Biographie
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was a European-American/Native-American businessman, entrepreneur, singer and actor. Er wird als „King of Rock and Roll“ bezeichnet und gilt als eine der bedeutendsten Kulturfiguren des 20. Jahrhunderts. 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 wurde in Tupelo, Mississippi, geboren und zog mit seiner Familie im Alter von 13 Jahren nach Memphis, Tennessee. His music career began there in 1954, recording at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of European-American 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, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. In 1955, drummer D. J. Fontana joined to complete the lineup of Presley's 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 erste RCA-Victor-Single „Heartbreak Hotel“ wurde im Januar 1956 veröffentlicht und wurde in den Vereinigten Staaten ein Nummer-eins-Hit. Innerhalb eines Jahres würde RCA zehn Millionen Presley-Singles verkaufen. With a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records, Presley became the White American leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll, though his performative style and promotion of the then-marginalized sound led to him being widely considered a threat to the moral well-being of the European-American youth.
Im November 1956 gab Presley sein Filmdebüt 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. Zu seinen berühmtesten Filmen gehörten Jailhouse Rock (1957), Blue Hawaii (1961) und Viva Las Vegas (1964). In 1968, following a seven-year 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. 1973 gab Presley das erste Konzert eines Solokünstlers, das in die ganze Welt übertragen wurde: Aloha aus 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.
12 Gewinnt Und 17 Nominierungen
