The Beatles, The Eagles, Metallica, Def Leopard—these are just a few of the bands that could come to mind when thinking about rock music. Despite the endless combinations of artists and bands you could think of, almost one name is guaranteed to come to mind—Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Rolling Stone refers to Elvis as “rock & roll’s first real star. . .a hip-shaking symbol of liberation” (Kemp). Elvis was an idol for both girls and boys—boys wanted to be Elvis, and girls wanted to be with Elvis. In the 1950s, Elvis was at the start of his career and recording for RCA. The company had their male star, but they knew they needed a female artist to really solidify the charts. They found exactly what they were looking when the executive
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She started playing the guitar at the age of four, and began singing just two years later. Although she was young, she had a loud and powerful voice. She went on to compete in talent contests, and took first place almost every time. When she was only eleven, she became a member of the WDVA Barndance, which was the starting point for other rock artists as well (Bayes). She toured with this group for a while, but her real starting point was when she became a recording artist with RCA. This was when she dropped her biggest hit “Drugstore Rock and Roll,” which she wrote herself. Once this song was heard, she was instantly called to perform all around the country. She wasn’t just bound to the US though, she toured all around the word. A high point in her career was when she earned a spot on the Today show, where she first performed her hit, “My Boy Elvis.” This appearance set the stage for her next invitation, to perform at the Grand Old Opry. In 1956 she was voted the “Most Promising Female Artist.” To everyone’s surprise, Janis’ career ended just like it began, at a really young age. Bittersweet, she had decided to marry at fifteen and not long after that she had a child. Like any woman at the time, she stopped what she was doing and turned to family life. When she finished recording her last session, the executive started crying and said she “could have been as big as Elvis, if not bigger” (Fox). She did …show more content…
Her career seemed to stop just as it started, but that was a decision due to family. Even though her actual career didn’t last long, she thought of herself as a “seven-year old veteran” when she started recording for RCA. In an interview Janis had said that in a sense she “had been put into business when she was 8 years old” by her mother (Fox). Once her mother found out she had talent, she had wanted to share that with the world. If her mother hadn’t have pushed her into shows, she would have never been discovered, and wouldn’t have earned the title “Female Elvis.” In the same interview, she revealed that the name was more of a curse than a blessing, because people expected a lot out of her, and she also wasn’t really fond of Elvis’ dance moves either. To every one’s shock, she even said that she wasn’t that impressed with Elvis, and liked Carl Perkins better (Fox). It should be a real honor to be compared to Elvis. Her comments may have just been due to such a stressful short career, but either way she could have been a little more
She started playing the guitar at the age of four, and began singing just two years later. Although she was young, she had a loud and powerful voice. She went on to compete in talent contests, and took first place almost every time. When she was only eleven, she became a member of the WDVA Barndance, which was the starting point for other rock artists as well (Bayes). She toured with this group for a while, but her real starting point was when she became a recording artist with RCA. This was when she dropped her biggest hit “Drugstore Rock and Roll,” which she wrote herself. Once this song was heard, she was instantly called to perform all around the country. She wasn’t just bound to the US though, she toured all around the word. A high point in her career was when she earned a spot on the Today show, where she first performed her hit, “My Boy Elvis.” This appearance set the stage for her next invitation, to perform at the Grand Old Opry. In 1956 she was voted the “Most Promising Female Artist.” To everyone’s surprise, Janis’ career ended just like it began, at a really young age. Bittersweet, she had decided to marry at fifteen and not long after that she had a child. Like any woman at the time, she stopped what she was doing and turned to family life. When she finished recording her last session, the executive started crying and said she “could have been as big as Elvis, if not bigger” (Fox). She did …show more content…
Her career seemed to stop just as it started, but that was a decision due to family. Even though her actual career didn’t last long, she thought of herself as a “seven-year old veteran” when she started recording for RCA. In an interview Janis had said that in a sense she “had been put into business when she was 8 years old” by her mother (Fox). Once her mother found out she had talent, she had wanted to share that with the world. If her mother hadn’t have pushed her into shows, she would have never been discovered, and wouldn’t have earned the title “Female Elvis.” In the same interview, she revealed that the name was more of a curse than a blessing, because people expected a lot out of her, and she also wasn’t really fond of Elvis’ dance moves either. To every one’s shock, she even said that she wasn’t that impressed with Elvis, and liked Carl Perkins better (Fox). It should be a real honor to be compared to Elvis. Her comments may have just been due to such a stressful short career, but either way she could have been a little more