Since that fateful day in 1953 when Elvis Presley first walked into Sun Studios, Elvis had been closely associated with that studio (who also had members such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins) and Sam Phillips. He’d got his first recording contract and cut his first commercial track there. His band started at Sun and all Elvis’s success had stemmed from that little studio in Memphis.
But Elvis was getting big. By 1955, he had a large fan base, a gruelling touring schedule and several minor hits to his name. Elvis’s career needed a boost.
The first big change that changed Elvis’s life and career forever was his meeting Colonel Tom Parker, later to become Elvis’s manager. Parker had managed singer Eddy Arnold but had now heard the buzz about this new singer. He felt he could take Elvis’s career to the next level, as his manager, and that’s exactly what he did.
One of Parker’s first important acts was getting Elvis a recording contract with RCA in late 1955. RCA was a large enough company to get Elvis’s work all over the United States and later the world. Elvis must have been scared. He’d never recorded anything not under the Sun Studios label and everyone who knew him well in the recording industry would have been with the smaller studio. But to become as famous as he would, he needed to move to the bigger company.
Elvis’s musical selection had changed considerably since when he first started. His first couple songs had been bluesy, like Arthur Crudup’s “That’s Alright Mama”, or country-ish, like “I Forgot to Remember to Forget”. They had elements of blues, gospel, and country and were called rockabilly, a style Elvis was originally associated with. These songs tended to be upbeat, crowd pleasers. But when Elvis got the first single done for his LP, Elvis Presley, for RCA, it was the slow, bluesy, hard-hitting “Heartbreak Hotel”. His new studio was furious. They wanted him to be successful so they could be successful and this was like nothing else he’d ever done before. But the change paid off. “Heartbreak Hotel” became Elvis’s first national number one in April 1956.
Elvis’s musical style continued to evolve and he started adding more “real” rock ‘n’ roll into his repertoire, the rhythm and blues that people like Chuck Berry and Little Richard were putting out. Elvis’s cover of “Long Tall Sally” or “Rip it Up” are examples of this.
Then came another big change; Colonel Parker got Elvis into Hollywood and the movies. Starting with Love me Tender in 1956 and moving through films like Loving You and The Jailhouse Rock in 1957, all with songs unique to the themes and titles of the pictures. Scary at first, but Elvis ended up with an average salary of one million USD per picture and continued to make thirty-one films (not including his two concert documentaries).
The best parts of Elvis’s life came with changes. There was when he went into the army, the tracks he recorded while in it and the buzz created when he got out. Then, when musical tastes were switching to the like of The Beach Boys and, later, The Beatles and The British Invasion, Elvis was in Hollywood making movies and selling their soundtracks. When he got tired of that, he did his ‘68 Comeback Special, including the original acoustic portion of the show. He moved on to Las Vegas sporting custom made jumpsuits instead of the typical tuxedoes of other singers. Then, he sang in the first globally broadcast concert in Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii.
And, as a matter of note, the lowest points in Elvis’s life were when he wasn’t changing or doing something new. His movie-making in the 60’s led him to play the same, old, stale characters after a while and he put on weight and was less popular during his later time in Hollywood. Also, his constant touring schedule in the 70’s, staging over 1,100 concerts between 1969 and his death, eventually led to less exciting performances and poor health which eventually killed him. Elvis was known as an innovator of popular music and is remembered for that now. Change is innovation. Stagnation leads slowly, as it did in Elvis’s case, to death. In contrast, he never looked healthier than when he was doing something new, like star in his 1968 comeback special. Makes you think, huh?
Elvis’s Lessons:
Ø Elvis moved to RCA when his career needed to go to the next step. Go to the next big opportunity, even if you’re scared, when it’s time to push the boundary a bit more and get out of a rut. HINT: You’ll know you’re in a rut if you aren’t enjoying what you were doing before as much as you used to, if you feel unfulfilled. Remember Elvis’s Hollywood career.
