Elvis Aaron Presley[a] (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American musician and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant
cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as
"the King of Rock and Roll", or simply, "the King".
Presley was born in
Tupelo, Mississippi, as a
twinless twin, and when he was 13 years old, he and his family relocated to
Memphis, Tennessee. His music career began there in 1954, when he recorded a song with producer
Sam Phillips at
Sun Records. Accompanied by guitarist
Scotty Moore and bassist
Bill Black, Presley was an early popularizer of
rockabilly, an uptempo,
backbeat-driven fusion of
country music and
rhythm and blues.
RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by
Colonel Tom Parker, who managed the singer for more than two decades. Presley's first RCA single, "
Heartbreak Hotel", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. He was regarded as the leading figure of
rock and roll
after a series of successful network television appearances and
chart-topping records. His energized interpretations of songs and
sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly
potent mix of influences across color lines that coincided with the dawn
of the
Civil Rights Movement, made him enormously popular—and controversial.
In November 1956, he made his film debut in
Love Me Tender.
In 1958, he was drafted into military service. He resumed his recording
career two years later, producing some of his most commercially
successful work before devoting much of the 1960s to making Hollywood
films and their accompanying soundtrack albums, most of which were
critically derided. In 1968, following a seven-year break from live
performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed televised
comeback special
Elvis, which led to an extended
Las Vegas
concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973,
Presley was featured in the first globally broadcast concert via
satellite,
Aloha from Hawaii. Several years of prescription drug abuse severely damaged his health, and he died in 1977 at the age of 42.