Last update: 11/18/2018

Forty years have passed since his death, and we pay tribute to the king of rock and roll. When Elvis Aaron Presley died at the age of 42 on August 16, 1977, he was wearing gold pajamas. This was far from the only thing about the King of Rock and Roll, as he was called. One evening, Elvis Presley took a Triumph Bonneville 750, he liked it, and he insisted that a dozen be delivered to his home in Bel Air by midnight so his friends could blast through the streets that night. Presley remained the man of the Harley-Davidson Electra Glade itself.

Eager to deliver a personal letter to President Richard Nixon, he approached White House security guards wearing "a two-piece navy blue Gabardine karate suit over a high-collared shirt, overcoat over the shoulders, a gold medallion around his neck, and a gold-handled cane in his hand" , as his friend, Jerry Schilling, recalled. It had pockets cut out of the trousers to provide a smoother, tighter fit. And as a gorgeous teenager, he, in the words of a contemporary, "combed his hair in the morning, using three different hair oils: wax for the front, one type of hair oil on top, another for the back hair." He used cloth wax so that when he performed, his hair fell in a certain way."

On film set"It Happened at the World's Fair" with Colonel Tom Parker, 1963

And when that hair fell... Roy Orbison, who watched Elvis Presley's first performances in early 1955, said, "I can't overstate how shocked he looked and seemed. He was this punk boy, just a real cat singing like a bird. And he moved like no one had ever seen before. His lips began to sneer, and his legs shook, jerked and thrust, on their own. As his guitarist Scotty Moore said, "I think with those loose pants we were wearing, you were shaking your leg and it looked like all hell was going on there." To a student nurse who saw one of the King's shows in May 1955, he was "just a big, beautiful piece of forbidden fruit."

Elvis Presley was born at 4:35 am on January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. His twin brother, Jesse Garon, was stillborn. His father, Vernon Presley, was a truck driver, his mother, Gladys Presley, was a housewife. The family moved to Memphis when Elvis Presley was 13. The Presleys were poor and, as Kevin Kern said of Presley, "denim reminded Elvis that he was poor, so he didn't wear jeans like adults."

Presley began filling the family's pockets when he appeared on Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Service on July 5, 1954. At first he sang, not very well, some ballads. Then he sang "It's All Right Mom" ​​and that changed everything. His voice trembled with passion. It was exciting, dangerous. He was, the headlines screamed: "the libertine of youth", his actions "too obscene to be mentioned in every detail." When he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, he was only shown from the waist up. "It's like a stream of electricity running through you," Presley said. “It's like making love, but it's stronger. Sometimes I think my heart is going to explode."

At the Milton Berle show, June 1956

In 1956 it all spilled over: "Heartbreak Hotel", "Blue Suede Shoes", "Don't Be Cruel", "Hound Dog", all in 1956. They tried to emasculate him. On The Steve Allen Show, Presley wore a white tie and tailcoat and sang "Hound Dog". But at the Milton Berle show in June 1956, it was real deal, legs folded in half, the pelvis pushed, the microphone was his toy. Movies beckoned, and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, a former carnival barker and dog trapper, introduced him to Hollywood. Elvis Presley filmed "Love Me Tender" in 1956. And then began courting Natalie Wood (of West Side Story fame), whom he took back to Memphis.

Natalie Wood, Memphis, October 1956

Jailhouse Rock was released in 1957. The seats were torn apart. The world was Presley's oyster. And then the US government developed him, or "brought" him, as he later told an audience in Las Vegas. What if the police intervened? Don't know. But within two years, Presley lost his hair and his freedom listening to Uncle Sam.

Three things followed as a result. One of them was GI Blues, a high-powered but cheesy musical that set the tone for too many Presley films, even as he aimed for deeper, more demanding roles. For example, he loved Beckett and once challenged his head producer, Hal Wallis, "When will I get my Beckett?" When Barbra Streisand offered him the male lead in her remake of A Star Is Born in 1975, Colonel Parker caused difficulties. Elvis Presley hoped it might be his From Here To Eternity, the film that saved Frank Sinatra's career, but it wasn't.

