RARE ELVIS PRESLEY THE KING GUITAR BROOCH VINTAGE GOLD ENAMEL PIN BADGE SALE 99p

RARE ELVIS PRESLEY THE KING GUITAR BROOCH VINTAGE GOLD ENAMEL PIN BADGE SALE 99p

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RARE ELVIS PRESLEY THE KING GUITAR BROOCH VINTAGE GOLD ENAMEL PIN BADGE SALE 99p:
$1.54

99p SUMMER SALE: RARE VINTAGE ELVIS PRESLEY (LOT 3) PIN BADGE IN \"EXCELLENT NEAR MINT CONDITION\" FOR THE AGE 1980s 90s PLEASE CHECK THE PHOTO\'S.. THAT IS THE ACTUAL BADGE !! VERY NICE LOOKING WITH GOLD ENAMEL FINISH AND HARD TO FIND !!PLEASE CHECK MY OTHER LISTINGS FOR MORE RARE BADGES AND COLLECTABLES STARTING AT JUST 99p \"VERY LOW STARTING PRICE\" SO GRAB A BARGAIN WHILE YOU CAN :-) COMBINED POSTAGE AVAILABLE. THANKYOU & HAPPY offerDING :-)Elvis PresleyFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia\"Elvis\" redirects here. For other people named Elvis, seeElvis (name). For other uses, seeElvis (disambiguation).Elvis PresleyPresley in a publicity photograph for the 1957 filmJailhouse RockBornElvis Aaron Presley
January 8, 1935
Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S.DiedAugust 16, 1977(aged42)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.Resting placeGraceland, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.EducationL.C. Humes High SchoolOccupationSinger, actorHometownMemphis, Tennessee, U.S.Spouse(s)Priscilla Beaulieu(m.1967;div.1973)ChildrenLisa Marie PresleyRelativesDanielle Riley Keough(granddaughter)Military careerAllegianceUnited States of AmericaService/branchUnited States ArmyYearsof A, 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32nd Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored DivisionMusical careerGenres
    Rock and roll
  • pop
  • rockabilly
  • country
  • blues
  • gospel
  • soul
  • rhythm and blues
  • adult guitar, pianoYears active1953–1977LabelsSun,RCA (Victor),HMVAssociated actsThe Blue Moon Boys,The Jordanaires,The style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;\">Elvis Aaron Presley[a](January 8, 1935– August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Regarded as one of the most significantcultural iconsof the 20th century, he is often referred to as\"the King of Rock and Roll\", or simply, \"the King\".

    Presley was born inTupelo, Mississippias atwinless twin, and when he was 13 years old, he and his family relocated toMemphis, Tennessee. His music career began there in 1954, when he recorded a song with producerSam PhillipsatSun Records. Accompanied by guitaristScotty Mooreand bassistBill Black, Presley was an early popularizer ofrockabilly, an uptempo,backbeat-driven fusion ofcountry musicandrhythm and blues.RCA Victoracquired his contract in a deal arranged byColonel Tom Parker, who managed the singer for more than two decades. Presley\'s first RCA single, \"Heartbreak Hotel\", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. He was regarded as the leading figure ofrock and rollafter a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines that coincided with the dawn of theCivil Rights Movement, made him enormously popular—and controversial.

    In November 1956, he made his film debut inLove Me Tender. In 1958, he was drafted into military service. He resumed his recording career two years later, producing some of his most commercially successful work before devoting much of the 1960s to making Hollywood movies and their accompanying soundtrack albums, most of which were critically derided. In 1968, following a seven-year break from live performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed televised comeback specialElvis, which led to an extendedLas Vegasconcert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley was featured in the first globally broadcast concert via satellite,Aloha from Hawaii. Several years of prescription drug abuse severely damaged his health, and he died in 1977 at the age of 42.

