Explores the factors — musical and cultural — that led to the birth of American rock 'n' roll music in the early 1950s. Covers in detail the genres, styles and people that converged to create this new music.
Memphis: Part 4
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From the course by University of Florida
Music's Big Bang: The Genesis of Rock 'n' Roll
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From the lesson
A tale of three cities: Memphis
The delivery room of rock 'n' roll
Meet the Instructors
Professor David CarlsonExecutive Director of the Center for Media Innovation + Research and Cox/Palm Beach Post Professor of New Media Journalism
College of Journalism & Communication: Center for Media Innovation
The next year for Elvis was another big success.
Four number one singles and he begins another career.
He becomes a movie actor.
This was the title song for
[MUSIC]
the first film in which Elvis played a major role.
>> Well, I bless my soul, what's wrong with me?
I'm itching like a man on a fuzzy tree.
My friends say I'm actin' wild as a bug, I'm in love.
I'm all shook up.
Mm-mm, mm-mm, oh, oh, yeah, yeah!
Well Elvis loved acting but we will come back to that in a minute.
Let's listen to the four number one songs that he had in 1957.
[MUSIC]
Well, honey, honey.
[MUSIC]
[MUSIC]
>> Well, Elvis loved acting, as I said, and he would end
up appearing in a total of 33 feature films over 15 years.
This is just about what an average film actor would do during an entire lifetime.
Now some of these movies were really good, a few of them were really good.
Others were frankly terrible.
Jailhouse Rock, one of his first, was possibly his best.
This film was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry and
being deemed culturally and historically and aesthetically significant.
Here's the title song.
[MUSIC]
[MUSIC]
So as I said, Elvis made some good movies.
He made some not so good movies.
I think we should watch the trailer for Jailhouse, Jailhouse Rock because
it's considered to be one of the greatest films of the 1950's.
[MUSIC]
>> Yes, you know this young man.
You've heard more about him than any star personality in the modern
entertainment world, yet here is an Elvis Presley you've never seen before.
Vince
Everett, dynamically portrayed by Elvis Presley, was
a tough, black-board jungle kid who became
even tougher under the influence of his
jailhouse cellmate, a terrific performance by Mickey Shaughnessy.
I'm an animal in the jungle, and I got a motto.
Do unto others as they would do unto you, only do it first.
>> Do it first.
That's right.
>> Jailhouse Rock is the astounding success story of
this rebel with a voice that rocked the world.
[MUSIC]
[MUSIC]
Baby, I don't care.
>> Jailhouse is also the love story of this rebel.
>> How dare you think such cheap tactics would work with me.
>> Ain't
tactics honey, it's just the beast in me.
The fires of violence still raged in Ben Sazzy, bought his
way to fame and fortune in the exciting world of popular music.
[MUSIC]
And then came Hollywood.
[MUSIC]
Vince, let's try it again.
Vince.
How do you like our movie star, Peggy?
>> He has adapted very quickly.
>> Well, there's not much oxygen up where he is and a man gets lightheaded.
Tramping on me is one thing, sonny.
That little girl like Peggy is another.
>> Just don't you go getting no ideas on her.
>> There comes a time when you got take a hand in things and that time is now.
>> Don't push me.
>> I'm going to beat hell out of you.
>> Don't try.
You're talking crazy, man.
>> You know you've got it coming, son.
>> I said don't try.
[MUSIC]
[MUSIC]
Well, then came the big news at what seemed to be the height of Elvis' career.
A draft notice from the United States Army arrives at the end of 1957.
Back in those days, along with taxes and death you could not escape the draft.
He became the world's most famous enlisted man.
He served in Germany.
Elvis did not want to be treated any differently from anybody else
but at the same time, he had become convinced his career was finished.
But RCA and Colonel Tom Parker had a smart plan.
They kept letting people know that Elvis didn't go away and they kept keeping
the public interested by releasing some old materials on compilation records.
Elvis also recorded some songs while he was on leave and
then, Elvis received the most devastating news of his entire life.
In the summer of 1958, his mother died of heart failure.
It was such a huge blow to Elvis that
some people consider it was a life-changing event for him.
That Elvis was never the same.
He looked liked a different person after his mother's passing.
After returning from the military, he became really weird, almost
like his brains had been sucked out of his head.
Well, he became the most famous enlisted man in the world and his
mother dies, which would affect him most for the rest of his life.
You know, his mother's loss was an unexpected end, untimely one.
His, his very first recording was for his mother.
When you lose your closest companion so
suddenly, then it's going to hurt you so bad.
Elvis never recovered from his Mom's death.
Honorably discharged in March 1960, Elvis was a changed man now.
He recorded some quality songs.
Most of them were watered down contemporary pop songs.
There were movie theme songs as well but
big time hits nonetheless, most Top 40 hits.
He still holds the record for the most Top 40 hits.
He also held the record for most songs on the Hot
100 chart until the cast of Glee broke that record in 2011.
Isn't that amazing?
Well, Elvis's songs have been covered by as many artists as you
can imagine and I hope, in a later class, we will take
up Elvis' career again in the 1960s and forward, because
there's quite a bit more career there but we're stopping in 1960 with this class.
So thank you for watching and we'll be back.
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