King Of USA Essay, Research Paper

The King of the USA

Thesis: Elvis Presley greatly influenced people, music, and style throughout

his life through his songs and performances.

I. Elvis’s impact on Music

A. Made a transition between black and white style of music

1 Sang at black radio stations.

2. Sang at black Churches.

B. Musical Versatility

1. Rock.

2. Country

3. Ballads

II. Elvis’s impact on People

A. Imitators.

1. Andy Kaufman

2. Bill Belew

B. Teenagers

1. Fan Craze

a. Shrines

b. Screaming

2. Dancing.

III. Elvis’s impact on Style

A. Hair

1. Greaser look

2. Long hair

B. Clothing.

1. Cape.

2. His own style.

3. Pink

IV. Conclusion

A bust sits, with brightly colored pictures and buttons surrounding it.

Candles are

lit all around; the soft candle’s shadow allows the bust to appear as though

it is alive and

moving. Even a few fresh flowers are arranged beneath the head of the man who

distracted us from our fear of annihilation at the height of the cold war. He

made teens

turn off the Mickey Mouse show and start turning on the radio; he showed

teens it was o.k. to be drafted and served on foreign soils; he showed teens

that they could be happy

with their body.

The man and his music represented nothing less than freedom; a siren call for

a nation.

When Elvis was young, his mother worked in a cotton field pulling crops along

side of colored people. To help pass the time, the Negroes would sing songs;

this was

Elvis’s first introduction to colored music (Brown and Broeske 8).

Elvis enjoyed all types of music, and refused to be labeled. He went down

every week to

Black radio stations not only to listen but also to sing along. His mother

even took him

"Church hopping" (Brown and Broeske 8) many times to southern black

churches to sing

along with the choirs. Many record producers where very astonished to find

that he was white.

On record he sounded exactly like a Negro (Guralnick 16). One factor that

lead to this was once when

Elvis, at the time age 5, and his mother were watching a Negro choir perform

when he got

Loose from his mother and ran to the front of the church. He then stood

facing the choir and began to lip sync to their music (Brown and Broeske 13). He

sang and lived desegregation; this demonstrated an outstanding range and

influence on both black and white music (Presley).