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Rock and roll’s sheer existence has seemly coexisted with multitudes of generations’ hormone infested teenagers for decades. Since its appearance and establishment within the mid 1950’s, rock and roll has undoubtedly managed to capture the hearts of millions and presently still continues to. Ideally, when addressing the genre of rock and roll, artists such as Chuck Berry and Little Richard may occasionally come to mind. However, it seems so that it’s impossible to envision rock and roll without its king, Elvis Presley. Many individuals may be familiar with Elvis Presley as one of America’s most musically influential figures of all times. Infamously recognized as the “King of Rock n’ Roll”, Elvis Presley has forever been engraved within the …show more content…
However, due to hardships and poverty Elvis and his family had to move to Memphis, Tennessee. In Memphis, Presley’s childhood revolved around a profoundly religious environment. He grew up surrounded by gospel music. As a boy, he sang with his local Assembly of God church choir, which introduced the young star to the African-American psalm singing that would later contribute to the young star’s career as his talents’ origins. Following, young Presley would be known for winning singing contests during his adolescences. Ultimately, the mixture of the musical styles of southern country and religious gospel that Presley was exposed to within his childhood and community would essentially contribute to the formation of his personal style. All of the above would later serve and be recognized as the fundamental building blocks of one of America’s culturally significant icons of the …show more content…
Presley and his music played a vital role in downgrading the segregation between the two races by allowing “African American music to be accessible to white American youth who had never really been exposed to it” (Wallace 100). Simultaneously, Presley’s audiences also consisted of a wide diversity of all races, ages, and gender, but may have appealed mostly to his female fans. His mixture of influences consisted of a musical fusion of gospel, country, and blues. He also had the distinctive ability and opportunity to merge the wide range of influences to produce a unique and culturally-infused sound that attracted and united millions. In other words, he managed to successfully combine black and white music into a single genre that promoted integration, rock and
Elvis Aaron Presley was raised by his mother Gladys, to have a strong faith in God. And while he was still very young, Presley, attended the Assembly of God Church with his parents, where gospel music became an enormous influence on him. His musical talents and instrumental prowess soon began to impress his parents, peers and even his teachers at Humes High School in Memphis, that he earned his first guitar at the early age of ten. After graduating in 1953, Presley decided to get his hands on some paying jobs. He worked a number of jobs while pursuing his musical dream. He recorded his first demo record at what later became known as Sun Studio that same year, his persistence paid off when, Sam Phillips, the record label owner, decided to take him under his wing. Presley soon began touring and recording, trying to catch his first big break. Then, his First Single called "That's All Right" was recorded in 1954.
... gospel singer, had he lived for six more months. Presley also revealed his spirituality through racial reconciliation. His appreciation for black and white southern gospel music was evident, and he even showcased black performers as his backup singers. In a concert song entitled “An American Trilogy,” Presley challenged southerners to transcend sentiments rooted in racism that dated back to the Civil war. Presley’s spirituality can be seen as a white working-class southern spirituality. Overall, Presley’s southern spirituality drastically influenced his music and his career embodied the southern movement toward using modern entertainment to reach all with the age-old message of the gospel.
At the age of nineteen years old Presley began his music performing at the “Hillbilly Cat.” After being discovered Presley signed with Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee in 1954. Then his contract was sold in 1955 to RCA Victor. His musical influences were a mix of multiple genres. He was influenced by gospel threw church; black R&B threw Beale Street in Memphis. He combined all the genres to create the early rock n roll that would arouse many people around the world.
Elvis started his singing career early. In 1945 his voice was first recognized when he got second place in a talent contest. In 1948 Elvis, Vernon, and Gladys moved to Memphis Tennessee. Five years after they moved to Memphis, Elvis graduated from Humes High School. Elvis had many plans made for his life.
The development of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the late 1940s and early 1950s by young African Americans coincided with a sensitive time in America. Civil rights movements were under way around the country as African Americans struggles to gain equal treatment and the same access to resources as their white neighbors. As courts began to vote in favor of integration, tensions between whites and blacks escalated. As the catchy rhythm of Rock ‘n’ Roll began to cross racial boundaries many whites began to feel threatened by the music, claiming its role in promoting integration. This became especially problematic as their youth became especially drawn to ...
Elvis was born in 1935 in Mississippi, he was supposed to be a twin but his brother was stillborn. He grew up an only child. In 1948 the Presleys moved to Memphis, where in his high school days would hang around Beale Street where B.B. King was known to perform at, drawn into the music style of the blues. After graduating in 1953, he planned out his normal life of becoming a truck driver, and in his spare time recorded a couple songs at a recording service Sam Phillips started up that anyone could record a song for four dollars. Upon going back to the studio he met Sam Phillips who
Elvis on the other hand was born into a poor family. His father was a tobacco picker, who was once imprisoned for cashing a fake check. His mother made sure that he was well exposed to gospel music and religion. He performed the ballad “Old Shep” in which he won the singing contest when he was only 10 years old, and on his 11th birthday, they bought him a guitar as his present. With the guitar, he was able to play two songs as a gift to his mother. With his hard work, he was able to come up with “Love Me Tender”, which was his first movie and from there, his fame begun (Clayton 23). Elvis rose from nothing, from a poor family to being a successful star and the king of rock and roll, which lead to his downfall.