    Presley is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century. Commercially successful in many genres, includingpop,bluesandgospel, he is thebest-selling solo artistin the history of recorded music,[5][6][7][8]with estimated record sales of around 600 million units worldwide.[9]He won threeGrammys, also receiving theGrammy Lifetime Achievement Awardat age 36, and has been inducted into multiple musichalls of fame.Forbesnamed Elvis Presley as the 2nd top earning dead celebrity with $55 million as of 2011.[10][11]

    Contents[hide]
    • 1Life and career
      • 1.1Early years (1935–53)
      • 1.2First recordings (1953–55)
      • 1.3Commercial breakout and controversy (1956–58)
      • 1.4Military service and mother\'s death (1958–60)
      • 1.5Focus on movies (1960–67)
      • 1.6Comeback (1968–73)
      • 1.7Health deterioration and death (1973–77)
      • 1.8Questions over cause of death
      • 1.9Since 1977
    • 2Musical style
      • 2.1Influences
      • 2.2Genres
      • 2.3Vocal style and range
    • 3Racial issues
    • 4Influence of Colonel Parker and others
      • 4.1Parker and the Aberbachs
      • 4.2Memphis Mafia
    • 5Sex symbol
    • 6Legacy
    • 7Discography
      • 7.1Number one albums
      • 7.2Number one singles
    • 8Filmography
    • 9See also
    • 10Notes
    • 11References
      • 11.1Footnotes
      • 11.2Sources
    • 12Further reading
    • 13External links
    Life and careerEarly years (1935–53)Childhood in TupeloPresley\'s birthplaceinTupelo, Mississippi

    Presley was born on January 8, 1935, inTupelo, Mississippi, the son of Gladys Love (née Smith; April 25, 1912– August 14, 1958) and Vernon Elvis Presley (April 10, 1916– June 26, 1979),[12]in the two-roomshotgun housebuilt by Vernon\'s father in preparation for the child\'s birth. Jesse Garon Presley, his identical twin brother, was deliveredstillborn35 minutes before him.[13]As an only child, Presley became close to both parents and formed an especially close bond with his mother. The family attended anAssembly of Godchurch, where he found his initial musical inspiration.[14]

    Presley\'s ancestry was primarily a Western European mix, someFrench Norman. Gladys\' great-great-grandmother, Morning Dove White, was possibly aCherokeeNative American.[17][18][b]Gladys was regarded by relatives and friends as the dominant member of the small family. Vernon moved from one odd job to the next, evidencing little ambition.[21][22]The family often relied on help from neighbors and government food assistance. The Presleys survived the F5 tornado in the1936 Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak. In 1938, they lost their home after Vernon was found guilty ofkiting a checkwritten by the landowner, Orville S. Bean, the dairy farmer and cattle-and-hog broker for whom he then worked. He was jailed for eight months, and Gladys and Elvis moved in with relatives.[23]

    In September 1941, Presley entered first grade at East Tupelo Consolidated, where his instructors regarded him as \"average\".[24]He was encouraged to enter a singing contest after impressing his schoolteacher with a rendition ofRed Foley\'scountrysong \"Old Shep\" during morning prayers. The contest, held at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show on October 3, 1945, was his first public performance: dressed as a cowboy, the ten-year-old Presley stood on a chair to reach the microphone and sang \"Old Shep\". He recalled placing fifth.[25]A few months later, Presley received his first guitar for his birthday; he had hoped for something else—by different accounts, either a bicycle or a rifle.[26][27]Over the following year, he received basic guitar lessons from two of his uncles and the new pastor at the family\'s church. Presley recalled, \"I took the guitar, and I watched people, and I learned to play a little bit. But I would never sing in public. I was very shy about it.\"[28]

    Entering a new school, Milam, for sixth grade in September 1946, Presley was regarded as a loner. The following year, he began bringing his guitar in on a daily basis. He played and sang during lunchtime, and was often teased as a \"trashy\" kid who playedhillbillymusic. The family was by then living in a largely African-American neighborhood.[29]A devotee ofMississippi Slim\'s show on the Tupelo radio stationWELO, Presley was described as \"crazy about music\" by Slim\'s younger brother, a classmate of Presley\'s, who often took him into the station. Slim supplemented Presley\'s guitar tuition by demonstrating chord techniques.[30]When his protégé was 12 years old, Slim scheduled him for two on-air performances. Presley was overcome by stage fright the first time, but succeeded in performing the following week.[31]

