Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley (1935–1977) was an American singer and actor whose recordings and performances helped popularize rock and roll.
Tupelo, Mississippi: A city in northeastern Mississippi where Elvis Presley was born in 1935. Presley’s birthplace anchors the story of his early life in the American South.
Rockabilly: A style of early rock and roll combining country music with rhythm and blues. Presley’s Sun recordings helped establish the style’s sound and popular reach.
Gladys Presley: Elvis Presley’s mother, who died in 1958. Her close relationship with Presley was a defining part of his family life.
“That’s All Right”: A 1946 blues song by Arthur Crudup, later recorded by Elvis Presley for Sun Records. Presley’s 1954 version marked his first commercial release.
Rock and roll: A popular music genre that emerged in the United States in the 1950s from blues, rhythm and blues, gospel, and country. Presley’s popularity helped bring the emerging genre to a mass audience.
Memphis, Tennessee: A Tennessee city whose musical and recording scenes shaped blues, country, and rock and roll. Presley moved there as a child and made his first recordings at Sun Studio.
Rhythm and blues: A broad genre of Black American popular music that developed from blues, jazz, and gospel. Its rhythms and vocal approaches informed Presley’s early repertoire and performance style.
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller: An American songwriting partnership known for influential rhythm and blues and rock and roll songs. They wrote several songs recorded by Presley, including “Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock.”
“Heartbreak Hotel”: A 1956 song recorded by Elvis Presley that became his first number-one hit in the United States. Its success established Presley as a national recording star.
African-American music: Music created by African Americans across traditions including blues, jazz, gospel, and hip-hop. Presley’s success renewed debate about how white performers benefited from Black musical traditions.