History of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley 1935

History of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley 1935 -1977

ELVIS 2 Sam Phillips (1923 -2003) n Elvis was “discovered” by independent music producer Sam Phillips n Phillips had worked as a disc jockey at WREC in Memphis late 40's n Phillips was interested in rootsbased, blues and R&B, African. American music genres n In 1952, Phillips founded his own label, Sun Records, in Memphis. Phillips is identified with the following quote: “If only I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars.

ELVIS 3 - Sun Records In addition to his blues recordings, Sam Phillips and Sun Records pioneered the “Rockabilly” style. n Phillips was the first to record Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and others n Phillips’ rockabilly sound was characterized by: n n n The use of “slapping bass” for rhythm The use of “slap-back echo” Emphasis on guitar “solos” …more on all this during the “Rockabilly” lecture ! !

ELVIS 4 – First big hit, “That’s All Right Mama” n Recorded at Sun, July 1954 n Cover of an original R&B tune by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup n Elvis, Scotty Moore (guitar), Bill Black (bass) n Intending to record “Blue Moon of Kentucky” n Phillips heard them playing “That’s All Right” during a break, and made that the “A” side of the single instead

ELVIS 5 – early bio n n n n Born 1935, Tupelo, MS Twin brother died at birth Family poor; various troubles Mom bought him a guitar when he was around 10 or 11 Moved to Memphis age 13 Musical influences: country, Memphis blues & jazz musicians, church music he heard as a child (Ao. G and Baptist) Begins recording career in 1956, age 21 Gladys, Elvis and Vernon Presley

ELVIS 6 Colonel Tom Parker and RCA Parker made changes right away: n n Near the end of 1955, Elvis got a manager: Colonel Tom Parker’s control of Elvis career lasted right up until Elvis’ death in 1977. His “split” of the profits eventually reached 50 per cent. n He sold Presley's record contract to RCA for 35, 000 dollars n He got Elvis a number of TV appearances n He got Elvis a movie contract with MGM

ELVIS 7 – 58 weeks at #1 n Elvis’ RCA style: more drums, harder “rock and roll” sound (as opposed to Sun “rockabilly” style) n Elvis’ first single for RCA was “Heartbreak Hotel” – 1956 n In 1956 and 1957, Elvis held the #1 position on the pop music charts for 58 weeks.

ELVIS 8 – First TV appearances FIRST TV APPEARANCE: Dorsey Brothers Stage Show 1956 (with Scotty Moore and Bill Black) One month later: Milton Berle Show (with Scotty Moore, Bill Black, and drummer DJ Fontana)

ELVIS 9 – Ed Sullivan n Sullivan had refused to have Elvis on his show – “too controversial” – why ? ? n Impressed by the ratings of the other shows, he relented n Sullivan ordered his camera crew to film Elvis only “from the waist up. ” Elvis’ first Sullivan appearance was almost exactly 50 years ago: 9/9/56

ELVIS 10 – Elvis the Movie Star With Elvis’ movie contract with MGM, the King of Rock and Roll also became a movie star. He made four movies in the 1950 s: n n Love Me Tender Jailhouse Rock Loving You King Creole

ELVIS 11 – The Army n 1958: Elvis was drafted n On Parker’s advice, he did not enter Special Services n Though Elvis worried about his career, his army stint changed his public image from “bad boy” to upstanding citizen n His mother passed away while he was in the Army n He also met his future wife Priscilla at this time, but she was only 14

ELVIS 12– early 60 s Elvis got out of the army in 1960 n Made more movies n Style leaned more toward ballads, pop songs n Not as many hits -- early 60 s charts dominated by British Invasion, folk-rock n Has a Hit in 1965 with “Crying in the Chapel” n May 1967: Elvis marries Priscilla Beaulieu

ELVIS 13 – 1968 “Comeback” Special n 1968: Elvis makes a TV show for NBC, billed as his “Comeback Special” n Music was much more like his early material n Often regarded as one of his best performances

ELVIS 14 – late 60 s early 70 s: Las Vegas Elvis n Elvis still world-famous, despite a decline in actual Top 40 hits n Starts performing live again, especially in Las Vegas n Personal problems: prescription drug abuse, etc n 1969 -70: finally another big hit with “Suspicious Minds” Pictured: Elvis meets Nixon, 1970. Elvis asks Nixon if he can have an FBI badge for his badge collection. He gets the badge and a tour of FBI headquarters.

ELVIS 15 – 70’s 1970 s: n Elvis still touring, despite various health and drug problems n Still a popular Las Vegas act as well n Several country and gospel recordings n Became somewhat reclusive after his divorce in 1973

ELVIS 16 – August 16, 1977 Elvis’ funeral Elvis is found dead at his home, Graceland. His death is ruled a heart attack. Literally hundreds of thousands of people attend his funeral. He is buried next to his mother (both graves are now at Graceland. )

Elvis 17 - Legacy n Elvis became a rock and roll “Icon” (What is an icon? ) n Elvis was the first rock and roll musician to reach such an extreme degree of world-wide fame and commercial success n Elvis’ musical influences reflected the wide diversity of American popular music n This diversity contributed to an expanded notion of what constitutes “rock and roll” music