    Teenage life in Memphis

    In November 1948, the family moved toMemphis, Tennessee. After residing for nearly a year inrooming houses, they were granted a two-bedroom apartment in thepublic housingcomplex known as the Lauderdale Courts.[32]Enrolled atL. C. Humes High School, Presley received only a C in music in eighth grade. When his music teacher told him he had no aptitude for singing, he brought in his guitar the next day and sang a recent hit, \"Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Me\", in an effort to prove otherwise. A classmate later recalled that the teacher \"agreed that Elvis was right when he said that she didn\'t appreciate his kind of singing.\"[33]He was usually too shy to perform openly, and was occasionally bullied by classmates who viewed him as a \"mama\'s boy\".[34]In 1950, he began practicing guitar regularly under the tutelage of Jesse Lee Denson, a neighbor two-and-a-half years his senior. They and three other boys—including two future rockabilly pioneers, brothersDorseyandJohnny Burnette—formed a loose musical collective that played frequently around the Courts.[35]That September, he began ushering at Loew\'s State Theater.[36]Other jobs followed, including Precision Tool, Loew\'s again, and MARL Metal Products.[37]

    During his junior year, Presley began to stand out more among his classmates, largely because of his appearance: he grew out his sideburns and styled his hair with rose oil and Vaseline. On his own time, he would head down toBeale Street, the heart of Memphis\'s thrivingbluesscene, and gaze longingly at the wild, flashy clothes in the windows ofLansky Brothers. By his senior year, he was wearing them.[38]Overcoming his reticence about performing outside the Lauderdale Courts, he competed in Humes\'s Annual \"Minstrel\" show in April 1953. Singing and playing guitar, he opened with \"Till I Waltz Again with You\", a recent hit forTeresa Brewer. Presley recalled that the performance did much for his reputation: \"I wasn\'t popular in school... I failed music—only thing I ever failed. And then they entered me in this talent show... when I came onstage I heard people kind of rumbling and whispering and so forth, \'cause nobody knew I even sang. It was amazing how popular I became after that.\"[39]

    Presley, who never received formal music training or learned to read music, studied and played by ear. He also frequented record stores withjukeboxesand listening booths. He knew all ofHank Snow\'s songs,[40]and he loved records by other country singers such asRoy Acuff,Ernest Tubb,Ted Daffan,Jimmie Rodgers,Jimmie Davis, andBob Wills.[41]TheSouthern GospelsingerJake Hess, one of his favorite performers, was a significant influence on his ballad-singing style.[42][43]He was a regular audience member at the monthly All-Night Singings downtown, where many of the white gospel groups that performed reflected the influence of African-Americanspiritual music.[44]He adored the music of black gospel singerSister Rosetta Tharpe.[41]Like some of his peers, he may have attended blues venues—of necessity, in thesegregated South, on only the nights designated for exclusively white audiences.[45]He certainly listened to the regional radio stations, such as WDIA-AM, that played \"race records\": spirituals, blues, and the modern,backbeat-heavy sound ofrhythm and blues.[46]Many of his future recordings were inspired by local African-American musicians such asArthur CrudupandRufus Thomas.[47][48]B.B. Kingrecalled that he had known Presley before he was popular, when they both used to frequent Beale Street.[49]By the time he graduated from high school in June 1953, Presley had already singled out music as his future.[50][51]

    First recordings (1953–55)Sam Phillips and Sun RecordsSee also:List of songs recorded by Elvis Presley on the Sun labelPresley in aSun Recordspromotional photograph, 1954

