Elvis Presley
Name ____________________________________________________
As we go through the PowerPoint, fill in the blanks. This will be your note taking for this unit. It will also be your study guide for the Elvis quiz at the end of this section.
Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi in (1)____________. Elvis’ family had money issues and lived in (2)_______________ housing. Instead of receiving a bike for his birthday, Elvis got a (3)______________. His family moved to (4)__________in 1950 and after graduating from high school, Elvis worked a variety of odd jobs to help support his family.
Sun Records was a recording studio in Memphis where anyone could go to record a song for a small fee. The owner, Sam Phillips, was looking for a white singer that sounded (5)_______. Elvis fit the bill. He recorded two songs and started playing clubs and dances. Elvis was considered a (6)”_____________” artist – which means he performed music of different genres that appealed to different groups of people. Elvis performed country, gospel, soul and standards.
Elvis’ backup band consisted of guitar (Scotty Moore), (7)__________ (Bill Black) and drums (D.J. Fontana). Because Sun Records did not have (8)_______________ distribution, Elvis’s contract was picked up by (9)_________ in 1955.
Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’ manager, signed the deal with RCA. His first big hit was (10) ______________, which made over $1 million dollars ($3.98/album). Because Parker was an (11)_______________________, he booked no international tours for Elvis. He did set up TV performances, movies, and concerts.
Elvis’ stage presence and demeanor shocked many people. Some thought he was too suggestive with his (12)___________ and that he was a bad (13)__________ model.
Elvis performed in many movies such as (14) ____________, some of which were filmed on location in the very popular destination spot of Hawaii.
Elvis was RCA’s most profitable artist, making (15)_$________________/ week for 20 years. He grossed (16) ___________ of RCA’s singles business. This did not include money from movies and licensing.
Being on the road was lonely and stressful and had irregular hours. To have companionship, Elvis traveled with a large entourage of backup musicians, his manager and childhood friends and family. This group of friends was called the (17)________________. While on the road, Elvis began using ___________________ drugs. He also purchased (18)_____________, the 2nd most visited house in the USA.
From 1958-1960, at the height of Elvis’ musical career, he was drafted into the Army and was stationed in (19)_____________. During this time, his (20)_______________ died, who he was very close to, and he met Priscilla Bealieu, who he ultimately married.
Between 1961-1968, Elvis did not perform live at all because his manager, Col. Parker, thought this was the way to compete against the incredibly popular British group, the (21)_____________. He made 3 movies per year with accompanying soundtracks. After 1968, he started touring again with shows in Las Vegas and throughout the United States. This became known as his (22)___________________ stage, in reference to his costumes. He gained so much weight and used so many different drugs that he had many medical problems that are more common for someone much older than Elvis.
Elvis’ last live performance was in the city of (23)____________ at Market Square Arena in 1977. He died later that year. He earned over $4 billion during his lifetime but at the time of his death there was only $7 (24)________________left. Elvis was very generous and gave away money. He received bad financial advice from his father, who was his financial consultant, and Col Parker, his manager, was making more money in later years from Elvis than what Elvis was making.
In 1992 the Elvis (25)___________________________ was printed. He was the first (26)___________________________ to ever be on a stamp.
Elvis was controversial in his lifetime partly because of his personality and the social, racial and class tensions existent in the USA in that time period.
(27)____________________________ is in charge of the Presley estate, which is a multi-million $$$ business. Presley was named Entertainer of the (28)_____________by TV Guide.