Elvis Presley was not born rich; he came from a poor Mississippi family. But, he enriched music, like no other singer — before, or after him.
Presley showed a rare gift for musical talent, at a very early age. In the process, he absorbed all the styles related to a host of genres, including the melodies of the South. He recorded his two maiden records — My Happiness, and That’s When Your Heartaches Begin — soon after his high school graduation, by doling out US$3.98 himself. It’s a ‘recital’ he dedicated to his beloved mother, on her birthday — a mother to whom he was enormously attached. It was she that inspired him to become, quite simply, Presley — the king of his type, as it were.
It did not take long for RCA to offer him a contract for US$40,000 — a phenomenal sum at that time. And, in February 1956, Elvis recorded his first five songs for the company. The track included Heartbreak Hotel — not just a song, but also a trend, that was to emerge as his first #1 hit. He never looked back, despite a few hiccups that no artist, big or small, is exempt from.
Elvis’ musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, all right, including gospel music, and the black R&B he absorbed on that historic Beale Street as a teenager. He actually began his singing career with the legendary Sun Records label in the 1950s; his recording contract was, thereafter, sold to RCA Victor. No wonder, he became an international sensation. As one critic eulogised, when he became ‘king:’ “With a sound and style that uniquely combined his varied musical influences and clouded and defied the social and racial impediments of the time, Presley brought in a whole new era of American music and popular culture.”
Presley may not have pioneered rock ’n’ roll in the purest sense of the word, yes. But, one inescapable fact remains: rock ’n’ roll would have been a different ‘sound’ of music without him. Be that as it may, Elvis invented a form, a mode which was all his own — a natural, riotous spirit that was central to his nature, which led to the surfacing of the baby-boomer youth culture, in addition to its counter-culture.
More importantly, Elvis mixed, or reinvented, black music with country and western orientations. In so doing, he elevated the pop essence into wholesome sound. As he once said, famously: “I sing all types.” Result: after Elvis, pop music, or culture, was never the same again. And, even if some critics argued that Presley had no distinguishable singing skills, they could not deny him his solid ground to greatness — a special rhythm he effortlessly rendered in a perceptible gripe, where his unique phrasing qualities zoomed to a crescendo with an aria early on in rendition.
What’s more, Elvis took rock ‘n’ roll to its zenith — a standard act in showbiz. He specialised a new benchmark — accentuated movement of the body, which reached its final act with the rugged twist of the hips. No small reason why Elvis got a natty nickname — Pelvis. Add to it his vibrant singing ability, his charismatic good looks, sensual zeal, and good humour, and you’ve a great summary.
Presley charted nearly 150 songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 during his prolific career. He also spent more than 80 weeks at the top of the charts, not once but several times — yet another record. Besides, he had had the most successive #1 hits: 10. He also has 19 multi-platinum records, 81 golden records, and 43 platinum records. Besides, he starred in as many as 33 successful films, made history with his TV appearances, and specials. That’s not all. Elvis won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, when he’s just 36. If only he’d not had an insatiable appetite, and died so young… All the same, his enormous talent, allure, and ready wit, aside from his natural humility, humane touch, as also kindness that he always demonstrated, endeared him to millions,.
Presley was recognised the world over by his first name, and nothing else. His legend lives on. His phenomenon also rolls on without ebb. So, also his music — music never before come to life.
— First published in Observer
