Early Career
Early Life
On January 8, 1935 in Tupelo Mississippi Gladys Love Presley delivered a set of identical twins within her two bedroom home. Tragically the first child, Jesse Garon Presley, was stillborn yet Gladys and Vernon Presley were blessed with the successful delivery of Elvis Aaron Presley whom was destined to transform the nation. Raised as an only child Elvis became extremely close with his parents. The Presley family attended the protestant church of the Assembly of God which is where Elvis's musical inspiration began. When Elvis was thirteen he and his family moved to Memphis Tennessee were the sounds of rhythm and blues thrived. Elvis acquired a sound from both his country roots and local senses R&B and paraded his talents throughout his neighborhood.
" From the time I was a kid, I knew something was going to happen to me.Didn't know exactly what." -Elvis Presely At age 18 Elvis entered Sam Phillips Recoding studio in hopes of recoding a private demo. Sam Phillips was owner of Sun Records which focused on black blues and recorded with artists such as Little Junior Parker. Little Milton and the Prisonaires. Phillips had a keen eye for talent and could not deny young Elvis's potential. Within 1954 Phillips invited Elvis back to his studio to record a few tunes and patiently awaited as Elvis explored his musical boundaries. In July of 1954 while in a stressful recording session with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black Elvis decided to let of a bit of stem and picked up his guitar and began to strum to the tune "Big Boy" Crudup song title "That's All Right (Mama)". Sam Phillips demanded the trio start from the beginning, pressed the record button, and so launched Elvis's career. Sun Records became an established recording company and Elvis's single quickly transformed him into a local celebrity. |
Elvis' First Hit Single
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A Budding Career
No matter Sam Phillips reluctance to sign over Elvis's contract to anther recording label he was regrettably aware of his inability to financially sustain Sun Records and Elvis's budding career. In 1955 Colonel Tom Parker a manager within the RCA recording company purchased Elvis's contract from Sam Phillips for $ 35,000. Sun Records was able to stay afloat and produce artists like Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Roy Orbison needless to say the recording label prevailed.
Presley's first hit with RCA records was "Heartbreak Hotel" which took the No. 1 spot on both country and pop charts and No. 5 on R & B charts and earned him his first Gold Record in 1956. Elvis was a master song-stylist with a keen ability to chose songs and discover engaging ways to interpret them through his voice and performance. Elvis styled his lyrics with folk, country western, R&B, pop, and gospel influences which established a style all its own known today as "rockabilly". The fact that RCA signed Elvis in the first place was unexpected considering the idea that Rock n' Roll was a but a fad that would soon fade. However as Elvis' career reached greater success rivaling record companies began signing more Rock n' Roll artists and so the face of the music industry began to shift. Not only did Elvis receive his first Golden Record in 1956 but he also made his first TV appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show and began filming his first film "Love Me Tender". At the time of his television appearance he was on set filming "Love Me Tender" and therefor was filmed in Hollywood. Two segments were performed including "Don't be Cruel and "Love Me Tender" in the first segment and "Ready Teddy" and "Hound Dog" in the next. The production of "Love Me Tender" was an attempt to expand Elvis appeal beyond that of love strung teenyboppers.
Presley's first hit with RCA records was "Heartbreak Hotel" which took the No. 1 spot on both country and pop charts and No. 5 on R & B charts and earned him his first Gold Record in 1956. Elvis was a master song-stylist with a keen ability to chose songs and discover engaging ways to interpret them through his voice and performance. Elvis styled his lyrics with folk, country western, R&B, pop, and gospel influences which established a style all its own known today as "rockabilly". The fact that RCA signed Elvis in the first place was unexpected considering the idea that Rock n' Roll was a but a fad that would soon fade. However as Elvis' career reached greater success rivaling record companies began signing more Rock n' Roll artists and so the face of the music industry began to shift. Not only did Elvis receive his first Golden Record in 1956 but he also made his first TV appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show and began filming his first film "Love Me Tender". At the time of his television appearance he was on set filming "Love Me Tender" and therefor was filmed in Hollywood. Two segments were performed including "Don't be Cruel and "Love Me Tender" in the first segment and "Ready Teddy" and "Hound Dog" in the next. The production of "Love Me Tender" was an attempt to expand Elvis appeal beyond that of love strung teenyboppers.
First Television Appearance
Stardom
Not only did Elvis receive his first Golden Record in 1956 but he
also made his first TV appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show and began
filming his first film "Love Me Tender". At the time of his television
appearance he was on set filming "Love Me Tender" and therefor was
filmed in Hollywood. Two segments were performed including "Don't be
Cruel and "Love Me Tender" in the first segment and "Ready Teddy" and
"Hound Dog" in the next. The production of "Love Me Tender" was an
attempt to expand Elvis appeal beyond that of love strung teenyboppers.
As Elvis' growing popularity lead his career to embarked upon a series of new opportunities. All around the nation Elvis left swooning fans floored after his electrifying and arguable scandalous performances. Elvis' successful movie debut with "Love Me Tender" landed him two more leading roles in "Loving You and "Jailhouse Rock" within that year and opened the door to Hollywood to him. Elvis upgraded his living accommodations as he purchased the Graceland Mansion in Memphis for $102,500. Yet earlier that year there Elvis had received an honor that he and no American man could...an A1 classification and recruitment into the US army. |