Elvis Presley Sources Questions
James Carr 11aii
GCSE History Coursework: Source Evaluation
Assignment two: objective three
. From Source A I can learn that Elvis had 'six hit singles' and was highly
appreciated as a musician. Elvis, in Source A, was described as a '$1 pistol', this
means he was very much in demand. I can learn that Elvis was very popular in the music
industry as this source is from 'Billboard' which was a US music magazine. However, because
this source is from a music magazine we cannot learn his non-musical impact on USA in 1955.
Elvis' impact on popular music was so sudden as he came from no where to have six hit singles.
2. i) Source A's and Source B's opinion of Elvis is the main reason that these sources
differ. Source B is a publication which came from a newspaper and is concentrating
more on the media side of the situation but Source A describes Elvis' musical impact.
However, Source B does touch on Elvis' musical ability but the opinion of this very much
conflicts with Source A. For example, Source B states that Elvis was 'appalling musically'
but Source A calls Elvis an 'amazing country warbler'. Overall Source A's attitude towards
Elvis is a positive one, calling him 'a winner!' and 'amazing' and Source B shows a very
negative opinion of Elvis, saying he has 'no singing ability' and how he influenced popular
music to reach 'its lowest depths'.
2. ii) Source C, Source D and Source B all describe Elvis' actual personal appearances
and how they had terrible influences on youth. In matters of opinions of Elvis Sources
C, D and B all support each other. Much like Source B describing Elvis as 'caterwauling'
supports Source C describing Elvis as 'downright obscene' and Source D said Elvis was a
'punk kid'. Source D, however, does support Source A in terms of actual musical ability.
Source D is from an experienced singer who compliments Elvis by saying he sang 'like a bird'
which supports Source A that calls Elvis an 'amazing country warbler'. However, Source D
also disagrees with Source A and supports Source B by saying 'how shocking he was' which
was the general tone throughout Source B. Source C does not comment on Elvis' musical
ability in such a way as Source B but does not really support Sources A or D on these terms
either. Source C seems to not ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
Source D is from an experienced singer who compliments Elvis by saying he sang 'like a bird'
which supports Source A that calls Elvis an 'amazing country warbler'. However, Source D
also disagrees with Source A and supports Source B by saying 'how shocking he was' which
was the general tone throughout Source B. Source C does not comment on Elvis' musical
ability in such a way as Source B but does not really support Sources A or D on these terms
either. Source C seems to not really mind Elvis' music - 'If his entertainment could be
confined to records, it might not be too bad'. This source, therefore, does lean in Source
A's and D's support. Source C does, however, complain about Elvis' actual appearance -
'but unfortunately Elvis makes personal appearances' - this supports sources B and D.
3. Using Source B I can say that Elvis' appearance on the Milton Berle Show on 5
June 1955 'caused the most heated reaction' in the media. Source E explains how
'the Milton Berle show topped Phil Silver's Sergeant Bilko' in the ratings. This was the first
time that this had happened because Sergeant Bilko was such a popular American television
show. However, the Milton Berle show did not top the ratings simply because it was better this
time, it was because it created such an uproar in the media that it attracted so many viewers.
Using my own knowledge I can say that Sources B and E do support each other because even
though there opinions do not agree it still stands to reason that Elvis' appearance attracted so
many viewers simply because it was so appalling to American society. Source F shows Elvis on
stage 'hip thrusting' with women overwhelmed by the performance. This Source does support
the evidence in Source E as it shows how the Milton Berle show gained ratings from the
appearance of this, now, popular man. However, this photograph taken of Elvis in Source F
was taken in 1956, one year after the evidence in Source B and E had been published. Using
my own knowledge I can say that Elvis has gone from attracting people by being controversial,
as supported by evidence in Sources B and E, to being enjoyed by American society, as
supported by Source F. By the 1950's 'teenagers' developed into people with different views
and opinions than adults, also the threat of a nuclear war created a 'who cares?' approach in
youth. I can also say, using my own knowledge, that in the 1950's youth's income had
increased 10 times since the 1930's so businesses wanted to supply teenagers with their style of
music, which meant Elvis' music was mass produced to meet youth's requirements thus making
him more popular. Therefore, Sources E and F do support the evidence of Source B about the
impact of Elvis Presley.
4. By 1957 youth had developed their own tastes, fashions, morals etc. but they were
young and basically insignificant in terms of American society. They could not vote,
therefore, their opinions did not matter. In Source G (I) Celler sees that there is no point in
gaining the support of youth's as they cannot vote. Therefore, Celler simply rejects Elvis and his
fans.
When people first heard Elvis they thought he was a black man but when he made an
appearance he was clearly white. Race was a very big issue in the mid 50's and so the
appearance of this white man playing black music created a huge uproar, especially among the
Ku Klux Klan. Source G (II) states that Elvis is a 'cannibalistic, negro-loving rock and
roller', which demonstrates an immediate dislike towards Elvis and his music. Source G (II)
explains how the Ku Klus Klan have arranged to actually kill Elvis so they can be rid of him.
During the 50's religion still played a vital role in America. In these religious people's minds
Elvis was corrupting youth and they would do anything to stop their children from seeing,
meeting or listening to Elvis. In Source G (III) a religious man from the Protestant church states
that he would hate his daughter to meet Elvis. This shows that even two years after Elvis
became famous he is still very unpopular among adults.
5. By 1958 Elvis popularity among adults was still unchanged and his manager decided
to 're-brand' Elvis. Source I Elvis went to do his military service just like any other man. He
gained great respect and good publicity for this. Source I explains how Elvis went from being a
'nobody' to a 'somebody' by joining the army. It praises Elvis for doing his duty for his
country instead of trying to 'buy his way out'. Along with joining the army, Elvis also changed
his musical style and made wholesome films, which created a more acceptable opinion of Elvis.
Generally, adult's attitudes towards Elvis were changing for the better because of him being re-
branded. However, because youth still maintained a rebellious attitude Elvis' popularity among
youth went down slightly. They saw that adults found him more acceptable and, therefore,
some lost interest simply because he was not as rebellious as before.
6. Elvis Presley attracted many people simply because of how contraversial he was.
He showed American society something they had never seen before and although he
was greatly frowned upon he gained huge amounts of media attention for this very reason.
Source B shows how 'appalling' Elvis was and this was the reason Elvis gained popularity -
through the media. Because Source B is commenting on events that happened on a television
show much more attention was attracted from the media. This would not have been the case if
he had not appeared on television. In the 1950's money was no object, nearly every family had
a television, and it became the new and best form of advertisment and entertainment. Because
nearly every single family in America had a television Elvis' appearance on shows could be
viewed throughout the nation. Source C supports the idea that Elvis' impact was more the
result of television coverage of his performance than of his music. It states that 'if his
entertainment could be confined to records' it might not have as big an influence. It also says
that 'if TV companies would stop handling such stuff' his popularity would disapear. Other
factors did affect Elvis' impact, factors such as how teenagers had 'seperated' themselves from
adults. In the 1950's youths turned into 'anti-authority', 'anti-parents' and rebelious teenagers.
This was the affect of of a nuclear war threat on America, which created the 'who cares?'
attitude in youths. This idea was also aided by James Dean - 'the rebel without a cause'.
Because youth had such a high disposable income they wanted to spend money on something
that supported this anti-authority idea. So youth could afford to attend music concerts and buy
merchendise, guitars and music. This aided the success of Elvis Presley. Overall I do believe
that Elvis' impact on US society during the 1950s was more the result of television coverage of
his performance than of his music.