    In August 1953, Presley walked into the offices ofSun Records. He aimed to pay for a few minutes of studio time to record a two-sidedacetate disc: \"My Happiness\"[52]and \"That\'s When Your Heartaches Begin\". He would later claim that he intended the record as a gift for his mother, or that he was merely interested in what he \"sounded like\", although there was a much cheaper, amateur record-making service at a nearby general store. BiographerPeter Guralnickargues that he chose Sun in the hope of being discovered. Asked by receptionistMarion Keiskerwhat kind of singer he was, Presley responded, \"I sing all kinds.\" When she pressed him on who he sounded like, he repeatedly answered, \"I don\'t sound like nobody.\" After he recorded, Sun bossSam Phillipsasked Keisker to note down the young man\'s name, which she did along with her own commentary: \"Good ballad singer. Hold.\"[53]

    In January 1954, Presley cut a second acetate at Sun Records—\"I\'ll Never Stand In Your Way\" and \"It Wouldn\'t Be the Same Without You\"—but again nothing came of it.[54]Not long after, he failed an audition for a local vocal quartet, the Songfellows. He explained to his father, \"They told me I couldn\'t sing.\"[55]SongfellowJim Hamilllater claimed that he was turned down because he did not demonstrate an ear for harmony at the time.[56]In April, Presley began working for the Crown Electric company as a truck driver.[57]His friend Ronnie Smith, after playing a few local gigs with him, suggested he contactEddie Bond, leader of Smith\'s professional band, which had an opening for a vocalist. Bond rejected him after a tryout, advising Presley to stick to truck driving \"because you\'re never going to make it as a singer\".[58]

    Phillips, meanwhile, was always on the lookout for someone who could bring to a broader audience the sound of the black musicians on whom Sun focused. As Keisker reported, \"Over and over I remember Sam saying, \'If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars.\'\"[59]In June, he acquired a demo recording of a ballad, \"Without You\", that he thought might suit the teenage singer. Presley came by the studio, but was unable to do it justice. Despite this, Phillips asked Presley to sing as many numbers as he knew. He was sufficiently affected by what he heard to invite two local musicians, guitaristWinfield \"Scotty\" Mooreandupright bassplayerBill Black, to work something up with Presley for a recording session.[60]

    \"That\'s All Right\"MENU0:00Presley transformed not only the sound but the emotion of the song, turning what had been written as a \"lament for a lost love into a satisfied declaration of independence.\"[61]Problems playing this file? Seemedia help.

    The session, held the evening of July 5, 1954, proved entirely unfruitful until late in the night. As they were about to give up and go home, Presley took his guitar and launched into a 1946 blues number, Arthur Crudup\'s \"That\'s All Right\". Moore recalled, \"All of a sudden, Elvis just started singing this song, jumping around and acting the fool, and then Bill picked up his bass, and he started acting the fool, too, and I started playing with them. Sam, I think, had the door to the control booth open... he stuck his head out and said, \'What are you doing?\' And we said, \'We don\'t know.\' \'Well, back up,\' he said, \'try to find a place to start, and do it again.\'\" Phillips quickly began taping; this was the sound he had been looking for.[62]Three days later, popular Memphis DJDewey Phillipsplayed \"That\'s All Right\" on hisRed, Hot, and Blueshow.[63]Listeners began phoning in, eager to find out who the singer was. The interest was such that Phillips played the record repeatedly during the last two hours of his show. Interviewing Presley on-air, Phillips asked him what high school he attended in order to clarify his color for the many callers who had assumed he was black.[52][64]During the next few days, the trio recorded abluegrassnumber,Bill Monroe\'s \"Blue Moon of Kentucky\", again in a distinctive style and employing a jury-riggedecho effectthat Sam Phillips dubbed \"slapback\". A single was pressed with \"That\'s All Right\" on the A side and \"Blue Moon of Kentucky\" on the reverse.[65]

