Elvis Presley Chapter 7

Biography  Born in 1935  Born in Tupelo, MS  Considered “poor white trash”  As a child, influenced by the white Gospel music of his family’s church The Pentacostalist First Assembly of God The Pentacostalist First Assembly of God  Moved to Memphis in 1948 He was 13 He was 13

Influences  Big Bill Broonzy  B.B. King  Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup  Listened to the blues His parents called it “devil music” His parents called it “devil music”

General Influences  Country and Western  Rural Blues  Gospel Both white and black styles Both white and black styles  Popular singers

Presley’s Vocal Style  Country and Western Southern accent, clear pronunciation of words, sense of musical phrasing Southern accent, clear pronunciation of words, sense of musical phrasing  Rural Blues Vocal techniques such as growling, use of blue notes, wailing style of delivery, and sensual performance style Vocal techniques such as growling, use of blue notes, wailing style of delivery, and sensual performance style  White Gospel Clear background vocal harmonies Clear background vocal harmonies  Black Gospel Exuberant, almost shouting and ecstatic performance style Exuberant, almost shouting and ecstatic performance style  White pop singers Crooning, easy listening style of his ballads Crooning, easy listening style of his ballads

Scotty Moore  Elvis’ guitar player  Had a twangy, country-influenced guitar sound  Played a significant roll in Presley’s early success  Born in 1931  Local Memphis guitarist who was playing in a country band  Philips used Moore when a country sounding guitar part was needed

Elvis’ start at Sun Records  In 1953, Presley recorded two ballads for his mother at Sun studios  The secretary saved the tapes and played them for Philips  Philips had said, “If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars.”  He found that with Elvis

That’s Alright Mama (1954)  Recording session with Elvis was not going well  They were on a break and Elvis started singing, the musicians joined in, Sam Philips recorded it  The song was very successful in Memphis

That’s Alright Mama  Instrumentation Presley on acoustic rhythm guitar and vocals, Scotty Moore on electric lead guitar, Bill Black on acoustic bass Presley on acoustic rhythm guitar and vocals, Scotty Moore on electric lead guitar, Bill Black on acoustic bass  Form 9 bar blues in the verses, 10 bar blues in the guitar solo, 8 bar blues on the last “scat” verse 9 bar blues in the verses, 10 bar blues in the guitar solo, 8 bar blues on the last “scat” verse Stophic song form in A Stophic song form in A

That’s Alright Mama  Country feel  Stiff rhythm guitar beat  Two beat bass in the verses  Walking bass in the guitar solo  Country feel of the guitar solo  Presley imitates vocal style of blues singers  Enough mixture of both black and white musical elements here to grab one’s attention and realize that here is a new sound

Col. Tom Parker’s Contracts  Parker recognized Elvis “marketability”  Signed him to a lucrative contract  Under his guidance, Elvis became one of the highest paid entertainers of the time  One part of the contract specified that Presley must be named as a co-composer of every song he recorded Because of this, Presley received dual royalties for every single and album sold Because of this, Presley received dual royalties for every single and album sold

Elvis’ Recording Contracts  November 1955, RCA Records bought Presley’s recording contract from Philips for the unheard of sum of $40,000 ($35,000 for Philips and a $5000 bonus for Presley) ($35,000 for Philips and a $5000 bonus for Presley)  First RCA recording was done in Nashville in January 1956  RCA kept Moore and Black and added D.J. Fontana on drums to keep the “Sun” sound

Heartbreak Hotel  Elvis’ first number one single with RCA in April 1956  Song was inspired by a suicide note  Remained at number one for 8 weeks  8 bar blues pattern  Strophic song form  In the key of E  V1, V2, V3, V4, Guitar Solo, Piano Solo, Repeat of V2

Presley’s Hit  Heartbreak Hotel (8 Weeks at No. 1)  I Want You, I Need You, I Love You  Don’t Be Cruel  Hound Dog (11 weeks at No. 1)  Love Me Tender (5 weeks at No. 1)  Too Much (3 weeks at No. 1)  All Shook Up (8 weeks at No. 1)  Teddy Bear (7 weeks at No. 1)  Jailhouse Rock (7 weeks at No. 1) Written by Leiber and Stroller Written by Leiber and Stroller First single to enter the British pop charts at no. 1 First single to enter the British pop charts at no. 1  Treat Me Nice (7 weeks at No. 1)

Presley’s Movie Career  Did a screen test for Paramount Pictures before Heartbreak Hotel was released  Signed a deal to act in 3 films  Style of movies Uncomplicated plots Uncomplicated plots Working opposite attractive female co-stars Working opposite attractive female co-stars Several songs thrown in whether they had something to do with the plot or not Several songs thrown in whether they had something to do with the plot or not  First film’s title was changed to match the title song

Presley in the Army  Received his draft notice in late 1957  Ordered to report for duty in March 1958  Served for two years in Germany  Met his future wife Priscilla Beaulieu (She was 14) Priscilla Beaulieu (She was 14)  Before Presley left for the Army, he recorded several singles These singles were released while he was in the army as if he were never gone These singles were released while he was in the army as if he were never gone

Can’t Help Falling In Love  After the Army, Elvis’ style became more like an easy listening lounge act  A typical example of this style is the 1962 hit Can’t Help Falling In Love From the film Blue Hawaii From the film Blue Hawaii  Reached No. 2 in 1962

Elements of Music (1) Can’t Help Falling in Love  Sound Lead Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Drums, Piano, Celeste, Backing Vocals Lead Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Drums, Piano, Celeste, Backing Vocals No instrumental solo No instrumental solo  Form Standard song form, Verses are 8 bars long, bridge sections are 5 bars long Standard song form, Verses are 8 bars long, bridge sections are 5 bars long  Harmony Origial chord progression in D Origial chord progression in D

Elements of Music (2) Can’t Help Falling In Love  Rhythm Pulse is between 63 and 69, No rock emphasis on the backbeat, basic beat is subdivided into triplet beats Pulse is between 63 and 69, No rock emphasis on the backbeat, basic beat is subdivided into triplet beats  Melody Narrow range within an octave, motion is smooth and stepwise, the bridge is disjunct, lower range of his voice with lots of vibrato Narrow range within an octave, motion is smooth and stepwise, the bridge is disjunct, lower range of his voice with lots of vibrato  Text Declaration of love, sung one to one, in the present Declaration of love, sung one to one, in the present He is trying to convince her that their love is right He is trying to convince her that their love is right

Presley’s Contribution  His greatest contribution occurred at the beginning of his career  Instrumental in developing the Memphis country rock sound  Always remained with the easy listening, crooning style of Dean Martin and Perry Como The style he turned to after his military service The style he turned to after his military service

Presley’s Death  As time went on, he became more and more paranoid about his life and turned to prescription drugs  All the drugs caused “plumbing” problems internally  He died on the toilet at Graceland in August 1977