At the end military service Friedberg, Germany, March 1960

The second military side effect was his marriage to Priscilla Beaulieu, the adopted daughter of an army officer. She was only 14 years old when the King met her. They smirked, too much for Ms. Beaulieu when, at the age of 18, she visited her now demobilized admirer in Memphis. "Wait," said Presley. "Things can get out of hand." IN next year he said "I want it to be something to look forward to" when she returned to live with her parents and continue her studies. "There's a desire there." Instead, she dyed her hair to match his blue and black locks while wearing school uniform and posed for Polaroids.

She, too, had her ups and downs, just like the King, and it was the third thing Presley picked up in the army, from a sergeant on maneuvers. Like his comrades who surrounded him, the Colonel's gang dubbed the Memphis Mafia. It was not easy for the girl to share her man with a platoon of ubiquitous joking buddies, but Beaulieu managed. Until finally, on May 1, 1967, Presley and Beaulieu flew Sinatra's private jet from Palm Springs to Las Vegas, paid $15 for a marriage license, and tied the knot at the Aladdin Hotel. The banquet bar then included grilled sausage and Rockefeller oysters. And some of the Memphis mafia accompanied the loving couple on their honeymoon, reports Peter Guralnik in his master's biography, Casual Love.

Elvis and Priscilla Presley after their wedding, Las Vegas, 1967

Married bliss reached, Presley got down to business. He liked the phrase "take care of business" and had the TCB logo on the tail of his private Convair 880 jet, which he bought in 1975 and named Lisa Marie after his cherished daughter (who later married Michael Jackson). Not that Presley was idle. Between 1960 and the end of 1967, he made 21 films, including Blue Hawaii, and released 44 singles.

None of the films were worthy of its intensity. From the singles, well, there's "Little Sister" and "Return To Sender", but there's also "Do The Clam" and "You Never Never Walk Alone". Of course he was respected. The Beatles visited in 1965 and paid tribute, although things were tough at first. “If you just sit and look at me, I will go to sleep,” said the King. John Lennon later asked Schilling to "tell Elvis that if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have done anything."

It was true, but the moment came when Presley showed what he still had. In 1968 he proved it. He made NBC special. He was wearing a black leather suit. He started with "Heartbreak Hotel" and "All Shook Up". He looked agile and fast. He felt dangerous. He made his way through "Lawdy, Miss Clawd". His hair fell over his face. He is back. He was a star. He was the King.

On the set of Blue Hawaii, April 1961

And he continued to produce. "In The Ghetto" and "Suspicious Minds" went fast. So is Vegas: two shows in four weeks, in a 2,000-bed room, in the new International Hotel. Elvis Presley triumphed, in a white Cossack suit, who nodded to the image of karate. "Jailhouse Rock" and "Don't Be Cruel" got Cary Grant back on his feet. Priscilla Presley felt the energy: "I don't think I've felt in any kind of entertainment since." Colonel Parker had tears in his eyes. It was the King.

And then, later, the wheels came off. There was a paternity suit. There was a surreal visit by Presley to President Nixon in search of a BNDD (Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) badge. There were more jeweled costumes. And there were drugs, and doctors, and dentists, and pharmacists who disbanded them. Indeed, six days after his divorce was finalized on October 9, 1973, Presley was hospitalized in Memphis, his breathing was terrible, his body was swollen.

Landing on his private jet, Lisa Marie, in Cincinnati, May 1976

He hid a little. But his behavior on stage was erratic. He talked a lot and wildly. He performed 15-minute karate. He seemed "drowsy". On stage, he played with weapons and sought love. He returned to the hospital to find nurse Marian Kok and nurse Cathy Simon attending him. President Nixon called to wish him well, as did Sinatra. Unexpectedly, he was touring. For Houston Press the show was awful, "served up by a bloated, gibbering figure who didn't act like the King of everything." And so it went on.

But he was the King. He was handsome. He moved with an explosive sexuality that no one had ever met. Elvis Presley changed the world. And to do so is a gift given to the few. Everyone cheers for Presley. All hail the King.

Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935 poor family Gladys and Vernon Presley. When my father was imprisoned for forging checks, the marital situation worsened even more. As a child, Presley showed the ability to sing, so his parents sent their son to the church choir. Religion and music have become an integral part of early years his life.