    Early live performances and signing with RCA

    The trio played publicly for the first time on July 17 at the Bon Air club—Presley still sporting his child-size guitar.[66]At the end of the month, they appeared at theOverton Park Shell, withSlim Whitmanheadlining. A combination of his strong response to rhythm and nervousness at playing before a large crowd led Presley to shake his legs as he performed: his wide-cut pants emphasized his movements, causing young women in the audience to start screaming.[67]Moore recalled, \"During the instrumental parts he would back off from the mike and be playing and shaking, and the crowd would just go wild\".[68]Black, a natural showman, whooped and rode his bass, hitting double licks that Presley would later remember as \"really a wild sound, like a jungle drum or something\".[68]Soon after, Moore and Black quit their old band to play with Presley regularly, and DJ and promoter Bob Neal became the trio\'s manager. From August through October, they played frequently at the Eagle\'s Nest club and returned to Sun Studio for more recording sessions,[69]and Presley quickly grew more confident on stage. According to Moore, \"His movement was a natural thing, but he was also very conscious of what got a reaction. He\'d do something one time and then he would expand on it real quick.\"[70]Presley made what would be his only appearance onNashville\'sGrand Ole Opryon October 2; after a polite audience response,Oprymanager Jim Denny told Phillips that his singer was \"not bad\" but did not suit the program.[71]Two weeks later, Presley was booked onLouisiana Hayride, theOpry‍ \'​s chief, and more adventurous, rival. TheShreveport-based show was broadcast to 198 radio stations in 28 states. Presley had another attack of nerves during the first set, which drew a muted reaction. A more composed and energetic second set inspired an enthusiastic response.[72]House drummerD.J. Fontanabrought a new element, complementing Presley\'s movements with accented beats that he had mastered playing in strip clubs.[73]Soon after the show, theHayrideengaged Presley for a year\'s worth of Saturday-night appearances. Trading in his old guitar for $8 (and seeing it promptly dispatched to the garbage), he purchased aMartininstrument for $175, and his trio began playing in new locales includingHouston,Texas, andTexarkana, Arkansas.[74]

    By early 1955, Presley\'s regularHayrideappearances, constant touring, and well-received record releases had made him a regional star, from Tennessee to West Texas. In January, Neal signed a formal management contract with Presley and brought the singer to the attention ofColonel Tom Parker, whom he considered the best promoter in the music business. Having successfully managed top country starEddy Arnold, Parker was now working with the new number-one country singer, Hank Snow. Parker booked Presley on Snow\'s February tour.[75][76]When the tour reachedOdessa, Texas, a 19-year-oldRoy Orbisonsaw Presley for the first time: \"His energy was incredible, his instinct was just amazing.... I just didn\'t know what to make of it. There was just no reference point in the culture to compare it.\"[40]Presley made his television debut on March 3 on theKSLA-TVbroadcast ofLouisiana Hayride. Soon after, he failed an audition forArthur Godfrey\'s Talent Scoutson theCBStelevision network. By August, Sun had released ten sides credited to \"Elvis Presley, Scotty and Bill\"; on the latest recordings, the trio were joined by a drummer. Some of the songs, like \"That\'s All Right\", were in what one Memphis journalist described as the \"R&B idiom of negro field jazz\"; others, like \"Blue Moon of Kentucky\", were \"more in the country field\", \"but there was a curious blending of the two different musics in both\".[77]This blend of styles made it difficult for Presley\'s music to find radio airplay. According to Neal, many country-music disc jockeys would not play it because he sounded too much like a black artist and none of the rhythm-and-blues stations would touch him because \"he sounded too much like a hillbilly.\"[78]The blend came to be known asrockabilly. At the time, Presley was variously billed as \"The King of Western Bop\", \"The Hillbilly Cat\", and \"The Memphis Flash\".[79]

