Elvis Presley

Have you heard of Elvis Presley? Most people recognize him as a celebrity, but I recognize him as a generous, kind, and determined hero. He had a pretty rough life in the beginning, but he took his life and made something great out of it.

Elvis Presley has many heroic qualities and he accomplished so many great things. First of all, he was very inspirational. He made people keep doing what they wanted to do and to never give up on their dreams. He did that by continuing making music that many disliked because he knew that he could make it popular. Lastly what he is most famous for is he changed music that was played everywhere and made rock and roll acceptable. Elvis Presley is a hero in my mind without a doubt.

Elvis did not have the greatest early life. He was born on January 8th, 1935 during the Great Depression. Elvis was the only child because his brother Jessie was born dead. Later, His father’s drinking caused him to lose a good paying job and his mother had to do extra washing and sewing to keep food on the table. They needed a better life so they moved to Memphis, Tennessee. Elvis started singing because he sang songs in church and he thought they had a rock and roll, swingy beat. That day was the only day he looked forward to because he had no siblings and few friends. One day, when Elvis was ten years old, he entered a talent show and sang one of his favorite songs, “Old Shep.” He won second prize: free admission to the amusement park and a five dollar bill! Also, when they had parties in school, Elvis was not there. He walked around the streets and listened to African American street music. He was inspired by the music they sang because they put so much feeling into their music. Later, Elvis went to a recording studio to make a record for his mother’s birthday. He recorded the song and everyone thought he sounded awful. No one wanted to listen to his music. Then the recorder formed a new impression of him. He was very polite and always said “thank you” to his applauding fans all the while calling the director “sir.” The director had to listen to a record by an unknown singer. Of course it was Elvis but he didn’t know that. He really liked it and when he found out it was Elvis, he told him he was great. He then made the record and it was sold in many different places. He sold 1,000,000 of them! Elvis had a tough life, but keep reading to find out how he made himself great.

Elvis’s life was tough. He had many difficult challenges and problems along the way. First of all, he grew up in the Great Depression as stated before and he barely had any money. It was not easy to live and it caused his family to move. Also, his mother died of a heart attack and his life was never the same again. He missed her so much and he couldn’t accept the fact that he would never see her again. Also, he married a woman named Priscilla he met in the military and she had a baby. However, Elvis was touring so much and getting so much attention, that Priscilla and Elvis divorced because he couldn’t see her or the baby at all. Another challenge Elvis faced was everyone hated his music. At one place, they actually booed and yelled! Elvis did keep going though and pulled it through. Lastly, when Elvis was filmed on TV, they filmed him from the waist up because he shook his hips and people thought that was shocking because no one had ever done that before and they thought it was inappropriate. But people (especially teenagers) soon came to like his dancing because he put feeling into his music and goes with the flow. Those are some of the challenges Elvis faced but he overcame them and was successful.

Elvis had many contributions to the world and to his field. Some contributions to his field are he changed music. He made records and sold them around the world; he made rock and roll acceptable. His goal for life was to do something successful in his life and he did it in the recording studios. His music was a whole new style and no one had ever heard anything like it. He took Gospel, Jazz, Blues and Spiritual and combined it all together to make rock and roll. Some contributions to the world are he donated to a cancer fund in Hawaii and had many charitable donations. Also, he went into the military and fought for the country.

Elvis was awarded for the great things he did in his life. Here are some of those recognitions. He was presented fourteen Grammy Nominations and three Grammy Awards by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry. He was recognized as someone who made up his own style of something and made it popular. Also, he was put on a postage stamp by his former wife Priscilla so that people could remember what he did. Another thing is he had souvenirs dedicated to him; Touch of Elvis Hair Gel or Elvis lipstick (Hound Dog Blue or Heartbreak Hotel Orange etc.) As you can see, Elvis had many awards and recognitions awarded to him. Keep reading to find more facts on Elvis Presley’s life.

Here are three traits to describe Elvis Presley. First of all, he was very selfless. When he got famous, he never demanded anything and he didn’t make people do things for him. He also had very good manners. He called his director “sir” and said “thank you” to his fans. Another reason that Elvis was selfless was he gave $85,000 to a cancer fund in Hawaii. He bought his poor Mom and Dad a new car and let them move in to his mansion, “Graceland.” When he was in the army he never asked the army soldiers to give him special treatment; he wanted to be treated the same as everyone else. Another trait is that Elvis is determined. Nobody liked his music but he kept making music and tried to make it popular. Also, Elvis sang his own music and didn’t imitate other people like he was supposed to be doing in his recording studio. He messed up at a concert because everyone in the crowd hated his music so they booed and threw things. Elvis didn’t take it so personally and his next concert was a huge success. Also he didn’t like to imitate other singers because he wanted to show people that he could make his own style of music popular. Lastly, Elvis is charismatic. People are inspired by his music. He’s inspired many famous singers. One he inspired is Richard Marx, famous pop and rock singer, because he liked the way Elvis sang and his style of music. Another reason Elvis is charismatic is because when he went to the military he was afraid his fans would forget him. He was surprised by what he saw; his fans actually doubled in number and his bank account was HUGE!!! He really underestimated his fame. After that, he automatically became the King of rock and roll.

Elvis died on August 16, 1977 of a heart failure during the night. Elvis is someone who made his dreams come true, and he made people believe that average people can grow up to do extraordinary things. He is still remembered today as a person who never quit believing in himself and always kept pushing through struggles he had along the way. His records are still being sold every day, and no one will forget the great things he did to change the things people listened to and did. He may be gone, but his greatness still lives on.