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines that coincided with the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, made him enormously popular and controversial.

More information: Elvis Presley Photos

In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender. In 1958, he was drafted into military service. He resumed his recording career two years later, producing some of his most commercially successful work before devoting much of the 1960s to making Hollywood films and their accompanying soundtrack albums, most of which were critically derided. 

Elvis Presley's Suspicious Minds

In 1968, following a seven-year break from live performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed televised comeback special Elvis, which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. 

In 1973, Presley featured in the first globally broadcast concert via satellite, Aloha from Hawaii. 

On August 16, 1977, he suffered a heart attack in his Graceland estate, and died as a result. His death came in the wake of many years of prescription drug abuse.

More information: Elvis, The Music

He won three Grammys, also receiving the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame. 

The Grandma and Elvis in his Tupelo's birthplace

Presley was scheduled to fly out of Memphis on the evening of August 16, 1977, to begin another tour. That afternoon, he was discovered unresponsive on his bathroom floor. Attempts to revive him failed, and death was officially pronounced at 3:30 p.m. at Baptist Memorial Hospital.

Presley's rise to national attention in 1956 transformed the field of popular music and had a huge effect on the broader scope of popular culture. As the catalyst for the cultural revolution that was rock and roll, he was central not only to defining it as a musical genre but in making it a touchstone of youth culture and rebellious attitude. With its racially mixed origins, repeatedly affirmed by Presley, rock and roll's occupation of a central position in mainstream American culture facilitated a new acceptance and appreciation of black culture.

More information: Graceland

In this regard, Little Richard said of Presley, He was an integrator. Elvis was a blessing. They wouldn't let black music through. He opened the door for black music. Al Green agreed: He broke the ice for all of us. President Jimmy Carter remarked on his legacy in 1977: His music and his personality, fusing the styles of white country and black rhythm and blues, permanently changed the face of American popular culture. His following was immense, and he was a symbol to people the world over of the vitality, rebelliousness, and good humor of his country. 

Truth is like the sun. 

You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away. 

Elvis Presley