Author : Jennifer Stone
Image Source: indystar.com
Legendary singer and performer Elvis Presley was given a lot of names for his persona and skills such as “The Hillbilly Cat,” “Elvis the Pelvis,” “The Memphis Flash,” and the list goes on. But the nickname that truly defines him is “the King of Rock ’n’ Roll,” or just ‘the King’. Due to his paramount contributions to the rock music industry, he is known as the king who brought a new creative wave to the music industry through some of the best musical creations and performances.
Though, it is hard to say what was exact debut by Elvis; he got this nickname with his earliest appearances. On April 19, 1956, Elvis was called the “21-year-old king of the nation’s rock ’n’ roll set” by reporter Bea Ramirez in the Waco News-Tribune. Within a month, Presley was again called “the fledgling king of rock ’n’ roll,” in a story by the Memphis Press-Scimitar. Perhaps, he really did not enjoy being called the king in the beginning as he declined the title for quite some time. His first opening in Las Vegas took place in 1969 and when a reporter referred to him as ‘the king’ after the show in a press conference, he pointed at Fats Domino at the back of the room and said, “No, that’s the real king of rock and roll.”
Despite his reluctance and rejection of the title, Presley gradually became ‘the King’ of the music industry for being the most popular and influential artist of the 20th century. Throughout his musical career, the artist has dropped numerous musical works and 149 songs from his musical arsenal were featured in Billboard’s Hot 100 pop chart. Guess what? 18 of them ranked no.1 on the chart and with this; he gained sky-high popularity from all around the world. He would be followed by a massive mass of people where ever he would go. Elvis Presley’s concerts broke audience size records in different venues and his shows were the most watched events on Television. Presley never performed outside his continent but his popularity quickly spread to every corner of the world. He scored a total of 18 top-ten hits on the U.K. singles chart. Not only music but 33 films by him helped him gain international exposure with success at the box office.
One of the reasons why Presley became so popular within a short span of time was his sheer individuality along with a multi-genre musical approach. He combined different elements of rock, blues, and country music which was known as rock ’n’ roll. It would be wrong to say that Elvis invented this genre as other artists like Fats Domino and Chuck Berry have already worked on it. However, it is true that Presley is the one who helped in spreading the influence of rock ’n’ roll all over the world. He was the pioneer of the rock ’n’ roll movement in the industry. It does not require to say that Presley’s good looks, flamboyant and charismatic personality along with powerful performances helped him become a role model for everyone. His unwavering presence and moves like Jagger never failed to make the crowd go crazy.
The impact of Elvis Presley’s creative influence went beyond his life span and he is still considered “the King of Rock ’n’ Roll” who changed the music scene with his captivating compositions. Later on, the rock legends like John Lenon, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen were also highly inspired by Presley’s works. Evidently, Elvis Presley is ‘The King of Rock n Roll’, and the title will remain the same for the coming ears as well.
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