What I'm about to write sounds absolutely terrible..... I first heard of Elvis Presley when he passed away. So, on 16 August 1977. I was 12 years old, in the 6th grade (Year 8), and my friend Rene Timmermans came crying to me with the news that Elvis was dead. Elvis, who's Elvis? I've certainly made up for lost time since then. I haven't become a huge Elvis fan, but I do appreciate and respect him and his music. I am, however, a fan of "The '68 Comeback. Elvis at his best!"
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (8 January 1935 – 16 August 1977) was an American singer and actor. He is often referred to as The King of Rock and Roll or simply The King, and is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the twentieth century. Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee, when he was 13. His musical career began there in 1953, when he recorded a song at what would later become Sun Studio, which was released on Sam Phillips' Sun Records. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley became an early populariser of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country and rhythm-and-blues. Record company RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal orchestrated by Colonel Tom Parker, who would serve as the singer's manager for over two decades.
Presley's first single, That's All Right, was released in July 1954. This was followed in January 1956 by Heartbreak Hotel, an American number 1 hit. After a series of successful television appearances and records that topped the sales charts, he was regarded as the foremost figure of rock and roll. His energetic interpretations of songs and sexually provocative stage performances, combined with a remarkably appealing fusion of multi-ethnic influences that coincided with the rise of the civil rights movement, made him simultaneously immensely popular and controversial. Post-World War II America experienced significant economic growth, with young people gaining more disposable income. Individual development gradually became more important, leading to the emergence of a youth culture with various subcultures that rebelled against the older generation. Presley embodied this, becoming the first pop idol.
In November 1956, he debuted as an actor in the film Love Me Tender. In 1958, he was called up for military service. Two years later, he resumed his recording career and produced some of his most commercially successful work, before dedicating most of the 1960s to making films and their accompanying soundtrack albums, most of which were panned by critics. After seven years without live performances, he returned to the stage in 1968 in the television comeback special Elvis, which resulted in a long series of concerts in Las Vegas and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley performed in the first concert broadcast worldwide via satellite, Aloha from Hawaii. Prolonged drug abuse ruined his health, and he died on 16 August 1977 at the age of 42. On 18 August 1977, two days after his death, he was buried.
Presley is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the twentieth century. Commercially successful in many genres, including pop, blues, and gospel, he is one of the best-selling solo artists in the history of the music industry, with estimated sales of approximately 600 million records worldwide. He was nominated for a Grammy Award fourteen times until 1978 and received three, all for his gospel recordings. At the age of 36, he was awarded the Bing Crosby Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Presley is the only artist to be inducted into six musical Halls of Fame: the Rock and Roll, Rockabilly, Country, Blues, Gospel, and, since 2015, the R&B Music Hall of Fame.
After his death, Presley was supposedly seen numerous times. A persistent theory among some fans is that he faked his death. In support, fans have pointed to alleged discrepancies in the death certificate, rumours of a wax dummy in his original coffin, and countless reports that Presley devised a diversion so he could retire in peace.
In 2002, a remix of Presley's A Little Less Conversation by Junkie XL, under the name Elvis Vs JXL, was used in a Nike advertising campaign during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The remix reached number one in over twenty countries and was included in a compilation of Presley's number 1 hits, ELV1S, which also became an international success. In 2003, a remix of Rubberneckin', a 1969 Presley recording, topped the American charts, as did an anniversary re-release of That's All Right the following year, which was then fifty years old. This latter release became a massive hit in the United Kingdom, where the song reached number three on the pop chart.
Source: Wikipedia
Website Elvis Presley
After Elvis's death in 1997, dozens more albums were released. The albums we have included in the list are those released up to his death and the albums we have purchased.
On 12 January 2020, the single "Heartbreak Hotel" was on the turntable during our Sunday Morning Classics.
