Elvis Presleys Earliest Introduction To Music

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02 Nov 2017

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Introduction

‘Rock and roll music, if you like it, if you feel it, you can't help but move to it. That's what happens to me. I can't help it.'

-Elvis Presley

Let’s blend the music of the blacks (African-Americans), their gospel songs, rhythm and blues with a little of pop and country music of the whites (Americans). So what do you get? Famous rock ‘n’ roll songs like ‘Hound Dog’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Mystery Train’, ‘Suspicious Minds’ etc.? Correct. Certainly you must have heard rock ‘n’ roll music on your radio channels sometime. They were pretty popular in the middle of the 20th century. But the man to create and popularise these rock ‘n’ roll music with their Southern origins was a talented white man, an American singer and entertainer with his roots in Southern music – Elvis Presley. Well, maybe his celebrated songs, ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’, and ‘A little less Conversation’ ring a bell in your ears?

Leonard Bernstein, music composer and conductor has described Elvis Presley as; "Elvis Presley is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century". Unquestionably, Elvis Presley, the musician and live entertainer between the ‘50, and ‘70s, is regarded as a significant icon of America in popular cultures. He is the first person to blend rhythm and blues music of the blacks with country or hillbilly music of the whites into his own unique style called ‘rockabilly’, that was seen between 1954- ‘58.

Commonly known by his first name Elvis, he was gifted with a high baritone and a broad vocal range with which he effortlessly produced a variety of sounds. Elvis entertained people with his repertoire of rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll, pop, rhythm and blues (R&B) music as well as gospel ballads, even releasing record smashing albums. But his multitalented and powerful voice still heralds him as the ‘King of rock ‘n’ roll’ music, a radical phenomena that he led, earning him recognition even internationally.

Almost like a mythical character, Elvis had drop-dead good looks and was extremely charming too. He is also known for starring in a series of Hollywood musical comedy movies like ‘Blue Hawaii’, ‘King Creole’, ‘G.I. Blues’ and ‘Viva Las Vegas’, that showcased his acting talents and were extremely successful. He was one of the highest paying stars. Moreover, many of his top charting songs were Hollywood movie soundtracks. Yet he was equally famous for his incredible stage presence and uninhibited performances during his live concerts, which built his erotic appeal. Rock history memoirs remember him leaving his audiences hysterical. Indeed he was the greatest entertainer of all times, who gave around 1,100 concert presentations all through his ‘concert years’ from 1969 to 1977. Finally, at a period when the impact of global telecommunication were at a nascent stage, Elvis Presley made international television history with a worldwide live broadcast of his television special ‘Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii’, via Satellite.

Elvis has been nominated for 14 Grammy awards and has won three in his lifetime. He has also been recognized in multiple ‘Halls of Fame’. Most interestingly, even after his death, his legacy continues to live on, as he continues to sell with his sensationally popular music. Come, let’s explore the life of the heartthrob of rock music lovers, whose music has left a revolutionary imprint on our minds that even influenced ‘The Beatles’.

Elvis Presley’s earliest introduction to music

In the midst of the great economic depression, the wee hours of one winter morning on 8th January 1935, saw the birth of two boys in the lives of the humble Presleys residing in Tupelo town, Mississippi. Gladys Presley gave birth to twins Jesse Garon and Elvis Aaron. Jesse Garon was stillborn, leaving Elvis Aaron Presley, whose middle name honoured their family friend, Aaron Kennedy, to brighten the lives of his parents Gladys, and Vernon Presley.

Vernon Presley was not ambitious. In absence of a definite income, he supported his small family with odd jobs. He worked as a carpenter, a farmer, and at times a factory worker, that provided little relief to his poverty ridden family. Right next to his father’s house, he had constructed his two room little cottage, in preparation for his baby’s arrival. This simple house was situated on top of the highway that connected to Birmingham, and had no access to electricity. So the family lit their compact home with oil lamps, while Vernon’s wife Gladys, maintained a cow and some chickens that brought them some food. But the family was compelled to depend on government welfare measures for the delivery of their twins, while the charity of their friends and neighbours gave little Elvis his diapers.

In spite of being poor, the modest Presleys found simple pleasures of life within the close-knit family atmosphere, seldom socialising broadly with others, and remained confined among close family and friends. They brought up their only son Elvis with lots of love, affection and taught him good behaviour. The Presleys were religiously inclined though, a trait that was intensely visible in Elvis’s formative years as well as in his later years.

Elvis first got introduced to music at the Assembly of God church, at the tender age of two. Rather than sit quietly in his mother’s lap, little Elvis would frolic around and try to sing with the choir where his parents sang, without even understanding the words. It is not surprising that this first taste of gospel singing by preachers and worshippers left an everlasting impact on Elvis, to become a part of his life forever.

A family in difficult times

Life seemed to be humming along smoothly till May 1938, when Elvis was three years old. His father Vernon was then suddenly sent to prison at Mississippi State, for forging a cheque given by Orville S. Bean, in whose dairy farm Vernon worked.

Now, Elvis loved both his parents dearly, and had some morbid fear of losing any one. On an earlier occasion, a terrified Elvis had to be pacified by his mother as his father Vernon, focused his efforts and attention on rescuing their neighbour’s belongings, from their house on fire. Deprived of his father’s constant company while he was imprisoned, Elvis bonded more emotionally to his mother Gladys. Gladys’s protective nature ensured that she would never leave Elvis away from her sight, which often limited his world of interaction with others. So, Elvis was often seen spending his time reading comics and even listening to music. In fact, he had a good memory and an ear for tunes and rhythms. He also played on his own more than with his few friends, and was groomed into a polite, well-mannered son by his mother. Gladys also instilled in him the thought that he was an extremely special boy. As a result, Elvis developed the attitude of a loner, an attitude that remained with him and was more evident towards his final years.

