Elvis Aaron Presley, known mononymously as Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Known as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's energized performances and interpretations of songs, and sexually provocative dance moves, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, brought both great success and initial controversy.
Graceland is a mansion on a 13.8-acre (5.6-hectare) estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, once owned by American singer Elvis Presley. Presley is buried there, as are his parents, paternal grandmother, grandson, and daughter.
"Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being given also to Presley. A newspaper article about the suicide of a lonely man who jumped from a hotel window inspired the song. Axton presented the song to Presley in November 1955 at a country music convention in Nashville. Presley recorded it on January 10, 1956, in a session with his band, the Blue Moon Boys, the guitarist Chet Atkins and the pianist Floyd Cramer. "Heartbreak Hotel" comprises an eight-bar blues progression, with heavy reverberation throughout the track, to imitate the character of Presley's Sun recordings.
An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and rock singer Elvis Presley. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the world as entertainers, and such tribute acts remain in great demand due to the iconic status of Elvis Presley. In addition, there were several radio stations that exclusively feature Elvis impersonator material. Some of these impersonators go to Graceland Memphis, Tennessee on the anniversary of Presley's death to pay tribute to the beloved artist.
The pink ribbon is an international symbol of breast cancer awareness. Pink ribbons, and the color pink in general, identify the wearer or promoter with the breast cancer brand and express moral support for people with breast cancer. Pink ribbons are most commonly seen during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Stay Away, Joe is a 1968 American comedy western film with musical interludes, set in modern times and starring Elvis Presley, Burgess Meredith, Joan Blondell, Katy Jurado and Thomas Gomez. Directed by Peter Tewksbury, the film is based on the 1953 satirical farce novel of the same name by Dan Cushman. The film reached number 65 on the Variety weekly national box office chart in 1968.
The Memphis Mafia was the nickname given by the media to a group of Elvis Presley's friends, associates, employees and cousins whose main functions were to accompany, protect, and serve Presley from the beginning of his career in 1954 until his death in 1977. Several members filled practical roles; for instance, they were employed to work for Presley as bodyguards or on tour logistics and scheduling. In these cases Presley paid salaries, but most lived off fringe benefits such as gifts, cars, houses and bonuses. Over the years, the number of members grew and changed, but for the most part there was a core group who spent much time with Presley.
Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite is a concert starring Elvis Presley that took place at the Honolulu International Center and was broadcast live via satellite to audiences in Asia and Oceania on January 14, 1973. The show was presented with a delay in Europe. In the United States, to avoid a programming conflict with Super Bowl VII and Elvis on Tour which was playing in cinemas at the time, NBC opted to air a ninety-minute television special of the concert on April 4.
Elvis is a 1979 American made-for-television biographical film aired on ABC. It was directed by John Carpenter and starred Kurt Russell as Elvis Presley. It marked the first collaboration between Carpenter and Russell.
"If I Can Dream" is a song made famous by Elvis Presley, written by Walter Earl Brown of The Skylarks for the singer and notable for its similarities with Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech. The song was published by Elvis Presley's music publishing company Gladys Music. It was recorded by Presley in June 1968, just two months after King's assassination, and also a short time after Robert Kennedy's assassination. The recording was first released to the public as the finale of Presley's '68 Comeback Special.
Charles Franklin Hodge, better known as Charlie Hodge, was an American singer, vocal coach and musician who was a confidant and best friend of Elvis Presley, and lived at Graceland.
Judy Spreckels was an American writer, publisher and trial historian. She was a friend of Elvis Presley during the rock 'n' roll singer's rise to stardom.
Since the beginning of his career, American singer Elvis Presley has had an extensive cultural impact. According to the monthly magazine, Rolling Stone, "It was Elvis who made rock 'n' roll the international language of pop." The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll describes Presley as "an American music giant of the 20th century who single-handedly changed the course of music and culture in the mid-1950s". His recordings, dance moves, attitude, and clothing came to be seen as embodiments of rock and roll. His music was heavily influenced by African-American blues, Christian gospel, and Southern country. In a list of the greatest English language singers, as compiled by Q magazine, Presley was ranked first, and second in the list of greatest singers of the 20th century by BBC Radio. Some people claim that Presley created a whole new style of music: "It wasn't black, wasn't white, wasn't pop or wasn't country—it was different." As most singers in his time created music geared for adults, he gave teens music to grow up with.
Tourism in Memphis includes the points of interest in Memphis, Tennessee such as museums, fine art galleries, and parks, as well as Graceland the Beale Street entertainment district, and sporting events.
"Baby Let's Play House" is a song written and originally recorded by Arthur Gunter in 1954 on the Excello Records label, and covered by Elvis Presley the following year on Sun Records. A line from the song was borrowed by John Lennon for his Beatles song "Run for Your Life", released on Rubber Soul in 1965.
Graceland Too was a tourist attraction and shrine dedicated to American singer Elvis Presley. It was located in Holly Springs, Mississippi, forty miles south of the original Graceland, to which it had no affiliation. Graceland Too was operated out of the two-story home of Paul MacLeod, a Presley fanatic who collected hundreds of pieces of Elvis memorabilia. The shrine cost $5 to enter and operated 24/7-year-round. The bizarre nature of the attraction, as well as MacLeod's eccentricity, made it a local landmark over its twenty-five years of operation.
Guitars were a major component of the "rock and roll" image created by Elvis Presley in the 1950s and 1960s, onstage and in film appearances.
Elvis Presley House is a one-story ranch style house in a residential neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee. Singer Elvis Presley lived here with his parents between March 1956 and March 1957, before moving to Graceland.
Elvis Aaron Presley, popularly known by his first name Elvis, was an American singer and actor. He was born in Tupelo, Mississippi and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee with his family at age 13. His music career began there in 1954, recording at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African-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.
