Elvis Presley essay
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Feb 20, 2024
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Kaitlin Bright
Professor Gabin
MUL 2010
15 February 2024
Elvis Presley
The 50’s were dominated by the birth of rock-n-roll with influences of rhythm and blues, pop, blues, and hillbilly, music creating a rebellious musical style. Rock-n-roll established a raw,
powerful, and compelling calling all together to experiment with various new and creative structural sounds. This essay analyzes Elvis Presley’s journey to becoming the “King of Rock-n-
Roll” and the influence former eras had on how he structured and conformed his musical pieces.
Elvis Aron Presley was born January 8th, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi; however, the family was fairly poor and frequently moved. During school years, Presly already showed his differences through his appearance, causing him to be picked on, leading him to immerse himself
in music. Presley’s unique style and sound were discovered by Sam Philips, Sun Records producer. Presley’s first major break occurred with a recording with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black for “That's All Right (Mama).” For decades, this trio together created legendary rock-n-roll songs of the 50’s. August 15, 1954, marked the start of Presley’s stardom, where he signed a deal with Sun Records for four albums and began touring and making appearances on various popular radio shows. Presley’s uniqueness skyrocketed him to fame, and after hiring Tom Parker as his manager, he entered mega-stardom. Presley’s popularity led Sun Records to sell his contract to RCA Victor. Presley began making television appearances and later starring in movies. In March 1956, Presley received his first golden record for "Heartbreak Hotel.” December 20, 1957, Presley was drafted for the military, though Parker worked hard
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keeping his image alive. In 1960, Presley was discharged, and resumed primarily filming movies
between 1960 and 1968. During this time, other rock-n-roll artists threatened his “King of Rock-
n-Roll” title. In December 1968, Elvis televised a “Comeback Special” energizing him to reenter the music scene. Overworked Elvis began taking prescription drugs, which turned into an addiction in 1970. On August 16, 1977, Presley was pronounced dead at 42 due to lethal prescription drug mixing. Presley left behind a legacy that was cherished worldwide and was used as an inspirational foundation for many upcoming artist in the later decades and his title remains “King of Rock-n-Roll.”
Elvis Presley, throughout his touring, experienced various favorable songs that were immersed in blues music. Presley had an engagement in Las Vegas in 1956, where he witnessed Freddie Bell performing his rendition of Big Mama Thorton’s “Hound Dog.” Presley fell in love with the song and decided to develop his own rendition. Presley incorporated the new rebellion rock-n-roll with the blues era of the early 1900’s. Presley’s “Hound Dog” recycles the original progress chord of the blues era (12 bars). Various forms of musical elements can dictate whether a song has a blues or rock feel. Presley developed “Hound Dog” with a bluesy feel while implementing rock-n-roll elements that established a rougher and more energetic style compared to the blues. Presley incorporated a rock-n-roll, moderato-tempo providing an excitable atmosphere that conflicted with the softer, andante-tempo (walking). Complementing the moderato-tempo is the equal moderato-forte-dynamic, which provides an increase in volume that
contrasts with the gentle blues tone. This equalization provides for consistency of volume and pace to be synchronized. The rhythm, dynamics, and progression form the melody of “Hound Dog,” which creates a disjunction; notes jump from low to high pitches between various segments. Presley reiterates another aspect of blues’ music that accompanies this disjunct
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melody: harmony. “Hound Dog’s” harmony is dissonance, which can be linked back to various popular blues’ music. Presley conforms his harmony through a mixture of vocals, drums, double-
bass, and guitars. The dissonance harmony is primarily formed through Presley’s vocals that fade
in and out of clarity throughout “Hound Dog.” Presley incorporated a mixture of blues and rock-
n-roll to create distinguishing sounds using instrumental pieces. Presley used various instruments
(electric guitar, drums, etc.) that were included within the previous reinterpretations of “Hound Dog.” However, these instruments provided layers and distinguishable timbres. Presley though used similar instruments; their tunes tended to carry a rocking-type rhythm than that of the blues swing-like tune. Presley’s primary instruments were the guitar and drums, allowing those layers to combine, while blues made the saxophone or trumpet the primary instrument. These separate primary instruments provided for the separation from only blues to rock-n-roll blues. However, both eras incorporated various different instruments that conformed into homophonic texture elemental formations. Though Presley immersed himself in rock-n-roll, there still existed blues elements found within his work, providing for a powerful but deep, harmonious mixture that incorporated the blues and rock-n-roll eras.
Elvis Presley’s uniqueness and ability to create elemental pieces of the rock-n-roll blues era impacted the nation and the formation of music. Presley was able to create this astonishing collection of rock-n-roll blues sounds that demonstrated the new powerful era of music of the 1950’s. Due to Presley, rock-n-roll became popular in mainstream society, and a revelation towards rock-n-roll and music became cherished and sought after by future generations.
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Works Cited
Piccotti, T. (2023, September 12). Elvis Presley. Biography. https://www.biography.com/musicians/elvis-presley
Rosenberg, J. (2019). Biography of Elvis Presley, the King of Rock 'n' Roll. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/elvis-presley-profile-1779499
1950s: Music | Encyclopedia.com. (n.d.). https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/culture-
magazines/1950s-music