In Vernon’s absence, Orville S. Bean had forcibly claimed their home, due to which Elvis and his mother Gladys, were obliged to live in temporary homes with his grandparents next door, and Gladys’ cousins in Tupelo. Though Gladys struggled to provide for them by ironing laundry, at times her meagre relief failed to come through. She too suffered the perils of the difficult period while her husband languished in prison for eight months. For little Elvis, this was a phase of detachment from his beloved father, about whom he remained anxiously concerned. A back and forth journey lasting around ten-hours to meet his father in prison over the weekends, would somewhat placate him. Gladys would also take Elvis regularly to visit the Priceville Cemetery, at his twin brother’s grave. She believed that Elvis had his brother’s strength along with his own. All the same, Elvis was constantly made to believe in the presence of his brother watching over him, and he always remained careful of his activities.

Discovery of Elvis’ singing talent and his earliest performance

After Elvis turned four, his father Vernon was released from prison in February 1939, and the family returned to live a humble life in low-rented accommodations, in East Tupelo. Elvis joined the Lawhon Elementary school in 1941, at age six where he began singing gospel. He also sang at the local church choir. In those years during World War II, increase in work availabilities in Mississippi, Alabama and Memphis helped Vernon make good savings of $200 for down payment of a $2000 house in East Tupelo, at Berry Street in 1942. Ironically, the 4- room quarter belonged to Orville S Bean, who had sent him to prison previously. Bean’s daughter Oleta Grimes, was Elvis’ fifth grade elementary school teacher. She discovered his singing talents during morning prayers and gave Elvis that confidence to sing in public by deeply appreciating him. Then finally, on 3rd October, 1945, ten year old Elvis gave his earliest public show at a radio contest held at the annual Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show in the city centre of Tupelo. Little Elvis had worn glasses and was clad like a cowboy. He stood on a chair and sung "Old Shep" on the microphone, without any accompanying acoustics. His curled upper lip, for which he became famous later, was visible even now. This first singing performance of Elvis was broadcast over WELO radio. He won the fifth prize with $5, as well as free fair ride passes. This set him, without his conscious efforts on the path much less travelled by common people, a road that brought him immense wealth and even made him a celebrity in his later years.

With his talent exposed, soon enough, his mother Gladys presented little Elvis a guitar on his eleventh birthday in January 1946. For $12.95, it seemed to her a much affordable option compared to the bicycle that he originally wanted. Thoughts of the bicycle had initially made Gladys insecure about her darling boy. Uncle Vester, Vernon’s brother then introduced Elvis to the diverse chords. The preacher at their family church too gave Elvis guitar lessons after which he began playing along with singing at the church. Yet, despite a previous stage performance, his singing remained confined to a familiar homely environment, as Elvis was scared of singing amongst crowds. Recollecting this early phase, Elvis Presley had said, "I took the guitar, and I watched people, and I learned to play a little bit. But I would never sing in public. I was very shy about it."

Early influences from a ‘coloured’ neighbourhood

Bad days were round the corner, as unable to complete the house payment, the financially distressed Presley family was compelled to shift out of East Tupelo and find shelter in the nearby city of Tupelo, Mississippi in 1946. They relocated several times, living in ‘coloured’ neighbourhoods, subsisting on the paltry earnings that Vernon occasionally received, and whatever Gladys earned from the Mid-South Laundry. Meanwhile, the unrestrained mind of Elvis absorbed the cultural influences in his immediate ‘coloured’ vicinity, where the local African-Americans, commonly known as the ‘Blacks’ resided. Their culture was different from his, a white. Their behaviour, body language, ways of communication, flamboyant attire etc., was very rustic. Apart from these, what left an impression on Elvis was their popular Southern musical style, called race music usually sung by these black musicians in the local churches, clubs, bars etc. Race music was an evolving blend of the urban rhythm and blues (R&B), bluegrass, gospel and country, which the blacks performed with hip-swinging and swaying movements. Elvis was easily drawn to these typical Southern characteristics of the black community in his neighbourhood streets, which provided him a thrilling childhood. After all he was a poor child, who, with an open mind was still learning from the world around him, wide-eyed. Its indelible impact was apparently visible in his personal style and unique musical performances, which would soon follow and be the highlight of his life.

A legend in the making

Elvis, who had joined Milam Junior High School in Tupelo sometime in September 1946, in the sixth grade, was like any regular student. Though impeccably well-behaved, he was an extremely shy 11-year old kid. But by his seventh grade, 12-year old Elvis was noticed playing his guitar at lunch hours, where he adorned his music with a touch of ‘race music,’ that he had picked up from his ‘coloured’ locality. However, it disgusted his white classmates, who could not relate with African-American music. To them, Elvis was often the subject of ridicule as they responded by cutting off his guitar strings. Indeed, these eyewitnesses were oblivious of the fact that they were observing the birth of a legend.

Elvis often visited the Tupelo radio station WELO, where the celebrity Mississippi Slim, as Carvel Lee Ausborn was known, hosted his midday show. As a 12-year old, Elvis was a big fan of Slim, and his classmate James Ausborn, incidentally Slim’s younger brother would highlight that Elvis was ‘crazy about music’. Under Slim, Presley learnt more chord techniques as well as songs. Slim then gave Elvis a chance for two performances at the fashionable radio program –WELO Saturday Jamboree, which initiated him into the bigger arena of the singing industry. In the first attempt, Elvis was taken by stage fright, but he finally performed in the coming week. Undoubtedly, this little boy was soon building his dreams to learn more music, and even yearning to interact with more musicians.