    Presley renewed Neal\'s management contract in August 1955, simultaneously appointing Parker as his special adviser.[80]The group maintained an extensive touring schedule throughout the second half of the year.[81]Neal recalled, \"It was almost frightening, the reaction that came to Elvis from the teenaged boys. So many of them, through some sort of jealousy, would practically hate him. There were occasions in some towns in Texas when we\'d have to be sure to have a police guard because somebody\'d always try to take a crack at him. They\'d get a gang and try to waylay him or something.\"[82]The trio became a quartet whenHayridedrummer Fontana joined as a full member. In mid-October, they played a few shows in support ofBill Haley, whose \"Rock Around the Clock\" had been a number-one hit the previous year. Haley observed that Presley had a natural feel for rhythm, and advised him to sing fewer ballads.[83]

    At the Country Disc Jockey Convention in early November, Presley was voted the year\'s most promising male artist.[84]Several record companies had by now shown interest in signing him. After three major labels made offers of up to $25,000, Parker and Phillips struck a deal withRCA Victoron November 21 to acquire Presley\'s Sun contract for an unprecedented $40,000.[85][c]Presley, at 20, was still a minor, so his father signed the contract.[86]Parker arranged with the owners ofHill and RangePublishing,JeanandJulian Aberbach, to create two entities, Elvis Presley Music and Gladys Music, to handle all the new material recorded by Presley. Songwriters were obliged to forgo one third of their customary royalties in exchange for having him perform their compositions.[87][d]By December, RCA had begun to heavily promote its new singer, and before month\'s end had reissued many of his Sun recordings.[90]

    Commercial breakout and controversy (1956–58)First national TV appearances and debut albumThe \"iconic cover\" ofPresley\'s 1956 debut album[91]featuring a photo taken July 31, 1955, in Tampa, Florida[92]

    On January 10, 1956, Presley made his first recordings for RCA in Nashville.[93]Extending the singer\'s by now customary backup of Moore, Black, and Fontana, RCA enlisted pianistFloyd Cramer, guitaristChet Atkins, and three background singers, including Gordon Stoker of the popularJordanairesquartet, to fill out the sound.[94]The session produced the moody, unusual \"Heartbreak Hotel\", released as a single on January 27.[93]Parker finally brought Presley to national television, booking him on CBS\'sStage Showfor six appearances over two months. The program, produced in New York, was hosted on alternate weeks by big band leaders and brothersTommyandJimmy Dorsey. After his first appearance, on January 28, introduced by disc jockeyBill Randle, Presley stayed in town to record at RCA\'s New York studio. The sessions yielded eight songs, including a cover ofCarl Perkins\' rockabilly anthem \"Blue Suede Shoes\". In February, Presley\'s \"I Forgot to Remember to Forget\", a Sun recording initially released the previous August, reached the top of theBillboardcountry chart.[95]Neal\'s contract was terminated and, on March 2, Parker became Presley\'s manager.[96]

    \"Blue Suede Shoes\"MENU0:00Presley exhorts guitarist Scotty Moore during hisbreak. \"Let\'s go, cat!\" was in the Perkins original. \"Aw, walk the dog!\" is all Elvis.Problems playing this file? Seemedia help.

    RCA Victor released Presley\'sself-titled debut albumon March 23. Joined by five previously unreleased Sun recordings, its seven recently recorded tracks were of a broad variety. There were two country songs and a bouncy pop tune. The others would centrally define the evolving sound ofrock and roll: \"Blue Suede Shoes\"—\"an improvement over Perkins\' in almost every way\", according to criticRobert Hilburn—and three R&B numbers that had been part of Presley\'s stage repertoire for some time, covers ofLittle Richard,[52]Ray Charles, andThe Drifters. As described by Hilburn, these \"were the most revealing of all. Unlike many white artists... who watered down the gritty edges of the original R&B versions of songs in the \'50s, Presley reshaped them. He not only injected the tunes with his own vocal character but also made guitar, not piano, the lead instrument in all three cases.\"[97]It became the first rock-and-roll album to top theBillboardchart, a position it held for 10 weeks.[93]While Presley was not an innovative guitarist like Moore or contemporary African American rockersBo DiddleyandChuck Berry, cultural historian Gilbert B. Rodman argues that the album\'s cover image, \"of Elvis having the time of his life on stagewith a guitar in his handsplayed a crucial role in positioning the guitar... as the instrument that best captured the style and spirit of this new music.\"[98]

