Elvis Presley - Hound Dog (2007) CasTaN

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer, musician,
and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he
is often referred to as "the King of Rock and Roll", or simply, "the King".

Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, Presley and his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, when he
was 13 years old. His music career began there in 1954, when he started to work with Sam
Phillips, the owner of Sun Records. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill
Black, Presley was an early popularizer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion
of country music and rhythm and blues. RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged
by Colonel Tom Parker, who was to manage the singer for more than two decades. Presley's
first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel", released in January 1956, was a number-one hit in the
US. He became the leading figure of rock and roll after a series of 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 seven-year 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
deteriorated his health, and he died in 1977 at the age of 42.

Presley is one of the most celebrated 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 music, with estimated album sales of around 600 million units worldwide. He was
nominated for 14 Grammys and won three, receiving the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age
36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame.