The King of Rock and Roll
Elvis Presley came from a very poor family. He was born on 8 January 1935 in Mississippi. Elvis loved music. He went to church every Sunday and sang in the choir. When he was 13, his mother bought him a guitar. In the same year Elvis and his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee.
One day in 1954 he went to a recording studio called Sun Records. He wanted to make a record for his mother’s birthday. The secretary at the studio heard Elvis and she told her boss, Sam Phillips. Phillips became Elvis’ manager and Elvis made his first single-That’s All Right, Mama. When disc jockeys played it on their radio stations, American teenagers went wild. Many American parents did not like Elvis. He was too sexy.
In 1955 Elvis appeared on TV in New York. The following year he went to Hollywood and made his first film Love Me Tender. In the next two years he had many hit records. Then in 1958 Elvis joined the American army and went to Germany. When he returned to the United States in the early 60’s, pop music was not the same. British groups like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were the new stars.
Elvis was a millionaire, but he was a very lonely man. In his last years he became fat and depressed. He died of a heart attack on 16 August 1977 in his mansion at Graceland, Memphis.
But for his millions of fans, Elvis is still the King. Shane Lyons has got more than 250 albums by Elvis and videos of all his films. “Man, he was great,” says Shane. “Elvis could really sing. Not like these kids today with all their electronic machines. He was the King, man, the King of Rock and Roll”.