Elvis’s Memphis life

For economical reasons, one day in November 1948 the Presley family sold their furniture and moved to Memphis, Tennessee with their little possessions in their Plymouth vehicle. Memphis was a vibrant place with an amalgamation of multi-cultural people. It was also the heart of the blues and white gospel music. It was distinctly unusual from the monotonous and somnolent city of Tupelo, with attractions like cinema theatres, clubs, bars, stores and bustling streets filled with people. This lively and happening city was inundated with a medley of southern, or race music such as blues, country, bluegrass, and gospel that wrapped up little Elvis’ mind, capturing his fascination.

In Memphis, Vernon did odd jobs at factories, as his family lived in a single room with a common bathroom shared amongst three other families. Despite facing pecuniary difficulties, Vernon and Gladys managed to enlist 13-year old Elvis, in L. C. Humes High School, a school for the white community. Being too reticent, Elvis was often seen by his new classmates in the eighth grade as ‘mama’s boy.’ He was average in studies, but he certainly didn’t deserve a ‘C’ grade in music. On being told by his teacher that he lacked musical competence, Elvis tried proving his talents when he brought his guitar to school and sang. In reality, Elvis Presley’s demeanour and songs were oriented towards the African-American blues that was not in favour with his teacher’s tastes and sensibilities, thus depriving him of his music appreciation.

By 1949, the Presley family moved to a rental public housing apartment located at Lauderdale Courts, a popular residential neighbourhood in Memphis. Lauderdale Courts gave Elvis many friends like Farley Guy, Paul Dougher, and Buzzy Forbess. Along with the trio, Elvis would indulge in swimming, movies, football and other boyhood activities. In their company, he could strum his guitar and belt out songs, an activity he could not enjoy and share with mates at his new school Humes High, since no one was interested. All the same at home, his parents provided him tremendous moral support in all his endeavours, even listening to country music and the spiritual gospel as they huddled together with Elvis besides the radio.

Elvis learnt music by regularly listening to his favourite singing groups on regional stations playing ‘race music’ and radio programs like Saturday night’s Grand Ole Opry, playing ‘country music’. He always loved gospel singing. While he deeply adored Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the black singer’s gospel songs, the gospel music group ‘Statesmen’, was most liked by him. Its charming lead Jake Hess deeply inspired Elvis with his southern ballad songs as well as his attractive glitzy clothes. Later in life, Elvis would get the opportunity to record a gospel album with him. Others whom Elvis considered his favourite were the Blackwood Brothers quartet who sang gospel, and country singers like the Louvin Brothers, Eddy Arnold, Ted Daffan and Jimmie Davis.

Memphis life too left an everlasting impression on Elvis, while bestowing the perfect stimulus to his future music career as a ‘musician’ that he was yet unaware of. Here, more opportunities to learn music and even the resources needed were easily available. As a 14-year old in grade nine, Elvis would on his own visit Beale Street to buy clothes. The flamboyant outfits at window displays of Lansky Brothers would leave him gazing, and his heart fluttering with a secret craving to wear them. Wandering around, he would engage himself with the latest modern and blues music at record stores, where jukeboxes and listening booths trained his musical ear. While the gospel songs from the white community church on Sunday mornings resonated in the air, Elvis would often accompany his parents to their gospel singing shows at the Ellis Auditorium, which ran throughout the night. These gospel songs too had some influences from the black ‘race music’. Yet, at times, just like his white friends, Elvis would attend the blues music shows by black performers, when they were specially organised for the white community.

All these alluring Memphis experiences fuelled his desire to learn more music. But this teenager was not yet very clear about his future professional goals, although he knew his responsibility that he must strive to make life much easier for his family, formulate a living and earn much needed money.

Elvis- A good natured misfit

As a new year followed, in 1950, Elvis was also seen with another group of friends from the Courts. Headed by Jesse Lee Denson and Johnny Black, they formed a music band along with the Dorsey and Burnette brothers. They would entertain people outdoors around the Lauderdale courts, on summer evenings with country numbers. Elvis rendered background vocals for the band, but attracted a lot of attention by the way he looked. 15-year old Elvis kept long greased hair along with sideburns, just like the blacks, that gave him the curious appearance of a rowdy truck driver. It sharply contrasted his immaculate politeness and courteous behaviour. Elvis, now in his tenth grade at high school, was even bullied by some schoolboys with malicious intent. These troublemakers intimidated him, wanting to cut his hair and even beat him up as Elvis, was considered a misfit due to his peculiar looks and good manners.

Pretty soon, Elvis Presley’s obsession for music and watching movies took priority over his important personal tasks. As a result, his school lessons were neglected and all his grades waned to a satisfactory level of ‘C’. In September 1950, Elvis left his football team that he had earlier joined, for a part-time job as an escort in the Loew's State Theatre, after school hours. He used his earnings on bright flashy pink and black clothes, colours he wore from then on, and was later identified with. His emerging inclinations also gave him his earliest girlfriends in high school, Billie Wardlaw, Betty McMahan, and Dixie Locke who was his stead girl at school. Besides being with them, Elvis also frequently played his guitar at private parties, and would sing out a Dean Martin, Perry Como or a Bing Crosby pop song with a relaxed and cheerful approach. But his early singing style was mostly based on spiritual gospel songs, as Elvis was naturally inclined to the divinity surrounding them. His prime fans, always ready to hear his music, were his parents, close-friends, and neighbours. Nonetheless, this scenario would change soon as Elvis would embark on his lifelong journey and go on to become the heartthrob of Memphis.

