Elvis Presley

John Lennon once said: “Before Elvis [Presley] there was nothing”. It’s a controversial statement given that ‘The King’ combined the African-American music of blues and gospel that went before him. However, there is no doubt that he was the progenitor of pop culture. Hailing from humble beginnings in Memphis, Tennessee, the young boy would soon die his hair jet black, be signed up to Sun Records, and then hip-snake his way into history.

His first appearance on CBS was such a legendary step in the sexual liberation movement that from then on, there was a decree that he was only filmed from the waist up. In short, he was making colossal country music crushing waves. These inevitably grew under the management of Colonel Tom Parker on the esteemed RCA label. Soon enough, hits like ‘That’s All Right’ were too hard to suppress. The rockabilly movement was underway.

In the years that followed, Elvis became the world’s first global music icon. He racked up hits like ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ and ‘Blue Moon’, but it was the whole matinee idol package that really made him soar as a commercial entity. People were even happy to spend cash on ‘I Hate Elvis’ badges. In the process, he set things up for The Beatles and other pop sensations to follow.

After serving in the US Army, he would go on to controversially marry Priscilla Presley, who was ten years his junior. All the while, his life was continually pored over in teen magazines, and this reached new heights as he kickstarted a movie star career. But no revolution lasts forever, and when the counterculture movement got swinging, Elvis was somewhat left behind.

These fallow years had a detrimental impact on his health and finances as Parker continually pushed him down a dated commercial route. Nevertheless, Presley rebelled and stuck by his civil rights roots, crafting one of his finest anthems in defiance, ‘If I Can Dream’. With that, his resurgence was underway, and his legacy as The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was crystallised. Now, his former Graceland residence remains an edifice to all he achieved.

While he couldn’t please everyone – Frank Sinatra famously called his music “deplorable” – that divisive nature is merely a reminder of his proto-punk ways. As Leonard Bernstein famously crowned him: “Elvis is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century. He introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes, it’s a whole new social revolution – the ’60s comes from it.”