At the age of 11, Elvis received his first award for his performance at the "Old Shep" song contest. The parents promised their son to buy a bicycle, but there was not enough money, and they gave him a guitar. He learned the chords on his own and was soon playing popular hits.

In 1948, the family moved to Memphis in search of work. Elvis began to take an active interest in popular music. He listened to traditional pop, country, and also became interested in African American music - the blues. Presley often went to hear the black blues play.

In 1953, after graduating from school, Elvis began to earn extra money as a truck driver. At the same time, he did not give up making music. One day, Presley was walking past the recording studio of Sam Phillips and decided to stop by. For $ 8, he recorded two songs, which were printed in one copy. For a long time he said that he recorded the record for his mother's birthday, although he later admitted that he wanted to hear how his voice would sound in the recorded version.

Presley finally decided to become a musician, but could not decide in which genre he should sing. He even considered singing church hymns, but then dropped the idea. A year later, Phillips needed a vocalist, and he remembered Presley. Together with bassist Bill Black and guitarist Scotty Moore, they formed the Blue Moon Boys trio.

At first, the guys did not succeed. Their country songs sounded inexpressive, and then the musicians changed the rhythm. Hearing the blues song "That's All Right" by Arthur Crudup in a new sound, Sam Phillips was delighted. He asked to repeat the experiment, only now with the composition of Bill Monroe "Blue Moon Of Kentucky". The effect was amazing and, one might say, stunned the musicians And so rock and roll was born.

worldwide popularity

Listeners and critics did not immediately accept the new music. She was too revolutionary. In the summer of 1954, Presley, as part of the Blue Moon Boys, began to give concerts in Memphis, and a little later they began to turn him on radio stations. But the fame of the musician was ensured precisely by his performances on stage. His characteristic choreography, which consisted of a frantic swaying of the hips along with emotional hand movements, gradually began to gain popularity.

In 1955, Elvis signed a contract with RCA Records, and after the release of the sensual composition "Heartbreak Hotel", he woke up famous. The single reached #1 on the US charts and sold over 1 million copies. Following was the album "Elvis" (1956), which for the first time in history also exceeded the million mark. Presley's first television appearances followed, delighting millions of teenagers and shocking the older generation. Music, movements, mannerisms and clothes of the musician - everything was unlike the then country performers. With his music and his behavior, Elvis Presley turned the idea of ​​the stage upside down.

Best of the day

Elvis' success in music paved his way to Hollywood. His producer Tom Parker immediately took advantage of the musician's popularity and signed a contract with Paramount and 20th Century Fox. In 1956, the first film with Presley's participation, Love Me Tender, was released, and a year later Prison Rock and Loving You.

In 1958, Elvis Presley was drafted into the army. He was sent to Germany, providing good conditions residence. IN free time he visited Italy and France, bought cars and even recorded in the studio. In Germany, Presley met Priscilla Bouillet, a relationship with which soon grew from friendship to love.

After demobilization, Elvis returned to the US, where he recorded the album "Elvis Is Back!" (1960), considered one of the best in the work of the musician. However, his musical activity gradually faded into the background, giving way to cinema. In the 60s, Elvis practically did not give concerts and did not record songs, performing compositions mainly in films. The picture "Blue Hawaii" (1961) collected a huge box office, making the musician incredibly popular. In 1967, Presley married Priscilla, and a year later they had a daughter, Lisa-Marie.

Incredible "Beatlemania", swept America, reduced the popularity of Elvis. This forced the musician to return to the roots of his work. And, as it turned out, not in vain. The album "From Elvis In Memphis" (1969), performed in the style of blues and soul, returned public interest to Presley.

In 1969, Elvis played a concert for the first time in 8 years, and some time later announced a world tour. His performances in dazzling white suits with embellishments and rhinestones shaped an image of a musician that remains recognizable and imitated to this day. In the 70s, Presley toured a lot, giving most of the money to charity. Between 1969 and 1977, the musician played more than 1,100 concerts in the United States.

The personal life of the king of rock and roll was not as good as his career. In 1972, Priscilla left Elvis, saying that he did not pay enough attention to her. Presley got himself a new girlfriend Linda Thompson, and since 1976 began to meet with Ginger Alden.

