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Elvis Aaron
(or Arona)
Presley
(January 8, 1935 پE
August 16, 1977) was an American musician and actor. A cultural
icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is
often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the
King".
Born in
Tupelo,
Mississippi, Presley
moved to
Memphis,
Tennessee, with his
family at the age of
13. He began his
career there in 1954
when
Sun Records
owner
Sam Phillips,
eager to bring the
sound of
African American
music
to a wider audience,
saw in Presley the
means to realize his
ambition.
Accompanied by
guitarist
Scotty Moore
and bassist
Bill Black,
Presley was one of
the originators of
rockabilly,
an uptempo,
backbeat-driven
fusion of
country
and
rhythm and blues.
RCA Victor
acquired his
contract in a deal
arranged by
Colonel Tom Parker,
who would manage the
singer for over two
decades. Presley's
first RCA single, "Heartbreak
Hotel",
released in January
1956, was a number
one hit. He became
the leading figure
of the newly popular
sound of
rock and roll
with a series of
network television
appearances and
chart-topping
records. His
energized
interpretations of
songs, many from
African American
sources, and his
uninhibited
performance style
made him enormously
popular—and
controversial. In
November 1956, he
made his film debut
in
Love Me Tender.
Conscripted into
military service in
1958, Presley
relaunched his
recording career two
years later with
some of his most
commercially
successful work. He
staged few concerts,
however, and, guided
by Parker, proceeded
to devote much of
the 1960s to making
Hollywood movies and
soundtrack albums,
most of them
critically derided.
In 1968, after seven
years away from the
stage, he returned
to live performance
in a celebrated
comeback television
special
that led to an
extended
Las Vegas
concert residency
and a string of
profitable tours. In
1973, Presley staged
the first concert
broadcast globally
via satellite,
Aloha from Hawaii,
seen by
approximately 1.5
billion viewers.
Prescription drug
abuse severely
compromised his
health, and he died
suddenly in 1977 at
the age of 42.
Presley is regarded
as one of the most
important figures of
20th-century popular
culture. He had a
versatile voice and
unusually wide
success encompassing
many genres,
including country,
pop
ballads,
gospel,
and
blues.
He is the
best-selling solo
artist in the
history of popular
music.
Nominated for 14
competitive
Grammys,
he won three, and
received the
Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award
at age 36. He has
been inducted into
four music
halls of fame.
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