Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "
King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as
one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a
transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and
initial controversy.
Presley was born in
Tupelo, Mississippi
Tupelo () is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. With an estimated population of 38,300, Tupelo is the sixth-largest city in Mississippi and is considered a commercial, industrial, and cultural hub of North M ...
, and relocated to
Memphis, Tennessee, with his family when he was 13 years old. His music career began there in 1954, recording at
Sun Records with producer
Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of
African-American music to a wider audience. Presley, on rhythm acoustic guitar, and accompanied by lead guitarist
Scotty Moore and bassist
Bill Black, was a pioneer of
rockabilly, an uptempo,
backbeat-driven fusion of
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...
and
rhythm and blues. In 1955, drummer
D. J. Fontana joined to complete the lineup of Presley's classic quartet and
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
acquired his contract in a deal arranged by