    Milton Berle Showand \"Hound Dog\"

    Presley made the first of two appearances on NBC\'sMilton Berle Showon April 3. His performance, on the deck of theUSSHancockinSan Diego, prompted cheers and screams from an audience of sailors and their dates.[99]A few days later, a flight taking Presley and his band to Nashville for a recording session left all three badly shaken when an engine died and the plane almost went down over Arkansas.[100]Twelve weeks after its original release, \"Heartbreak Hotel\" became Presley\'s first number-one pop hit. In late April, Presley began a two-week residency at theNew Frontier Hotel and Casinoon theLas Vegas Strip. The shows were poorly received by the conservative, middle-aged hotel guests[101]—\"like a jug of corn liquor at a champagne party,\" wrote a critic forNewsweek.[102]Amid his Vegas tenure, Presley, who had serious acting ambitions, signed a seven-year contract withParamount Pictures.[103]He began a tour of the Midwest in mid-May, taking in 15 cities in as many days.[104]He had attended several shows byFreddie Bell and the Bellboysin Vegas and was struck by their cover of \"Hound Dog\", a hit in 1953 for blues singerBig Mama Thorntonby songwritersJerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.[101]It became the new closing number of his act.[105]After a show inLa Crosse, Wisconsin, an urgent message on the letterhead of the local Catholic diocese\'s newspaper was sent toFofferirectorJ. Edgar Hoover. It warned that \"Presley is a definite danger to the security of the United States.... [His] actions and motions were such as to rouse the sexual passions of teenaged youth.... After the show, more than 1,000 teenagers tried to gang into Presley\'s room at the auditorium.... Indications of the harm Presley did just in La Crosse were the two high school girls... whose abdomen and thigh had Presley\'s autograph.\"[106]

    The secondMilton Berle Showappearance came on June 5 at NBC\'s Hollywood studio, amid another hectic tour. Berle persuaded the singer to leave his guitar backstage, advising, \"Let \'em see you, son.\"[107]During the performance, Presley abruptly halted an uptempo rendition of \"Hound Dog\" with a wave of his arm and launched into a slow, grinding version accentuated with energetic, exaggerated body movements.[107]Presley\'s gyrations created a storm of controversy.[108]Newspaper critics were outraged:Jack GouldofThe New York Timeswrote, \"Mr. Presley has no discernible singing ability.... His phrasing, if it can be called that, consists of the stereotyped variations that go with a beginner\'s aria in a bathtub.... His one specialty is an accented movement of the body... primarily identified with the repertoire of the blond bombshells of the burlesque runway.\"[109]Ben Gross of the New YorkDaily Newsopined that popular music \"has reached its lowest depths in the \'grunt and groin\' antics of one Elvis Presley.... Elvis, who rotates his pelvis... gave an exhibition that was suggestive and vulgar, tinged with the kind of animalism that should be confined to dives and bordellos\".[110]Ed Sullivan, whose own variety show was the nation\'s most popular, declared him \"unfit for family viewing\".[111]To Presley\'s displeasure, he soon found himself being referred to as \"Elvis the Pelvis\", which he called \"one of the most childish expressions I ever heard, comin\' from an adult.\"[112]

