6.06 Presley After the 1950s

Overview

Elvis Presley was one of the most legendary rock and roll performers of all time. In this lesson, we focus on Presley’s early career in order to understand how and why he was so successful during the 1950s. Elvis’s crossover success and immense commercial appeal turned him into one of the most important musical figures of the twentieth century. Although he continued to sell millions of albums in the 1960s and 1970s, the 1950s were the most important part of his career and the period that had the most profound influence on the development of rock and roll in the United States.

Objectives

Examine Elvis Presley's music and his particular blend of many different styles and genres.
Identify the key figures and institutions that helped turn Presley into the cultural phenomenon that he became during the 1950s
Examine ways in which Presley was turned into a commodity through television appearances and Hollywood films

Presley After the 1950s

Girls Girls Girls Poster

In 1958, Presley was drafted into the United States Army, and when he returned to recording in 1960, his career was never the same. When he entered the Army, he wanted to serve in the special entertainment division, but Colonel Parker convinced him to serve in the everyday army, going in as a private. In March of 1958, Presley began a two-year tour of army duty in Germany. RCA had a significant number of unreleased Presley recordings, which they then released at regular intervals during Presley’s absence.

Four compilation albums also maintained Presley’s commercial success during his stint in the Army. Less than a month after his honorable discharge, Presley returned to the RCA studios to record the album Elvis is Back!

Struggles with Colonel Parker, the death of his mother, a grueling filmmaking schedule, a growing dependence on amphetamines and prescription drugs, and a long courtship with, marriage to, and eventual divorce from Priscilla Beaulieu all complicated his life. He continued to record for RCA until his death. During the late 1960s and 1970s, he appeared in several concert films, television specials, and documentary films. Later recordings of gospel shows show a spiritual side of Presley and suggest the camp meetings and revivals of his youth. He never returned to the same sex symbol status that he had held in the 1950s, although he continued to release number 1 records until his death in 1977. To this day, he is the best-selling recording artist of all time.

Elvis Presley

“I think that one of Elvis' charms was that he could sing almost any kind of music. I am sure that in his heart, which I don't know what was there, but just from his singing I could feel that he was very partial to gospel music.”

-Patti Page

“Elvis was the major contributor to an entirely new genre of music. Sometimes their exploits were distasteful to people, but they left behind an enormous body of work that endures.”

-Bob Beckel

"Elvis recorded more than 600 songs, but did not write any of them."

Heather Jarvis