Elvis Presley is a legendary American singer and film actor, whose name is associated with the heyday of rock and roll in the middle of the twentieth century. The post-war youth, like air, needed the incendiary rhythms of new music, free and energetic. The embodiment of this musical freedom was the idol of millions Elvis Presley.

His hits half a century ago are extremely popular even today. And while the memory of the singer who literally blew up the musical world with his temperamental songs is alive, the true spirit of rock and roll is also alive.

Childhood and youth

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in the tiny town of Tupelo, Mississippi. Together with him, his twin brother Jess Garon was born, who died shortly after his birth.

Elvis' father, Vernon Presley, was a descendant of immigrants from Germany and Scotland; mother, Gladys Presley, had a richer pedigree: her ancestors were Scots, Irish, Normans, and Cherokee Indians.

The Presleys lived extremely modestly, since Vernon could not find permanent place work, and after his imprisonment (he was accused of forging checks), the financial situation of the family worsened even more.

Despite financial constraints, Elvis believed that his childhood years were happy: Gladys dearly loved her little son, pampering him as much as possible. The boy forever remembered how his mother, not having enough money to give him such a coveted bike, bought what she had enough money for - a guitar, which ultimately determined the main occupation of Elvis' life.

The boy loved the music that accompanied him all the time: all family members were believers, so for Elvis it was obligatory not only to attend church services regularly, but also to rehearse in the church choir.

First steps towards your dream

Not surprisingly, after moving to Memphis, Tennessee in November 1948, the teenager Elvis began to consciously and with deep interest delve into the features of pop music that sounded on the radio day and night. He listened to country melodies, comparing them to Negro blues, boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues, and traditional pop music. Often attending dance parties and concerts of famous singers, Elvis realized at the age of 14 that he also wanted to become a pop singer.

After graduating from high school, young Elvis worked as a truck driver, simultaneously mastering the specialty of an electrician at evening courses. But such a high workload did not prevent the young man from devoting a lot of time to singing and polishing his masterful guitar playing. The first and most grateful listener of the novice singer was his mother, to whom Elvis dedicated songs as the most close friend in those years.

The turning point in the fate of the future King of Rock can be safely called chance acquaintance young men with Sam Phillips - the owner of a music studio, who instantly appreciated the huge talent and sensual voice young man. Instinct did not let down the producer, who later became famous as the "discoverer" of Elvis Presley.

Soon, Sam Phillips brought the young singer together with local musicians - double bassist Bill Black and guitarist Scotty Moore, and together they recorded those dynamic, groovy compositions that brought Presley deafening popularity.

Variety and cinematographic activities

Elvis Presley's fame grew and expanded thanks to new recordings combined with continuous tours of the southern states. From the beginning of 1955, Tom Parker, who received the title of colonel in the US South, began to promote the singer. This highly experienced producer had a solid baggage of useful connections in the American show business, so his patronage was a real success for the novice performer.

In the summer of 1955, the demand for Presley's records overcame the limits of the province: the most prominent music observers in the American capital called the singer rising star country music, which Parker did not fail to take advantage of. He persistently advised the management of a large recording company RCA Records to pay attention to a talented young man. And on November 21, 1955, the contract with Presley was finally signed. This important point in the life of Elvis, it can be noted as a vertical take-off of his career.

Recorded on RCA Records, the debut album "Elvis Presley" and the single "Heartbreak Hotel" took the lead in the US National hit parade. The discs, released in more than a million copies, were instantly sold out.

Elvis Presley - "Blue Suede Shoes" (1956)

Presley's first performance on central television made a splash, and the singer's name became known throughout the country. Invitations to participate in various shows came from all television studios. Without refusing these tempting offers, Elvis at the same time recorded new singles one after another, and also toured a lot, invariably causing an incredible stir with his person.

The widespread hysteria of Elvis Presley and his work is explained by the organic combination of the incendiary, clear rhythm of the singer's compositions with the inexpressible charisma of his nature. The king of rock and roll, who was natural and liberated on stage, revived in the souls of his listeners a thirst for self-expression. His songs are a synergy of feeling and energy, which with irresistible force influenced the audience, which always filled the concert halls to capacity.

