Cultural impact of Elvis Presley

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Since the beginning of his career, American singer Elvis Presley has had an extensive cultural impact. According to the monthly magazine, Rolling Stone, "It was Elvis who made rock 'n' roll the international language of pop." The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll describes Presley as "an American music giant of the 20th century who single-handedly changed the course of music and culture in the mid-1950s".^[1] His recordings, dance moves, attitude, and clothing came to be seen as embodiments of rock and roll. His music was heavily influenced by African-American blues, Christian gospel, and Southern country. In a list of the greatest English language singers, as compiled by Q magazine, Presley was ranked first,^[2] and second in the list of greatest singers of the 20th century by BBC Radio.^[3] Some people claim that Presley created a whole new style of music: "It wasn't black, wasn't white, wasn't pop or wasn't country—it was different." As most singers in his time created music geared for adults, he gave teens music to grow up with.

Presley sang hard-driving rock and roll, rockabilly dance songs, and ballads, laying a commercial foundation upon which other rock musicians would build their careers. African-American performers such as Big Joe Turner, Wynonie Harris and Fats Domino came to national prominence after Presley's acceptance among mass audiences of white American adults. Singers like Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, and others immediately followed in his wake. John Lennon later commented: "Before Elvis, there was nothing."^[4]

During the post-WWII economic boom of the 1950s, many parents were able to give their teenage children much higher weekly allowances, signaling a shift in the buying power and purchasing habits of American teens. During the 1940s, bobby soxers had idolized Frank Sinatra, but the buyers of his records were mostly between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two. Presley triggered a lot of demand for his records from young people aged ten and up. Along with Presley's "ducktail" haircut, the demand for black slacks and loose, open-necked shirts resulted in new lines of clothing for teenage boys, whereas a girl might get a pink portable 45 rpm record player for her bedroom. Meanwhile, American teenagers began buying newly available portable transistor radios^[5] and listening to rock and roll on them, helping to propel that fledgling industry from an estimated 100,000 units sold in 1955 to 5,000,000 units by the end of 1958.^{[citation needed]} Teens were asserting more independence and Presley became a national symbol of their parents' consternation.^{[citation needed]}

Presley's impact on the American youth consumer market was noted on the front page of The Wall Street Journal for December 31, 1956, when business journalist Louis M. Kohlmeier wrote, "Elvis Presley today is a business", and reported on the singer's record and merchandise sales. Half a century later, historian Ian Brailsford (University of Auckland, New Zealand) commented, "The phenomenal success of Elvis Presley in 1956 convinced many doubters of the financial opportunities existing in the youth market."^[6]