Through Elvis Presley, rock ‘n’ roll changed the face of American music, and influenced a whole generation’s political philosophy. Composer Leonard Berstein once said, “He introduced the beat to everything and changed everything-music, language, clothes; it’s a whole new social revolution-the 60s come from it” (Wattenberg 6B). To his credit, Elvis embraced rhythm and blues not as a from to be imitated, but as a form to honored and interprete... ...
Like Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” In the 1950’s the South was heavily racially segregated. Elvis Presley unintentionally put himself in the position to become a valuable instrument in the battle against segregation. “Without casting himself as a fighter for racial equality, Elvis became a subversive standard bearer for cultural desegregation at a time when the codified racism of the South was under increasing pressure.” How did an uneducated white hillbilly from the south influence both black and white teenagers against segregation? It was quite simple, for Elvis Presley had a unique talent of combining traditional black music; such as the blues and jazz, with the traditional white music; like country and white gospel. This unique style of blending different types of music, gave Elvis the edge on the musical racial barriers America was facing; and open the path for both sides to enjoy the music together and therefore desegregated.
He had exposure to several different genres growing up in his St. Louis, MO hometown. He heard country from the whites, rhythm & blues (R&B) from mostly blacks, even Latin music. His family environment set him up well for future success while growing up in a middle class home in the middle of the Great Depression of the 1930s. His parents sun...
Not only did race relations play a big factor in the 1950s, it was a start to a lot of controversy in the beginning between African Americans and whites. They connected with each other because of the style of the music. This type of music deeply emphasized integration for African Americans and also during this time they were trying to gain civil rights. “At the center of that struggle, rock-n-roll unsettled a nation that had been “living in an ‘age of anxiety’” since 1945 (All Shook Up, 7). Most artists were criticized and punished for not supporting their own races and staying within their boundaries.
Elvis Aron Presley was born into a poor farming family in Mississippi on January 8, 1935. Originally a twin, Elvis’ brother Jesse died right after birth (Austin, 1994). Growing up, Elvis had a close relationship with his family; they regularly attended church where his love of music started to blossom (EPE, 2014). Despite his family’s financial struggles, at age eleven, Elvis received his first instrument, a guitar. Shortly after, Vernon Presley, Elvis’ father, struggled to hold down a job in Mississippi. He made the decisive decision to uproot the family to Memphis, Tennessee (Hirshberg, 1995).
Mention the name Elvis Presley and many things come to mind. Most people automatically think of music and the impact he had on the industry. Others think of his upbringing in the South and the years he spent singing Gospel tunes. Wild images of Graceland and Cadillacs are iconic when it comes to discussing Elvis. Through the years, his physical appearance changed drastically. From young and in excellent shape to older, larger, and showing the signs of poor lifestyle choices. Elvis singlehandedly changed the face of American music. He influenced an entire generation to break from long-held traditions. However, for all the incredible talent and charisma the man possessed, he could not break free from the addictions that plagued him in his later years. Moreover, sadly, many remember that as his last legacy.
After many of World War II’s harmful effects, the 1950s served as a period of time of musical change that reflected the dynamic of society as well as the traditional norms and values. Many factors contributed to this transformation. For example, the civil rights movement heightened many racial tensions, and the music produced consequently manifested this tension in itself. Rock-n-roll and R&B music universalized music typically associated with African-Americans, and many African-American musicians gained fame; however, as with any relatively-widespread success, there were many musicians as well who missed their opportunities due to the same racial segregation. While “radical” genres such as R&B and rock-n-roll laid the foundation for music future forms of music, the standard pop, jazz, and country music adhered to traditional values, and thus continued to maintain popularity amidst phenomena such as the Elvis craze.
In the article Who Really Made Rock n’ Roll, it states “No one person started rock 'n' roll. It was a black and white alloy of Fats Domino, Lloyd Price, Ike Turner, Hank Williams, Joe Turner, Louis Jordan, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly - and Elvis Presley.” The article also says that Elvis had never claimed to be the creator of Rock n’ Roll. The songs he made were different compared to the other songs that were being made at the time. He had gone his own way and made the music that he loved and did what he wanted to do even if there were gonna be some people that would disagree with his decision he was making. During the start of Elvis’s life, he had lived in a racially mixed community where it seemed like the only form of freedom was the music they would listen to. According to American National Biography Online Elvis had grown up with the music he listened to. The article states “The Presleys lived in a racially mixed community of dire poverty where music was perhaps the only form of free soulful entertainment. From birth Elvis heard gospel and spiritual music, Shakerag (Tupelo) black rhythm and blues, hillbilly, country, soul, and jazz.”Since he lived in the racially mixed community he listened to many types of gospel and spiritual music. He also grew up listening to jazz, blues, hillbilly, black rhythm, country, and soul. Elvis