Top 10 Elvis Presley Songs

Abroad, Presley was also widely known to fans of pop music: by the end of the 50s of the last century, his singles occupied the first places in the charts of Canada, Germany, England, Italy, Australia, South Africa. He was well known even in the USSR, despite the complete absence of Elvis Presley records on sale during the years of his world popularity.

Elvis Presley in Love Me Tender

Large Hollywood companies did not bypass the singer with their favorable attention. He was offered to play in such films as Love Me Tender (1956); Prison Rock (1957); "King Creole" (1958); "Burning Star" (1960); "Blue Hawaii" (1961) and others. In total, more than 30 films were shot with the participation of Presley, almost in each of which his unique music was used, and, most importantly, his unique organicity and charisma were forever captured on film.

Elvis Presley's personal life

In the late 50s (December 20, 1957), Presley was called to army service. He was enrolled in the 2nd Panzer Division, located in West Germany - it was there that Elvis met future wife Priscilla Bouillet, who was then only 14 years old.

They celebrated their wedding in May 1967, but after 5 years the couple officially divorced: Patricia, taking her daughter Lisa-Maria, left, unable to withstand her husband's frequent tours and his depression caused by excessive consumption of alcohol and drugs.

In the summer of 1972, Presley began dating singer and actress Linda Thompson, who won the Tennessee beauty queen crown. After 4 years, Elvis broke up with Linda.

Presley's companion recent months his life was Ginger Alden - model and actress.

premature death

The life of the King of Rock and Roll ended on August 16, 1977. Being in a severe mental decline, he took an exorbitant dose of sedatives - and Presley's heart stopped forever.

Perhaps the singer would have managed to cope with his next depressive state, as he had managed before, but the situation worsened due to the betrayal of loved ones.

The singer's father fired Presley's closest friends Red and Sonny West, along with David Gebler, who acted as bodyguards. In retaliation, they published a book with detailed description the singer's aggressive escapades on tour, his addiction to drugs and bouts of painful suspicion.

Elvis, shocked by this ruthless blow to the back, plunged into a pool of terrible experiences. Due to woeful reflections, he began to suffer from insomnia, so he decided to resort to medication. An overdose of drugs made Elvis fall asleep forever...

Elvis Presley. In the power of rock

However, for their loyal fans, Presley and his music remain alive to this day!

An Illustrated History of Rock Music by Pascal Jeremy

Elvis Presley - King of Rock and Roll

Elvis Aron Presley (Elvis Presley) was the first superstar of rock and one of the few stars in the music world who can be compared to the Hollywood demigods of the great era. Elvis was to rock what Clark Gable was to movies. Both of them were enormously popular, both towered over their contemporaries, both had the title given to them by their colleagues - the title of "king", and carried it with such dignity, as if it had come to them by divine right.

Like Gable, Presley was also a sex symbol - rock's first sex symbol. A real sex symbol equally, albeit in different ways, likes both sexes. Presley achieved this by causing an acute sexual arousal of young women, without, at the same time, restoring their friends, lovers, husbands against him. He was so triumphantly courageous that these friends, lovers, husbands imitated him, competed with him. While the girls writhed and squealed, their buddies arched their backs, pouted their lips, pinched their knees, smoothed their hair, and learned to draw out their words in a Southern manner. Both sexes recognized the greatness of Elvis and reveled in it.

Elvis Presley Born January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. In the economic sense, he was born at the wrong time and in the wrong place. Many years later, he will say: “We lived, as they say with us, on the wrong side of the road. But then there was no “other side” in Tupelo. Everyone was in poor nutrition. We didn’t starve, but sometimes we were close to it.”

Hoping for better life the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. But even here it was not easier. They lived under the constant threat of hunger, unemployment, disease. But now Elvis was in the right place at the right time - in at least one respect. If one accepts the definition of rock and roll as black rhythm and blues adapted for whites, then Memphis was exactly the point where both ingredients converged. A young man with an ear for music had the opportunity to hear literally anything here - from the most obscene blues to the most slobbering rural ballad. And Elvis had a hearing. He listened carefully and absorbed everything. As a result, this began to turn into a serious problem: he absorbed so much into himself that he could sing in a variety of styles and almost became a brilliant musical parodist. His producer Sam Phillips did not immediately discover that Elvis had a style of his own.

