Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley (1935-1977) was the first and most transformative figure in rock and roll. Born in Tupelo, Mississippi and raised in Memphis, he walked into Sam Phillips's Sun Records studio in 1954 and recorded "That's All Right" — a spontaneous transformation of an Arthur Crudup blues song that became the first Elvis Presley single. Phillips recognized in Presley the synthesis he had been searching for: a white artist who could convey the feeling and soul of Black American music to a mainstream audience. The combination of Presley's voice, physicality, and stage presence made him an unprecedented cultural phenomenon. His television appearances — particularly on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956 — introduced rock and roll to the American mainstream. After leaving Sun for RCA, he became the best-selling solo music artist in history. His later career was hampered by his manager Colonel Tom Parker's poor decisions. He died on August 16, 1977, at Graceland, aged 42.