On January 8 we are celebrating the 90^th birth jubilee of Elvis Aaron Presley (Elvis Aaron Presley, 1935-1977), one of the most famous and successful musicians of the time.

The future King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was born into a poor family in the small town of Tupelo, Mississippi. After the boy  won his first musical competition, his parents presented him a guitar; at school he learnt to play the piano. In 1948, the family of Elvis moved to Memphis, Tennessee. There the boy became interested in country music, listened to ‘black’ (i.e. the songs  usually performed by black musicians in those days) blues and boogie-woogie, even performed with his mates in the street in front of passers-by and at school festivals. In 1954, together with guitarist Scotty Moore and contrabass player Bill Black, he recorded his first composition ‘That's All Right’ in a style that would later be called rockabilly. The song became a local radio hit and the record sold well. Elvis Presley sang the song at his concerts for the rest of his life.

By the summer of 1956, Elvis was already a well known performer. He had several popular compositions, and in the spring of the same year he released his successful debut album ‘Elvis Presley’. In one year, the singer turned from a local star into a country music performer popular throughout the country. America began to enter into the spirit of Elvis Presley. For young people, he became the embodiment of the rebellious spirit – protest. Elvis had a particular stage manner, his smooth and at the same time explosive body movements in combination with the attractive voice produced the effect of exploding bomb.

Elvis started looking at the film industry. “The Renault Brothers”, which was the debut film of the musician, in which Presley performed the song ‘Love Me Tender’ (1956), written especially for the film, became a hit, and the film was renamed in its honour. The record received over one million pre-orders. It was the first single in history to achieve gold status before it was even released. In October 1956, the American magazine “Variety” called Elvis Presley ‘the king of rock “n” roll’.

It's hard to say how the artist's musical career would have turned out if he hadn't been drafted into the army for two years in 1958. Before he was drafted, he was at the height of his fame and was about to star in films, was extremely sought after and had already received the unofficial title of King. His records were listened to all over the world, even behind the Iron Curtain, in the Soviet Union. 

Surprisingly, after a two-year break due to the army, Elvis managed to return to the Olympus of popular music. But he came back as a legend: his records and films were in demand, hence, in general, he was considered a symbol of the music of the 1950s, while, in the 1960s, quite different rhythms were in demand. This was the decade of ‘The Beatles’.  Presley himself met the British ensemble during the concert organised at his Los Angeles mansion on August 27, 1965 ­– the event was held in strict secrecy, without photos or press releases.

The singer's repertoire changed – instead of reckless rock ‘n’ rolls, ballads and popular songs appeared on his discs. Concert activity ceased – the singer concentrated on cinema. During the 1960s, Elvis starred in nearly thirty films. We cannot say that all of them were completely failure, but no one would risk to classify them as masterpieces of cinema art. Almost all films were centred to a standard set of comedy situations, weak and unmemorable songs, and close-ups of Elvis.

Since 1963, a girl whom the young soldier met in Germany – Priscilla Beaulieu settled in the estate of Elvis in Graceland. In 1967 Elvis and Priscilla married. Nine months later daughter, Lisa Marie Presley was born. In 1973, the couple divorced peacefully and without scandal.

In 1968, America experienced the second coming of Elvis Presley. The audience saw a new Elvis – grown up and matured, filled not with youthful energy, but with the powerful force of a mature and formed man. It was in the late 1960s and early 1970s that, according to majority of critics, Elvis recorded his best pieces. The 1970s were marked by an endless succession of concerts. Sometimes the singer gave more than 300 concerts a year, travelling by plane from one American town to another. On January 14, 1973 Elvis gave his famous Hawaiian concert – this TV show was watched by more than a billion viewers.

The exhausting touring schedule forced the singer to take various drugs: stimulants and antidepressants. His health deteriorated.

In 1976, he recorded his last disc, ‘Moody Blue’. The last performance of Elvis was at the Market Square Arena in Rapid City, South Dakota in June 1977, and on August 16, 1977 his body was found in the bathtub of his own house. The doctors that arrived, pronounced him dead from acute heart failure. Almost immediately after the death of Elvis, rumours arose that he was not really dead. They gradually became an integral part of ‘American national folklore’. Not a single genuine proof of this theory has ever been presented over the years. However, that doesn't stop fans from believing that their idol is alive. Simply because they want him to be. Art legacy of Presley continues to be in constant demand; more than one billion records have been sold worldwide.

A musical selection made up of tracks performed by Elvis Presley, and digitised from the music media stored in the museum Sound Library, is posted in our Phonotheque.