Elvis Presley part 2

1956–57: Commercial breakout

First RCA recordings and national exposure

On January 10, 1956, Presley made his first recordings for RCA in Nashville, Tennessee. Despite Scotty, Bill and D.J. being in the studio with him, RCA enlisted the talents of already established stars Floyd Cramer and Chet Atkins also to "...fatten the sound." The session produced "Heartbreak Hotel/I Was The One" which was released on January 27.

To increase the singer's exposure, Parker finally brought Presley to national television after booking six appearances on CBS's Stage Show in New York, beginning January 28, 1956. Presley was introduced on the first program by Cleveland DJ Bill Randle. He stayed in town and on January 30, he and the band headed for the RCA's New York Studio. The sessions yielded eight songs, including "My Baby Left Me" and "Blue Suede Shoes". The latter was the only hit single from the collection, but the recordings marked the point at which Presley started moving away from the relatively raw Sun sound to the more commercial style RCA had envisioned for him. The public reaction to "Heartbreak Hotel" was sufficiently strong that RCA released it as a single in its own right on February 11.

Presley was becoming increasingly popular nationwide and teenagers flocked to his concerts. Scotty Moore recalled: "He’d start out, 'You ain’t nothin’ but a Hound Dog,' and they’d just go to pieces. They’d always react the same way. There’d be a riot every time." Bob Neal wrote: "It was almost frightening, the reaction... from [white] teenage boys. So many of them, through some sort of jealousy, would practically hate him." In Lubbock, Texas, a teenage gang fire-bombed Presley's car. Some performers became resentful (or resigned to the fact) that Presley's unmatched hustle onstage before them would "kill" their own act; he thus rose quickly to top billing. At the two concerts he performed at the 1956 Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show, fifty National Guardsmen were added to the police security to prevent crowd trouble.

Debut album and Milton Berle Show

On March 23, RCA Victor released Presley's self-titled debut album. As with the Sun recordings—several of which it included—many of the tracks were rock and roll covers of country songs. The album went on to top the pop album chart for 10 weeks and became RCA's first million-dollar seller. Cultural historian Gilbert B. Rodman argues that the album's cover image, "of Elvis having the time of his life on stage with a guitar in his hands played a crucial role in positioning the guitar...as the instrument that best captured the style and spirit of this new music." On April 1, Presley launched his acting career with a screen test for Paramount Pictures. He signed a seven-year contract with the studio on April 25. That same month, twelve weeks after its original release, "Heartbreak Hotel" became Presley's first number one pop hit.

Parker had also obtained a deal for two lucrative appearances on NBC-TV's The Milton Berle Show. Presley first appeared from the deck of the USS Hancock in San Diego on April 3. His performance was cheered by a live audience of appreciative sailors and their dates. A few days after, a flight taking Presley and his band to Nashville for a recording session left all three badly shaken when the plane lost an engine and almost went down over Texas.

From April 23, Presley was scheduled to perform four weeks at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip—billed this time as "the Atomic Powered Singer" because Parker thought the name would be catchy as Nevada was the home of the U.S.'s atomic weapons testing. His shows were so badly received by critics and the conservative, middle-aged guests, that Parker cut short the engagement from four weeks to two. D.J. Fontana would later claim that the audience just weren't ready for Elvis. While in Vegas, Presley saw Freddie Bell and the Bellboys live, and liked their version of Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog". By May 16, he had added the song to his own act.

After more hectic touring, Presley made his second appearance on The Milton Berle Show on June 5. Whilst delivering an uptempo version of "Hound Dog" (without his guitar), he then stopped, and immediately after began performing a slower version. Presley's "gyrations" during this televised version of "Hound Dog" created a storm of controversy—even eclipsing the "communist threat" headlines prevalent at the time. The press described his performance as "vulgar" and "obscene". The furor was such that Presley was pressured to explain himself on the local New York City TV show Hy Gardner Calling. After this performance he was dubbed "Elvis the Pelvis". Presley disliked the name, calling it "one of the most childish expressions I ever heard."