A crucial moment of fame

The end of 1952 brought in new changes in Elvis Presley’s life. Increased income of the Presley’s deprived them of their entitlement to the low cost housing project by the Memphis Housing Authority, so his family changed few apartments while living in the Lauderdale Courts neighbourhood. Four months later, in April ‘53, a reserved image of 18-year old Elvis, would give way to another new facet of his personality. At the Humes High annual Minstrel Show, Elvis fought off stage fears and showed his singing feat with "Till I Waltz Again with You", originally by Teresa Brewer. He won, but his stage performance surprised everyone, including his parents and teachers. It was a decisive moment as people came to know that this quiet boy sang. The youth were attracted to the lively young Elvis with strange looks, performing dynamically on the stage. Elvis Presley felt happy with his new found acceptance among the public. By now, his life course too was becoming absolutely clear. Indeed, he was ordained to become a singing sensation. As he said later of this incident, "I wasn't popular in school ... I failed music—only thing I ever failed. And then they entered me in this talent show ... when I came onstage I heard people kind of rumbling and whispering and so forth, 'cause nobody knew I even sang. It was amazing how popular I became after that."

In June 1953, Elvis graduated from high school with ‘Industrial Arts’, and immediately began working at M. B. Parker Machinists shop, seldom singing in public. Yet, by now he was sure that he wanted to make a career for himself in music, primarily wanting to be a Gospel singer. So he began saving his money to pay for his recordings at Memphis Recording Services, an expensive and famous studio in Memphis, despite other cheaper studios around. Probably, Elvis had already heard of Sam Phillips eminence, and wanted to be discovered by him. Elvis was on the right path that would lead to fulfilling his wishes.

Elvis records his first demo songs

Sam Phillips, a record producer and studio engineer, owned and controlled the Memphis Recording Service studio since 1950, later known as Sun Records. He was famous in Memphis for his new discoveries of talented Rhythm and Blues (R&B) singers and also recorded artists who sang country-western, commonly called hillbilly music at his studio. He assumed that ‘race music’, despite being sung by the African-Americans, was liked and heard by numerous white youngsters in Memphis alone. Predicting the huge potential and success of R&B songs among wider audiences in the country, he would assertively state, "If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars."

The talented but inexperienced Elvis, who was nurturing his professional singing ambitions, now desired to get his voice recorded to feel its impact and for personal gratification. So, this 18-year old walked into Sam Phillips’ studio for the first time in the summer of August ‘53. Phillips’ secretary Marion Keisker was running the studio in his absence. She enquired about his type of music and whom did Elvis sing like. Elvis answered her, "I don't sound like nobody." Her inquisitiveness got the better of her as she taped him for her boss, while Elvis recorded two songs on an acetate disc. It appears that Elvis was cognizant of Sam Phillips’ pronouncement. So perhaps to get noticed by him, Elvis recorded two songs originally sung by Ink Spots, a reputed R&B band. They were, ‘My Happiness’ and ‘That's When Your Heartaches Begin.’ It cost him four dollars, but Elvis had already been working hard to earn that money. Apparently Elvis presented this acetate disc as a belated birthday gift to his mother Gladys.

Elvis never heard from Sam Phillips after his first recording session. Soon, he also got engaged in a brief job at Precision Tool. Unyielding and determined to record again, Elvis went back to the recording studio in January 1954. In Sam Phillips’ presence, 19-year old Elvis recorded ‘Casual Love Affair’ and ‘I'll Never Stand in Your Way’ on acetate discs. Elvis did manage to generate an interest in Sam Phillips to some extent with his uncommon looks and sound, but all Phillips did was take down his contact number and address.

Elvis awaits his ‘Big Break’

"I was training to be an electrician. I suppose I got wired the wrong way round somewhere along the line."

-Elvis Presley

Amidst continuing night school and preparing to be an electrician, Elvis Presley began another job at the Crown Electric Company as a delivery truck driver in April. Meanwhile, he also optimistically continued auditioning as a vocalist, looking for his ‘big break’. But he was rejected in two trials, one being for the Songfellows (a vocal quartet) and another where the leader of a skilled band, where his friend Ronnie Smith sang, even recommended that Elvis should continue truck driving, adding further, "because you're never going to make it as a singer." This was a huge letdown for Elvis, especially when he needed approvals the most. Little did Elvis know that providence had already made grand plans for him.

When Sam Phillips received a demo of the ballad ‘Without You’ from Peer Music, he immediately considered Elvis to sing it, in June ‘54. However, Elvis found the song difficult to pick up, so Phillips gave him a chance to sing whatever he could. Elvis happily sang from his broad collection of country songs as well as R&B, in his inimitable style. It was enough to sway Sam Phillips. Convinced, he suggested that Elvis collaborate with a guitarist Scotty Moore, and bring out some striking music.

Keeping pace with the 1950’s hot pink trend in men’s apparels that was even seen on cars, Elvis too wore a loud pink coloured shirt and trousers, along with white shoes and went to meet Scotty Moore. Moore played for the Starlight Wranglers. Together with bass player Bill Black, the trio frequently practiced songs in Sun Records. It was the era of the newly invented magnetic tapes which helped the three musicians to hit upon their sounds by taping, listening and tweaking for the next retake. They would soon arrive at their characteristic sounds that would begin a successful collaboration.