    Steve Allen Showand first Sullivan appearance

    The Berle shows drew such high ratings that Presley was booked for a July 1 appearance on NBC\'sSteve Allen Showin New York. Allen, no fan of rock and roll, introduced a \"new Elvis\" in a white bow tie and black tails. Presley sang \"Hound Dog\" for less than a minute to abasset houndwearing a top hat and bow tie. As described by television historian Jake Austen, \"Allen thought Presley was talentless and absurd... [he] set things up so that Presley would show his contrition\".[113]Allen, for his part, later wrote that he found Presley\'s \"strange, gangly, country-boy charisma, his hard-to-define cuteness, and his charming eccentricity intriguing\" and simply worked the singer into the customary \"comedy fabric\" of his program.[114]Just before the final rehearsal for the show, Presley told a reporter, \"I\'m holding down on this show. I don\'t want to do anything to make people dislike me. I think TV is important so I\'m going to go along, but I won\'t be able to give the kind of show I do in a personal appearance.\"[115]Presley would refer back to the Allen show as the most ridiculous performance of his career.[116]Later that night, he appeared onHy Gardner Calling,a popular local TV show. Pressed on whether he had learned anything from the criticism to which he was being subjected, Presley responded, \"No, I haven\'t, I don\'t feel like I\'m doing anything wrong.... I don\'t see how any type of music would have any bad influence on people when it\'s only music.... I mean, how would rock \'n\' roll music make anyone rebel against their parents?\"[110]

    The rivalry betweenvariety showhostsSteve AllenandEd Sullivan(pictured) helped catapult Presley to unprecedented fame.

    The next day, Presley recorded \"Hound Dog\", along with \"Any Way You Want Me\" and \"Don\'t Be Cruel\".The Jordanairessang harmony, as they had onThe Steve Allen Show; they would work with Presley through the 1960s. A few days later, the singer made an outdoor concert appearance in Memphis at which he announced, \"You know, those people in New York are not gonna change me none. I\'m gonna show you what the real Elvis is like tonight.\"[117]In August, a judge inJacksonville, Florida, ordered Presley to tame his act. Throughout the following performance, he largely kept still, except for wiggling his little finger suggestively in mockery of the order.[118]The single pairing \"Don\'t Be Cruel\" with \"Hound Dog\" ruled the top of the charts for 11 weeks—a mark that would not be surpassed for 36 years.[119]Recording sessions for Presley\'s second album took place in Hollywood during the first week of September. Leiber and Stoller, the writers of \"Hound Dog,\" contributed \"Love Me.\"[101][120]

    Allen\'s show with Presley had, for the first time, beaten CBS\'sEd Sullivan Showin the ratings. Sullivan, despite his June pronouncement, booked the singer for three appearances for an unprecedented $50,000.[121][101]The first, on September 9, 1956, was seen by approximately 60 million viewers—a record 82.6 percent of the television audience.[122]ActorCharles Laughtonhosted the show, filling in while Sullivan recuperated from a car accident.[111]Presley appeared in two segments that night fromCBS Television Cityin Los Angeles. According to Elvis legend, Presley was shot from only the waist up.[101]Watching clips of the Allen and Berle shows with his producer, Sullivan had opined that Presley \"got some kind of device hanging down below the crotch of his pants–so when he moves his legs back and forth you can see the outline of his cock.... I think it\'s a Coke bottle.... We just can\'t have this on a Sunday night. This is a family show!\"[123]Sullivan publicly toldTV Guide, \"As for his gyrations, the whole thing can be controlled with camera shots.\"[121]In fact, Presley was shown head-to-toe in the first and second shows. Though the camerawork was relatively discreet during his debut, with leg-concealing closeups when he danced, the studio audience reacted in customary style: screaming.[124][125]Presley\'s performance of his forthcoming single, the ballad \"Love Me Tender\", prompted a record-shattering million advance orders.[126]More than any other single event, it was this first appearance onThe Ed Sullivan Showthat made Presley a national celebrity of barely precedented proportions.[111]

    Accompanying Presley\'s rise to fame, a cultural shift was taking place that he both helped inspire and came to symbolize. Igniting the \"biggest pop craze sinceGlenn MillerandFrank Sinatra... Presley brought rock\'n\'roll into the mainstream of popular culture\", writes historian Marty Jezer. \"As Presley set the artistic pace, other artists followed.... Presley, more than anyone else, gave the young a belief in themselves as a distinct and somehow unified generation—the first in America ever to feel the power of an integrated youth culture.\"[127]

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