Steve Allen and Ed Sullivan shows

The Berle shows drew such huge ratings that he was booked him for a July 1 appearance on NBC's The Steve Allen Show, recorded in New York. Allen, no fan of rock and roll, believed that his show should be one "the whole family can watch" and introduced a "new Elvis" in white bow tie and black tails. Presley sang "Hound Dog" for less than a minute to a basset hound in a top hat. According to one author, "Allen thought Presley was talentless and absurd... [he] set things up so that Presley would show his contrition..." In his book "Hi-Ho Steverino!" Allen defended his decision to present Presley this way, stating that by simply changing Presley's attire it changed the way he performed. The next day, the single "Hound Dog" was recorded. Scotty Moore said they were "all angry about their treatment the previous night", and Presley would later refer to the Allen show as the most ridiculous performance of his career. A few days later, Presley made a "triumphant" outdoor appearance in Memphis at which he announced: "You know, those people in New York are not gonna change me none. I'm gonna show you what the real Elvis is like tonight." Country vocalists The Jordanaires had accompanied Presley on The Steve Allen Show and in the "Hound Dog" recording session, which also yielded "Any Way You Want Me" and "Don't Be Cruel". The Jordanaires would work with the singer through the 1960s.

Though Presley had been unhappy, Allen's show had, for the first time, beaten The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings, causing a critical Sullivan (CBS) to book Presley for three appearances for an unprecedented $50,000.

Presley's first Ed Sullivan appearance on September 9, 1956, was seen by some 55–60 million viewers. Elvis mythology states that Sullivan censored Presley by only shooting him from the waist up. Sullivan may have helped create the myth when he told TV Guide, "as for his gyrations, the whole thing can be controlled with camera shots." In truth Presley's whole body was shown in the first and second shows. Biographer Greil Marcus has written: "Compared to moments on the Dorsey shows and on the Berle show, it was ice cream." On the third Sullivan show, in spite of Presley's established reputation as a "gyrating" performer, he sang only slow paced ballads and a gospel song. Presley was nevertheless only shown to the television audience "from the waist up", as if to censor the singer.

Others have stated that Presley was shot in close up during this last broadcast because Sullivan had tried to "bury" the singer. However, other commentators have claimed that Colonel Parker had himself orchestrated the 'censorship' merely to generate publicity. In spite of any misgivings about the controversial nature of his performing style (see 'Sex symbol'), Sullivan declared at the end of the third appearance that Presley was "a real decent, fine boy" and that they had never had "a pleasanter experience" on the show.

First movies and draft notice

Presley's first motion picture, Love Me Tender, was released on November 21. Though he was not top billed, the film's original title—The Reno Brothers—was changed to capitalize on the popularity of his latest single: "Love Me Tender", released in late October, had hit the top of the charts on November 3. Intended to be a straight acting role, four musical numbers were added to further take advantage of Presley's popularity as a singer. The film was panned by the critics but did very well at the box office, becoming the 23rd-highest grossing movie of 1956, despite being released fewer than five weeks before the end of the year. Presley would receive top billing on every subsequent film he ever made.

On December 4, Presley dropped into Sun Records where Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis were recording and jammed with them. Though he no longer had the right to release any Presley recordings, Sam Phillips made sure the trio's performance was captured on tape (Johnny Cash is often thought to have performed with them, but he was present only briefly at Phillips' instigation for a photo opportunity). The results, long speculated about, eventually appeared on a bootlegged recording titled The Million Dollar Quartet in 1977. RCA finally released an authorized version a few years later. On December 29, 1956, Billboard This news was followed by a front page report in the Wall Street Journal on December 31, that suggested Presley merchandise had grossed more than $22 million in sales. revealed that Presley had placed more songs in the Top 100 than any other artist since record charts began.

On January 8, 1957, the Memphis Draft Board held a press conference and announced Presley would be classified 1A and would probably be drafted sometime that year. During 1957, he had two number one LPs, Loving You—the soundtrack to his second film, released in July—and Elvis' Christmas Album. He also had two number one singles, "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" and "Jailhouse Rock". The latter, title track to Presley's third film, released in October, appeared on a same-titled EP that similarly topped the charts and went double platinum. On December 20, Presley received his draft notice. Paramount and producer Hal Wallis had already spent $350,000 on the forthcoming film King Creole, and did not want to suspend or cancel the project. The draft board granted Presley a deferment to finish it.

