hit in the United States. He was regarded as the leading
figure of rock and roll after a series of successful network
television appearances and chart-topping records. His
energized interpretations of songs and sexually
provocative performance style, combined with a
singularly potent mix of influences across color lines that
coincided with the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement,
made him enormously popular—and controversial.
In November 1956, he made his film debut in Love Me
Tender. In 1958, he was drafted into military service. He
resumed his recording career two years later, producing
some of his most commercially successful work before
devoting much of the 1960s to making Hollywood movies
and their accompanying soundtrack albums, most of
which were critically derided. In 1968, following a sevenyear break from live performances, he returned to the
stage in the acclaimed televised comeback special Elvis,
which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency
and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley
was featured in the first globally broadcast concert via
satellite, Aloha from Hawaii. Several years of prescription
drug abuse severely damaged his health, and he died in
1977 at the age of 42.
Presley is one of the most celebrated and influential
musicians of the 20th century. Commercially successful
in many genres, including pop, blues and gospel, he is
the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded
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