Elvis was an unsociable child. Perhaps this was due to the fact that his brother Jesse (they were twins) died in childbirth, and Elvis subconsciously felt lonely. It is understandable, therefore, that the mother adored her surviving son, and he adored her. As a teenager, he chose his own, very specific, style of dressing. He had a strange sense of color: he liked black and bright pink tones. His hair was long (by the standards of that time), he lubricated it with bryolin and combed it back in the manner of a “duck butt”. Her face was framed by iconic sideburns.

Carl Perkins, his contemporary, colleague and author of Blue Suede Shoes, recalls that with his individuality, Elvis drew ridicule from those around him: “People laughed at him ... called him a sissy. It was very difficult for him in those days.” Meanwhile, without knowing it, he cultivated an image that soon began to violently copy the youth of the whole world.

He began to sing in church. There he performed something like white gospel. He liked to watch inspired preachers lead their flock into prayerful ecstasy, raising their voices, slamming the Bible on the pulpit and threatening the torments of hell. He learned his craft by osmosis, taking it all in through his pores.

By the age of 18, truck driver Elvis Presley was almost ripe for a new role. The story of a meeting with a man who played the role of a catalyst in his fate, could seem like an invention of an advertising machine, if it were not true.

Elvis wanted to record two songs on a record and give it to his mother for her birthday. To this end, he came to a small studio in Memphis. Overcoming his timidity, he pushed open the door and found himself face to face with Marion Kaysker, the secretary. She called the boss, and a few minutes later Elvis Presley and Sam Phillips stood side by side in the recording studio - for the first, but not the last time.

Elvis sang "My Happines" ("My Happiness") from the repertoire of the Ink Spots and "That`s When Your Heartaches Begin". It seemed to Phillips that there was something in this voice - nothing special, just a certain originality. Yes, even with Negro overtones.

Nothing supernatural has happened yet. Elvis was still there, and Sam Phillips kept thinking about the sound that he could not manage to transfer to film. He tried Presley on songs of all sorts of styles, and the diligent guy, being a good imitator, did a great job with any style.

The discovery of the unique "Presley sound" happened exactly as depicted in his many low-profile films. Reason tells: do not believe - but so many people have confirmed the veracity of this story that you have to believe.

Phillips continued to test Presley and finally decided to try him on the blues. He chose the song "That`s All Right (Mama)" by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. They worked for a long time, but could not achieve what Phillips wanted. They announced a break, turned off the microphones. Now Presley and his musicians Moore and Bill Black could rest, but Presley did not rest, he was on edge: he took the guitar and, not constrained by any equipment, began to sing “That`s All Right”. His voice sounded light and free, and his body moved to the beat of the music. Moore and Black picked up the chorus and the three of them, as they say, got turned on. At that moment Phillips returned and, startled, froze in place. "What the hell is this?" he exclaimed. Moore: We don't know. Phillips: "Come on, let's start over. And don't lose that sound! We'll write it down."

So, Phillips finally caught the desired sound. Why did it take so long for him and Presley to get into the blues when Phillips knew that Elvis loved the blues and artists like Crudup? The answer is contained in an interview with Elvis, which he gave a few years later. “I was condemned for loving the blues,” he said, “and in Memphis, blues was considered sacred music. However, it never bothered me."

In the racist South, it wasn't customary for a white guy to sing the blues. Knowing this, Phillips that evening forced Presley to record another, just in case, quite acceptable number "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" ("Blue Moon of Kentucky").

After making the recording, Phillips carried it to local radio stations. The reaction was funny: when he brought a blues song to a Negro station, they asked: "Who is this country boy?" And when he brought "Blue Moon" to the country radio station, they couldn't understand why a black guy would take their songs!

One way or another, "That`s All Right" sounded on the air. People began to buy it, and soon Phillips' Sun Records had a solid local hit. Presley's name became known in the South. The most prestigious country radio show, the Grand Ole Opry, invited him to a trial audition ... and turned him down: perhaps because of those same Negro overtones. However, another famous show Louisiana Hayride found him quite suitable and signed him to a one-year contract. In addition, he traveled all over the South at this time and performed at concerts under the pseudonym hillbilly cat(Country Cat). His first major performance was in August 1954 at the Overton Park Shell Auditorium in Memphis. “I did a fast thing from the first record,” he recalled, “there was noise, din, screeching in the hall ... I went backstage and there someone told me that the audience was yelling because I was swinging my hips.”

