Elvis Presley: Rock and Roll Legend

Just like any other singer, the first national appearances you make can “break you” or “make you” in the music world. Elvis Presley, a young, slim, good looking man did just what he needed to and not only got his foot in the door, he broke the whole thing down. One of his earliest performances “Hound Dog” aired on Milton Berle’s show, and let me tell you, that performance was one to remember. He grinded and moved his hips suggestively as he sang, because of this, he was rightfully given the nickname “Elvis the Pelvis.

” When Elvis appeared on Ed Sullivan’s show Toast of the Town in 1956, a public uproar emerged. Cameras were not allowed to show his body below the chest due to the heated protests of parents. Regardless of the protests, Elvis became the central figure to a new kind of popular music, rock and roll.

Elvis’ early television performances not only got his name buzzing, but vastly contributed to the development of rock and roll in the 1950s.

His performance was so huge, that the entire country reacted to it. He was the first rock and roller to draw intense interest from the major labels and have hits on all three charts simultaneously – absolutely impressive. Radio technician and announcer, Sam Philips specialized in recording black blues artists, but he was open to whoever came his way. Young Elvis stepped into Philips’ studio to make a private demo. To say the least, Presley picked up a guitar and started playing pure gold.

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With the help of Scotty Moore and Bill Black, they recorded a song that would launch Presley’s career and establish Sun Records as an independent label.

However, some don’t know that Elvis Presley was not a songwriter, he was best thought of as a master song stylist who had an amazing gift of being able to choose songs and discover appealing ways to interpret them. From the beginning of his recording career, he had almost total control over this aspect of music. If there was a song or version of a song that he didn’t like, neither RCA nor Sun Record wouldn’t release it. As Elvis continued to record and release songs, he began to get attention from not only his teenage fans, but music business professionals. Tom Parker was the manager of Hank Snow, one of the best country music singers of the early 1950s. Parker began working with Elvis as a promoter and later on became his manager. Things were only looking up for Presley and his career continued to ascend. By the end of Presley’s career, he had at least thirteen #1 hit songs, talk about a true legend – long live the king of rock and roll!