Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Elvis as Icon
Elvis Presley as a Cultural Icon
Elvis Presley as Cultural Icon
Elvis Presley is one of the most well-known figures in rock-and-roll music history. Not only was Elvis a rock-and-roll icon, but he was also the epitome of the American Dream. He came from humble beginnings and skyrocketed to the top of the music charts. Despite being called perform his military duty in 1958, about a year after he launched his film career, Elvis, with the help of his promoter, was able to maintain his status as a music icon and idol.
Some of the most significant events in Elvis's career were his performances on broadcast television. Prior to appearing on television, many of his fans had only heard his songs on the radio. Edwin Richison, an Elvis fan, contends, "It wasn't until Elvis appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show that I got to place a face with the music. What a night to remember. His clothes, the way he moved and talked…he became and instant icon of rock and roll. After seeing him, his music became secondary" (Doss 10). Elvis's television performances were extraordinarily significant because it further publicized Elvis beyond the radio where he was only heard but not seen.
Elvis was described by Judith Adams, one of his female fans from Tennessee as "young, charismatic, charming, a rebel and sooooo handsome, all the things that would sweep...
It was in this characterization that critics found fault with the young performer, especially his infamous gyrating hips that were not only provocative, but also encouraged rebellion. In Elvis Culture: Fans, Faith, & Image, Erika Doss contends, "Elvis's gyrating body was similarly a site of sexual struggle, fully exposed from head to groin to toe during his first two appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956, but then visually restricted -- contained -- "from waist-up" on the third date, in 1957" (135-136).
1956 was a particularly busy year for Elvis. Not only was he performing on multiple television shows, but he was also at the top of music charts, filming his first movie, and was touring in 25 states (Rock & Roll Generation: Teen Life in the 50s 61). While his first film, Love Me Tender, released in 1956, was critically panned, his fans helped to make the film a success, further cementing him as an American music idol.
There are several reasons Elvis was considered to be a threat to society. First and foremost, Elvis was a symbol of rebellion. "Elvis challenged Cold War containment and invited his fans to do the same. Critics of the 1950s viewed Elvis's body, image, and performances, and the bodies and performances of his fans, with dread: it all blatantly symbolized the sensual subversion of reason and control" (Doss 9).…
Works Cited
Doss, Erika. Elvis Culture: Fans, Faith, & Image. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1999. Print.
Rock & Roll Generation: Teen Life in the 50s. Time Life Books, Alexandria, VA: 1998. Print.
Conclusion Culture critic David Marsh once wrote that "Unless you understand that Elvis Presley was more than anything a spiritual leader of our generation, there's really no way to assess his importance, much less the meaning of his music."20 Indeed, Presley's impact on American culture was transformative. Through his music, which was heavily influenced by black artists, he exposed white America to a new group of performers. By testing social boundaries,
Elvis Presley's Impact On Popular Music Culture From the time Elvis recorded "That's All Right Mamma" for Sun Records in 1953, to his subsequent and astonishing rise to fame, he reinvented the concept of rock star and has made a bigger impact on popular music culture than any other act. That is saying a lot considering that the Beatles and Rolling Stones and others like Elton John have been huge superstars.
Blues music however did not cross racial lines, with the majority of famous blues musicians still residing in New Orleans and various other well-known black music entertainment venues of the South. Gospel music has been an African-American church tradition with influences from traditional African music and especially prevalent during the slavery era. Later (most likely because of those particular ignominious associations and all they implied, especially in the South) gospel
However, it is already clear that the music industry had been irrevocably changed as the revenue potential shifts from traditional sources to those corresponding to the way music is typically enjoyed and shared by youthful consumers today (Halbert & Ingulli, 2007). Conclusion Regardless of the many ways that modern technology and societies have changed the way music is produced, in many respects, music still provides many of the same functions as
Pop is tomorrow's Classical"- Paul McCartney. Discuss this contention within the context of rock/classical music collaborations since the early 1950s. Classical Rock and Popular Prophecy To the average music-listener, musical genres are easily divided into homogenous groupings without any danger of overlapping one another. Certainly, there are rare occurrences of "cross-over" hits on the radio that find airplay on both Adult Contemporary and Country stations, or those releases which find an
Censorship in Music Censorship Under the Guise of Protecting the Children Rock and Roll Culture Hip Hop Culture Is Censorship in Music Viable and Does it Make a Difference? There have been many attempts by society control music. Governmental statutes, agency regulations, business controls and parents have all tried to censor the music. Sometimes they have succeeded and sometimes they have not. The examination of various aspects of rock and rap music censorship involves general