Elvis Presley: Such a Big Impact on America

With more than 500 million albums sold and 18 number one songs, Elvis Presley has been described as the ‘American music giant who single-handedly changed the course of music and culture’. His impact, simply put, changed the course of musical history and projected America into a new world of cultural homogenisation and sexual liberalism. Throughout his career, Presley was reimaged by managers and music labels to maximise profit and engage a wider audience. He began as a southern juvenile delinquent and a voice for the younger generation but, after his army conscription, Presley was transformed into a family entertainer and an embodiment of the American dream.

His impact went beyond music as he permeated other facets of American culture including film, television and racial politics. Whilst there exists no singular explanation for his unabated influence on American culture, the following essay shall assess his career through ‘indices of wider social and cultural contexts in which they are embedded’ to acquire its determinants.

Presley played an integral role in de-emphasising the roots of African American music and successfully changing its demographic to include the white American population.

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Rock n’ Roll along with Rhythm and Blues (RnB) was developed for marginal blacks from the south as a musical expression for those excluded from mainstream society. Racialised politics and segregation kept the music of Rock architects including Chuck Berry and Little Richard to a predominantly black audience as their music ‘offended’ white middle class taste. The post-war popularity of RnB and Rock saw a seemingly growing demand but, the white majority now ‘wanted their heroes to look like them’ .

In 1954, Sam Phillips of Sun Records expressed that ‘if (he) could find a white man who had the Negro sound and Negro feel, I would make a billion dollars’; and he found it, in the form of juvenile delinquent Elvis Presley. Altschuler argues that Presley created an identity which assimilated the speech and mannerisms of African American masculinity but in a “white, more accepted, exterior”. More importantly, his music ‘merged disparate strands of blues, country and rock into a fiercely dynamic sound’ known as ‘Rockabilly’, as seen in his cover of Blue Moon of Kentucky. Whilst the genre was not new, Presley successfully introduced it to tens of thousands of white Americans. His unique music blurred the lines between genres and his hit Don’t Be Cruel was the first record ever to be at the top of the Billboards Pop, Country and RnB charts simultaneously. He gave a ‘white face’ to African American music and ‘set in motion a style of music that dominated the world for the rest of the century’. Thus, his work helped develop as mass market for Rnb and Rock n Roll which provided opportunities for black musicians.

Within the wider cultural context, Bertrand outlines that Presley’s music brought an unprecedented access to African American culture that ‘challenged the 1950s segregated generation’ as his interracial appeal served as an impetus for greater cultural harmony. America was racially divided and by 1950, Rock n Roll had been targeted by southern segregationists who believed that ‘racial mixing led to miscegenation and sexual immortality’. Whilst the civil rights movement was gaining momentum, Presley had rose to immeasurable fame and became a figure of integration. The hybrid duality of his music, the dichotomy of African American style and white country, was not aimed at any race and ethnicity and demonstrated popularity in both the black and white community. His interracial appeal served as an impetus to unite both communities under a commonality of music. In June 1956, Presley attended an amusement park on their designated ‘coloured’ night. A rope was put up to separate blacks and whites in the audience but when he started singing people broke the rope and started dancing together. Thus, Marsh argues that Elvis did something more than just appropriating black culture, but he was engaged in racial mixing. He demonstrated that black and white tendencies could ‘co-exist and the product of their coexistence was thrilling’. He publicly acknowledged his gratitude to African American culture and commented in the Charlotte Observer (1956) that ‘the coloured folks have been singing and playing it just like I’m doing now for more years than I know’.

Furthermore, Presley was the catalyst of the unabated teenage youth revolution and his fame was linked to the moral panic surrounding the behaviour of girls at his live performances. The 1950s was see as a time of stagnation with the post-war younger generation looking for a symbol of ‘rejection of the past and hope for the future’. Thus, young people formed the nucleus of alternative subculture, disgusted by sexual conventions and societal mores. For middle-class white girls who rejected superficial conventionalism, they had no choice but to adapt male versions of rebellion. Wise argues that it was the cultural duality of Presley’s music, both mainstream and countercultural, that paralleled the paradox that young girls faced. His expression of rampant male sexuality and masculinity challenged social conventions and the rejection by older generations was a major impetus of his popularity. He was nicknamed ‘Elvis the Pelvis’ as his performances ‘always came back to sex’. Lipsitz postulates that Presley successfully challenged American cultural attitudes and values and became a voice to the counterculture which defined the rest of the 20th century.

However, no matter how influential Presley’s music was, his impact on US culture was never entirely musical as his success ‘brought home how economically powerful teenagers could be’. During the early 20th century consumers were ‘passive victims’ of popular culture which was dictated by a hierarchical process of corporal decision makers and influencers. Record companies favoured the ‘majority’ which were middle class values and any deviation from this was considered economically futile. However, most Elvis’s fans were young impressionable teenagers who became a force in post-war popular music. Elvis became a brand as his songs, such as Blue Suede Shoes, portrayed his idea of consumerism and materialism. He was always seen showing off his wealth and in an interview in 1958 he boasted about his ‘fifteen pairs of suede shoes, three Cadillacs and over one hundred suits’. Teenage consumers of rock n roll continued to dominate the market and meant for the first time in American history, teenagers were considered an important demographic market. Elvis demonstrated how economically powerful teenagers could be with his song Heartbreak Hotel selling a million and a half records in two days. The popular culture hierarchy had been reversed, teenagers want for rock n roll and Rnb dictated record production. They were as important as their parents in shaping popular culture and marketing strategies.

On the other hand, Elvis’s rebellion was short lived and his conscription to the army served to dismantle his delinquent persona before re-inventing himself as a wholesome family entertainer; winning the hearts of parents and adults alike. In 1958, Elvis was drafted into the army and after his two-year service, the music he created was more traditional and less RnB. It included Now or New which was a reworking of the Italian song O Sole Mio. Presley abandoned his music career in 1962 to become a film star, only releasing soundtrack albums from 1963-66. His film image confirmed him as a family entertainer and the majority of the 27 films he starred him portrayed him as a romantic and traditional lover. The famous scene of him singing Wooden Heart to accompany a children’s puppet show was conformation of him as a neutered performer with his lower body out of the frame. Thus, his humble beginnings and newfound persona meant the generational division on his popularity was severed. Rodman argues that Elvis was an embodiment of the American dream and a symbol of hope and social mobility. In August 1971, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences beyond Presley the lifetime achievement award. His versatility was consolidated, and he was loved by all. As Marcus notes, ‘Elvis was not only a singer or an artist. He was that perfect American symbol’ as he had served in the army like any other boy.

In conclusion, the results of Elvis’s cultural upheaval in which he presided over a still with us today. He not only successfully dominated the music industry but permeated other facets of popular culture including television and film. He became a voice to Rock N Roll and Rnb as well as the youth rebellion. Presley disrupting popular music culture by combining a range of musical roots to move marginal music forms into the mainstream.