Elvis Presley's Influence On Pop Culture

Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi. When he was thirteen, his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. Bluesmen often performed in the black section of town, which was where Presley would spend his time in. As a boy, he grew up listening to blues, gospel, pop, and country. He eventually became one of the most iconic and influential people in the twentieth century. His interracial style of music and hip-shaking performances on stage created a wider fan base for the genre of rock and roll. The passion that he expressed with both his voice and body modeled music into what it is today. During his life, teens were ecstatic about him to the point where fans would tear at his clothes as he performed on stage. However, parents thought he was too sexual and not good for children. Today, having sold over one billion records all over the world, he is

considered the king of rock and roll by many. Because Elvis Presley was a white singer who was inspired by black-produced music, he was able to popularize black music to a white audience, inspire future artists, and spread rock ´n´ roll across the country.

Presley grew up listening to gospel, country, and blues, influencing the way he sang and played music. He created a new type of music that led him to success. ¨He learned to sing and play guitar and piano with gospel, country, and blues inflections¨ (Gentry 37). It supports the idea that his music style was influenced by the music he grew up with, which included music by black artists. Had he never listened to the genres that he did, he would have never found a spot in the music industry. ¨When the young singer from Memphis, Tennessee appeared on national television on June 5, 1956, to perform a rhythm-and-blues tune called ´Hound Dog´ that he had stripped down and speeded up like a hot rod jalopy, the rock ´n´ roll era was born.¨ (Gentry 11). It supports the idea that the way he sang music led to a new type of music being created. He took a rhythm-and-blues song, which are usually slow, and sped it up. This resulted in a kind of music that was rarely, if ever, seen before. ¨Elvis’ musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church and at the all-night gospel sings he frequently attended, and the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager.¨ (¨About Elvis Presley¨). It supports the idea that he absorbed different genres of music into his style as he grew up. Although Presley heard these genres of music in different locations at different times, they are what inspired and refined the music style that he became known for worldwide.

Because he learned how to sing and play with blues inflections, he popularized music by black musicians. During this time, white people did not like black people, but liked their style of music. Presley was a white man, but sang with a style that had the rhythm and feel of black music. ¨Black gospel singers often seemed possessed by the spirit, dancing and shaking across the stage. But white country-and-western performers stayed put while they sang, at least until Elvis Presley came along. By adding a black performing style to his onstage presentation, Presley had once again combined his musical influences, providing a perfect complement to his singing style.¨ (Gentry 58). It says how because he was influenced by black-produced music, it ended up being incorporated into his style, which led to it being popularized. It is true that his singing was heavily based on genres like blues-and-rhythm, but he also incorporated the exhilaration of dancing on stage into his performances. ¨Presley's band played an exciting new style of music that did not even have a name yet. Black people and white people alike bought his records.¨ (Gentry 65). It supports the idea that because he incorporated both blues and country music into his singing, it was popular with both races. What was essentially sped up black-produced music felt new to audiences, yet still possessed the likable charm that people enjoyed. ¨Elvis Presley, who was born almost 50 years ago, on Jan.8, 1935, has long been recognized as one of America's most gifted, distinctive and influential popular singers. He applied his deft, fluid phrasing, derived from blues and gospel music, to songs from the rhythm-and-blues, country, pop and gospel idioms and developed an overtly sensual, largely black-derived performance style.¨ (Palmer). The style that Presley was well-known for derived from the style of black artists and led to that kind of music becoming popular. Both his music and dancing were full of African-American-influence, which allowed his onstage performances to have much more life compared to other white artists of the time.

Elvis had created an entirely new type of music with both black and white influences and with him and his music becoming popular, it led to many being inspired to become future artists. ¨Rock Star John Lennon, always one of Elvis Presley's most astute fans, said two remarkable things about his hero. Thinking of all the youngsters like himself whose lives were changed by rock ´n´ roll, he declared ´Before there was Elvis, there was nothing.´¨ (Gentry 81). It's proof that Presley influenced many people with his music. Had it not been for him, bands like the Beatles may have not been as big, if even created. During these times, there was no music that truly had the rhythm of blues and the upbeatness and speed of pop. Once Presley came along, this was no longer a problem. ¨Elvis Presley changed forever the way Americans walk, talk, and think of themselves. The speed, the humor, and the sense of reckless abandon that Presley brought to his music is now emulated by virtually every rock and rap performer, many of whom have no idea that they are copying him.¨ (Gentry 121). Although not directly, Presley had inspired and changed the way many play music. The performances that Presley pulled off were new and exciting at the time, as it had never been seen before from a white man. The movement used onstage was uncommon from a white artist, yet it had pulled in so many fans to the point where artists today do not realize that Presley helped make movement onstage a common thing. ¨A white Southerner singing blues laced with country, and country laced with gospel, he brought together American music from both sides of the color line and performed it with a natural sexuality that made him a teen idol and role model for generations of cool rebels.¨ (Kemp). It tells how he was a role model for many people, which most likely led to some going into the music industry. His hip-shaking performances, combined with his exciting new type of music, created an entire era of music that appealed greatly to teens, inspiring many of them to get into music in order to be like their role model.

Besides popularizing black-produced music and inspiring future artists, the biggest effect was that Presley spread rock ´n´ roll music across the country. ¨By 1956, he was an international sensation. With a sound and style that uniquely combined his diverse musical influences and blurred and challenged the social and racial barriers of the time, he ushered in a whole new era of American music and popular culture.¨ (¨About Elvis Presley¨). By combining the music he grew up with, which included country, gospel, and rhythm and blues, he made a style of music that was new and rousing for Americans. It was like nothing anyone had ever seen before. It made the experience of attending a live performance much more captivating. ¨On television in 1956, Elvis Presley introduced the nation to a riveting new kind of music called rock ´n´ roll that would gradually spread around the world, revolutionizing its popular culture.¨ (Gentry 23). The quote supports the idea that his music spread across the country and changed the culture of music. Music that had influences from both blues and country became much more common due to Presley. So common that it became a part of America´s culture. ¨In one stroke, he changed the sound, the look and the feel of our popular music. He created a new dimension of celebrity as the first music-and-video-made rock star.¨ (Palmer). Most music had either a slow and calm tempo to it, or a fast one. Presley managed to sing music that had a fast, yet calm tempo to it. The music that Presley sang changed how music is today, which led to it spreading across America.

Elvis Presley popularized black-originated music, inspired future artists to come, and spread rock ´n´ roll across the country because of the African-American-inspired music that influenced him.

The rhythm and blues that Presley listened to throughout his years, whether in church or on the streets of Memphis, became a part of the way he sang and played. Taking the fundamentals of rhythm-and-blues, giving it a sense of speed, and with a voice full of passion, he popularized this genre of music. With his style of music and stirring performances in concerts, he was a role model for many who would eventually become musicians themselves. With his music that included both white and black-created influences, and his movement when singing, he gathered a multitude of fans and spread rock and roll across America. Elvis Presley changed the way music is today. He gave musicians a more sped up rhythm and exciting motion that intrigued an entirely different generation of fans. Without him, the music that millions listen to today could be vastly or slightly different, but it still would not be exactly what it is

today.