"The King of rock 'n' roll" – that’s
the name that immediately comes to mind when we think of
Elvis Presley, an icon in the history of music. He is regarded
as one of the greatest, most successful and most popular
artists of the twentieth century, both by the public and
other artists.
Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in Tupelo,
Mississipi, the son of Vernon Elvis Presley and Gladys Love
Smith. The family led a poor life, but were very religious.
This is probably where his lifelong love of gospels came
from. When Elvis was ten years old, he participated in a
competition. His parents felt that their son had a golden
voice. The jury agreed. The competition was broadcast on
radio WELO, unfortunately the radio broadcast was not recorded.
On his eleventh birthday Elvis was given a guitar by his
mother. He was taught by his uncle Vester, Vernons brother.
When he left school Elvis made a living as a cinema
clerk and truck driver. In 1953 he decided to make a record
at Sun Studios. This was something that anyone could do
for four dollars a song. This recording was probably intended
as a present for his mother. Be that as it may, his song
was noticed and the owner of Sun Records, Sam Phillips,
invited Elvis for an interview that resulted in the recording
of his first official record. This was in July 1954. The
title of his song was, ' That's All Right Mama '. This song
had a huge impact that resulted in him becoming very popular
locally. His career had begun. Many songs and then movies
followed. Elvis soon became world famous. No less than 149
songs from his repertoire reached the charts. He was No
1 for 81 weeks in the hit parade – still a record.
Another record is that between 1 to 1.5 billion people saw
his show ' Aloha from Hawaii '. This was the first live
concert that was broadcast worldwide via satellite.
Elvis gave many concerts, dozens per month. In order
to maintain the energy to do this he started to use "uppers"
and "downers" or, in other words non-prescription
drugs. During the last years of his life his health deteriorated
considerably. Nevertheless, he continued to give concerts.
Elvis died on August 16, 1977 in Memphis. He was 42 years.
Today his music still popular. His most known songs
include: Always on my mind, Are you lonesome tonight, Can't
help falling in love with you, In the ghetto, it's now or
never, Jailhouse rock, Love me tender, Suspicious minds,
Wooden heart, Devil in disguise, Heartbreak Hotel, Let Me
Be Your Teddy Bear, Return to Sender, and many many more.
We wish to quote from his song ' if The Lord Wasn't
Walking By My Side.
