Elvis Presley Coursework

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Elvis Presley Coursework

. Study Source A.

What can you learn from Source A about Elvis Presley 's impact on popular

music in the USA in 1955?

In Source A the magazine "Billboard" Presley is described as:

"A Winner! Presley Hot As $1 Pistol"

This statement means that Elvis is in demand and that he is popular and wanted as a musician by lots of different people.

When Presley brought out two tracks in March 1955 (called Heartbreak Hotel and I Was The One) he went straight to number 2 in the charts, even though people knew that he was singing black style music. In number 1 place was Perry Como's jukebox Baby, Perry Como was a respectable, conforming, all-round nice guy of the time. So this Source tells us that despite the style of Presleys music he still was "good enough" to cause a worry to the existing, well loved singers of that time.

2. Study Sources A and B.

(i) In what ways do the sources differ?

Source A says positive things about Presley like, he can sing, there is high demand for him and that he is wanted by the listeners of America, whereas Source B is against Elvis and describes him "caterwauling unintelligible lyrics in an inadequate voice, during a display of primitive physical movement..."

The sources can be inaccurate because Source A is a music and entertainment magazine and is sure to say that Elvis Presley is wonderful and great, so it can raise its ratings and so that people buy their magazine.

Source B is inaccurate because the quotes taken to say how awful Elvis Presley is are all taken from newspapers that are aimed for the white middle class businessman, and their families, so the reports that are given will mostly be against Elvis and his style of music.

(ii)Use Sources C and D, and your own knowledge, to explain why sources A and B differs.

Source C is from the Catholic weekly and says that "If his entertainment could

be confined to records, it might not be too bad an influence on the young, but

unfortunately Presley makes personal appearances". This Source suggests that

Elvis could be coped with if he would only release records, and that only his style of dancing and general appearance was the source of all the problems that

were currently surrounding him.

Source D is from Roy Orbison, a respected and well-established singer at that time. Orbison said, "He was this punk kid, singing like a bird." Now this impression that Orbison gives describes Presley as a rough, off-the-streets who came on stage to sing in the same way he would go into a bar, Orbison says " First thing he came out and spat on the stage. In fact he spat out a piece
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of gum. Plus he told some real bad, crude jokes, which weren't funny". All of this is creating a very bad image of Elvis. Roy Orbison would want this to happen because Elvis Presley would be a threat to him. Elvis became very popular very fast, even with his style of music.

Source B + C is aimed at the same audiences that are white, catholic, businessmen. The majority of these types of people will be against Elvis's music

because of the style, (black) dancing (provocative) and the bad image given of him by famous ...

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