Elvis Aaron Presley (Tupelo, Mississippi, January 8, 1935 - Memphis, Tennessee, August 16, 1977), was an American singer, song producer and actor. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King". Elvis Presley began his music career at Sun Records in the spring of 1954 when Sam Philips recorded Elvis performing several of Elvis' favourite songs with Scotty Moore (guitar) and Bill Black (bass). ...show more

Elvis Aaron Presley (Tupelo, Mississippi, January 8, 1935 - Memphis, Tennessee, August 16, 1977), was an American singer, song producer and actor. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King". Elvis Presley began his music career at Sun Records in the spring of 1954 when Sam Philips recorded Elvis performing several of Elvis' favourite songs with Scotty Moore (guitar) and Bill Black (bass).

One of these covers was a country and western song, "Blue Moon of Kentucky". Elvis is the best-selling solo artist of all time in the United States with confirmed 189.2 million records in RIAA shipments. Before Sam Philips sold Elvis' contract to rca victor in 1956 for $35,000 they had recorded six two-sided singles. Each of these recordings featured a country and western song on one side and a rhythm and blues song on the other.

One of the reasons Elvis was so popular was because of his ability to merge attributes of what was perceived to be "white" (C&W) and "black" (R&B) music. An example of this is evident in Elvis' hit song "Heartbreak Hotel" which reached #1 not only in the pop charts, but the R&B and C&W charts as well. This was the first time that a single song held the #1 spot in all three charts. Elvis remains a popular and enigmatic star. ...show less