The birth of ‘rockabilly’ music on the magical night of 5th July 1954

The team of musicians spent the entire day of 5th July 1954, rehearsing unproductively at Sun Records till late night. While they indulged in a little tomfoolery during a break, Elvis began jumping and energetically rendering a blues number ‘That's All Right Mama’, originally by Arthur Crudup, one of the local Negros whose songs inspired Elvis. Elvis crooned the song in a unique spontaneous and sporty manner. The other two joined in the fast-paced informal rhythm. Perplexed, Phillips who was recording it from his control room quizzed, "What are you doing?" The trio didn’t know that they had finally discovered their new sound, which would hook an entire generation. Phillips continued, "Well, back up, try to find a place to start, and do it again." Producer Sam Phillips immediately acknowledged its value. Here, before him was a white singer who had a Negro touch, singing rhythm and blues in an unheard-before style. The revolutionary sound that he was seeking was in the voice of 19-year old Elvis Presley.

After a process of refinement, Elvis Presley’s first single, ‘That's All Right Mama’ was recorded on one side, while the flip side of the acetate disc contained a country music, ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’ originally sung by Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys. Elvis’ energized rendition of both these songs carried a more relaxed tempo and a vocal style that was far removed from the original African-American versions, bearing a stressed rhythm. Though he was not the first white to sing R&B, certainly Elvis was the first to blend them with country moods vigorously, into his unique sound to which Sam Phillips added the echo effect. This fast beat synthesis between country and R&B music accompanied by powerful vocals of Elvis gave birth to clean ‘rockabilly’ music, a style that Sun Records had the honour of producing. Elvis Presley now stood on the threshold of his meteoric career rise, and this was the biggest turning point in his life.

On 7th July 1954, the trendy radio show Red Hot and Blue, that usually featured black musicians, saw a new song being played first time on-air, again and again; ‘That's All Right Mama’ by Elvis Presley. Dewey Phillips, popular disc jockey of Memphis was initially reluctant to play the unknown singer’s first single. When he received plenty of repeated requests by phone calls and telegrams to replay this Sun record, he obliged and initiated towards interviewing Elvis that night, to answer the curiosity of the callers.

A jumpy Elvis was cooling off his nervousness at the movies. He was picked up by his parents and dashed to the radio station WHBQ. Apart from answering a variety of questions, Elvis was tactfully asked by Dewey Phillips about his school name. On his answer ‘Humes High’, everyone instantly knew that he belonged to the white community in Memphis, and was not a Negro. Soon, 20,000 copies of Elvis’ first commercial singles ‘That’s All Right Mama’/‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’ were sold in Memphis alone, while people witnessed it rising up in the charts of country-western music by July end 1954. Elvis Presley’s second record released after two months, too featured an R&B song on one side, ‘Good Rockin' Tonight,’ and a country-western on the flip side, ‘I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine’. Within two-and-half weeks of release, 4000 copies of it were sold in Memphis, as it too rapidly scaled the charts, incidentally faster than the first single.

A career begins as Blue Moon Boys

After initial appearances with Starlight Wranglers group as a guest, Elvis Presley was soon performing live at night clubs like Bon Air club, where he gave his first public appearance with his group on 17th July ‘54, and Eagle’s Nest in Memphis beginning August’54 for three months. The group was labelled as ‘Elvis Presley and the Blue Moon Boys’. Scotty Moore managed the tours, but they soon hired Bob Neal, a disc jokey from radio WMPS as their manager, though an official contract was signed only beginning of next year. On behalf of Elvis, who was considered underage at 19, his parents signed his contract. While Neal handled the group’s tours, business deals, concert bookings and also their recordings at Sun Records, Elvis was being promoted as "the freshest, newest voice in country music". The group would perform live at a location, and then drive to the next destination all night, whilst Elvis caught up with sleep at the back of his car. But he was rarely fatigued by the rigorous demands of his frequent touring program as part of the Blue Moon Boys, which lasted throughout 1954.

Bob Neal then scheduled their performance for 2nd October 1954 at the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, a popular location for traditional country singers. This was a prestigious moment for Elvis and the group, as an unknown singer was never invited at this celebrated venue. They looked forward to a good response, but it turned out to be a disappointment for Elvis as his performance was not appreciated. Apparently, Elvis did not suit the program. Neal then booked the Blue Moon Boys for 16th October on Opry’s rival, Louisiana Hayride at Shreveport, from where Elvis began a weekly radio performance for a year’s contract, broadcast to over 190 KWKH radio stations in America. Initially, there was little reaction to a nervous Elvis, but soon an excited response followed a more composed Elvis’ lively performance. This was a big break for Elvis that ensured his rising popularity among his followers, as by now he even had a fan club started by Marion Keisker.

While taking pleasure in his moderate achievements, Elvis the upcoming artist resigned from his day-job as a truck driver in November, and also purchased a new guitar, a Martin D-28 for $175. Till then, he was playing his child-sized guitar. The Blue Moon Boys then welcomed drummer D.J. Fontana from Louisiana Hayride in their team, who matched Elvis’ body movements with his beats. Occasional disappointment spells continued as the spectators in small towns felt that the dynamic acts of the Blue Moon Boys were too boisterous. While Bill Black holding his huge bass fiddle, would dance and act untamed by rolling on the floor, the audience interpreted Elvis’ hip-swinging style of delivering his rockabilly songs as wild and sensual. Furthermore, Bob Neal faced an altogether different dilemma in promoting Elvis Presley’s records due to his uncommon and blended singing style. Despite Presley’s reputation as a local country-western singer, some country radio stations were of the opinion that his songs sounded like R&B, while R&B stations felt he was a country musician, so they were reluctant to play his records. Nevertheless, Neal helped the Blue Moon Boys become a prominent group in the South and Southwest of the country by managing to get them bookings with well-known performers like Wilburn Brothers, Ferlin Huskey, Roy Acuff, and the Carter family in large towns clubs through Tennessee and Texas.

New found success kisses Elvis’ feet

By early 1955, 20-year old Elvis Presley had gained regional recognition due to his records and his live show performances. While the Saturday night Louisiana Hayride radio performances went on, Elvis was scheduled by Bob Neal to sing on a tour, All-Star Jamboree Attractions organized by country singer Hank Snow, in February 1955. Here, Elvis got noticed by the show operator Colonel Tom Parker, an experienced promoter and manager of young singers in the industry such as Eddy Arnolds. Colonel Parker’s attention was now focused on Elvis, and began observing him keenly. Colonel Parker would later control the reigns of Elvis Presley’s career and becomes his lifelong mentor and friend.

Soon, Elvis made his debut on the television broadcast of Louisiana Hayride show on 3rd March 1955. But unfortunately, show producers of ‘Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts,’ another television program, rejected him at the audition. The year 1955, also saw the release of three more single records of Elvis Presley that were played on radio stations solely dedicated to country music. The silver lining was his fourth record containing songs ‘I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone’ and ‘Baby Let’s Play House’, released in April that reached the Billboard chart at no. 10, holding on for ten weeks nationally. Eddy Arnold’s country –western song ‘I Want to Play House with You’, fused with R&B in Elvis Presley’s sensual style evolved into ‘Baby Let’s Play House.’ Elvis even altered few lyrics while Sam Phillips introduced drums for the first time in Presley’s song. This song was befitting as the perfect selection for Elvis Presley’s ‘rockabilly’ collection, which soon helped build his countrywide reputation. Moreover, with his versatile voice, Elvis was also known to devotedly sing gospel songs, some pop, bluegrass and operatic schmaltz occasionally, which cemented his new found success and position as a musician and an entertainer.

As Elvis Presley’s popularity soared, the term ‘rockabilly’ became a familiar word. But even before the word came to denote his non-conventional sound style and his songs, amusing descriptions were presented by the media, who attempted to give explanations to the public. Interestingly, they suggested Elvis was a "white man...singing Negro rhythms with a rural flavour", "a young rural rhythm talent", "a young man [with a] boppish approach to hillbilly music", etc., that earned Elvis many more sobriquets.

The beginning of controversy

Alongside song recordings, all through 1955, the Blue Moon Boys continued extensive touring with other country artists, as well as on their own within the country-western touring circle. At these live shows, Elvis Presley was known to shake his legs while performing in a frenetic and forceful manner. Scotty Moore had recalled, "During the instrumental parts he would back off from the mike and be playing and shaking, and the crowd would just go wild". His instinctive leg movements were accentuated by his wide-cut trousers, and this effect left a suggestive meaning that was misinterpreted as sexual connotations, leading to the beginning of controversies. However, in reality, it was more of his apprehension to his stage fright due to huge crowds, and the song’s rhythm to which he had to perform. With increased number of live performance shows, Elvis Presley gained much confidence, and became equally mindful of the response he received.

Soon, Elvis was being acclaimed for his peerless style. His body language, easygoing and candid manner of rendering ‘race’ songs, drew the basic picture of his music while his stage presence and performance institutionalized the grammar, lingo and visual representation of rockabilly songs, setting its standards. This, along with his new sound in his deeply emotional and moody tone, became the rage among his youth audiences. When singer Roy Orbison, saw Elvis Presley’s performance at Odessa, Texas, he recalled, "His energy was incredible, his instinct was just amazing. ... I just didn't know what to make of it. There was just no reference point in the culture to compare it."

By mid-1955, Elvis Presley’s spanking new voice and stage acts had started a national storm. The song ‘Baby Let's Play House’ from his fourth single Sun record released earlier had provoking allusions. It drove his audience, especially teenage girls reacting hysterical. Elvis, could make the girls yell, teasing them with his swinging hips and sexy body movements. He often caused a riot after shows, which he was unable to control. At times he had police protection. Once, after a performance in Florida, a flocking crowd of girls ripped off his clothes while chasing him to his car in an outburst of excitement. It generated astounding reactions from the media and Gladys, Elvis’ mother was scared. But on the contrary, it delighted Colonel Parker, who was checking on him. He noticed the crowd’s thrilled reactions at concerts, and the attention this handsome boy Elvis received, particularly by rebellious teenagers. Elvis considered his performances as natural, rather a result of the diverse cultural inspirations that he derived from his predominantly black neighbourhood, where he grew up watching blues and spiritual gospel singers. He would say, "Rhythm is something you either have or don’t have, but when you have it, you have it all over." Yet Elvis never had a racist view, and always courteously acknowledged the African-Americans, whose music was his inspiration. The ‘black community’ members too hailed him.

By now, Elvis Presley’s career was already on a high. Increasing appreciation from many quarters identified Elvis Presley as ‘The Memphis Flash’, ‘The Hillbilly Cat’, and ‘The King of Western Bop’. His earliest commercial recordings had also been widely heard. So ‘That’s All Right Mama’ along with ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’, ‘I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone’(April 1955), ‘Baby Let's Play House’(April 1955), and ‘Mystery Train’(Aug.1955) are considered the first rockabilly classics and his best recordings ever.