He soon realized that the level of noise in the hall is in direct proportion to the intensity of his wobbles. The more he wiggled his hips, the more piercing were the screams. And he swirled with might and main.

All this happened in the provinces and would have remained there if Presley had not found an intelligent, energetic manager. Sam Phillips simply did not have the funds to take Presley to the national level. However, he doesn't seem to be keen on it.

Here it is necessary to say a few words about Sam Phillips. This is a remarkable personality with an amazing flair for talents. Along with Freed, he was a rock and roll midwife. In addition to Presley, he also discovered Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison. None of them stayed with him, although they all continued to develop and achieved the widest fame. It didn't seem to bother him that much. He sold his potential stars to people who made them superstars and calmly returned to his worries. He never aspired to get into the "first league". Before Presley, he dealt with black artists, and it is to him that we owe the early recordings of such musicians as Howlin Wolf, B.B. King and Ike Turner. He gave them over large companies leaving them to take risks and reap the rewards. Phillips could have made millions from the talent that came through his studio, but he just didn't think about those things. Jerry Lee Lewis once said of him: "Sam is not normal ... He should have more common sense."

So, Elvis needed a manager who would pull him out of the provincial wilderness. He became a colonel Tom Parker. In a matter of months, he took Elvis from a local celebrity to a national superstar. Parker was undoubtedly a good businessman, and besides, he was unusually attached to his charge. Of course, he worked miracles, but, by his own admission, he "sold an excellent product."

Sam Goldwyn, Hollywood's most colorful producer, once remarked, “Producers don't make stars. God creates them, and then the public recognizes what he created. That was the case with Presley. By the 55th year, when Parker became his manager, Elvis had already found his style, created his image, and the colonel had only to conclude lucrative contracts and show his protégé to as many viewers as possible - the rest was done by sex chemistry (sexual chemistry).

Rumors about Presley's remarkable talents have already reached major New York companies. Steve Schultz from RCA, having heard "That`s All Right (Mama)", remembered the name of the performer and began to follow the further course of events. And the events were such that a number of firms began to show interest in Presley's contract with San, but no one knew how much it cost. The negotiations were led by Parker. Eventually, RCA bought Presley's contract from San for $40,000. Today, this amount seems scanty, but for that time it was unprecedented. There has never been a case that a young singer who did not have a single national hit was so highly appreciated. And Steve Schultz wondered if he had made a mistake.

There was no mistake. As one commentator noted, "Elvis' clothes, the tuft of hair slathered with greasing, his sideburns, boudoir eyes, smirks and wiggles, all had an irresistible effect on the girls." No one had ever had such an explosive effect on the public before. Sinatra caused squeals and fainting, Johnny Ray received his share of noisy worship, but Presley surpassed everyone: at his concerts, the audience simply raged.

Once, at the very beginning of Elvis' career, at the same concert he performed Pat Boon- at that time a major star who performed sterilized rock and roll. 20 years later, in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he shared his memories of the Presley effect: “We first met at a concert in Cleveland. I was the highlight of the program, that is, I performed after Elvis. Since then, I never wanted to sing after him. It's good that I had a big hit then, and that saved me. Otherwise, I would have completely disappeared.

Already in 1954, Presley experienced the madness of worship. In Jacksonville, Florida, the girls nearly dragged him off the stage. They pulled off his shoes, tore his jacket and tore the right leg of his trousers.

In early 1956, Elvis Presley was #1 on the US Singles Chart with "Heartbreak Hotel". broken hearts"). This was the beginning of the most fantastic and most successful solo career in modern pop music. And that was the beginning of the rock era.

From that moment on, Elvis was unstoppable, despite the fact that his parents, preachers, government officials, critics, old stars and media mughals hated him. And perhaps because of this. They slandered him, scolded him for what it was worth, burned his effigies and records - but they could not stop him.