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In the mid-1950s Elvis Presley revolutionized popular music by fulfilling Sun Records owner Sam Phillips's prophecy that a white man who could convey a black sound and feel would make a fortune. But more than that, it can be argued that rock and roll, the fusion of white (country) and black (rhythm and blues) music that Elvis popularized, contributed to overturning racial segregation in the U.S. and to transforming a society that sociologist David Riesman characterized as an alienated Lonely Crowd. Aided by disc jockeys such as Alan Freed, Elvis and the black and white musicians who thrived in his wake opened the ears (if not the hearts and minds) of a new social class, teenagers, to a sound of possibilities.
Upon the anniversary of his death on August 16, 1977, Inside Britannica considers the life, times, and influence of Elvis Presley, beginning with a biography by Dave Marsh, one of America's most prominent critics and historians of rock music.
• 1950s America - This period in U.S. history is most often associated with the economic growth and prosperity that occured during the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, with a culture of conformity, and with the rise of suburbia.
• Social Discontent - But it was also a time of rising tension stemming from the Cold War, of growing indignation at the injustice of racial segregation that resulted in the civil rights movement, and of an emerging youth culture that helped set the tone for the social changes and political movements in the years to come.
• Memphis, Tennessee - In the 1950s Elvis's hometown was a lively cultural crossroads, where he was exposed to a wide variety of music, especially music created by African-Americans, and where radio stations such as WDIA (and others like it throughout the country) were late-night beacons that brought rhythm and blues and the early sounds of rock and roll to white teenaged listeners.
| Elvis and His Contemporaries |
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• Jerry Lee Lewis (pictured) - Colorful singer and pianist and Sun Records labelmate of Presley.
• Chuck Berry - Influential singer, songwriter, guitarist, and rock and roll showman.
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• Buddy Holly (pictured) - Revolutionary singer/songwriter who died at 23 in a tragic plane crash.
• Little Richard - Flamboyant singer and pianist whose hit songs of the mid-1950s were defining moments in the development of rock and roll.
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• Blues Artists - Numerous blues artists influenced Elvis and helped lay the foundation for rock and roll music, such as B.B. King (pictured).
• Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup - His song "That's All Right" was transformed into a rockabilly classic by Presley at the beginning of his career.
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• James Dean (pictured) - Cultural icon on the 1950s; Elvis watched Rebel Without a Cause repeatedly and mimicked Dean's expressions.
• Bill Monroe - Inventor of bluegrass music and writer of "Blue Moon of Kentucky," a song Elvis also covered.
| Artists Influenced by Elvis |
• Bob Dylan (pictured) - Like so many other teenagers in the 1950s, Dylan was inspired by Elvis Presley to create rock and roll, but before he returned to rock music and put his own indelible mark on it, Dylan brought the art of songwriting to a new level as the darling of the American folk music revival.
• The Beatles - Elvis's impact on American culture set the stage for the hysteria of the British Invasion, led by groups such as the Beatles, the Kinks, the Who, and the Rolling Stones, who were influenced by Elvis, rock and roll, and rhythm and blues.
• Bruce Springsteen (pictured) - At the time of Elvis's death in 1977, Springsteen said of Presley's influence on music "It was like he whispered his dream in all our ears and then we dreamed it."
• Prince - Much like Elvis, this multi-talented and eccentric artist achieved crossover appeal due to his engaging stage presence and fusion of multiple musical styles.
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Rock Music Creative
Centres of the 1950s
Memphis, TN.
Cleveland, OH.
Nashville, TN.
Philadelphia, PA.
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When disc jockey Dewey Phillips conducted the first radio interview of a very nervous Elvis Presley, he did not tell his guest that the microphones were on until the interview was already over.
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