The Presley Revolution
Just like Bob Dylan a decade later, Elvis Presley started a revolution of his own in the 1950s. Beginning his musical career in 1954 at Sun Records and accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, he helped popularize the blossoming rockabilly genre, an energetic mix of country music and rhythm and blues.
Photo of Elvis PRESLEY; posed, on phone (Photo by GAB Archive/Redferns)
In 1956, Presley’s contract was purchased by RCA Victor, and he landed his first number one with the single “ Heartbreak Hotel ” While making several television appearances, he released a string of hit singles, including “ I Want You, I Need You, I Love You ” (1956), “ Love Me Tender ” (1956), “ All Shook Up ” (1957), “ A Fool Such as I”/”I Need Your Love Tonight ” (1959), “ Are You Lonesome Tonight? ” (1960), and “ Return to Sender ” (1962).
The Puritan section of America deemed Presley’s singing style and gestures to be provocative and indecent, and they made him a figurehead of rock and roll as well as a subject of controversy. At the age of 42, the singer died suddenly in 1977 at his Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee.