Elvis Presley is one of the biggest names in Rock n’ Roll music. He began his music career in the mid-50’s and continued to become “ The King of Rock and Roll”. He signed with Sun Records as a young adult, and his career only grew bigger after. He became a national music idol, performing on TV , radio and movie theaters. He was the first musician to sell more than a million copies from one album in history, his songs always climbed to number one in the music charts and people would scream and cry of joy when they would see him. So what made Elvis so popular and important for history?
One of the most important reasons Elvis is considered a legend to this day, is that he began a music revolution in an era of conformity and conservatism. In my opinion, what really separated Elvis from all of his precedents is the diversity of race in his audience.His music combined different styles, from country, soft rock, to gospel and blues making it appealing to different groups. The country was so racially divided at that time that it was nearly impossible for black artists to have a music breakthrough, therefore, when Elvis got discovered and started singing songs like “ Hound Dog” that were originally written
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Elvis influenced youth through his lyrics and moves embracing sexuality that was repressed during these years. Teens would rip their clothes during his concerts and started dancing and talking about sex more openly. His dancing was considered vulgar and considered to promote sexual and juvenile delinquency leading to politicians banning rock shows and parents criticizing his music as “ bad taste” and “music of the colored”. Elvis music one of the first example of how Rock and Roll music started being censored which ironically made Elvis even more popular because that edginess is what the white-conservative- dystopian society needed to change