1958–60: Military service and mother's death

On March 24, 1958, Presley was inducted into the U.S. Army as a private, under the service number US 53 310 761, at Fort Chaffee near Fort Smith, Arkansas. Two Army officers, Arlie Metheny and John J. Mawn, coordinated the entry and shielded Presley from bombardment by national media and free-lance photographers. As Presley's fame grew, his mother continued to drink excessively and began to gain weight. She had wanted her son to succeed, but the "hysteria of the crowd frightened her." In early August, doctors diagnosed hepatitis and her condition worsened. Presley was granted emergency leave to visit her, arriving in Memphis on August 12. Two days later, Gladys Presley died of heart failure, aged forty-six. Presley was heartbroken, "grieving almost constantly" for days.

Presley completed basic training at Fort Hood, Texas, on September 17, before being posted to Friedberg, Germany, with the 3rd Armored Division, where his service lasted from October 1, 1958, until March 2, 1960. Some months after Gladys's death, Presley was introduced to amphetamines when his troop "were on maneuvers at Grafenwöhr... it seemed like half the guys in the company were taking them." Friends such as Diamond Joe Esposito also began indulging, "if only to keep up with Elvis, who was practically evangelical about their benefits." The Army also introduced Presley to karate, which he studied seriously, later including it in his live performances.

Fellow soldiers have attested to Presley's wish to be seen as an able, ordinary soldier, despite his fame, and to his generosity while in the service. To supplement meager under-clothing supplies, Presley bought an extra set of fatigues for everyone in his outfit. He also donated his Army pay to charity, and purchased all the TV sets for personnel on the base at that time.

Presley had not elected to join Special Services, which would have allowed him to avoid certain duties and maintain his public profile. However, several sources, including Priscilla Presley, have said that Elvis was eager to serve in the detachment, where he "could have sung and retained some rapport with the public." In her autobiography, Priscilla states that it was Parker and RCA who convinced Presley he should serve his country as a regular soldier to gain respect from the public, despite his worries that this might instead ruin his career. He continued to receive massive media coverage, with much speculation echoing Presley's concerns about his enforced absence damaging his career. However, early in 1958, RCA Victor producer Steve Sholes and Freddy Bienstock of Hill and Range—Presley's main music publishers—had both pushed for recording sessions with strong song material, to enable the release of regular hit recordings during Presley's two-year hiatus. Hit singles duly followed during his army service such as "One Night", "I Got Stung", and "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I", as did hit albums compiling old material, including Elvis' Golden Records and A Date With Elvis.

1960–67: Focus on movies

First post-army recordings

Presley returned to the United States on March 2, 1960, and was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant on March 5. The train that carried him from New Jersey to Memphis was mobbed all the way, with Presley called upon to appear at scheduled stops to please his fans.

The first recording session, on March 20, 1960, was attended by all of the significant businessmen involved with Presley; none had heard him sing for two years, and there were inevitable concerns about him being able to recapture his previous success. The session was the first at which Presley was recorded using a three-track machine, allowing better quality, postsession remixing and stereophonic recording. This, and a further session in April, yielded some of Presley's best-selling songs. "It's Now or Never" ended with Presley "soaring up to an incredible top G sharp ... pure magic." His voice on "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" has been described as "natural, unforced, dead in tune, and totally distinctive." Although some tracks were uptempo, none could be described as "rock and roll", and many of them marked a significant change in musical direction. Most tracks found their way on to an album—Elvis is Back!—described by one critic as "a triumph on every level... It was as if Elvis had... broken down the barriers of genre and prejudice to express everything he heard in all the kinds of music he loved". The album was also notable because of Homer Boots Randolph's acclaimed saxophone playing on the blues songs "Like A Baby" and "Reconsider Baby", the latter being described as "a refutation of those who do not recognize what a phenomenal artist Presley was."