Elvis Aaron Presley January 8 1935 August 16 1977 or simply Elvis was an American singer and actor Dubbed the King of Rock and Roll he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations led him to both great success and initial controversy Presley was born in Tupelo Mississippi and relocated to Memphis Tennessee with his family when he was 13 years old His music career began there in 1954 recording at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips who wanted to bring the sound of AfricanAmerican music to a wider audience Presley on rhythm acoustic guitar and accompanied by lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black was a pioneer of rockabilly an uptempo backbeatdriven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues In 1955 drummer D J Fontana joined to complete the lineup of Presleys classic quartet and RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker who would manage him for more than two decades Presleys first RCA Victor single Heartbreak Hotel was released in January 1956 and became a numberone hit in the United States Within a year RCA would sell ten million Presley singles With a series of successful network television appearances and charttopping records Presley became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll though his performative style and promotion of the thenmarginalized sound of AfricanAmericans led to him being widely considered a threat to the moral wellbeing of the White American youth In November 1956 Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender Drafted into military service in 1958 Presley relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work He held few concerts however and guided by Parker proceeded to devote much of the 1960s to making Hollywood films and soundtrack albums most of them critically derided Some of his most famous films included Jailhouse Rock 1957 Blue Hawaii 1961 and Viva Las Vegas 1964 In 1968 following a sevenyear break from live performances he returned to the stage in the acclaimed television comeback special Elvis which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours In 1973 Presley gave the first concert by a solo artist to be broadcast around the world Aloha from Hawaii Years of prescription drug abuse and unhealthy eating habits severely compromised his health and he died suddenly in 1977 at his Graceland estate at the age of 42
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