Elvis Presley
...tion. His songs were, also, often times influenced by gospel by using gospel groups as his backup musicians. Not only did Elvis have his own style of music, he had his own style of dress, too. He wore bright colored clothes with tight pants He had a ducktail hairstyle and often times curled his lips when he sang. He was constantly in motion; swiveling his hips, quaking his knees, or pumping his fists. Elvis always wore a lot of jewelry, too. He had many diamond and ruby rings, large flashy necklaces, and gold and diamond bracelets, as well. His concerts were known for his flashy, jeweled costumes mostly in his later years. To teens, he was a way to get away from everything; a person to relate to. He was everything they wanted to be. They idolized him. Within one year 400,000 teens joined the Elvis Presley Fan Club. “Elvis represented something much more than just pop star music; he was the symbol of youth that spoke its own language, had its own heroes, and cared little for the standards of its parents’ generation (Rubel 57)” To the parents, however, he was a threat. They saw him as a dangerous rebel. He did everything parents didn’t want their teenagers to do. “Elvis, though, embodied the tensions that made rock and roll so dynamic. He was both city and country, black and white, rebellious and respectful all at the same time. He was the ultimate teenager, and for that reason he would also become the ultimate teen idol (Rubel 45).” After Elvis started recording more and became more popular, his influence appeared in other artists. In England, punk rockers who are raising such a ruckus, spooking the music business and intimidating their elders, turn themselves out just like the Elvis of the 50’s, in tight pants and defensive snarls (Quain 62).” Gospel groups were called to be backup singers for other artists like the country singer, Marty Robbins, and the pop singer, Pattie Page. Says Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys: “His music was a great inspiration to us. His personality was a great inspiration to us. He was a fine gentleman (59).” Elvis’ music was a huge success. He did not record, film, or do concert in any other language or out of the US. However, 40% of sales are outside the U.S. He had 1billion record units world wide which was more than anyone in history. “Elvis has no less than 149 songs to appear on Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop Chart in America. Of these, 114 were in the top forty, 40 were I n the top ten, and 18 went to number one. His number of singles spent a total of 80 weeks at number one. He also had 90 charted albums with ten of them reaching number one (Elvis Presley Enterprises 1).” Four of his 11 soundtracks went to number one as well. Many of his concerts were sold out including his Madison Square Garden performance. Because of this performance, he became the first person to sell out four consecutive shows in a row. “Unable to become one thing or the other, Elvis became the greatest rock-and-roller instead (Rubel 12).” Along with his music, Elvis had a big success in his movies, as well. Elvis started his acting career in 1956. “Elvis started in 31 feature films as an actor and two theatrically released concert documentary films, all of which enjoyed financial success (Elvis Presley Enterprises 1).” His movies were some of Hollywoo...