P.S. If you're interested in hearing some of Elvis's early RCA, Rock n Roll, material, here's a recording of "Rip it Up": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZPpd8-pbm4
But Elvis was getting big. By 1955, he had a large fan base, a gruelling touring schedule and several minor hits to his name. Elvis’s career needed a boost.
The first big change that changed Elvis’s life and career forever was his meeting Colonel Tom Parker, later to become Elvis’s manager. Parker had managed singer Eddy Arnold but had now heard the buzz about this new singer. He felt he could take Elvis’s career to the next level, as his manager, and that’s exactly what he did.
One of Parker’s first important acts was getting Elvis a recording contract with RCA in late 1955. RCA was a large enough company to get Elvis’s work all over the United States and later the world. Elvis must have been scared. He’d never recorded anything not under the Sun Studios label and everyone who knew him well in the recording industry would have been with the smaller studio. But to become as famous as he would, he needed to move to the bigger company.
Elvis’s musical selection had changed considerably since when he first started. His first couple songs had been bluesy, like Arthur Crudup’s “That’s Alright Mama”, or country-ish, like “I Forgot to Remember to Forget”. They had elements of blues, gospel, and country and were called rockabilly, a style Elvis was originally associated with. These songs tended to be upbeat, crowd pleasers. But when Elvis got the first single done for his LP, Elvis Presley, for RCA, it was the slow, bluesy, hard-hitting “Heartbreak Hotel”. His new studio was furious. They wanted him to be successful so they could be successful and this was like nothing else he’d ever done before. But the change paid off. “Heartbreak Hotel” became Elvis’s first national number one in April 1956.
Elvis’s musical style continued to evolve and he started adding more “real” rock ‘n’ roll into his repertoire, the rhythm and blues that people like Chuck Berry and Little Richard were putting out. Elvis’s cover of “Long Tall Sally” or “Rip it Up” are examples of this.
Then came another big change; Colonel Parker got Elvis into Hollywood and the movies. Starting with Love me Tender in 1956 and moving through films like Loving You and The Jailhouse Rock in 1957, all with songs unique to the themes and titles of the pictures. Scary at first, but Elvis ended up with an average salary of one million USD per picture and continued to make thirty-one films (not including his two concert documentaries).
The best parts of Elvis’s life came with changes. There was when he went into the army, the tracks he recorded while in it and the buzz created when he got out. Then, when musical tastes were switching to the like of The Beach Boys and, later, The Beatles and The British Invasion, Elvis was in Hollywood making movies and selling their soundtracks. When he got tired of that, he did his ‘68 Comeback Special, including the original acoustic portion of the show. He moved on to Las Vegas sporting custom made jumpsuits instead of the typical tuxedoes of other singers. Then, he sang in the first globally broadcast concert in Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii.
And, as a matter of note, the lowest points in Elvis’s life were when he wasn’t changing or doing something new. His movie-making in the 60’s led him to play the same, old, stale characters after a while and he put on weight and was less popular during his later time in Hollywood. Also, his constant touring schedule in the 70’s, staging over 1,100 concerts between 1969 and his death, eventually led to less exciting performances and poor health which eventually killed him. Elvis was known as an innovator of popular music and is remembered for that now. Change is innovation. Stagnation leads slowly, as it did in Elvis’s case, to death. In contrast, he never looked healthier than when he was doing something new, like star in his 1968 comeback special. Makes you think, huh?
Elvis’s Lessons:
Ø Elvis moved to RCA when his career needed to go to the next step. Go to the next big opportunity, even if you’re scared, when it’s time to push the boundary a bit more and get out of a rut. HINT: You’ll know you’re in a rut if you aren’t enjoying what you were doing before as much as you used to, if you feel unfulfilled. Remember Elvis’s Hollywood career.
P.S. If you're interested in hearing some of Elvis's early RCA, Rock n Roll, material, here's a recording of "Rip it Up": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZPpd8-pbm4
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