Elvis+Presley

media type="youtube" key="X5JALwwaASg" height="344" width="425" Elvis Presley  Elvis Presley was born in Tupek, Mississippi, January 8, 1935. When Elvis Presley was a young child he moved to Memphis, Tennessee. He was inspired to play music at church when they played gospel and blues. But what Elvis liked the most was a preacher that ran services. He would dance around and sometimes even slide on the piano! When he was a young teen, he taught himself how to play the guitar. Then one day he went to Sun Studios where you could make a record for $4. So he made one for his mom for a birthday present. Then the person that ran the studio, Sam Phillips, listened to his music and loved it!

He went on to make lots more records. His fame probably started when he made a remake of a song by his favorite musician, Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup. The song was “That’s All Right.” When it was put on the radio thousands of people wanted to know, “Who was this mysterious artist?” Then Elvis started to make more albums. His first famous album was //Heartbreak Hotel.// It was a #1 hit around the world! Then he made some other great albums including, //Hound Dog//, //Don’t Be Cruel//, and //Jailhouse Rock//. Elvis was so famous because he had just invented a new style of music, Rock n’ Roll! It was a combination of his favorite genres, gospel and blues. Then he started starring in movies. Although most of his movies were so-so he still had a couple of good ones.

But Elvis’s unhealthy lifestyle began to catch up with him and he also started to get addicted to drugs. Sadly, when Elvis was only 42, he died of heart failure at his house on August 16, 1977. America had just lost the king of rock n’ roll.

By Ben

Works Cited Armentrout, David, and Patricia Armentrout. __Rock (Sounds of Music)__. Grand Rapids: Rourke, 1999. Bergamini, Andrea. __History of rock music__. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's, 2000. Bertholth, Bret. __The Long Gone Lonesome History Of Country Music__. New York, NY: Avenue Of Americas, 2007. Kallen, Stuart. __History of Rock and Roll__. Vol. II. Bloomington, MN: Abdo, 1989. Krull, Kathleen, Alessandra Balzer, and Stephen Alcom. __Book of Rock Stars, The 24 Musical Icons That Shine Through History__. New York: Hyperion, 2003.