Colonel Tom Parker was appointed in August 1955 as Elvis Presley’s ‘special advisor’ who then began paying more attention to his career, trying to promote Elvis as the latest singing sensation, in all possible ways. An extremely shrewd businessman, he was cognizant that Elvis showed signs of becoming a prospective star, due to his profound stage presence. As Elvis displayed tremendous promise, Colonel began negotiating all his existing and future contracts, though Bob Neal remained on as the manager. Parker was responsible for his rising career graph, and in his charge, Elvis was soon bound to become an illustrious celebrity earning both fame and fortune.

Elvis and RCA Victor Records

In early November 1955, Elvis Presley was awarded with ‘the year's most promising male artist’, at a Country Disc Jockey Convention, which garnered the interest of few record companies in him. Colonel Parker had influential contacts at the music company RCA Victor Records, the recording company with a strong base nationally. By the month’s end, Colonel had facilitated a contract with RCA Victor, which was finalised and signed by Elvis Presley’s father on his behalf, as Elvis was yet a minor at 20. RCA specialised in diverse music such as country-western, gospel, and R&B. RCA's chief Steve Sholes, a song cataloguer and an artist himself, became the producer. It was an important deal for RCA too, as they knew Elvis, their talented new artist created a different genre of saleable music that was not traditional. Sam Phillips received a sky-high $35000 for this contract, an exorbitant amount for a sole singer at that point. Elvis too received $5000 as bonus from RCA, a gift of a brand new convertible on which his fans often defaced with their phone numbers, and a Gibson J200 from the manufacturer, his favourite guitar that he played well into the 70’s. RCA then began actively endorsing Elvis after rereleasing many of his songs recorded at Sun records. Under RCA, Elvis Presley would gain fame nationally and internationally.

An eventful year of 1956 begins

The year 1956 was particularly eventful and critically important for Elvis Presley, as he gained worldwide recognition as a ‘living legend’. It began with 21-year old Elvis, commencing new recordings for RCA at Nashville from 10th January. He was backed by Scotty Moore, Bill Black, D.J. Fontana and Floyd Cramer who played the piano. The background vocals were provided by two Speer family gospel singers and Gordon Stoker, from the Jordanaires quartet. The habit of singing spiritual gospel with the Jordanaires, and warming up remained with him all along. Even as everyone was anxious, Elvis was completely at ease before his first RCA recording. He spontaneously executed his first song ‘I Got a Woman,’ by Ray Charles. His electrifying performance while recording excited RCA’s in-charge at Nashville, Chet Atkins who was playing a guitar. He immediately invited his wife at the studio to watch the recording session. Presley’s second song recorded on the same day, ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ was his first single released on 27th January ‘56 under RCA that reached no.1 on the Billboard Pop singles after twelve weeks, and also topped its country chart. It sold a million copies and was his first Gold record award.

Rockabilly to Rock ‘n’ roll for the rebellious teenagers

A change in Elvis Presley’s singing style was underway even before Elvis Presley’s RCA recording began. His vocal style steadily kept evolving from rockabilly to the hard-driven, power-packed rock ‘n’ roll, which soon received a wider audience interest, especially amongst the reserved teenagers who expressed themselves openly against power and dominance, by associating with this music. Teenagers even copied his hairstyle and clothes. Elvis Presley soon became their idol as these repressed teens found their meaning and voice in his new age rock ‘n’ roll songs that grew popular. Sam Phillips too went on to record more such artists and launched the careers of Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Charlie Feathers, Billy Lee Riley, and few others from Memphis. They all wore flamboyant clothes like Elvis and had a rather enthusiastic manner of delivering R&B sound that entertained their fans. Sam Phillips thus contributed immensely to rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll music through Sun Records studio that has left a permanent mark on the annals of rock history.

Elvis Presley appears first time on national network television

Colonel Parker was aspiring to be a winner with his boy Elvis. At that point, Elvis was rated as one of the best country-western singers. Colonel thought of making the most of Presley’s immediate outstanding success, and soon brought him on national television with CBS's variety program ‘Stage Show’, starring Presley’s friends the Dorsey brothers, for six appearances in two months, that began at New York on 28th January and ended on 24th March, 1956. Presley’s popularity rose with his second television appearance in early February where his performance to the tune of ‘Baby Let's Play House’, aroused controversies from the American public countrywide, but not without a reason.

Entertainers from diverse walks of life usually appeared in the ‘Stage Show’ type of timeless television program that was a characteristic of the mid 1950’s. It largely attracted a viewership from family audiences. Elvis Presley’s warm and friendly interactions with his studio audiences on the ‘Stage Show’ saw many teenage girls screaming excitedly, applauding his highly charged music and hip-swinging and shaking style. Moreover, the singer’s ostentatious clothes from Beale Street, ducktail hairdo with pomade and long sideburns created a more dramatic effect on his animated feat with provocative overtones, which seemed inappropriate for the family audience. Yet, every following episode of ‘Stage Show’ received better ratings than his preceding one.

Around this time in the spring of 1956, articles involving rock ‘n’ roll and juvenile delinquency surfaced in popular print magazines, suggesting a connection between them. The press began targeting Elvis, that brought his rock ‘n’ roll music negative publicity and much criticism by associating it with societal crimes like teenage sex. The press articles further built up the buzz around his live performance acts with phony gossips about him and explosive headlines like "Presley's Impact Piles Up Fans, Fads - and Fear," Elvis was becoming rather infamous, but he distinctly outshone all previous entertainers on the CBS’s ‘Stage Show’. He also had few more notorious television appearances, the most memorable one being a guest thrice, on the Ed Sullivan Show that was yet to follow.

