Popular music history was made in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. Elvis Aaron Presley was born on that January day. This young man would grow up to create rock and roll and become one of the most popular American singers in recording history. Elvis was called the “King of Rock and Roll” and it was a well earned name.
Elvis was just 19 years old when he sang on his first record for Sam Phillips, owner of Sun Records.
In the early 1950s, Sam Phillips was trying to make recordings by African-American artists more accessible to a white audience. That’s when he signed up this skinny guy with the pompadour haircut and the weird-sounding name. With the support of musician Scotty Moore and fellow musician Bill Black, Elvis was one of the original popular artists to carry rockabilly. It was a brash, up-tempo, and loud combination of country music and rhythm and blues. It was a great success from the beginning.
A unique vinyl chart hit by Elvis Presley almost never got recorded. During a respite from a 1954 music session, Elvis started playing around with the song “That’s Alright Mama”. The band joined in the fun. Fortunately, an engineer had the good sense to hit the record button and forever lock this immortal session onto the first of many vinyl records Elvis sold. The first Sun Records made by Elvis have become a prized possession for many collectors.
Elvis didn’t stay at Sun Records for long. Due to RCA’s broader range, Elvis’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, thought they should partner with the new record company. Elvis and RCA’s collaboration spanned two decades and spawned a staggering number of vinyl records. 1956 was the year that “Heartbreak Hotel,” RCA’s first hit, was released. 1956 was also the year that Elvis had another number one hit and a number one movie, both called Love Me Tender.
It only took one move from the King for the teens to swoon and the parents to go wild. It was Elvis’s tour of duty in the military that really made Elvis an even bigger star. The colonel did not protest, and in fact stated that Elvis should do his part seriously. He also checked that he had many songs stored in advance. When he came home from the service, Elvis’s popularity soared again.
Elvis remained a popular entertainer until he died in 1973 at just 42 years of age.