Elvis Presley’s first full-length album

Soon, a second RCA recording session involving eight rock ‘n’ roll numbers at New York followed in early February where his famous songs ‘Blue Suede shoes’ and ‘I Forgot to Remember to Forget’ were also recorded. Selected songs from the Nashville and New York sessions along with few unreleased songs from Sun records were pooled in to form Elvis Presley’s first RCA long-play (LP) album, though it didn’t include ‘Heartbreak Hotel’. Titled ‘Elvis Presley,’ this million-dollar album went public on 13th March 1956, and became the first successful full-length album in the history of music that sold a million copies.

It gave Elvis his first gold album award and reached the top position of Billboard Top LP chart. It also remained in the extended–play (EP) album chart for 68 weeks, while RCA had to meet advanced orders amounting to 3,62,000 copies. The surprise was that despite Elvis not being an instrumentalist, the cover image of this album showed him playing a guitar, and so the guitar gained credit as the instrument that denoted the character and soul of his music. Renowned critic, Robert Hilburn had described these early songs in the album ‘Elvis Presley’ as, "(these) were the most revealing of all. Unlike many white artists ... who watered down the gritty edges of the original R&B versions of songs in the '50s, Presley reshaped them. He not only injected the tunes with his own vocal character but also made guitar, not piano, the lead instrument in all three cases."

Elvis - the ‘untrained’ musician

At RCA, Elvis Presley’s singing and recording method left Steve Sholes bemused. Since Elvis was a self-taught musician and had not received any formal music training, he couldn’t read music. Therefore despite being a talented artist, Elvis lacked the proficiency and expertise of arranging music professionally. Elvis followed the pattern of copying the intonations and understandings of the demo vocalist, for his song rendition. He had a penchant for recording songs on an instinct, by first hearing it play, dispensing it away and singing another take till he was satisfied, repeating the process until he felt he had captured the tune. But as Elvis belted out many chart-topping numbers through RCA, he slowly grew as an artist. Importantly, one could also now notice his continuously evolving sound, especially in his first hugely successful RCA album, where he had distinctly moved away from ‘rockabilly’ towards conventional rock ‘n’ roll, that had a more fast-paced and explosive sound.

Now Elvis, being a non-conformist, more than anything else just wanted to hog the limelight and be extremely successful like his icon, Dean Martin. So his compactly planned schedule was complete with numerous studio recording along with his live shows, that gave him more introduction. Besides, at the professional and intimidating ambience of RCA Records, his music actually went through more prominent alterations, meandering its way from unadulterated ‘rockabilly’ to the rock ‘n’ roll style, that further changed constantly during his entire singing career. So critics, who didn’t favour this move, are of the opinion that his commercial association and involvement with RCA, degraded the quality of his songs, while the general audience would just view it as a modification.

Colonel Parker takes control over Elvis Presley’s lifelong career

Colonel Parker recognised Elvis Presley’s prospective potential, and formally became his only manager from 15th March 1956, receiving a share of 25 percent profits in return. He now took complete control over Elvis Presley’s career and began planning wider promotional strategies. By then, six record singles of Elvis Presley were among the top 25 Best Sellers list of RCA, and his influential voice was popular solely on radio stations playing country music and amongst the country-western touring circuit. So Colonel Parker now intended to give more exposure to Elvis Presley’s now in vogue rock ‘n’ roll music by planning concert tours further away from the South, rather in the North where spectators were unfamiliar with the Southern culture of music.

Early that year, Colonel Parker had also established two new music companies, Presley Music Inc. and Gladys Music that had the rights to all songs of Elvis Presley. So Presley and Parker actually went ahead with the music modifications from rockabilly to rock ‘n’ roll for promotional reasons and to protect the commercial interests of Hill and Range, their music publisher allied with RCA, with whom they had signed partnership contracts. This business move helped Elvis gain monetarily, as he received royalties for performing live shows as well as from publishing records.

Lyricists, who yearned to write songs for Elvis approached his two small companies, and also had to acknowledge Elvis as a co-writer, though he is not known to write any of his songs in his lifetime. One-third of the royalties earned by lyricists were given as entitlements to the music publishers Hill and Range. It was evident that even while receiving fewer royalties, these lyricists earned a lot as Elvis Presley’s songs mostly sold in millions, which had generated RCA’s half income quite easily by the end of the year 1956. Though this was a smart business tactic formulated by Colonel Parker, there was a flip side to this contract too. Later in the ‘60s this contract burdened Elvis with average quality, shoddy songs from inferior lyricists who had been in the employment of Hill and Range for over a period of time. Besides, lyricists who had contracts with other publishing companies were prevented from getting their songs sung by Elvis.

With Elvis Presley’s ever-growing popularity, there were more recordings and record releases at RCA. Elvis also took mid-west tours of 15 cities for live concerts, where he repeatedly drew wilder crowds who created havoc at his stage shows, often leading to early endings. The criticism and controversies at his performances continued. Moreover, by now he did not have much time for his family due to his busy schedule that also included television appearances and interviews, which literally made rock history. His mother Gladys now missed him a lot when he was not around, especially since he was her emotional support. Elvis was extremely close to his mother, whom he would fondly pamper with various pet names. Now it disturbed her to see Elvis surrounded by his frantic fans, especially females, though Elvis, the boy with humble beginnings enjoyed revelling in his admiration.

Now, Colonel Parker who always left no stone unturned in promoting Elvis also scheduled a Hollywood screen test. Luckily for Elvis Presley, his acting career that he quite often imagined in his head was just round the corner, which would soon take him to the zenith of success.



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